The Neo-Market Report

By stereolab

Once again it's time to visit Neopia's most prominent market pundits. Joining our hosts this week will be Nahkmos the Grarrl, shopkeeper of The Lost Desert Food Shop. He'll be here to discuss how the siege of Dr. Sloth's army has impacted his business. And now, here are Neil and Maria…

KAUVUTO: Hello and welcome to this week's edition of The Neo-Market Report. I am your host Neil Kauvuto, financial editor of The Neopian Times, and as always I am joined by my co-host Maria Blumaroono, who's here with the latest news from the floor of the exchange. Maria, what's the big story this week?

BLUMAROONO: Well Neil, it seems like the buzz this week is surrounding the events taking place in The Lost Desert. With Dr. Sloth's invasion of Sakhmet, a number of companies that had planned to set up operations in The Lost Desert have now lost their shirts. Leading the way for the unlucky is Neggwork Commerce, which had announced on Tuesday that they expected to have an office up and running in Sakhmet by no later than the fifteenth day of The Month of Hiding. However, after Sloth's invasion of Sakhmet Tuesday evening, Neggwork Commerce President Bertrinn Kikonnis was forced to come forward on Thursday and announce that plans for a Sakhmet division had been held up indefinitely, which caused the company's value to drop a whopping twenty NPs a share.

Another company hurt by their ties to The Lost Desert has been Böda Furnishings, Inc. With many Neopians putting their plans of moving to desert on hold, Böda's been forced to sit on warehouses full of new furniture. Thanks to Dr. Sloth, the future of The Lost Desert remains up in the air, and until the threat of Sloth's army has been eliminated, who knows how long it'll be until Neopians feel safe enough to The Lost Desert? This uncertainty has caused Böda's stock to drop nine NPs a share.

KAUVUTO: On the other hand, companies who had yet to place their Neggs in The Lost Desert's basket have been the biggest winners this week. Chief among them is Kacheek and Sons Landscaping, whose founder Bentolo the Kacheek made it perfectly clear last week that his company had no intentions of branching out into The Lost Desert. "Are you kidding me?" he said, "what am I going to do, round up the tumbleweeds and sculpt the cactuses? No thanks; I'll stay right here, where the talent of me and my sons can actually be put to use…" Thanks in large part to their desire to stay out of The Lost Desert, Kacheek and Sons jumped a phenomenal thirty-two points a share this week.

BLUMAROONO: Well, one entrepreneur whose fortunes are certainly tied to what's happening in The Lost Desert is our guest today, Nahkmos the Grarrl. As shopkeeper of The Lost Desert Food Shop, Nahkmos' business was thriving until the upheaval that Dr. Sloth and his army caused this week. Nahkmos, we certainly wish we could have you here under better circumstances…

NAHKMOS: Ah Maria, what is one to do in these times but hope for the best and keep trying?

BLUMAROONO: Good point… well Nahkmos, we certainly wish you and your shop the best. Now, could you recount for us exactly what happened?

NAHKMOS: Oh, it was absolutely horrible…I was in the corner, arranging my Corn Pyramid display, and that's when I hear a loud, sudden explosion that knocked me off my feet. Peering out from behind a pile of Ptolymelons, I could see dozens of Grundo troops, ravaging everything in sight. That's when I saw him, the one and only Dr. Sloth. He was holding the Staff of Alhasutek, which we've all heard so much about. He pointed the staff at a counter full of Sutek Muffins, and then… *BAM!* the next thing I know, there's a massive blaze in the middle of my store, almost like a bonfire. Sloth laughed wickedly as the Grundos tossed my items into the fire, while I nervously hid from sight. Once they'd destroyed everything, Sloth said, "Ah, a job well done. Let's move on!" With that, they were gone…

KAUVUTO: So now, with your shop in shambles, what do you plan to do? Are you going to join Brucey B's army?

NAHKMOS: No, actually I've decided to keep my store open. Although I can only sell the burnt up inventory that Sloth and his army left behind, I feel that it's important to stay open. I've put so much of my life into that store, I just can't imagine giving it up and doing something else. So to those of you who visit my store, please bear with me; once I've moved out the damaged goods that I have now, I'll be able to put the money back into getting my shelves stocked with all new items. Before you know it, everything will be back to normal…

BLUMAROONO: Well Nahkmos, we certainly are hoping that you and your shop are able to get back on your feet.

NAHKMOS: Thanks again, Maria.

KAUVUTO: It looks like that's all the time we have for this week. For Maria Blumaroono and Nahkmos the Grarrl, this is Neil Kauvuto saying thank you and so long…