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Strategies & Market Trends : Three Amigos Stock Thread -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sergio H who wrote (16007)	6/25/1999 9:02:00 PM
From: Ken W	Respond to of 29382

Sergio, SORC....took my 18% on the short and will look for a long position once things settle a bit. I think that PE, FA, BS etc does not mean squat to the folks that run the real show. Want to bet that once the FA sound cyclicals become overbought that the "anal ysts will suddenly begin to tout the future of the internet and not to worry about the high PE's etc. Want a game this is. By all that is basic SORC should continue on to the 20 level without an 15 to 20% dip in the middle, but that is how the game is played and that is how I'm going to play it. Can't beat them, join them. Ken

To: Sergio H who wrote (16007)	6/26/1999 3:28:00 AM
From: Sir Auric Goldfinger	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 29382

Speakin 'o gold, BWA HAHA: "Authorities Confront ''Gifting Club'' By AMY WESTFELDT SOMERSET, N.J. (AP) - The gifting has begun at the Amigos Associates Social Club. Eight people line up in front of their team captain, pulling out wads of $100 bills. They each count 20 bills into their captain's hands. The captain walks away with $16,000, and the donors think that in a month or so, they will too. ''If this is a scam, I cannot wait to be scammed again,'' organization leader Linda Shepard told 2,000 people Thursday night at the Garden State Exhibition Center. Shepard's ''gifting club,'' which started six months ago with 13 people and has grown to 3,900 members, relies on the recruitment of new investors to pay people at the top. Some state officials argue it's a simple pyramid scheme, a consumer fraud that eventually collapses when longtime members run out of new recruits. But membership comes with a key caveat: recruits must read a statement saying they are offering $2,000 as a gift - and expect nothing in return. ''It's carefully worded,'' said Union County prosecutor Robert O'Leary. ''It's not a crime to operate what that group is operating right now.'' Prosecutors began investigating the club this month after learning that six Plainfield police officers allegedly tried to solicit business for the club while on duty. Connecticut officials are also looking into whether an offshoot of Amigos is holding similar meetings near Greenwich and Stamford, Conn. Two assemblymen introduced a bill this week that would make it illegal to participate in a group where an investor needs to recruit many others in order to reap a windfall. The measure might make Amigos Associates easier to prosecute, officials say. Shepard, a 36-year-old church musician and record store owner, is baffled by the attention. She says she didn't know what a pyramid scheme was before prosecutors began their investigation. ''They're making me out to be much smarter than I really am,'' she said. Shepard said the club does more than enrich its ranked members: ''We give money to charities. We help inner-city programs.'' But Amigos does generate cash for its members, who are now so numerous that they meet in huge exhibition halls around the state three times a week to move up the ladder on the club's gifting ''ships.'' Each ship has a team captain, two superstars, four all-stars, and eight stars. The stars each pay $2,000 to the captain, who then retires. Everyone else moves up a rung on the ladder and tries to recruit new stars. After collecting, the captain makes a $500 donation to cover expenses and pay Anova-Tau Inc., Shepard's for-profit corporation. Members can drop out at any time and get their money back, as long as they find a replacement donor. Millions of dollars in cash exchange hands on some nights. Guards check people at the door for weapons, and cameras are banned. Club members were eager to speak out in support of Amigos but reluctant to give their full names, saying they worried about their privacy. After two weeks, an investor who would only identify himself as Joe said he is one step away from being a team captain. He decided to join after coming to a meeting and watching 80 people collect $16,000 each in one night. He took his $2,000 out of a brokerage account. ''I get a better return on my money here,'' he said. Melissa, 28, has been on a team for two months and hasn't cashed out, but isn't worried. ''I play the stock market. I go to Atlantic City,'' she said. ''That's throwing money away. This is an opportunity that's going to happen.'' Shepard, who said she has made about $40,000 as a team member, said she isn't sure how many members have multiplied on their investments. On average, it takes 30 to 40 days, she said. ''It's not get rich quick. It's just get rich,'' she said. ''This takes time and this takes effort, and you have to work with your team.'' AP-NY-06-26-99 0227EDT