To: Ga Bard who wrote (2298 ) 3/13/1998 7:22:00 AM From: J.R. Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 6654
Everyone who has not read this news release should, as it is applicable to most investments. We have seen many examples of this, not only in the following stock, but also in CVIA: Misinformation From Internet and News Media Can Hurt Little Investors BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 12, 1998--Wednesday, Feb. 11, should have been a happy day for BAT International's (OTC:BAAT) stockholders. But it wasn't. On Feb. 10, BAT's supercar succeeded a second time in achieving very high fuel efficiency in a field trial. Test results at the California Speedway were 91.5, 94.5 and 95 miles per gallon in three test segments. Many knowledgeable and sophisticated spectators were present, including well-known certifiers (see news release dated Feb. 10). Representatives from Bloomberg's Financial and the Los Angeles Daily News were present most of the day gathering information and performing their due diligence for articles. On Feb. 11, Bloomberg's Financial, the Daily News and other media present published good representative articles. However, other media not present, including USA Today, Internet chitchat and especially the Stock Detective spewed out a variety of misinformation which overshadowed the many good articles written, according to BAT President Joe LaStella. As BAT stock prices began to fall, professional investors investigating the cause attributed the decline to much of the misinformation in articles and Internet discussions that had no real bearing on accomplishments of BAT. Unfortunately, many small investors sold at a substantial loss as documented by hundreds of calls to BAT's office. After the close of the market, statistics showed that more than 80 percent of stock traded was in blocks of fewer than 10,000 shares, and more than 60 percent (6 million of 9.7 million traded) was in blocks of fewer than 5,000 shares. This indicates that primarily small stockholders were affected. In response to the misinformation circulated, BAT has posted a multipage response to the Stock Detective's inaccurate statements and wild accusations (see BAT Web site at www.baat.com), according to LaStella. Other news media are considering follow-up articles. It should be emphasized that while most of the discussion has focused on the major auto companies and possible licensing agreements in the future, numerous other applications exist for the technology. BAT is working with companies involved in power generation to evaluate the impact of Dolphin Pulse Charge technology on heat rates and power-generation efficiency. Deregulation of the power industry provides opportunities for use of high-efficiency technology to reduce energy production costs. BAT is in a position to share in the income flow from these projects through its contribution of technology to potential partners. BAT will soon sign a joint- venture agreement that will put BAT in the power-generating business. Prototype power-generating units are presently being assembled at the CALSTART facility in Burbank. These generating units are easily assembled and converted to Pulse Charge technology and are like big cash registers after completion. Just connect them to the electric grid system and turn them on. Instant cash flow.