Front-Running; Pink Sheets; DotTony

[Bapopik at AOL.COM]

FRONT-RUNNING

     From the WALL STREET JOURNAL, 28 August 2000, pg. C1, cols. 3-5:

_Stock Prices Switch to Decimals From Fractions,_
_Raising Concern ABout "Front-Running" by Pros_
     When the long-awaited switch to decimal from fractional stock prices in
the U.S. begins today, most investors expect to benefit from narrower bid/ask
spreads.
     But there is a potential dark side to the swtich that many investors may
be unaware of.  WIth stocks quoted in dollars and cents, it will mean that
for as little as one cent a share, Wall Street pros will be able to step in
front of public orders--in what some, including the president of the New York
Stock Exchange, say amounts to "front-running." (...)
     A professional--a stock exchange specialist, a market maker on Nasdaq or
the investor's own broker--might decide that the presence of a big buyer at
$20 suggests the stock is a good buy, and "steps in front" by bidding a
little more for the 500 shares.

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PINK SHEETS

    No, not my new bed spread.
    From the NEW YORK OBSERVER, "Back of the Envelope" column by Christopher
Byron, August 28-September 4, 2000, pg. 32, col. 1:

    This is the type of individual one encounters more and more these days in
what has become a whole new and growing area of abuse on Wall Street--the
so-called "pink sheets" sector of the old Over the Counter market. (...)
     Yet nearly 5,000 penny-stock companies have escaped the crackdown by
simply refusing to file audited financials.  In so doing, they've become
so-called non-filers that are now publicly quoted over the Internet on an
electronic system maintained by the Naitonal Quotation Bureau, which has
recently renamed itself Pink Sheets LLC.  (...)
     Mr. Baldridge, the registered sex offender, comes up in all this in
connection with a number of different companies that have lately been jumping
in the "pinks."

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DOT TONY

    THE OBSERVER (London), 27 August 2000, Comment by Jamie Doward, pg. 3
(Business section), cols. 6-8:

_How dotTony's kiss_
_killed off Alta Vista_

    Prime Minister Tony Blair is called "dotTony" because of his constant
pushing of New Economy business for Britain.  Dot-com companies haven't fared
well in old England in recent weeks.
    This would make more sense, though, if the leader's name were Dorothy.