Opalapril, you also missed the point of my message. I was trying to
state that a lawsuit by the shareholders would be a poor remedy unless
they can show reliance upon statements by Cowpland or Corel that were
misleading, incorrect or false and if the shareholder has an actual
loss(ie. as a result of the sale of the shares). Any other loss, such
as loss of expected profits is generally not recoverable. The situation
here related primarily to the non-disclsoure of information(ie. the poor
operating results) and the claim that the non-public information was
used by Cowpland to his advantage which is very different. If it could be
shown that the statments leading up to the sale were misleading as part
of a scheme to run up the price, then shareholders who bought during
the period in which the statments were made could sue if they
could show that they relied significantly upon the statements but
proving such a scheme and the neccesary reliance would be tough and
very expensive.
Secondly, I was and am still sugesting that we as small investors have
to look to the regulatory body to right the wrong. I was not endorsing
the TSE as their record of late has not been impressive. However, if no one
complains to them or if no one raises problems with the system, it will
never change. Your comments imply that the U.S. regulatory system is
superior which I can't comment on with full knowledge. However, if you
explain how the ex manager of Fidelity Magellan Fund can now manage a
large fund of his own when a few years ago, the Magellan Fund appeared
to be selling stocks that he was at the same time promoting ( Micron,
I beleive), I might have more confidence that our system is deficient by
comparison. You might also explain how the options of many takeover
stocks sky-rocket with unusually high volumes prior to the takeover
announcement yet few people are charged with insider trading in the U.S.
Regulators on both sides of the border have a very difficult time with proving
insider-trading and it is a big problem for small investors as we often
don't get all the relevent information.
I have not bought any Corel shares as yet. I was reviewing this
thread when the Cowpland share sale hit. Your comments as to loss
of credibility by Corel are valid. I can't speak to the technology but
much of the advertising of this company seems ill placed. However,
some of the threads spoke of new opportunities and I continue to look
for comments from others (both positive and negative). These announcements will, to state the
obvious, affect the market value of the stock. So to will the complaints
that have been made to the TSE re Cowpland's actions. |
