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Microcap & Penny Stocks : Zia Sun(zsun) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: StockDung who wrote (3470)	7/13/1999 10:39:00 AM
From: Francois Goelo	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 10354

FLODYIE, INfamous SHORT SELLING BASHER (SSB) APOLOGIZES... To: VoyK (3460 ) From: flodyie Tuesday, Jul 13 1999 9:58AM ET Reply # of 3473 The 'ZSUN 8' admit it when they make a mistake, unlike most others who post here. Here is a repost from RB, by which I also stand Coachman & Thread, my apologies for the inaccuracies contained in my post # 5364. ZSUN has CORRECTLY shown the unrealized and realized gains on the marketable securities as non-operating. This however does not negate the fact that these gains are of a non-recurring nature and should not be factored into EPS extrapolations and projections as Francois has repeatedly done. On this particular issue, and ONLY ON THIS PARTICULAR ISSUE, I retract my statement that ZSUN has intentionally misled investors by making false and inaccurate statements. This was a genuine oversight on my part for which I apologize.

To: StockDung who wrote (3470)	7/14/1999 11:43:00 AM
From: Boddington	Respond to of 10354

Fodyie - back in the 3200s or so you made a Who Is? posting and drew the conclusion that a ".ca" domain was California. I think that's Canada.

To: StockDung who wrote (3470)	7/14/1999 3:41:00 PM
From: Sir Auric Goldfinger	Respond to of 10354

Maxim Group Hires Forensic Auditors To Examine Its Accounting Practices By JAMES R. HAGERTY and CARRICK MOLLENKAMP Staff Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL (a note to the file, Mr. Floydie we must first speak to this group in Arthur Andersen)Maxim Group Inc. said it has brought in a group of forensic auditors to examine its accounting practices. The Kennesaw, Ga., flooring retailer also disclosed that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is conducting an "informal inquiry" related to the company's previously announced plans to restate earnings for the fiscal year ended Jan. 31. An SEC spokesman declined to comment. The news comes as Maxim is struggling to integrate several chains of stores selling carpeting and other flooring into a national chain of 1,050 stores under the new name of Flooring America. In New York Stock Exchange composite trading, Maxim stock dropped 68.75 cents, or 8%, to $7.9375. Maxim said a special committee of its board is reviewing "certain accounting practices" with help from the company's outside legal counsel, Smith, Gambrell & Russell LLP, and the forensic audit group of Arthur Andersen LLP, the accounting firm that already serves as Maxim's outside auditor. Forensic auditors are often hired to investigate possible fraud, embezzlement or misappropriation of funds, according to the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. But Thomas P. Leahey, Maxim's executive vice president, finance, said, "I don't think there's a suspicion of fraud." He said the forensic auditors will help identify "weaknesses that may exist in our accounting area" and "make sure that nobody has taken advantage of those weaknesses." Maxim's $93 million acquisition of a large chain of carpet stores from Shaw Industries Inc. last year more than doubled the company's annual revenue. Maxim's accounting system probably hasn't kept pace with the company's rapid growth, Mr. Leahey said. After completion of the accounting review, Maxim said it will release restated results for the year ended Jan. 31. In April, Maxim reported a loss of $3 million, or 17 cents a diluted share, on revenue of $684.4 million for the year ended Jan. 31. In May, Maxim said it would revise downward its results for that year to reflect "certain adjustments" arising from its year-end audit. Maxim said the adjustments relate mainly to funds paid to the company by suppliers to obtain shelf space at Maxim's stores. During the audit, "it was determined that the revenue related to these support funds should be deferred" and recognized in later periods, Maxim said. Because of the planned restatement, Maxim said, it is holding talks with Bank of America Corp. to seek waivers and amendments to a loan agreement in an effort to avert a default. Mr. Leahey said that Bank of America recently granted Maxim a $75 million credit facility and that only a small portion of that has been drawn. The disclosures come three weeks after Maxim announced the resignation of M.B. "Bud" Seretean as chairman. That announcement gave no reason for his departure. Mr. Seretean, 75 years old, said in an interview Tuesday that it was his decision to retire and that the move wasn't related to the accounting questions. He predicted that Maxim will recover but added: "Whether it's with this management or some other, I don't know." Ron McSwain, 56, a Cincinnati carpet-store owner who succeeded Mr. Seretean as chairman, expressed confidence in Maxim's chief executive officer, A.J. Nassar, but said Maxim "needs more basic operational structure than it has had in the past." Mr. McSwain said the special board committee, which he heads, will help supply that structure. Analysts are growing impatient with Maxim. "We've gotten one delay after the other," said John Baugh of First Union Capital Markets. He said Mr. Nassar "hasn't proven that he can consistently, day-to-day, grow a business and make money on it."