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To: IceShark who wrote (12432)12/4/1998 8:25:00 AM
From: accountclosed  Respond to of 86076
 
pos2 would have been a good buy yesterday at 9:30 am <g>



To: IceShark who wrote (12432)12/4/1998 8:33:00 AM
From: MythMan  Respond to of 86076
 
He is probably long beemer as well.



To: IceShark who wrote (12432)12/4/1998 11:32:00 AM
From: Thomas M.  Respond to of 86076
 
Fun trading on the Corn Cob Exchange:

nationalpost.com

Nasdaq market makers come under fire

Questionable Practices

Ian Karleff
National Post

Monday's Internet stock carnage was a
direct result of the Nasdaq Stock
Market's illiquidity, investor greed, and
some questionable trading practices by
those who make the market, traders say.

Investors complained bitterly that many
Nasdaq orders to buy stock were being
executed by market makers -- specialists
responsible for matching buy and sell
orders -- before the session opened on
Monday at prices considerably higher
than the previous session's close, while
many sell orders, at or slightly below the
asking price, were not immediately filled,
contrary to the norm.

Navarre Corp. (NAVR/NASDAQ), for
example, closed on Friday at $12 (all
figures in U.S dollars) and reopened
Monday at about $27.

Doran Ghatan, who manages about $40-million for offshore
investment firm Unicorn Funds in Nassau, Bahamas, claimed that
investors who wanted to buy the stock at the open paid up to twice
Friday's closing price, but those who wanted to sell at, or just below
the opening price level, did not have their orders filled within a
reasonable time frame.

Investors expressed their dissatisfaction over delayed sell executions
on America Online's Shark Attack chat forum. And in Canada, Jeff
Mulligan, a trader at Priority Brokerage Inc., said he "had two or
three sells where confirmations came back way too late."

Bobby Weiss, an independent New York trader who manages
more than $50-million for high-income investors, said the problem
stemmed from a handful of Internet firms being traded directly
between brokerages and market makers -- outside the Nasdaq's
automated trading system.

"Basically, [market makers] work in collusion," Mr. Weiss said.
"They know they have buy orders, open a stock as high as they can
and then just let the price drop," before filling sell orders, he said.

Mr. Weiss said the market makers fill the buy orders at the highest
possible price, often with stock they borrow, knowing they can buy
it back later at lower prices.

Scott Peterson, a Nasdaq spokesman, confirmed there had been
problems with the exchange's trading system Monday, but said
there were "no trades pulled from automatic trading." He said about
12 Nasdaq firms were affected.

"We have a team working on it now and are hoping to have a
solution shortly," said Mr. Peterson.

Mr. Weiss said many investors who placed orders online to buy
stock "at market" found that because buy orders were being
executed at prices up to twice Friday's close, it often triggered
higher margin calls from their brokers.

Brokerage houses are becoming more reluctant to fund Internet
stock punts. Over the past two weeks, a number have raised margin
requirements -- the amount of cash an investor must have on
deposit in order to buy or sell stocks using borrowed money -- on
the most volatile of Internet issues.

Ameritrade Holding has increased its maintenance margin
percentage of a stock's value to 50%, from 30%, for about 25
Internet stocks. Toronto-Dominion Bank's discount brokerage
Waterhouse Securities Inc. also has raised margin requirements on
12 volatile Internet stocks, including Earthweb Inc., K-Tel
International Inc. and theglobe.com, while Bank of Montreal's
Investorline said that Internet stocks not included in the S&P 500
were subject to a 50% cash requirement, rather than the usual 30%.
Etrade Inc. and SureTrade Inc. also have lowered the amount they
will lend for certain Internet investments.

Financial Post