S.E.C. Levies 1.4 Billion Fines on Biased Stock Brokers

Here is another twist. It is anticipated that the findings will encourage a flood of lawsuits against stockbrokers for offering misleading information:

Link to Stock lawsuits

Phoenix, It's really a comedy; the investment houses are paying 1.4 billion in fines, but they're not admitting to any wrong-doing. You can bet your bottom dollar that many individuals and institutionals are gonna be firing up a whole bunch of law suits against those same investment houses. Just watch. c.i.

c.i. - For many years, we have done our own stock picking. This has worked out much better than in the past, when we used a full service broker. Years ago, we caught on that the brokers were more interested in unloading what they didn't want, rather than help the client.

Since I have a computer, and can check on stocks, it is so fascinating about what I have observed. For instance, all of a sudden a stock dumps. There is no information that anything adverse is happening. Lo and behold, the next day, an article appears. Gee, how did people know to sell the stock yesterday? Maybe they are psychic! :wink:

There are certain stocks that I watch, that for no decent reason, will swing wildly from day to day. On some of them, I can almost predict what will happen the next day.

If you have the time to follow this, you really learn how much stocks are manipulated. I feel very sorry for the small guys who rode the tornado in the 1990s, and then had their butts handed to them!

Phoenix, Actually, it's more mundane than that! All we need to do is look at the buy and hold orders from these stock experts. They never tell anybody to sell. Wonder why? Most people can't seem to figure that one out. c.i.

I look at stock brokers the way I look at New England weather forcasters: If they're right it's because the coin came up heads instead of tails.

Beach Bum- Interesting take, but IMO a bit naive. The difficulty is that the brokers know EXACTLY what they are doing, a good part of the time. The problem is they are not working for the middle class investor, but for the big boys. Then the rest of us peons get shafted.

IMO a person who takes stock advice from another person gets what he deserves. When a person is allowing someone else to make financial decisions for him, he has absolutely no control. If he does not have the time or the inclination to research a stock before making a purchase, he has no business being in the stock market, and should stick to CDs and T bills!