Eco-Trade Corp. (fka BOPT)

[janice shell]

I don't recall ever seeing the actual company as the one paying the tout.

Long, long ago, companies used to admit to paying. Very few do that anymore. These days, the payor is usually said to be a "third party". It's rarely clear whether that third party is technically an affiliate or not, but you can be sure whoever it is holds a lot of stock it wants to dump. Occasionally a promoter will even say its client intends to sell.

Given that these promos often coincide with the debut of a new issue, or at least the reinvention of an old one, and that an avalanche of press releases accompanies the campaign, it is very hard to escape the conclusion that the company is in some way involved.