A Quick Update and a Sick Verge

Well, I worked late tonight, and then I tried to go to bed. After only a short nap, I woke up. I'm on the verge of sickness. My body gives me an early warning when it comes to getting sick. I got that warning late Saturday, and I am not all that sure I'm going to be able to escape the grasp of the Cold. It is really going to suck if I get sick for real.

Anyway onto the important stuff... health is so overrated. Haha.

So, on Monday, Kongzhong (KONG) kept on trucking higher. On Friday, when it made the initial jump, I did notice a lot of largish blocks trading on the ask. Still no news, so maybe this is just an extension of a technical move. I continue to have no clue, but the move sure is welcome.

Today, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that Harrah's (HET) is going to be getting a sweetened bid of $87. Harrah's announced that they would be looking at all offers tomorrow, and today would be the last day for the submission of new bids to be considered.

And, we also get a new Buy rating today for a Long-Term Port holding. So, Sun Bancorp (SNBC) was started as a Buy at Sterne Agee. They put out a $23 price target, and cited double digit earnings growth, and they also mentioned that the increased M&A activity in the New Jersey region was not accounted for in the current share price.

Just over a year ago, I opened a position in SNBC mostly as a turnaround play. It was actively reducing its costs, and assuming their management would be able to pull it off, the shares looked undervalued. They also pay a 5% dividend via a 21:20 stock split annually. What initially turned my attention to the company was the strong insider buying. After seeing this, and doing some number crunching, I felt it was a good buy.

So, for just over a year the shares have given the LT Port a total return of 8.3%. This makes SNBC an underachiever compared to the 15% total return of the S&P. It's not a total dog, but it certainly isn't on Santa's Nice list this year. Maybe things will pick up in '07.

I'm still holding onto Yahoo! (YHOO) in the Trading Port. Thus far, it has dealt me a 3% blow. Hopefully, nothing but a mere flesh wound, but you never know. I still think there's good upside in the shares at this prices, but there is definitely the possibility that it continues to fall. This is not a stock for the conservative types.

Okay, I better give sleep another try.