Question for all, in the form of a comtemporary story...since the CDN markets are closed...

Is it possible that the "all knowing" Cliffy (ref to "Cheers" for those of you, old enough to remember) is like a young couple wanting to buy their dream house in a rising real estate market. They are looking at a property that is going to stretch them to the limit, so their first move is to present a low ball offer to the seller and even to point out the down side of the property.

When their offer is rejected, they come back with a slightly better offer, but again the owner rejects their offer and eludes to the fact that he has another potential buyer, that is interested in his highly valued property.

They go away, strategize and come back to the owner with an offer that they think is way too expensive, but they decided that they could always delay the upgrades and renovations that the property needed. Unfortunately, the owner says that he has a conditional offer on the property and that it is much higher than theirs...he adds that he is willing to entertain a bidding war if they really, really want the property.

They are caught between what they want and what they can afford. They have stocks which they were going to use to buy the property but the value of that stock is going down and their buying power is also going down proportinately. Time is not on their side and they feel pressured to increase their offer but can they afford to do it lest they find themselves house poor and vulnerable to unexpected costs.

Stay tuned for this continuing saga...will our potential buyers take a chance and go for the deal knowing that it will tap out their savings and delay the renovations...or will they walk away knowing that they wasted a lot of time and effort trying to get it.

The last scene of this story could possibly be...our young couple watching from a distance as the competing buyer plants a sold sign on the lawn of their dream property.

(This story is based in fact...any resemblance to real people is purely coiincidental...the real names of the particpants have been changed to protect the innocent...hahaha as if there are any...this may be used solely for entertainment purposes.)

...by the way, don't hesitate to offer your opinion on possible analogy... CLF is in a hurry to get this asset on the cheap because soon they might not be able to afford it...they might not even be in the bidding...IMO they know this as insiders...+ their stock is down, their strategic decisions have proven fruitless and in some cases counter-productive, and the value of the asset that they covet, keeps going higher and higher...I hope that the newly hired marketing agency is doing a great job of approaching the big players...

Good luck to all SPQ and KWG SHs...