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Technology Stocks : VALENCE TECHNOLOGY (VLNC) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: FMK who wrote (3310)	7/11/1998 1:47:00 PM
From: MGV	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 27311

I encourage everyone who reads posts on investment threads for the purpose of identifying stocks or aiding investment decisions to read the article in Friday's WSJ (7/10, Section C, page 1) on internet investment threads such as this one and others on Yahoo, SI, etc. The article discusses the case of a particular thread on a company called Chromatics. More generally it confirms the pervasive practice of "wrongdoers spread misinformation to pump up the price of a thinly traded stock they hold -- or drive down one they have sold short ..... one troubling aspect of the (Chromatics) story is the degree to which some ordinary investors loaded up on this one high-risk stock -- in many cases it appears, acting on the suggestion of an internet guru, ....., whom most had never met." Several of the more inflamed VLNC cultists have naively or callously exclaimed that the people who invest in VLNC and read this thread are either professionals or understand the risks of investing in VLNC. I disagree. The WSJ article is very consistent with what I think is pretty obvious: A number of people reading these threads are acting on the unconfirmed allegations of others who profess inside or special knowledge. In the cas eof Chromatics, when the stock orice went down, "panicked followers who say their retirement account balances, their financial futures and even their marriages are in jeopardy because of huge bets on this one speculative stock. Many had invested heavily in Chromatics shares using margin loans and have watcxhed their brokerage firms liquidate shares to satisfy margin calls as the stock price fell." 1. If this sounds like it could be you (in the case of VLNC), take appropriate steps now. Don't rely on anything that isn't in lawful documentation such as SEC required reports (10Qs and 10Ks). 2. Scrutinize and be skeptical particularly of hearsay statements, anything that begins with I spoke to ... He said ... I heard that ... He visited and ....I visited and ... Morale is supposed to be ..... I understand .... etc. 3. If you invested in VLNC because you believe in the battery technology in general (I read many posts here who are long VLNC not so much because of VLNC but because of the potential market of advanced batteries) then diversify among several companies in the industry and spread your risk. If you just have to have VLNC, then watch it and wait for market confirmation and pounce on it then, not before. 4. Watch all of the attackers of this post or this message. Consider the source of the attacks and evaluate why they may be attacking. reread the WSJ article. Good luck.