Continue reading Madoff arrives in North Carolina to begin life in prison

Madoff arrives in North Carolina to begin life in prison originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 14 Jul 2009 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

We recently presented a look at some of the most notorious financial felons of contemporary times.

Since then, news has included the indictment of Mark Cuban for insider trading in a case that is somewhat reminiscent of Martha Stewart's case. According to the SEC, the billionaire entrepreneur asked his broker to sell all his shares of Mamma.com after the company's CEO confidentially told him of an impending stock offering that would dilute the value of all existing shares. By selling before the information became public, Cuban is said to have sidestepped losses of more than $750,000. Cuban insists, though, that no agreement existed to keep the information confidential.

And then there was the indictment in Texas of Vice President Dick Cheney, along with former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and others. There seems to be a conflict of interest between the vice president's influence on the federal agency that oversees federal immigration detention centers and his substantial holdings in Vanguard Group, which invests in private prison companies. But does the lame-duck county district attorney, who was a no-show in court, have the authority to bring charges against federal officials with regard to federally run institutions?

Continue reading Financial Felons: Where are they now and is there a next generation coming?

Financial Felons: Where are they now and is there a next generation coming? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 25 Nov 2008 14:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This post is part of a feature in which he wonder whatever happened to some notorious financial felons. See all 17.

John Rigas used Adelphia, which at one time was the fifth largest broadcasting and cable TV company, as his personal piggy bank, ultimately driving the company into bankruptcy. He founded the company with his son, Timothy Rigas, who was also charged in the scheme. The Rigases stole $100 million from the company so they could buy luxurious personal residences, trips, and other items to enable them to live a life of luxury on the purse strings of the shareholders.

In 2004, John and Timothy Rigas were found guilty of concealing $2.3 billion in loans, which were hidden in small companies left off Adelphia's books. The SEC charged them with hiding that debt and inflating Adelphia's earnings to meet Wall Street expectations between 1998 and 2002. They also were charged with falsifying company statistics and concealing blatant self-dealing with members of the Rigas family, which had a controlling interest in Adelphia. In 2005, John Rigas was sentenced to 15 years in prison and Timothy Rigas was sentenced to 20 years. At the time of the sentencing John Rigas was 80 years old and Timothy Rigas was 49 years old.

Continue reading Financial Felons: John Rigas

Financial Felons: John Rigas originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 22 Nov 2008 14:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This post is part of a series on some of the most memorable companies that have disappeared.

Companies that vanished: Adelphia originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 15 Jun 2008 14:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Moody's Corp.

Moody's CEO blames liars for subprime mess originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 28 Jan 2008 08:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Adelphia frauds get a new home... jail

Adelphia frauds get a new home... jail originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 13 Aug 2007 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading What happened to the volatility in Time Warner?

What happened to the volatility in Time Warner? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 13 Jul 2007 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Comcast is paying how much per Patriot subscriber???? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 03 Apr 2007 11:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Ted Allrich is the founder of The Online Investor and author of the just released book: Comfort Zone Investing: Build Wealth And Sleep Well At Night. In this weekly column, he'll offer advice to investors who are just getting started.

Rule no. 1: Always buy stocks with earnings. Earnings are what investors get to keep. The more earnings a stock has, the higher the price will go. Don't buy hope or future earnings. Buy earnings that are happening now, especially the ones that are increasing every year.

Rule no. 2: Always do your research. Don't buy a tip just because a talking (or screaming) head says a stock is good. It might be good for them but not for you. Since no one will tell you when to sell, if you don't do your homework, you can't know when the stock is overvalued and should be sold. It may be overvalued when you buy it. You won't know if you don't do your homework. And you won't know if it's the right type of stock for you. For example, if you're looking for a dividend and the stock is in the early stages of biotech, then it's definitely not for you. Do your research well and know what you own. Then you'll know when a stock is cheap or rich, when to buy or when to sell.

Rule no. 3: Always follow your stocks. You can't just buy and hold anymore. While you should be a reluctant seller because you've done your research and bought strong stocks, things change, things like management, competitive environment, economic conditions, etc. Nothing stays the same, ever. Sometimes the evolution works in your favor. Sometimes it doesn't. The best companies evolve ahead of change. Look at Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) as an example of a company that is changing dramatically, even its the name (now it's just Apple, Inc., not Apple Computer). Don't sit and hope for the best. Follow your stocks and the financial news. Use your TV computer, newspapers, magazines. News is everywhere, not in one medium.

Continue reading Comfort Zone Investing: Six simple rules to keep in mind -- always

Comfort Zone Investing: Six simple rules to keep in mind -- always originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 24 Mar 2007 10:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Time Warner Cable limbo period may be longer than investors are hoping originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 30 Jan 2007 19:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Time Warner Inc. (NYSE:TWX) has re-issued its earnings release date and it is still Wednesday, January 31, 2007. Here is the link to the prior story previewing earnings.

Nothing has changed as far as estimates, but what has put a thorn in the sides of shareholders is the delay of Time Warner Cable. The stock still has the when-issued status and the "TWCAV" ticker on the pink sheets. Go ask people on Main Street if they have ever traded a when-issued or pink sheet stock, and most of them will say, "Huh?" or "A what?"

This delay is likely not going to yield excessive wins for the dissenting Adelphia creditors. The dissenting group is dead and doesn't realize it. It is sad and their plight is understandable, but the hard reality is that this is just delaying the inevitable.

So why does this matter ahead of earnings? Because it increases costs and makes it harder to make predictions and assumptions for about 15% of the newly combined cable operations.

Continue reading Revisiting Time Warner earnings for next week

Revisiting Time Warner earnings for next week originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 26 Jan 2007 15:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

So, we are closer to the Time Warner Cable stock trading as its own quasi-entity in what often used to be referred to as a tracking stock of parent company Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX). We know that last week's approval of the Adelphia terms cleared the way. The stock will trade under the ticker "TWC" on NYSE.

But here's something you may not know: as of Friday Time Warner Cable is already trading on a "when issued basis" as an over-the-counter Pink Sheet stock. Its ticker on OTC is "TWCAV."

It traded roughly as high as $43 on Friday, but appears to have closed at $41.25. On Monday it traded down 1% at $40.75. These "when-issued" stocks often trade with much more volatility than the underlying shares. Volume and accurate price quotes can be sporadic at best.

It doesn't help that 90% of the public never even knows how to look up or track these types of shares on a when-issued basis. While no stock broker would admit it, most brokers don't know how to track them or trade them either.

Here's some help: This is your quote on it from AOL Money & Finance under the TWCAV ticker. You can expect that the stock will probably begin trading normally late next week if not sooner, although don't blame the messenger if any unexpected delays come into play. This can also create some extra whipping around of the underlying shares as funds try to create arbitrage or hedging transactions -- although that has yet to be seen in either TWX shares or the underlying option contracts over the last two trading sessions.

Time Warner Cable already trading as "when issued" stock originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 09 Jan 2007 12:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Gearing up for Time Warner earnings: They won't be easy to interpret

Gearing up for Time Warner earnings: They won't be easy to interpret originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 31 Oct 2006 16:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

We now have some the plans for the Time Warner IPO for Time Warner Cable. Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) will sell $100 million shares in stock of Time Warner Cable under the ticker TWC.

Time Warner Cable said that as of June 30, the company's cable systems could reach 26 million U.S. homes. About 85% of its market is concentrated in New York state, North Carolina and South Carolina, Ohio, Southern California and Texas.

Parent Time Warner holds 82.7% of the common and 100% of the Class B shares of Time Warner Cable. Class B shares have 10 votes each.

Adelphia Communications is selling all the shares in the Time Warner Cable offering. This is in-line with the strategy outlined as part of the debt covenants in the terms when it acquired Adelphia.

The only real issue here at first is that a $100 million offering is going to be a much smaller float than there will be demand for the shares. As of 7:30 AM EST there have not been any trade indications seen on TWX shares.

Jon Ogg is a partner in 24/7 Wall St., LLC; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Time Warner files for IPO for Time Warner Cable originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 18 Oct 2006 07:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

IPO coming for Time Warner cable unit originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 24 Jul 2006 12:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Associated Press is reporting that EarthLink and Time Warner extended an agreement which originated in 2000. Under the deal, Atlanta-based EarthLink (ELNK) will continue providing broadband services to about 19 million households that are not serviced by Time Warner Cable's own broadband system.

Next to AOL, EarthLink is one of the most recognized ISP names in the States. Time Warner (TWX) and its rival in cable, Comcast, are looking to further capitalize on opportunities opened up by Adelphia's woes, especially now that approval of the sale of Adelphia assets to the two cable giants a couple weeks back is out of the way.

Earthlink /TimeWarner partnership is extended originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 07 Jul 2006 07:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.