LETS SEE WHAT stockconsultant.com THINKS ABOUT A C L N
BULLISH Probability - Intermediate trend bullish, uptrend starting.
Confirmation - at support
BEARISH None
OVERALL 1 bullish probability and 1 bullish confirmation indicators.
0 bearish probability and 0 bearish confirmation indicators.
OVERALL RATING 4, Mild Outperform, short term (1-6 wks)
70%, Bullish 30%, Bearish
stockconsultant.com
U.S. suspends trade in Cypriot transport firm ACLN
By Claire Soares
WASHINGTON, March 18 (Reuters) - In its first suspension of a New York Stock Exchange-listed company in more than two decades, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday halted trading in car-shipping company A.C.L.N. Ltd. <ASW.N>, dealing the beleaguered firm another blow.
The SEC said it had concerns about the accuracy of A.C.L.N.'s financial statements and was suspending trading through April 1.
Just hours later the New York Stock Exchange said it was moving to delist the common stock of the Cyprus-incorporated company.
No one at A.C.L.N.'s Los Angeles office was immediately available to comment. But in late December the company denied there were inconsistencies in its financial statements.
Shares in the company, already the subject of an SEC probe and eight class action shareholder lawsuits, closed at $8.35 on Friday. They have slumped more than 80 percent in the past six months.
"This is the first time that the SEC has suspended trading in a NYSE-listed stock since April 2, 1975," an SEC spokesman told Reuters.
The regulatory body said it was concerned about a dramatic increase A.C.L.N. reported in 2001 revenue from arranging the transportation of used cars from Europe to Africa.
It also said the company's new car wholesale business in Africa was a matter of concern in terms of the revenues and income it generated and which country the cars came from.
"One of things we're looking at is whether the new car business even exists," another SEC source said.
U.S. regulators said A.C.L.N. had also failed to disclose a warrant issued by Tunisian authorities for the arrest of the company's president and chief executive, Abderrazak Labiadh, for allegedly misusing money from a Tunisian company he founded.
The company's business relationship and financial transactions with its European shipping agent, Matina Forwarding and Trading, are also under scrutiny, the SEC added.
Last week A.C.L.N. said it intended to sever ties with MFT, a company controlled by A.C.L.N. Chairman Joseph Bisschops, by the end of the first quarter.
A.C.L.N. gave no explanation for parting ways with Bisschops' company, but said none of the agent companies it is considering to replace MFT "have a relation to the management of A.C.L.N. Limited."
March has been a rocky time for A.C.L.N.
At the beginning of the month three of its seven directors resigned from the board over disagreements about how to deal with the lawsuits and the U.S. probe, and proposed additional board members.
And last Wednesday A.C.L.N. delayed reporting quarterly results, citing "added levels of scrutiny." The firm said it was working with its auditors, identified on the company Web site as BDO International of Belgium, to finalize its financial results.
(Additional reporting by John Poirier in Washington and Lauren Weber in New York)
14:15 03-18-02 |
