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Non-Tech : Auric Goldfinger's Short List -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: pilapir who wrote (9569)	4/4/2002 9:36:54 AM
From: StockDung	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 19428

Wendy's, MacDonalds, BergerKing Tax Evaders? Restaurants Accused of Tax Evasion .c The Associated Press GUATEMALA CITY (AP) - Guatemala has accused three U.S. fast food chains of tax evasion and may force them to close some of their restaurants in this country, officials said Wednesday night. McDonald's Corp., Wendy's International and Burger King Corp. ``have deliberately avoided paying millions in taxes,'' said Mario Rivera, head of Congress' Public Finance Committee. ``These restaurants in Guatemala are franchise-owned, which means we give them the licensing rights to prepare our products to our specifications and then use our trademarks to market them,'' said Burger King spokeswoman Laina Hanna. ``How they run their business is entirely up to them and they are responsible for paying taxes. The authorities should take up any inquiries with the franchisee.'' McDonald's spokesman Walt Riker said he ``didn't know enough to comment'' on the allegations. A call placed by The Associated Press to Wendy's U.S. headquarters wasn't immediately returned. In a joint news conference with Rene Perez, the head of Guatemala's tax collection agency, Rivera said the Guatemalan chicken franchise Pollo Campero, which has restaurants throughout Central and South American and Mexico, and Patsy, one of Guatemala's largest bakery chains, have also avoided paying millions of dollars in taxes. A spokesman for Pollo Campero told local radio stations that his company had done nothing wrong. Rivera said all five franchises charge their costumers a 12 percent flat tax that is built into the price of the food on their menus. He alleged that the chains have avoided turning over large portions of the money raised from that tax to the government. Rivera said tax officials have been investigating all five chains for a number of months, but refused to answer specific questions about how much each individual franchise owes. ``We will apply the law in as strict a manner as possible,'' Rivera said. ``If we determine it's necessary, we will close several of the restaurants affiliated with these chains.'' Rivera's announcement came just hours after Congress approved a law that allows federal officials to make public the names of businesses who are being investigated for tax evasion or fraud. AP-NY-04-03-02 2251EST

To: pilapir who wrote (9569)	4/4/2002 10:11:29 AM
From: StockDung	Respond to of 19428

OSAMAN BIN CHICKEN cowdance.com

To: pilapir who wrote (9569)	4/4/2002 2:56:33 PM
From: Sir Auric Goldfinger	Respond to of 19428

RS Investment also liquidated its holdings in 1-800-Contacts Inc. (CTAC). On Dec. 31, RS Investment beneficially owned 562,700 shares for a 4.86% stake. Also, RS Investment raised its stake in RMH Teleservices Inc. (RMHT) to 11.1%, or 1.1 million shares, from 4.27%, or 575,625 shares. -Todd Goren, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-628-9782; todd.goren@dowjones.com

To: pilapir who wrote (9569)	4/4/2002 2:59:41 PM
From: Sir Auric Goldfinger	Respond to of 19428

RealMoney.com : Herb on TheStreet Facts Get Blurred in 1-800-Contacts Rally By Herb Greenberg Senior Columnist 04/04/2002 01:16 PM EST Rants: * Message board melee: Hard to believe, but a message board post apparently helped goose the stock of 1-800 Contacts (CTAC:Nasdaq - news - commentary - research - analysis) . The post in question was headlined, "FTC rules in favor of CTAC." The post then provided a link to an Federal Trade Commission letter to the state of Connecticut, which is reviewing its regulations regarding the sale of contact lenses. But a closer look shows the letter is not from the FTC. It's from the staff of the FTC, which rules on nothing. Rather than rule in favor on 1-800 Contacts, the comments in question are merely a statement of the staff's position on the sale of contact lenses. At issue is whether a prescription, or the verification of prescription information with the doctors, should be required. This has been a hot issue surrounding Contacts. In its 10-K, Contacts says, "If the Company is unable to obtain a copy of or verify the customer's prescription, it is the Company's general practice to complete the sale and ship the lenses to the customer based on the prescription information provided by the customer." By contrast, the FTC staff, in its letter to Connecticut, says, "The evidence suggests that the health concerns motivating the prescription requirement are satisfied if the contact lens seller receives a valid prescription, however that information is transmitted." How that says the "FTC rules in favor of CTAC" is beyond me. But then again, so is much of the garbage floated on message boards. * Strange bedfellows: Remind me (once again!) never to invest in companies in which Take-Two (TTWO:Nasdaq - news - commentary - research - analysis) and/or its execs get involved. An item here recently noted how former Take-Two co-Chairman Barry Rutcofsky last year became a director of Suprema Specialties , which filed for bankruptcy reorganization in February after its offices in New Jersey were raided by "representatives of government agencies." Now hear this: Since 1999, Take-Two has been an investor in eUniverse (EUNI:Nasdaq - news - commentary - research - analysis) , an operator of Web sites and email newsletters that provide entertainment content. Along with the investment, Take-Two Chairman Ryan Brant joined eUniverse's board. Why, he's on the audit committee! Why care? As Bloomberg's Dave Evans reported the other day, the SEC is investigating ex-stockbroker Rafi Khan, who has been banned from the securities industry, for fraud in promoting eUniverse and three other companies. According to the Bloomberg story, which quotes the SEC complaint, "Khan allegedly issued 'buy' recommendations on the companies in exchange for stock or warrants issued by the companies to Pakistani firms owned by Khan's brother-in-law." It should be noted that in recent months Take-Two has been bailing out of eUniverse and now owns 113,000 shares. At its peak, the company owned more than 2.2 million shares. * Meet and greet: Join me, Cramer, Kass and a bunch of other fine folk May 2-4 at TheStreet.com's "Advanced Disciplines & Strategies for Running Hedge Funds" conference at the Doral Golf Resort & Spa in Miami. I'll be giving my spin on the world, but when I'm not doing that I'll just be hangin' for two days in my native haunt with not much else to do but get to know you. Seriously, I will have a lot of time on my hands to, hopefully, make some new sources! Look forward to seeing you there.