Confused, the Punter decided to give up tea bags and buy loose tea leaves instead as a tool for predicting market movements.

He also took up his rights to new shares in Hazelwood Resources (ASX code HAZ), buying 30,000 under the three-for-one offer.

At two cents each, the shares make even teabags look expensive.

Western Australian-based Hazelwood is an emerging ferro-alloy producer with a majority interest in what it claims is the most advanced ferro-tungsten plant outside of China.

It supplies alloys where heat resistance and hardness are required in steel production.

On the market, HAZ shares have drifted down to the offer price, so there is no instant profit to be had.

However, would-be buyers are outnumbering potential sellers by about five to one, which is sometimes a good sign.

The closing date for the rights issue passed without being extended, which is also a positive.

Hopefully the rights issue will bring in at least the minimum $10 million the company needs to start actually smelting tungsten and generating some cash.

Tungsten prices have been falling unfortunately, so it will be a tough task.

However, although its new ferro-tungsten plant in Vietnam is its major asset, Hazelwood also has a big tungsten deposit at Big Hill in WA and is a junior explorer with some interesting nickel targets.

Taking up the rights cuts the Punter’s average cost per share to 4.8 cents.

If the current price tripled, the company would still have a market capitalisation of only about $60 million.

Hardly excessive for a mining and metal manufacturing group – if it ever gets there.

Shares in Vmoto, the now largely Chinese electric bike company, seem to be scooting along nicely.

The company has signed a deal to manufacture electric scooters for a German company, which could be worth $24m over three years.

This follows a similar deal with Chinese company Power Eagle, which could generate up to $86m in revenue over the next three years.

The Punter has already taken profits on this one, and has doubled his money on paper on the 50,000 shares he still holds, but is happy to let his profits run.

Sadly, his put (sell) option on the Commonwealth Bank is clearly a total loss. Although it does not expire until next month, he has written it off.

The Punter has no financial qualifications and no links to the financial services industry. He owns shares in a number of companies featured in this column.