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MKT - The Market Limited

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It's just for gambling addicts if they weren't on HC they'd be doing something stupid with their money elsewhere.
 
re ads on the site, was researching MBE awhile ago and found only about 20% of people use an ad blocker, it's 18% in some places. I don't know how people can stand it, I even block their IG markets logo because I find it distracting.

I managed to get my account in read only mode, made a hash of remembering passwords and trying to reregister. I still read, there are more posts on speccy stuff, but some combative twerps, cheerleading and low effort posts.
 
Hotcopper Holdings revenue up 22% to $2,263,079 and net profit up 538% to $524,550. They even announced a dividend of half a cent per share. The HOT share price rose 1c to 25c today as a result of the news.

I must admit these results are better than I expected. I don't post over there but I pop in for a quick look every now and again. Not much has changed but their website traffic and membership numbers are up according to the half year report, which must be the reason for the growth in revenue.
 
I reckon they could be in for a drop in membership, I recently closed my account because they implemented a java script to stop members using the site if they ran ad blockers. It was a final straw for me along with the realisation that its just time wasting for me as the overall standard of posting is so low and there is so much of it! I got the impression they are bleeding quite a few members because of it, I started a thread about it and questioning the ethics of the decision, got deleted almost instantly and I was threatened by the staff.

Baffles me how a site can make over $2m from ads, more to the point baffles me as to why businesses advertise on web sites, the returns must be almost non-existent. I am sure most people are like me and would specifically avoid any product advertised on a web site i visited.
 
galumay said:
Baffles me how a site can make over $2m from ads, more to the point baffles me as to why businesses advertise on web sites, the returns must be almost non-existent. I am sure most people are like me and would specifically avoid any product advertised on a web site i visited.
Click to expand...

Without revenue most websites would just cease to exist. It's either advertising (display and email) or a membership/subscription fee. You've probably noticed all the paywalls going up on an increasing number of news websites. It's because advertising just isn't generating the kind of revenue they need to operate. If it isn't that, it's popups, popovers or intrusive advertising that covers content. It's getting worse and there's not a lot that can be done about it. It's a matter of simple economics.

I'd just say this. If you like a website, appreciate it and get some value out of it then please consider supporting the advertisers of that website. Doing so helps keep websites online and providing a service to their users. ASF would go offline tomorrow without advertising revenue due to the costs involved in keeping it online. Anyway, just thought I'd put that out there as someone who has doing this for almost 14 years now and who wakes up every day hoping that those who frequent this place support it whenever they can.
 
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Joe, there are plenty of very large and active websites that get by without either intrusive advertising or subscriptions. Some of them get free hosting (which is just about the only real cost), some have sponsors who are happy to be very unintrusive and some are run as part of a larger corporate enitity where the website is seen as a business cost to be expenced rather than recovered.

I can only speak for myself, but I have never subscribed to a website, and I am not sure I ever would.

As I said, advertising effects me by making me detirmined never to buy the product.

I realise its different to your perspective as the owner/operator of the forum, I am not sure what the answer is! Maybe some sort of transparent declaration of the running costs and a process for people to donate to help contibute to running costs?
 
Galumay, I understand and appreciate your perspective. While the support of advertisers is obviously important for ASF I understand that some members, for a variety of reasons, may not be able or willing to offer that kind of support.

However, as I do not wish to take this thread off-topic I have decided to address this issue in more detail in another thread that I hope to start over the weekend.
 
Hotcopper announced last week that they have agreed to buy Canadian based Stockhouse Publishing Ltd for C$20 million in cash payable on completion.

Stockhouse operate: https://stockhouse.com/

The terms of payment are a little odd:
  • C$16 million in cash payable on completion;
  • C$2 million through the issue of shares in HotCopper;
  • C$1 million in cash payable on the date which is 6 months from completion;
  • C$1 million paid in quarterly instalments in 2021 if Stockhouse's financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2020 show revenue of $10 million+.
C$20 million is around A$22.54 million. That seems like a lot of money for the Stockhouse website. I took a look and I'm not sure I like their forum section: https://stockhouse.com/community - Perhaps I'm just used to this one?

I'm skeptical that this was a good transaction for HotCopper shareholders, but time will tell I suppose.
 
Given the history of HC's pump and dump investing, which has lost them a motza despite having retail suckers to sell their scam into, its hard to imagine this is a good move on their part. I guess it potentially increases the number of suckers to sell their stonks to.
 
On June 25th, 2020, Hot Copper Holdings Limited (HOT) changed its name and ASX code to The Market Herald Limited (TMH).
 
Would You Let Hot Copper Manage Your Money?
By Tim McGowen

https://www.sharecafe.com.au/2020/07/31/would-you-let-hot-copper-manage-your-money/

Next time you get an email in your inbox from Hot Copper (HC) advertising a particular ASX-listed company, it might pay to see whether this particular company has had a capital raising recently, because chances are that HC may have an equity position in that listed company. So, while all the recent marketing hype has been around HC’s change in name to The Market Herald and its Canadian acquisition, it’s the size of the company’s share portfolio that has changed the nature of HC’s business model....
Click to expand...
.(and read article) ...
...How this portfolio affects HC’s balance sheet moving forward is an additional risk, as one of its largest assets now seems highly leveraged to the volatility and illiquidity associated with micro-cap investing. Further, escrowed constraints to this portfolio – on top of the company’s newly acquired debt and the additional costs of integrating a new business model – might put the balance sheet under pressure if equity positions cannot be liquidated. Either way, while the company has always been highly leveraged to equity markets in the engagement of its members and the revenue of its advertisers, the biggest corporate risk now resides in its ability to manage an equity portfolio.

At the date of writing (30th July 2020) HC (now The Market Herald) announced the resignation of their auditors Ernst & Young, a very rare move for an auditor of an ASX listed company.
Click to expand...
 
Oh my... Drama over at hotcopper.

What has happened here?

28th - AGM
30th - Trading Halt requested due to 'board composition' and financing requirement
1st - Main shareholder calls a general meeting looking to dump Managing Director

1669943549065.png
 
Not sure what is going on over there at the moment but I couldn't believe it when they borrowed $60 million to buy Gumtree, Carsguide and Autotrader for $86 million. It will be hard for these three platforms to see much growth given the competition in the online classifieds niche (e.g. Facebook Marketplace). Servicing that huge loan will be a monkey on their back for years to come.
 
I’ve only just gotten to like and appreciate the contributions to ASF from the Commsec refugees.

I really don’t think I could be civil to the Hotcopper lunatics when it goes a**e up.

Perhaps if they could attend the Garpal Gumnut Online Couth Course I could indicate which ones passed the final MCQ test at the end.

My usual fee applies. A Certificate is included.

gg
 
i just hope when HC leaves the advertising world , they stop sending me spam

i have NEVER joined and 'unsubscribing ' doesn't work one might have thought 11 years of ignoring them might have convinced them to desist

HOWEVER i do find being featured in HC spam a BIG RED FLAG ( especially at IPO stage ) and avoid accordingly , but active traders might enjoy the sport of knowingly playing in a rigged game
 
Interesting. Sanger now out. The Board must be of the view that confidence in his leadership had evaporated.

TMH021222.png
 
greggles said:
Interesting. Sanger now out. The Board must be of the view that confidence in his leadership had evaporated.

View attachment 150015
Click to expand...
Wouldn't the natural evolution here be to sell just hotcopper and move it entirely offshore where some brokers and their lawyer/accountant mates can then really get the most out of their pump and dump schemes? TMH could then focus on being a 'reputable' company after successfully leveraging off the HC ipo? With gumtree and the other sites added to the company they could probably dump the 'HC' asset without a shareholder vote as it's no longer the primary business?

I'm not 100% of the rules, but surely if your servers, company, website, directors, everything is offshore then you could really supercharge the fake accounts pumping stocks with no fear of regulatory issues?
 

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