MMV:
You've done me a favour. I'm going to print this for my wife (that I at least try to be "politically correct"). She thinks I am reckless, outspoken, and that I endanger our kids with what I write. (g)
To be serious for a moment, having already taken a few arrows, I can tell you that I do measure my words carefully. Suits and court actions can bankrupt one very quickly.
One of the most brilliant analytical minds in Canada, and a close friend of mine, visited me a few years ago and spread a bunch of paper across the tables. It was a superb analysis of Livent, which showed that the company was an accounting scam. My friend operated a short fund at the time and was short the stock. A few weeks later a big glossy mag in the U.S. ran a fluff piece in which Livent's CEO was presented in heroic terms. My friend wrote a gentlemanly letter to the editor pointing out a few discrepancies in the piece and pointed out a few worrisome items from the company's financial reports. He was sued by the company. A few months later, he capitulated, as he was running out of dough, having spent far too much in legal fees. He was forced to place full page ads in all the national newspapers apologizing for his transgressions. His fund was effectively destroyed due to client withdrawals. Of course the company is now effectively insolvent and major criminal charges have been laid against management. My pal had the whole thing fully analyzed but paid a nasty price for being right and for writing a letter to the editor.
You can check this out as it has been quite a story up here and in some of the U.S. press.
It can be expensive if one is not cautious, especially in public print. Thank goodness, the net is (so far) less constrained.
Best, Earlie |
