Bookkeeping: Restarting Mosaic (MOS)

For long time readers you will know my affinity for Mosaic (MOS). This was my biggest winner in 2007 and first half of 2008; I've written 103 entries that involved the stock. I sold out a month ago [Jan 6: Closing Mosaic] and true to form within a month it puts on a large rally. Since agriculture is my favorite space and we're reading a lot of news out there of droughts and other such bad things, I am going to return to a 2 name strategy in fertilizer, focusing on the potash angle again.

Mosaic (MOS) jumped from $36s to $48s as hedge funds returned to the name the past week and a half; it got a bit parabolic of course. Today the stock is back down into the $40s so I am going to restart a 1.6% stake - the 20 day moving average is around $39 and the 50 day is down at $36.

Hmm... it's starting to feel all 2007ish again. So this makes our 4th stock in "commodities".

Since we are on the topic - nothing actionable on this but just thought it interesting, as Intrepid Potash (IPI) was one of our holdings in 2008 and actually one of the hottest IPOs (if not hottest) of the year. [Apr 18, 2008: You Thought Visa (V) Was the Hottest IPO of the 2008? Wrong] Their IPO actually top ticked the top of the commodity bull run by about 6 weeks.

Ah, those were the days - when you could trust a stock to continue a trend for more than 5 days....

• Intrepid Potash, Inc. (NYSE:IPI), today announced that it has accepted the resignation of its President and Chief Operating Officer, Patrick L. Avery. Mr. Avery submitted his resignation and confirmed that despite his several years of attendance and course work at the University of Colorado and Loyola Marymount University, he did not receive a B.A. degree from the University of Colorado or a M.S. degree from Loyola Marymount University, as he had previously represented. The Company learned of these facts yesterday.
• The Company anticipates entering into an agreement with Mr. Avery to serve as an operations consultant for an, as yet, undetermined period of time.

Earlier in the day yesterday...

• When Intrepid Potash first sold shares to the public in April, it said in the prospectus that Avery received bachelor of arts degrees in biology and chemistry from the University of Colorado. Avery attended from 1970 through 1975 and “no degree was awarded for reasons unknown,” according to a statement faxed to Bloomberg News from the university registrar’s office Feb. 9.
• The Fraud Discovery Institute, a San Diego-based licensed private investigator, uncovered discrepancies in the prospectus, said co-founder Barry Minkow, who served more than seven years in federal prison for fraud while running ZZZZ Best Co.

Long Mosaic in fund and personal account