RT... | ABC News Reports Seeking Alpha Sued by Billionaire Investor | AVT cautions investors about the site
CORONA, Calif., March 11, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- AVT, Inc. (OTC Markets: AVTC) (www.autoretail.com), a leader in custom vending machines and micro stores, commented today on the ABC News report that billionaire David Einhorn's Greenlight Capital has filed a lawsuit against Seeking Alpha Inc.
Seeking Alpha is a website where bloggers can give "investment advice" that suits their personal agenda. These "advisors" are unregulated and can write whatever they desire with almost no oversight. Some write about companies in which they may have an undisclosed short position, or may own shares in another company in the same sector, may have been compensated for their story, or may be attempting to steer readers toward their personal fund.
No obligation to consumers
Shiyan Koh, vice president at personal finance website NerdWallet, cautioned consumers about material posted on Seeking Alpha:
"Seeking Alpha's independent contributors who write their views have no obligation to consumers about whether that advice or recommendation is best for them and their situation," Koh said. "Consumers should take what they read with a grain of salt."
An article in The Deal Pipeline, recently profiled this problem: "Paid stock promotions, masquerading as investment opinion articles and blogs, have been popping up on the company news pages of Yahoo! Finance, the stock research website Seeking Alpha and, some observers suspect, on the website of Forbes magazine," the article stated. "Promotions whose authors are not identified or who don't disclose their compensation, or that are not grounded in fact, can under SEC regulations, be illegal."
James Winsor, CEO of AVT commented: "At AVT, we have a culture of transparency and open communication. We work hard to keep our shareholders and the public informed of all major and noteworthy news in a timely manner. We believe that an informed shareholder base is good for all parties.
"Accordingly, all pertinent news about AVT will come only from AVT in the form of company filings and press releases. News from other sources may be unreliable, false, or written to serve an undisclosed agenda."
For more information on AVT contact the company at (877) 424-3663, or visit the website at: www.autoretail.com.
To read the ABC News story, visit: abcnews.go.com
To read the article in The Deal Pipeline, visit: thedeal.com
Connect with AVT on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/AVTInc
Follow AVT on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/AVTIncCA
SOURCE AVT, Inc.
/Web site: autoretail.com |
