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YAAAAAWWWWWNNNNNN!!!! BOP returns after a long dragon nap.
As you may or may not know dragons, especially old dragons are notorious for taking very long naps. Often long enough for the people to forget who they are and what they do.
Well, I am back. I'll be circling overhead for a bit, 'til I get my bearings (or bullings) as the case may be.
Old friends are welcomed. As may be new friends. Old enemies will be ignored. New enemies... well let's hope we don't have to deal with any new enemies!
when you going to come out and play?
LOL- A few BTS folks also played it. I think KP still has shares. I'll have to dig up an old post for ya-
Posted by: KauaiPI
In reply to: None Date:3/25/2003 3:19:41 PM
Post #of 12339
AMEX:DHB~I hate chasing stocks but this one I figured was better late than never!
Picked up some today on the run... wish I had the time to research it when I was looking at it on the 3rd when it was around 2.07 <g>
Here is my DD should anyone be interested in a company producing "body armour", Military and contracts with NY, successfully defended their patents, insiders own 48%, institutions own 32% and 31.03% return on assets and 123.59% return on equity... read on!
------------------------------------
DHB Industries Incorporated
up 3/24/03 (2.13 ^ $ .04 ~ +1.91%) on an overall down market
Statistics at a Glance -- AMEX:DHB
DHB Industries Inc.'s Armor Group is the market leader in the rapidly growing protective body armor industry. Its highly recognized subsidiaries, Point Blank Body Armor Inc. and Protective Apparel Corporation of America (PACA) are focused on the design, manufacture, and distribution of bullet resistant and protective body armor for military, law enforcement, and corrections in the US and worldwide. DHB Armor Group's customers include the U.S. Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard, Secret Service, FBI, DEA, INS, ATF, NATO, U.S. Marshals, the NYC Police Department, the LA Police Department, and the California Highway Patrol.
DHB Sports Group produces and markets a comprehensive line of athletic supports and braces which are merchandised through national superstore chains including Target and Wal-Mart, as well as private label distributors such as Meijer, Amerisource, Cardinal Health, and CDMA.
DHB maintains facilities in Carle Place, NY, Oakland Park, FL, Jacksboro, TN, and Arlington, VA. To learn more about DHB Industries Inc.,
visit the website at <http://www.dhbindustries.com>.
Location 555 Westbury Avenue
Carle Place, NY 11514 Phone: (516) 997-1155
Fax: (516) 997-1144
Employees (last reported count): 491
==============================
Financial Summary
DHB Industries, Inc. is a holding company for two divisions that develop, manufacture and distribute bullet and projectile resistant garments, protective athletic apparel and equipment, and orthopedic products. For the nine months ended 9/30/02, revenues rose 44% to $97.8 million. Net income increased 71% to $10.5 million. Revenues reflect higher demand for the Company's ballistic apparel. Earnings also reflect improved gross profits. More from Multex: Significant Developments
<http://yahoo.multexinvestor.com/KeyDevelopments.aspx?tar.." target="_blank">http://rd.yahoo.com/finance/profile/multex/*http://yahoo.multexinvestor.com/KeyDevelopments.aspx?tar....
===============================
Top Institutional Holders Shares %Out* Value** Reported
Strong Capital Management, Inc. 1,485,370 3.68 $3,104,423 31-Dec-02
Heartland Advisors Inc. 1,050,000 2.6 $2,194,500 31-Dec-02
Bear Stearns Asset Management, Inc. 616,100 1.52 $1,287,649 31-Dec-02
Legg Mason Inc. 556,000 1.38 $1,162,040 31-Dec-02
Vanguard Group, Inc. (The) 339,807 0.84 $710,196 31-Dec-02
Kennedy Capital Management, Inc. 295,800 0.73 $618,222 31-Dec-02
White Pine Capital, LLC 228,050 0.56 $476,624 31-Dec-02
Mesirow Asset Management, Inc. 187,882 0.46 $392,673 31-Dec-02
Perkins Capital Management, Inc. 180,750 0.45 $377,767 31-Dec-02
State Street Corporation 163,488 0.4 $341,689 31-Dec-02
Top Mutual Fund Holders Shares %Out* Value** Reported
Strong Advisor Small Cap Value Fund 1,435,900 3.55 $3,001,031 31-Dec-02
Heartland Value Fund 1,000,000 2.47 $2,090,000 31-Dec-02
Scudder Micro Cap Fd 352,400 0.87 $736,516 30-Sep-02
Vanguard Index-Total Stock Market Index Portfolio 133,400 0.33 $278,806 30-Jun-02
Vanguard Small-Cap Index Fund 92,100 0.23 $192,489 30-Jun-02
Legg Mason U.S. Small-Capitalization Value Trust 73,000 0.18 $152,570 31-Dec-02
Ishares Russell 2000 Index Fd 70,631 0.17 $147,618 30-Sep-02
Vanguard Extended Market Index Fund 68,700 0.17 $143,583 30-Jun-02
College Retirement Equities Fund-Stock Account 65,000 0.16 $135,850 30-Jun-02
SBL Fund 'Q' Series (Small Cap Value) 62,700 0.16 $131,043 30-Jun-02
*Institutional holdings as a percentage of the current shares outstanding.
**Hypothetical value based on price of $2.09 as of 21-Mar-03. Position may have increased or decreased since the report date.
===============================
Ownership
· Insider and 5%+ Owners: 48%
· Institutional: 17% (32% of float) (91 institutions </hd/d/dhb.html>)
· Net Inst. Selling: 1.98M shares (+42.13%) (prior quarter to latest quarter)
=============================
Chart with 50/200 Moving Average
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=dhb&d=c&k=c2&p=m50,m200
(above 50 and approaching 200 day!)
=============================
Price and Volume
52-Week Low on 18-Dec-2002 $1.26
Recent Price $2.09
52-Week High on 19-Apr-2002 $7.40
Beta 0.30
Historical pricing last 90 days;
Date Open High Low Close Volume Adj. Close*
Mar-21-03 2.10 2.11 1.95 2.09 295,800 2.09
Mar-20-03 2.16 2.19 2.11 2.18 62,900 2.18
Mar-19-03 2.17 2.20 2.15 2.19 91,100 2.19
Mar-18-03 2.30 2.30 2.11 2.19 160,900 2.19
Mar-17-03 2.18 2.25 2.14 2.22 180,200 2.22
Mar-14-03 2.14 2.18 2.05 2.17 125,800 2.17
Mar-13-03 2.07 2.15 2.07 2.12 91,800 2.12
Mar-12-03 2.09 2.09 1.95 2.07 74,700 2.07
Mar-11-03 2.00 2.08 1.97 2.08 40,500 2.08
Mar-10-03 2.01 2.05 1.95 2.00 63,200 2.00
Mar-07-03 2.10 2.11 1.95 2.09 116,500 2.09
Mar-06-03 2.11 2.12 2.01 2.11 87,000 2.11
Mar-05-03 2.17 2.19 2.10 2.14 119,800 2.14
Mar-04-03 2.14 2.19 2.10 2.18 75,200 2.18
Mar-03-03 2.05 2.13 2.03 2.13 100,700 2.13
Feb-28-03 2.06 2.09 2.05 2.05 56,800 2.05
Feb-27-03 2.01 2.09 2.00 2.08 84,600 2.08
Feb-26-03 2.00 2.09 1.91 2.04 88,300 2.04
Feb-25-03 1.89 2.00 1.85 2.00 203,200 2.00
Feb-24-03 1.88 1.89 1.83 1.89 62,500 1.89
Feb-21-03 1.80 1.88 1.78 1.88 105,300 1.88
Feb-20-03 1.79 1.86 1.75 1.80 55,100 1.80
Feb-19-03 1.70 1.79 1.70 1.75 44,800 1.75
Feb-18-03 1.79 1.89 1.70 1.72 109,300 1.72
Feb-14-03 1.80 1.85 1.75 1.79 93,300 1.79
Feb-13-03 1.90 1.90 1.75 1.79 135,600 1.79
Feb-12-03 1.92 1.95 1.90 1.90 70,800 1.90
Feb-11-03 1.94 1.99 1.90 1.96 97,400 1.96
Feb-10-03 1.95 1.99 1.85 1.97 136,200 1.97
Feb-07-03 2.01 2.04 1.81 1.92 285,100 1.92
Feb-06-03 2.37 2.44 1.85 2.01 1,096,800 2.01
Feb-05-03 2.30 2.49 2.26 2.35 295,100 2.35
Feb-04-03 2.60 2.70 2.23 2.33 714,700 2.33
Feb-03-03 2.15 2.50 2.10 2.48 1,044,600 2.48
Jan-31-03 1.86 2.05 1.75 2.02 603,000 2.02
Jan-30-03 1.60 1.95 1.58 1.90 759,800 1.90
Jan-29-03 1.54 1.60 1.45 1.59 135,900 1.59
Jan-28-03 1.49 1.55 1.44 1.54 58,600 1.54
Jan-27-03 1.55 1.55 1.46 1.49 204,000 1.49
Jan-24-03 1.49 1.56 1.45 1.52 225,000 1.52
Jan-23-03 1.39 1.48 1.36 1.45 107,900 1.45
Jan-22-03 1.43 1.45 1.35 1.39 203,900 1.39
Jan-21-03 1.50 1.53 1.41 1.43 94,300 1.43
Jan-17-03 1.59 1.59 1.45 1.48 79,700 1.48
Jan-16-03 1.64 1.64 1.56 1.59 92,000 1.59
Jan-15-03 1.60 1.63 1.57 1.63 128,700 1.63
Jan-14-03 1.57 1.57 1.50 1.56 84,800 1.56
Jan-13-03 1.45 1.53 1.43 1.50 114,900 1.50
Jan-10-03 1.40 1.45 1.39 1.45 112,200 1.45
Jan-09-03 1.50 1.50 1.39 1.41 129,800 1.41
Jan-08-03 1.52 1.53 1.45 1.47 79,300 1.47
Jan-07-03 1.56 1.58 1.44 1.48 118,800 1.48
Jan-06-03 1.60 1.61 1.53 1.58 76,200 1.58
Jan-03-03 1.64 1.65 1.54 1.57 51,200 1.57
Jan-02-03 1.68 1.70 1.61 1.61 170,600 1.61
Dec-31-02 1.56 1.68 1.51 1.66 159,700 1.66
Dec-30-02 1.65 1.69 1.55 1.56 265,400 1.56
Dec-27-02 1.57 1.64 1.55 1.62 227,900 1.62
Dec-26-02 1.43 1.55 1.40 1.53 279,600 1.53
Dec-24-02 1.39 1.44 1.36 1.39 231,800 1.39
Dec-23-02 1.38 1.39 1.35 1.39 119,400 1.39
Daily Volume (3-month avg) 173.6K
Daily Volume (10-day avg) 119.0K
3/25/03 volume over 400K!
52-Week Change -70.1%
52-Week Change relative to S&P500 -61.7%
Share-Related Items
Market Capitalization $84.5M
Shares Outstanding 40.4M
Float 21.1M
Per-Share Data
Book Value (mrq) $0.54
Earnings (ttm) $0.35
Earnings (mrq) $0.03
Sales (ttm) $3.09
Cash (mrq) $0.07
Valuation Ratios
Price/Book (mrq) 3.87
Price/Earnings (ttm) 5.92
Price/Sales (ttm) 0.68
Income Statements
Sales (ttm) $128.1M
EBITDA (ttm) $17.1M
Income available to common (ttm) $14.5M
Profitability
Profit Margin (ttm) 11.3%
Operating Margin (ttm) 13.0%
Fiscal Year
Fiscal Year Ends Dec 31
Most recent quarter 30-Sep-2002
Management Effectiveness
Return on Assets (ttm) 31.03%
Return on Equity (ttm) 123.59%
Financial Strength
Current Ratio (mrq) 4.00
Debt/Equity (mrq) 0.66
Total Cash (mrq) $2.66M
Short Interest As of 10-Feb-2003
Shares Short 865.0K
Percent of Float 4.1%
Shares Short
(Prior Month) 0
Short Ratio 2.78
Daily Volume 311.0K
==================================
NEWS; http://biz.yahoo.com/n/d/dhb.html
(all times are US Eastern)
Tuesday March 18, 2003
Correction -- DHB Industries Inc. (Amex: DHB) <http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/030318/nytu098a_1.html>
12:03 pm - PR Newswire
DHB Industries Announces Third Quarter Earnings Date <http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/030318/nytu098_1.html>
11:03 am - PR Newswire
Thursday March 13, 2003
DHB Industries Says Lawsuit Dismissed <http://biz.yahoo.com/djus/030313/1526000982_1.html>
3:26 pm - Dow Jones Business News
DHB Industries Shareholder Derivative Action Dismissed <http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/030313/nyth145_1.html>
2:20 pm - PR Newswire
Wednesday February 26, 2003
DHB Indus Amends Loan Pact To Meet Working Capital Needs <http://biz.yahoo.com/djus/030226/1349000763_1.html>
1:49 pm - Dow Jones Business News
Tuesday February 25, 2003
DHB INDUSTRIES INC FILES (8-K) Disclosing Financial Statements and Exhibits <http://biz.yahoo.com/e/030225/dhb8-k.html>
5:28 pm - EDGAR Online
Wednesday February 19, 2003
DHB Industries Announces New Board Member <http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/030219/nyw034_1.html>
8:02 am - PR Newswire
Thursday February 6, 2003
DHB Industries Responds to Letter of Complaint Filed by UNITE Union <http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/030206/nyth133_1.html>
2:27 pm - PR Newswire
Friday January 31, 2003
DHB Industries Expanding Operations <http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/030131/nyf066_2.html>
11:58 am - PR Newswire
Tuesday November 26, 2002
DHB INDUSTRIES INC Financials <http://biz.yahoo.com/fin/l/d/dhb.html>
6:00 am - EDGAR Online Financials
Thursday November 14, 2002
DHB INDUSTRIES INC - Quarterly Report (SEC form 10-Q) <http://biz.yahoo.com/e/021114/dhb10-q.html>
1:05 pm - EDGAR Online
Monday January 28, 2002
DHB CAPITAL GROUP INC /DE/ FILES (8-K) Disclosing Other Events <http://biz.yahoo.com/e/020128/dhbt.ob.html>
11:01 am - EDGAR Online
------------------
DHB Industries Inc
filed on 11/14/2002
Company Filings:
http://www.gonow.com/filing.php?repo=tenk&ipage=1914069&doc=1&total=&back=2&g=&a....
==============================================
AND...
plans to release its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2002 after the market close on Tuesday, March 25, 2003. Subsequent to the release, DHB will discuss its results during a conference call to be broadcast live over the Internet starting at 4:30 p.m. eastern standard time.
Conference call particulars are as follows:
* Date - Tuesday, March 25, 2003
* Time - 4:30 p.m. eastern standard time/1:30 p.m. pacific standard time
* Dial in number - (800) 756-4697
* Analysts and Fund Managers - call the Company by 2:00 p.m. eastern
standard time on Tuesday, March 25, 2003 for an access code, which
will enable you to ask questions during the Question and Answer
section of the conference call
* Live Internet broadcast - can be accessed at http://www.dhbt.com
Those choosing to listen via telephone are encouraged to call in at least ten minutes prior to the start of the call to allow time to register with the operator.
now if only the CMKX crowd would jump on board I could really cash in! hahahaha
Oh! that's right...
they have all their money tied up in that one.. waiting for it to shoot to the moon!
four times now since June I've at least doubled out on the options as this stock runs, not to mention a couple of select covered calls along the way. I daresay I've made more in the last few months with this one issue than the entire CMKX crowd as collectively profited during the same period (except for my friend oldblue, he's smart enough to keep making money).
and people wonder why I don't play the pennies.
it's actually almost doubled since I started following it in June, and I do feel confident there is more to come. <g>
Nice, up another 1/2% in AH
DHB Industries, Inc. +2.49
on 5x normal volume.
It's nice to get one right once in a while <g>
have a good night everyone!
Article III I would imagine should be toast.
Ashcroft Warns of Judicial Meddling in Terror War
Fri Nov 12, 3:08 PM ET Politics - Reuters
By James Vicini
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Departing Attorney General John Ashcroft (news - web sites), dealt several court defeats over U.S. anti-terrorism policies, on Friday derided what he called judges' second-guessing of the president's decisions.
"These encroachments include some of the most fundamental aspects of the president's conduct of the war on terrorism," Ashcroft told the Federalist Society, a conservative lawyers group, in his first public remarks since the White House announced his resignation on Tuesday.
"The danger I see here is that intrusive judicial oversight and second-guessing of presidential determinations in these critical areas can put at risk the very security of our nation in a time of war," Ashcroft said.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=584&e=3&u=/nm/20041112/pl_nm/security_as....
It's also highly unlikely that either of us will alter the other's perception, though time will certain prove one of us right and the other wrong.
Agree.
I appreciate your candor and the reasonable demeanor with which you have presented your case,
You did well too! I enjoyed the debate.
I never said being a christian was easy...
and if you recall I stated that the "love thy neighbor" edict is in some cases almost impossible, leave it to you to cite perhaps the most difficult case of all.
BTW, it does not mean that we don't expect persons like Arafat or Bin Laden to avoid the consequences of their sins. The only way I can reconcile "love thy neighbor" in many cases is to "hate the sin, not the sinner".
FTR, I'm not "selling" this to anyone, it just happens to be what I believe to be right. I do not hide it, and you (and anyone else) can take it or leave it as you so desire.
I do understand very well the constitutional process, Federal and State. I'll also remind you that I am not passing or vetoing any laws. I agree completely that any laws passed that have an impact constitutionally *SHOULD* be reviewed. and if they don't pass the constitutionality test should be thrown out.
I do not agree that a lot of editing will be done to the constitution. Laws will be presented to congress, voted on and if passed sent to the white house for the president's signature, unless he vetoes, it then becomes law. IF (and that is a big if on purpose) there is enough support and an opportunity to make a case against a law being unconstitutional, then it can be presented to the courts for review. If the court deems the law unconstitutional it goes bye bye. If not you'll have to live with it.
I am not completely certain what you hope to gain by continuing this discussion. It's clear you feel that this administration is going to do great harm to this country (ransacking the constitution primarily). I disagree.
It's also highly unlikely that either of us will alter the other's perception, though time will certain prove one of us right and the other wrong.
I appreciate your candor and the reasonable demeanor with which you have presented your case, but I grow bored with political discussion very quickly. I thank you for the attention and have a good day.
As I told my republican friends when they became fretful at Clinton's election... I doubt he will accomplish as much as you fear he will, the opposition will find a way to keep him in check and ultimately everything will work out.
I repeat that comment for you and other democrats now fretting over Bush and his agenda.
Your last sentence shows how little you understand what Bush is about.
That's all I need to know. Next you'll be telling me to love Osama! Try selling that on a street corner in New York. Or Ohio.
I personally have a problem with judges dictating morality or immorality. For years now the left has pushed it's agenda through the courts rather than legislation.
That's how little you understand about the Constitutions. Federal and states. There are 3 branches of government last I looked. The courts are neither moral nor immoral. They rule on the constitutionality of the issue at hand. Apparently since the conservatives can't have their way they will now attempt to legislate their way.
Thank God for the courts. You can pass all the laws you want, that does not make them Constitutional.
between 1870 and 1884, eleven southern states legally banned miscegenation, or interracial marriages. In the words of historian William Cohen, these bans were the "ultimate segregation laws" in that they clearly spelled out the idea that whites were superior to blacks and that any mixing of the two threatened white status and the purity of the white race.
Many would be surprised to know that as recently as 1967 in many states it was illegal for a mixed race couple to be granted a marriage license. An even bigger surprise, given current debate over same sex marriages, is that when the U. S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of interracial marriage, Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote that the "freedom to marry or not marry a person of another race resides in that individual.'' Note that Warren wrote "person,'' and refers to "persons'' -- not man or woman -- throughout the opinion.
And supporters of same-sex marriage base their cases on the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, echoing the position the U.S. Supreme Court took when it declared miscegenation laws unconstitutional in the case of Loving v. Virginia.
Looks like a lot of editing is going to be done to the Constitution.
Your last sentence shows how little you understand what Bush is about.
and for that matter what christianity is supposed to be about.
Absolutely Arafat was a terrorist. But, in the eyes of real christianity... you still have to "love thy neighbor". It's never easy, and sometimes it almost impossible.
As for the gay marriage ban...
Bush feels (as do many in this country apparently) that marriage should be between a man and a woman. So he said so.
Since you wish to open this can of worms... let's look at the other side.
As we all are (or should be) aware, the Gay and lesbian community has been actively working for many years to get a legal legitimized status (ala race, creed, religion) so that they can force employers, governments, etc. to treat them "special" (ala affirmative action).
one thing I learned from my father, if you want to know why something happens... follow the money.
We are told gays need to be allowed to be married because with a marriage certificate a gay surviving spouse would be entitled to all the benefits now granted to widows & widowers. Insurance policies, Social security, so forth and so on.
basically, they want to access money that currently they cannot. Money that currently stays in the hand of the government and insurance companies. On a smaller scale the families of the deceased are often opposed to the relationship and as we have seen in many battles over last wills even in hetero couples, it can get pretty nasty.
You seem upset because Bush, as president, spoke out on a topic you feel he should have remained quiet on.
I dare say that even without a presidential endorsement, most of the states in this country would vote for a gay marriage ban given the chance.
I personally have a problem with judges dictating morality or immorality. For years now the left has pushed it's agenda through the courts rather than legislation.
And perhaps that is the real reason so many liberals feel distraught. They realize that Bush can place a roadblock in their agenda that could take decades to overcome.
Since I don't consider myself to be significantly smarter than everyone else, I suspect a lot of folks that think and feel the way I do saw this election as an opportunity to stop the moral decay in this country... or at least slow it down for a while.
For me, morality is simply the personal answer to the question of right and wrong. And right and wrong should be universal ideas. Sadly they are not.
Lets take the issue of gay marriage and leave religion aside for a minute.
The complaint seems to be that activist judges are attempting to make our country amoral. The Constitutional problem is that it's a states rights issue. It is the State courts that are ruling in the gays favor and the federal covernment needs to keep their hands off.
The morality issue arises at the state level and national level when you have a president who makes it his agenda to ban those marriages. And in doing so passes it down to the state level to jump on his bandwagon. Ohio is an excellent case in point.
The strongest argument that Christian conservatives played a decisive role in the election came in Ohio, where a ballot measure to ban same-sex marriage passed by an overwhelming margin. Conservatives said the proposal increased conservative turnout and helped Mr. Bush win a narrow, pivotal victory.
Phil Burress, the veteran Christian conservative organizer who headed the effort to pass the measure, said his campaign registered tens of thousands of voters, distributed 2.5 million church bulletin inserts and passed out 20,000 yard signs. His group called 2.9 million homes, he said, identifying 850,000 strong supporters whom it called again on Monday as a reminder to go to the polls.
"The president rode our coattails," Mr. Burress said.
#msg-4483327
What is even worse imo is that I find the whole thing not very moral at all. We are in effect treating these people as outcasts to society for what ever reason they are gay. If nothing else they should be afforded the same civil rights as anyone else in this country. Maybe we should add a postscript to the Statue of Liberty, "just not your gays."
As to the religious issue.
Q Thank you, Mr. President. I know you haven't had a chance to learn this, but it appears that Yasser Arafat has passed away.
PRESIDENT BUSH: Really.
Q And I was just wondering if I could get your initial reaction, and also your thoughts on perhaps working with a new generation of Palestinian leadership.
PRESIDENT BUSH: No, I appreciate that. My first reaction is God bless his soul.
So now we are blessing the souls of terrorists. lol.
Please, let's not confuse morality and religion.
two completely different ideas they are.
for some reason though, it seems that the definition of "morality" has become somewhat "skewed".
For many it seems that "morality" can change as one moves from one place to another or from one age to another.
For me, morality is simply the personal answer to the question of right and wrong. And right and wrong should be universal ideas. Sadly they are not.
Some discover true morality thru religion, as that is one of the better purposes of religious constructs. some discover morality without the aid of religion too. Of course there are plenty of examples where exposure to religion seems to have had no positive effect on the morals of a number of individuals.
It is clear though that you and I are dancing around the issue of whether or not our president will push a "Christian agenda" and what it would mean for this country if he does.
Having discovered a long time ago that christians are people too, complete with all the failings and potential for destruction as the most heathen pagan ever to walk the earth, I can understand the trepidation that seeing so openly religious a president could engender among the anti-religious, especially the radically anti-religious. I can also understand the wailing and gnashing of teeth among the gay and lesbian communities.
But, I will venture a prediction of the kind I don't usually make. I suspect we won't hear much more about a gay marriage ban amendment. Maybe for a few more months but nothing truly serious. I also suspect that over the next couple of election cycles most states will move to ban non-heterosexual marriages as well as refusing to recognize those that do. Because of the time frame involved in passing an amendment (remember the ERA movement?), it is highly likely that the States will render it moot before it can ever get to a vote.
I also believe that , ultimately, the things that GW will be able to push through will benefit this country more than harm it in the long run. At worst he'll do no more harm than Clinton did in his second term.
'I Believe in an America Where the Separation of Church and State is Absolute'
September 12, 1960, address to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association
John F. Kennedy
While the so-called religious issue is necessarily and properly the chief topic here tonight, I want to emphasize from the outset that we have far more critical issues to face in the 1960 election; the spread of Communist influence, until it now festers 90 miles off the coast of Florida--the humiliating treatment of our President and Vice President by those who no longer respect our power--the hungry children I saw in West Virginia, the old people who cannot pay their doctor bills, the families forced to give up their farms--an America with too many slums, with too few schools, and too late to the moon and outer space.
These are the real issues which should decide this campaign. And they are not religious issues--for war and hunger and ignorance and despair know no religious barriers.
But because I am a Catholic, and no Catholic has ever been elected President, the real issues in this campaign have been obscured--perhaps deliberately, in some quarters less responsible than this. So it is apparently necessary for me to state once again--not what kind of church I believe in, for that should be important only to me--but what kind of America I believe in.
I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute--where no Catholic prelate would tell the President (should he be Catholic) how to act, and no Protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom to vote--where no church or church school is granted any public funds or political preference--and where no man is denied public office merely because his religion differs from the President who might appoint him or the people who might elect him.
I believe in an America that is officially neither Catholic, Protestant nor Jewish--where no public official either requests or accepts instructions on public policy from the Pope, the National Council of Churches or any other ecclesiastical source--where no religious body seeks to impose its will directly or indirectly upon the general populace or the public acts of its officials--and where religious liberty is so indivisible that an act against one church is treated as an act against all.
For while this year it may be a Catholic against whom the finger of suspicion is pointed, in other years it has been, and may someday be again, a Jew--or a Quaker--or a Unitarian--or a Baptist. It was Virginia's harassment of Baptist preachers, for example, that helped lead to Jefferson's statute of religious freedom. Today I may be the victim--but tomorrow it may be you--until the whole fabric of our harmonious society is ripped at a time of great national peril.
Finally, I believe in an America where religious intolerance will someday end--where all men and all churches are treated as equal--where every man has the same right to attend or not attend the church of his choice--where there is no Catholic vote, no anti-Catholic vote, no bloc voting of any kind--and where Catholics, Protestants and Jews, at both the lay and pastoral level, will refrain from those attitudes of disdain and division which have so often marred their works in the past, and promote instead the American ideal of brotherhood.
That is the kind of America in which I believe. And it represents the kind of Presidency in which I believe--a great office that must neither be humbled by making it the instrument of any one religious group nor tarnished by arbitrarily withholding its occupancy from the members of any one religious group. I believe in a President whose religious views are his own private affair, neither imposed by him upon the nation or imposed by the nation upon him as a condition to holding that office.
I would not look with favor upon a President working to subvert the first amendment's guarantees of religious liberty. Nor would our system of checks and balances permit him to do so--and neither do I look with favor upon those who would work to subvert Article VI of the Constitution by requiring a religious test--even by indirection--for it. If they disagree with that safeguard they should be out openly working to repeal it.
I want a Chief Executive whose public acts are responsible to all groups and obligated to none--who can attend any ceremony, service or dinner his office may appropriately require of him--and whose fulfillment of his Presidential oath is not limited or conditioned by any religious oath, ritual or obligation.
This is the kind of America I believe in--and this is the kind I fought for in the South Pacific, and the kind my brother died for in Europe. No one suggested then that we may have a "divided loyalty," that we did "not believe in liberty," or that we belonged to a disloyal group that threatened the "freedoms for which our forefathers died."
And in fact this is the kind of America for which our forefathers died--when they fled here to escape religious test oaths that denied office to members of less favored churches--when they fought for the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom--and when they fought at the shrine I visited today, the Alamo. For side by side with Bowie and Crockett died McCafferty and Bailey and Carey--but no one knows whether they were Catholic or not. For there was no religious test at the Alamo.
I ask you tonight to follow in that tradition--to judge me on the basis of my record of 14 years in Congress--on my declared stands against an Ambassador to the Vatican, against unconstitutional aid to parochial schools, and against any boycott of the public schools (which I have attended myself)--instead of judging me on the basis of these pamphlets and publications we all have seen that carefully select quotations out of context from the statements of Catholic church leaders, usually in other countries, frequently in other centuries, and always omitting, of course, the statement of the American Bishops in 1948 which strongly endorsed church-state separation, and which more nearly reflects the views of almost every American Catholic.
I do not consider these other quotations binding upon my public acts--why should you? But let me say, with respect to other countries, that I am wholly opposed to the state being used by any religious group, Catholic or Protestant, to compel, prohibit, or persecute the free exercise of any other religion. And I hope that you and I condemn with equal fervor those nations which deny their Presidency to Protestants and those which deny it to Catholics. And rather than cite the misdeeds of those who differ, I would cite the record of the Catholic Church in such nations as Ireland and France--and the independence of such statesmen as Adenauer and De Gaulle.
But let me stress again that these are my views--for contrary to common newspaper usage, I am not the Catholic candidate for President. I am the Democratic Party's candidate for President who happens also to be a Catholic. I do not speak for my church on public matters--and the church does not speak for me.
Whatever issue may come before me as President--on birth control, divorce, censorship, gambling or any other subject--I will make my decision in accordance with these views, in accordance with what my conscience tells me to be the national interest, and without regard to outside religious pressures or dictates. And no power or threat of punishment could cause me to decide otherwise.
But if the time should ever come--and I do not concede any conflict to be even remotely possible--when my office would require me to either violate my conscience or violate the national interest, then I would resign the office; and I hope any conscientious public servant would do the same.
But I do not intend to apologize for these views to my critics of either Catholic or Protestant faith--nor do I intend to disavow either my views or my church in order to win this election.
If I should lose on the real issues, I shall return to my seat in the Senate, satisfied that I had tried my best and was fairly judged. But if this election is decided on the basis that 40 million Americans lost their chance of being President on the day they were baptized, then it is the whole nation that will be the loser, in the eyes of Catholics and non-Catholics around the world, in the eyes of history, and in the eyes of our own people.
But if, on the other hand, I should win the election, then I shall devote every effort of mind and spirit to fulfilling the oath of the Presidency--practically identical, I might add, to the oath I have taken for 14 years in the Congress. For without reservation, I can "solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution...so help me God.
http://www.beliefnet.com/story/40/story_4080_3.html
Got any preferences?
there's more than one??? <g>
I realize a lot of folks fear that this administration will legislate away our freedoms, too many checks in place for that to happen. for starters any real attempt would be challenged vigorously by the ACLU and others. Seriously look how far they got with the "under God" pledge challenge. Do you seriously think they won't be successful in overturning something truly attempting to legislate morality???
I really don't understand this "fear" that seems so pervasive. As a nation we have had leaders far more "religous" than the current leadership and we have had leaders with obviously no morals whatsoever. We have survived as a nation regardless.
Despite Republican efforts, and much conservative hand wringing, Clinton did not end "America" as we know it.
Despite Democrats efforts, and much liberal hand wringing, Bush won't either.
One final note, regardless of Rodney King's plea... WE CAN"T just all get along. It is this disagreement, this conflict of ideas that make this country great, for out of those disagreements, out of that conflict come the great compromises that give us what is best for everyone.
True. But when you start legislating that morality you're crossing the line strictly drawn by our Constitution.
States' rights comes to mine for starters.
Then I guess we need to be picking a religion/god?
Got any preferences?
moi?
I would never tinker with the constitution...
I was speaking of the populace, as with all things, each being will seek it's own level and perform according to it's abilities.
Morality had been on the wane but now appears to be returning once again to the forefront. I have no doubt however that it's decline and rebirth will continue to cycle... perhaps again within my lifetime.
You're tinkering with the Constitution when you attempt to legislate morality. Several amendments come to mind as well as the document itself.
Cant they be both???
smarter AND moral???
The American people are smarter that the Democrats thought...
Correction. ...moral than they thought.
LMAO...
the last line got me...
"As Canadians, you'll have to learn to embrace and use all the products and culture of Americans, while bad-mouthing their way of life," he said
It wouldn't surprise me to learn that most of the new applicants have been practicing to be Canadian for years...
hosers <g>
You chasing out of the country?
Americans Flock to Canada's Immigration Web Site
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=841&e=1&u=/nm/20041105/wl_canada_nm/cana...
And a good job you do. Good to see reason in the mad world we live in <g>.
I just wanted to publicly compliment you on your ability to discuss political ideas without raving, namecalling, belittling, etc.
Having had a wee tiff with a few radical left wingers over at NBP (nothing but politics), I appreciate our conversation all the more...
while you poke inmates... *I* poke the arrogant self-serving elitist snobish types wherever I find them.
Wow, glad to see you are alive <g>. Thanks for the post
Some post-election thoughts...
1. The American people are smarter that the Democrats thought...
2. Wall Street was definitely in favor of GW...
Let me expand on this...
Late in the day, while the polls were still open, the exit polls were showing Kerry with the upper hand...
Both statements above hinge on this fact.
1. The exit polls were obviously in error, as the networks admitted as the night progressed. Either the pollers tried to skew the election by reporting favorably for Kerry (thus discouraging Potential Bush voters that had not voted yet) or those being polled deliberately misled the pollers.
Whichever way it went you have to hand it to the American people for either fooling the "experts" or for not falling for the media game.
2. As the "news" flitered out via the cable channels and the net, the indices promptly tanked... and rebounded nicely this morning when the truth was clear. Further If you watched closely there was a clear correlation between market gains and losses and the "closeness" of the polls. When Bush pulled away the market went up, as Kerry closed the gap the market went down.
As a result I think we are in for the mother of all Santa Claus rallies. A lot of money has been on the sidelines awaiting the outcome of the election.
I hope everyone does well for the rest of this year and for the next four.
Temporarily. Good luck with Ivan the Terrible.
thanks,
sometimes ya don't really appreciate the "modern" conveniences... until you have to do without.
Luckily though no one in my extended family has been hurt.
Looks Like I've got to batten down the hatches once again.
I'll try to catch you guys again on the other side of Ivan.
<g>
Welcome back to the weyr
No stinikin' hurricane...
is gonna keep me down!
power finally back on!
Let's just say it's been an interesting week.
Very interesting...
thanks rayrohn!
I've been bullish on energy stocks for some time. Been playing with the dividends from my canadian royalty trusts for years! With the rise in oil prices this year the returns have been especially good.
Here an interesting chart about the energy sector...
http://tinyurl.com/4yz3u
Stole if for Tirien over at the fool
it does look like energy stock might be at a bottom
FWIW
"I have those emails going to my spam folder where they are promptly deleted without opening."
So do I, but every now and again one slips through. Also I check said folder every so often for "false negative" emails that mistaklenly end up there.
I was just feeling a little frisky this AM. <g>
After careful review of dozens of emails I have received
I have those emails going to my spam folder where they are promptly deleted without opening. ;)
And I wish someone would tell Citibank I don't bank with them. lol.
I have reached a conclusion...
The cause of the end of the last bull market is at last revealed.
It appears that it was not the result of "irrational exuberance" or a bursting bubble of overbought internet companies with no chance at turning a profit.
No, it indeed has a more simple cause.
After careful review of dozens of emails I have received, there is an explanation...
It appears that every person aboard Egypt Air 990 which crashed on October 31, 1999 was a multimillionaire that left no heirs or other persons to claim the vast sums of cash in their varied accounts spread all over the globe. According to these emails, each person aboard had several accounts with amounts ranging from ~10 million to more than 20 million US dollars value. The Non-Egyptian citizens aboard seem to have been especially wealthy.
After adding it all up, over 300,000,000,000 (300 billion with a "B") has been tied up for almost 5 years now and unable to be accessed or used to help support the markets.
This money when coupled with the "Nigerian" factor (hundreds of Billions trapped in Nigeria)has obviously depleted the markets of the cash needed to continue growing.
What can you do to help?
Get in touch with your congressman/woman, ask them to pass legislation to free these funds, use them to pay down the national debt and get our economy going again.
Thanks
<VBG>
"Why do you think the stock market is the world's largest casino?"
<VBG>
I've sat at the poker table a few times...
found I make the most money when I can find a pair of players in collusion. Once I figure out their signs, it's kinda fun!
<gasp> people cheat at poker! <gasp>
but they play fair in the stock market...
SUUUUURRRREEEEE!
I'm not familiar with NFI. As for TASR though you might suspect foul play I already cited the Bank of America/Duke Energy peeing contest last year as the same example.
BAC released a PR at 8 am saying DUK would have to slash their dividend. DUK was doing a dog and pony that afternoon at a rival bank. DUK opened $1 lower than the previous day close and traded down until their CC that afternoon. The CEO said that afternoon that the dividend would not be cut. Back up DUK went and closed up 1.50 from the low for the day. BAC had bet wrong. And yes they are right across the street from each other in Charlotte, NC. LMAO.
It's obvious BAC was calling DUK's bluff and they lost the bet. I did buy DUK earlier that day around it's low for the day. So the little investor can sometimes beat the big boys at their own game.
Considering TASR is one of the most overhyped stocks on message boards about dreams coming true for those who bought low and held......
It has a PE of 67 and a market cap of $770MM with shareholder equity of $60MM. Looks like a good short bet if you can trash it. lol.
Why do you think the stock market is the world's largest casino?
Very true...
But i believe the first qualifier excluded you! <g>
Remember, the unscrupulous fret not over ethics, morals, or other mundane restrictions on behavior.
Hmm, maybe eithics- or remembering that the man upstairs is watching. Anyway- I believe that what comes around goes around- whether you get it in this life, or the next.
just a couple of examples...
TASR and NFI
TASR - CBS drops a hint at an news story for their evening news. Story turns out to be a rehash of a story done three months before. Stock dropped ~15% on the day. Triple the volume of the previous day. From what I could see was happening as the shorts began covering at the end of the day and into the next I'd say they made about 200 million over a week long period.
BTW, I held a few puts at the time and actually made money in this one.
NFI - WSJ prints a "major" investigative piece on this stock last April. Week before the article comes out stock trades at $70. Closes the day of the article at $35. Bottoms at $29, one of the first Plaintiff's suing for the alleged missinfomation by compnay and offices (as alleged by WSJ) turned out to be one of the offshore hedge funds with a large short position. It was common knowledge the shorts were working NFI hard, several Short pundits were assailing it (and still are). With shares currently around $40 the company has a market cap of a bit over 1 billion. Roughly a billion dollars in market cap "disappeared" in the wake of the WSJ article.
I do not nor did not hold a position of any kind in NFI.
Admitedly I have no proof of illegal activity, but with that kind of money floating around and there are some "quirky" goings on with both of these examples... it does give one pause.
If you were unscrupulous... had billions of dollars to play with... had a loophole where no one was really paying attention... and could make billions for doing it... and risk little chance of being "caught"...
what's to stop you?
We agree on the OTCBBs lol. I don't know about the billions at a whack as far as the Nasdaq and NYSE is concerned. I think the hedge funds here serve their purpose. I've seen BOA bet wrong on DUK much to their chagrine. And they are next door neighbors here in NC.
OK...
I agree with your statements concerning the legallity of naked shorting.
I also agree that there are a number of companies associated with this issue that are indeed questionable if not outright scams.
I am not presenting this article to highlight or promote these companies. In fact I could care less about the supposed illegal shorting of OTCBB companies for pennies apiece.
After all why would the big time offshore hedge funds worry with crashing a penny stock for a few cents a share when they can toy with Big board issues or an entire market to the tune of BILLIONS at a whack.
Certainly short selling has it's place (I do it myself when I feel it's appropriate). But there are a number of time when it certainly seems as if something is amiss.
BTW, I pulled this article from the IBD site. Personally I feel that the context in which the referenced link was used has no bearing on the validity of the topic or the article.
IMO opinion lessens the value. Most of the companies that are associated with the so called naked shorting issue are in fact scams. They have no revenue or assets and and the financing that they have done contribute to dilution and a lower pps that people associate with a naked short scheme.
In fact naked shorting is legal when done by valid MMs who have done the due diligence and filed the 211's to make a market in a particular stock. They are also reported by the companies/MMs on their balance sheet.
and the presence of that link...
lessens the value of the article?
validates the article?
has no impact on the article?
Before I get too far down this path... I have no problem with naked shorting. I have a problem with undisclosed naked shorting. I also have a problem with stock manipulation regardless of whether the direction intended is up or down.
I knew somewhere in that article that this link would appear.
http://www.investigatethesec.com lol.
Anatomy of a Creeping Phone Stock Scam
Aug 23, 2004 (financialwire.net via COMTEX) -- (FinancialWire) According to the Knight-Ridder's (KRI) Philadelphia Inquirer and Viacom's (VIAB) CBS MarketWatch, the voice mail scam that FinancialWire wrote about last week has targeted five companies and their shareholders.
Among those are 5G Wireless Communications (FGWC),and Maui General Store (MAUG). These were identified by the Oregon Attorney General's office.
According to the Inquirer and other media sources, the targets also included Donini Inc. (DNNI), Power3 Medical Technologies (PWRM) and Food Innovations (IVFH).
The calls have been left on answering machines around the company, beginning with "Debbie" or "Wendy" who are "mistakenly" leaving a "hot stock" tip meant for a friend. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission pointed out that the slickly scripted calls are just a new twist on "pump and dump."
According to the Inquirer, Wendy even apologizes for chewing while talking, to make the calls seem even more "real."
Last Tuesday, the SEC's Web site posted an investor advisory on the calls. Yesterday, Susan Wyderko, director of the SEC's office of investor education, said her office received 33 calls within 20 minutes after a Miami television station reported on the scam and ran her unit's phone number.
""They are just coming in through every conduit, through phone numbers all over the commission," she said.
Said the Inquirer: "The scam seems to have worked.
"On July 27, 180,000 shares traded of one of the target companies, Power 3 Medical Products, of the Woodlands, Texas. The stock, traded via the Over the Counter Bulletin Board, closed that day at $1.99.
"On Tuesday, almost 5.7 million shares were traded, and Power 3 shares sold for as much as $4.88 apiece.
"Power 3 is a real company with real prospects, according to its own public statements. It has clinical studies under way of tests it says can analyze proteins in blood serum, which may help with the early identification of breast cancer and neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's.
"On the other hand, it has no sales so far of the diagnostic products, and only about a dozen full-time employees," said the Inquirer.
""The company is bewildered by this," said Irving Einhorn, an attorney who represents Power 3 and who calls the scam "the worst thing that could have happened to the company.
""They've been asked if they hired anybody to do this, or know who's doing this," Einhorn told me. "They have no clue."
"Einhorn said Power 3 insiders aren't even in a position to profit from the scheme. Because of restrictions on the shares they hold, it will be months before any of them can be sold, whatever the price.
The SEC's Wyderko was quoted as saying there was no reason to assume that insiders were connected with a pump-and-dump, which can be profitable to anyone who holds a company's stock. "Often, the companies are as much victims as the shareholders," she said.
According to
At one company that was mentioned in the calls, Maui General Store (MAUG: news, chart, profile), shares surged to a 52-week high of $1.20 on Aug 9. They were in the range of 15 cents to 20 cents a share six weeks earlier and closed at 35 cents Thursday, down 36 percent as news of the scam spread.
On August 11, an investor contacted FinancialWire about one of the messages, but unfortunately had not kept the recording. FinancialWire began to contact involved companies as part of an effort to verify the occurrence, and to determine if any of the companies were involved, even as it later learned that various message board posters and discredited websites were claiming, after jumping to that conclusion without journalistic diligence.
In fact, one so-called "watchdog" website run by an admitted securities fraudster well known for its inaccurate conclusions continues to leave its claim that a company's management was involved in the phone scam even while linking readers to the SEC's statements that none of them were.
Within a day, FinancialWire learned of the SEC's involvement from one of the targeted companies, and from that, the SEC's public warning about several companies.
Richard Miller, president of Maui General Stores, said he got wind of the scam during the first week of August, when some prospective investors called after hearing the message. He said he subsequently heard a tape of the message and talked to SEC officials, said CBS MarketWatch.
" The SEC went out of its way to keep the identity of the firms involved a secret, which other investigators said is a sign that management was not involved with the scam."
"We had news," Miller was quoted as saying. "We just got a license from a major company, so when I looked at the stock price and the volume, I thought it was because of the news. I had no idea that somebody was underneath the company doing this voicemail thing. "I have never heard of anything like this. I got caught up in something here that I had no involvement in, and this is an unfortunate situation for the company and any investors who were taken in by it."
Both Donini and Power3 issued press releases stating that they were not aware of any news that would have resulted in the market activity. For several days, FinancialWire, which routinely follows Power3 Medical Products because it is enrolled in one of its parent company's shareholdere empowerment and financial intelligence platforms, had similarly noted as it reported on the volume and price that the activity was based on "no news."
Donini did take the opportunity in its press release to point out that it has completed the development of a frozen microwavable pizza that it says is the "first truly Pizzeria tasting pizza coming out of a microwave," which if true, is the best news to come out of the mess.
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Illegal Short Selling! and the SEC does "nothing"
StockGate: NASD Puts Out 'Guidance' Over Berlin Listings Discussed in "Financial Press'
Aug 23, 2004 (financialwire.net via COMTEX) -- (FinancialWire) The Berlin-Bremen Stock Exchange has been on-again, off-again with its promises to delist any requesting company, and its oft-broken promises since FinancialWire first reported the mysterious sudden listing of hundreds of U.S. companies, often without their knowledge or authority, shortly after the NASD closed a naked short-selling loophole.
In the past week, Pacel Corp. (PCCL) and Unico, Inc. (UNCN) were successfully delisted, but requests by others, such as Insmed, Inc. (INSM) and Infinon Labs (IFLB) have so far fallen on deaf ears. Golden Phoenix Minerals (GPXM) was delisted but then again re-listed.
Other recent requests still not acted on include those of Shelron Group Inc. (SHRN), Patriot Scientific Inc. (PTSC), and Warning Model Management (WNMI).
StockGate has not only confused most within the industry, due to the roots and tentacles running widely through every aspect of the financial community, it has also cost hundreds of thousands of investors millions of dollars, hundreds of companies their market cap and ability to raise money and embroiled dozens of broker-dealers and market makers such as Ameritrade Holding Corp. (AMTD), Deutsche Bank AG (DB), Knight (NITE) and ETrade Group, Inc. (ET).
NASD specifically called attention to the "discussion in the financial press" about "listing of securities on foreign markets without a company's knowledge or authorization in putting out its Guidance on the subject at http://www.nasdr.com/pdf-text/0452ntm.txt .
According to Stockgate Today, the PIPE's Report reported "Market Regulation staffers at the SEC, speaking anonymously, defended Reg SHO's lack of market-based settlement requirements, while admitting the NASD proposals represent a more rigorous approach.
Reg SHO "imposes a penalty, because you have to pre-borrow to execute any further trades and secondly, it may be cause for disciplinary action, but perhaps it is not as strong as our friends at the NASD would like," the publication quoted.
"We think that Reg SHO has an enforcement mechanism that a market-based remedy does not have. But if the NASD thinks they have a better idea, they better come over and talk to us about it."
Rumors have been rampant for weeks that the SEC and NASD are at odds over the NASD's proposals for stronger regulations to squelch illegal market manipulation, proposals that apparently have fallen on deaf ears at the SEC. The frustration boiled over recently when NASD officials responded to inquiries from Dave Patch, editor of Stockgate Today, by venting against criticisms they themselves were being too soft on fraudsters, money launderers and offshore hedge funds who lurk among the illegal naked short sellers.
Patch editorialized that the individual interviewed by the PIPES Report should be terminated.
"By my interpretation, this SEC spokesman has just admitted that they are willing to allow the abuse to take place and only initiate penalties after settlement failures have reached abusive levels. While the SEC does place this restriction of 'pre-borrowing' for future short sales, it only becomes a restriction once the failures in settlement reach above a certain abusive threshold.," said Stockgate Today.
"The SEC never then forces the trades that failed settlement above this level to be immediately settled either. So where is the pain? What prevents the criminals from attempting the crime? "The NASD's proposal, unlike the SEC's, would eliminate any and all opportunity to reach that abusive threshold in the first place as they focus on forcing trades to settle promptly as mandated in Section 17A of the Securities Act."
Patch said the NASD proposal, now in jeopardy at the SEC, "forces the market to act responsibly."
Stockgate Today noted that the SEC, in going forward with Regulation SHO, has ignored the NASD, North American Association of Securities Administrators, investors and issuers.
The final Regulation SHO rules are at http://www.sec.gov/rules/final/34-50103.htm. The trade reporting requirements are at http://www.nasdr.com/2610_2004.asp#04-54.
Recently it was reported that regulated companies, such as dealers, brokers, mutual fund companies, financing firms, and investment houses, have been told they have to submit revised operating manuals to incorporate changes in the Anti-Money-Laundering Act of 2001 by Oct. 29.
The key is a requirement that regulated firms "must know their customers" to prevent money-laundering practices. The firms have to have a procedure to get satisfactory proof of the customer's identity and ensure that effective procedures for verifying the identity of new customers are in place.
Although prospective clients should be interviewed personally, procedures for verification of accounts without face-to-face contact include independent verification of the home or business numbers for telephone interviews, and possible confirmation of employment.
Those outside the country must submit passports, birth certificates, driver's licenses, employment identification cards or incorporation and partnership papers for corporate accounts, authenticated by a consulate.
However, FinancialWire interviews with spokespersons at the SEC has determined that individuals may open nominee offshore firms without providing their identities to anyone, and by using a multiple number of such nominee firms can even gain complete control of a public company while never revealing their true identities.
The SEC told FinancialWire that it has no power to require identification of individuals behind such firms.
Columnist Jack Anderson has stated that millions if not billions of dollars are laundered through naked short selling schemes.
Meanwhile, opponents of the illegal schemes await the SEC's acknowledgement of a public NASD proposal that mandates guaranteed settlement of trades after a specifically defined time limit of failure. The SEC and the NASD had apparently hoped the issue would just die, as the proposal is much tougher than the watered-down Regulation SHO that is now on the way to becoming law and implemented in January, 2005.
In an email seen exclusively by FinancialWire, Marc Menchel, Executive Vice President and General Counsel of NASD's Regulatory Policy and Oversight's Office of General Counsel, told Patch that "it is not unusual for the SEC and NASD to propose courses of actions that differ in scope and practice as has happened here. The SEC, after thorough deliberation from our point of view, has spoken to this matter in the adoption of Reg SHO. At this juncture, we are considering whether further amendments are warranted to our proposal."
Menchel said that indeed "NASD and SEC have been in conversations on this topic and both have pursued courses of rulemaking to address the topic."
Twenty civil cases have now been filed by O'Quinn, Laminack & Pirtle, Christian Smith & Jewell, and Heard, Robins, Cloud, Lubel & Greenwood, LLP, all of Houston, Texas. The consortium of law firms, famed for the giant awards they obtained suing tobacco companies. The group recently brought suit against the Depository Trust and Clearing Corp. for allegedly participating in the short-selling conspiracy through its "stock borrow" program which the attorneys say is nothing more than an illegal electronic printing press for stock certificates.
Lead counsel John O'Quinn said: "We are committed to the relentless pursuit of justice."
All this has led to some major changes on Wall Street, if not regulatory attentiveness.
Charles Schwab & Co. recently said it is exiting the market-making business. It is one of several market makers that have been the subject of accusations and/or legal entanglements over naked shorting allegations and issues.
The company had said it is either the number one or number two market-maker in more than half of all of NASDAQ's (NDAQ) listed stocks.
Recently observers were surprised to find a comment letter submitted to the SEC by Mike Alexander, Senior VP of Charles Schwab, that admits outright that brokerages regularly ignore rules and regulations, saying it is not rules that need to be written; it is changes in behavior that is needed.
The comments were directed towards proposed changes in the U.S. settlement system, but could easily apply to other regulations as well.
"Improvements in the U.S. settlement system will only be truly achieved if and when regulations are rationalized to ensure that all market participants are held accountable for compliance. For example, the industry has struggled with the issue of institutional trade affirmation for quite some time now. While the benefits to the clearance and settlement system are self-evident, Buy-Side firms and Custodian banks have been resistant to make those changes that provide for same-day trade confirmation / affirmation and assurance of trade settlement," said Alexander.
"Schwab opposes the notion that securities intermediaries such as broker-dealers be required to police compliance," he stated. "The NYSE and other SROs have had trade affirmation rules on their books for some time. However, such rules have not been effective in changing the behavior
of Buy-Side firms or their custodians; nor do the rules provide assurance that the affirmed trade will settle.
"Recognition of this fact is evidence that changes to the settlement cycle not only require overhauling systems, but also changing behavior. We believe that only by holding all market
participants directly accountable for making required affirmations will the necessary changes to behavior," he stated at http://www.sec.gov/rules/concept/s71304/charlesschwab061604.pdf .
In a June 23 release, the SEC stated it has put into place Rule 202(T), which establishes procedures to allow the Commission to temporarily suspend the operation of the current "tick" test in Rule 10a-1, and any short sale price test of any exchange or national securities association, for specified securities.
Through a separate order, the Commission will suspend, on a pilot basis for a period of one-year, the tick test provision of paragraph (a) of Rule 10a-1, and any short sale price test of any exchange or national securities association, for approximately one-third of stocks in the Russell 3000 index.
The order also will suspend, on a pilot basis for a period of one year, the tick test provision of paragraph (a) of Rule 10a-1 for short sales executed in any security included in the Russell 1000 index after 4:15 p.m. Eastern, and all other securities after the close of the consolidated tape, and until the open of the consolidated tape the next day.
The pilot will commence on January 3, 2005 to permit broker-dealers and self-regulatory organizations to make the necessary programming adjustments.
The Commission deferred consideration of the proposal to replace the current "tick" test of Rule 10a-1 with a new uniform bid test. The Commission could reconsider any further action on these proposals after the completion of the pilot.
Rule 203, which will incorporate current Rule 10a-2 and will create a uniform Commission rule requiring broker-dealers, prior to effecting short sales in all equity securities, to "locate" securities available for borrowing.
There will be limited exceptions from the locate requirement, including for short sales by registered market makers in connection with bona-fide market making.
Rule 203 also imposes additional requirements on designated "threshold securities." Rule 203 defines a threshold security to mean an equity security for which there is an aggregate fail to deliver position for five consecutive settlement days at a registered clearing agency of 10,000 shares or more and that is equal to at least 0.5% of the issue's total shares outstanding.
Where a clearing agency participant has a fail to deliver position in threshold securities that persists for ten consecutive days after settlement, the participant must take action to close out the position. Until the position is closed out, the participant, and any broker-dealer for which it clears transactions, may not effect further short sales in the particular threshold security without borrowing or entering into a bona fide arrangement to borrow the security.
Rule 203 will become effective 30 days after publication with a compliance date of January 3, 2005, to permit firms to make programming and procedural adjustments.
Rule 200, which among other things, will redesignate current Rule 3b-3 with some modifications to define ownership and aggregation of securities positions, and include a requirement to mark all sell orders in all equity securities. Rule 200 will become effective 30 days after publication.
The Commission also adopted amendments to Rule 105 of Regulation M to remove the current shelf offering exception, and issued interpretive guidance addressing sham transactions designed to evade the rule.
The amendment applies to short sales effected within five days prior to the pricing of a shelf offering. Such short sales may not be covered with offering securities purchased from an underwriter or other broker-dealer participating in the offering.
The Rule 105 amendments will be effective 30 days after publication in the Federal Register, and the interpretive guidance will be effective upon such publication.
Opponents of naked short selling were, however, quick to denounce the provision that allows market makers an exemption, and many market observers said that the SEC should provide a public list of companies that fall into the "threshold security" category.
"The SEC claims that the number of companies involved in this 'threshold security' category is 4% of all publicly traded companies. If in fact it is that small the process is certainly manageable," said the website InvestigatetheSEC.com at http://www.investigatethesec.com . "It is also the right of every issuer, in protecting their business and their investors to know the status of their stock trading."
Some were discussing whether the SEC can keep such information private under the Freedom of Information Act.
The marketplace is already upset over promises by the Berlin Stock Exchange, since broken, that it would delist any company upon request.
"Please understand that cessation of trading in the shares of XRAYMEDIA Inc. (XRYM) is not possible," the exchange told one such requester.
It's not just U.S. companies such as Whistler Investments (WHIS), Sonoran Energy (OTCBB: SNRN), Celsion Corporation (CLN), and eLinear Inc. (ELU) or Israeli companies that have had serious concerns about their unannounced and unathrorized listings on the Berlin-Bremen Stock Exchange.
Apparently, some 150 British companies are protesting the same fate.
A number of UK-listed companies have demanded a London Stock Exchange investigation after they found that their shares are being traded.
Meanwhile, Whistler, Sonoran and eLinear have announced they have successfully secured their delistings, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has rescheduled its open hearing to consider the adoption of amendments to Regulation Sho to August 23 at 9:30 a.m. The announcement is at http://www.sec.gov/news/digest/dig061504.txt .
According to the London Money Telegraph, "several companies believe the market for their shares has been distorted and that they have fallen in value after trading started on the Berlin-Bremen exchange.
"Some smaller companies, whose shares are lightly traded in London, fear the Berlin market has been used by speculators to short-sell their shares."
The Telegraph said the number of companies are thought to be as high as 150, including even "larger companies" such as Matalan (OTC: MATNF) and Halfords.
Mladen Ninkov, the chairman of Aim-listed Griffin Mining (OTC: GFNMF), was quoted as saying: "We were put on the Berlin market without our knowledge by a German broker and now we've got about 8m shares out in a short sale. It is horrifying - that is about 4 per cent of the company and it is forcing the price down."
A spokesman for the London Stock Exchange said: "If there is evidence of market abuse we would refer that on to the appropriate authorities."
Whistler said that according to its transfer agent records, "we have 5,504,680 shares held by DTC, but the ADP broker search indicates of 6,217,458 shares being reported by broker/dealers as being held on behalf of their customers, indicating a short position of more than 700,000 shares. A summary report can be viewed at http://www.whistlerinvestments.com/shorts.html .
"We have therefore commenced work with DTC for a formal review of the reported excessive broker/dealer holdings of our stock so that we can conduct our corporate affairs properly in view of our planned stockholders meeting and other upcoming corporate matters. We again advise our stockholders make sure that they receive delivery of any shares that they purchase, and also that their stock is not being borrowed without authorization.
Holly Roseberry, President of Whistler Investments, states "We intend to get to the bottom of the excessive short position and bring stability back into the trading of our stock. We're happy to say that we have 5,133 stockholders and we expect all our stockholders to benefit from the shorters having to cover their short positions."
FinancialWire has reported on the disclosure that "Dateline," the investigatory TV program aired by General Electric's (GE) NBC unit, has purportedly been preparing a blockbuster expose of "Stockgate" (see separate story at http://www.financialwire.net).
It is not known if "Dateline" has uncovered continuing underworld connections to the scandal, but FinancialWire reported that Dateline may be pointing a large finger of conflict at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission itself, which reportedly receives a slice of every transaction fee as part of its budget. According to court filings supported by the O'Quinn/Christian legal network, almost $1 billion annually is received by the Depository Trust and Clearing Corp. for its "Stock Borrow Program," which the lawsuits claim is just a fancy name for counterfeiting, as the DTCC purportedly lends out many multiples of the actual certificates in the float. Apparently the SEC receives a transaction fee for each transaction facilitated by these loans of non-existent certificates, which could knock a hole in its budget should the revenues from the practice be halted.
The North American Securities Administrators Association, comprised of state and Canadian regulators, has pointedly told the SEC that either it must rethink its cozy DTCC relationship, or it hints, some of its more aggressive state practitioners (think Eliot Spitzer) may do the rethinking for the SEC.
Naked short selling is worrisome for hundreds of small U.S. companies, including those recently asking to be delisted from the Berlin Stock Exchange, such as Golden Phoenix Minerals, Inc. (GPXM), Nannaco, Inc. (NNCO), 5G Wireless Communications, Inc. (FGWC), CyberAds, Inc. (CYAD), Provectus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (PVCT), House of Brussels Chocolates (HBSL), InforMedix, Inc. (IFMX), Tissera, Inc. (TSSR), Americana Publishing, Inc. (APBH), Celsion Corporation (CLN), ChampionLyte Holdings, Inc. (CPLY), Pickups Plus, Inc. (PUPS), China Wireless Communications Inc. (CWLC), CareDecision Corp. (CDED), Titan General Holdings, Inc. (TTGH), IPVoice Communications, Inc. (OTCBB: IPVO), Whistler Investments (WHIS), WARP Technology Holdings, Inc. (WRPT), BGR Corp. (OTCBB: BGRR), ICOA, Inc., (ICOA), DICUT, INC. (OTCBB: DCUTE), NHC Communications Inc. (NHC), Stratus Services Group, Inc. (OTCBB: SERV), Golden Phoenix Minerals, Inc. (GPXM).
Berliner Freiverkehr (Aktien) AG has been singled out as the broker and market maker that has been "listing" the companies. It is suspected that one broker, RA Angsar Limprecht, is involved in all if not most of the listings.
Small public companies are squeezed not only by hedge funds, naked short sellers, overseas listers such as the Berlin Stock Exchange, and the out-of-control "Stock Borrow Program" run by the governance-conflict-laden Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation, but to the amazement of the industry, as often and not by their own regulators.
A new staff recommendation by Annette Nazareth, director of the division of market regulation at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to "outlaw" ownership of paper certificates at the same time the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation is under intense scrutiny for alleged electronic counterfeiting has begun hitting the small public company markets, company executives, shareholders and manipulative short-selling opponents like the proverbial ton of bricks.
A Dow Jones (DJ) article by Judith Burns sparked the uproar, as the inextricably intertwined web of connections between the SEC and the DTC, which is sagging from the weight of conflicted governance by representatives from a rollcall of industry heavyweights, including NASD, which owns NASDAQ (NDAQ), the New York Stock Exchange, Goldman Sachs (GS) and Lehman Brothers (LEH), to name only a few.
The rule proposal would bar stock transfer agents from handling shares that carry any limitations on transfer. Control over stock certificates is one of the ways that small companies have combated illegal naked short sellers. Burns quoted Nazareth as saying that these companies' "self-help" efforts "aren't helping U.S. markets overall." Nazareth was quoted as saying restrictions on stocks are "a significant step backwards" in the "move from paper stock certificates to automated computerized trading."
Nazareth said that abusive "naked" short selling has been a problem "in some cases," but that is "best dealt with by a pending SEC proposal," presumably Regulation SHO.
SEC Commissioner William Donaldson purportedly publicly refused to answer any questions from the NASD about the timing of the Commission's consideration of the Regulation at a conference where he was simultaneously proposing early reforms of the mutual fund scandals. The Dow Jones said, however, that Robert Colby, SEC deputy market regulation division director, predicted the SEC will take that to a vote in early June.
The Dow Jones report noted that "naked short-selling occurs when sellers don't buy shares to replace those they borrowed, a manipulative practice that can drive a company's stock price sharply lower.
The stock certiticate plan has been put to a 30-day comment periodl Then the SEC would have to vote to adopt it. If adopted, Colby was quoted as saying that regulators might "sue firms that seek to impose restrictions on stock transfers."
The recent lawsuit filed by Nanopierce Technologies (NPCT) alleges that the Depository Trust and Clearing Corp. has a lot of reasons, almost one billion of them a year, to keep illegal naked short selling in operation. It was the shot across the bow by the legendary Houston law firms of Christian, Smith, Wukoson and Jewell, and OQuinn, Laminack and Pirtle, whose notches already include environmental targets, the breast implant industry and the tobacco industry, all brought to their knees.
In comments to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, C. Austin Burrell, who is providing litigation support and research for the law firms, said that StockGate is more massive than anyone may have imagined. "Illegal Naked Short Selling has stripped hundreds of billions, if not TRILLIONS, of dollars from American investors," and have resulted in over 7,000 public companies having been "shorted out of existence over the past six years." Burrell said some experts believe as much as $1 trillion to $3 trillion has been lost to this practice.
He stated that the restrictions on short selling were deliberately put into the Securities Acts of 1933 and 1934 because of the first-hand evidence then available that the "sheer scale of the crashes was a direct result of intentional manipulation of US markets through abusive short selling by a massive conspiracy."
Burrell noted that the 65-lawyer team presided over by lead lawyers Wes Christian and John O'Quinn has uncovered more than 1,200 hedge fund and offshore accounts working through more than 150 broker-dealers and market makers in a joint cooperative effort to strip small and medium size public companies of their value.
Recently the NASD and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved an interim naked short-selling band-aid, requiring U.S. brokers to make an "affirmative determination" that short-sellers, even foreign short-sellers, mostly Canadian, can find certificates to cover before processing the order.
Last year, many besieged public companies sought refuge from the manipulation by seeking to exit the DTC, but on August 23, 2003, the SEC stated "the issues surrounding naked short selling are not germane to the manner in which DTC operates as a depository registered as a clearing agency. Decisions to engage in such transactions are made by parties other than DTC. DTC does not allow its participants to establish short positions resulting from their failure to deliver securities at settlement. While the Commission appreciates commenters' concerns about manipulative activity, those concerns must be addressed by other means."
The Nanopierce lawsuit, said to be the first of many out of the box, emphatically suggests otherwise. According to lawyer Christian, et.al., the DTC is at the very heart of the problem, and has almost a billion dollars a year at stake in keeping the problem.
The Depository Trust Company (DTC) is a member of the U.S. Federal Reserve System, a limited-purpose trust company under New York State banking law and a registered clearing agency with the SEC. The depository supposedly brings efficiency to the securities industry by retaining custody of some 2 million securities issues, effectively "dematerializing" most of them so that they exist only as electronic files rather than as countless pieces of paper. The depository also provides the services necessary for the maintenance of the securities it has in "custody."
According to the suit, the DTCC has an enormous pecuniary and conflicted interest in the entire short selling scandal through the huge income stream they were realizing from it every day. They have made literally billions of dollars lending individual real shares, in most cases over and over, getting a fee each time they made a journal entry in the "Stock Borrow Program."
The Stock Borrow Program was purportedly set up to facilitate expedited clearance of stock trades. Somewhere along the line, the DTCC became aware that if it could lend a single share an unlimited number of times, it could collect a fee each time, according to Burrell. "There are numerous cases of a single share being lent ten or many more times," giving rise to the complaint that the DTCC has been electronically counterfeiting just as was done via printed certificates before the Crash.
"Such re-hypothecation has in effect made the potential 'float' in a single company's shares virtually unlimited and the term 'float' meaningless. Shares could be electronically created/counterfeited/kited without a registration statement being filed, and without the underlying company having any knowledge such shares are being sold or even in existence." Burrell said the Christian/O'Quinn lawsuits will seek to show that the "counterfeiting/creation of unregistered shares is a specific violation of the Securities Act of 1933, barring the 'Sale of Unregistered Securities'."
While the Nanopierce lawsuit has been filed at the state level, another companion lawsuit just heading to the courts on behalf of Exotics.com (EXII) will be argued at the Federal level.
Nanopierce's suit in the 2nd Judicial District Court in Nevada, is Case No. CV04-01079, alleges that the DTC's "stock borrow program" was "purportedly created to address SHORT TERM delivery failures," but that the "end result of the program has been to create tens of millions of unissued and unregistered shares to be traded in the public market," and in some instances resulting in "two or more shareholders who purchase shares in separate transactions to own the same shares."
The complaint alleges that the DTC has a colossal disincentive to stop the "stock borrow" program, booking revenues from services of $425,416,000 and similarly, the NSCC deriving revenues of $293,133,000.
Further, the suit alleges that "open positions" resulting from this activity at the close of business on December 31, 2003, "approximated $3,025,467,000" due to NSCC, and $2,303,717,000 due by NSCC, and unsettled positions of $721,750,000 for securities borrowed through the NSCC's "Stock Borrow Program."
Nanopierce claims that DTCC and NSCC have joined in a "scheme" to "manipulate downward the price of the affected securities, thereby reducing the market value of the open fail to deliver positions." The suit also claims that the s have permitted sellers to maintain open fail to deliver positions of tens of millions of shares for periods of a year and even longer.
It quotes the National Association of Security Dealers as admitting that "concerns have been raised by members, issuers, investors and other interested parties about potentially abusive short selling activities occurring in the marketplace. In particular, naked short selling, or selling short without borrowing securities to make delivery, can result in long term failures to deliver, including aggregate failures to deliver that exceed the total float of a security. NASD believes such extended failures to deliver can have a negative effect on the market. Among other things, by not having to deliver securities, naked short sellers can take on larger short positions than would otherwise be permissible, which can facilitate manipulative activity."
Nanopierce claims that it had "relied on material misrepresentations and omissions by DTC and NSCC in trading its shares in the stock market "without knowledge of s' fraud-on-the market through statements they made about the clearing and settlement services they provided." Further, it claims that the s acted with "scienter" since they had a major financial financial motivation to falsely represent their services, which Nanopierce claims are also anticompetitive.
The largely unregulated DTC has become something of a defacto Czar presiding over the entire U.S. markets system, wielding more day-to-day influence and control than the SEC, the NASD and NASDAQ combined. And, as the SEC's August 23 ruling indicates, its monopoly over the electronic trading system appears even to be protected.
The Depository Trust and Clearing Corp.'s two preferred shareholders are the New York Stock Exchange and the NASD, a regulatory agency that also owns the NASDAQ (NDAQ) and the embattled American Stock Exchange! Regulators, regulate thyself?
In an era when corporate governance is the primary interest for the SEC and state regulators, the DTCC is hardly a role model. Its 21 directors represent a virtual litany of conflict:
They include Bradley Abelow, Managing Director, Goldman Sachs (GS); Jonathan E. Beyman, Chief Information Officer, Lehman Brothers (LEH); Frank J. Bisignano, Chief Administrative Officer and Senior Executive Vice President, Citigroup / Solomon Smith Barney's Corporate Investment Bank (C); Michael C. Bodson, Managing Director, Morgan Stanley (MWD); Gary Bullock, Global Head of Logistics, Infrastructure, UBS Investment Bank (UBS); Stephen P. Casper, Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer, Fischer Francis Trees & Watts, Inc.; Jill M. Considine,Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer, The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC);
Also, Paul F. Costello, President, Business Services Group, Wachovia Securities (WB); John W. Cummings, Senior Vice President & Head of Global Technology & Services, Merrill Lynch & Co. (MER); Donald F. Donahue, Chief Operating Officer, The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC); Norman Eaker, General Partner, Edward Jones; George Hrabovsky, President, Alliance Global Investors Service; Catherine R. Kinney, President and Co-Chief Operating Officer, New York Stock Exchange; Thomas J. McCrossan, Executive Vice President, State Street Corporation (STT); Eileen K. Murray, Managing Director, Credit Suisse First Boston (CSR); James P. Palermo, Vice Chairman, Mellon Financial Corporation (MEL); Thomas J. Perna, Senior Executive Vice President, Financial Companies Services Sector of The Bank of New York (BNY); Ronald Purpora, Chief Executive Officer, Garban LLC; Douglas Shulman, President, Regulatory Services and Operations, NASD; and Thompson M. Swayne, Executive Vice President, JPMorgan Chase (JPM).
In their comments to the SEC regarding Regulation SHO in January, the 50 state regulators, through their association, the North American Association of Securities Administrators (NASAA) issued what many consider to be a strong warning that if the DTC is not dealt with in the final regulations, state regulators such as New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer may step to the plate.
In what many considered to have been explosive comments, Ralph Lambiase, NASAA president and Director of the Connecticut Division of Securities, warned "NASAA urges the Commission to reconsider its stance regarding the role of the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (the DTC). As a threshold matter, NASAA believes that the Commission should explicitly prohibit the DTC from lending more shares of a security than it actually holds. The ability of the overall proposed rule would be severely impared unless the Commission undertakes to implement such a prohibition."
As the Nanopierce lawsuit reveals, those were indeed strong words, meddling as it did, in a substantial revenues base for the DTCC.
Recently, leading market makers and brokers named in various lawsuits and other actions, including FleetBoston (NYSE: FBF), Goldman, Sachs & Co. (GS), H. Myerson & Co., Inc. (NASDAQ: MHMY), Olde / H&R Block (HRB), Charles Schwab (SCH), Toronto-Dominion's (TD), TD Waterhouse Group, Bank of America's (BAC) Banc of America Securities LLC, Societe Generale's (SCGLF) SG Cowen Securities Corp. vFinance, Inc. (VFIN), Knight Trading Group, Inc. (NITE), A.G. Edwards, Inc. (AGE), Ameritrade Holding Corp. (AMTD), Deutsche Bank AG (DB), and ETrade Group, Inc. (ET), were forced to comply with new short-selling market regulations imposed by the NASD after the SEC had "sat on" the NASD request to plug material loopholes for almost 2-1/2 years.
"The new rules expand the scope of the affirmative determination requirements to include orders received from broker/dealers that are not members of NASD ("non-member broker/dealers").
The new rule is on the web at http://www.nasdr.com/2610_2004.asp#04-03
The rule itself, while welcomed by small companies and their shareholders in the U.S., nevertheless raised an outcry because the NASD's request to put it into effect had set on a shelf at the SEC since 2001.
The scandal has embroiled hundreds of companies and dozens of brokers and marketmakers, in a web of internaitional intrigue, manipulative short-selling and cross-border acctions and denials.
Comments on Regulation SHO ended January 5, and may be viewed at http://www.sec.gov/rules/proposed/s72303.shtml .
Some 122 companies, including 13 brokers, such as FleetBoston (NYSE: FBF), Goldman, Sachs & Co. (GS), H. Myerson & Co., Inc. (NASDAQ: MHMY), Olde / H&R Block (HRB), Charles Schwab (SCH), Toronto-Dominion's (TD), TD Waterhouse Group and vFinance, Inc. (VFIN). A.G. Edwards, Inc. (AGE), Ameritrade Holding Corp. (AMTD), Deutsche Bank AG (DB), Knight (NITE) and ETrade Group, Inc. (ET), have been embroiled for over a year in a raging controversy
The remaining 109 companies among the 122 named to date have issued press releases or been named in the media as having been victimized, or as taking various actions, either alone or in concert with other companies, to oppose manipulative trading in the form of illegal naked short selling. The actions have ranged from lawsuits to withdrawals and threatened withdrawals from the electronic trading system managed by the Depository Trust & Clearing Corp., to withdrawals from toxic financings, to the issuance of dividends or name changes designed to squeeze manipulators, to joining associations or networks or to contacting regulatory authorities to provide documentation of abuses or otherwise complain.
The complete list of those 108 companies include Advanced Viral Research Corp. (ADVR), AdZone Research, Inc. (ADZR), Amazon Natural Treasures (OTC: ANTD), America's Senior Financial Services (OTCBB: AMSE), American Ammunition, Inc. (AAMI), AngelCiti Entertainment (OTCBB: AGLC), ATSI Communications, Inc. (ATSC), Federal Agricultural Mortgage / Farmer Mac (AGM) Allied Capital (ALD), American Motorcycle (OTC: AMCYV), American International Industries (AMIN), Ameri-Dream (OTC: AMDR), Adirondack Pure Springs Mt. Water Co. (OTCBB: APSW), ATSI Communications,Inc. (ATSC) Bluebook International (BBIC), Blue Industries (OTCBB: BLIIV), Bentley Communications (OTCBB: BTLY), BIFS Technologies Corporation (BIFT), Biocurex (BOCX). Broadleaf Capital Partners, Inc. (BDLF), Chattem, Inc. (CHTT), Critical Home Care (CCLH), Composite Holdings (COHIA), CyberDigital, Inc. (OTCBB: CYBD). Diamond International Group (OTCBB: DMND), Dobson Communications Corp. (DCEL), Eagle Tech Communications (EATC), Edgetech Services (EDGH);
Also, Endovasc Ltd. (EVSC), Enviro-Energy Corporation (OTCBB: ENGY), Environmental Products & Technologies (OTC: EPTC), Environmental Solutions Worldwide, Inc. (ESWW), EPIXTAR Corp. (EPXR), eResearchTechnologies, Inc. (ERES), Flight Safety Technologies (OTCBB: FLST), Freddie Mac (FRE), FreeStar Technologies (OTCBB: FSRCE), Front Porch Digital,
Inc. (FPDI), Geotec Thermal Generators, Inc. (GETC), Genesis Intermedia (GENI), GeneMax Corp. (GMXX), Global Explorations Inc (GXXL), Global Path (OTCBB: GBPI), GloTech Industries, Inc. (OTCBB: GTHI), Green Dolphin Systems (OTCBB: GLDS), Group Management (OTCBB: GPMT), Hop-On (HPON), H-Quotient, Inc., (HQNT), Hyperdynamics Corp. (HYPD), International Biochem (IBCL), Intergold Corp. (OTCBB: IGCO), International Broadcasting Corporation (IBCS), InternetStudios, Inc. (ISTO), ITIS Holdings (ITHH), Investco Corp. (IVCO), Lair Holdings (LAIR), Lifeline BioTechnologies Inc. (LBTT), Life Energy & Technology (LETH), MBIA (MBI);
Also, MegaMania Interactive (MNIA), MetaSource Group, Inc. (MTSR),Midastrade.com (MIDS), Make Your Move (OTCBB: MKMV), Medinah Minerals (MDMN), MSM Jewelry Corp. (OTC: MSMC), Nanopierce Technologies, Inc. (NPCT), Nutra Pharmaceutical (NPHC), Nutek (OTCBB: NUTK), Navigator Ventures (NVGV), Orbit E-Commerce, Inc. (OECI), Pitts & Spitts (OTC: PSPP), Sales OnLine Direct (OTCBB: PAID), Pacel Corp. (OTCBB: PACC), PayStar Corporation (PYST),Petrogen Corp. (PTGC), Pinnacle Business Management (OTC: PCBM), Premier Development & Investment, Inc. (PDVN), PrimeHoldings.com, Inc. (PRIM), Phlo Corporation (PHLC), Resourcing Solutions (RESG), Reed Holdings (OTC: RDHC), Rocky Mountain Energy Corp. (OTCBB: RMECE), RTIN Holdings (OTCBB: RTNHE), Saflink Corp. (SFLK), Safe Travel Care (OTCBB: SFTVV), Sedona Corp. (SDNA);
Also, Sionix Corp. (SINX), Sonoran Energy (OTCBB: SNRN), Starmax Technologies (SMXIF), Storage Suites America (SSUA), Suncomm Technologies (OTC: STEH), Sports Resorts International (SPRI), Technology Logistics (TLOS), Swiss Medica, Inc. (SWME), Ten Stix, Inc. (TNTI), Tidelands Oil (TIDE), Titan Construction (TTCS), Trezac Corp. (OTCBB: TRZAV), Universal Express, Inc. (USXP), Valesc Holdings, Inc. (OTCBB: VLSHV), Vega Atlantic (OTCBB: VGAC), Viragen (VRA), Viragen International (VGNI), Vista Continental Corporation, (VICC), Viva International (VIVI), Vtex Energy (OTCBB: VXENE) and Wizzard Software (WIZD), WorldTradeShow.com (WTSW) and Y3K Secure Enterprise Software, Inc. (OTCBB: YTHK).
Earlier in 2003, the SEC fined Rhino Advisors, Inc., $1 million for its representation of Amro International in the financing and manipulation of Sedona Corp. Amro, also known as AMRO, was registered in Panama, a secretive offshore haven, but was not named in the SEC settlement. Another 60 public companies may have been manipulated by the fined Rhino Advisors and its indicted principals, or its funding apparatus, Amro.
These include:
All American Food Group Inc (AAFGQ), Amanda Co Inc (AMNA), Antra Holdings (RECD), Aquis Communications Group Inc (OTCBB: AQUIS), Avanir Pharmaceuticals (AVN), Bionutrics Inc (BNRX), Brilliant Digital Entertainment Inc (AMEX: BDE), Bravo! Foods International Corp. (OTCBB: BRVOE), Butler National Corp (BUTL),Calypte Biomedical Corp (OTCBB: CYPT), Chemtrak Inc/DE (CMTR), Clicknsettle Com Inc (CLIK), Corporate Vision Inc (OTC: CVIA), Crown Laboratories Inc/DE (CLWB), Dental Medical Diagnostic Systems Inc (DMDS), Detour Media Group Inc (DTRM),
Also, Digital Privacy Inc/DE (OTC: DGPV), Senior Services Inc (DISS), International Inc (DYNX), Endovasc Ltd Inc (EVSC), Esynch Corp/CA (OTCBB: ESYN), Focus Enhancements Inc (NASDAQ: FSCE), Frederick Brewing Co (FRBW), Greystone Digital Technology Inc (GSTN), Havana Republic Inc/FL (HVNR), Henley Healthcare Inc (HENL), Hollywood Media Corp (HOLL), Ibiz Technology Corp (IBZT), Diagnostic Systems Inc/FL (IMDS), Imaging Technologies (OTCBB: IMTO), Integrated Surgical Systems Inc (RDOC),
Also, Interferon Sciences Inc (IFSC), Interiors Inc (OTC: ITRNA), Laminaire Corp (THMZ), Medisys Technologies Inc (SCEP), Milestone Scientific Inc/NJ (MS), Nevada Manhattan Group Inc (NVMH), Innovations Inc (OTCBB: NTGE),Systems Group (OSYM), Pacific Systems Control Technology Inc (PFSY), Professional Transportation Group Ltd Inc (TRUC), Rnethealth Inc (RNTT),
Also, Sand Technology Inc (SNDT), Sedona Corp (SDNA), Silverado Foods Inc (SVFO), Stockgroup Information Systems (SWEB) Surgilight Inc (SRGL), Tasty Fries Inc (TFRY), Tech Laboratories Inc (TCHL), Teltran International Group Ltd (TLTG), Titan Motorcycle Co of America Inc (TMOTQ), Trans Energy Inc (TSRG), Motorcycle Co (UMCC), Universal Communication Systems Inc (UCSY), Medical Systems Inc (UMSI), Vianet Technologies Inc (VNTK),Viragen Inc (VRA), Webcatalyst Inc (WBCL), Worldwide Wireless Networks Inc (WWWNQ), and ZAP (ZAPZ).
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If you have an interest in stocks trading over $10 and the markets in general, I'd love to hear it.
I do enjoy the "gambling" aspect of playing the market, but I've found that I can get a more consistent "winning thrill" playing with optionable big board issues as opposed to penny stocks on the OTCBB.
and there is the side benefit of fewer run-ins with... the n'er-do-wells on both sides of playing the penny stocks.
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