Dr. Patrick Bryne and the Certifiables I have a friend who enjoys shaking up dinner conversations and cocktail parties by saying something inflammatory--"So I'm thinking of buying a gun," he'll say; "What do you think?"--then he sits back and watches the fireworks. Thus it has been with this blog: a discussion about Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne's obsession with short-sellers, his relation to an oddball Conspiracy Theorist calling himself Bob O'Brien, and the vacuity of "X-Files" O'Brien's conspiracy case has given way to an intense shouting match leading to precisely no conclusion. Although it does lead somewhere very interesting. We know, for example, that "X-Files" and his cohorts have taken the threads of established cases of illegal naked shorting in stocks that hardly merit serious discussion, and woven a broad Conspiracy encompassing professional short-sellers in general and shorts in Overstock.com, in particular. Unfortunately, for his case, "X-Files" ignores the fact that professional short sellers view naked shorting the same way he does: illegal. But pros go further: it is not only illegal, it is amateurish and also stupid. Hence, whatever Overstock.com's problems are, they come not from naked shortsellers. . "X-Files" not only refuses to believe this, he goes off the deep end by making very bizarre claims, including one that the hedge fund industry has been "linked to organized crime" and another that hedge funds such as those involved in Overstock.com violate the Patriot Act by accepting funds from terrorist groups. These are serious charges and might be seriously considered, except that Mr. O'Brien practically declares himself certifiable by stating, and I quote: "I have contacted the FBI. My attorneys feel that given the players involved, only a madman would reveal his identity and strap a bulls-eye on his chest at this juncture. I thought they were being paranoid two years ago, but now I believe they are just being prudent." What we're dealing with here, I think, is a crackpot. A certifiable crackpot. Now, that's my opinion. Others might say he is merely eccentric, or a whack-job, or a harmless nut. The correct adjective is not important, what is important is this: why would the CEO of a large, widely owned, publicly traded company give over a significant portion of his earnings call to an individual who is so misguided as to the facts, and, apparently, a certifiable crackpot? That's a question that merits a serious answer, because real public companies--and I had included Overstock in that category until "X-Files" more fully revealed himself here--do not allow their earnings calls to be hijacked by crackpots. http://jeffmatthewsisnotmakingthisup.blogspot.com/2005/02/dr-patrick-bryne-and-certifiables.html
"Yeah. You're dumber than I thought." I was going to ask if you ever had an original thought, but then I remembered the Mona Lisa.
TORONTO, May 07, 2007 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- MortgageBrokers.com, Inc. (MBKR : mortgagebrokers com hldgs in com News , chart , profile , more Last: 1.26-0.07-5.26% 9:41am 05/07/2007 Delayed quote dataAdd to portfolio Analyst Create alertInsider Discuss Financials MBKR1.26, -0.07, -5.3%) announced today that on May 4, 2007, the Company retained the Law Firm of Applbaum Zouvas (San Diego, California) to seek a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction on the Company's behalf. The Application for the Restraining Order will be filed as an Ex Parte Application along with a Complaint against various market makers and depositories. The Complaint and Application for the Restraining Order will allege that several market makers and depositories have acted in conjunction for the purpose of creating a naked short. Allegations will include several business torts such as unfair competition, deceptive business practices and conversion, among other causes of action. The Complaint and Application for Restraining Order will allege that the Company has been harmed and is in danger of being irreparably harmed through malicious and intentional acts performed by the market makers and depositories. About MortgageBrokers.com
....and of course, the detractors will say, 'but they're on the BB. They're all crummy companies." Problem is, a lot of them don't start out on the BB.
So, they're crooked, as well as bad managers. Now, you can see why they break the law. As my first girl friend told me, "no fucking talent". Just change the emphasis. Isn't it interesting that Crames, we're tight, I get to call him "Crames", never mentions Naked Short selling? I think he's sucking up to the authorities, but if he's right, it's only going to be for a little bit, because they'll be a thousand more right on the heels of CROX...... Jim Cramer CROX 5/9/2007 4:12 PM EDT No, they still can't bring in the CROX. As I predicted, this would be one of the GREATEST short squeezes ever! Neither CROX NOR FWLT is done going up... Position: none
For your reading pleazure, re; Amaranth -- bad dog. http://www.sec.gov/litigation/admin/2007/34-55728.pdf