Post by bluediamonds on Mar 28, 2005 10:37:05 GMT -5
In a developing scandal... FinancialWire/DTCC
By: pontiyak
28 Mar 2005, 10:29 AM EST
Msg. 183814 of 183816
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March 28, 2005 (FinancialWire)
In a developing scandal, while the Depository Trust and Clearing Corp., controlled by the NYSE and NASD awaits the findings of one media regarding its purported role in assisting naked short selling, Dateline NBC, published by General Electric (NYSE: GE), it has reportedly taken blatantly unconstitutional action to squelch the distribution of the reporting of another media.
Investrend Information, which publishes FinancialWire, said it has asked its counsel, Marshal Shichtman, Esq., to look into the circumstances that led to FinancialWire being removed from the distribution of Investors Business Daily, which supplies news feeds to Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO), after MarketWatch, formerly a partner with Viacom’s (NYSE: VIAb) CBS and now a unit of Dow Jones (NYSE: DJ) was asked by IBD to turn off its feed to its online Investors.com and its redistributions.
Shichtman has been provided with information about emails that purportedly described the collusive action as having been taken February 7 at the request of an executive with the DTCC.
The DTCC apparently objected to the continued distribution of FinancialWire on the basis that in its opinion, the newswire publishes “opinion” and “not news.”
Both First Amendment and wrongful interference issues may be involved, as well as more serious Federal consequences should it be determined that DTCC executives have quasi-governmental ties. The First Amendment specifically protects news organizations from interference by the government.
Although dozens of other media have now reported on the growing national scandal termed “StockGate,” the DTCC has now publicly confirmed that its primary beef is with FinancialWire, which has been the sole media regularly following the now rapidly-expanding story for the past two years.
A FinancialWire article was recently cited, for example, by U.S. Senator Robert Bennett (R-UT) in questioning of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair William Donaldson. A video of that exchange is at www.investrend.com/Admin/Topics/Articles/Resources/655_1110670103.ram
In a post on its site, First Deputy General Counsel Larry Thompson responded to a DTCC statement that “Some articles have said we make almost $1 billion from (the Stock Borrow program):
“This statement is purposely misleading. One billion dollars represents our total revenue from all our operations of all subsidiaries. The fact is that there are NO separate fees for transactions processed through the Stock Borrow program. There is just the normal fee for delivery of the shares, which is 30 cents per delivery. If you assume we make an average of 22,000 deliveries through Stock Borrow a day, there would be about $6,600 extra a day in revenue over 253 trading days, or about $1.67 million a year in additional revenue, out of $1 billion.”
FinancialWire had never stated what the DTCC makes from the Stock Borrow program. It quoted lawsuits as alleging that, and the only response the DTCC made to FinancialWire inquiring about the lawsuits was to deny that they existed.
Thompson has now admitted in a Q&A posted at www.dtcc.com/Publications/dtcc/mar05/naked_short_selling.html that there have been 12 lawsuits naming the DTCC, and in it he disputes both the effectiveness of the lawsuits as well as the accuracy of the figures.
Rather than dispute, comment on or respond to FinancialWire’s inquiries, the DTCC has apparently decided it is easier to lean on its corporate friends to try to limit FinancialWire’s distribution.
Easier perhaps. Fair? Moral? Ethical? Legal?
These will be the issues further to be explored.
FinancialWire is a member of the Online News Association (http://www.onlinenewssassociation.org)
For up-to-the-minute news, features and links click on www.financialwire.net
FinancialWire is an independent, proprietary news service of Investrend Information, a division of Investrend Communications, Inc. It is not a press release service and receives no compensation for its news or opinions. Other divisions of Investrend, however, provide shareholder empowerment platforms such as forums, independent research and webcasting. For more information or to receive the FirstAlert daily summary of news, commentary, research reports, webcasts, events and conference calls, click on www.investrend.com/contact.asp
The FinancialWire NewsFeed is now available in multiple formats to your site or desktop, free. Click on: www.investrend.com/XmlFeeds?level=268
(Voluntary Disclosure: Position- Long)
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By: pontiyak
28 Mar 2005, 10:29 AM EST
Msg. 183814 of 183816
Jump to msg. #
March 28, 2005 (FinancialWire)
In a developing scandal, while the Depository Trust and Clearing Corp., controlled by the NYSE and NASD awaits the findings of one media regarding its purported role in assisting naked short selling, Dateline NBC, published by General Electric (NYSE: GE), it has reportedly taken blatantly unconstitutional action to squelch the distribution of the reporting of another media.
Investrend Information, which publishes FinancialWire, said it has asked its counsel, Marshal Shichtman, Esq., to look into the circumstances that led to FinancialWire being removed from the distribution of Investors Business Daily, which supplies news feeds to Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO), after MarketWatch, formerly a partner with Viacom’s (NYSE: VIAb) CBS and now a unit of Dow Jones (NYSE: DJ) was asked by IBD to turn off its feed to its online Investors.com and its redistributions.
Shichtman has been provided with information about emails that purportedly described the collusive action as having been taken February 7 at the request of an executive with the DTCC.
The DTCC apparently objected to the continued distribution of FinancialWire on the basis that in its opinion, the newswire publishes “opinion” and “not news.”
Both First Amendment and wrongful interference issues may be involved, as well as more serious Federal consequences should it be determined that DTCC executives have quasi-governmental ties. The First Amendment specifically protects news organizations from interference by the government.
Although dozens of other media have now reported on the growing national scandal termed “StockGate,” the DTCC has now publicly confirmed that its primary beef is with FinancialWire, which has been the sole media regularly following the now rapidly-expanding story for the past two years.
A FinancialWire article was recently cited, for example, by U.S. Senator Robert Bennett (R-UT) in questioning of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair William Donaldson. A video of that exchange is at www.investrend.com/Admin/Topics/Articles/Resources/655_1110670103.ram
In a post on its site, First Deputy General Counsel Larry Thompson responded to a DTCC statement that “Some articles have said we make almost $1 billion from (the Stock Borrow program):
“This statement is purposely misleading. One billion dollars represents our total revenue from all our operations of all subsidiaries. The fact is that there are NO separate fees for transactions processed through the Stock Borrow program. There is just the normal fee for delivery of the shares, which is 30 cents per delivery. If you assume we make an average of 22,000 deliveries through Stock Borrow a day, there would be about $6,600 extra a day in revenue over 253 trading days, or about $1.67 million a year in additional revenue, out of $1 billion.”
FinancialWire had never stated what the DTCC makes from the Stock Borrow program. It quoted lawsuits as alleging that, and the only response the DTCC made to FinancialWire inquiring about the lawsuits was to deny that they existed.
Thompson has now admitted in a Q&A posted at www.dtcc.com/Publications/dtcc/mar05/naked_short_selling.html that there have been 12 lawsuits naming the DTCC, and in it he disputes both the effectiveness of the lawsuits as well as the accuracy of the figures.
Rather than dispute, comment on or respond to FinancialWire’s inquiries, the DTCC has apparently decided it is easier to lean on its corporate friends to try to limit FinancialWire’s distribution.
Easier perhaps. Fair? Moral? Ethical? Legal?
These will be the issues further to be explored.
FinancialWire is a member of the Online News Association (http://www.onlinenewssassociation.org)
For up-to-the-minute news, features and links click on www.financialwire.net
FinancialWire is an independent, proprietary news service of Investrend Information, a division of Investrend Communications, Inc. It is not a press release service and receives no compensation for its news or opinions. Other divisions of Investrend, however, provide shareholder empowerment platforms such as forums, independent research and webcasting. For more information or to receive the FirstAlert daily summary of news, commentary, research reports, webcasts, events and conference calls, click on www.investrend.com/contact.asp
The FinancialWire NewsFeed is now available in multiple formats to your site or desktop, free. Click on: www.investrend.com/XmlFeeds?level=268
(Voluntary Disclosure: Position- Long)
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