Article Abstract:
A special SEC enforcement squad accuses 44 stock promoters of fraudulently recommending companies on the Internet. The squad was created in Jul 1998 specifically to monitor Internet fraud. Regulators say promoters in 10 states and the District of Columbia illegally touted securities and misled investors. For example, regulators allege that promoters recommended stocks but did not disclose that they were being paid in cash or stock by the companies they were recommending. Sometimes, say regulators, promoters sold their own shares when the price of a stock had been 'pumped up.' Regulators say promoters used the Internet in various ways, such as posting messages on Web sites, writing for on-line newsletters and transmitting volumes of junk E-mail. The SEC cautions investors to be wary, saying Internet scams are becoming increasingly varied and sophisticated.
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Article Abstract:
Morgan Stanley Dean Witter and Co. has filed a lawsuit against 15-year-old Ivan Wong, his brother Ben and father Sau claiming trademark infringement. According to papers filed by the securities firm, the Wongs' mountain bike enthusiast Web site www.msdwonline.com, is too similar to its Internet brokerage's Internet address of www.msdw.com. The Wongs contend Ivan created his Web site and address as a way of promoting mountain biking; Morgan Stanley claims that Sau Wong's company Smart Ideas is in the business of registering investment bank and securities dealers' domain names. Icann, the nonprofit Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, wants to establish mandatory arbitration to settle domain name disputes while some in Congress want to strengthen trademark rights when it comes to Internet addresses.
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Article Abstract:
Congress, market regulators, industry lobbyists, stock exchanges and securities brokers (both on-line and full-service) are concerned over ownership of stock-price quotation data. The New York Stock Exchange and American Stock Exchange sell their combined market data to vendors whereas the Nasdaq market sells its information separately to vendors. The vendors then disseminate the information to the public. Full-service brokers pay different fees for the information than nonprofessional investors. The National Association of Securities Dealers has just passed a one-year pilot program reducing individual's Nasdaq data fees. The push for less-expensive, real-time stock quotation data is very real, but data-revenue losses and more fragmented data may be the results of new regulation.
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