Standard Chartered Warns HK Customers Of Fake Bk Web Site
HONG KONG (Dow Jones)--Standard Chartered Plc (STAN.LN) on Friday warned its customers to beware of a fraudulent Internet site, www.scbltd.com, that is operating under the bank's name.

A number of other local financial institutions have also been targeted by Internet scams in recent months. Standard Chartered is based in the U.K. but has extensive operations in Hong Kong and other Asian countries. The bank said it had reported the fake Web site to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the territory's financial regulator and de facto central bank.

Banks including HSBC Holdings Plc (HBC), Bank of East Asia Ltd. (0023.HK), and the Hong Kong branch of the Singaporean bank DBS Group Holdings Ltd. (D05.SG) have all recently had their names appropriated by fraudulent Web sites.

The fake Web sites faithfully copy the banks' logo, and appear intended to trick actual bank customers into revealing their bank account information and passwords.

Standard Chartered's actual Web site is www.standardchartered.com.

In the United States District Court For the District of Nevada

CV-N-03-0463-ECR-VPC

Securities and Exchange Commission

Plaintiff

Gabor S. Acs and
Penny King Holdings, Inc.

Defendants

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the Plaintiff Securities and Exchange Commission will take the following depositions at the times and locations indicated:

Deponent: Gary Saunders, former President and CEO of eKnowledge.
Date: January 20, 2004
Time: 1 p.m pst.
Location: Paulson Reporting
Address: 11400 W. Olympic Blvd Suite 140, LA CA 90064
Phone: 877-342-5600

Deponent: Tom Sims, former President and CEO of Quintek Technologies
Date: January 21, 2004
Time: 8 am pst.
Location: Paulson Reporting
Address: 11400 W. Olympic Blvd Suite 140, LA CA 90064
Phone: 877-342-5600

You are invited to attend and cross-examine

Dated January 2, 2004.

Elizabeth Krupa
Polly Atkinson
Attorney for Plaintiff
Securities and Exchange Commission
1801 California Street, Suite 1500
Denver, Colorado 80202
303-844-1000

Bring on the media circus!

Companies opt for paycards as cheaper, paperless process

By Caroline E. Mayer
The Washington Post
Thursday, January 8, 2004



Payday used to be a logistical challenge for Anthony Barnes. With no bank account, the U-Haul employee couldn't have his pay electronically deposited overnight. So he'd wait four extra days to get a paycheck, then pay high fees to cash it at a store. Sometimes he avoided fees by depositing his check in his mother's bank account. But then he'd have to wait another week for the check to clear to get the cash.
Now Barnes uses an increasingly popular innovation: the payroll card. U-Haul electronically credits his pay to a special debit account, and Barnes then uses a plastic card to gain immediate access to his funds -- either withdrawing cash at automated teller machines or paying for goods at store checkouts, swiping his card like any other debit or credit card.

"I use it every way I can. I love it," said Barnes, 20, general manager of U-Haul Storage Intown in Washington.

Introduced in the late 1990s, payroll cards have taken off in the past two years, especially as the two major credit card companies, Visa and MasterCard, started offering their own branded versions, enabling workers to cash their pay wherever major credit and debit cards are accepted.



http://www.streetscience.com/index.php?q=fringe+banking

Americans want to lose debt and fat


By T.K. Maloy
UPI Deputy Business Editor


WASHINGTON, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- If only one could get out of debt and lose weight at the same time.

According to a monthly survey by the Cambridge Consumer Credit Index, nearly the same percentage of Americans want the same New Year's resolution, with a slight edge going to the resolution of getting out of debt -- 28 percent of respondents -- closely followed at 27 percent who are in favor of that perennial New Year's resolution of losing weight and exercising more.

The Cambridge Consumer Credit Index is produced monthly by the Islandia, N.Y.-based Cambridge Credit Counseling Corp., a debt counseling firm.

Also for 2004, 15 percent want to get a more secure or better job, while 13 percent want to improve their personal relationships. Only 7 percent said they plan to reduce drinking and smoking, the Cambridge Index reported.

"These results provide ample testimony to the increasingly heavy burden that debt is perceived to be by American consumers who continued to take on billions of dollars in additional credit in 2003. The large increase in a desire for more secure employment also shows that, despite many signs of economic growth, many Americans still do not feel secure in their jobs," says Jordan Goodman, spokesman for the index.

While getting out of debt equaled losing weight on the percentage front, the actual Cambridge Index dropped for January meaning that consumers said that they were not acquiring as much debt.

The overall Cambridge Consumer Credit Index dropped by six points from December to 59. A higher index number means more acquisition of debt, while a lower number means less acquisition of debt. .

The Cambridge Consumer Credit Index number is a composite of these three questions:

-- In the past month, have you taken on more debt or paid off debt?

The index read 64 on this question, an increase of four points from December. In January, 32 percent of respondents said that they have taken on more debt, with 21 percent taking on a little and 12 percent taking on a lot more debt. Conversely, 68 percent of Americans have paid off debt, with 51 percent off a little and 17 percent paying off a lot.

-- In the next month (January) , do you anticipate taking on more debt or paying off debt?

The index read 42 on this question, a drop of fourteen points from December. In January, 21 percent plan to take on more debt, with 5 percent planning to take on a lot and 16 percent planning to take on a little debt. Conversely, 79 pecent plan to pay off debt, with 59 percent paying off a little and 19 percent paying off a lot. In December 28 percent planned to take on debt and 72 percent planned to pay off debt

-- In the next six months, do you expect to take on debt because you are thinking of making a major purchase such as a car, education, appliance, medical procedure, furniture or carpeting?

The index read 72 on this question, a drop of six points from December. In January, 36 percent of Americans plan to take on more debt to make such purchases, with 10 percent taking on a lot of debt and 26 percent taking on a little more debt. In contrast, 64 percent of Americans plan to pay off debt in the next six months, with 43 percent expecting to pay off a little and 21 percent expecting to pay off a lot. In December 39 percent of Americans planned to take on more debt, while 61 percent planned to pay off debt.

"The results of the Cambridge Consumer Credit Index survey indicate that consumers are planning to cut back on their use of credit, as is to be expected after the holiday spending spree," said Goodman.

"But it is interesting to note that the cutback in planned use of credit in the next month is far less severe than a year ago when the economy was much weaker and uncertainty over the potential war with Iraq was still high," he said.

http://www.streetscience.com/s.php?url=http://c.moreover.com/click/here.pl?r115115547

An appeals court in Munich ruled that banking giant Deutsche Bank must pay damages to fallen media mogul Leo Kirch that could reach €100 million ($122 million). In his suit, Kirch claimed that comments made by the bank’s chief executive in early 2002 contributed to the demise of his group. The Munich court concurred. Before it ran out of money, Kirsch was a giant in Germany’s commercial television business. The company filed for insolvency in April after banks withdrew their backing from the company in April 2002. The filing came after Deutsche Bank supervisory board chairman Rolf Breuer questioned the company’s creditworthiness in a television interview. The judges ruled that Deutsche Bank was required to be more discreet about its client, and that damages were justified. The court’s decision is final and not subject to appeal. Deutsche Bank offered no comment on the ruling.

http://www.dw-world.de/english/0,3367,1431_A_1057684_1_A,00.html

PREDATORY BENDER -- AMERICA IN THE AUGHTS

http://www.innercitypress.org/predatorybender1.html

ICP has published a (double) book about the Deutsche Bank-relevant topics of subprime lending, and corporate fraud - click here for sample chapters, here for fast ordering and delivery, and here for other ordering information.

http://www.innercitypress.org/dbbt.html

http://www.innercitypress.org/

In The Matter Of DEUTSCHE BANK SECURITIES, INC.,
GOLDMAN, SACHS & CO.,
MORGAN STANLEY & CO. INCORPORATED,
SALOMON SMITH BARNEY INC., and
U.S. BANCORP PIPER JAFFRAY INC.,

http://www.sec.gov/litigation/admin/34-46937.htm

New Data Show 'Chinese Wall' On Wall Street Has Crumbled
By RAYMOND HENNESSEY and LYNNETTE KHALFANI

Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

NEW YORK -- Investors have long known they have to take sell-side analyst research with a grain of salt.

But they might consider swallowing a whole ocean when it comes to a recommendation about a company for which the analyst's firm has done underwriting work.

According to data from Investars.com, an online investment information service, investors lost an average of 53.34% when they followed the advice of an analyst employed by a Wall Street firm that has led or co-managed a particular stock's initial public offering.

By contrast, investors lost just 4.24% when they took the suggestions of analysts whose firms had no underwriting relationship with the companies researched.

Neither result is stellar. What is eye-popping is the wide disparity between the performance of stocks touted by analysts whose firms have something to gain - namely, lucrative underwriting fees - and other, nonaffiliated stocks.

In many ways, the Investars data further quantifies what many investors have believed for some time: the so-called Chinese Wall that is supposed to separate a firm's analysis and investment-banking business has crumbled.

"We have analysts come through here all the time, and we know to be careful," said David Klaskin, a money manager and president of Oak Ridge Investments in Chicago. "The overall quality of research isn't good."

Investors often know that there is a subtext to many analysts' ratings, particularly when the firm is trying to protect an investment-banking relationship, Klaskin said.

"You look at the (bullish) notes, then, half the time you're talking to (analysts), they'll be telling you something negative," he said.

Instead, investors have tried to bypass the analyst coverage. Larger institutional investors have their own team of industry analysts. Middle and small-sized firms simply pick a handful of analysts they trust and use them, ignoring the advice of others. For the average individual investor, though, buying such advice usually isn't an option.

"It's caveat emptor," says longtime market observer and Harvard University Professor Samuel Hayes.

There are also some caveats about Investars' findings. The company's conclusions are based on a hypothetical portfolio to show how much an investor would have made or lost following Wall Street's recommendations. Investars committed various amounts of money based on the strength of a firm's recommendation. An outperform, for instance, generated a $200,000 investment, while an underperform rating on a security resulted in the portfolio shorting the stock by $200,000.

Additionally, Investars uses an eight-category rating scale ranging from Strong Sell to Very Strong Buy, whereas other services, such as First Call, generally fit analyst recommendations into a five-tiered system.

As a result, Investar's results might be skewed, according to First Call Research Director Chuck Hill. Hill said it's widely understood on Wall Street that analysts' recommendations are inflated. For example, to the uninitiated a "neutral" rating might suggest the analyst is neither favorably nor unfavorably disposed toward a stock. But Hill said a "neutral" rating by most investment firms really means "sell."

"So do you run a (performance) evaluation based on what the categories say, or on what the understanding of those categories is?" Hill asks.

Investars CEO Kei Kianpoor said his firm didn't try to read between the lines of analysts' recommendations.

"We take banks at their word. If they say buy, we assume that means buy," Kianpoor said. "The average investor shouldn't need a degree in deconstruction and semantics to understand what these banks are saying."

Robert McLeod, an expert on stock market trends and a finance professor at the University of Alabama, noted that Investar's data cover the height of the Internet mania, when, in response to investor demand, a lot of firms were underwriting dot-com businesses - many of which have since crash-landed.

"But if you looked at 1991 though 1995, for example, you might see an entirely different picture," said McLeod, who cautioned against concluding that Wall Street firms aren't offering any value-added services.

First Call's Hill agreed.

"Yes, these firms ought to be penalized for bringing to market a lot of these lousy Internet companies that probably shouldn't have been public," said Hill. "But I'm not sure I would want to judge a firm's overall stock-picking ability by what happened here in a mania period."

Even Investars executives, themselves former analysts and traders, concurred. Company president John Eagleton insisted his firm's data weren't meant to bash analysts.

"We think the best research still comes from Wall Street," said Eagleton, noting that the industry spends billions of dollars annually on research. "But different firms have different strengths. And because we rank Research Firms by sector and stock, we wanted to give investors an idea of who they should follow and of what other factors come into play."

The number of companies with which a given firm has an IPO-underwriting relationship is small when compared with the universe of stocks followed by the firm. For example, Investars tracked research for more than 1,000 companies covered during the past four years by Credit Suisse Group's Credit Suisse First Boston. Of those, it tracked performance of 155 companies that the firm had brought public, as either a lead manager or co-manager.

As a result, the averages that come from the performance of Credit Suisse's deals, in this case a loss of 50.26%, can be skewed by a handful of companies, whereas it is difficult to move the average for the returns from the companies that don't have an underwriting relationship. In Credit Suisse's case, the firm had a 10.71% positive return for nonaffiliated stocks it followed, according to Investars.

Even with questions about the figures, Investars' data could nonetheless fuel the debate over why and how Wall Street analysts recommend certain investments.

Such scrutiny has picked up lately. On Wednesday, the New York attorney general's office confirmed it is looking into analysts' stock-research practices. Critics say analysts, many of whom are compensated for bringing in corporate clients, face conflicts of interest in trying to woo investment banking business.

And this Thursday, Wall Street officials will appear before Congress to answer questions from Republican Congressman Richard Baker, chair of the capital markets subcommittee. Baker's spokesman, Michael DiResto, described the June 14 meeting as a fact-finding mission and said the congressman is "leaving the table open" to any number of solutions. Some options might be getting more disclosure from Wall Street, using Congress as a bully pulpit to intensify discussion about this issue, or persuading the Securities and Exchange Commission to look into the matter. DiResto said the congressman also hasn't ruled out "statutory remedies, although we don't have any firm idea what that might entail."

The prospect of government intervention already has Wall Street abuzz. Marc Lackritz, president of the Securities Industry Association, the industry's trade group, will also appear before the committee. An SIA official said the organization is now in the process of developing a set of "best practices" guidelines for Wall Street firms.

"We recognize that there's the perception out there that analysts sometimes aren't independent in their recommendations," said an SIA spokesperson. "That perception is one of the reasons we called this committee and are addressing this issue."

-Raymond Hennessey, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5354

-Lynnette Khalfani, Dow Jones Newswires, 201-938-4381

Write to Raymond Hennessey at raymond.hennessey@dowjones.com and Lynnette Khalfani at lynnette.khalfani@dowjones.com

http://www.investars.com/pr_wsj.asp

Kirch demands six billion euro, that is...
More than "Peanuts" for the German bank

Leo Kirch (l) versus Rolf Breuer: The German bank supervisory board boss must pay not personally, but its bank could have to bleed.
Munich - the former resident of Munich "Medienmogul" Leo Kirch wants to demand approximately six billion euro compensation of the German bank. "it can be that it becomes, confirmed even still more" Kirch circles to a medium report.

After its successful complaint against the money house Kirch wants to therefore submit the first two leistungsklagen to center coming yearly. "safe is: That becomes no Peanuts number ", said a Kirch trusted friend.

Around the height courts decide

The higher regional court (OLG) Munich had awarded past Wednesday to the failed media entrepreneur Kirch because of injury of the bank secret compensation by the German bank. The former German bank boss Rolf Breuer offended with statements about doubts about the credit-worthiness Leo Kirchs against the obligation to secrecy, judged the OLG in second instance. The height of the compensation must be specified during further processes. The OLG did not permit a revision against the judgement. The German bank can insert however against it a nonadmission complaint in such a way specified at the Federal High Court (BGH), in order to possibly let the OLG judgement examine nevertheless still of the supreme court. The chances for it are considered however as small.

The two first leistungsklagen against the bank would concern presumably the former Kirch kirch-Senderkette ProSiebenSat.1 and the former 40-prozentigen portion of the Axel Springer publishing house, reported "focus". However during these two processes Kirch wants to make a damage of 1.7 billion euro valid.

"simple to compute"

"with Springer we consider the damage very simple to compute. The package was worth before the insolvency between 1,5 and 1.7 billion euro. If it was sold a half year later for 667 million euro ", a Kirch trusted friend in" the world enumerated on Sunday ". "damage: a billion." If the German bank lets it arrive on it, one will lead processes for all societies in the former Kirch realm branched out far. "then we come into the order of magnitude of an industrial production", said the trusted friend of Kirch. Also a complaint in the USA is further a consideration.

German bank rejects demands

The German bank rejects these demands. Compensation payments could not be required due to the judgement of the higher regional court (OLG) Munich, are called it in one on Saturday in Frankfurt spread explanation. The court did not meet "for the causality of the interview for a concrete damage and to its height statements". It stated only that it cannot be excluded that a damage was released.

http://tools.search.yahoo.com/language/translation/translatedPage.php?tt=url&text=http%3a//www0....

Deutsche Bank Ex-president Gave the Most Expensive Interview
12/15/2003 10:36

The name of Rolf Breuer, ex-president of Deutsche Bank may be included into the Guinness Book of World Records as the name of a man whose interview became the most expensive one. Die Tageszeitung reports, the ex-president of Deutsche Bank may have to pay billions of dollars for what he has said about former media tycoon Leo Kirch. Mr. Kirch believes it was Rolf Breuer's statement that provoked the bankruptcy of his empire, Kirch Media.

In February 2002, Deutsche Bank president was asked if he was ready to help the collapsing media concern of Leo Kirch. Rolf Breuer replied that he thought that variant rather dubious. He said that everything reported about the media concern at that period revealed that financial sector could no longer support Kirch Media with borrowed or internal funds.

The Higher Land Court in Munich has recently decided that both phrases by Rolf Breuer were bank secrecy violation. Thus, Leo Kirch has the right to demand that Deutsche Bank must compensate the damage.

In February 2003, the court already decreed that Kirch had the right for compensation of the damage, however Deutsche Bank appealed against the decision. The amount of claims is not clear yet. Dieter Hahn, former deputy chairman of Kirch Media board said at court that if it was proved that Deutsche Bank was the reason of insolvency, the sum of compensation might make up billions of dollars.

Attorneys of the former media tycoon say that negotiation terms of the concern with various banks became worse soon after Breuer's statement. After that, Kirch Media ruined within several months, as it could not borrow loans from banks.

Deutsche Bank representatives have not commented upon the court decision.

Rolf Breuer always rejects all charges brought against him. At court he insisted in that particular interview he reported facts available to everyone. "I was sure that Kirch could be helped."

It is highly likely that this line has helped Rolf Breuer, as judges have dismissed the suit on reparation of damages filed against him personally. Kirch's attorney wants to appeal against the court decision.

Kirch and his creditors, in their turn, have combined their claims addressed to Deutsche Bank and registered a claim against the bank at the NY circuit court. The US often fixes bigger compensations than Germany. Breuer was not really lucky as he had given that ill-fated interview in New York.

http://english.pravda.ru/world/20/91/365/11534_media.html

Judge tosses out Deutsche Bank 9-11 lawsuits against New York City

NEW YORK (AP) - A U.S. federal judge tossed out two Deutsche Bank lawsuits against New York City, alleging that actions the city took before and after the Sept. 11 terrorist attack damaged their World Trade Center properties.

Judge Alvin Hellerstein in Manhattan dismissed some of the litigation for procedural reasons and other claims on the grounds that injuries suffered by the bank were no more than were suffered generally by the public.

He said the bank can refile its lawsuit specifying how its injuries were worse than those suffered by other entities and individuals.

Deutsche Bank had sought to hold the city responsible for more than $500 million US in damage to its 41-story office tower at 130 Liberty St., across the street from the trade centre. Debris from the trade centre left a 15-storey gash in the building's facade.

While the building was deemed structurally sound, it became infested with mould caused by moisture from fire sprinklers.

Michael Cardozo, a city lawyer, said in a statement he was pleased that the judge tossed out the lawsuits.

"We believe these complaints have absolutely no factual or legal merit," he said. "We will continue to vigorously oppose any effort by the company to blame New York City for damages that were, in fact, caused by the terrorists who attacked the World Trade Center- not by the city, who itself was a victim."

Rohini Pragasam, a Deutsche Bank spokeswoman, said she could not comment immediately on the judge's ruling.

Several weeks ago, she said the bank sued the city because the bank's insurance companies require it to preserve any claims the bank might have against third parties.

Deutsche Bank has said it plans to demolish the building and has filed a lawsuit against two European insurance companies to force them to pay for their share of the demolition costs. The insurance companies have maintained that the building can be repaired.



http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/WarOnTerrorism/2003/08/28/171173-ap.html

Deutsche Bank Top Agency Underwriter For 2003
Wednesday December 31, 2:02 pm ET


US Federal Credit Agency Debt
Full to Book Runner (Equal if Joint)
1/1/2003-12/31/2003 1/1/2002-12/31/2002
=============================================================================
Proceeds Mkt. # of Proceeds Mkt. # of
Managers (US$ mln) Rank Share Issues (US$ mln) Rank Share Issues
=============================================================================

Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE:DB - News) 45468.6 1 12.3 117 33333.2 4 10.0 71
Morgan Stanley 42535.5 2 11.5 128 36702.2 1 11.0 121
Citigroup 41503.0 3 11.3 89 22374.7 7 6.7 130
Lehman Brothers 41132.2 4 11.2 158 35429.2 2 10.7 155
Merrill Lynch 35430.9 5 9.6 148 34062.3 3 10.3 158
UBS 22113.2 6 6.0 191 25801.9 5 7.8 211
CS First Boston 21484.1 7 5.8 68 21192.3 8 6.4 112
Goldman Sachs 18790.9 8 5.1 48 24547.0 6 7.4 133
Bear Stearns 18506.8 9 5.0 79 11658.1 11 3.5 79
ABN AMRO 12260.8 10 3.3 104 15290.5 10 4.6 139
JP Morgan Chase 11507.4 11 3.1 65 21056.8 9 6.3 89
Barclays Capital 9571.8 12 2.6 24 4767.2 14 1.4 41
First Tennessee 8078.3 13 2.2 147 6075.3 12 1.8 135
HSBC Holdings PLC 7283.6 14 2.0 32 4493.5 15 1.4 44
US Bancorp 5005.9 15 1.4 188 3576.6 17 1.1 159
Banc of America 4072.0 16 1.1 45 5998.4 13 1.8 46
RoyalBofScotland 3822.7 17 1.0 35 2164.4 22 .7 31
BNP Paribas SA 2244.7 18 .6 3 - - - -
Wells Fargo 1969.8 19 .5 92 2974.2 18 .9 134
Morgan Keegan Inc 1828.5 20 .5 62 3614.5 16 1.1 157
Countrywide Sec 1644.3 21 .5 68 2233.5 20 .7 98
Mizuno Financ Gp 1293.1 22 .4 50 1755.8 23 .5 64
RBC Capital Markets 1154.1 23 .3 61 1418.2 25 .4 56
Vinings-Sparks 1144.4 24 .3 55 2194.1 21 .7 114
Wachovia Corp 1066.7 25 .3 40 2705.9 19 .8 61
Nomura 440.0 30 .1 6 1541.0 24 .5 5

Subtotal w/Books 368785.3 - 100.0 1754 332356.1 - 100.0 2088
Subtotal w/out Books .0 - .0 0 .0 - .0 0

Industry Total 368785.3 - 100.0 1754 332356.1 - 100.0 2088

(*):tie
Source: Thomson Financial Securities Data

http://biz.yahoo.com/djus/031231/1402000534_1.html

Top 10 Worldwide Announced M&A Advisors


Adviser Rank 2003 No. of 2002 Rank No. of
$bil Deals $bil Deals

Goldman Sachs & Co (NYSE:GS - News) 1 392.7 298 296.8 1 281
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MWD - News) 2 239.5 239 192.8 3 261
Citigroup 3 219.6 307 201.9 2 341
Merrill Lynch & Co Inc (NYSE:MER - News) 4 213.5 191 168.2 6 200
JP Morgan 5 206.4 291 174.2 5 309
Lazard 6 154.2 188 155.9 7 205
Credit Suisse First Boston 7 153.2 294 192.1 4 351
UBS 8 152.1 257 118.6 11 210
Lehman Brothers 9 147.2 180 131.1 8 188
Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE:DB - News) 10 126.8 178 125.0 9 205


Industry Total 1,333.3 27,753 1,207.2 26,271
Source: Thomson Financial



Worldwide Announced Mergers & Acquisitions


Announcement Date Ranking Value inc.
Net Debt Number of
of Target ($ Mil) Deals

1st quarter 1998 491,147.5 7,288
2nd quarter 1998 908,369.4 7,959
3rd quarter 1998 524,793.0 7,952
4th quarter 1998 579,865.0 7,793
1st quarter 1999 694,233.7 8,433
2nd quarter 1999 789,839.2 8,521
3rd quarter 1999 780,235.9 8,405
4th quarter 1999 1,019,261.9 8,968
1st quarter 2000 1,189,636.1 10,339
2nd quarter 2000 751,832.2 9,785
3rd quarter 2000 800,533.0 9,343
4th quarter 2000 681,224.7 9,111
1st quarter 2001 447,769.9 8,223
2nd quarter 2001 457,861.7 8,159
3rd quarter 2001 421,271.6 6,721
4th quarter 2001 368,316.1 6,998
1st quarter 2002 260,435.7 6,460
2nd quarter 2002 330,096.4 6,609
3rd quarter 2002 296,355.7 6,526
4th quarter 2002 320,357.8 6,676
1st quarter 2003 266,020.2 6,660
2nd quarter 2003 339,888.9 6,862
3rd quarter 2003 312,247.2 7,093
4th quarter 2003 415,119.5 7,138


Source: Thomson Financial


Top 30 Worldwide Announced M&A Deals By Deal Value (excluding liabilities)


Acquiror Name Target Name Date Trans. Value
Announced Excluding
Assumed Liab
($Bil)

Bank of America (US) FleetBoston (US) 10/27/03 49.26

Olivetti (Italy) Telecom Italia (Italy) 3/12/03 27.84

Deposit Insur (Japan) Resona Bank (Japan) 6/10/03 16.65

Anthem (US) WellPoint Health (US) 10/27/03 16.44

St Paul Cos (US) Travelers Ppty (US) 11/17/03 16.14

Yukosneftegaz (Russia) Sibneft (Russia) 4/22/03 13.62

Genl Elec (US) Vivendi Univ (US) 10/8/03 11.98

Manulife Fincl (Canada) John Hancock Fincl (US) 9/28/03 11.06

D/S Svendborg (Denmark) D/S 1912 (Denmark) 5/6/03 9.85

Genl Elec (US) Amersham PLC (UK) 10/10/03 9.38

Liberty Media (US) QVC Inc (US) 7/3/03 7.90

BP PLC-Russia (Russia) Alfa,Renova-Russia (Russia) 2/11/03 7.60

Oracle (US) PeopleSoft (US) 6/6/03 7.47

First Data (US) Concord EFS (US) 4/2/03 7.18

Citigroup (U.S.) Sears-Credit Card (US) 7/15/03 7.10

France Telecom (France) Orange SA (France) 9/1/03 7.09

News Corp (Australia) Hughes Elec (US) 4/9/03 6.88

IDEC Pharma (US) Biogen Inc (US) 6/20/03 6.83

China Telecom (China) China Telecom-Fixed Line 7/14/03 5.56
(China)
Caremark Rx (US) AdvancePCS (US) 9/2/03 5.55

Alcan (Canada) Pechiney SA (France) 7/7/03 5.30

William Morrison (UK) Safeway PLC (UK) 1/9/03 5.18

Great-West Lifeco (Cda) Canada Life Fincl (Canada) 2/17/03 4.69

Investor Grp (Germany) TCHIBO Holding AG (Germany) 8/19/03 4.46

Koch Industries (US) Invista (US) 8/31/03 4.40

Investor Group (US) Ondeo Nalco (US) 9/4/03 4.35

Investor Group (Germany) Beiersdorf AG (Germany) 10/23/03 4.20

Spirit Amber Bidco (US) Scottish & Newcastle-Ret Bus 10/6/03 4.17
(UK)
CNCE (France) Caisses d Epargne (France) 7/4/03 3.94

ANZ Banking (NZ) Natl Bank of New Zealand (NZ) 9/25/03 3.79


Source: Thomson Financial

http://biz.yahoo.com/djus/031231/1108000450_4.html

Deutsche Bank to Build-up US Equity Energy Research Team
Tuesday January 6, 2:43 pm ET
Paul Sankey and Nick Aldridge to Relocate from Edinburgh to New York


NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 6, 2004--Deutsche Bank Securities' today announced it is building-up its US equity energy research team by relocating Paul Sankey and Nick Aldridge from its oils team in Edinburgh to New York City during the first quarter of 2004. The analysts will bring coverage of the global large-cap integrated oils to the US and substantially enhance the Bank's US-based coverage of key energy names.
"Paul and Nick's integration into our US research energy team will serve to further boost Deutsche Bank's research product and assist in expanding our franchise in the US," said Tim Andrew, Head of North American Equity Research. "These changes underscore Deutsche Bank's considerable commitment to energy research and the oil sector."

Sankey, with over 13 years of energy industry experience, has been part of Deutsche Bank's global oil and gas team since 2000 and has been responsible for covering the large-cap oils market. Previously, he held positions at Wood Mackenzie and the International Energy Agency.

Since joining the global oil and gas team in 2000, Aldridge has supported the coverage of large-cap oil stocks. He has specialized in oil growth themes and his in-depth knowledge of the international oil industry's developments in Russia's upstream and worldwide deep-water exploration business has been an integral part of the Bank's oil coverage.

Sankey and Aldridge will work closely with Jay Saunders, who will continue to cover the North American mid-cap integrated oils and refiners, as well as his contribution to the team's oil market analysis.

JJ Traynor, co-head of Deutsche Bank's Global Oil & Gas team, will continue to be the lead analyst on US large cap stocks. Caroline Cook, Nick Griffin and JJ Traynor will continue covering the Pan-European oil stocks.

About Deutsche Bank

With roughly EUR 864 billion in assets and approximately 68,500 employees, Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB - News) offers its 13 million clients unparalleled financial services in 76 countries throughout the world. Deutsche Bank competes to be the leading global provider of financial solutions for demanding clients creating exceptional value for its shareholders and people.

Deutsche Bank ranks among the global leaders in corporate banking and securities, transaction banking, asset management, and private wealth management, and has a significant private & business banking franchise in Germany and other selected countries in Continental Europe.

Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. is the investment banking and securities arm of Deutsche Bank AG in the United States.

www.deutsche-bank.com



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contact:
Deutsche Bank
Juanita Gutierrez, 212-250-4592

Czech Govt Okays Plan For Telecom Privatization Adviser
Wednesday January 7, 12:44 pm ET


PRAGUE (Dow Jones)--Czech Finance Minister Bohuslav Sobotka Wednesday said the government, as expected, has approved the privatization plan of Cesky Telecom AS (BAATELEC.PR), the country's leading telecommunications operator.
The government will put together a privatization commission for the sale of its 51% stake in the company and hold a tender to chose a privatization adviser by the end of May, Sobotka told a news conference, following a weekly government meeting.

Sobotka said the privatization will be a standard process that is likely to run all year.

He confirmed earlier reports that the adviser will have a wide authority to develop the best-fitting plan for the Cesky Telecom sale, including offering the stake to one or a group of strategic investors, or placing the government-owned shares on the capital markets.

"Other options aren't excluded," Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla said during the same press conference, reiterating Sobotka's statement.

The privatization commission for Cesky Telecom will have eight members, with representatives from the Finance Ministry, the Interior Ministry, the Ministry of Information and Technology and the National Property Fund, or FNM, Sobotka said.

The tender to chose the adviser should begin by Jan. 15 with the winner to be retained by May 30, Sobotka said.

By the middle of the year, the government wants to approve a plan of how the privatization should actually be carried out, he said.

Sobotka reiterated that the adviser will play a major role in determining at what conditions the privatization should take place.

According to Sobotka, key terms are finding a strong partner and getting the best possible price for the government-owned share.

Sobotka declined to comment on his personal preferences about the sale. He said the discussions about the privatization plan only last about 10 minutes at the government meeting.

The real debate on the privatization terms will only begin later in the year, he said.

Sobotka declined to comment on the company's current dividend policy and said there had been no discussion whether the privatization could include a management buyout.

Cesky Telecom shares Wednesday closed down 1.8% at 287.8 koruna ($1=CZK25.4), partly over fears of some investors that the government would prefer placing its Cesky Telecom stake on capital markets rather than seeking a strategic investor. According to some local market observers, Cesky Telecom gains at the end of last year were in part motivated by speculation that a new strategic owner would be required to make a fair buyout offer to Cesky Telecom's minority shareholder. Such a scenario wouldn't take place if the ownership was more dispersed, local market players say.

Sobotka also said that he expects the transaction to be smoother than the government's earlier sale attempts. The government is in a much better position in this particular privatization as both outstanding questions, regarding minority shareholders TelSource N.V. and a 49% stake in mobile unit Eurotel Praha Spol. SRO , have been resolved, he said.

The government failed to sell Cesky Telecom in 2001 and 2002 to a Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE:DB - News) -led consortium, mostly due to differences over the price payable to TelSource.

Late last year, the company completed a full consolidation of Eurotel, making the merged company more attractive due to its strengthened market position.

The exit of TelSource, jointly operated by Dutch telecommunications company Royal KPN and its Swiss peer Swisscom AG (NYSE:SCM - News) , has left the government in full control of Cesky Telecom's management.

Government, Cesky Telecom Web sites: http://www.vlada.cz, http:// www.telecom.cz

-By Douglas Lytle and Leos Rousek, Dow Jones Newswires; 4202-2108-5273; leos.rousek@dowjones.com

Deutsche Bank To Announce Real Estate Sale -Sources -VWD
Wednesday January 7, 5:50 am ET

FRANKFURT -(Dow Jones)- Deutsche Bank is about to announce the sale of its real estate private equity portfolio, German news agency VWD reported Wednesday, citing sources.
The sale will take place in the "very near future," and probably already this week, VWD quoted sources as saying.

A spokesman for the bank declined to comment on the report.

In late December, the Financial Times reported that the bank was close to selling the portfolio for $1.2 billion to a group of investors.

At the time, analysts said the move would fit well with the strategy of Germany's largest bank of refocusing on core business. It would follow the sale in November of some 51 bank branches and offices across Europe to Blackstone Group for EUR1.04 billion and the disposal of some London real estate assets in February.

Analysts say further property disposal can be expected to improve the bank's core capital ratio due to a reduction in risk-weighted assets kept on the books. However, they don't expect a major effect on earnings. The bank booked a loss of around EUR100 million from the property sale to Blackstone.

-By Elena Logoutenkova, Dow Jones Newswires; +49 69 29725 500; elena.logoutenkova@dowjones.com

Feds Again Scrutinize Investment Banks
Tuesday January 6, 11:25 pm ET
By Marcy Gordon, AP Business Writer
Investment Banks Under Federal Regulators' Scrutiny in New Corporate Scandal -- the Parmalat Fraud


WASHINGTON (AP) -- Big investment banks are under renewed federal scrutiny in the multibillion-dollar Parmalat fraud case, as investigators are examining the banks' role in helping the Italian dairy giant sell bonds and questioning whether they turned a blind eye to irregularities in company books.
Following a stunning bankruptcy, the expanding case is being dubbed Europe's Enron. And the regulators' focus on Wall Street banks behind big-money deals recalls the Enron aftermath.

For the banks, "it's still a really competitive business where they're under a lot of pressure to be creative. And sometimes creative turns into illegal," said David Yellen, dean of Hofstra University Law School.

The banks can reap millions of dollars in fees from arranging sales of securities and other financial deals, an incentive that led some investment houses to aid Enron in its dodgy accounting, congressional investigators have found.

The Securities and Exchange Commission, which charged Parmalat SpA with "one of the largest and most brazen corporate financial frauds in history" in a civil lawsuit filed Dec. 29, also is investigating the possible role of U.S. banks in the company's sales of nearly $1.5 billion in bonds and notes to U.S. investors. Parmalat officials misled the investors by "grossly overstating the amount of the liquid assets" in its financial statements, the suit alleges.

SEC officials decline to discuss the Parmalat investigation other than to describe it as active and wide-ranging, and they will not name specific banks that may be under scrutiny.

But Lawrence West, an associate director of enforcement, noted Tuesday that, in general, when a company engages in a large accounting fraud and issues securities at the same time, "we typically look at all of the participants in the securities offerings." West flew to Italy last week to meet with investigators.

Yellen and other legal experts say the SEC could bring actions against investment banks even without evidence that bank officials were aware of Parmalat's fraud.

Already Monday, a pension fund for Alaskan carpenters named Citigroup -- which arranged a financial transaction for Parmalat -- in its investor suit against Parmalat founder and former chairman Calisto Tanzi (now jailed in Milan) and ex-chief financial officer Fausto Tonna. The suit alleges that the former company officials, Citigroup and outside auditors and attorneys together hatched a deceptive scheme to raise more than $5 billion in sales of securities.

Specifically, Citigroup is said to have created a complex financial structure dubbed "Buconero," Italian for "black hole," allegedly used by Parmalat executives to hide debt.

Citigroup said Tuesday, "We believe the suit is without merit." The company, which is the largest U.S. financial institution, says the 1999 deal worth 117 million euros was "relatively small and appropriate."

"Regrettably, the legal vehicle associated with this transaction was named Buconero," Citigroup said in a statement.

Other powerhouse investment banks whose names have surfaced include Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and Germany's Deutsche Bank, which were among the institutions that financed Parmalat's bond sales. Merrill Lynch also arranged a financing deal for the company.

Spokesmen for the banks have declined comment. None has been accused of wrongdoing.

The Parmalat scandal was touched off last month after the company acknowledged it didn't have a multibillion-dollar Bank of America account, as it had earlier claimed. The bank says a letter confirming the money was forged.

Amid the wave of corporate scandals in 2002, congressional investigations shone a spotlight on the role its investment banks Citigroup, Merrill and J.P. Morgan Chase played in Enron's complex, deceptive financial schemes.

Last March, Merrill agreed to pay $80 million to resolve the SEC's charges that it helped the big energy company fraudulently inflate profit and mislead investors with two complex transactions. And in July, Citigroup and J.P. Morgan Chase agreed to pay $101 million and $135 million, respectively, in similar settlements related to Enron's fraud. The banks neither admitted to nor denied wrongdoing in the accords.

"Given Citigroup and Merrill Lynch's collaboration with Enron in deceptive accounting practices to make Enron's books look better than they were, I'm obviously suspicious of their transactions with Parmalat," Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., who led one of the 2002 investigations, said Tuesday. Levin added, however, that he can't draw any conclusions "until the evidence comes in showing the nature of the transactions, when they took place and how much money was involved."

In the $11 billion WorldCom case, Citigroup's Salomon Smith Barney has come under examination in connection with its bond underwriting for the telecom giant, which filed the biggest corporate bankruptcy in U.S. history in July 2002.

Parmalat SpA: http://www.parmalat.com

Securities and Exchange Commission: http://www.sec.gov

Deutsche Bank acknowledges reducing Parmalat stake, but won't say when

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) -- Germany's Deutsche Bank acknowledged Wednesday that it had reduced its stake in the troubled Italian food giant Parmalat, but did not say when.
Italian media reports say Deutsche Bank's stake dropped on Dec. 19, the day Parmalat acknowledged it didn't have a multibillion dollar Bank of America account as it had earlier claimed -- an admission that set off the scandal.

Deutsche Bank said in a statement that it had held a stake of 5.157 percent in Parmalat that "later" was reduced to 1.57 percent, but did not specify when it made the move. Bank officials refused to elaborate, saying they were cooperating with regulatory authorities.

The timing of the reduction could indicate how much the German bank knew of the company's financial problems.

Deutsche Bank's statement came as Italy's ANSA news agency reported that the bank's representatives arrived at the Parma offices of prosecutors examining the scandal. Deutsche Bank spokesman Klaus Winker would not confirm the meeting.

Investigators in Parma have been grilling key witness and former Parmalat CFO Fausto Tonna on Parmalat's relations with Italian and international banks.

Germany's financial services regulator, known as BaFin, said it was looking into Deutsche Bank's involvement with Parmalat. But spokeswoman Sabine Reimer stressed that no formal investigation has been launched.

"The overall risk to Deutsche Bank from its business relationship with Parmalat is not significant," the bank said. It added that its remaining stake has "no strategic significance."

Italian Prosecutors May Add to Charges In Parmalat Case

By Alessandra Galloni and David Reilly, Staff Reporters of The Wall Street Journal


MILAN -- Milan prosecutors are considering adding insider trading to the list of alleged crimes that led to the collapse of Parmalat SpA, a person involved in the investigation said, and are evaluating whether to name auditors from Deloitte & Touche as subjects of their inquiry into auditing irregularities at the fallen dairy conglomerate.

Germany's Deutsche Bank AG was also brought into the fray of the widening Parmalat affair, with bank officials meeting Wednesday with Parma, Italy, prosecutors to discuss, among other things, the bank's 350 million euro ($445.9 million) bond issue for Parmalat in September.

German regulators said they were looking into the possible effects of Parmalat's woes on German companies. While the Parma prosecutors delve into years of alleged fraud that led to a multibillion-euro deficit in Parmalat's balance sheet, Milan investigators are looking at related aspects of the case: years of alleged securities-market rigging and auditing irregularities by the dairy company's executives and outside auditors.

Milan prosecutors could begin the first trial proceedings regarding the company as soon as this month. But launching any formal probe into insider trading will depend on receiving a recommendation to proceed from the Italian stock-market watchdog, Consob -- a step that could take days or months.

Investigators are trying to understand how Italian and foreign banks lent money to and issued bonds for Parmalat without realizing the true state of the company's finances and notifying the market. They are also trying to figure out why auditors, mainly two top executives of the Italian affiliate of Grant Thornton, didn't set off alarm bells.

Wednesday, Milan prosecutors met with a lawyer for Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - News) . Citigroup lent money to and placed bonds for Parmalat. In 1999, Parmalat entered a 117 million euro structured-finance transaction with Citigroup involving a Citigroup vehicle called Buconero -- the Italian word for "black hole." Though Parmalat booked the investment as a form of equity, analysts now say it should have been counted as debt. Citigroup has said the transaction was "appropriate."

People familiar with the situation say Citigroup requested the meeting with Italian prosecutors to clear up its role and to provide information to help their investigations. In a statement Wednesday, a spokeswoman for Citigroup said the bank "remains committed to assisting authorities with any inquiries they may have regarding Parmalat."

While Deutsche Bank officials were meeting with investigators in Parma, the German bank confirmed it reduced a 5.16% stake it held in Parmalat to 1.6% on Dec. 19, the same day evidence of alleged fraud emerged at the Italian dairy company. What remains unclear is whether the stock was sold before or after news of the alleged fraud broke.

Deutsche Bank has said it borrowed the stock to support "client brokerage activities," but has declined to identify on whose behalf it was acting. A spokeswoman for the bank declined to comment Wednesday on the timing of its sale.

Milan investigators are evaluating whether to name any Deloitte auditors as subjects of their probe, according to the person involved in the investigation. Deloitte has been Parmalat's main auditor since 1999, when it took over from Grant Thornton after a new Italian law required companies to switch auditors every nine years.

A spokeswoman for Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu International, the firm's international network, said, "We expect to be called by the magistrates, it would be surprising in a case like this if we weren't." She added that the firm believes it behaved properly in relation to Parmalat's audit and has been cooperating with investigators.

Deloitte didn't audit Bonlat Financing Corp., the Cayman Islands subsidiary of Parmalat that prosecutors allege is at the heart of the fraud. Parmalat decided Grant Thornton would continue to audit Bonlat and many other subsidiaries, an acceptable practice under Italian regulations. But Deloitte did sign off on Parmalat's group financial statements, which raises the question of its overall responsibility, even if any errors or wrongdoing are attributable to Grant Thornton.

Days before the alleged fraud at Parmalat emerged, Claudio Muollo, a director in Grant Thornton's Milan office, said in an interview that no matter what came up in relation to the Bonlat audit, "under Italian law, the principal auditor must take responsibility for the work of the other auditors."

Mr. Muollo, who wasn't available for comment Wednesday, hasn't been accused of wrongdoing. A Deloitte spokeswoman didn't respond to a request for comment on this statement. Deloitte has declined to detail how or whether it checked the audits done by Grant Thornton. Deloitte has also declined to say whether it stands behind its audit of Parmalat's 2002 accounts, which Italian regulator Consob formally challenged Monday.

Meanwhile, Milan prosecutors suspect insider trading occurred in Parmalat's shares leading up to and after Dec. 19, when Bank of America (BAC) revealed that a 3.9 billion euro bank account allegedly held by a Parmalat subsidiary didn't exist. Before Milan prosecutors can name anyone as a subject in an insider- trading probe, they must await checks by Italian bourse regulator Consob. A Consob spokesman declined to comment on Parmalat, but said past checks in cases of alleged insider trading have taken days or months. One person familiar with the probe didn't say what evidence the prosecutors have of insider trading or who they believe may have conducted improper trades.

Separately, Germany's banking regulator, known as BaFin, confirmed it is looking into possible effects from the Parmalat collapse on the German financial industry.

"When a company as big as Parmalat goes bankrupt, it could affect the German financial industry in a variety of ways," said Oliver Struck, a spokesman for BaFin. He said the regulator hasn't launched a formal investigation, but has been "collecting information" from any German companies that may be affected since the Italian dairy company's problems became known.

The Parmalat affair has turned into one of Europe's biggest-ever financial scandals. At least seven billion euros are unaccounted for in Parmalat's accounts. Founder and former Chairman Calisto Tanzi and another top former executive have told prosecutors the gap resulted from years of losses at Parmalat operations and the diversion of funds to businesses owned by the Tanzi family, according to people familiar with their testimony. Mr. Tanzi, four former Parmalat executives, two auditors and an external counsel, all of whom are in jail pending further investigation, have been named as subjects of both the Parma and Milan probes, although none has been charged.

The Milan prosecutors hope to indict suspects and start trial proceedings in the next couple of weeks, according to people close to the investigation. There are three possible avenues for legal proceedings: a full-blown public trial, an out-of-court settlement or a so-called abbreviated procedure. This type of trial happens behind closed doors and moves faster than usual because only the evidence gathered during the first phase of the investigation is examined. Because it recognizes defendants' willingness to move fast, any sentence resulting from a guilty verdict is reduced by a third.

The crimes of market rigging and false communications by auditors carry between one and four years in prison each.

Japan Shinsei Bank IPO In Pipeline; One Of Biggest Of Year


TOKYO -(Dow Jones)- A major initial public offering by Japan's Shinsei Bank Ltd. is apparently in the pipeline, with the bank reportedly planning to list on the Tokyo Stock Exchange next month.

Having successfully cleaned up its balance sheet and rebuilt its business model, the first Japanese bank purchased by a group of foreign investors has been aiming to go public between January and March. Morgan Stanley, Nikko Citigroup and Nomura Securities are managing the IPO.

The Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported in its Thursday evening edition that Shinsei Bank is likely to list on the TSE around Feb. 19. A spokesman at Shinsei Bank declined to comment on the report.

Tokyo stock market participants have been waiting for the planned listing by Shinsei Bank as one of the biggest IPOs in the works for this year. Some players said the bank's IPO could soak up between Y200 billion to Y300 billion from the stock market.

Shinsei Bank was created in 2000 from the ashes of the defunct Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan. The LTCB was renamed Shinsei Bank following the takeover by a consortium led by U.S. investment firm Ripplewood Holdings LLC .

Led by chairman and chief executive Masamoto Yashiro, an outspoken reformer, Shinsei Bank has managed to post profits at a time when its bigger rivals were groaning under mountains of bad loans. Shinsei slashed the amount of bad loans by 90% over the past four years, while boosting retail and investment banking operations.

Last month, the Japanese government approved Shinsei Bank's plan to convert into a commercial bank as of April 1, from its current status as a long-term credit bank.

The LTCB focused on wealthy depositors by selling bond debentures and extended long-term loans to corporations. But Shinsei now offers more sophisticated and varied services to ordinary customers, such as free-of-charge use of any automated teller machines linked with Shinsei and its relatively high interest rates on yen and foreign-currency deposits.

Yashiro has said in an interview with Dow Jones Newswires that while actual share sales and distribution plans will be set by general partners of the New LTCB Partners C.V., not by Shinsei Bank, those foreign investors that are currently in a consortium led by Ripplewood will likely maintain a combined majority stake after the IPO.

Ripplewood, Mellon Bank Corp., GE Capital and several other U.S. institutions, as well as Germany's Deutsche Bank AG and Canada's Bank of Nova Scotia are in the limited partnership that currently owns most of Shinsei Bank.

Japanese media and market participants often use the word "re-listing" for Shinsei Bank's IPO because LTCB was once a major listed bank until it was nationalized in 1998. In that context, Shinsei Bank will be the first bank to re-list on a stock exchange after being temporarily nationalized.

Breathe deep the gathering bloom
Watch lights ignite in every room
Beckon the people who are lost in lament
Another days useless in a years spent.

Warm hearted orb that rules the Knights
Who adds infinite colors to their sights
Wrong is grey and right is might
But in the end, we decide which is right.

And what is an illusion!


By your leave me'lady!

Under what Bush lay these defendants? Senior or Junior?

Opinions do not equate to facts. Let ye wallow in the past while the knights of the future ride into your next sunset! Life is in you today and you make your own tomorrow! Thou art the cause of thine own miserable existence. Seek ye not to shift the blame to God lest he answer your prayers.

Then I shall label ye no more! As ye have done unto me!

There are two sides to every coin:

http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=2000806

Your question should be, who will hold the "coin" when the game is over? Will it be a disbarred corrupt lawyer or the King of the meek and mild? Prepare the boy scouts to do their bidding!

That whole legal barf is a bunch of jabberwockies gibberating much ado about nothingness.

It is interesting how there are so many hostile elements that bite the hands that try to feed them.

Will you take me higher? To that place where blind men see?

Reminds me of the story of the guy who knew he was going to go to heaven. There was a flood, and along comes a boat with a person yelling "Hurry, jump in, we'll take you to dry land". The fellow says "No, God is going to come soon".

Then along comes a helicopter with a rope lowered and a booming loud speaker that beckons the man to "Climb off your roof!" as the water rises higher and higher. "Nope, God is going to come and get me soon!"

Then the man drowns and sees a glaring blinding light before him as he screams, "Oh, God!"

"Yes?", bellows the voice!

"What happened?" cries the dead man.

"You drowned!", says the ominipotence!

"Oh, how could he have forsaken me," weeps the poor soul!

And the omniscient sent him this message without another spoken word:

"You asked for me, I sent you a boat. You asked for me again and I sent you a helicopter. Who has forsaken who?

And the soul was silent forever thereafter!

Forsake:

To give up (something formerly held dear); renounce: forsook liquor.

To leave altogether; abandon: forsook Hollywood and returned to the legitimate stage.

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=forsaken

Till death do us part good stake holder.

Stake:

A piece of wood or metal pointed at one end for driving into the ground as a marker, fence pole, or tent peg.

A vertical post to which an offender is bound for execution by burning. As in the "Pantherj held the stake to which he sought to bind the King who had escaped the clutches of ignorance".

Execution by burning. Used with the: condemned to the stake.

A vertical post secured in a socket at the edge of a platform, as on a truck bed, to help retain the load.

Mormon Church. A territorial division consisting of a group of wards under the jurisdiction of a president.

Money or property risked in a wager or gambling game. Often used in the plural. See Synonyms at bet.

The prize awarded the winner of a contest or race.

A race offering a prize to the winner, especially a horserace in which the prize consists of money contributed equally by the horse owners.

A share or an interest in an enterprise, especially a financial share.

Personal interest or involvement: a stake in her children's future.

A grubstake.

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=stake

In the name of the infinite infinitor of infinities, put down thine own mighty torch that burns ye eyeballs in the dead of knights and raize the dead, lest ye wish to start a war over the infinite abundance of the universe. Then come be my guest!

omnipotence

\Om*nip"o*tence\, Omnipotency \Om*nip"o*ten*cy\, n. [L. omnipotentia: cf.F. omnipotence.] 1. The state of being omnipotent; almighty power; hence, one who is omnipotent; the Deity.

Will Omnipotence neglect to save the suffering virtue of the wise and brave? --Pope.

Unlimited power of a particular kind; as, love's omnipotence. --Denham.

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=omnipotence

Looks like you, talks like you, walks like you, it must be you!

Please be more clear in your meanings of the words you are using:

Paranoid:

Relating to, characteristic of, or affected with paranoia.

Exhibiting or characterized by extreme and irrational fear or distrust of others: a paranoid suspicion that the phone might be bugged.

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=paranoia

Paranoia:

A psychotic disorder characterized by delusions of persecution with or without grandeur, often strenuously defended with apparent logic and reason.

Extreme, irrational distrust of others.

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=paranoia

Delusional:

The act or process of deluding.

The state of being deluded.

A false belief or opinion: labored under the delusion that success was at hand.

Psychiatry. A false belief strongly held in spite of invalidating evidence, especially as a symptom of mental illness: delusions of persecution.

Deluding:

To deceive the mind or judgment of: fraudulent ads that delude consumers into sending in money. See Synonyms at deceive.

To elude or evade.

To frustrate the hopes or plans of.

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=deluding

Delude:

\De*lude"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Deluded; p. pr. & vb. n. Deluding.] [L. deludere, delusum; de- + ludere to play, make sport of, mock. See Ludicrous.] 1. To lead from truth or into error; to mislead the mind or judgment of; to beguile; to impose on; to dupe; to make a fool of.

To delude the nation by an airy phantom. --Burke.

2. To frustrate or disappoint.

It deludes thy search. --Dryden.

Syn: To mislead; deceive; beguile; cajole; cheat; dupe. See Deceive.

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=delude


Garbage:

Food wastes, as from a kitchen.

Refuse; trash.

A place or receptacle where rubbish is discarded: tossed the apple core into the garbage.

Worthless or nonsensical matter; rubbish: Their advice turned out to be nothing but garbage.

Inferior or offensive literary or artistic material.

Computer Science. Incorrect, meaningless, or unwanted data.

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=garbage

So what do you mean by that false yet misleading statement and accusation? Would you care to expound on your eruditeness?

One might like to be erudite but hesitate to be rude. This preference is supported by the etymological relationship between erudite and rude. Erudite comes from the Latin adjective rudtus, “well-instructed, learned,” from the past participle of the verb rudre, “to educate, train.” The verb is in turn formed from the prefix ex-, “out, out of,” and the adjective rudis, “untaught, untrained,” the source of our word rude. The English word erudite is first recorded in a work possibly written before 1425 with the senses “instructed, learned.” Erudite meaning “learned” is supposed to have become rare except in sarcastic use during the latter part of the 19th century, but the word now seems to have been restored to favor.

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=eruditeness

And who are you really? I know you already are, but who art thou? Really! What are you too?

The Federal Reserve Board on Friday announced the issuance of an Order of Prohibition and Order to Cease and Desist against Scott Smolinski, a former vice president of the James Monroe Bank, Arlington, Virginia.

Mr. Smolinski, without admitting to any allegations, consented to the issuance of the Order based on his alleged participation in violations of law and unsafe or unsound practices regarding identity theft, falsification of bank records, misapplication of bank funds, self-dealing and violations of institutional internal controls that resulted in losses and other damage to the bank and personal gain to Mr. Smolinski.

http://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/press/enforcement/2004/20040109/

The Federal Reserve Board on Friday named nine new members to its Consumer Advisory Council for three-year terms and designated a new Chair and Vice Chair of the Council for 2004.
The Council advises the Board on the exercise of its responsibilities under the Consumer Credit Protection Act and on other matters in the area of consumer financial services. The Council meets three times a year in Washington, D.C.

Agnes Bundy Scanlan was designated Chair; her term runs through December 2004. Ms. Scanlan is Managing Director and Chief Compliance Officer for FleetBoston Financial.

Mark Pinsky was designated Vice Chair; his term on the Council ends in December 2005. Mr. Pinsky is President and Chief Executive Officer for the National Community Capital Association.

The nine new members are:

Dennis L. Algiere
Westerly, Rhode Island

Mr. Algiere is Senior Vice President of Compliance and Community Affairs and the Community Reinvestment Officer for The Washington Trust Company. He is responsible for the bank's compliance, community affairs, community reinvestment, and Bank Secrecy Act programs.

Sheila Canavan
Berkeley, California

Ms. Canavan is an attorney with a law practice that focuses on consumer litigation. Her litigation experience has involved state and federal consumer regulation, elder abuse, fraud, and unfair and unlawful business practices; and she has special expertise in matters relating to subprime lending and securitization of home mortgage products. Ms. Canavan represents consumers, often low-income consumers, on credit transaction issues.

Anne Diedrick
New York, New York

Ms. Diedrick is a Senior Vice President for JP Morgan Chase. She is an executive team member of the JPMorgan Chase Community Development Group; the senior officer in charge of Community Reinvestment Act compliance at JPMorgan Chase Bank, Chase Manhattan Bank, USA, N.A. and J.P. Morgan Trust Company, N.A.; and the senior manager in charge of the JPMorgan Chase Corporate Fair Lending Unit. She is also responsible for the Office of Strategic Alliances, which works with not-for-profit community development organizations.

Hattie B. Dorsey
Atlanta, Georgia

Ms. Dorsey is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership, Inc., a not-for-profit corporation that promotes community revitalization in Atlanta's neighborhoods. Her experience is in single- and multi-family housing, community and economic development, regional equity, and public policy.

Bruce B. Morgan
Roeland Park, Kansas

Mr. Morgan is Chairman, President, Chief Executive Officer, and Director of Valley State Bank. He is actively involved in bank regulation, payments systems, and developing technologies that affect bank delivery of products and services. Mr. Morgan serves on the Customer Advisory Committee of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and on the Payment and Technology Committee of the Independent Community Bankers of America. He is a former member and past Chairman of the Kansas State Banking Board.

Mary Jane Seebach
Newbury Park, California

Ms. Seebach is Executive Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer for Countrywide Financial Corporation. She oversees legal and regulatory compliance programs throughout the enterprise. Previously, Ms. Seebach worked as regulatory counsel advising on state and federal consumer credit laws for Countrywide Home Loans, The Money Store, and North American Mortgage Company, and as a senior attorney for the Federal Reserve Board.

Paul J. Springman
Atlanta, Georgia

Mr. Springman is Group Executive, Predictive Sciences, for Equifax. He has responsibility for providing modeling, analytical services, decisioning systems and applications processing for clients. He has been involved in launching a new business line, "Consumer Direct," to provide credit information, account monitoring alerts, and scoring analysis services to consumers.

Forrest F. Stanley
Cleveland, Ohio

Mr. Stanley is Senior Vice President and Associate General Counsel for KeyBank. He has responsibility for all legal matters affecting retail banking including mortgage, home equity, credit and debit cards, privacy, the Community Reinvestment Act, e-commerce, and the USA Patriot Act. Mr. Stanley has also been director of two KeyBank subsidiaries, Champion Mortgage Company and Key Bank USA. He currently serves as Chairman of the bank's Fair Lending Executive Committee.

Lori R. Swanson
St. Paul, Minnesota

Ms. Swanson is Solicitor General for the Office of the Minnesota Attorney General. She is responsible for civil litigation and oversees several divisions including Consumer Enforcement, Commerce, and Consumer Services. She negotiated a first-of-its-kind settlement with a national bank in a lawsuit alleging violations of state consumer protection laws and the Fair Credit Reporting Act based on disclosure of personal financial information.


Council members whose terms continue through 2004 are:

Janie Barrera
President and Chief Executive Officer
ACCION Texas
San Antonio, Texas

Kenneth P. Bordelon
Chief Executive Officer
E Federal Credit Union
Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Robin Coffey
Vice President
Harris Trust and Savings Bank
Chicago, Illinois

Thomas FitzGibbon
Senior Vice President
MB Financial Bank, N.A.
Chicago, Illinois

Larry Hawkins
President and Chief Executive Officer
Unity National Bank
Houston, Texas

Ruhi Maker
Senior Attorney
Public Interest
Law Office of Rochester
Rochester, New York

Patricia McCoy
Professor of Law
University of Connecticut School of Law
Hartford, Connecticut

Elsie Meeks
Executive Director
First Nations Oweesta Corporation
Kyle, South Dakota

Debra S. Reyes
President
Neighborhood Lending Partners, Inc.
Tampa, Florida

Benson Roberts
Vice President for Policy
Local Initiatives Support Corporation
Washington, D.C.

Hubert Van Tol
Co-Director
Fairness in Rural Lending
Sparta, Wisconsin

Council members whose terms continue through 2005 are:

Susan Bredehoft
Senior Vice President/ Compliance Risk Management
Commerce Bank, N.A.
Cherry Hill, New Jersey

Dan Dixon
Group Senior Vice President
World Savings Bank, FSB
Washington, D.C.

James Garner
Senior Vice President and General Counsel
North American Consumer Finance, Citigroup
Baltimore, Maryland

R. Charles Gatson
Vice President
Midtown Community Development Corporation
Kansas City, Missouri

W. James King
President and Chief Executive Officer
Community Redevelopment Group
Cincinnati, Ohio

Benjamin Robinson, III
Senior Vice President, Strategy Management Executive
Bank of America
Charlotte, North Carolina

Diane Thompson
Supervising Attorney
Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation, Inc.
East St. Louis, Illinois

Clint Walker
General Counsel/Chief Administrative Officer
Juniper Bank
Wilmington, Delaware

http://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/press/other/2004/20040109

Bankers representing consumers? What kind of joke is that? Woof woof! Where's Rover? Here boy, go fetch! He He he...ha ha ha, hoo hoo hoo, who was the Egg Man? Where is the Walrus? Koo Koo Kachoo! Bless you!

Whose on first? What's on second? Where is third? Who is going home?

Anyone following this company?

Who are they?

In the United States District Court For the District of Nevada

CV-N-03-0463-ECR-VPC

Securities and Exchange Commission

Plaintiff

Gabor S. Acs and
Penny King Holdings, Inc.

Defendants

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the Plaintiff Securities and Exchange Commission will take the following depositions at the times and locations indicated:

Deponent: Gary Saunders, former President and CEO of eKnowledge.
Date: January 20, 2004
Time: 1 p.m pst.
Location: Paulson Reporting
Address: 11400 W. Olympic Blvd Suite 140, LA CA 90064
Phone: 877-342-5600

Deponent: Tom Sims, former President and CEO of Quintek Technologies
Date: January 21, 2004
Time: 8 am pst.
Location: Paulson Reporting
Address: 11400 W. Olympic Blvd Suite 140, LA CA 90064
Phone: 877-342-5600

You are invited to attend and cross-examine

Dated January 2, 2004.

Elizabeth Krupa
Polly Atkinson
Attorney for Plaintiff
Securities and Exchange Commission
1801 California Street, Suite 1500
Denver, Colorado 80202
303-844-1000

Bring on the media circus!

Bye Bye Miss American Pie!

Is the King dead yet?

Law Enforcement Misconduct

In Weaver v. United States, better known as "Standoff in Northern Idaho" or "Ruby Ridge", the case began as the criminal defense of Randy Weaver and Kevin Harris who were acquitted of murder charges in the self defense shooting of a U.S. Marshall. A wrongful death civil case was brought thereafter against the FBI, ATF and U.S. Marshall Service for the cold blooded shootings of Vicki and Sam Weaver, Randy's wife and son. The government settled the case for $3,100,000.

We represented the parents and siblings of Zachary Nobile, a 19 year old boy who was shot through the heart in his own bedroom by the Broken Arrow Police department. The jury found recklessness, excessive force and deliberate indifference resulting in the case settling on appeal for $680,000.

We represented an African-American who along with three other young African-Americans were arrested and charged with murder. A jury convicted all three men. Two men, including our client, were sentenced to death and the other two to life in prison. Our client spent 16 years on death row before he was released. Investigation revealed that our client and the others had no involvement in the murders. Cook County agreed to settle the civil suit and paid the plaintiffs a total of $36,000,000.

http://www.smswy.com/clientcases.html#Law%20Enforcement%20Misconduct

I'm asking you if you know what it means?

Spence, Moriarity & Shockey, LLC Attorneys at Law
Welcome to the law firm of Spence, Moriarity & Shockey, LLC. Since our founding by Gerry L. Spence over 30 years ago, we have represented people who have experienced serious personal injury, the wrongful death of a family member, medical malpractice, unjust criminal charges, or the violation of their civil rights.

We represent people who have suffered injuries at the workplace, during recreational activities, or in automobile, trucking, railroad, or aviation accidents. We take legal action based on products liability for injury or loss caused by defective products – equipment, toys, medical prostheses, pharmaceuticals, household products, etc. We represent people who are the victims of toxic exposures (poisoning of the air, water, etc.), employment discrimination, and bad faith execution of contracts by insurance companies, business entities, and service providers. Click here for a complete list of our practice areas and specialties.

We provide high-quality legal representation to ordinary people who may have limited or no financial resources to devote to the cost of litigation. If we do not win a monetary award for our client, we charge nothing for our services. Click here for more information about our clients and cases.

Partners

Spence, Moriarity & Shockey is made up of nine partners with combined legal experience of over 200 years, dedicated to the fight for the rights of the injured. Each partner has developed extensive knowledge and expertise in one or more of the practice areas and specialties of the firm. Click here for more information about our Partners.

Location

The main office of Spence, Moriarity & Shockey, LLC is located in Jackson, Wyoming. We also have an office in Salt Lake City Utah, and are affiliated with offices in Idaho, Nevada, and Montana. Our attorneys are licensed in several different states, and have worked on cases across the nation. For more information on our office locations, click here.

http://www.smswy.com/