We couldn't help notice a couple of strange trading patterns involving Wynn Macau, which listed on the local bourse last month.

In the morning, Wynn Macau shares rebounded about 5 per cent to HK$9.70 when Sands China opened at HK$9.30 - 10 per cent below its initial public offering price of HK$10.38. The divergence continued until about noon, when Wynn shares suddenly fell to HK$9.30 from HK$9.72 then bounced back a couple of minutes later.

Then, seven minutes before the afternoon closing, Wynn shares were again under heavy selling pressure. They were pushed down to HK$9.32 from HK$9.57 before last-minute buying saw the counter jump 3.5 per cent higher back to HK$9.57.

Interestingly, at almost the same time, Sands China surged to a day high of HK$9.40 just before the market closed but ended trading at HK$9.32.

The conspiracy theorists have it that someone tried to manipulate the trading so that Sands would end up higher than Wynn on the day, to give Adelson (above) something to celebrate in what was otherwise a disappointing debut.

Wynn Macau had a 7 per cent debut gain last month despite pricing at the high end, unlike Sands China, which priced at the lowest end of the offering range.

However, both stocks are now underwater, which suggests the fun and games are likely to continue.

Don't call him mister

More surprises from the error-prone listing document put out by Asian Citrus Holdings.

The orange plantation company came under fire last week for not clearly highlighting in the document the shares' net asset value after a 10-for-one stock split, which forced trading to be halted shortly after the firm's debut and then brought about a dramatic fall in its share price.

Asian Citrus could be facing hearings in the small claims tribunal or even legal challenges from unhappy shareholders.

Now corporate activist David Webb, who first brought the net asset value problem to the attention of the stock exchange, prompting the trading suspension last Thursday, has come up with another anomaly in the document.

He was amused to see that a non-executive director was named as 'Mr Hon Peregrine Moncreiffe'. Webb points out that 'Hon' is not a given name but the abbreviation of the courtesy title 'the Honourable', which the former Credit Suisse and Lehman Brothers banker is accorded as the son of a British baronet.

'Perhaps he didn't even read his own biography in the document,' says Webb.

He's certainly not the only one who didn't read the document properly.

Hot stock indicator

There must be some kind of relationship between the stock market's volatility and hotpot sales.

Fairwood Holdings chief executive Raymond Chan Chee-shing said yesterday the fast-food chain's hotpot set dinner, which it priced at about HK$60 - compared with its average HK$40 dinner bill - had seen a significant drop since Friday, when the Hang Seng Index fell more than 1,000 points.

The stock market dive, rather than the weather getting warmer in the past week, played a role in the sales slowdown, he added.

We suspect shark's fin eateries also felt the shock. Perhaps it might not be a bad idea for restaurant owners to watch what the Hang Seng Index is doing before stocking the kitchen.