To: Nicholas Thompson who wrote (3009 ) 5/25/1998 5:50:00 PM From: John Curtis Respond to
Nicholas: Of course the MM's from time to time manipulate the system. Any time you have such a system as the NASDAQ has, where EVERY buy and EVERY sell is handled by a "middle-man".....why....the potential for abuse is clear. Now I'm not saying the abuse is rampant, but it clearly does occur. Put susceptible human beings in positions of power, and somebody's gonna line their wallet(s). So is it any wonder there's a class action suit now going on against the NASDAQ? I spent some time reading the docket, wooo weeee, they're asking for $1.027 BILLION, yes, that's BILLION, and it covers a period from May 1, 1989 through July 17, 1996. This class action arises from the consolidation of more than 30 separate anti-trust actions filed in federal and state courts. The Complaint alleges that the defendants and others successfully conspired to increase and fix the "spreads" paid by plaintiffs and the members of the Class in connection with purchases and sales of Class Securities. Treble damages are being sought. The defendants range from A.G. Edwards & Sons, Inc., Bear Stearns, BT Alex Brown, Credit Suisse First Boston Corp., Dean Witter, and a slew of others.
