"If they don't have the 180,000oz to deliver, they have to buy...

"If they don't have the 180,000oz to deliver, they have to buy on market. (which means they might have to pay $33 per oz, to satisfy a hedge taken out at $29.60)"

Hedges are great when they work, but they have to be very accurately and carefully managed. Its not good enough to set and forget. I understand that the hedges in this case were probably part of a way to guarantee loans, that's very common practice. And if they can deliver then there is no problem. But if they can't for any reason, then they have to buy back as quoted, - at the best price they can.

Good company managers are upfront and frank with the holders. FMG's response to the sudden Fe price drop is an object lesson in how to do it. To treat shareholders like mushrooms will invoke the lowest price, as anything shareholders don't understand or suspect, will be sold down.

Qantas badly mismanaged its fuel hedgeing a few years ago, and unsuspecting passengers are being levied a 'fuel levy', which the company admitted is to cover 'negative fuel hedges'. Love the langauage. To put it another way; "we stuffed up our fuel hedgeing, sat on our hands as they went bad, and now you dumb passengers have to pay us for that stuff up."

CCU's management needs to come out today, this afternoon, and tell shareholders in plain English exactly what the problems are and how they are going to be fixed. That will raise the price. Obfuscation will ensure the price stays low until the fog clears.