Feds target 'fake stock news' on top financial websites...
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday announced a crackdown on alleged stock promotion schemes in which writers were secretly paid to post hundreds of bullish articles about public companies on financial websites.
Twenty-seven individuals and entities, including a Hollywood actress, were charged with misleading investors into believing they were reading "independent, unbiased analyses" on websites such as Seeking Alpha, Benzinga and Wall Street Cheat Sheet.
The SEC said many writers used pseudonyms such as Equity Options Guru, The Swiss Trader, Trading Maven and Wonderful Wizard to hype stocks.
This headline reminded me: Did you ever buy a stock on a Dan Dorfman stock tip? I did, at least once that I remember, and sold it 30 minutes later for a nice, quick profit.
Those were the days.
In a 1994 article about Mr. Dorfman’s CNBC reports, The Washington Post wrote: “During the past 18 months, more than 95 percent of the stocks recommended on the reports have increased in price dramatically — by an average of about 13 percent — usually within five minutes of Dorfman’s report. Companies knocked have quickly dropped in value by about the same percentage.”
Edited by Rogerdodger, 10 April 2017 - 05:25 PM.
