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Q4 SIA Data on NYSE FTDs and FTRs hits $82 Billion

Location: Blogs Bob O'Brien's Sanity Check Blog    
Posted by:   bobo 4/2/2007 3:09 PM

Is that bad, when your FTDs and FTRs hit $82 billion, for just NYSE member firms?

View the data, direct from the SIA's own website, yourself. Lines 69 and 103 are usually the really fun ones. Select the NYSEFirmsTotals.xls spreadsheet.

I mean, I know we are all supposed to believe that there is no big problem, and that this is all the nutty ramblings of the hopelessly deluded. But $82 billion, up from $55 billion in Q3...

Is that Reg SHO working, do you think?

The industry can largely ignore Bloomberg's expose, and even when Cramer basically comes out and admits the type of larceny that is the Wall Street norm the Street can duck it. Because if it just ignores things with enough concentrated effort, the reporters who make a living sucking at the Wall Street milk tit, pretending to expose scandals while they chuckle in contempt at the rest of the country, will reinforce that there is no problem, and then the fat, spoiled, ignorant populace will go on to the next thing, and forget what was being discussed. Pretty good bet, so far. Sort of like making it so abstract and distant that it's just not real. Like watching unarmed civilians being gunned down by troops - it all seems so distant and, well, surreal, it just can't be happening. What's on American Idol this week?

Sure is a good thing that the un-indicted co-conspirator of Elgindy, per court docs, was persuasive enough to cause the SEC to delay reforming Reg SHO so that his demands for new comments could be satiated. I mean, that is so nice of them. Really. To allow a professional short selling associate of a convicted naked short selling felon to halt reform. Wow. I actually am tearing up. I'm absolutely sure that is what the 1934 Act envisioned when it created the SEC.

Oh, but there is no problem. I keep forgetting. $82 billion. Is that a bigger number, or a smaller number, than $55, and before that, $63 billion? Maybe $82 is actually a better and smaller number. Has anyone been able to get the DTCC or SIA or SEC to comment on that number? All I've gotten is stony silence. I know there are journalists that have asked. They can't seem to get a straight answer either. Why is that? Everyone is reassuring us that the theater isn't on fire, but nobody can explain these massive numbers.

And let's not forget that is just the NYSE member firms. It doesn't include ex-clearing, or pre-netted fails, or international clearing houses (who I'm led to believe hide orders of magnitude more FTDs than the domestic numbers reveal).

Heck. $82 billion in today's marked to market valuations, concentrated in a few stocks. Wow. But no problem. None at all. Nosirreee. Just business as usual. Move along. Keep putting your money in the market, and ignore all that.

Frigging unbelievable. Really is.

---------------------------

I was alerted as to a new feature on the Overstock.com site, which basically does what Wikipedia claims to have done - creates a repository for knowledge that is real time editable and editable, absent the sock puppetry and petty tyranny of Wiki's little clique of administrators and demagogues.

You can view it here, along with one of the more compelling entries.

http://omuse.overstock.com/wiki/Understanding_Naked_Shorting_Stock_Manipulation#The_Normal_Settlement_Process

 

 
Copyright ©2007 Bob O'Brien
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Comments (47)
Re: Q4 SIA Data on NYSE FTDs and FTRs hits $82 Billion By InTheKnow on 4/9/2007 9:15 PM
It's truly amazing that most people going to the SEC website and putting up comments get it and are asking for an immediate end to the Grandfathering Clause. Just go and read the letters:

http://sec.gov/comments/s7-12-06/s71206.shtml

Just SETTLE THE TRADES and SETTLE THEM NOW!
Re: Q4 SIA Data on NYSE FTDs and FTRs hits $82 Billion By n-tres-ted on 4/9/2007 9:25 PM
Thanks for the alert, Bobo. Of course, some of us suspected they were pretty busy with the FTDs in the 4th quarter, didn't we? After all, bonus money, Christmas presents and everything.
Re: Q4 SIA Data on NYSE FTDs and FTRs hits $82 Billion By underwater on 4/11/2007 7:41 AM
Bobo,

Your email forgot to mention that since the $ stolen from the honest hard working liquor store owner is now in the hands of the face less robbers, it is therefore a......how did he put it....oh yea, zero sum gain, and the effect on the liquor industry and economy is nill. Even though the money was stolen, it is still out there.
Re: Q4 SIA Data on NYSE FTDs and FTRs hits $82 Billion By bbhindyou on 4/11/2007 8:12 AM
This is supposed to be the case number for the civil suit filed in florida .
CACE07007880
I have not been able to find anything out as far as if this is true or not.
I get no retreival when I search civil cases /broward county florida /eagletech communication/citibank.
If anyone can make a connection please do.
There is a state reporting number givin as well.
062007CA007880AXXXCE
Someone out there MUST be a better computer snooper than me.
Re: Q4 SIA Data on NYSE FTDs and FTRs hits $82 Billion By Sean on 4/11/2007 8:19 AM
Bbhindyou, I believe this is what you are looking for!!

http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=18660475
Re: Q4 SIA Data on NYSE FTDs and FTRs hits $82 Billion By bbhindyou on 4/11/2007 8:23 AM
What I am looking for is actual documented proof of the filing.
A P.R. from eagletech.
A filing notice from the court.
REALITY.
Something to bite thats real.
Re: Q4 SIA Data on NYSE FTDs and FTRs hits $82 Billion By bobo on 4/11/2007 8:36 AM
We had a great Chewbaca defense of NSS posted this morning, however it was so venemous I chose to delete it. It went something like this: 90% of all fails settle in two weeks. Yeah, uh huh, and that's why we just went from $55 billion to $82 billion. Because of all the settling.

It also then tried to move the target, a la "NSS isn't a problem, because I and those financially gaining from it say it isn't, however mortgage fraud is, therefore NSS isn't a problem." Sort of like Zoolander.

Whether or not mortgage fraud is a problem has exactly nothing to do with whether or not there are billions and billions and billions of dollars of FTDs. The obvious, short, simple answer is, hey, if it isn't such a problem, tell Cox and Bloomberg, who both just acknowledged that it is. Oh, and settle the trades, and repeal the unlawful grandfathering clause. It isn't a big deal, so just do it.

Oh, that would be the one that the brokers are fighting tooth and nail to keep. Huh. So it isn't a big deal because bad companies wrote bogus paper in mortgages, and we should all ignore it due to that completely unrelated factoid.

Thanks a million for that pearl. "My client isn't guilty because his mom says he is a good man, and that man over there is a far worse one who we will come to discover is a truly heinous miscreant, thus how can you believe my good man client is a bad man when that one is so much worse, according to me?"

Really classic Chewbacca. Thank you.
Re: Q4 SIA Data on NYSE FTDs and FTRs hits $82 Billion By rtway on 4/12/2007 12:22 PM
Hey underwater do you know something that we don't? Have you followed that money and no where it is? Please share with us. Elgindy gave us some clues as to what country got some of that money, and they are trying to kill our ass. Gee I wonder if Stevie and the boys got any property in the islands that USA doesn't get a dime under. Do you think that every one here is that stupid? It is a zero sum game and the sum winds up in the hands of unreported and tax free accounts. Ask where most of the hedge funds are registered. You are amusing.
Beware of the misdirection (straw men) By Sherlock on 4/12/2007 12:23 PM
After watching this for years and years you get to learn some of the tricks and what happens in the fog of discovery.

Lets take for example the 2001 poster child, Enron. You must keep your eye on the ball and if you watch carefully you will see several loaded (planned) tricks, some are palmed and were meant to cover and shield, then the well known, obscure via logical verbal obtuseness. The shell game is alive and well early 2001 the players the banks and the games are well known to many watching 7 years later in utter disillusionment.

Ties for Enron ran directly to the Bush Admin. They played three card monte with assets and sub companies. Many old mob tricks deployed! With names like 'Get shorty' 'Ricochet' and 'Death Star'. Not only did they play the megawatt laundering game but the same tricks were done in the market for securities. NSS, FTD Naked games.

On the board of directors at the time of the greatest bankruptcy was an author of a book about CREATIVE DESTRUCTION. The concept is simple, if you made shoes that lasted 10 years and another company made shoes that lasted 5 there is a possibility they could make twice as much money.

We 'the informed' see it everyday watching as cures , solutions and jobs are FTD'd, Naked Shorted or to but it bluntly, killed by massive illegal watering. We are being sold the crappy shoes! It is my belief global warming, and deaths from millions are directly related to this lie. Not only is it treason to the people it is murder. The true patriots are fighting this war and ARE NOT IN IRAQ. (imo)

So how did Enron wrap up? One guy commits 'suicide' fall guys have heart attacks, the banks (The EXACT ones named by Patrick Bryne) Halt all investors class action suits against them. Then, this is almost comical, banks and brokers ask for a letter to 'gift' the securities back to the seller.

This still exists as ENRNQ there are billions of dollars of assets left. Most wrote it off at tax time or gifted the securities back. This was an over sold massive fraud of not only megawatt laundering but creative destruction and overselling all the way down as planned by the master manipulators that Patrick will see in court.

Thank God for the true hero's! Ones that understand the real battle is internal it always has been! And yes, internal battle does have a double meaning.
Re: Q4 SIA Data on NYSE FTDs and FTRs hits $82 Billion By n-tres-ted on 4/11/2007 9:30 AM
Fed chairman Bernanke said today that the self-regulatory approach to hedge funds imposes duties on regulatory agencies. His only example of how these duties are being fulfilled is the following:

"For example, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York has been leading joint public-private efforts to improve the clearing and settlement of credit derivatives."

In my opinion, this is a pathetically poor level of understanding expressed by the second most powerful official in the world.
Re: Q4 SIA Data on NYSE FTDs and FTRs hits $82 Billion By b8nw84u on 4/11/2007 2:20 PM
http://www.internationalshareholdersgroup.com/pdf/Eagletech_v_Citigroup_Complaint_Filestamped.pdf
Re: Q4 SIA Data on NYSE FTDs and FTRs hits $82 Billion By InTheKnow on 4/12/2007 12:24 PM
Eagletech Communications Sues 40 - Financial Firms, Market Makers, Brokers, & Individuals Charging Fraud & Conspiracy - Common Law Fraud, Civil Conspiracy, Conversion and Violation of the Rico Act Are Alleged in a Scheme to Manipulate the Company's Stock

November 13, 2001 9:46 AM
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.--Eagletech Communications Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: EATC - news) a wholesale provider of next generation enhanced telecom services to carriers today announced that it has filed suit in the Florida 11th Circuit Court against a total of over 40 defendants, including: Salomon Smith Barney, and six of its present or former NY-Wall Street area office high level executives, certain market makers, including Knight Securities, Schwab Capital Markets, and Thompson Kernaghan, certain broker/dealers including, Oscar Gruss & Son, Liss Financial, and National Securities, certain investment banking firms including, The Paradigm Group, Valley Forge Securities (formerly Bryn Mawr Investment Group), alter- ego corporations, Trinity Technology Management Incorporated, Lloyds Bahamas Securities LTD., former Eagletech CEO Robert Dobbs, and key individuals, Randall S. Goulding, John P. Dorocki, and John Serubo, among others. Eagletech is represented in this action by attorney firms O'Quinn, Laminack & Pirtle, of Houston, Texas, Christian Wukoson Smith & Jewell, also of Houston, Texas, and Arthur W. Tifford P.A., of Miami, Florida. The suit alleges among other things, that during the period from February 1999 through the present, the defendants, working in concert, orchestrated ``Pump & Dump'' then ``Toxic Convertible or Death Spiral'' schemes, reneged on subsequent funding commitments, and illegally manipulated the stock by an organized campaign of short selling to depress the price. This has resulted in the alleged bilking of at least $100 million dollars in market capitalization from the company's stock and ultimately from the pockets of its common shareholders, the attempted ``takeover'' of 95% of the company's stock and the attempted ``stealing'' of its valuable patented technology. The suit asks for compensatory damages, rescission of agreements, the return of millions of dollars in illegally converted property, treble damages, attorneys' fees, establishment of a constructive trust, and the right to plead punitive damages. A separate action against these defendants by the common shareholders is also contemplated.

"Most companies that have suffered this fate, are so financially weakened by the organized attacks on their stock, that they have little choice but to turn their companies over to these people, who after the takeover offer jobs and new funding, usually the same funding they once denied the company," stated Rod Young, Co-founder, President and CEO of Eagletech. "We are the exception. We will not accept this brand of financial terrorism. We will rebuild this company!"

According to Young, "Timely, best describes Eagletech's patented technology that delivers next-gen enhanced services to carriers without having to purchase next-gen switches. With the current telecom capital implosion well under way, billions in redundant capital expenditures could be preserved, by extending the function of existing switches with Eagletech's technology. The company's mission is to forge ahead, re-capitalize, establish new strategic relationships, and return the value that has been stolen from the shareholders. Eagletech is open for business!"

Lead council for Eagletech is John O'Quinn of O'Quinn, Laminack & Pirtle. Mr. O'Quinn was also the lead counsel for the State of Texas in the $16.5 billion settlement against the tobacco industry and is rated as one of the top ten plaintiffs counsel in the United States. He has obtained verdicts and settlements exceeding $25 billion in his career. Florida counsel, Arthur Tifford recently won a judgment in a similar "Toxic Convertible" - "Death Spiral" case totaling $389 million. ITIS dba Litidex, a wholly owned subsidiary of ITIS, Inc., formerly Internet Law Library (OTC Bulletin Board: ITII - news) has been retained by the law firms to handle litigation support.

Mr. O'Quinn stated, "We filed this lawsuit based upon an investigation of the financing and of the principals and associates involved. It is our opinion that our client and its shareholders, like many others, have been victimized and damaged by predatory financing schemes involving numerous market makers and others designed to enrich the financiers to the ruination of the companies financed. When the financiers recognize tremendous potential in a company the scheme also includes the takeover of those companies. Our firm is committed to litigate this matter to a successful conclusion, regardless of the number of parties ultimately named, the time involved or the expenses we must incur or advance, for our clients." Gary M. Riebschalger of the firm said, "The damage done to small companies and the people who work for them is outrageous. These arrogant, selfish financiers who use offshore devices and fraudulent schemes to enrich themselves at the expense of the people must stop. We will expose them and their 'fat cat' buddies to the bright light of justice."

Eagletech Communications, Inc. is traded on the (OTC Bulletin Board: EATC - news). Eagletech owns two patents on technology which allows its Unified Communications/Virtual PBX product to enhance the service offering of the existing installed base of billions of dollars worth of carrier telephone switches without carriers having to invest in next- generation switching platforms. The Eagletech UC/VPBX with a low barrier to entry, when coupled with a smart-build strategy, and utilizing next-gen MPLS broadband technology will permit future product offerings such as pure-play ASP services, and strategic partnering in both voice services and data services. For more information visit www.eagletech1.com for a test drive.

This press release contains forward-looking statements. The words "estimate", "possible" and "seeking" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, which speak only as to the date of the statement was made. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward- looking statements, whether because of new information, future events, or otherwise. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which cannot be predicted, or quantified. Future events and actual results could differ materially from those set forth in,contemplated by, or underlying the forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties to which forward-looking statements are subject include, but are not limited to, the effect of government regulation, competition and other material risks.


http://www.eagletech1.com/prn1113.html

Re: Q4 SIA Data on NYSE FTDs and FTRs hits $82 Billion By Wonder Boy on 4/12/2007 12:25 PM
Any lawyers out there? I found this 'honest services' clause that it would seem to fit many of the politicians and political appointees that are not enforcing existing laws, thus depriving the general public of numerous benefits.

Is this anything worth pursuing?
Re: Q4 SIA Data on NYSE FTDs and FTRs hits $82 Billion By Concentrated in a few stocks? on 4/12/2007 12:26 PM
Just another Bob O' Brien unsupported assertion.

In the meantime investors continue to get fleeced for real buying overpriced securities peddled by a variety of con artists and grifters.

Yes, you continue to delete any comments that point out your failure to tell the truth and the truth is over 90% of fails are resolved within two weeks. Deal with it.

Or more likely just keep deleting it because you don't care to have your flock of fleeced followers learn the truth.
Re: Q4 SIA Data on NYSE FTDs and FTRs hits $82 Billion By Bobo on 4/12/2007 1:04 PM
Concentrated:

That's a bit better, not nearly as insulting.

So, 90% are cured within two weeks? Does that mean that they are replaced by new fails, as described by Senator Bennett? You know, the infamous kiting?

See, I'm trying to reconcile your factoid assertion with companies we have FOIA data on, that show increases in FOIAs over year long periods. Are you saying they are the unlucky 10%, or that those are likely all new fails cycling out the old ones?

Because we know the numbers from our FOIA reports. All you need to do is go look at the FOIA section of this site. Maybe that 90% is also like the 1% number the DTCC throws around - a carefully crafted lie based only superficially in some sort of truth?

Explain the $82 billion in fails to deliver and receive that the SIA's own spreadsheet shows, up from $55 billion in Q3. Did the dog eat another almost $30 billion of stock? How does the 90% factor into that? Help us understand your assertion, as it conflicts with the hard data we have from the SIA and the SEC, as well as the SEC's own statements. I'm not doubting that you know better than the industry association, the former Undersecratary of Commerce for the US, Bloomberg, and the Chairman of the SEC, but, uh, other than the ability to tap out pedantic aphorisms, what are your credentials, and why should we believe you versus those sources?

Did you see that it looks like Gradient's two year stalling battle got hosed? So now Gradient and Rocker will be able to prove to the world how nutty all this is. Thank goodness they will get their day in court, to show how misguided we all have been.

So will the prime brokers and large banks. Did you read the Eagletech suit? It's a good one, uses hard data from law enforcement and SEC. Tens of thousands of pages of it. Or is that all silliness too, that you somehow know more about than the DOJ, FBI, and such?

Read all about it here:

http://www.mediafire.com/?0yztvwxzmoy

or

http://www.zshare.net/download/eagletech-v-citigroup-complaint-filestamped-pdf.html

What kills me about your agenda, which is to insist in the face of a mountain of evidence, including the Chairman's own words, respected economists, FOIA data, ex-SEC attorneys, lawsuits, the SIA's own spreadsheets, etc. is how you simply ignore all that as though it doesn't exist, and then repeat the propaganda line.

Works better on Wiki where you can edit away all reason to suit a Soviet-style clampdown on information and truth. That really didn't work so well for the Russians, did it? But carry on. We are all buying it. There is no FTD crisis. It's alla bunch of loons and grifters. That's why the SEC needs to keep the data secret, and had to grandfather the fails or create systemic volatility - because of how small it is.

Carry on.
Re: Q4 SIA Data on NYSE FTDs and FTRs hits $82 Billion By Tommy on 4/12/2007 1:16 PM
STOCKGATE TODAY
An online newspaper reporting the issues of Securities Fraud
Chairman Cox Please Say it Ain't So, More SEC cover-ups? - April 12, 2007

David Patch

Explosive cannot even begin to describe the lawsuit filed this week in the Broward County Courthouse in Florida [Case Number: CACE07007880].

Imagine having your company being systematically destroyed by members of organized crime and having Wall Street aid them in such destruction. Making matters only worse, how about having the SEC witness it all without taking appropriate steps to protect the company, their employees, or the investors who invested their personal savings into this business. At least that is what Eagletech CEO Rodney Young has laid out in a well-detailed and irrefutable lawsuit against a who's who of Wall Street firms.

The only ones excluded from this lawsuit, but who I see most responsible for the destruction, is the Securities and Exchange Commission. After all, the irrefutable evidence Young has against the members of Wall Street was provided as part of more that 50,000 pages of documents handed over by the Commission to Young during his appeal of the SEC's 2006 decision to terminate Eagletech's registration for failing to maintain SEC filings.

Yea that's right, the SEC actually sought out and kicked the victim after the victim lay beaten and immobilized by the street thugs better known as Wall Street.

In testimony taken by the SEC and provided to Young, the SEC questioned witness John Serubo of Bryn Mawr Investments about the mob related stock manipulation scheme against Eagletech.

Q: So Dorocki as an Executive Vice President at Salomon Smith Barney had no problem whatsoever dealing with mob people in his business.

A: No. He had no problem with dealing with - I only can tell you from my perspective he had no problem dealing with our firm or our deal.

Q: Okay, when Dorocki asked you to hold the stock price up, is that a form of market manipulation?

A: Absolutely.

Q: And your guy at Bank of New York knew that as far as volume goes that Bryn Mawr Investment Group was the holder of a significant number of shares and the remaining shares were restricted at Eagletech? Is that true?

A: Yes, not only did they know that. They also - when we told them sit on the bid at $12.00, a market maker is supposed to go into the market and if the next bidder was at eleven fifty he really should be, you know, a little above that instead of $12.00. But, you know, we told them $12.00. So, you know, they were - they were manipulating the stock as much as we were.

Q: When you were holding up the stock at 12, ten, and eight, who did those trades clear through?

A: Bank of New York. Their market maker actually sat on - you know, who ever they sold it to, Knight or whatever, sat on the bid for us on my end.

The amazing thing here is that in February 2005 the SEC charged John Serubo and 15 other Bryn Mawr and Valley Forge individuals for kickbacks in a stock manipulation scheme [Civil Action No. 05-CIV-852]. Never charged by the SEC were any individuals at Bank of New York, Knight Securities, or Mr. Dorocki of Solomon Smith Barney. Why not with the direct testimony of one of the accused and evidence in place to support the accusations?

The 51-page lawsuit filed by Eagletech has more tasty morsels of similar quality and kind exposing members of Wall Street to counterfeiting of shares, money laundering, and bribery. Each dish appropriately served up by the members of the Securities and Exchange Commission who, along with the US Attorney uncovered all this evidence during an investigation into organized crime and stock manipulation.

Which all leads me to my question up front - Why wasn't the SEC included in this lawsuit since clearly they witnessed the fraud and failed to take the appropriate steps to protect the company, company employees, and investors from such abuses? In leaving these distinguished members in the game it certainly allowed for other unnamed victims to be equally abused.

I hear that in some cases the SEC records obtained by Young do not even show the efforts of the commission to follow through on some of the bribery charges alleged by some of the accused. The SEC set up a speed trap but decided that only 1 in 10 would actually be charged with speeding. Quotas were set so as to not disrupt the general status quo of how the industry would operate.

As for Mr. Young and Eagletech, according to SEC documents there were 1218 retirement accounts that had held this security during the time it was being manipulated. Likewise there were 429 trust funds holding the security during the time of manipulation. And finally there are the unknown quantities of individual shareholders who purchased or sold securities during this scheme to manipulate. Certainly the commission should be responsible for explaining to each why their rights were not properly respected.

Please Mr. Cox, tell me it ain't so. Tell me that the Securities and Exchange Commission did not sit on evidence that documented a well-oiled manipulation scheme involving our most prestigious Wall Street Institutions working hand in hand with organized criminal enterprises. Tell me that the Commission, under your tenure, did not shut down the registration of this public company while holding the evidence that documented that the company was manipulated out of business by the very members of Wall Street the Commission failed to take action against.

Did the Commission really shoot the messenger here?

Rod Young lawsuit argues that the 5 major organized crime families were successful in conducting this scheme against his company and others because Wall Street firms aided them in the manipulation. SEC evidence of Bank of New York, Citigroup and others actually conducting the money laundering transfers offshore that made this scheme profitable to these criminal enterprises. How does the commission thus justify taking actions against the organized crime members and not the banks that aided them in conducting this scheme? Is there no accountability on Wall Street

The more than 50,000 documents you provided cannot be called back. They are the documents that will expose the very prejudicial and vindictive environment that makes up the Securities and Exchange Commission. Shoot the defenseless little guys while allowing the institutional criminals to wreak havoc on small public companies and their investors.

A copy of the full Eagletech Lawsuit can be found at the links below (large .pdf file so give it time to download)





Maybe SEC Inspector General Walter Stachnik can find something here to look into. Lord knows he gets lost without a road map and a few gas station attendants to help him get home from work each night but this is rather damaging evidence against the federal agency he is commissioned to oversee.
Re: Q4 SIA Data on NYSE FTDs and FTRs hits $82 Billion By captdale on 4/12/2007 3:36 PM
Oh give it a break. You guys just keep harping on the same ole crap. Contact the SEC, Write to the DTCC, Write to the NASD, Let the brokers know you don't like what they are doing, as if you believe that somehow some miracle will happen and they will G.A.S . Haven't you got it yet ? These people just simply do not and will not. They don't have to. We now have class action suits against NFI published all over that say NFI is in violation of the 1928 SEC laws for Christs sake. Completely ignoring the fact that naked short selling and FTD are more serious violations and are instrumental in placing NFI in the spot they are in right now. Are "they" going to change their wicked ways. Not a chance in hell. The politicians are bought and paid for and are only interested in making themselves look good so we're getting nowhere with them. They immediately hold congressional committee meetings to figure out how to fix the miscreants in the sub-prime industry but can't get off their collective butts to address the NSS and FTD issues ? Yeah right. I am so very proud of our political representatives. Best money can buy. Just take a look at Utah. I think I'll go barf now. Hey, apparently rich people don't have to follow the rules set up for the masses. I am so completly sick of the way NFI mgnt. handled the whole mess of NSS and FTD's. Now they are in a typical death spiral. My personal thought is that they (NFI) and others would not be in that situation were it not for the NSS and FTD's. I believe that only way out is suits by companies like OSTK who stand up and eventually will go into discovery. NFI should have done the same thing. Should have, could have blah blah blah. Cal. Edison share holders formed a patition to have the CEO give back the mega bump he collected while CE was tanking. Went on the vote and he had to give it back. NFI shareholders should do the same. WTF 1.9 mil while the company tanks because you wouldn't stand up when it counted. I.E.- screw the shareholders and don't even kiss them while your doing it. I'm sick of hearing about the good ole "MidWest Values" being the reason for the closed lip from NFI mgnt. This rant is not about NFI per se but it does stand as a perfect example. The system is broke and all the kings horses (asses) won't fix this one. Patrick is not going to back down and I personally can't wait to see the result of that.
Re: Q4 SIA Data on NYSE FTDs and FTRs hits $82 Billion By b8nw84u on 4/12/2007 4:39 PM
This week, NOW takes a close look at hedge funds -- sometimes secretive and often very risky investment accounts that have brought incredible wealth and power to some, but with the potential to spell dire consequences for ordinary Americans. Hundreds of billions of dollars are invested in hedge funds, which are not regulated, and there's a good chance some of your retirement money's in one. But many hedge fund managers say they won't tell anyone how they make their money -- not even the government.

In its investigation, NOW interviews former SEC lawyer-turned whistleblower Gary Aguirre. As part of his job, Aguirre investigated hedge funds and says he was banned from probing a Wall Street titan with close ties to the Bush Administration.

"I was just following an evidence trail, and it led to that door," Aguirre tells NOW. "The logical thing was to knock on the door and try to find out what was behind it."


http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/315/index.html
Re: Q4 SIA Data on NYSE FTDs and FTRs hits $82 Billion By Candygram for CaptDale on 4/13/2007 7:50 PM
Soooo CaptDale...... You are expressing the frustration that a lot of us are feeling right now. We can't nuke em...too much collateral damage for that plus its probably against the law although no one seems to care about enforcing laws anymore unless someone robs a convience store owned by ARCO or 7-11. What do you suggest doing? I think the only answer that will get action is violence against the perps and I AM NOT SUGGESTING VIOLENCE! There must be another way.

My suggestion is to start buying politicians for the next election. That will not get our money back but may scare the crooks enough to clean up their act for a while. What do you suggest?
Re: Q4 SIA Data on NYSE FTDs and FTRs hits $82 Billion By bbhindyou on 4/13/2007 7:52 PM
Eagletech,Bighub,Bloomberg and now P.B.S.......
Is that a rumble upslope....
How snowed is america?
Maybe too much snow.
Maybe we should put up a sign.
Avalanche zone.
good post By kevin on 4/13/2007 7:53 PM
Sherlock, you're onto something.

The brokerage industry makes money on transaction volumes. The more transactions there are, the more money they make.

If they push the share price below the fair price where buyers equal sellers, then even sellers become buyers. Everyone thinks the shares are too cheap, so they all start buying them.

The more they push the price down, the more buying frenzy they create. When they finally bankrupt the company (because it has negative cash flow and can't go to the market), they keep 100% of the proceeds and pick on the next company.

The higher the rate of bankruptcies, the faster they can take our money.

Many great companies (Microsoft, for instance) had negative cash flow in the early days. They are screwing investors, employees and cheating the government out of tax revenues.

Just because they control the media, they think we are stupid. The more they go on and on about an oj, monica lewinski or anna smith, the more obvious it becomes to everyone that they are censoring the real news.
Re: Q4 SIA Data on NYSE FTDs and FTRs hits $82 Billion By Tony on 4/13/2007 7:54 PM
Universal Express Exposes Trillion Dollar Tax Scam
Tuesday April 10, 1:34 pm ET


NEW YORK, NY--(MARKET WIRE)--Apr 10, 2007 -- Universal Express Inc. (OTC BB:USXP.OB - News) CEO, Richard A. Altomare, today presents estimated tax losses to the United States Treasury of over $1 Trillion Dollars due to naked short selling.....

SEND AN EMAIL TO THE DEPT OF TREASURY, OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL:

web page: http://www.treasury.gov/inspector-general/hotline.shtml

email: Hotline@oig.treas.gov

Other contacts:

SEC Inspector General: oig@sec.gov

SEC Enforcement: enforcement@sec.gov

GAO Fraud: fraudnet@gao.gov

DOJ Antitrust: antitrust.atr@usdoj.gov

DOJ New York: NewYork.ATR@usdoj.gov

Copy the article and send it to your Congressional Representative and Senators.

KEEP REPORTING THE CRIME. EVENTUALLY THEY WILL LISTEN AND WE WILL HAVE EMAIL RECORDS OF OUR COMPLAINTS.

Tony
Re: Q4 SIA Data on NYSE FTDs and FTRs hits $82 Billion By Sean on 4/14/2007 8:11 PM
This is another slap in our faces!!

By Judith Burns, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- The Bush administration's plan for a 2.7% increase in the Securities and Exchange Commission budget in the upcoming fiscal year is enough to allow the SEC to "solidly execute" its mission of protecting investors, SEC Chairman Christopher Cox told lawmakers Tuesday.
Re: Q4 SIA Data on NYSE FTDs and FTRs hits $82 Billion By JLB on 4/10/2007 5:55 AM
Someone should compile a list of addresses of the miscreant's who are responsible for this problem. I think there are enough victims of this plunder, spread out geographically, to be able to effectively picket in front of these crook's residences.
The only way to make this relevant to the scum who are responsible, is to make it personal to them. Picketers outside of one's residence day and night would not only bring it "home" to the scumbags who are raping investors, it would also garner some independent press coverage as well. This would shine the light on the roaches where they are most vulnerable ... where they live. Keep up the good work Bobo.
Re: Q4 SIA Data on NYSE FTDs and FTRs hits $82 Billion By davidn on 4/10/2007 6:03 AM
Did you notice the size of the repos for the same period?

Line 101.

$2,149,048,100,000 at current fungible mass share prices.

Rather than lend a share, which triggers regulation, they sell it, then agree to buy it back in the near future at a fixed price. This has all the fell of a collateralized loan, but isn't a loan.

Since the seller has a "call option" on the shares, both the buyer and the seller are considered long.

As far as I can tell, this is how a lot of foreign trading is handled. The foreign depository does a repo with an American clearing brokerage and no real shares back the foreign trading.
Re: Q4 SIA Data on NYSE FTDs and FTRs hits $82 Billion By hoagx on 4/10/2007 6:32 AM
At least we know the SHO is working! It was designed for Wall Street to steal our money! Good job SEC.
Re: Q4 SIA Data on NYSE FTDs and FTRs hits $82 Billion By gregcable2002 on 4/10/2007 7:20 AM
We are in BIG trouble

Subject: File No. S7-12-06
From: Ayal Rosenthal
April 9, 2007

To Whom It May Concern:

With all due respect to many of the individuals contributing comments to the Commission regarding the terrible harm caused by naked short-selling, I ask that the Commission review what type of investor can be harmed by naked short-selling. The most common type of individual investor invests via a mutual fund or in stocks with the intention of achieving long-term gains. A large naked short-position on a stock should have no impact on that stock in the long-term (over one-year) as the basis of a stocks price over such a horizon is the expected cash flow from the stock over a 5-7 year period plus its terminal value, discounted for its weighted cost of capital, and mutual funds also tend to have a long-term view and avoid high-risk investments. The key individuals who may be harmed are day-traders trading in risky investments as the immediate price of the security may be undeservingly depressed because of the high selling pressures on the stock. Day traders who maintain their position would only have a temporary mark-to-market loss that should reverse itself in the near-term. Those who do not have willingly taken this risk in their purchase of the security and are likely balanced out as a zero-sum gain because of similar type traders who are short the position. Therefore, the overall impact to the market is minimal if any. Regardless, such day-traders are a clearly an insignificant portion of total investors and so this issue does not, as a whole, impact the investing public to the degree that comment contributors would like it to appear to be.

Thank you for taking this into you consideration,



U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Litigation Release No. 19995A / February 13, 2007
SEC v. Aragon Capital Management LLC, Aragon Partners LP, Zvi Rosenthal, Amir Rosenthal, Ayal Rosenthal, Oren Rosenthal, David Heyman, Heyman & Son Investment Partnership LP, Young Kim, and Bahram Delshad, 07 CV 00919 (KMK ) (S.D.N.Y.)
SEC Charges Family With $3.7 Million Insider Trading Scheme
The Securities and Exchange Commission ("Commission") today announced the filing of a civil action in federal district court in New York, New York involving a rampant insider trading scheme which generated more than $3.7 million in profits and losses avoided for a family and certain friends over a five year period. From at least 2001 through 2005, seven individuals, including lawyers and accountants, participated in a scheme to trade in the stock and option contracts of Taro Pharmaceuticals Industries, Ltd. ("Taro"), an Israeli-based publicly traded pharmaceutical company, ahead of eight earnings announcements and five FDA approval announcements. In the later stages of the scheme, certain of the defendants broadened the scheme by trading on information stolen from Pricewaterhouse Coopers LLP ("PwC") and Ernst & Young, LLP ("E&Y") concerning two possible mergers.

In its complaint, the Commission alleged that Zvi Rosenthal ("Zvi"), a Vice President at Taro, abused his position at Taro by systematically stealing material, nonpublic information concerning 13 separate company announcements, including earnings results and pending generic drug approvals by the Food and Drug Administration. Zvi then traded on the information and passed it on to his family members who then traded in Taro stock and options. Typically, Zvi provided information to his son, Amir Rosenthal ("Amir") who traded in personal accounts he controlled, and in the account of the family- owned and controlled hedge fund, Aragon Partners, LP. Amir also tipped his brothers, Oren Rosenthal ("Oren") and Ayal Rosenthal ("Ayal"); his father-in-law, Bahram Delshad ("Delshad"); his best friend, David Heyman ("Heyman"); and his work supervisor, Young Kim ("Kim"), with information he received from Zvi, and each of them traded. The complaint further alleges that in its later stages, certain of the defendants broadened the scheme to include trading on nonpublic information stolen from entities other than Taro. On at least two occasions, Ayal and Heyman misappropriated material, nonpublic information concerning impending mergers from their respective employers, PwC and E&Y, and tipped Amir with the information. Amir then traded on it. Amir also tipped Kim with the information from Ayal and Heyman, and Kim traded on the information.

The Commission's complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, charges Zvi, Amir, Oren, Ayal, Aragon Partners, LP, Aragon Capital Management, LLC, Heyman, Heyman & Son Investment Partnership LP, Delshad, and Kim with violations of the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws. The Commission is seeking permanent injunctive relief, disgorgement of all illegal profits and losses avoided plus prejudgment interest and the imposition of civil monetary penalties against the defendants. The complaint also seeks an officer and director bar against Zvi.

The Commission has reached an agreement with Kim to settle the insider trading charges against him. Kim has consented to a final judgment permanently enjoining him from future violations of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and ordering him to pay $4,287.71 in disgorgement of his ill-gotten gains plus prejudgment interest, and $41,702.29 in civil penalties. Kim consented to the final judgment without admitting or denying the allegations in the complaint. The Commission will file the proposed judgment with the U.S. District Court in New York, New York for consideration and approval.

The Commission appreciates the cooperation of the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the investigation of this matter.

SEC Complaint in this matter
Re: Q4 SIA Data on NYSE FTDs and FTRs hits $82 Billion By rtway on 4/10/2007 8:02 AM
Bobo,
Do you know when the next federal hearing is going to be held where Cox is suppose to supply Specter and Grassley with the info they asked. I guess what I am asking is"Did this whole investigation just turn into smoke and mirrors and swept away or is there a real investigation going on with a end result that has a definitive date and will be made public?" Question #2 How much longer before the OSTK lawsuit or NFI lawsuit go to trial?
Thanks again
Re: Q4 SIA Data on NYSE FTDs and FTRs hits $82 Billion By n-tres-ted on 4/10/2007 8:44 AM
rtway,
The Specter/Grassley pursuit of insider trading and NSS died when the November elections gave the Senate to Democrat control, removing Specter and Grassley from their chairmanships. Now they have no power to call hearings or subpoena witnesses or documents. Their Democrat replacements have no intention of pursuing these issues. That is why SEC took the chance to stonewall Specter/Grassley starting last summer, hoping the election would take the heat off the investigation. At least that has been the attitude of the management staff of SEC. Now we have to see whether Cox produces on his promises of reform, or just continues to go along with Wall Street and Greenwich demands.
Re: Q4 SIA Data on NYSE FTDs and FTRs hits $82 Billion By n-tres-ted on 4/10/2007 9:03 AM
davidn,

Very interesting comments you make. I have been trying to understand for some time the uses/implications of the repo contracts, which completely dwarf the total net worth of these NYSE firms. Can you comment further on the difference between the amounts shown in lines 76 and 101 of the balance sheet? What assets represent the difference of $1.1 trillion by which the line 101 liability exceeds the line 76 asset?

Also, Bobo and others, if you review the excel page of the SIA balance sheet that names the NYSE firms, you will see the top ten firms are the big prime brokers who are defendants in the suits that allege deliberate failure to deliver shares sold short by their hedge fund clients. The rest of the NYSE members are mostly so small as to be almost unrecognizable.
Re: Q4 SIA Data on NYSE FTDs and FTRs hits $82 Billion By davidn on 4/10/2007 10:54 AM
I'm not totally sure. It would be nice to have someone explain it.

There are two parties to a repurchase agreement, so it should net to zero if all the agreements were with member firms. My guess is that huge number is the net obligation of reporting firms to non reporting firms (possibly foreign custodians).

I bet these numbers are HEAVILY netted.
Re: Q4 SIA Data on NYSE FTDs and FTRs hits $82 Billion By searrows on 4/10/2007 11:21 AM
Ayal you have got to be a lawyer. What a long and painfull circuitous trip around the truth I have ever traveled....
Re: Q4 SIA Data on NYSE FTDs and FTRs hits $82 Billion By InTheKnow on 4/10/2007 11:59 AM
Universal Express Exposes Trillion Dollar Tax Scam
Tuesday April 10, 1:34 pm ET


NEW YORK, NY--(MARKET WIRE)--Apr 10, 2007 -- Universal Express Inc. (OTC BB:USXP.OB - News) CEO, Richard A. Altomare, today presents estimated tax losses to the United States Treasury of over $1 Trillion Dollars due to naked short selling.

"The facts are simple. Sell a stock you do not own. Push the share price down. Force the Company to fail. The failed stock never has to be purchased, and since there is no mandated buy-in after a company fails, almost everyone loses, the employees, the shareholders and now the Federal Government. It's a tax free way of making money," said Richard A. Altomare, Chairman and CEO of Universal Express, Inc.

"To be more specific, this loophole benefits market makers, hedge funds and maybe even the funding of terrorist cells. Our national debt and the Iraqi war could have been paid for with the elimination of naked short selling or a mandated stock buy-in after shorting.

"Once again I call upon our elected officials to address the problem prior to the SEC's efforts to pretend they're fixing a broken system. As they attempt to silence those of us who speak the truth, I ask you to examine the profits, the bonuses and the salaries of those stealing not only from individual companies, but from every hard working American taxpayer," continued Mr. Altomare.

"With all those in Congress looking for an issue worth supporting, how about documented tax fraud in the trillions?

"Courage is required and our Country and American investors have been stolen from far too long. Where are those real leaders worth following?

"I'm tired of hearing how much money a candidate raises. Let's rally behind one who shines a light on a practice that is raising our National Debt, raising our taxes, and raising our cost of living," concluded Mr. Altomare.

Re: Q4 SIA Data on NYSE FTDs and FTRs hits $82 Billion By Gary Rupp on 4/10/2007 1:37 PM
Bobo: This text should be put up on the SEC's Comment site for Regulation SHO:

http://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/ruling-comments?ruling=s71206&rule_path=/comments/s7-12-06&file_num=S7-12-06&action=Show_Form&title=Amendments%20to%20Regulation%20SHO
Re: Q4 SIA Data on NYSE FTDs and FTRs hits $82 Billion By tmg on 4/10/2007 1:56 PM
Time to update the home page with the $82 billion!

Newman's latest crosscurrents notes Cox's last defense for the delay seems to be that they are busy hashing out the mechanics of how to handle this in today's electronic world (gee, seems like it should be easier than ever) and perhaps the DTCC is overwhelmed. Sort of like the EPA saying that they are aware a chemical plant is realeasing poison every day that is killing thousands of people and they aren't sure what to do about it yet but darn sure are working hard on coming up with a solution.

Throw enough incentive at them, as in severe criminal and civil penalties, and watch DTCC solve the problem overnight.
Re: Q4 SIA Data on NYSE FTDs and FTRs hits $82 Billion By davidn on 4/10/2007 2:03 PM
I'm more and more convinced that we are being diverted from "failure to deliver" fraud to the "naked shorting" red herring.

Imagine you find out that the bank let's you write as many checks as you want on your bank account, as long as you pay them interest on your negative balance.

Imagine a hedge fund finds out that the brokerage let's them write as many short contracts as they want on their brokerage account, as long as they pay them interest on their short balance.

Can you blame the hedge funds for using the loophole to drive companies into bankruptcy? It's a sure way to make money and they are just taking advantage of fraud in the back office.

The custodians who we trust to keep the system fair and honest, criminally breached that trust by:

- entering into repurchase agreements and treating these contracts like real shares
- recycling loaned shares to loan again in a daisy chain
- netting obligations, then letting trades fail to deliver

This scam has nothing to do with shorting - it's about failing to deliver.
Re: Q4 SIA Data on NYSE FTDs and FTRs hits $82 Billion By Bobo on 4/10/2007 2:20 PM
Here's a copy of an email I sent when asked to respond to the good Mr. Rosenthal's (sanctioned by SEC for insider trading!!!) drivel:

"Liquor stores that are chains are unlikely to be impacted in any but a short term manner from being robbed. Most chains have hundreds of stores, therefore any one being robbed numerous times will be balanced out by the responsible, safe operation of all the others. Additionally, only degenerate alcoholics would be in liquor stores during the hours many robberies occur, thus that is a risk of being a chronic substance abuser. Single owner liquor stores are inherently risky propositions, therefore those in that line of work have character flaws or are risk takers whose makeup allows for the possibility of being robbed regularly, so they really are sort of expecting it or asking for it. In summary, robbing liquor stores doesn't really hurt anyone, thus shouldn't be a focus of law enforcement."

Did I miss anything?
Re: Q4 SIA Data on NYSE FTDs and FTRs hits $82 Billion By media liars on 4/10/2007 2:49 PM
cowards with low IQ's that pay to get what they want from the court system and the gov liars, the honest people are not dumb.

shucks we forget, misplace personal data, didn't mean it,
do not worry if you have enough money we can get your sorry ass out of any lie you tell. be happy.
Re: Q4 SIA Data on NYSE FTDs and FTRs hits $82 Billion By peeling an onion on 4/10/2007 4:08 PM
investigation of the $85 billion industry could lead to criminal charges against high-ranking officials at both lending companies and universities.


http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.aspx?

feed=AP&Date=20070410&ID=6729321
Re: Q4 SIA Data on NYSE FTDs and FTRs hits $82 Billion By Bobo on 4/10/2007 6:47 PM
Folks, Digg the article, please. The reasership jumps when you digg it a bunch of times.
Re: Q4 SIA Data on NYSE FTDs and FTRs hits $82 Billion By wiki on 4/10/2007 7:35 PM
Bobo, have you thought about installing free wiki software on this server? Then we could edit and supply an exhaustive wikipedia style entry on naked shorting and failure to deliver and how the back office clearing system works. You could be the matanmore editor type and boot their edits.

Google would pick up on the informative wiki content and this site would get more hits.

It's trivially easy to install the wiki software.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki_software
Re: Q4 SIA Data on NYSE FTDs and FTRs hits $82 Billion By Bobo on 4/10/2007 7:55 PM
Wiki: The last thing I want on any server connected to me is wiki software. I have no idea what sort of backdoors that might contain, and no mechanism to assure myself that it is clean. Besides which, Wiki is so badly broken as to be laughable, anyway. Anyone thinking that the naked short selling entry has even the smallest amount of balance to it is insane. It selectively filters all evidence of a problem, courtesy of the paid Wall Street spin doctors editing it 24/7. Amazing how this non-issue has such zealous and dilligent guardians to keep anyone from reading the evidence that it actually is a problem. Weird, that, no?
Re: Q4 SIA Data on NYSE FTDs and FTRs hits $82 Billion By rtway on 4/10/2007 8:22 PM
When I press the diggs or digg it button nothing happens. What am I doing wrong.
Re: Q4 SIA Data on NYSE FTDs and FTRs hits $82 Billion By wiki on 4/10/2007 10:05 PM
I completely agree with you.

The software that powers wikis is good. Extremely powerful and free.

Wikipedia, one asshole's attempt at creating a censored encylopedia is bad.

There are lots of brand of wiki software as it is only a concept, but a good one. It allows groups to create a knowledge base of their common information.

Our facts, links, etc. scroll off over time. We need a site where the group ensures that the truth is spelled out in encyclopedia fashion.
Re: Q4 SIA Data on NYSE FTDs and FTRs hits $82 Billion By wiki on 4/10/2007 10:08 PM
Bobo, wikipedia came much later than the software that powered it.

If you run group wiki software, you control the output.
Re: Q4 SIA Data on NYSE FTDs and FTRs hits $82 Billion By wiki on 4/10/2007 10:12 PM
Bobo, this is a good, bias free implementation. Free, you have total control and we as a group can create a huge fact base, including links to articles, pictures, stats., etc. that never scrolls away.

We need to create a monumental fact base that any reporter or politician can refer to. You censor it and keep the lil gw lapdogs away.

(Have you noticed how quiet the remonds, cramers and gw's have been - they all know the shit is about to hit the fan).

http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/MediaWiki