SeteveDavis,
If the analsyt for Merryl Lynch raised the rating on a stock from neutral to strong buy, that is his job as a publicly disclosed registered analyst who also publishes any possible conflicts of interest he or his company may have. That is legal because it requires full disclosure on the levels I mentioned.
When Elgindy, for instance, tells his posse via telephone, fax, or IM to short a stock and they act within moments (as quoted in the Wired article of April, 2000), and this information is not made public - that could be considered to be CONSPIRING (as it involves more than one person, and it is privately done) and since he has 250 members acting "within moments" to short a stock, it falls under Section 9 as someone selling with knowledge of others selling at substantially the same price at substantially the same time.
Merril Lynch is in the clear because they disclose what they are doing publicly as SEC registered dealers and registered analysts, and they publish their potential conflicts of interest - the difference is what Elgindy and Auric do is hidden from public view and, as such, may constitute (in legalese) a conspiracy. |
