Not only is it illegal to spread false gossip about a company in the hope of triggering a bear run on the stock and being able to pick up shares you have already sold cheaply, but in the present jumpy climate such bear raids run the risk of toppling a solvent company over the edge […]
Not only is it illegal to spread false gossip about a company in the hope of triggering a bear run on the stock and being able to pick up shares you have already sold cheaply, but in the present jumpy climate such bear raids run the risk of toppling a solvent company over the edge as the share price plummets and bankers lose confidence, so it is good news indeed that a man has been arrested – appropriately in a dawn raid in Manchester according to the Evening Standard, and is helping police with their inquiries into the bear raid that saw Erskine House Plc shares tumble 15 pence to 49p on a single day in August after a man purporting to be an Erskine director called market makers for a quote on his shareholding, claiming that the chairman intended to sell his stake; the offence bears a maximum penalty of seven years inside.