Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : CATP-The stock is taking off -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Dave who wrote (561)	3/22/1999 8:45:00 PM
From: MktMkr46	Respond to of 782

dave read your thread. keep in mind that the sfe people are very smart and pro's.. there is a possibility they might be in the market to be adding to their catp position.price action today was not all that bad, catp was in a very tight trading band in my opinion.short term 12.5 reverses up the point and figure chart then perhaps 13.5 to 14. i expect a fairly good opening tomorrow given the closing trades at 12, mostly on upticks. good luck...

To: Dave who wrote (561)	3/22/1999 10:20:00 PM
From: Rick	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 782

You wrote: << I am sure Sims acted within the law >> Why are you so sure ? I would certainly agree that Sims would not do anything that would put him in great jeopardy of being successfully prosecuted for illegal acts. He knows the law and he knows the pump and dump game, so he's not going to leave himself legally exposed. However, that doesn't mean he hasn't broken any laws. Contrary to popular belief, it's pretty easy to break laws without getting caught, or successfully prosecuted. This is especially true when it comes to insider trading. How does one prove that Sims knew of the seriousness of the 1st quarter shortfall and the need to provide a warning when he sold his shares ? The quarter was one-half over, so unless he did something really stupid, like send an e-mail to the CFO that says..."Thanks for the numbers and downward revisions, Artie. It's a shame, but it looks like we really gonna miss this quarters projections by a longshot. Let's sell shares, and then we'll report the bad news to our shareholders in a month", he is not in any jeopardy. The likely crime has no trail of e-mails or documented downward revisions. The crime occurs when Artie says to Jimmy, in private of course, that the numbers aren't looking good. Or perhaps, Artie says, "Jimmy, I am going to sell some shares this quarter, wink, wink". Anyway, as far as the law is concerned, it is illegal to trade on insider knowledge of future public disclosures of materially negative or positive information. It is extroardinarily difficult to prove, and only careless criminals end up getting nailed on this one. The key is to make sure there is no trail that links you to knowledge of the need for the disclosure. Secondly, the law is that companies must provide timely disclosure to shareholders of material information as soon as it is known. Most people seem to agree that 10% variance from EPS projections in either direction is material. Timely is probably 24 hours (just a guess). But again, it's pretty difficult to ascertain who knew what when. And especially with the various geographic regions and service lines, unless there is a very tight, proven, and predictible reporting process, there is no way for an outsider to prove what was known when. Anyway, whether you call it conniving or criminal, the net result is the same: insiders profit at the expense of shareholders. Rick. P.S. Another way to reduce the risk is to surround yourself by a small group of loyal accomplices in your inner circle, and then a medium sized group of complete yes-men/women who don't ask any questions as your support team. That should be enough buffer to run your criminal operation. Anyone want to name names ? Know any loyal accomplices ? Any yes-men on the support team ? Also you need to avoid an independent audit committee, which can really make things difficult when you want to fudge the numbers. Fortunately (for Sims and his cronies), and unfortunately (for shareholders) CATP has no such committee to keep the reporting above board.