Does this seem right to anyone, the fine kind of seems small in comparison to other things. Merrill said basically we didnt do anything wrong and promise never to do it again. I would be interested to hear what everyone thinks. Fair or not?
OUTRAGEOUS. I expected much better of the prosecution. I'm really disappointed and disgusted. Fat straight-lying pigs like Komansky disgust me. And those guys are the backbone of the industry??? Sad, sad, sad. I really hope they get what they deserve one day.
i'm not defending merrill here but how come no one complains when guys like blodgett said a stock is valued at x+100 over its current price and it would be there within two days. millions were made by traders and investors smart enough to get out towards the top. in fact, how many people do you know boasted about how great they were at stock picking and trading. Ofcourse, they were also inferring at how smart they were. But when the bubble burst, naturally they must blame someone. No way could they look in the mirror and say they lost it all because of their greed and stupidity. Instead they aim for the big pockets of their brokers. merrill was clearly wrong but anyone falling for the analyst BS and hype should have known better and doesn't get sympathy from me. (For example, I always got a kick when an analysist would say NewCo X which doesn't make money, has been in business for less than a year and is being run by a bunch of college kids would argue that their potential makes them worth more than all of their old line competitors combined or company Y can justify their 250:1 PE ratio - even though they are just growing at 35% per annum)
I agree with Def. It's a sad comment on the whole system in general that people can always find a scapegoat to bail them out of a situation that they are in because of their own stupidity. It's human nature to not want to take responsibility for our own actions when we've screwed up, but if you can't fes up you're destined to have 'loser' stamped on your forehead for the rest of your life. These people are why Doctor Phil is on Oprah every week. If you bought qcom at $1000 and held it all the way to 25 bucks, and now you want to file a class action against the broker who made the recommendation, you deserve a kick in the ass. If you are an 80 year old retiree who put her whole life savings in cmgi because your broker was 'such a nice boy' and said it was a safe investment, you are stupid and deserve to be broke and living on food stamps. Yes, the brokerage industry was a shell game. The fact that brokers were in the back pocket of the investment banking guys wasn't exactly a secret to anyone who did a little reading. They got caught, the whole industry is going to reform and move on. But it boils down to this- you and you alone are responsible for all the decisions you make. Some people lie, don't believe everything you hear. And if you do, admit when you've been had and move on.
what seems even more amazing is that anyone took notice of the analysts - and really frightening is that guys who run mutual funds - who must have the best free ride in the universe - claim to buy stocks on analysts recomendations - and they are the ones complaining i am sure merrills or any of these companies are amazed any one has ever taken any notice of their self serving recomendations - but i guess that would be a hard defense for them to bring up! if any these mutual fund guys worked for me - i would definetly fire them! - maybe even sue them for gross ineffectivness, stupidity and laziness! these are the ones who goverments should be going after for pissing away peoples money and this includes most of the pension money in Europe the one good part of which will probably be bringing down the European politicians with self ingratiating dream of a united Europe - mixing third world countries with the mature countries of Europe is about the stupidest idea ever, one currency does not mean anything - when they all speak different languages - and hate each other!!! but the fat cat politians are raking it in from the European parliamnent and all see it as a great retirement gig - including the prime minister of the UK - who is only pushing it so he can be the President of Europe - fortunatley this nightmare scenario will be over in 5 years with the Euro and the European community meeting its ineviatable end - otherwise the whole of Europe will go into recession and bring down the rest of the world's economies
I have said time and time again we are in a corrupt profession. That being said-I'm offended by Lexor's post. No lexor I don't think an 80 Year old retiree(a lady in this case) who was led down the primrose path by some scumbag broker is "stupid" and "deserves" to be broke and living on food stamps. Oh I get it-you think the lady should have done some more reading. What's the matter with you??
yeah, I am also of the feeling that old ladies deserve some sympathy. what disgusts me the most about the whole wallsreet analyst fiasco is the claim they make about the chinese wall. I used to watch iw.thomsonfn.com to see what insiders were doing after an upgrade/downgrade, and 99.9% of the time this is what happens: 1)insiders are selling after an upgrade 2) insiders are buyin after a downgrade, or in some cases they are probably buying to cover OK, I admit this doesn't prove that a particular firm is buying or selling, but in some sense what does it matter -- Wallstreet is Wallstreet.
My point was that if you are a retiree and you put your entire life savings in one stock, you are greedy and stupid. Of course the broker is greedy and stupid for recommending it, and deserves to be chastised. But you can't say the 'victim' is not responsible for the position they find themselves in. Outright fraud and theft is one thing, when there is no way you can know you are being taken. But to try to cover up for your own stupidity by laying the blame on someone else is wrong. That was the point I was making. I think it's sad that some people find their life ruined because of bad decision making, but I won't shed too many tears for them.
I'm sure you won't. I think what's lacking is something called heart. Furthermore you say the bad guys have been "caught and the whole industry is going to reform and move on". You're not serious-you can't be serious here? If so-you my friend- are ripe for the picking.