FEEC?Taki,Links?FarEast Receives Second SEC Subpoena, First Since CEO Appoint
Message 19566474
Message 19566508
d ( financialwire.net )
B: Far East Receives Second SEC Subpoena, First Since CEO Appointed ( financialw
re.net )
Dec 19, 2003 (financialwire.net via COMTEX) -- (FinancialWire) Far East Energy
(OTCBB: FEEC) shares fell 15.05%, to close at $2.71, on volume of 556,508
compared to average volume of 184,472 on Thursday following disclosure by the
company that it had received an information subpoena from the U.S. Securities
and Exchange Commission it received December 16.
The company said the SEC requested "documents relating to the preliminary
results of its exploratory well in the Laochang Block, Yunnan Province, China as
announced in a December 4, 2003 press release," and that "Far East
Energy has extensive data related to the preliminary results of its first well,
including wireline logs, coring records, drilling reports, and preliminary
desorption results, which it is working diligently to provide to the SEC by
Monday, December 22, 2003."
On October 10, the company said it was in the process of complying with what
appears to have been an earlier SEC subpoena, requesting "documentation
relating to Far East's board and shareholder meetings, the identities and
contact information of parties related to Far East including its financial
institutional relationships, the recent equity offering conducted by Far East,
the MOU with ConocoPhillips, and the acquisition of property in Montana. Far
East.
The SEC has not publicly commented on any findings related to the October 10
inquiry.
The CEO of Far East Energy is Michael R. McElwrath, former Acting Assistant
Secretary of Energy in the first Bush Administration, charged with development
of the nation's coal, oil, and gas policies and with management of $2.1 Billion
in programs including the Clean Coal Program, the National Oil and Gas Research
Program, and the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. He was also an international
negotiator and policy advisor in the Reagan administration. He joined the
company October 16, after the first subpoena was received.
The company said that the SEC also requested various documents related to the
company's communications with InvesTrend, a provider of financial intelligence
programs. On November 3, Investrend Communications, Inc., announced that Far
East Energy had enrolled in its professional analyst program, which facilitates
independent analysts to provide financial coverage for shareholders and
investors in companies that otherwise would have little or no analyst following.
Investrend Research analyst Gary Vassalotti is currently preparing an initial
report in the Benchmark research program. At the time of the enrollment,
Investrend was not aware of the previous SEC subpoena, but a spokesperson said
it would not have mattered, since Investrend's policy since its founding in 1996
has been to provide shareholders of research orphans with professional analyst
coverage for their companies, and it is up to the analyst what risks to assign
to a regulator's inquiry, if any.
Investrend had received a similar information request on December 1 for
documents related to Far East, but was told by SEC Senior Counsel Margaret A.
Cain, Esq., that it was "confidential," meaning Investrend was unable to
make a public disclosure at the time or even to communicate it to the assigned
analyst. The announcement by Far East, of course, voided any confidentiality
intended.
The request did not include anything regarding a December 4 press release, and
Investrend said in any event it would have no information on that, as Investrend
provides no investor relations or public relations functions for any company.
Investrend said with some 850 public companies currently included among its
shareholder empowerment platforms, it is not unusual for one of them to be the
subject of an inquiry at any given time, and that the policy of Investrend is
always to respond transparently whenever allowed.
Investrend Counsel Marshal Shichtman, Esq., said he was told that
"Investrend is not a target" of the inquiry, and the requested documents
were provided to the SEC quickly, on December 3.
Investrend pays its analysts in advance to shield them from conflict or
pecuniary interest, and neither Investrend, irs principals, or analysts may own
or trade in the shares of companies under coverage. A company spokesperson said
the company has no information regarding the content or opinions being prepared
by the analyst, and usually does not know that until its release by the analyst
for distribution.
The report under preparation is a "Benchmark" report, meaning it will
not contain ratings or target valuations. Investrend does not itself issue
reports or opinions, and in any event, it does not release analyst reports it
has assigned that contain recommendations or target prices.
The company said the preparation and release of the report will proceed in a
normal fashion. It is up to the analyst what to comment upon, if anything,
regarding the SEC inquiry.
The Investrend Research program is the largest in the world and includes a
number of safeguards to reduce or eliminate conflict. These systems, including
media coverage and endorsements, may be accessed at
investrendresearch.com.
Investrend Research is a member of the FIRST Research Consortium at
firstresearchconsortium.com, and participates in the organization's
standards development panel for independent research providers. The
"Standards for Independent Research Providers" may be viewed at
investrend.com .
The Dow Jones (NYSE: DJ) Newswires has stated that independent research has been
growing in credibility over the past 18 months, specifically citing Investrend
Research, and the New York Times (NYSE: NYT) has reported a survey by Charles
Schwab & Co. (NYSE: SCH) reveals an astonishing 78 percent of active
stockholders now "value research from independent firms over analysis by
Wall Street firms with financial ties to the companies they are rating." A
survey at Investopedia reveals that 74.7% of investors say that "legitimate
fee-based research is objective and useful," and 70.9% say that a company that
enrolls for "legitimate fee-based research is making a positive statement
about its investment potential."
Enrollment fees for the Benchmark Research platform is $14,800 per annum.
Enrollment fees for "Company of the Week" webcasts are $2,840.00. These
enrollment fees are being paid by the company. There are never any fees
associated with FinancialWire, which independently covers a wide range of
corporate news, including but not limited to those that are or have been
enrolled in Investrend's platforms.
Complete information about any company enrolled in an Investrend shareholder
empowerment platform, including those of its affiliates and independent analysts
and webcasters, including disclosures and disclaimers, is available at the
company's InvestorPower page at
investrend.com , and on each report
and press release, and investors are advised to read those disclosures carefully
before trading in the equities of any enrolled company.
For up-to-the-minute news, features and links click on
financialwire.net
FinancialWire is an independent, proprietary news service of Investrend
Information, a division of Investrend Communications, Inc. It is not a press
release service and receives no compensation for its news or opinions.
Additionally, Investrend provides a wide range of forums, independent research
and webcasting platforms for shareholder empowerment.
For more information or to receive the FirstAlert daily summary of news,
commentary, research reports, webcasts, events and conference calls, click on
investrend.com
The FinancialWire NewsFeed is now available in multiple formats to your site or
desktop, free. Click on: investrend.com
URL: financialwire.net
(C) 2003 financialwire.net, Inc. All rights reserved.
-0-
*** end of story *** |
