Pumping penny-stocks on YouTube
Posted Feb 19th 2007 12:10PM by Zac Bissonnette
Filed under: Bad news, Management, Insiders, Law, Internet, Google (GOOG), Scandals, Columns
Last week, YouTube removed numerous videos from Comedy Central after the parent company of the network, Viacom Inc.(NYSE:VIA), sent Google a stack of 100,000 takedown notices. With South Park and Family Guy content now missing from YouTube, the site is now being used for a more sinister purpose: promoting penny stocks. In the past few weeks, I have received numerous emails touting the stock of Mphase Tech (OTCBB: XDSL), which claims to be in possession of a nanotech battery. The company then made history by putting out this press release: LITTLE FALLS, N.J.-(Business Wire)-February 16, 2007 - mPhase Technologies (OTC:XDSL) (www.mphasetech.com) will post a video demonstration of its Smart Nanobattery on the popular YouTube web site (http://www.youtube.com) today, Friday, February 16th at 5 p.m. Eastern time. The video will explain the technology behind its breakthrough development of a "smart" battery based on nanotechnology. Viewers may access the video at YouTube link...
bloggingstocks.com
Karmazin's record predicted XM/Sirius merger
Posted Mar 6th 2007 5:11PM by Zac Bissonnette
Filed under: Deals, Rumors, Management, Newspapers, XM Satellite Radio (XMSR), Sirius Satellite Radio (SIRI)
In investing, you can sometimes gain an information advantage by doing some investigation into the track record of the management. Last month, I took a look at XDSL, a shady-looking penny stock where the CEO was charged with a pump and dump scheme several years ago. But the information your background investigation yields will, of course, not always be so negative. It will often show signs of the management-style of the executive, and that can lead you to make predictions about how his current company might work out. The New York Times article about Sirius Satellite Radio pretty much summed up CEO Mel Karmazin's track-record with its headline: The Karmazin Way: Build it, Sell it, Run it, Repeat. Anyone who had done some research into Karmazin's record would have predicted that a merger would be something he would at least want to pursue. Whether he will be successful is, of course, another matter, and not something I will dive into here. But the lesson for investors is a good one: Take the time to delve... |
