Settle down, Ayn Rand. Of course investors share some "blame." But unlike Alan Greenspan - who notoriously didn't think "fraud" should be regulated - most of us understand that gimmicky accounting tricks are misleading to even the most savvy investors.
It should be noted that pump & dump scams are nothing new. Likewise, they are not relegated to microcaps traded on Pink Sheets and OTC. After all, Enron operated in much the same manner - trumping up and falsifying their reporting while their Board and upper management took flight.
At the end of the day they are scams. Just because the SEC has been so gutted since Reagan that they can't possibly catch these people every time they do shady things doesn't mean they aren't defrauding investors. Is Groupon doing this? Nobody can say for certain, but they have given reason to speculate...
Furthermore, Mr. "Blame the Investors", what about the ratings agencies? LEH and BSC had AAA ratings up til the day they were insolvent. How does an investor do their "due diligence" when trusted sources like these are compromised by "pay to play" schemes themselves?
It should be noted that pump & dump scams are nothing new. Likewise, they are not relegated to microcaps traded on Pink Sheets and OTC. After all, Enron operated in much the same manner - trumping up and falsifying their reporting while their Board and upper management took flight.
At the end of the day they are scams. Just because the SEC has been so gutted since Reagan that they can't possibly catch these people every time they do shady things doesn't mean they aren't defrauding investors. Is Groupon doing this? Nobody can say for certain, but they have given reason to speculate...
Furthermore, Mr. "Blame the Investors", what about the ratings agencies? LEH and BSC had AAA ratings up til the day they were insolvent. How does an investor do their "due diligence" when trusted sources like these are compromised by "pay to play" schemes themselves?
It's worth discussing. Isn't it?