Short Selling Implicated in the Greatest Market Cataclysm Since 1929 -11/25/08 at 10:21 PM CSTby Perry Rod

Investigative Reporter Mark Mitchell responded today to a Wall Street Journal article uncovering the fact that short selling played a major role in the current global crisis: Journalists who write about short selling hedge funds fall into three categories. The first category is comprised of a very small number of journalists who have deliberately whitewas...

Banks Eating Each Other Alive -11/24/08 at 1:32 PM CSTby Perry Rod

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that major Wall Street firms placed large bets against Morgan Stanley (MS) using credit-default swaps, two days after Lehman Brothers sought bankruptcy protection. The firms included Merrill Lynch , Citigroup (C) , Deutsche Bank (DB) and UBS, according to the paper. The paper said that a close examination of the ...

Mark Cuban Charged With Insider Trading - So Are Things Back To Norma... -11/18/08 at 6:55 PM CSTby Perry Rod

For a moment yesterday it felt like things were getting back to normal.  A bulletin hit the wire saying that Dallas Maverick owner Mark Cuban was being charged by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission with insider trading.  Even the stock market went up for a good twenty minutes after the wire hit. But it soon hit me right back - ...

Citigroup Cuts 20% of Workforce -11/17/08 at 10:37 AM CSTby Peter York

50,000 people is a lot of people.  That's 50,000 on top of 20,000 layoffs. Citigroup (C) has cut off approximately 30% of its workforce now amid the economic crisis as cost cutting continues.  The danger of all of it is that this is happening in the crucial holiday period, one week before Thanksgiving.  And it's on top of 5% to 10% cuts byJ...

The SEC Naked Short Selling Cover Up -11/12/08 at 8:15 PM CSTby Perry Rod

Mark Mitchell over at DeepCapture.com is reporting on the SEC cover up involving Gary Aguirre, who in 2006 helped break open the scandal of naked short selling.  Here is his report: There was an article in The New York Times yesterday about the SEC’s disgraceful ruling that it will take no disciplinary action against the SEC cronies at the cen...

Hartford's CEO Comes Out Swinging -11/03/08 at 1:28 PM CSTby Perry Rod

"Hartford (HIG) is financially strong and well capitalized," Hartford Chief Executive Ramani Ayer said in a statement. The statement followed an announcement Friday by Fitch Ratings that it was lowering Hartford's default rating to A from A+, and its insurer financial strength ratings of Hartford's primary life and property/casualty insurance subsidiaries...

After The Fact Analysis -10/31/08 at 12:09 PM CDTby Reggie Abaca

The wolves are surrounding as Eric Berg, a Barclays analyst in New York, said it was "likely" that Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. would be unable to sell itself or entice a private investor or the U.S. to supply fresh capital. "Our thinking is that it is more likely that Hartford (HIG)'s share price continues to sink," said Berg in a note to inves...

Another Day Another Rumor -10/28/08 at 2:00 PM CDTby Reggie Abaca

Hedge funds are starting up another rumor now that Morgan Stanley (MS) and two other firms were being "short squeezed" with their investment into Volkswagen. Goldman Sachs, one of the named, declined to comment, but people inside the company said it had no Volkswagen losses. Morgan Stanley spokesman Mark Lake said frankly that company has no exp...

Deutsche Bank Sold Massive Amounts of Phantom Stock -10/16/08 at 7:54 PM CDTby Perry Rod

Mark Mitchell is reporting over at DeepCapture.com that the New York Stock Exchange has handed Deutsche Bank Securities the largest fine in history for violations of SEC rules designed to prevent the creation of what the chairman of the SEC has called “phantom stock.”  Mitchell goes on to report: The NYSE’s disciplinary order states...

Short Squeeze: Morgan Stanley Leads the Market Higher - Largest One D... -10/13/08 at 2:48 PM CDTby Perry Rod

An epic rise in the stock market following the worst week ever in the stock market.  That is the story here on Monday, October 13th 2008.  Many short sellers, betting that Morgan Stanley would not even make it over the weekend, were forced to cover their bets as Morgan Stanley rose 87%, in what is commonly referred to as a "short squeeze".&nbsp...