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Strategies & Market Trends : Anthony@Pacific & TRUTHSEEKER Expose Crims & Scammers!!! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: ravenseye who wrote (5388)	5/10/2008 8:35:28 PM
From: StockDung	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 5673

add 600 to the two other times OSTK traded on the Berlin exchange (100 shares each time) and you have 800 total shares loon. You will see in the yahoo chart the two lines that show volume and if you put your mouse on the line its shows 100 shares each time loon. Patrick Byrnes vast Berlin conspiracy finance.yahoo.com

To: ravenseye who wrote (5388)	5/10/2008 8:45:22 PM
From: StockDung	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 5673

Timm said that claims by some U.S. companies that their shares were illegally shorted in GERMANy are unfounded because "it's impossible to sell short here. All we do is bring the two markets together." Timm explained that a stock transaction normally involved a GERMAN investor looking to buy U.S. stocks using euros. Following that order, Berliner Freiverkehr typically turns around and purchase the shares in the U.S., saving the GERMAN investor fees. ..=DJ IN THE MONEY: GERMAN Brokerage, Exchange Deny Wrong Doing By Carol S. REMOND A Dow Jones Newswires Column NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Berliner Freiverkehr AG, a large GERMAN brokerage firm and the Berlin-Bremen Stock Exchange are disputing claims by some small U.S. companies that their shares were improperly listed on that exchange. Some development stage U.S. companies, which usually crave international recognition and on occasions have paid to be listed on foreign stock exchanges, are now seeking for their stocks to be removed from the BERLIN exchange. These companies, most of which have shares that trade in the U.S. on the Over-The-Counter Bulletin Board, claim in press releases that their shares were listed without proper authorization and without their knowledge. Some also stated that the listings, most of which were sponsored by Berliner Freiverkehr, were designed to circumvent tougher short selling rules recently enacted by the NASD. But Holger Timm, founder and chief executive officer of Berliner Freiverkehr, said the recent listing of about 1,000 U.S. OTCBB companies on the Berlin exchange had nothing to do with U.S. rules governing short selling. Rather, Timm said, his firm's decision early this year to sponsor the listings on the Berlin exchange came because of tighter reporting requirements in the U.S. for these companies. "We have been doing this for 20 years. We trade regulated stocks from all over the world in GERMANy," Timm told Dow Jones Newswires in a telephone interview. Timm said his firm requested the listings because reporting requirements for OTCBB companies in the U.S. are more stringent than those for blue-chip companies listed in GERMANy. He said his firm selected BERLIN, rather than Frankfurt or other GERMAN exchanges, because listing there is free. Timm said that claims by some U.S. companies that their shares were illegally shorted in GERMANy are unfounded because "it's impossible to sell short here. All we do is bring the two markets together." Timm explained that a stock transaction normally involved a GERMAN investor looking to buy U.S. stocks using euros. Following that order, Berliner Freiverkehr typically turns around and purchase the shares in the U.S., saving the GERMAN investor fees. Timm said that under GERMAN rules, GERMAN brokerages don't have to ask permission to foreign firms to list them. "What we do is send them letters informing them about the listings and telling them about the advantages" of trading on the BERLIN exchange, Timm said. He said that about 10% of those letters come back undelivered because of wrong addresses. Timm said his firm has received letters from U.S. companies complaining about the recent listings on the BERLIN exchange. "We got letters from different companies using the same wording. I guess some lawyers out there are telling them to do it." Timm said that because the listings were recent and hadn't been publicized, most of OTCBB companies listed had little or no volume on the BERLIN exchange. A spokeswoman for the BERLIN stock exchange said in an email that all trading of international shares on that exchange "is legal and according to rules." "Trading in the third market on the BERLIN Stock Exchange is free of charge. The daily process of listing new companies is routine for us. So every day we have a lot of new companies in the pipeline," she said. The spokeswoman said the exchange is in contact with the Securities and Exchange Commission and checks all accusations by U.S. companies. "On request of the SEC we examined the prices made on our exchange for some companies. We came to the conclusion that none of these cases involved short selling. In some cases, share prices went up due to a majority of buy orders. Interestingly enough, in those cases where companies blamed the trading on the BERLIN Stock Exchange for falling prices, our investigations revealed that the securities were either not yet traded on our exchange or that no trading took place at all during the relevant period," she said. A spokesman for the SEC declined to comment. The NASD in April toughened rules governing short selling of U.S. stocks, extending its affirmative determination rule to non-NASD members such as specialists, option markets and foreign brokers. The affirmative determination rule stipulates that brokers and dealers engaged in a short sale transaction must make sure that shares can be delivered by settlement time, three days later. Bona fide market making transactions are exempt from affirmative determination. A short seller typically borrows stock from a broker to sell it into the market, betting that the share price will fall so that he can buy the stock back at a lower price and pocket the difference. A spokesowman for the NASD declined to comment. Some have suggested that foreign listings could be used by U.S. market makers to circumvent the affirmative determination requirement given that bona fide intermarket arbitrage is exempt for such requirement. Berliner Freiverkehr's Timm said no NASD members or brokerages ever requested the listing of U.S. OTCCB companies on the BERLIN exchange. Timm also pointed out that the absence of trading volume on the BERLIN exchange would curtail any possible benefit for U.S. market makers or short sellers. Timm said he had been in touch with U.S. companies that complained about the listings. "If they want to be delisted, we will delist them in BERLIN. But if they are listed on other exchanges it's out of my control," he said. Among companies that recently announced that they requested to be removed from the BERLIN exchange are: DataMeg Corp. (DTMG); MultiCell Technologies Inc. (EXTI); TS&B Holdings Inc. (TSBB); Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc. (OMR) and FemOne Inc. (FEMO); Reclamation Consulting & Applications Inc. (RCAA); Dicut Inc. (DCUTE) and Whistler Investments Inc. (WHIS). Most development stage companies in the U.S. have traditionally sought out listings on foreign exchanges to promote their businesses and secure much needed financing by selling shares to foreign investors in private placements which are often less regulated abroad than in the U.S. But some companies appear confused over the foreign listing of their shares. ICOA Inc. (ICOA), a company that on April 28 heralded its listing on the Berlin exchange, saying its "recognition by the international financial community is a validation of our recent progress as well as our future potential". However, just a week later, it requested a delisting. (Carol S. REMOND is one of four "In The Money" columnists who take a sophisticated look at the value of companies and their securities and explore unique trading strategies.) -By Carol S. REMOND; Dow Jones Newswires; 201 938 2074; carol.REMOND@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires 26-05-04 2053GMT

To: ravenseye who wrote (5388)	5/10/2008 8:49:02 PM
From: StockDung	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 5673

"The "GERMANs are coming" brouhaha reached such a crescendo that officials from the SEC and the NASD traveled to GERMANy and met with their counterparts in May 2004 to discuss the matter. As reported in previous 'In The Money' columns, U.S. regulators found that the stocks of most U.S. companies listed on the Berlin" "Exchange never or hardly traded there and came to the conclusion that no ill conduct was taking place." "Also, trading volume on the BERLIN Stock Exchange was nil in 2001 or 2002 and trading in 2003 was minimal. Some 3,000 shares of Fairfax were traded in January, 100 shares in February and 3,000 shares in May. These are hardly the numbers one would expect necessary for nefarious hedge funds to build massive short positions." =DJ IN THE MONEY: Fairfax And The Missing GERMAN Trades By Carol S. REMOND A Dow Jones Newswires Column NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--A good conspiracy theory can sometimes be undone by the smallest of details. When Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. (FFH) last month filed a $6 billion lawsuit against SAC Capital Management LLC and others, it became the latest company to take aim at powerful hedge funds. The Toronto-based insurer alleges in its complaint filed in Superior Court in Morris County, N.J., that the funds conspired to denigrate Fairfax and illegally send its share price lower. Fairfax's complaint follows closely on a script developed by class-action lawyers flushed with anti-tobacco bounties and now taking aim at deep pocketed funds. Other companies that recently filed similar suits include Canadian pharmaceutical company Biovail Corp.(BVF) and Utah-based Internet retailer Overstock.com (OSTK). The companies generally allege that hedge funds colluded among themselves and with others to illegally depress their stock prices. Two of three companies share the same lawyers and all three name some of the same defendants in their respective complaints. All three companies are under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Last year, the U.S. attorney in New York also launched probes of some of Fairfax's insurance accounting practices. The funds have denied wrongdoings and litigation is ongoing. But there is one novel fact in Fairfax's complaint that merits a closer look. The company alleges that the bearish attack on its stock began in GERMANy shortly after it said it would list its stock on the New York Stock Exchange in 2002. But trading data don't support Fairfax's allegations. Fairfax claims in its complaint that hedge funds developed an aggressive short-selling campaign dubbed the "Fairfax Project" in 2002 and began shorting its stock aggressively upon its listing on the NYSE in December of that year. "In order to facilitate the rapid accumulation of their short positions, enterprise members listed (without any notice to or desire on the part of Fairfax) Fairfax shares on the BERLIN stock exchange, which they used to circumvent United States restrictions on short selling," the company said in its complaint. But trading data reviewed by Dow Jones Newswires shows that the Fairfax listing on the BERLIN Stock Exchange predates its announcement in April 2002 that it planned to trade on the NYSE. According to the Berliner Boerse, Fairfax was listed on that exchange on Aug. 15, 2001, about eight months before its intentions to list on the NYSE became public. Also, trading volume on the BERLIN Stock Exchange was nil in 2001 or 2002 and trading in 2003 was minimal. Some 3,000 shares of Fairfax were traded in January, 100 shares in February and 3,000 shares in May. These are hardly the numbers one would expect necessary for nefarious hedge funds to build massive short positions. SAC declined comment because of pending litigation. "I don't know what you are talking about," said Marc Kasowitz of Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman LLP, when asked about the disconnect between the trading data and Fairfax's claims. "The data does fit the allegations." Kasowitz also represents Biovail. Fairfax Not The First Fairfax isn't the first company to have alleged its stock was manipulated through a GERMAN stock exchange. In fact, the notion that foreign exchange listings could in some way be used by short sellers to circumvent U.S. regulations gained notoriety in early 2004 after some small U.S. companies listed in the loosely regulated Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board started complaining that their stocks were listed on the BERLIN Exchange without their knowledge. The "GERMANs are coming" brouhaha reached such a crescendo that officials from the SEC and the NASD traveled to GERMANy and met with their counterparts in May 2004 to discuss the matter. As reported in previous 'In The Money' columns, U.S. regulators found that the stocks of most U.S. companies listed on the Berlin Exchange never or hardly traded there and came to the conclusion that no ill conduct was taking place. Despite this finding, GERMAN exchange listings came up again in January 2005 during a conference call by Overstock Inc. (OSTK), in which Chief Executive Patrick Byrne discussed the topic with a stock booster using the fake name of Bob O'Brien. The two mused about whether failures to deliver shares of the company on time, three days after a stock transaction, could be attributed to trading on the BERLIN stock exchange or others in GERMANy. Questions about GERMAN exchanges again surfaced during a panel on abusive short selling organized by the North American Securities Administrators Association in November 2005. The meeting was stacked with executives of companies that allege that their stocks have been illegally depressed and their lawyers and lobbyists. Cameron Funkhouser, NASD's senior vice president of market regulations, said at the time that regulators had taken allegations about manipulative trading in GERMANy very seriously but that he hadn't found any instance of abusive short selling through foreign venues. According to an attendance list reviewed by Dow Jones, also present at the NASAA meeting was hedge-fund slayer and would be whistleblower Gary Aguirre, who had been fired by the SEC the previous month. In late May, Aguirre said in a letter to Congress that the SEC is partial to hedge funds and that his probe into possible insider trading at Pequot Capital was halted after he sought to subpoena a powerful Wall Street executive. In June, Aguirre testified in front of a Senate hearing on hedge funds during which illegal short selling was widely discussed. Also testifying at that hearing were Kasowitz, the lawyer now representing Biovail and Fairfax, and Demetrios Anifantis, a witness supporting Overstock's claims who has also given an interview about Biovail's allegations and is cooperating with the company's suit. During the hearing U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, asked participants whether foreign listings in general, and GERMAN listings in particular, could be used to get around short selling rules in the U.S. Kasowitz replied that he had "heard some reports similar to the ones that you have read about, Senator." But back to Fairfax for a moment. There were plenty of reasons for naysayers to take aim at Fairfax in 2002. The company's results had suffered because of its exposure to the Sept. 11 attacks on the U.S. and to Enron Corp. (ENE). Trading data shows that were 233,862 shares of Fairfax sold short on the Toronto Stock Exchange, the company's primary trading venue before its NYSE listing, in Oct. 15 2002. That number jumped to 313,336 shares on Jan. 31, 2003. Meanwhile, according to NYSE short interest reporting, there were 1.9 million shares of Fairfax sold short on Jan. 15, 2003, or about 14% of its shares outstanding. That climbed to 2.3 million shares sold short as of Feb. 14, 2003 and closed around 1.8 million shares short in mid-December 2003. Despite the continued negative bets by some against it, Fairfax's stock price rebounded in the year following its NYSE listing, climbing from a low of about $50.95 a share in late March 2003 to $174.51 a share by late December 2003. Fairfax's suit against SAC and others came just one day before the company disclosed multi-million dollar accounting errors. Calling it a very embarrassing moment, Fairfax's Chief Executive Prem Watsa told investors on July 28 that the company would restate financial results because of various accounting errors related to a reinsurance contract with Swiss Reinsurance Co.(RUKN.VX). The announcement caused Fairfax's stock to fall, and credit-rating agency Standard & Poor's Ratings Services put the company on CreditWatch for a possible downgrade. (Carol S. REMOND is an award-winning columnist who won a Gerald Loeb Award in 2005 for best news service content with "Exposing Small-Cap fraud," a series of rticles that described how three small companies unscrupulously pumped up their tocks.) -By Carol S. REMOND; Dow Jones Newswires; 201 938 2074; carol.REMOND@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires 11-08-06 1551GMT Copyright (c) 2006 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

To: ravenseye who wrote (5388)	5/10/2008 8:50:30 PM
From: StockDung	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 5673

.=DJ U.S Regulators Told No Illegal Trades At BERLIN Exchange By Carol S. REMOND Of Dow Jones Newswires NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Officials from the Berlin-Bremen Stock Exchange assured U.S. securities regulators Friday that no illegal trading of U.S. stocks is taking place on that exchange. Representatives from the Securities and Exchange Commission and the NASD had requested a meeting following complaints by some U.S. companies of their stocks being manipulated on the BERLIN exchange. A spokeswoman for the BERLIN exchange said in an email message that during the meeting, also attended by GERMAN securities regulators, the rules governing the BERLIN Stock Exchange were explained to U.S. regulators. "We clearly stated that no short selling was executed on the BERLIN Stock Exchange and (that) there will not be any," the spokeswoman said. Some development stage companies have complained that their shares were listed on the BERLIN exchange without their knowledge or permission. Some also said that the listings, most of which were sponsored by a brokerage firm called Berliner Freiverkehr AG, were designed to circumvent tougher short selling rules enacted by the NASD earlier this year. Most of these companies have shares that trade on the Over-The-Counter Bulletin Board. "My impression is that this informal meeting was helpful to both sides to better understand what is going on," said Holger Timm, founder and chief executive officer of Berliner Freiverkehr, who also attended the meeting. In a telephone interview, Timm reiterated that no illegal short selling has been taking place on the BERLIN Exchange. "This has nothing to do with new (NASD) regulations," he said. Rather Timm said, the listing of OTCBB companies on the BERLIN exchange is designed to make it easier for GERMAN investors to trade these stocks. The NASD in April toughened rules governing short selling of U.S. stocks, extending its affirmative determination rule to non-NASD members such as specialists, option markets and foreign brokers. The affirmative determination rule stipulates that brokers and dealers engaged in a short sale transaction must make sure that shares can be delivered by settlement time, three days later. Bona fide market making transactions and bona fide intermarket arbitrage transactions are exempt for such requirement. A short seller typically borrows stock from a broker to sell it into the market, betting that the share price will fall so that he can buy the stock back at a lower price and pocket the difference. Development stage companies in the U.S. have traditionally sought out listings on foreign exchanges, and even paid to secure them, to promote their businesses and secure much needed financing by selling shares to foreign investors in private placements which are often less regulated abroad than in the U.S. Spokespeople for the SEC and NASD declined to comment. -By Carol S. REMOND; Dow Jones Newswires; 201 938 2074; carol.REMOND@dowjones com (END) Dow Jones Newswires 04-06-04 1820GMT

To: ravenseye who wrote (5388)	5/10/2008 8:53:42 PM
From: StockDung	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 5673

1. KATHY Knight-McConnell, states, under 28 U.S.C. § 1746, subject to all the penalties of perjury of the laws of the United States: "15. In addition to the introduction to BERLINer Freiverkehr (Aktien) AG, I also introduced the company to, Marcel Putter (“Marcel”), who arranged a series of meetings with banks, fund managers, and investors which took place in Zurich, Switzerland in August 1998. My presence was requested as a condition to setting up the meetings. Since I was performing a service to the company, Paul Metzinger paid most of my expenses for the trip and my readers were informed that I had been asked to go to Switzerland with the company and why. I attended meetings and presentations as a representive for the small investors. While in Zurich the company executives took a side trip with Marcel to the BERLIN Stock Exchange where NANOPIERCE was introduced and subsequently became listed. It was a difficult time to as the Russian Market collapsed while we were in Zurich and all of the markets worldwide took a sharp downturn. As a result I suffered heavy losses in my portfolio and I was forced to sell the stock I received when the restriction was lifted which barely covered my losses."