nationalpost.com
Paul Bagnell
Financial Post
An insider at American Gem Corp. made several short sales of the company''s stock during June and July, according to the
most recent report on insider trading from
the Ontario Securities Commission.
Short sales are sales of borrowed stock, in which the seller profits if the share price declines by the time the shares must be
repaid to the lender.
William Podolsky, a senior officer at Northern Securities Inc. -- a subsidiary of American Gem -- sold short 85,000 American
Gem common shares at prices
between 63¢ and 77¢ between June 10 and July 21, according to the OSC. Between June 16 and July 29, Mr. Podolsky
purchased an identical number of common
shares at between 57¢ and 67¢ each, the report shows.
The sales and purchases left Mr. Podolsky with a balance of zero shares of American Gem. Proceeds from the sales were
$7,665 greater than the cost of shares
purchased.
In an interview yesterday, Mr. Podolsky said he made the sales to avoid a tax liability stemming from American Gem warrants
he was to receive from the company''s
purchase of Northern Securities on June 7.
The short sales were made, Mr. Podolsky said, before he received the warrants, which entitled him to buy American Gem
shares at 65¢ each.
American Gem is a former sapphire mining company now developing an Internet-based business.
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