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Transfer Agents - They Knew It All Along

Location: Blogs Bob O'Brien's Sanity Check Blog    
Posted by:   bobo 1/19/2006 9:40 AM

(Thanks to RSB and I_quit for the tips...)

In 2004, one of the more prominent transfer agents published a typical newsletter/update for their customers. This one is taken from Continental's September, 2004 pages, and is noteworthy because it discusses, in rather mundane tones, things like over-voting problems, the SEC's decision to ban companies from being able to exit the DTCC system if they think they are getting screwed, the dangers of de-materialization, the considerable problem of stock manipulation using naked short selling, etc.

All there, in black and white.

From an industry insider - the transfer agents.

For all the wiseass pundits, the Mark Cubans and Jim Cramers of the world, who opine glibly that there is no problem, I would ask the following question: Are you stupid, ignorant, or dishonest?

Because apparently those closest to the DTCC and the corporations, who are the most immersed in the clearing and settlement system, fully appreciate that there are large problems in the system, and discuss it at length in their materials.

So are they nutty too? Just making it all up? Hallucinating?

I ran across a nice work that summarizes the treatment that naked short selling and stock manipulation abuses are receiving at the hands of the press, the pundits, and the regulators. It's a good read, and many of the tactics you see will be eerily familiar. Titled, "Twenty-Five Ways To Suppress The Truth - The Rules Of Disinformation" it describes in detail the techniques we see on a daily basis from the "there is no problem" gang.

I continue to extend an open invitation to any and all of these "authorities" to come to the blog and discuss their views, or to do a blogcast debate - we will have blogcasting in the next week or so, and I will be doing a weekly or so talk show/monologue/interview program, just to keep things interesting.

As to this new site, traffic is increasing daily, we are climbing in the ratings, and the story is getting wider exposure. Folks, if you want to help, again, go to other blogs, message boards, and forums, and spread the word about the site.

To all the established media platforms, I have a newsflash for you: you can't stuff this genie back into the bottle, and we don't need your channel to get the word out - people are listening and reading and learning, and you are superfluous to that process.

Your conceit that if you don't discuss it, it doesn't exist, is over. O-V-E-R. It does. And we are talking about it. And people are figuring it out.

Deal with it.

 

Copyright ©2006 Bob O'Brien
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Comments (5)
Re: Transfer Agents - They Knew It All Along By dave on 1/19/2006 11:23 AM
There it is in black and white:

We believe that many proxy tabulators simply
“throw away” excess, misreported over-votes. At
Continental, it is our practice to research every
misreported vote, see where they belong, and
tabulate them in the appropriate manner.
Re: Transfer Agents - They Knew It All Along By mfairview on 1/19/2006 12:00 PM
From a user on TMF

-----

Aggregate data release has very been selective with no MONETARY DATA RELEASE. One request the SEC has info, the next they have no info. Considering Mr. thompson is on record publicly discussing aggregate money and shares what's to hide?:

The denials tell a very important tale:

Let me offer you one on Grandafathering Request # 06-0835;

The SEC on their website under Key points about regulation Sho states that they will "monitor whether grandfathered open fail positions are being cleaned up under existing delivery and settlement guidelines or whether further action is warranted".

The FOIA request asked for the aggregate grandfathered fails, benchmarks,methodology enabling the "monitoring" of the fails.

Here is the SEC response:

"To generate such information would necessitate the expenditure of significant resources to conduct research, to compile information from multiple sources (including principally reference sources outside the agency), to extract and manipulate that third party data and to create new records" "We do not maintain the information" to monitor grandfathered fails.



Can someone explain to me how the SEC "monitors" something they admit they DO NOT HAVE.
Re: Transfer Agents - They Knew It All Along By another fleeced taxpayer/market loser on 1/19/2006 12:47 PM
this SEC is just so impotent... just the like rest of the govt we pay for. seems all they're good for is to beat their chest at other countries & cause the taxpayers more problems. if they can't afford to monitor trading/clearing/settlements,if they can't afford sarbanes/oxley overseeing corporate boards, then we can't afford to invest our $ in capitalism. and yet the govt blithley intends to turn our pension savings over to private investment without any realistic safeguards. this corporate govt is not representing its people. just put all the info in full public view. no more of these bogus SEC fines that allow all these corporate crooks to "neither admit nor deny any wrong doing". we shareholders won't shoulder such risks when too much of it is willfullly hidden from us. if u.s.treasury.fed reserve claims our markets are worthy of investment, then we best see some fiduciary responsibilty on the part of all entities paid to oversee them
Re: Transfer Agents - They Knew It All Along By bobo on 1/19/2006 1:19 PM
That always makes me crazy, the "admit no wrongdoing" bit - designed specifically to keep those that were damaged from being able to use the admission of guilt to sue and seek redress.

As to the "monitoring" paradox, it is clear that the SEC is lying, has lied for some time, and has no interest in doing anything but run interference for those fleecing the investing community blind. Their answer is completely consistent with that explanation - it is actually the only explanation that completely addresses all observable phenomenon...
Re: Transfer Agents - They Knew It All Along By bburrell on 1/19/2006 1:40 PM
The only functional space the SEC is directly responsible for is Transfer Agents. I would hope the Farrell plea would be a wake up for them, but I can't bet on it.

The involvement in and knowledge of bad guys here has always been open knowledge. What is the SEC's response on that? They couldn't get enough funding? Then they should have dumped the function to someone who could handle it, like the States.

How many times have we seen the Federal Government willing give up a bureaucratic responsiblitiy without a fight? Never in my experience.

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