Article: Pingify (PGFY) – Statements By Pingify’s CEO Omit Material Facts

Article - Media, Publications

Pingify (PGFY) – Statements By Pingify’s CEO Omit Material Facts

GeoTeam, 08 May 2014

On the morning of May 6, 2014, we published a pump and dump investor alert about Pingify (OTCQB:PGFY) for GeoInvesting premium members: The company went public through a self-directed IPO, where the CEO received 25 million shares at a cost basis of $0.001 ($150,000). The company is touting its product as a lead generation tool to match buyers and sellers. As an example, here is an excerpt from its 2013 10-K. Continue reading “Article: Pingify (PGFY) – Statements By Pingify’s CEO Omit Material Facts”

Article: CGI Group: Receivables Factoring, Cancelled Bookings, Insider Selling, And Organic Revenue Decline (Part 4)

Article - Media, Publications

CGI Group: Receivables Factoring, Cancelled Bookings, Insider Selling, And Organic Revenue Decline (Part 4)

Reid D. Notes, 07 May 2014

In this note, we analyze the company’s fiscal Q2 cash flows, we estimate the magnitude of CGI’s customer backlog cancellations during the quarter, and we discuss Serge Godin’s ownership stake in CGI. Can a company juice short-term cash flows by managing accounts receivable Continue reading “Article: CGI Group: Receivables Factoring, Cancelled Bookings, Insider Selling, And Organic Revenue Decline (Part 4)”

Article: Steve Cohen – “The Hedge Fund King”

Article - Media, Publications

Steve Cohen – “The Hedge Fund King”

One of the biggest stories in recent Wall Street history was the insider trading scandal centred around Steve Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors. In July 2013, SAC was charged by the US Securities and Exchange Commission for failing to prevent insider trading, which led to a $1.2 billion fine and the firm agreeing to stop managing funds for outsiders.

Yet, Cohen himself managed to escape imprisonment, on the grounds that prosecutors lacked proof that he knew the trades in question, which were perpetrated by former SAC manager Mathew Martoma, were based on inside information, despite personally signing off on the deals.

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Article: The Anti-Buffett: Steven Cohen

Article - Media, Publications

The Anti-Buffett: Steven Cohen

Brian Stoffel, 17 April 2014

The Anti-Buffett: Why You Should Avoid This Hedge- Fund King’s Tactics Steve Cohen got his start by simply reading the tape. Who is Steve Cohen? Founder of SAC Capital, at one time a hedge-fund with $14 billion in assets Personal wealth valued at $11 billion

It all started when…  Steve was a high school freshman in Long Island, and spent his days playing poker.  By the time he was a junior, he was making between $500 and $1,000 per night from poker alone! When he was in college…  Cohen would sit outside the Merrill Lynch offices in Philadelphia, and watch the stock ticker whiz by.  Over time, Cohen believed he could guess the direction of stocks, without knowing anything about their underlying business. Continue reading “Article: The Anti-Buffett: Steven Cohen”

Article: SAC Capital $1.8 billion penalty approved

Article - Media, Publications

SAC Capital $1.8 billion penalty approved

Aaron Smith, 10 April 2014

A federal judge on Thursday approved a $1.8 billion settlement resulting from the guilty plea of hedge fund operator SAC Capital on charges related to insider trading by its employees. The firm, now known as Point72, reached the settlement last November with federal prosecutors, citing the firm for failing to prevent its employees from engaging in the illegal activity. Continue reading “Article: SAC Capital $1.8 billion penalty approved”

Article: Four indicted in Psagot market manipulation affair

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Four indicted in Psagot market manipulation affair

Ella Levy-Weinribo, 07 April 2014

The indictment is against David Edry, Shai Ben-David, Aharon Navon, and Saar Weintraub.

Four years after the Psagot Investment House Ltd. scandal erupted come the indictments: the Tel Aviv District Attorney (taxation and economy) has filed an indictment against David Edry, who was vice president of Psagot’s brokerage manager of the company’s nostro account at the time, Shai Ben-David, former manager of Psagot’s brokerage, Aharon Navon, former manager of Deutsche Bank Israel’s trading room, and Saar Weintraub, who was a broker at Deutsche Bank Israel. Continue reading “Article: Four indicted in Psagot market manipulation affair”

Web: RGM Communications Archive on Naked Short Selling

Web

RGM Communications Archive on Naked Short Selling

Accessed via Wayback, 31 January 2001 – 31 March 2014

Listed below are a large number of public information articles and reports detailing the brokerage houses, market makers and the conduct of the main “street” characters engaged in the illegal practice of “naked short selling”, “death-spiral financing”, “failure to delivers (FTDs)” and/or stock fraud. This page is a resource for anyone wishing to educate themselves regarding the depth and breath of these illegal activities. Please note that some of the articles may have been added out of time sequence because they were discovered weeks or months after publication. All the dates are, to the best of our knowledge, when they came into the public domain.

Access archived page.

Article: Swiss probe banks over foreign exchange market

Article - Media, Publications

Swiss probe banks over foreign exchange market

BBC News, 31 March 2014

RBS, Barclays, UBS, Credit Suisse, Zuercher Kantonal Bank, Julius Baer, JP Morgan and Citigroup are being probed by Swiss competition commission, Weko.

“Evidence exists that these banks colluded to manipulate exchange rates in foreign currency trades,” Weko said.

The regulator opened a preliminary investigation last October. Weko said the information it had so far suggested that most important exchange rates are affected.

Authorities worldwide are investigating allegations that some foreign exchange traders have colluded in setting certain key exchange rates in the foreign exchange market, resulting in big profits. Continue reading “Article: Swiss probe banks over foreign exchange market”

Article: OVERSTOCK CEO PATRICK BYRNE TO KEYNOTE BITCOIN 2014 CONFERENCE PRODUCED BY LOCAL PRODUCER

Article - Media, Publications

OVERSTOCK CEO PATRICK BYRNE TO KEYNOTE BITCOIN 2014 CONFERENCE PRODUCED BY LOCAL PRODUCER

LOCAL PRODUCER, 27 March 2014

Overstock.com CEO and bitcoin convert Patrick M Byrne will deliver the keynote speech at the Bitcoin 2014 conference on 15th-17th May at the Passenger Terminal Amsterdam.

He is expected to speak about his vision for the future of bitcoin; its potential for global financial inclusion; non-currency uses like proving ownership of stocks and bonds; and the network’s relation to society as a whole.

Jon Matonis, executive director of the Bitcoin Foundation, said:

“We are delighted to have one of bitcoin’s most prominent and prescient champions at our conference. Patrick’s decision to accept bitcoin has introduced it to mainstream society and increased understanding among consumers.”

He added: “It’s going to be a great event; this conference is where visionary technology and mainstream commerce intersects.” Continue reading “Article: OVERSTOCK CEO PATRICK BYRNE TO KEYNOTE BITCOIN 2014 CONFERENCE PRODUCED BY LOCAL PRODUCER”

Video: To Catch a Trader Featuring Steven A. Cohen

Video

S2014 E1: To Catch a Trader

FRONTLINE correspondent Martin Smith goes inside the government’s ongoing, seven-year crackdown on insider trading, drawing on exclusively obtained video of hedge fund titan Steven A. Cohen, incriminating FBI wiretaps of other traders, and interviews with both Wall Street and Justice Department insiders.

https://www.thirteen.org/programs/frontline/frontline-catch-trader/

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Article: SEC Strikes Again With New SAC Insider Trading Charge

Article - Media, Publications

SEC Strikes Again With New SAC Insider Trading Charge

Last week the Securities and Exchange Commission filed civil charges against yet another former SAC Capital analyst for insider trading, suggesting that the government is not done with its investigation of Steven Cohen’s hedge fund.

Background of the Case

In its recent complaint, the SEC alleged that Ronald N. Dennis, a former analyst at SAC affiliate CR Intrinsic Investors, traded on material nonpublic information he received from two other hedge fund analysts in the shares of Dell (DELL) and Foundry Networks (BRCD) during 2008 and 2009.

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Article: Benitec: The Health Payer’s Dream Biotech

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Benitec: The Health Payer’s Dream Biotech

Pannobhaso, 12 March 2014

When it comes to forecasting the size of the market for drugs to treat various diseases, the estimates for the same disease can seem to fluctuated wildly depending on the model used and the timeframe of the forecast. However, one thing that is fairly consistent is that for many of the major diseases, these forecasts involve big numbers – billions of dollars. However, as a guide to pharmaceutical earnings, these forecasts are meaningless if health payers cannot afford the costs. Continue reading “Article: Benitec: The Health Payer’s Dream Biotech”

Article: Barclays, Deutsche Bank Accused of Gold Fix Manipulation

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Barclays, Deutsche Bank Accused of Gold Fix Manipulation

Better Markets, 07 March 2014

“Barclays Plc (BARC), Deutsche Bank AG (DBK) and three other banks were accused in a lawsuit of manipulating the London gold fix, a benchmark used throughout the $20 trillion market for the metal.”

“Kevin Maher, a New York resident who said he bought and sold gold and gold futures and options, sued yesterday in Manhattan federal court claiming the five banks overseeing the century-old benchmark colluded to manipulate it.” Continue reading “Article: Barclays, Deutsche Bank Accused of Gold Fix Manipulation”

Article: Which short-selling regulation is the least damaging to market efficiency? Evidence from Europe

Article - Academic

Which short-selling regulation is the least damaging to market efficiency? Evidence from Europe

Oscar Bernal, Astrid Herinckx, Ariane Szafarz

International Review of Law and Economics, 1 March 2014

Exploiting cross-sectional and time-series variations in European regulations during the July 2008–June 2009 period, we show that: (1) prohibition on covered short selling raises bid-ask spread and reduces trading volume, (2) prohibition on naked short selling raises both volatility and bid-ask spread, (3) disclosure requirements raise volatility and reduce trading volume, and (4) no regulation is effective against price decline. Overall, all short-sale regulations harm market efficiency. However, naked short-selling prohibition is the only regulation that leaves volumes unchanged while addressing the failure to deliver. Therefore, we argue that this is the least damaging to market efficiency.

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