Guala; Demco; Ticon Industrial

     News from our companies:

   Guala Closures, the Italian maker of non-cork bottle closing systems for alcoholic beverages and wine, was privatized. We got $56.45 per share on Oct. 14 for stock that costs us $66. In today's market with a falling euro, that's hardly awful.

   We got a Demco pcl stock dividend also this month, from Thailand. We reported earlier that it was coming.

   Our Thai analyst, Paul Renaud, has now put a sell on Ticon Industrial Connection Public Co. Ltd., which trades in the U.S. as TCIDJ.PK. The company builds factoires to lease. Paul is annoyed that rather than buying back shares, TCIJF is expanding. He thinks it is reckless, but trims his sails a bit by admitting that longer run, he likes Ticon still. So reading between the lines, I sold half my position for a whopping profit despite irritating brokerage fees because under U.S. rules from Fidelity, which holds this baby, TCIJF is subject to a $50 fee for being foreign plus it counts as a penny stock even if you trade it online, as I did. For all that, I nearly doubled my money.

    Because of the fees and the horror of trying to get quotes out of Fido, I am moving my GIP account again, this time to my bank, HSBC (formerly Williamsburgh Savings BAnk of Brooklyn, which gave us a coop mortgage and required that one of us have an account with it; and then Republic National Bank.) Republic offered lots of pricey brokerage services but until now, HSBC has avoided that business. But now it offers a Premier account clearing with Pershing (BNY) which I will test as soon as the ACAT has gone through.