2 Canadian Stocks under $0.20 worth a Second Look

Thu. January 29, 2009; Posted: 12:57 PM

With the economy deteriorating and less money to throw around, millions of people around the world are understandably anxious. The current worldwide economic crisis gets adrenaline going because it points up the aspect of scarcity that gives money its value, while sounding the alarm about when that money will run out. But if it can be said that there is an upside to a recession - even one as deep and all-encompassing as this one - it is the spotlight now being shined on products of real value, particularly investments that can appreciate with time.

Buy low, sell high, the experts say - well, stocks don't come much cheaper than this!

Wounded markets can provide a wonderful opportunity for bargain hunters to uncover technology companies, especially in light of the bad news expressed in January by giants like Microsoft, which announced layoffs in the thousands. Techs that go the extra step of providing green energy - in keeping with President Obama's new environmental policy - include New Jersey-based mPhase Technologies Inc.

mPhase has assumed a leadership role in developing the battery of the future. The company's wholly-owned subsidiary, AlwaysReady, Inc., has come out with a so-called Smart Battery, and taken out more than 10 patents involving battery technology. This Smart Battery boasts faster ramping-up qualities, lower manufacturing costs, seemingly infinite shelf life, and yes, produce energy with little pollution.

Last September, mPhase was contracted by the U.S. Army to develop a unique battery that will function as a power supply backup for a computer memory system. In mid-January, mPhase announced a new manufacturing technique, allowing the company to produce a Smart NanoBattery with greater cost-efficiency, leading to higher yields when the battery is mass produced.

XDSL has been trading of late at the bottom of a 52-week trading range between a penny and 14 cents.

We stay in the technology vein, turning our ears to One Voice Technology, one of the standard-bearers in fourth-generation voice-controlled technology. Imagine, company literature says, being able to tell your computer to check the weather, stocks, news items, or whatever you're anxious to know at that moment - One Voice offers the solutions to enable you to do that, with just your voice.

Headquartered in La Jolla, California, One Voice last year provided voice control for Intel Mobile Internet Devices at the latter's booth at an international trade show in Las Vegas. Intel has since become a steady customer of the company's technology. More recently, ONEV confirmed in late January that it would make Voice Control available on Windows Vista, iTunes and Skype. Telmex, Motorola and MTNL are among the other technological heavyweights who have become regular users of One Voice's product, so this tech company is forging links with industry leaders.

ONEV has traded consistently between one and two cents over the last 52 weeks.

From there we go to the alternative energy sector, which has also found favor with the incoming Obama administration, to reduce America's dependence on foreign oil.

Sustainable Energy Technologies (TSX-Venture: STG), keeps its focus on the Sun, while simultaneously occupying the bargain dungeon. This company, headquartered in Calgary, promises customers higher energy yield because of the way the modules for its solar panels are wired.

Sustainable Energy designs, manufactures and distributes solar panels, based on a patented and proprietary inverter platform which converts extra-low voltage direct current inputs into grid quality power, with very high conversion efficiencies.

The company claims its SUNERGY inverter is the first in the industry to offer the option of parallel wiring. When PV modules are arrayed in parallel, each module can reach its own energy potential, unlike modules arrayed in series, which can limit their efficiency.

Sustainable is of the opinion that the market for its brand of solar inverters will grow over the next four years to about $5.3 billion Canadian. It also projects that solar power will be used in 70 per cent of European homes and businesses before too long, and 55 per cent of North American homes. The company has already cracked markets in Greece, Romania and Spain.

The price for STG is around 19 cents Canadian, in the centre of a range between six and 37 cents.

Lastly, and still with the alternative energy sector, there is Thermal Energy International (TSX-Venture: TMG). Thermal Energy's team of professionals is highly experienced in plant and process energy efficiency evaluations and innovative solution development, to reduce costs and the environmental impact on business facilities.

Thermal prides itself on its waste energy recovery recycling and bio-energy conversion solutions, which provide its clients with typical energy cost savings of up to 35 per cent with comparable reductions in greenhouse gases and other emissions.

Thermal's processes have social value as well: the company belongs to the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX), the world's first voluntary, legally binding rules-based greenhouse gas emission reduction and trading system, and claims to be one of the few companies helping other firms bring in solutions to lower greenhouse gas emissions.

Internationally, Thermal has tested some of its processes for reducing emissions, most recently in China during November, of its THERMALONOx(TM) process for reducing nitrogen oxides for power plants and other industrial sources.

TMG is also in the low end of a 52-week trading range between four and 41 cents Canadian.

These four stocks enable wary investors to do some good for their world, as well as their pocketbooks and portfolios. The fledgling nature of their companies means they are willing to take risks, while asking investors to assume very little risk. All are priced at or below the 20-cent mark, and are worth a look.

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