Forget about TA or FA

I've been "watching" this dude who writes for The Star Business for quite a long while. You all know who right? This guy by the name of Jose Barrock. Okay, I'm assuming he's a real person who actually exists and not just some pen-name cooked up by someone hiding behind. For those who are not familiar with this "writer", just keep an eye on what he writes everyday in the Star. You will see that, with an amazing level of frequency, he often comes out with breaking news which inevitably lead to pretty good price moves in the stock he has written about on the day the "news" is published. I mean a really amazing level of frequency. And I mean some pretty significant price moves. Just take this piece yesterday about Ranhill.

http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/6/18/business/20070618082346&sec=business

The thing hit limit up before it was suspended. Of course the company itself quickly came out to deny it that very same afternoon. So, where did this "writer" get the info from? Apparently, it was from his "sources", probably the same ones who gave him all the other breaking news in the past (which incidentally, mostly ended up being denied by the companies involved).

So what sh*ts me is this. How is it that this joe has managed to snag on to the greatest money-making scheme around and is getting away with it? Forget about all the different arguments and viewpoints being thrown around by people debating this issue, such as:

1. Nobody is forcing you to believe him and to buy the stock.

2. If you are a serious investor, you should do your own homework first before buying into the stock, after determining that it's a good investment.

3. It's your own fault if you're stupid enough to invest based on rumours and hearsay.

Blah blah blah ..... all the above (and other similar) arguments basically miss the whole point. I personally would never buy anything that has run up based on what this fella has written.

The point is, despite how smart you and I are, there will be people who buy based on what they read in the financial news. The point is, despite what the smart alecky investment experts who express comments like those above say, prices do move ... significantly ....with attendant volume spikes. The point is, from these observations we can safely surmise that someone (or some people) is/are making a helluva lot of dough off this hokey scam (you make your own conclusion who). The point IS and I repeat .... how in the world did this joe manage to latch on to the greatest money-making scheme around AND is getting away with it? What I want to know is, "Is it perfectly legal to run this kinda hokey scam"?

So what ACTUALLY is my point, you say? I don't know ... maybe I'm just jealous.

/ichithekiller