The News Just Said

[Frank]

Originally posted by IM4Change
I read that somewhere I thought. The way I understand it is that she lied to the FBI and lied to congressional congress.

Yeah, her "lie" to the FBI was "I'm innocent". She's not being convicted for actually doing the insder trading, but for saying "I'm innocent" and everybody knows it's illegal to say you're innocent!!



I think the whole thing sucks. I don't care if people don't LIKE her. It still seems to me she more or less had a deal that said "sure, sell it when it gets below 58" and someone said "it's headed that way" and she said "ok, sell it".

This woman is worth millions. The money she made off of this is a lot to you and me, but it really is chump change for HER. She sold off 4,000 shares of stock to avoid losing maybe 40-60,000 or more. Remember this woman is worth *millions*. Comparatively speaking, this is nothing. It ain't motivated by greed, because it's just too little money.

I think she's getting nailed because she is a celebrity that a lot of people hate.

 

[SmallTown]

Originally posted by Frank
Yeah, her "lie" to the FBI was "I'm innocent". She's not being convicted for actually doing the insder trading, but for saying "I'm innocent" and everybody knows it's illegal to say you're innocent!!



I think the whole thing sucks. I don't care if people don't LIKE her. It still seems to me she more or less had a deal that said "sure, sell it when it gets below 58" and someone said "it's headed that way" and she said "ok, sell it".

This woman is worth millions. The money she made off of this is a lot to you and me, but it really is chump change for HER. She sold off 4,000 shares of stock to avoid losing maybe 40-60,000 or more. Remember this woman is worth *millions*. Comparatively speaking, this is nothing. It ain't motivated by greed, because it's just too little money.

I think she's getting nailed because she is a celebrity that a lot of people hate.

I disagree. As odd as it may seem, i've seen more "rich" people argue over a $5.00 mistake than your average joe. Sure, they enjoy living a lush lifestyle, but don't think they are not watching every single penny that goes out.

 

[Larry Gude]

Is there anyone among this angry mob...

...of witch burners who knows the facts of the case?

This isn't OJ where we all saw what was going on blow by blow.

I disagree with you Frank:

It ain't motivated by greed

It's greed in the good sense of the word. Martha certainly didn't take a dime from a single innocent person but she wasn't in the market for charity's sake.

ST, I agree with you:

but don't think they are not watching every single penny that goes out.

That is one way you get rich, paying attention to the pennies and then the dollars add up.

Martha Stewart is personal friends, from what little I know of all this, with some major wig and stock holder of the company in question.

Just what in the hell do you all think happens among people who own stocks?

'Martha, buy this, it's gonna go good."

"Martha, sell this, it's gonna sour."

Insider information? You betcha, in a technical sense. She just didn't use the special cocktail napkin high sign and decoder ring that seperates a violation from business as usual.

Happens every single day and over much bigger fish than this.

Reality check: Wolrdcom, Global Crossing and Enron perpetuated FRAUD to decieve shareholders and help prop up share prices that, had the truth been known, would have fallen dramatically.

That is criminal and that is a threat to the necessary transparency of Wall Street critical to investor confidence.

Martha got an insider tip that FDA approval on a drug SINCE approved, wasn't gonna get approval. Boo.

Yeah, she probably bent a rule or two according to the jury but you people need to get a grip if you think Martha Stewarts actions are anywhere near the threat to all of us that Enron et al pose.

 

[willie]

They did not prosecute her for insider trading because there was no case. She lied, probably to keep from putting another nail in the coffin of her ImClone friend. What she did was a slap on the wrist type crime and she got bummer legal advice. Because she is the Boss Lady, maybe she even refused sensible legal advice and plead not guilty. A lot of people were anxious to see her go down in flames because they actually did know her and not just her televised side.

 

[vraiblonde]

Okay, I have a question:

I own stock in, say, Microsoft and I have a friend who works at Redmond. Let's say this friend tells me that he is working on a top secret internet domination plan that is going to revolutionize the industry. If I go buy more stocks based on this, am I guilty of insider trading?

Just curious because, like Larry, it seems to me that anyone who runs in any kind of circles wouldn't be able to avoid that sort of thing.

 

[dems4me]

Originally posted by vraiblonde
Okay, I have a question:

I own stock in, say, Microsoft and I have a friend who works at Redmond. Let's say this friend tells me that he is working on a top secret internet domination plan that is going to revolutionize the industry. If I go buy more stocks based on this, am I guilty of insider trading?

Just curious because, like Larry, it seems to me that anyone who runs in any kind of circles wouldn't be able to avoid that sort of thing.

I think insider trading is one of those things that the more technologically advanced society gets the less the punishment because its soo easy to do whether on purpose or on accident. I remember about 10 years ago a Firm was in big trouble for insider trading and the case was passed around to all of our attorneys as a warning/reminder. Now, its just to easy to do. I think its becoming more unethical to trade inside versus unlawful. Just my two cents

 

[Toxick]

Originally posted by vraiblonde
Okay, I have a question:

I own stock in, say, Microsoft and I have a friend who works at Redmond. Let's say this friend tells me that he is working on a top secret internet domination plan that is going to revolutionize the industry. If I go buy more stocks based on this, am I guilty of insider trading?

Just curious because, like Larry, it seems to me that anyone who runs in any kind of circles wouldn't be able to avoid that sort of thing.

Insider Trading: Trading activity prohibited by the Securities Exchange Act of 1984.

An insider is either the officer of a corportation or a shareholder who owns more than 10% of the corportation. Since insiders are privy to some kinds of knowledge about the corportation that have major effects on the stock price (such as quarterly and annual reports), there are restrictions on what kinds of trader an insider can do, and when they do trade, they must make anally detailed reports to the SEC.



I think the scenario you describe above is a "stock tip" and is not illegal or unethical.

 

[Larry Gude]

The 'dance'...

...is the one Martha tried with her broker, a pre set sell price.

You buy X at $5 because your body told you so. The feds don't care as selling is where they get interested. You have a contract, some document that passes muster legally that says "Dear broker, you are to sell my X if it falls below y price or loses more than 5% of value in a 24 hour period at any point..."

Bill Gates is over at your place having hot dogs and beans and says 'you know, looks like we're not getting the contract for the OS in all the computers in hell after all...shh..."

If your X dips a bit without this type of info, you own the stock, you tell your broker to hold on.

Martha didn't have her ducks in a row and in the spirit of the season, they are going to flog her awhile and then crucify her.

There will be a flood of portfolio seminars covering all of this and how not to get crucified once the legal details of how they got her and her mistakes are all known.

 

[itsbob]

Originally posted by Kain99
Poor Martha....

??? Poor Nartha??? She's looking forward to three hots and a cot.. and all the licking che can stand!!

And when she gets out she'll STILL be richer then any of us....

 

[itsbob]

Originally posted by dems4me
She can still appeal this -- I say she wins (unfortunately) after a successful appeal

Believe it or not.. I agree..

Think they will find a judge that they can pay-off to run the appeal through.. and of course this ONE judge will be SOOO much smarter then the 12 jurors.. and she won't do a day in jail..

 

[itsbob]

Never liked the woman and in my case K-Mart lost hundreds if not thousands of dollars because I refuse to buy anything with her name on it..

Something just didn't seem right to me about her.. then I read an article written by one of her assistants saying how big a B1TCH she is.. and then Tim Allen made a comment about her and you would have thought he killed her first child.. all he said was her house was cluttered!!

 

[vraiblonde]

Bob, I've always read the same stuff about her - how mean and controlling she is. Her daughter and ex-husband have given numerous interviews on the subject and they really make hr sound like a witch.

Regardless, I think this sort of thing is silly. If she were fudging her own stocks to get people to buy or something like that, I'd say go get her. But this seems rather bland to carry such a hard sentence, especially considering you can slash two people to ribbons and walk away scot-free.

 

[itsbob]

Originally posted by vraiblonde
Bob, I've always read the same stuff about her - how mean and controlling she is. Her daughter and ex-husband have given numerous interviews on the subject and they really make hr sound like a witch.

Regardless, I think this sort of thing is silly. If she were fudging her own stocks to get people to buy or something like that, I'd say go get her. But this seems rather bland to carry such a hard sentence, especially considering you can slash two people to ribbons and walk away scot-free.

True. she didn't steal any money form me.. so why should I care.. but she shouldn't be above the law because she's rich..

If you or I had done this we'd be going to jail... LIE to the feds that is..

Probably for a LOT longer then she will be..

 

[Larry Gude]

it'sbob...

...I'm with you. She broke the law she should pay the price.

I'd just like everyone to consider what is actually going on. She's done virtually nothing compared to Enron and friends. It's just annoying when the torch and pitchfork crowd comes gunning, comparing apples and oranges and no clue.

I WANT people outraged, for the RIGHT reasons.

 

[Tonio]

Re: it'sbob...

Originally posted by Larry Gude
I WANT people outraged, for the RIGHT reasons.

Good point, Larry. You're intelligent enough to know that most people don't like Martha because of her Little Miss Perfect image, and that it has nothing to do with the types of crimes she committed. I hear and read lots of resentment over Martha's alleged ability to plan huge parties without ever getting stressed. She has a way of making people feel inadequate if they stress over parties, even if she doesn't intend to. That's the emotional agenda.

In my view, it was the same thing with OJ. White people saw Orenthal James as just another rich guy using his wealth and power to get out of trouble. Black people, especially those in L.A., saw OJ as a victim of what they've judged to be a crooked and racist justice system. While there may be some truth to both views, my point is that both sides had emotional agendas that blinded them to the details.

 

[SuperGrover]

Originally posted by PoliticalAnlyst
I feel sorry for her because I always liked her as a person. I find it amazing that some people wish her ill will and jail time just because they don't like her goodie-two-shoes personna. What does that say about people?

It all seems so foolish over such a relatively small amount of money. She was worth billions on paper. She used to be a stock broker, so she can't argue that she didn't know it was wrong.

I just hope the punishment fits the crime. She has already lost a personal fortune and been publicly humiliated. I think probation is more than appropriate. White collar criminals have been getting away with murder for years, not to mention the corrupt and unethical politicians who live above the law. Be nice to have equal justice for all.

don't forget that she was also on the NYSE board of directors!

I can't believe she got that greedy. I estimated her loss at $50K if she instructed her broker to sell the stock as soon as the information hit the streets. It's equivalent to 2.5 cents (for someone making $50K a year) for Martha, being valued at $1Billion at some point.

She needs to spend some time in jail to reflect on what she's done.

 

[sleuth]

Originally posted by itsbob
Never liked the woman and in my case K-Mart lost hundreds if not thousands of dollars because I refuse to buy anything with her name on it..

I only go to K-Mart if I can't find it anywhere else anymore. Anything with her name on it costs more than any of the other discount retails for non-stewart brand products.

Even when I go to K-Mart, I'm lucky if they have anything that is non-martha brand. I looked for some sheets there several months back. It was the only place that had the color I wanted, but they were Martha brand and 3 times what the colored sheets of other brands cost. I looked at their non-Martha sheets and the only ones they carried were white. I think it's a bit ridiculous.

Needless to say I still don't have the sheets I want.

At least when Kathy Ireland was a brand, they didn't raise the prices (much).