Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
Agree, and the problem is not on a micro level...it's just the big picture which seems to have become unworkable
vent away! Many right behind you, doing the same thing
BL: Kissing Off Congress, Evan Bayh Breaks Hearts: Margaret Carlson
Commentary by Margaret Carlson
Feb. 18 (Bloomberg) -- “Married White Senator seeks long- term relationship with person or institution with a bipartisan spirit. Must have a soft spot for medical-device companies, coal mines and promise never to filibuster during an argument. Affection for Hoosier basketball a plus. High salary, too.”
It’s lonely in the Senate for a moderate. In announcing that he was giving up his relatively safe seat, Indiana Senator Evan Bayh played his own headhunter. With the Senate dysfunctional, he wants to pursue “helping grow a business, helping guide an institution of higher learning or helping run a worthy charitable endeavor.” He did not give an 800 number.
Elsewhere in his statement, which mercifully didn’t mention spending more time with his family, Bayh blamed his bailing on a polarized Senate where governing rarely occurs.
It now takes 60 votes to approve a deputy assistant secretary for agricultural marketing orders. No one on the red side likes anyone on the blue side, and vice versa. Leading Republicans were for a bipartisan commission to deal with the deficit, some sponsoring a bill to that effect, before President Barack Obama proposed it. Then they were against it. The president’s call for a bipartisan summit on health care elicited the repeated accusation that he was setting a trap.
We all get that it’s no bed of roses up there on Capitol Hill. But what happened to sticking with a job when the going gets tough? You know -- the way millions of people do every day.
The Pampered Flee
Who gave the pampered class permission to bolt when their coveted jobs are no longer fulfilling? Bayh could have taken one for the team, with a seat as safe any Democrat holds in this environment. With his departure, it’s now as endangered as any. White House to Bayh: thanks a lot.
That’s not to say he’s venal in his departure, like former Senator Trent Lott. The timing of his retirement in December 2007 -- with five years left on his latest six-year term -- was suspiciously on the eve of new lobbying limits that would have crimped his future earnings. But neither is Bayh like the self- sacrificing Connecticut Democrat Chris Dodd, who stepped aside from what looked like a losing battle in Connecticut to let a Democrat with a better shot run.
Bayh’s reasoning resembles that of former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, who justified decamping for greener pastures with the rationale that she could make a better contribution to society out of office. So far that contribution has been to herself and to Fox News. She fosters, and feeds off, the Tea Party movement but wouldn’t rally the troops for free, charging them a $100,000 speaking fee as if they were some rich trade association.
Gentler Politics
Bayh is just the kind of public servant to save Congress from its ills. There’s mutual respect and friendship between him and his Indiana colleague, Republican Richard Lugar.
Bayh was 6 when his father, Birch, was elected to the Senate, and so is steeped in a kinder, gentler tradition. Like young Al Gore, Bayh ran through the halls of the Capitol, was dandled on the knee of old lions, and schooled at St. Albans.
Bayh has had many wins in his political life -- Indiana secretary of state, governor for two terms, then two terms in the Senate. He’s also had his share of close calls and losses, which may account for his cautious nature.
He endured his mother being stricken with cancer when he was 16. An Oklahoma beauty queen who beat her husband-to-be in an American Farm Bureau speaking contest, the Marvelous Marvella died in 1979 at 46.
Dad’s Defeat
Bayh was scarred by a lesser but still searing loss two years later, when his father was defeated in his bid for a third Senate term, not just by anyone but by Dan Quayle, considered no more a bright light back then than when he couldn’t spell potato as vice president.
Although Bayh has grown in his job and lost the callow look he shared, oddly enough, with Quayle, he is more conciliator than fighter. It was unlikely and yet still an eerie possibility that history could have repeated itself in this year’s election, with Bayh challenged by another politician named Dan.
Former Senator Dan Coats, who worked for Quayle and was appointed to fill his seat when Quayle became George H.W. Bush’s vice president, says he has enough signatures to get on the Republican primary ballot. Still, he had an uphill climb ahead. He was running 20 points behind after a video surfaced in which he extolled the virtue of his adopted North Carolina, where he was registered to vote, over Indiana.
Foresaw Trouble
To his credit, Bayh was worried that failure to pass health-care reform could spell doom for Democrats this fall. According to Jonathan Alter’s upcoming book, “The Promise: President Obama, Year One,” Bayh assured White House senior adviser David Axelrod that as a matter of survival, Democrats would pass health-care legislation. Otherwise, Bayh said, “We’re all screwed.”
“I do not love Congress,” Bayh said as he prepared to leave it. As one of the few senators who can reach across the aisle and touch someone, he should keep his hand in the outstretched position for the next 11 months. He has nothing left to lose.
(Margaret Carlson, author of “Anyone Can Grow Up: How George Bush and I Made It to the White House” and former White House correspondent for Time magazine, is a Bloomberg News columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.)
Click on “Send Comment” in the sidebar display to send a letter to the editor.
To contact the writer of this column: Margaret Carlson in Washington at mcarlson3@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: February 17, 2010 21:01 EST
BL: Asian Stocks Drop, Yen Rises on Greece, Concern Fed May Withdraw Stimulus
By Patrick Chu and Masaki Kondo
Feb. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks dropped and the yen strengthened on speculation the Federal Reserve is moving closer to pulling economic stimulus measures and concerns about the European Union’s financial rescue of Greece resurfaced.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index lost 0.4 percent to 117.73 as of 2:25 p.m. in Tokyo. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index declined 0.2 percent. The yen strengthened 0.6 percent to 123.42 versus the euro, set for the sharpest gain since Feb. 4 on a closing basis. The Japanese currency advanced to 90.93 to the dollar from 91.25 in New York yesterday.
Minutes of the Fed’s Jan. 26-27 meeting posted yesterday showed some policy makers pushed to start selling assets in the “near future” as a way to shrink the central bank’s balance sheet. The yen climbed against all 16 of its most-traded counterparts after a political ally of German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that “not a single euro” should go to Greece, rekindling sovereign credit concerns and demand for Japan’s currency as a refuge.
“People have a strong appetite for bargain hunting and can’t see bright prospects for higher share prices,” said Yoshihiro Ito, senior strategist at Okasan Asset Management Co., which oversees $8.2 billion. “Continued improvement in the global economy is supporting the market, though uncertainties won’t be easily cleared.”
The Asia stock benchmark’s drop today followed a 1.6 percent increase yesterday, which was the most since Nov. 30. Japan’s Topix index lost 0.1 percent and Singapore’s Straits Times Index dropped 0.4 percent.
Stocks Reversal
“After yesterday’s surge, profit taking will weigh on the market,” said Mitsushige Akino, who oversees about $450 million at Tokyo-based Ichiyoshi Investment Management Co.
The S&P 500 advanced 0.4 percent yesterday as better-than- estimated earnings, industrial production and housing data bolstered confidence in the economic recovery.
Qantas Airways Ltd., Australia’s biggest airline, plunged 8.1 percent to A$2.73. The company will scrap first-class cabins on most routes after a slump in demand for the most expensive seats led to a 72 percent drop in first-half profit. The company’s earnings missed analyst estimates.
Sims Metal Management Ltd., the world’s biggest recycler of scrap metal, sank 7.7 percent to A$19.79 after reporting a 39 percent decline in first-half sales.
Santos Ltd., Australia’s third-largest oil and gas producer, declined 1 percent to A$13.47. The company said 2009 net income tumbled 74 percent as the price it received for oil fell.
German Resistance
The leader of Chancellor Merkel’s Bavarian political allies said Germany must resist supporting Greece with taxpayer funds because granting aid would invite other nations to seek bailouts.
“We are the stable-currency party,” Horst Seehofer, who heads the Christian Social Union, one of three parties in Merkel’s coalition, told a rally in the southern city of Passau yesterday. “That’s why we’re helping Greece politically, but not a single euro must go there.”
The euro has fallen about 10 percent against the dollar from a one-year high of $1.5144 in November on concern sovereign debt problems will hamper the region’s recovery. The dollar advanced to $1.3570 per euro in Tokyo from $1.3607 in New York yesterday.
Futures on the CME Group exchange show a 47 percent chance the Fed will raise its target rate for overnight bank lending by at least a quarter-percentage point by its September meeting, up from 46 percent odds on Feb. 16.
South Korea’s won weakened 0.7 percent to 1,149.70 per dollar on signs European Union leaders are failing to persuade bond investors that Greece can fix its budget woes, boosting the attractiveness of the greenback. The yield on Greece two-year notes has remained above 5 percent, more than four percentage points higher than those of Germany. The Malaysian ringgit fell 0.4 percent to 3.3995 per dollar.
Oil Falls
Crude oil dropped for the first time in three days as the dollar climbed against the euro and an industry report showed an increase in distillate supplies in the U.S., the world’s biggest energy consumer.
Oil retreated from a four-week high, dropping 0.7 percent to $76.83 a barrel, after the American Petroleum Institute reported that supplies of distillate fuel, a category that includes heating oil and diesel, rose 1.28 million barrels last week.
“The global economy is still realistically weak,” said Peter McGuire, managing director at CWA Global Markets Pty in Sydney. “I don’t see a lot of issues in terms of supply constraints out there and demand is relatively weak.”
Gold for immediate delivery fell 0.4 percent to $1,102.15 an ounce after the International Monetary Fund said it would begin selling some of its reserves on the open market, raising concern that supply will increase.
Metals Drop
Copper on the London Metal Exchange slid 0.4 percent to $7,099.75 a metric ton and nickel declined 1.3 percent to $19,875 a ton.
The cost of protecting Australian and Japanese corporate bonds from default dropped to a two-week low, according to traders of credit-default swaps. The Markit iTraxx Australia index fell 2 basis points to 97.5 basis points in Hong Kong, the lowest since Feb. 4, according to Citigroup Inc. and CMA DataVision. The Markit iTraxx Japan index declined 1 basis point to 146, according to Morgan Stanley. That’s also the lowest since Feb. 4, CMA prices show.
To contact the reporters on this story: Patrick Chu in Tokyo at pachu@bloomberg.netMasaki Kondo in Tokyo at mkondo3@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: February 18, 2010 00:24 EST
BL: Bond Vigilantes Say EU Needs Better Plan to Control Greece Budget Deficit
By Matthew Brown and Anchalee Worrachate
Feb. 18 (Bloomberg) -- European Union leaders are failing to persuade bond investors that Greece can fix its budget.
The yield on Greece two-year notes have remained above 5 percent, the highest in the euro zone, even after officials urged the nation this week to reduce its deficit. The premium investors demand to hold the notes instead of benchmark German securities has held above 4 percentage points, the most since the Mediterranean nation joined the euro and more than 10 times its 35 basis point average the past decade.
After driving yields to the highest in 10 years, bond investors are keeping up the pressure on the EU to support Greece. Concern that the nation’s inability to narrow a deficit that is more than four times the EU limit will be replicated in countries such as Portugal and Spain prompted Societe Generale SA’s top-ranked strategist Albert Edwards to predict Feb. 12 that the euro region was poised to break up.
“The market has replaced the EU as the chief enforcer of fiscal discipline, and the movement in spreads is testament to that,” said Charles Diebel, senior interest-rate strategist at Nomura International Plc in London. “What the bond markets have done to Greece could be the salvation of Europe.”
The euro weakened 0.3 percent to $1.3567, bringing its three-month decline to 9 percent.
No Specific Measures
Investors who push up debt yields in an effort to alter government policy are known as vigilantes, a term coined in 1984 by economist Edward Yardeni, president of Yardeni Investments Inc. in New York. They were credited with forcing Bill Clinton to cut the U.S. deficit after he came into office in 1993, helping drive 10-year Treasury yields down to about 4 percent by November 1998 from above 8 percent in 1994.
“Fiscal rules are only as good as the political will to enforce them, and there hasn’t been much of that, especially during the good times,” said Nick Kounis, chief European economist at Fortis Bank Nederland NV in Amsterdam.
Greek two-year yields rose the most in almost three weeks on Feb. 16, when euro-region finance ministers stopped short of announcing specific measures to help the country. EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said after their meeting in Brussels that the bloc has “ways and means” to safeguard stability in the euro area.
Greece said last year that the deficit would be 12.7 percent of gross domestic product, compared with the EU ceiling of 3 percent. Prime Minister George Papandreou’s Dec. 14 pledge to take “radical” action failed to stop Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s from cutting the country’s credit ratings.
Shrugging of Papandreou
Yields rose even after Papandreou announced a plan on Jan. 14 to cut the deficit by 10 billion euros ($13.7 billion), forcing further concessions two weeks later when he promised to boost the retirement age and freeze public sector pay. That reversed a pledge he made in last year’s election.
While the vigilantes are punishing fiscal transgressors in Europe today, they were largely silent for much of the past decade as governments flouted the EU’s rules. The spread between Greek and German 10-year yields averaged 19 basis points in 2004 even as the Mediterranean nation’s budget deficit was 7.5 percent of GDP, the biggest in the region.
“The experience of the past 10 years shows that markets can be ignoring these issues totally until they suddenly wake up and turn violently against fiscal offenders,” said Jacques Cailloux, chief European economist at Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc in London. “Market discipline is important and necessary, but sudden shifts in sentiment in the bond market can be equally devastating.”
Limits Exceeded
Euro-region nations have exceeded the 3 percent limit on their budget deficits 44 times since the currency was introduced in 1999. Greece has been the biggest offender, as its deficit rose above the ceiling in eight of the nine years since it joined the euro in 2001. Italy broke the rule six times. Portugal, France and Germany flouted it five times.
All 16 countries that use the euro will post budget deficits above 3 percent for 2009. Ireland will have a 12.5 percent shortfall, and Spain will have an 11.2 percent gap, according to European Commission estimates.
Greek “yields seem fair to me,” said Bob Treue, founder of New Jersey-based Barnegat Fund, ranked among the top three hedge-fund performers in fixed income last year with a 132.7 percent return, according to Bloomberg calculations. “We don’t have a position in Greece, long or short.”
Rules ‘Appropriate’
Current rules and instruments are “appropriate,” EU Economic and Monetary Affairs spokesman Amadeu Altafaj said in response to questions from Bloomberg News. “The issue at stake is not the rules and the instruments but the non-compliance to these rules.”
If the EU fails to convince markets that it can solve Greece’s difficulties, investors may turn their attention to its neighbors, according to Mark Schofield, head of interest-rate strategy at Citigroup Inc.
“Spain, Portugal, Italy and Ireland might not be a problem now, but if the market starts pushing their spreads wider, and put them in the situation where they are forced to fund their deficits at much more onerous levels, then you will see a lot more pressure for a pan-European solution to the problem,” he said.
Yields on the debt of other peripheral euro-region countries also rose in recent months as investors bet the budget crisis wasn’t limited to Greece. Portuguese two-year yields touched 2.72 percent on Feb. 4, 1.65 percentage points above Germany’s level and an almost 13-year high.
To contact the reporters on this story: Matthew Brown in London at mbrown42@bloomberg.net; Anchalee Worrachate in London at aworrachate@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: February 17, 2010 21:49 EST
Yup same here. I hate trading during expiration week. Today I took care of some personal business, and ordered myself a new trading laptop
AAPL and GOOG are bread and butter options...can't go wrong there, imho
Even though I'm an old cynic, this is all still pretty unbelievable to me. Having been away from Ihub for a long time, I'm still digesting it all. Talk about the fox running the henhouse!
So many of us lost money on that GHTI POS...I know I did, as did many on our board, and now I'm getting pissed just thinking of it as I re-read this. The very people who should have been watching out for paying subscribers and traders, were the very ones plotting to make them into bagholders.
The longer one is away from pennies, the more surreal that whole marginal world becomes...from the SOBs who cynically plan to separate naive penny traders from their money, to the fools who keep buying penny junk and work overtime attempting to convince themselves and others that any of these turds are legitimate.
I guess they do deserve each other, in some twisted way. TG I don't even have pinkie or otcbb L2s any more, so I can't even watch the low-speed car wreck known as penny stock trading.
After the credit crisis of 2008, even the bluest of bluechips resorted to dilution to raise cash...we watched 'good stocks' like DRYS plummet from over $100 a share to $5...what hope is there for well meaning, but undercapitalized marginal pinks and bulletin board stocks with sketchy business plans at best? And those are the best of breed...never mind the vast majority that are the noxious lovechildren, issue from furtive groping betweeen a pipe financer and a mafia client in some 'hedge fund' back room, lol...
http://ocbiz.freedomblogging.com/files/2009/05/sec-lawsuit-5-21-2009.pdf
FACTS
GH3 InternationaL Inc.
29. GH3 is a Nevada company that purports to market anti-aging products.
The GH3 pump-and-dump scheme occurred in October-December 2006 and generated
fraudulent proceeds of $747,609. In late 2006, Brown, Dynkowski, and Canceli attended
a meeting at the offices ofAIS in California with a representative ofGH3. Another
representative ofGH3 participated in the meeting by telephone. Brown, Dynkowski,
Canceli, and the two representatives from GH3 planned the pump-and-dump scheme at
this meeting. They agreed that GH3 would issue company stock in 52 million share
increments to Canceli for $0.001 per share, with payment due after Dynkowski succeeded
in inflating the market price ofGH3 stock and selling those shares to unsuspecting
investors. Mangiapane, who managed the AIS office, agreed to allow the meeting to be
held at AIS's office in exchange for a portion ofthe proceeds from the pump-and-dump
scheme.
30. Dynkowski inflated the market price ofGH3 stock through manipulative
trading timed to coincide with misleading and touting press releases. Brown helped to
coordinate the timing ofthis manipulative trading with the press releases, by serving as a
liaison between Dynkowski and Canceli, who was in contact with representatives of
GH3. When the scheme began, GH3 traded for merely four-hundredths ofa penny
($0.0004), but the efforts ofDynkowski, Brown and others in the scheme eventually
propelled the stock's price to a high of 1.8 cents per share - a gain ofmore than 4,000
percent.
31. Representatives ofGH3 laid the groundwork for the scheme. On October
30, 2006, they arranged for GH3 to execute a 1 for 20 reverse stock split that reduced the
company's outstanding shares by 95%. This move was important because, after the split,
the millions ofshares issued by the company for Dynkowski to sell later in the scheme
represented the vast majority ofthe company's outstanding stock, and any sales by
existing shareholders would have less impact on the stock's price.
32. Between December 4 and 12,2006, GH3 transferred 312 million company
shares to accounts in Canceli's name at Spartan Securities Group and Bishop Rosen &
Co. A representative ofGH3 instructed the transfer agent to issue the shares without
restrictive legend to an individual known to GH3 representatives from previous dealings
(hereinafter ''the GH3 Nominee"). GH3 representatives asked the GH3 Nominee to act
as a conduit and he agreed to do so.
33. Under this arrangement, GH3 purportedly sold the shares to an entity
owned by the GH3 Nominee on six different occasions, and that company then re-sold
the shares to Canceli. These offers and sales of securities wereunregistered and not
subject to a valid exemption from registration. They were sham transactions intended to
evade registration requirements. Everyone involved in these transactions intended for the
shares to be sold into the public market as soon as possible (as they in fact were).
34. Starting on December 4, and continuing through December 13, 2006,
Dynkowski and others, such as Brown, engaged in manipulative trading ofGH3 stock,
including using wash sales and matched orders to inflate its price.
35. Dynkowski engaged in wash trading between his own accounts and
multiple nominee accounts held in the names ofhis father, Tetrix Financial (a company
Dynkowski owns), and Canceli. Dynkowski also traded matched orders with Brown.
These wash sales and matched orders involved hundreds ofmillions of shares ofGH3.
36. This manipulative trading artificially inflated the price ofGH3's stock and
made it appear to investors that GH3's stock was much more liquid than it really was. As
unsuspecting buyers were attracted to GH3 in increasing numbers, the stock's volume
and ultimately its price continued to increase.
37. Dynkowski timed his manipulative trading to coincide with touting press
releases from the company. At the initial meeting when the GH3 pump-and-dump was
planned, representatives ofGH3 had promised to "provide news" as part of the scheme.
Through Canceli, GH3 representatives coordinated company press releases with
Dynkowski and Brown.
38. On December 7,2006, GH3 issued a press release stating that its 2005
revenues exceeded $2.1 million. The next day, December 8, GH3 issued a second press
release stating that its revenues for 2006 exceeded $3 million. Dynkowski timed his
manipulative trading with these press releases, and the volume and price of GH3 stock
soared. On December 7, for example, the volume oftrading in GH3's stock increased
over 600% from the prior day, and the price ofthe stock jumped more than 150% (from
0.7 cents to 1.8 cents).
39. Dynkowski began dumping the shares received from the issuer on
December 7 and continued selling for the next several days. Although Dynkowski was
not listed as an authorized trader on Canceli's accounts, he placed sell orders directly
with Canceli's brokers at Bishop Rosen and Spartan Securities.
Between December 7
and December 13,2006, Dynkowski and Canceli sold all 312 million shares they
received from the issuer, generating proceeds of$747,609.
40. In order to keep the price ofthe stock up while selling these shares,
Dynkowski continued to engage in manipulative trading, and the company issued
additional press releases. Indeed, at one point, Dynkowski instructed Brown to have the
company issue a press release stating that the company had ordered a non-objecting
beneficial owners (''NOBO'') list from its transfer agent. The purpose ofthe ''NOBO
press release" was to mislead investors into believing that the massive selling of GH3
stock (for which Dynkowski was responsible) was attributable to short sellers. GH3
issued the misleading NOBO press release on December 8, 2006, just as Dynkowski was
dumping the shares from Canceli's accounts.
41. Brown, Canceli, Dynkowski, Mangiapane, Riviello, the GH3 Nominee
and GH3 (or its representatives) divided the illicit proceeds from the scheme. Brown,
Mangiapane, and Riviello laundered a substantial portion ofthe money in order to pay
Dynkowski.
42. After Dynkowski finished selling the 312 million shares that Canceli
obtained from GH3, representatives ofthe company continued making additional
unregistered offers and sales ofGH3 stock through the GH3 Nominee that were not
subject to a valid exemption from registration. GH3 representatives authorized the
transfer ofan additional 988 million shares to the GH3 Nominee, and he sold the bulk of
these securities for a few thousandths ofa penny per share, realizing approximately an
additional $272,000 in proceeds. The GH3 Nominee gave approximately $130,000 of
this money to the company and kept the rest for himself.
http://ocbiz.freedomblogging.com/files/2009/05/sec-lawsuit-5-21-2009.pdf
Agree! Just last week AIG calls were a 700% runner in less than 2 hours.
Last year's AIG run from $1.00 to $50 created millionaires, I'm sure
Right now I'm sitting here reading the SEC pump and dump complaint against Matt and company, and I find myself thinking about the pennies we used to trade, the risks we used to endure in order to make 100-300% gains.
Since discovering options, I've seen gains like that many times a month, sometimes several times a week, without any of the fake PRs, mafia involvement or other BS we used to take for granted.
Of course there is corruption everywhere, and the big boards are no exception. However for sheer scope and brazen criminality, the pennies are unmatched.
Give me a few good options stocks like X, DE, FCX and AIG, and I'm a happy lobster
Look at the downturn on that chart, yikes! Yes, from the way AIG was behaving today, I could definitely see a nice 10% downtick, but it is a volatile little bugger, so calls should do well along the way on bounces, but as always with AIG, take gains fast!
I've been watching calls go from 100% green to 20% red within an hour or two...wash rinse repeat
Congrats! I hope that is a 10 bagger for you :)
HAHA...re GHTI, now we know why I was told I had to be respectful of GHTI, when I actually wanted to be the moderator of the board simply so I could put a giant Hazardous Waste sign in the ibox as a warning to new traders
Did you grab any? If AIG had a sharp move before Friday that would certainly be a nice ATM play
GHTI: Remember that one? What a pure POS, lol
>>AAGH (Asia Global Holdings) L2 Warning and SEC statement:
Re the SEC case engulfing IHUB: Funny thing, back in 2006, 2007 I kept posting and reposting "Level 2 Warning Shots" for GHTI, XTMS, AAGH and other pump and dump stocks that all mysteriously had the same 'market makers of death' as I would call them...the same bizarre patterns on the l2s which told me something was wrong, without being able to formally explain why, the same fake bid support right before the massive dumpage...
Now I was just reading about Matt Brown's conviction, and more interestingly, the SEC complaint, which describes precisely the stocks I often used as an example. So much has become clear, down to why I wasn't permitted to post a giant nuclear waste sign in the GHTI I-box, lolol.
What an education! Could you ever learn this in college? hahah
Here's the SEC complaint, with details of how the 5 'lightly traded penny stocks' were pumped and manipulated. Fascinating:
http://ocbiz.freedomblogging.com/files/2009/05/sec-lawsuit-5-21-2009.pdf
Here is one of my posts on the subject
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=19399265&txt2find=xtms|l2|warning
Repost: L2 Warning Shots: Speaking of being pummeled, thought I'd repost a few classic pics of what danger looks like. The CLYP, SEAB, SSGI, STGI, HDSN, HILL, LAMP, MICA 'Family Tree', as you said..lol. Here they are, caught in the act, on a few recent stocks. When this picture shows up, you could have anywhere between 15 minutes to several hours to exit. This setup generally occurs after a decent run. Remeber, guys, it's always a good idea to take out your main investment, and ride freebies. Bulls make money, pigs get slaughtered.
(fyi, I'm not eliminating these plays from my watch list, these are just recent examples of a particular 'moment in time'. Nearly ALL penny stocks have dilution and waves of company selling. That's a fact. The selling may be over on these stocks, and the plays could well be safe again for running, but these are merely examples of what trouble generally looks like before a correction! There have been a few stocks recently, like HYRF at .0085, which had a similar setup, but rocketed right through to .015 without blinking. However, the odds seem to be about 15-1 against that happening when you see this kind of bid picture fwiw. For confirmation, look and see if one of the same MMs is on the ask. If so, one of those positions is fake, and it's the bid. Remember, hedge funds are almost never in the business of buying pinksheets or penny stocks. But they are very much in the business of selling them):
SCLL:
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?Message_id=17553087
GBDX:
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=17442288
AAGH:
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?Message_id=16949052
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?Message_id=16920479
OMOG:
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?Message_id=16949072
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/replies.asp?msg=16920537
MDSP
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?Message_id=16949793
XTMS
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?Message_id=16849844
GHTI:
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?Message_id=16949799
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?Message_id=16949808
And of course, what it looks like when the friendly bid support turns against you:
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?Message_id=17206163
GE has been locked in place in a very frustrating way, as I'm sure you've noticed. At least it's broken 16.
However I've watched this pattern before, and it may be that a major investor has a vested interest in maintaining GE at this level for their own reasons. At some point, GE will probably run when the conditions are met, but when that time is isn't clear to me from the charts
Are you still holding $17 calls or have you rolled those into March?
I agree...sometimes less is more. That might actually be true in the case of government...especially the bloated lost monstrosity most federal governments have become at this late stage, 200 years after the end of most monarchies
May be time for a global reset: reformat the hard drive, remove the clutter and baggage
However easier said than done, and almost always involves pain
Well, that's why I post the comments below a story, whenever I can, because the tone in the comments is often very enlightening
Political correctness has become such a straightjacket...sometimes the honest, though offensive comments are the only glimpses we get of what people are actually thinking, which is very useful
and I agree the use of the word 'hillbilly' was offensive, part of why I posted the article. The entire press reaction to that incident was enlightening
jmho
How have you been?
Are you trading this week?
The Greek situation is still not resolved...just on a back burner until AFTER expiration week
lol
Actually, I do have information on that, let me prepare a post for you
Interesting...AIG had a run, but of course we know it goes as fast up as it goes down...
!!! Texas to challenge US greenhouse gas rules
16 Feb 2010
Texas suit one of several to challenge EPA
Bonds | Global Markets
* EPA pursuing CO2 rules if Congress does not act (Adds byline, American Petroleum Institute petition, others)
By Ed Stoddard
DALLAS, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Texas and several national industry groups on Tuesday filed separate petitions in federal court challenging the government's authority to regulate U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.
Texas, which leads U.S. states in carbon dioxide emissions due to its heavy concentration of oil refining and other industries, will see a major impact if U.S. mandatory emissions reductions take effect.
In December, the Environmental Protection Agency ruled that greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide endanger human health, opening the door for the agency to issue mandatory regulations to reduce them.
Texas said it had filed a petition for review challenging the EPA's "endangerment finding" with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Texas has also asked the EPA to reconsider its ruling.
"The EPA's misguided plan paints a big target on the backs of Texas agriculture and energy producers and the hundreds of thousands of Texans they employ," Texas Gov. Rick Perry said.
The National Association of Manufacturers, the American Petroleum Institute, and the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association also said on Tuesday they filed a petition challenging the EPA in federal appeals court.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and U.S. iron and steel makers have also signaled they would file lawsuits.
Environmental groups said Texas should focus on building cleaner energy sources instead of filing lawsuits.
"Governor Perry should win an Olympic medal for taking the environment downhill," said Luke Metzger at Environment Texas. "Global warming is the greatest environmental threat facing Texas and the planet and Governor Perry's obstructionism puts the state at great risk."
Conservative Republicans like Perry have been sounding the alarm of job losses in the debate over regulating greenhouse gas emissions -- a hot-button issue at a time of high joblessness and economic uncertainty.
The EPA is threatening to regulate carbon emissions if Congress does not. In June, the House of Representatives narrowly passed a cap and trade bill that would allow industry to buy and trade pollution permits, but the legislation has stalled in the Senate.
President Barack Obama would rather have Congress pass a bill that could provide more protections for industry while also controlling pollution. But he is using the threat of EPA regulation to encourage lawmakers.
Some prominent Senate Democrats have predicted that comprehensive climate control legislation, including a cap-and-trade mechanism, will not pass this year.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN1661844120100216
>>Sideways trading to red now, most of those green lists before turning red to pink...hmmmm
GM! As I like options, I tend to like PCX, but JRCC has been good for us as well. JOYG is one of those firecrackers, is very volatile, if you're a daytrader
jmho!
FUTURES: OIL 76.94%, USD: 880.085, GOLD: 1,097, EURO: 1.37, NDX: 1,802, DJI: 10,268, PLATINUM: 1,533
>>COPPER GAPPERS: RTP +2.08%, BHP +1.19%, JJC +0.74%, FCX +0.40%, VALE +0.82%
>>COAL GAPPERS: JOYG +4.11%, BUCY +2.51%, PCX +2.39%, BTU +1.09%, MEE +0.99% JRCC +0.69%, ACI +0.40%, ANR +0.11%
>>GREAT OPTION RUNNERS! DE +6.64%, CENX +2.17%, CAT +1.56% ($58.01)