NATO vs. Pirates – catch and release

Dutch commandos free Yemeni captives, feed cheese to pirates and let them go because “NATO has no detention policy on pirates”.  I confess that I have absolutely no military training and NATO generals probably do, for the most part, but if I were setting up an “Anti-Piracy Force” as NATO did, I’d spend a little time thinking up a policy for what do do if we captured some. Hanging them is okay, or feeding them to sharks or even, although I don’t know why anyone would bother, bringing them back home for a trial before hanging them, but if no policy at all means setting them loose to plunder again, then I’d suggest that they have come up with a policy by default. Euro weenies.

April sales statistics

Unless the rumors of deal activity bear fruit soon, this April will be our slowest in a long time. Nine contracts so far this month, ranging from $589 to $6.995 million (asking price). The figures for comparable twenty day periods in Aprils past are:

2008: 29 contracts, $690,000 – $7.450 million.

2007: 55 contracts, $695,000 – $14,700,000

2006: 51 contracts

2005: 55 contracts

That’s an average of 47.5  contracts in twenty April days from 2008- 2005, and 2008’s dismal performance was a sign of a dying market. By my math, 9 sales this month is 19% of that average or am 81% drop in transactions. Better hope for an active next two weeks.