BOREF And Monkeypox August 5, 2022August 4, 2022 But first . . . . . . one 60-second Republican spot I am truly pleased to share. And now . . . MONKEYPOX Matthew Yglesias offers as clear and sensible a discussion as I think you’ll find. Of broad interest because — in addition to monkeypox — it addresses pandemics more generally and our public-health communications failures in dealing with them. Someone widely known for his prescient concern is Bill Gates. His 2014 TED talk warned that microbes, not missiles, are humanity’s biggest threat. His new book: How To Prevent The Next Pandemic. Someone not widely known is Sam Bankman-Fried, a 30-year-old deci-billionaire “effective altruist” spending tens of millions (at least) to elect Democrats and Republicans who understand the urgency. BOREF Stephen W.: “We still have our BOREF since 1999. It gives me something to stay alive for. I’m sure I’m not the only one who would appreciate your explanation to the release they just sent out.” → The company has long believed there may be a massive “naked short” interest in its shares. That when people have placed orders to buy, their brokerage firms have recorded the transactions — and taken their money — without ever having actually purchased the shares. (If this were true — which I highly doubt — the brokerage firms would be betting BOREF would go down and eventually disappear so they would never have to make good on the purchases.) The press release suggests three options. If you take their first or second suggestion — instruct your broker to deliver your shares to Transfer Online — the shares become even less liquid than they are now. This makes sense to me only if you think your brokerage house is so shady or shaky that one day it will disappear into the night. Their third suggestion is to trade your (somewhat liquid) Borealis shares for (entirely illiquid) WheelTug shares, “ten for one.” This makes even less sense to me, inasmuch as each ten BOREF shares effectively own approximately six WheelTug shares (because Borealis owns most of Chorus Motors which owns most of WheelTug). Why take one share instead of six? There is a fourth option: just do nothing. Around 2028 — as the September 29, 2029, deadline to do something approaches — we can revisit. Though I like to think WheelTug will get FAA certification and begin flying before then, and that — if they do and they are — any resultant short squeeze — if there is one — will be glorious. That’s a lot of ifs. It’s been 23 years, so I’m not counting any chickens. But — more ifs — a decade from now WheelTug were on most 737s and A320s . . . . . . as “power steering” — once just a dream — comes with every automobile (who wouldn’t want it?) . . . . . . and if the company were throwing off $100 million or $200 million a year in dividends . . . then Borealis would be receiving $60 million or $120 million a year in cash. Not bad for a company currently valued at $30 million. Only with money you can truly afford to lose. Have a great weekend!