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Joe Nocera Continues His Hilarious Antics For The Amusement Of The Cheap Seats

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Posted by:   bobo 5/12/2007 5:22 AM

It's difficult to read today's NY Times column by Joe Nocera on his buddy David Rocker's recent self-serving, one-sided, and fanciful twisting of the facts at the CFA conference, without laughing out loud.

I mean, seriously. Who can read the unvarnished silliness parading as op-ed without at least chuckling? Here is a guy who abruptly quit his hedge fund, has mounted an absurd free speech defense for his alleged criminal conduct, and has thrown the kitchen sink at stalling the case against him from moving forward, claiming that (gasp) he is a victim of those wishing to chill free speech, and and bemoaning that the case against him is taking forever. Yawn. How predictable. "Ah din't do nufin, that's mah friens sh-t!" We certainly have come a long way from Milken  claiming to be the last honest man, and proclaiming himself to be a "national treasure" and of being a victim of his persecutors, etc. I'm sure he too would have thrown in free speech if he could have figured out a way to make insider trading and stock manipulation and parking a speech issue.

Puhleeeese.

That Joe, who used to command at least a bit of respect (he is, after all, a NY financial journalist, an occupation which is justifiably held in lower regard by many these days than a drug dealer or pimp) has abandoned any pretense of objectivity, or even a basic ability to grasp obvious and easily obtainable facts, is a watershed for the NY Times, which is clearly willing to print anything it can conjure up that supports the Wall Street establishment.

Patrick Byrne wrote a wonderful rebuttal to this nonsense, and I encourage one and all to read it.

And then, after you read that, check out this bit of fun from Dr. Byrne.

The absurdity of the Wall Street scrambling has never been more obvious. At least there is the entertainment value of it.

There is that.
Copyright ©2007 Bob O'Brien
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Comments (32)
Re: Joe Nocera Continues His Hilarious Antics For The Amusement Of The Cheap Seats By Slimes with the Times on 5/12/2007 8:52 AM
The New York Times
Guidelines on Integrity

Reporters, editors, photographers and all members of the news staff of The New York Times share a common and essential interest in protecting the integrity of the newspaper. As the news, editorial and business leadership of the newspaper declared jointly in 1998: "Our greatest strength is the authority and reputation of The Times. We must do nothing that would undermine or dilute it and everything possible to enhance it."

http://www.nytco.com/company-properties-times-integrity.html

Send your complaints about the co-opted articles that Joe Nocera and Floyd Norris continue to fabricate to: Byron Calame public@nytimes.com

http://publiceditor.blogs.nytimes.com/

Tell him you want an investigation of this continued smearing with false and misleading articles in collusion with other members of the press employed at other corrupt outfits.


Re: Joe Nocera Continues His Hilarious Antics For The Amusement Of The Cheap Seats By bobo on 5/12/2007 9:49 PM
Byrne's obviously right about one thing. The bad guys are freaking out over this stuff. No other reason for these anemic spitballs being launched by the NY press.
Re: Joe Nocera Continues His Hilarious Antics For The Amusement Of The Cheap Seats By Sean on 5/18/2007 3:48 PM
Here's more for your perusal!!!

The Crackdown on Stock-Loan Schemes
A criminal probe by the feds may reveal some of the mysteries of short sellers
by Matthew Goldstein

It may not have the cachet of mergers and acquisitions or leveraged buyouts, but the little-known business of securities lending is one of Wall Street's most lucrative. Investment banks rake in roughly $10 billion a year on the fees they collect for lending stocks and bonds to so-called short sellers—intensely secretive hedge funds and other professional traders who bet on falling prices.

Now a long-running criminal investigation may reveal some of what actually goes on among the traders, Wall Street investment firms, and independent intermediaries who help make the mysterious deals happen. BusinessWeek has learned that federal prosecutors in Brooklyn, N.Y., may be close to charging a number of current and former employees of several Wall Street firms with taking part in a complex kickback scheme that may have collectively cost the financial houses and short sellers millions of dollars in higher and unnecessary fees. Already, at least three people have taken pleas in exchange for cooperating with prosecutors, according to some people close to the nearly 18-month-long probe. Drawing the most scrutiny from investigators are current and former employees at the stock loan desks of Bear Stearns (BSC) and Morgan Stanley (MS), say sources close to the investigation. Former and current employees of Goldman Sachs (GS), Janney Montgomery Scott, Merrill Lynch (MER), and Nomura Securities are also being investigated. Officials at all of the financial firms and a spokesman for Roslynn Mauskopf, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, declined to comment.

Sources say authorities from the U.S. Attorney's office are looking into allegations that some employees on the stock loan desks received kickbacks or other improper cash payments from so-called stock-loan finders, independent middlemen who sometimes track down shares for Wall Street firms to lend to investors. It is anticipated that the prosecutors will likely claim that some employees on the stock loan desk unnecessarily referred work to the finders, who did little to justify their fees and only added to the cost of arranging a stock loan.

A Word of Warning
In a classic short sale, a trader borrows shares from an investment firm and sells them. If the stock falls as expected, the short seller can pay back the loan and make a profit by repurchasing the shares at a lower price. When the investment firms don't have enough shares on hand in their inventory, they sometimes seek out independent finders, who work the phones, calling friends, relatives, and buddies at other stock loan desks to make up the difference. This chummy relationship between finders and stock loan employees, say people familiar with the investigation, is what first piqued the interest of prosecutors, who may worry that the finders aren't providing a legitimate service.

This isn't the first time that the business has come under fire. Two years ago the New York Stock Exchange (NYX) issued an advisory opinion, cautioning Wall Street firms about continuing to do business with finders, saying: "We have seen only limited instances where a finder is actually providing services that an effective [in-house] stock loan department could not provide." The NYSE then began cracking down on abuses, fining two firms with paying "unjustified" and "sham" finders' fees to arrange stock loans. But regulators at the NYSE, along with the Securities & Exchange Commission, put much of their investigation on hold as the criminal inquiry into the alleged kickback scheme began heating up.

Michael Bachner, a New York criminal defense attorney who represents two individuals involved in the current investigation, says he's still hoping prosecutors will determine that what they've found amounts to nothing more than regulatory infractions. John Tabacco Jr., chief executive officer of Locatestock.com, a company whose software program helps brokers and hedge funds track down shares of hard-to-borrow stocks that traders are interested in shorting, says that until recently securities lending was "loosely regulated." He says he fears prosecutors "are going too far in pursuit of criminal charges."

Matthew Goldstein is an associate editor at BusinessWeek, covering hedge funds and finance.

Re: Joe Nocera Continues His Hilarious Antics For The Amusement Of The Cheap Seats By Sean on 5/18/2007 3:48 PM
Bobo, the tsuanmi (sp) is coming in waves today!!

Please save this somewhere. I t might be useful to us in the near future!!LOL!!!

http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=306843899
Re: Joe Nocera Continues His Hilarious Antics For The Amusement Of The Cheap Seats By hedgie on 5/18/2007 3:52 PM
Bobo, I don't think the duplicate link was up when I posted. I'm not adversarial. I'm posting what I come across.

Here's another one.

http://www.dealbreaker.com/2007/05/post_231.php
Re: Joe Nocera Continues His Hilarious Antics For The Amusement Of The Cheap Seats By ginger on 5/18/2007 3:50 PM
The Crackdown on Stock-Loan Schemes - A criminal probe by the feds may reveal some of the mysteries of short sellers ...


http://www.businessweek.com/investor/content/may2007/pi20070517_161219.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index_top+story
Re: Joe Nocera Continues His Hilarious Antics For The Amusement Of The Cheap Seats By captdale on 5/18/2007 3:52 PM
Bobo - I sent this to Bud and I'm sending it to you. I don't want to hear anything more about Joe whoever or what some other Media hack has to say. I want to see the names of those responsible.
Bud - Am I touching on a no no here ? We all know how its done. (NSS/FTD). We know who is doing it (Prime Brokers, MM's, Major financial institutions, Hedge funds) to who (Overstock, NFI, Eagletech,CMKX, to name a few) and we know who is facilitateing it.(SEC, DTCC, NASD, Fed. Reserve) And, we know who is doing nothing about it (Congress, SEC,DTCC,NASD) and who is "talking trash" about what they are doing to fix it(NASD, SEC, Congress) . And, we know who is saying its no big deal, only a small percentage of the total daily volume. (SEC, NASD). We know some influencial people say its a good thing due to the enormous amount of money generated and the liquidity it provides so should not be regulated (Congressional hearings). We have the data to prove the manipulation. (FOIA data and demonstrable failure of Reg SHO enforcement for one). We have some few states AG finally stepping up to the post on the issue and some folding under the pressure. We know who the major media hacks are that help the miscreants behavior. You said you haven't learned anything new in the last 7 years. I have learned it in the last 3. I don't need to learn anything new. It took many many letters, e-mails, phone calls and Fax to heads of every state and federal regulatory organization, Senators, Representatives, and attending many meetings to finally learn that "they" are not going to do a damn thing about it. At this point "they" can no longer just pretend it is a conspiracy theory but still refuse to step up to the post. I want to see a listing of the names of those persons most major responsible. I want to see their picture, their names and I want to know where they live and where their office is. That information should be made public knowledge. That information should be posted on a public forum for all to see. Does anyone have that information and are willing to post it ? These people need a serious "Come to Jesus" awakening. They need to see the light. They need to be "healed". I want to see a list of these people for Christs sake and I would like to help them achieve that goal.
Re: Joe Nocera Continues His Hilarious Antics For The Amusement Of The Cheap Seats By bbhindyou on 5/18/2007 3:53 PM
oklahoma.
nesara.
S.H.O. reformation.
Jam on every other day but not today.
Promise them just what they want but never never give it to them.
I think its time to take it to the streets.
No violence just Gahndi style passive protests.
We need a few people to do a high profile hunger strike.
Real people who see the truth and refuse to stay patient and silent any more.
We MUST refuse to live like this any longer.
Our freedom and future are being taken from us and our children.
We can't afford silence anymore.
I am willing to do what it takes.
ARE YOU?
Then lets start making some noise.
Re: Joe Nocera Continues His Hilarious Antics For The Amusement Of The Cheap Seats By captdale on 5/18/2007 3:54 PM
Bobo- Yeah, thats about the jist of it. When I went back to read it again it was gone. Imagine that.
Re: Joe Nocera Continues His Hilarious Antics For The Amusement Of The Cheap Seats By ginger on 5/12/2007 9:10 PM

Court's OK Likely in Overstock.com Stock Libel Suit
Mike McKee
The Recorder
April 12, 2007

All that the attorneys for Overstock.com Inc. want at this point is a trial on the company's libel claims. And a trial it seems they'll get.

During 75 minutes of oral arguments Tuesday, San Francisco's 1st District Court of Appeal seemed ready to let the online retailer get a full airing on its claims that a financial analysis company and a hedge fund conspired to put it out of business.

"We're at the pleading stage," Justice Maria Rivera told the defendants' lawyers. "It's not time yet to decide all these various levels [of legal issues], because the evidence we have is basically skeletal."

Justice Ignazio Ruvolo indicated there was evidence even "at this stage of the proceedings" that could substantiate Overstock.com's claims.

Salt Lake City-based Overstock.com filed suit in 2005, accusing Gradient Analytics Inc. of conspiring with the analyst's client, Rocker Partners, to drive down Overstock.com's stock with reports based on false information.

Overstock.com contends that New Jersey-based Rocker convinced Arizona-based Gradient to give Overstock.com an "F" rating by, among other things, claiming that company executives had falsified accounting statements. The suit accuses Rocker of trying to profit from the short selling of Overstock.com stock.

The case has Wall Street's rapt attention. Financial journalists and stock analysts have argued in amici curiae briefs that a victory for Overstock.com could have a serious chilling effect on organizations that provide financial opinions.

Anxiety was ramped up last year when Marin County, Calif., Superior Court Judge Vernon Smith refused to dismiss the case as a SLAPP, or strategic lawsuit against public participation. The defendants appealed in hope of getting Smith reversed.

Steven Hirsch, a Keker & Van Nest partner who argued Gradient's position Tuesday, tried to play on the appeal court's sympathies by saying libel suits such as Overstock.com's could be crippling for some companies in the highly competitive world of financial analysis.

"We're a small, independent company," he said of Gradient. "This kind of thing can put us out of business."

Even so, the questions asked by Ruvolo, Rivera and Justice Timothy Reardon strongly indicated that Hirsch wasn't going to win the day.

Matters got off to an immediate rough start for Hirsch when he argued that the case was only about Gradient saying "bad things" about Overstock.com.

"False things might be a better way of putting it," Ruvolo interrupted.

"Allegedly false things," Hirsch responded. "Why don't we say 'negative things?'"

"We'd rather stick with falsity," Ruvolo said.

Hirsch tried to argue that Overstock.com had no chance of prevailing on its claims. The company, he said, has mostly "circumstantial evidence of malice" and can't show any ill intent by Gradient or Rocker.

"Gradient is free to disagree with [Overstock.com's] auditors," Hirsch said. "If not, then the concept of independent research is out the window."

Justice Ruvolo, however, said that by downplaying Overstock.com as an investment, Gradient had essentially yelled "fire" on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. "Isn't that a very serious allegation being made about Overstock?" he asked.

Gavin Rooney, a partner in Roseland, N.J.'s Lowenstein Sandler who argued for Rocker, didn't fare much better, especially when he tried to say that Overstock.com made allegations about negative, but not false, reports.

"There's more than that, though, Mr. Rooney," Ruvolo said. He pointed out that Overstock.com alleges Rocker even asked Gradient to delay its negative reports to give Rocker time to solidify its short position.

Ruvolo also noted that Overstock.com's stock dropped from $73 a share in early 2005 to the high 20s a year later.

"Their point is, there's a direct link in time," Ruvolo said. "They basically claim they were carpet-bombed with these reports in early 2005."

Overstock.com's lawyer, Theodore "Dore" Griffinger Jr., of counsel in San Francisco's Stein & Lubin, used his time to argue that Gradient and Rocker had worked together to issue more than 50 negative reports on Overstock.com in less than a year.

"The implicit message in these 50 reports," he said, "was that Overstock was intentionally falsifying its accounting records … to mislead the public."

"This is not free speech," Griffinger argued. "This is a scheme to drive down the price of stocks."

The few questions directed at Griffinger were favorable to his position.

Hirsch tried to use his rebuttal time to bolster Gradient's image. He said Gradient had come to the conclusion that Overstock.com had a "fatally flawed business plan" before Rocker became a client. He also said Gradient had a good record of predicting bad investments.

"We blew the whistle on Krispy Kreme, and [its stock] went right down hill," Hirsch said. "We blew the whistle on Tyco, and it went right down hill." Giving Overstock.com an "F" rating, he argued, "is not evidence of malice."

A ruling in Gradient Analytics Inc. v. Overstock.com Inc., A113397, is due within 90 days.

http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1176282246984
Re: Joe Nocera Continues His Hilarious Antics For The Amusement Of The Cheap Seats By John T. on 5/13/2007 9:11 AM
The best way to do it is to hit the NY Times advertisers. I see Circuit City is advertising on the NY Times homepage. I will no longer shop at Circuit City. Period.
Re: Joe Nocera Continues His Hilarious Antics For The Amusement Of The Cheap Seats By lapdog "Heel!" on 5/13/2007 9:12 AM
"Financial journalists and stock analysts have argued in amici curiae briefs that a victory for Overstock.com could have a serious chilling effect on organizations that provide financial opinions."

should be

"Lapdog journalists and others who are paid to lie for a living have argued in amici curiae briefs that a victory for Overstock.com could have a serious chilling effect on organizations that participate in conspiracies with share counterfeiters to put companies out of business."
Re: Joe Nocera Continues By The Yahoo on 5/13/2007 9:12 AM
Solidifying a short then writing 50 bashing articles.??? That would be manipulation right? Short and distort with the NYT!

If a company has some great news, found tons of gold, patent approved, FDA approved (whatever) and insiders bought then sold into the pump media blitz. That's manipulation. We are just going the other way.

Short and distort, pump and dump same coin different sides.

I don't follow Overstock but I may support the store!

Patrick is a hero to stand up against this. Any thinking American would agree. Mainstream media should not support Short and distort writers.
Re: Joe Nocera Continues His Hilarious Antics For The Amusement Of The Cheap Seats By n-tres-ted on 5/13/2007 9:34 AM
Most people don't understand that money can be made when a stock's price goes down, so they tend to believe someone disparaging a company. They really are not aware of short selling in the public at large. When they understand it better, people like Nocera will be seen for what they are. Schills for bandits.
Re: Joe Nocera Continues His Hilarious Antics For The Amusement Of The Cheap Seats By rtway on 5/13/2007 2:56 PM
John T. you have got the right idea. The N.Y. Times has written distortions and lies about many things with impunity. Their stock and reputation is tanking. I will not by anything either from Circuit City but I will let them know why. The same for all the rest of their advertisers, let them know why.
Leslie Boni quote in "Secret Stock Market - Dark Pools" article By yada yads on 5/13/2007 2:57 PM
Leslie Boni, managing director at UNX Inc., which provides trading tools, networks and platforms for insitutions, said at a conference recently that there's tremendous demand for new trading technology in the market. Hedge funds are constantly demanding the latest tools, furthering the suspicions among some other traders.
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/secret-stock-market-upstart-systems/story.aspx
Re: Joe Nocera Continues His Hilarious Antics For The Amusement Of The Cheap Seats By tmg on 5/14/2007 1:29 PM
Anybody else notice the number of companies on the Nasdaq Reg SHOlist dropped to 205 from 261 between 5/10's list and 5/11's?

The HFS hearing on investor protection next month will include FTDs in the enforcement categories. They are having all five commissioners in to help get to the bottom of the differences between them that are causing the lack of output. The timing of next month is to provide some temporal incentive to get some good things done before the hearing, so they have something good to talk about instead of getting asked about why they haven't. That is the theory anyway.
Re: Joe Nocera Continues His Hilarious Antics For The Amusement Of The Cheap Seats By stryker-ny on 5/14/2007 8:04 PM
Bunny...betta hide...the guidos are a coming...it's only a matter of time...you're too high profile...lol...keep it up bobo..you have more friends..than enemies...I've got a great house in Maine....yours...for the asking.....lol rodders
Re: Joe Nocera Continues His Hilarious Antics For The Amusement Of The Cheap Seats By ginger on 5/14/2007 8:05 PM
Two AGs backing House investigation of SEC


http://www.legalnewsline.com/content/img/f195044/AGsletter.pdf
Re: Joe Nocera Continues His Hilarious Antics For The Amusement Of The Cheap Seats By Bill Tecumseh Sherman on 5/15/2007 7:36 AM
n tres ted, you really make a good point about the American investors' understanding of the connection between short sales (and the money to be made) and ambiguous negative information strategically planted by short sellers. Couple that with the psychological miscalculations between fear and greed (that is a loss feels some multiple worse than the good feelings from a similar gain), and it's a wonder anyone buys a stock that the shorts decide to create doubt about.

Credit the shorts with having figured this out. They have worked out a very efficient system to solve one of their biggest problems of the past, that is, they often had to wait too long to be proven right or worse to be proven wrong. Now, they just get on the line with their favorite reporters, SEC officials, independent or sell side analysts, or FBI agent and voila, problem solved. FTD's are just another tool in the arsenal (what I call the accelerator).

You know, the sad thing is is that it is all just fraud. I've seen some, like Herb, try to say it's no different than the positive reports, well if the positive reports are all fraud also, then that don't make it right or justifiable because others are doing it across the street. Both pumped up long reports and dumped down short reports are both bad and both illegal. They're both lies. The problem for these guys on the short side is this, it is a lot easier to prove short and distort than it is to prove pump and dump. By it's nature the short and distort has to rely on certain tell tale tactics that aren't needed in pump and dumps. The best example of this are FTD's.

Interesting question for the thread. What's to stop a corporate executive in a pump and dump or just a company on the brink of BK but not yet obvious to outsiders (a company he knows is going bankrupt) from selling as many FTDs into the marketplace as he can? He isn't selling stock, right? So he doesn't have to disclose his sales (doesn't have to file with the SEC). What's to stop him?

cheers

B. S.
Re: Joe Nocera Continues His Hilarious Antics For The Amusement Of The Cheap Seats By hedgie on 5/15/2007 7:39 AM
http://internet.seekingalpha.com/article/35496
Re: Joe Nocera Continues His Hilarious Antics For The Amusement Of The Cheap Seats By bobo on 5/15/2007 7:48 AM
Hedgie: 'lilGW is trying to make some hay, along with much mud-slinging and name calling, out of a one year old subpoena that Patrick very publicly discussed when they hit. It's amusing, and a sign of desperation from that end, that we have 'lilGW pitching his twisted bile to make something stick in this silliness. It's pretty simple: OSTK and Patrick got subpoenas requesting the same things. He disclosed it. Talked about it, celebrated it, in fact. The End. Why this, why now, is a fair question.

You and other readers might enjoy the latest from Antisocialmedia.net - the site that exposed 'lilGW as a lying, cheating, sock-puppet using scumbag.

http://antisocialmedia.net/?p=102

In it, the site shows a direct connection between a large hedge fund, and a firm that acts as a chinese wall and basically does the hiring of the bashers and media hacks and such.

That would explain why has-been scribblers are so directed at attacking those taking on Wall Street corruption. The easy answer is always the best: their livelihood depends on it.

Nice to see that the bad guys are continuing to spend lots of time trying to silence those who are exposing their crookery.
Re: Joe Nocera and his amazing magic show!!! By Jenny on 5/15/2007 6:30 PM
We'll start way back in history to give some kind of historical perspective to this; we'll go back to the first century BC and the tiny kingdom of Phrygia. There was a philosopher by the name of Epictetus and it was Epictetus who said "Appearances are of four kinds: things either are as they appear to be; or they neither are nor appear to be; or they are but do not appear to be; or they are not and yet appear to be."

What he did was he took a fairly simple concept but by the time that he was through explaining it, we didn't have any idea what he was talking about. All Epictetus said was that appearances can sometimes be deceiving. That's all he said but by the time he was through explaining the four different ways in which they can be deceiving, we were left back at the switch somewhere.

www.bigeye.com/griffin.htm

I have devised a way to understand the multiple ways to understand these frauds. The + on the left would symbolize Appears to be if it was a - it does not appear to be. On the right What it is. So on the top looks like a good company or good results is not....etc

The basic ways to decieve in the market and in general. This can be used by magicians, crooks or your wife.
Looks like? Is

+ -
- +
- -
+ +
+ - (+)
- + (-)

We can wait around to see if Leo Wanta is a real hero even if he is real.

www.rense.com/general70/leo.htm
www.worldreports.org

We can wait until the reported NESARA comes into effect of course that is if this is a real bill waiting to be signed.

www.nesara.us/pages/home.html
nesara.org/main/index.htm

Or we can make our own solutions happen.
Re: Joe Nocera Continues His Hilarious Antics For The Amusement Of The Cheap Seats By n-tres-ted on 5/16/2007 9:33 AM
Bobo,

Is the evidence obtained by anitsocialmedia being provided to the SEC or to the litigants in the OSTK or NFI litigations? How is it to be used to best advantage not only to bring down these particular miscreants but also others doing the same things?
Re: Joe Nocera Continues His Hilarious Antics For The Amusement Of The Cheap Seats By captdale on 5/16/2007 5:07 PM
Bobo - Please pardon the off topic question. I don't know how else to ask it. Please read this proposed rule change and give your opinion . captdale

http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro/cboe/2007/3...
Re: antisocial media dan loeb revelation By RMR on 5/16/2007 8:25 PM
Daniel Loeb, the hedge fund slime in the antisocial media piece is an arrogant egomanical sociopath scumbag Wall Street predator. He recently bought a $45million dollar apartment in Manhattan.
When Patrick opines about Evil Shorts-- Loeb is the personification, IMO.

April 14, 2005 "The Collected Works of Daniel Loeb, Part I
(by Paul Kedorsky - Infectious Greed

This week's New Yorker has a breezy piece about the populist approach of Daniel Loeb, a hedge fund manager at Third Point LLC. Mr. Loeb is fond of writing Mencken-esque screeds to CEOs and others who are depressing his fund's alpha.

The following exchange is mentioned but not reprinted in the New Yorker piece, but it was emailed around quite widely. It isn't a typical Loeb-ian bit of writing, but it is a wildly entertaining email exchange between Loeb and a would-be Third Point hedge fund employee from the U.K. -- one that goes, well, slightly off-kilter:

From: Alan Lewis
To: Daniel Loeb
March 22, 2005
Daniel, thanks for calling earlier today. Enclosed is my CV for your review. I look forward to following up with you when you have more time.

Best regards, Alan.

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

From: Daniel Loeb
To: Alan Lewis
March 28, 2005

What are your three best current European ideas?

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

From: Alan Lewis
To: Daniel Loeb
March 28, 2005

Daniel, I am sorry but it does not interest me to move forward in this way.

If you wish to have a proper discussion about what you are looking to accomplish in Europe, and see how I might fit in, fine. Lesson One of dealing in Europe: Business is not conducted in the same informal manner as in the U.S.

Best regards, Alan.

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

From: Daniel Loeb
To: Alan Lewis
March 28, 2005

One idea would suffice.

We are an aggressive, performance-oriented fund looking for bloodthirsty competitive individuals, who show initiative and drive, to make outstanding investments.

This is why I have built Third Point into a $3bn (£1.6bn) fund with average net returns of 30% over 10 years. We find most Brits are a bit set in their ways and prefer to knock back a pint at the pub and go shooting on weekends rather than work hard. Lifestyle choices are important, and knowing one's limitations with respect to dealing in a competitive environment is too. That is Lesson One at my shop. It is good that we learned about this incompatibility early in the process, and I wish you all the best in your career in traditional fund management.

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

From: Alan Lewis
To: Daniel Loeb
March 28, 2005

Daniel, I guess your reputation is proved correct. I have not been in traditional fund management for more than 11 years. I did not achieve the success I have by knocking back a pint, as you say. I am aggressive, and I do love this business.

I am half-American and half-French, and having spent more than half my life on this side of the pond I think I know a little something about how one conducts business in the U.K. and Europe.

There are many opportunities in the U.K. and Europe, shareholder regard is only beginning to be accepted and understood. However, if you come here and handle it in the same brash way you have in the U.S., I guarantee you will fail. Things are done differently here. Yes, place in society still matters, where one went to school etc. It will take tact and patience (traits you obviously do not have) to succeed in this arena. Good luck! Alan.

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

From: Daniel Loeb
To: Alan Lewis
March 28, 2005

Well, you will have plenty of time to discuss your "place in society" with the other fellows at the club. I love the idea of a French/English unemployed guy, whose fund just blew up, telling me that I am going to fail.

At Third Point, like the financial markets in general, "one's place in society" does not matter at all. We are a bunch of scrappy guys from diverse backgrounds (Jewish, Muslim, Hindu etc.) who enjoy outwitting pompous asses, like yourself, in financial markets globally.

Your "inexplicable insouciance" and disrespect is fascinating; it must be a French/English aristocratic thing. I will be following your "career" with great interest.

I have copied Patrick so that he can introduce you to people who might be a better fit. There must be an insurance company or mutual fund out there for you. Dan Loeb.

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

From: Alan Lewis
To: Daniel Loeb
March 28, 2005

Hubris.

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

From: Daniel Loeb
To: Alan Lewis
March 28, 2005

Laziness."
Re: Joe Nocera Continues His Hilarious Antics For The Amusement Of The Cheap Seats By ginger on 5/17/2007 8:05 AM
No Dendron asking "Where are all these SHARES coming from?"
Someone has got to fix this... fast.

http://biotech.seekingalpha.com/article/35850
Re: Joe Nocera Continues His Hilarious Antics For The Amusement Of The Cheap Seats By bbhindyou on 5/17/2007 8:05 AM
What happened in Oklahoma?
Is there any action on the reporting of failure to deliver stock numbers bill?
Silence on this issue makes it so that no matter how much other 'noise' I hear this silence is much louder.
It has to stop.
Re: Joe Nocera Continues His Hilarious Antics For The Amusement Of The Cheap Seats By gregcable2002 on 5/17/2007 8:07 AM
Dan Loeb thinks himself to be above any law,I think they call it the god syndrome.When these guys fall they tend to fall hard.There is a slab of concrete waiting at the bottom for this guy.
OSTK Fails By clearthinker on 5/17/2007 10:16 AM
Please explain this - on CNBC's very own website,they show the overall ownership of OSTK shares are 42+MM shares, and yet the O/S is 23MM. Add to this the fact that much of the O/S is not borrowable.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/15837275?q=ostk

Please explain these numbers.

Thank you
Re: Joe Nocera Continues His Hilarious Antics For The Amusement Of The Cheap Seats By bobo on 5/17/2007 11:20 AM
Clearthinker. It's probably a miscount. br>
Hedgie, perhaps you should read the other comments before you post the identical link. Just an idea. Not going to clog this threat with a dupe. Sure you understand.

Capt, no time to read 40 pages. Probably just another rule change to gore investors and reduce oversight and responsibility for Wall Street. Am I close?
Re: Joe Nocera Continues His Hilarious Antics For The Amusement Of The Cheap Seats By Sean on 5/18/2007 3:46 PM
Bobo, this is what we've been waiting for...

By Martha Graybow and Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Authorities are investigating employees of Wall Street banks over alleged kickbacks involving securities lending to investors who try to profit when shares fall, a person familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

The probe involving loans to so-called short sellers is being conducted by the FBI and federal prosecutors in Brooklyn, New York, and may lead to criminal charges stemming from the alleged stock loan schemes, this person said.

The existence of the probe was first reported on Business Week magazine's Web site. The magazine, citing unnamed sources, said employees at investment firms including Bear Stearns Cos. (BSC) and Morgan Stanley (MS) are under investigation.

The magazine reported that three people have taken pleas in exchange for cooperation with the U.S. Attorney in Brooklyn following the nearly 18-month-long probe. It said the alleged scheme may have cost financial firms and short sellers millions of dollars in unnecessary fees.

The U.S. Attorney's Office and the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation declined to comment.

A short sale is a bet that a stock price will fall. In a typical short sale, a trader borrows shares and sells them, hoping to buy them back later at a lower price.

Hedge funds and investment firms have done lucrative business in tracking down hard-to-find securities for short sellers.

According to BusinessWeek, prosecutors are examining whether employees on Wall Street stock loan desks received kickbacks from "finders" who track down shares for them to lend to short sellers.

The article said investigators were examining whether the finders did not do enough work to justify their fees, or whether they even provided a legitimate service.

Current and former employees at the stock loan desks of Bear and Morgan Stanley are drawing the most scrutiny, according to Business Week, citing unnamed sources.

Also under investigation are current and former employees of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS), Janney Montgomery Scott, Merrill Lynch & Co. (MER) and Nomura Securities 8604.T, it said.

Representatives of Bear, Goldman, Merrill, Morgan Stanley and Nomura declined to comment. Janney did not immediately return a request for a comment.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in 2004 began examining possible misconduct by intermediaries who lent shares held by mutual funds without passing the profits back onto investors in the funds.

Securities lending is considered a low-risk business for large mutual funds and other institutions with big portfolios, such as pension funds, endowments, insurers and hedge funds.

The SEC declined comment on the matter on Thursday.

In April 2005, the New York Stock Exchange issued guidance on the use of stock finders.

"Recent examination findings (in many instances) call into question the business justification for interposing a finder," it said. "We have seen only limited instances where a finder is actually providing services that an effective internal stock loan department could not provide."

NYSE spokesman Brendan Intindola on Thursday said the Big Board is still examining the issue and has "several" cases pending.

(Additional reporting by Paritosh Bansal and Joseph A. Giannone in New York and Kevin Drawbaugh in Washington)

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