(Street Life is a regular feature that profiles what's playing in the stock market.)

Act I: Bad Weather Blues

* The Player: Brick Brewing Co. (TSX:BRB)

* Action: Down 18 per cent in a month (from $0.93 Aug. 8)

* Recent Price: $0.76

* 52-Week High/Low: $1.98/$0.67 Years ago, someone on Regina's planning committee for the Grey Cup said, "When it's hot, people say, 'Man, it's hot. I'll have a beer.' When it's snowing, they say, 'Man, it's cold. I'll have a beer.' " But apparently that theory doesn't hold in Ontario. Thanks to the province's rainiest summer on record, beer sales were down for the whole industry, says Waterloo-based Brick Brewing.

The brewer reported a 10-per-cent decrease in net revenue for the quarter ended July 31, to $8.7 million from $9.6 million the same period a year ago. Net income was $1,000 for the quarter, compared to $283,000 a year previous.

Brick, which produces 15 brands such as Red Baron, Waterloo Dark and Laker Lager (and recently settled a dispute over its use of short-necked bottles, or "stubbies"), blamed the results primarily on weather-based demand, but also on rising commodity costs and losing business to foreign brewers who discounted their brands in Ontario.

Act II: Where The Sun Don't Shine

* The Player: Sterling Mining Co. (TSX:SMQ)

* Action: Closed flat after trading 89-per-cent higher during the day (from $0.19 Sept. 8)

* Recent Price: $0.20

* 52-Week High/Low: $4/$0.16 Investors love a company that stands up for itself.

On Aug. 29, Sunshine Precious Metals Inc. (SPMI) released a statement through a lawyer, charging that Sterling Mining Company is in breach of a lease agreement regarding the Sunshine Mine in northern Idaho.

Sterling's stock tumbled from $0.53 to $0.28 in two days.

Sterling, which controls the mine, recently fired back with its own statement, calling SPMI's releases "false and misleading.”

In its rebuttal, Sterling accused SPMI of doing "anything to break the lease or force concessions on the lease terms" since the price of silver has increased significantly since Sterling acquired lease rights in 2003.

One by one, Sterling addressed each of SPMI's complaints and warned investors to ignore future releases by SPMI, as that company "may continue to disseminate false and misleading information to advance its private agenda regarding the Sunshine Mine."

Investors ate up the news. Sterling's stock traded significant volumes through the day and reached a high of $0.36 before settling back down to $0.20.

Act III: Shhh - It's A Secret

* The Player: Certicom Corp. (TSX:CIC)

* Action: Down eight per cent in a month (from $1.64 Aug. 8)

* Recent Price: $1.51

* 52-Week High/Low: $2.74/$1.26 An Ontario company's stock is in a holding pattern, but it'll likely be next summer before there's a big change.

Certicom Corp., a security company whose corporate office is in Mississauga, currently licenses its Elliptic Curve Cryptography security to the National Security Agency, IBM, Motorola, Oracle and Research in Motion, to name a few.

Certicom stock was at 52-week highs in June of this year, but when the company reported revenue for the year of $16.6 million (down from $21.4 million for fiscal 2007) and a net loss of $10.5 million (from $3.1 million the fiscal year before), the stock dropped from $2.47 to $2.16 in a day.

The price then trickled down to the $1.50 - $1.70 range, where it has hovered for the last couple of months. Sure, the company is adding new contracts (Sterling Commerce, Proginet and Itron are a few of the most recent), but unlocking the secret to this stock's success may not happen until next June, when the courts address a suit by Certicom against Sony for patent infringement. The patents in question involve content-protection technologies, including those used by Playstation 3, DVD players, VAIO personal computers and certain high-definition TV models and audio equipment.

Act IV: Order Up

* The Player: International Datacasting Corp. (TSX:IDC)

* Action: Up 24 per cent in a day (from $0.245 Sept. 8)

* Recent Price: $0.305

* 52-Week High/Low: $1.04/$0.22 Thanks in part to a $6-million order, investors in an Ottawa technology company can breathe a sigh of relief as good news pushes its stock up from 52-week lows.

International Datacasting Corp. , a company that focuses on the distribution of broadband content via satellite, recently announced revenue for the second quarter was up 60 per cent from $5.6 million in Q2 2008, to $8.9 million in Q2 of this fiscal 2009. The increase was driven by the $6-million order for a new high-speed data product in IDC's satellite equipment business segment, most of which was filled in the second quarter.

Net income for the quarter more than doubled to $999,530 from $450,278 in the same period a year before. The stock, which hit its 52-week low of $0.22 only the day before this news, traded as high as $0.355 before closing at $0.305.

NOTE: The above is not intended as investment advice to buy or sell any mentioned securities. Investors should do due diligence before investing. Quotes are based on results through Sept. 9, 2008.

(Nicole Strandlund can be reached at nicole@businessedge.ca)