is english your second language? ok... here we have another turd that escaped from the turd bowl. doesn't understand the dynamics of illegal shorting and his hands probably shake when he starts to click the "buy" button for 100 shares in his freshly funded ameritrade acct. LOL LOL LOL seriously, this newbie just needs to be ignored till he educates himself.
Cramer's buttboy made some point yesterday that I knew was incorrect. I want to post Alsin's reply so the watcher's here know what's going on. Arne Alsin Overstock Gross Margins 5/18/2006 10:13 AM EDT Re my Overstock column yesterday, Will levied some criticism that I would like to clarify. I have said in prior columns that the gross margin of OSTK is similar to AMZN. Will said AMZN's gross margins are 24% compared to OSTK's 15%. That's not a fair observation. OSTK reports fulfillment expenses in COGS (where it belongs!) and AMZN does not (they tuck it into marketing ... ugh). To make a fair comparison, you have to adjust for this. Last year the gross margin at AMZN was 15.2% and OSTK was 15% ... I think that level of gross margin qualifies as being roughly similar. Position: OSTK That being said, I am not a fundie. However, if someone like Blue HorseShoe makes a post that is civil and makes sense, I do forward it to the proper people. They respect well meaning criticism. What they do not like, are crooks. And for the Junior Traders' Cub Club, the BHS post is how you make a point. There is no way to argue with it, and no reason to as it is civil and well thought out.
Patrick Bryne has said, "you better start wondering about what happens if I'm right." He is right. Milberg Weiss, 2 partners indicted by grand jury Thu May 18, 2006 5:31 PM ET Printer Friendly | Email Article | Reprints | RSS LOS ANGELES, May 18 (Reuters) - A federal grand jury on Thursday indicted securities law firm Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman LLP and two partners of conspiracy and other charges related to an alleged kickback scheme involving sharing attorneys' fees with clients. The Los Angeles grand jury issued a 20-count indictment against the firm and partners David Bershad and Steven Schulman. By ERIC BERKOWITZ Associated Press Writer May 18, 2006, 6:21 PM EDT LOS ANGELES -- A high-profile New York class action law firm, two of its top partners and two other people were indicted by a federal grand jury Thursday on charges alleging a scheme that paid millions of dollars in illegal kickbacks to plaintiffs and others. In a 102-page indictment, New York-based Milberg Weiss, Bershad & Schulman and attorneys David J. Bershad and Steven G. Schulman were charged with secretly paying about $2.4 million to co-defendant Seymour M. Lazar, a Palm Springs lawyer, and others to act as plaintiffs in class actions since 1984 and concealing the payments. The indictment's 20 counts included conspiracy, money laundering, mail fraud and other crimes. The charges follow years of investigation into the way Milberg Weiss conducts shareholder lawsuits against major corporations, which the indictment alleges generated hundreds of millions of dollars in attorneys' fees. The indictment alleged that "unlike other class members in the lawsuits, the paid plaintiffs purchased the securities at issue anticipating that the securities would decline in value, in order to position themselves to be named plaintiffs in securities fraud class actions and to obtain kickbacks" from Milberg and the others. The firm immediately defended itself in a statement posted on its Web site. "The government's allegations of wrongdoing have been categorically denied by the indicted partners, and the firm intends to join with them in vigorously defending against the charges," it said. "The firm is particularly incensed that the prosecutors decided to indict the firm itself." The firm's statement asserted that its hundreds of employees will suffer personal and professional harm. The firm was a lead plaintiff in more than half the federal shareholder suits settled from 1997 to 2004. On Tuesday, the firm announced that Bershad and Schulman were taking leaves of absence. Some of the firm's lawsuits were against such companies as Standard Oil, Lockheed and Denny's. In a suit against United Airlines, Lazar's son was paid $250,000 in illegal kickbacks, the indictment alleges. Paul L. Seltzer, another lawyer in Palm Springs, was charged with acting as an intermediary in the payment of the kickbacks to Lazar and others. The indictment further alleged that Howard J. Vogel and Steven G. Cooperman and their relatives and associates frequently served as plaintiffs for Milberg Weiss in dozens of lawsuits, for which they received illegal kickbacks totaling about $9 million, although Vogel and Cooperman were not named as defendants in Thursday's action. Last month, Vogel pleaded guilty in Los Angeles to taking more than $2.4 million as payments to him and his family for serving as plaintiffs in about 40 suits between 1991 and 2005. Vogel or his wife was a plaintiff in various Milberg Weiss class action lawsuits against Oxford Health Plans Inc., Velero Energy Corp. and Mercer Corp. Here is what it means........ It is against the firm, and it is pre breakup. That means, all the companies they ran to zero are coming back from the grave. These guys did this to a lot of Rocker shorts. Uh, I mean Copper River Partners. How come Chase and Sanborn is still Chase and Sanborn, but Rocker retires and a week later they change the name? I told you fast and furious. And this is not the biggest. You'd better start thinking what happens if Byrne is right. Oh, notice United Airlines? You're grandchildren will be paying for that one.
This article doesn't seem to address naked shorting. Did I read it wrong? I don't see the connection yet - maybe it is there but I am not seeing it.
http://online.wsj.com/documents/Milbergindictment.pdf Racketeering!!!!! huge!!!! Just huge!!! Trust me. Patrick Byrne is celebrating tonight. I believe this is a first for this affair. This is allegedly how it works. It was documented in 60 minutes, except the part where SAC would get a "locate". That is hard for journalist to explain to the public.. Hedgefund manager A selects his pick. Remember, neg rebate is big, he has to make it happen quickly. He gets custom tailored research for his prey. They always looked for warts in the company or management. Then he gets his position in, and the research is released and followed up. If Byrne is right, then journalists, TV and Print pile on. Elgindy would have a web site were they would announce a journalist (sic) was going to bash a stock and when. Weiss would come in after the fact and finish off the company, so says the indictment. The naked shorting occurs at the Prime Broker. Read the Vodiagroup.com report I posted here. His analysis suggests that the pension funds, the true custodian of the securities, by being bypassed by the BD's , are deprived of some 205mm per year. THe Prime could borrow, but the securities run out, and then the vig goes to the custodian. Bypass that mess, you can lend out millions more than the hypothecated and not pay the vig. Go read the **10 K and see what stock loan brings in. And that's just one name. Huge Biz. It has been suggested to me by former regulators that the hedgies are not all that happy about paying neg rebates for securities they know are not borrowed. But they pay. Now, the hedgies are liable for the shorts that don't exist, and if they have to buy in, they are buying in many times what exists. That is why in OSTK the pressure is so intense. Ask yourself why so many journalists pile on these situations, knowing that there is no way that short postition could be that big.. That will be on e of the next shoes to drop. And I think the biggest. Why grandfathering and the seemingly endless coverup? Where is the money going to come from? Let's say tomorrow OSTK is bought in. Where does 9mm take it with guaranteed delivery? How about 30mm? 60mm? What about TASR? All the OTCBB they've been raping forever? And the SHO list is the tip of the iceberg. And thank you for the civil question. Believe me, I got involved talking to a Specialst in a stock and hearing what one of the floor brokers was doing to me and him. An order he had one day was, sell all you can sell at "x". I asked how can you take the order. He said the guy was always good for it. The stock is now a nickel. I never would have dreamed all this in a million years. And I feel it just goes farther and farther. I mean, as a layman, reading the Weiss complaint, it is, in laypersons terms, extortion. Nothing more or less, and they are using the Justice System.
Props to fly. When this whole thing started, it was barely on anybody's radar. And fly did say it was very big and would, soon enough, be MUCH more than the ravings of a "crackpot" like PB. Well, he was right. Plenty of cockroaches scurrying now and it seems to be building steam rapidly. Can't wait to see what happens next. Good trading to all.