International Shipholding Corporation (NYSE: ISH) shares rallied today after receiving a letter from a large shareholder. Liberty disclosed an increased stake in the firm and requested an immediate update on the status of its offer to purchase the company for $25.27 per share in cash.

Here is a copy of the letter:

It has been more than four months since my June meeting with Niels M. Johnsen, when I first raised with him the possibility of completing a business combination transaction between Liberty and International Shipholding (ISH). It has also been more than seven weeks since we delivered to you a written proposal to acquire ISH for $25.75 per share in cash, and six weeks since you announced the formation of a special committee of the Board to evaluate our proposal. We were therefore surprised to learn that only recently did you finally appoint an independent financial advisor to assist the special committee in its review of our proposal. This appointment, and the review process that the committee is apparently only now commencing, frankly should have occurred months ago. Your dilatory tactics, including your continuing refusal to meet with us, only raise questions regarding the ISH Board’s commitment to maximizing value for all its shareholders.

We have waited for weeks for either the ISH Board, management or their advisors to contact us to commence our due diligence process and negotiation of definitive merger documentation. In the interim, the global economic turmoil that has engulfed world markets has accelerated, negatively affecting our industry as well as the terms of any financing we may incur to complete the transaction. Notwithstanding the foregoing, we are still committed to acquiring ISH. This is evidenced by the fact that, despite recent events, we have increased our position in the company since we made our offer public. As of today we control more than 9% of ISH’s outstanding shares.

I have instructed our counsel to deliver today to your counsel a form of confidentiality agreement that we are prepared to execute in order to immediately move forward with due diligence. Your fiduciary duties to your shareholders require no less. Our management and advisors will also be available at any time to assist you and your advisors. Any further delay on your part will be an absolute disservice to your shareholders, particularly the disinterested shareholders you are legally obligated to represent as independent directors.

Despite your actions to date, we still hope to engage in a cooperative process that allows us to maximize value for our respective shareholders. We would appreciate hearing from you in a timely manner.

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Carl Icahn may cause big waves in huge corporations, but he failed to impress investors in Telik (NDAQ: TELK) today. The stock dropped 4% in late trading despite the fact that the activist investor disclosed an 8.15% stake in the firm. Icahn is known for pushing for change in the companies that he targets and some are speculating that his investment in this company may be to sell a key technology or patent to another company or perhaps one of his affiliates.

Telik shares have dropped sharply since it received a deficiency letter from the Nasdaq that for the last 30 consecutive business days the bid price of Telik's common stock has been below the required $1.00 per share to continue appearing on the exchange. However, Telik's drugs have seen better results with one of its small molecule proteasome inhibitors meeting preclinical milestones by demonstrating anticancer activity in preclinical models of human leukemia.

Telik, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company working to discover, develop and commercialize small molecule drugs to treat diseases. The Company discovered its product candidates using its drug discovery technology, Target-Related Affinity Profiling (TRAP). As of December 31, 2007, Telik has not obtained regulatory approval for the commercial sale of any products, and has not received any revenue from the commercial sale of products. Telik discovered all of its product candidates using its technology, TRAP.

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Voyager Petroleum (OTC-BB: VYGO) is an eco-friendly oil processing and distribution company targeting the $11 billion automotive and manufacturing lubrication markets. Lubricants is big business in the United States with 3 billion gallons consumed each with and 1.4 billion gallons of used motor oil used in 2007 alone. Recycling used oil can produce these lubricants using one third of the energy without leaving any additional waste in the process.

Lubricating oils are manufactured from highly refined base oils with various additives added to give it special performance characteristics. The base oils in these lubricants are the most pricey and valuable part of crude oil. In fact, it takes 42 gallons of crude oil to make 2.5 quarts of base oil. Once these base oils are used in machines or autos they become waste and are often discarded as they have been contaminated through use.

Voyager Petroleum believes that used oils remain an abundant source of base oil that can be recovered and re-used. The recycling process itself can be done in many different ways. Many of these processes are not efficient, however, and can be expensive to operate and only suitable for large facilities. Voyager has not only developed an efficient processing method but also established a warehouse in one of the premeir cities in America for motor oil - Detroit Michigan.

The process of recycling lubricants begins by purchasing used oil from various consolidators of used petroleum, such as gear oil, machine oils, and others that have never been burned. These un-combusted, refined oils are then sent to a processing facility. There all impurities and contaminants are extrapolated leaving it with the base oil. Various additives are then blended in to create the desired end product that can be sold retail or wholesale to consumers or businesses.

Voyager Petroleum is well-positioned to dominate the small and regional oil recycling market with a streamlined and integrated process. As a result, this is a stock that investors should definitely keep an eye on going foward...

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