Here’s a fun experiment. Go to Overstock.com and in the investors section you will see the Gradient/Rocker lawsuit posted in it’s entirety. From the early January filings (around page 50) you will see the affidavit from Overstock’s attorney, attesting to the date Gradient issued one of the reports (giving Overstock an “F” grade) ; Gradient also produced MSN's Stock Scouter program, that rates stocks for the public on the MSN web site. The Stock Scounter was issuing an “8” rating (out of a 1-10 scale, 10 being best) - while at the same time doing a rating for private clients and issuing an “F” grade. We also saw examples of this with NFI, where Stock Scouter was rating NFI highly (7 or 8) and Gradient was issuing “F” grades.
Now, is it just me that thinks that their “defense” – that it is mostly automated – is hogwash? How does an algorithm get things like the aforementioned NFI research report I link in a prior blog so very badly wrong, and then refuse to correct itself? How exactly does that work?
Could it be that this is yet another part of their story that is collapsing under the weight of obvious and easily verifiable facts?
Odd, that.
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DTCC Jobs available:
I’m not making this up.
03/27
Director Compliance
NY
New York
Financial Services
DTCC
Distance to zip: <10 miles
Evaluating and responding to new and changing federal, state, local and administrative regulations. Interacting with regulators and others in response to relevant inquiries and requests. Designing and implementing appropriate training and awareness programs for DTCC business areas.
Ha ha ha ha ha. How’s this? “I’ll get that over to you ASAP, fellas.” Click. “Who was that, Bob?” “Oh, some idiot at one of the regulators that can’t understand why we never give them anything they ask for.”
“They still ask for stuff? What morons!”
“Yeah. Hey, oops, I just spilled coffee all over that FTD data…AGAIN….wooops!”
“Ohhh. And I see it fell into the shredder. Doh! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha…”
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For those that missed it, Dr, Byrne of OSTK sent Eisinger a great letter the other day in response to his “we are all above the law cause we’re journalists, g#dd#mnit” opinion column.
Dear Jesse,
Have any of your editors noticed that, by your logic, law enforcement must ignore all allegations that journalists have done improper things with others: reporters may not be asked about what they did with others because of the 1st Amendment, and those others must not be asked what they did with reporters because that would deter people from doing things with reporters. The substance of "what was done" becomes impossible to explore as a kind of tautological truth, like the Divine Right of Kings.
Not bad, I'll give you that.
Patrick
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And finally, for all the cartoon lovers, my satirical commentary on Herb’s continued shaky, palid and gaunt expression of late….Is it just me, or is he starting to look a little like the Edvard Munch painting The Scream?

I mean, if that was the CNBC studio in the background....





