Mr. Fleming declines to say how much U.S. Basketball paid Wall Street West in exchange for promotion. He says he believes a disclaimer at the bottom of the Web site's front page is enough. It alerts users that the company "has received or will receive compensation for the dissemination of this information." Mr. Fleming says U.S. Basketball supplied a research report that is posted on the Wall Street West site. He says Wall Street West is responsible for all of the other research reports on the Web site.
"I don't think we have to say the amount [of compensation]," he says. "We've told the SEC what we're doing and they seem fine with it."
John Stark, special counsel for Internet projects for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, declines to comment specifically on Wall Street West. But he says the law is clear: Companies that promote stocks have to disclose whether or not they were compensated, and the specific amount. "It's not enough to give a vague blanket disclaimer. You have to say exactly what you received," he says.
Mr. Fleming says Wall Street West has been compensated by all 15 companies featured on it's home page. Only two of the profiles disclose the terms of the compensation.
