This post may be semi-OT but never the less makes for good reading. Brit, You could go to work for an IR firm if you want to get paid to either bash or pump a stock.

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http://searchwarp.com/swa2750.htm

The New Scam

The individual investor must know that there are now 1000s of "Investor relations" firms who are no such thing. What these firms do is they get paid to promote a stock and they do so regardless of the stock's worth. In addition they pay people to go all over the internet and on popular stocks forums and eLists to either promote or bash a stock.

Market Makers Scams

Many market makers and organized clubs also get paid to manipulate stocks. In the case of a Market Maker, if they get a client who pays them to accumulate a particular stock at a certain price then the Market Maker will work either alone or in concert with other Market Makers to bring down the price of a stock in order for them to be able to accumulate the stock for their client. The only way to stop such devious practices is for individual investors to hold on to their stock if they have it and to support the stock by submitting their stocks as hot picks on here and for other investors to support the hot pick with their sentiments and/or recommendations. One would think that the SEC would put a stop to these Market Makers' practices but you see, the SEC is a mafia style organization whose top brass is in bed with the big players. For example, "shorting" a stock is equal to "defamation of character" and such practices must not be allowed at all. When you see an order for 300 shares, 600 shares or 900 shares know this: those are market maker signals to one another to manipulate the stock. 300 means bring the price down at least 30% and 600 means provide resistance and 900 means let the stock float. You will usually see these trades early in the day, many times pre-market and when the volume slows down or around 1:30 - 2:30 PM EST

Then the organized clubs come into play. Several such clubs will list a company's stock on other exchanges without the company's permission and knowledge. The most popular one this year is listing the stocks of companies on the Berlin Stock Exchange where they can short the stock into the ground. Here read this Press release These organized clubs also pay people to go on Yahoo! boards and RagingBull and others to either bash or pump stocks. In recent months they have even managed to convince some RagingBull people to trash the stock UCSY which happens to be a very good value stock and no sane person would want to bash it unless they are paid to do so.

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My Comments: The list of below is comprised of a search of various IR firms and in no way insinuates that any of these companies are such scam companies. The list is merely a dipiction of how many companies there are on the Yahoo directory.

• Investor Broadcast Network
  Investor relations conference call events including earnings reports and M&A announcements.
  www.vcall.com
• CCBN.com
  Providing public companies with a customized, comprehensive, and cost-effective Internet solution for investor relations.
  www.ccbn.com
• Hawk Associates, Inc.
  Provides investor relation communications for small-to-mid cap companies.
  www.hawkassociates.com
• Shareholder Direct
  Providing shareholder communication services.
  www.shareholder.com
• Equity Group, The
  Provides comprehensive investor relations for listed micro and small-cap companies with financial community and media outreach, writing, advisory, and administrative services.
  www.theequitygroup.com
• OTC Financial Network
  Research driven investor relations service for small cap and mirco-cap companies in North America. Free newsletter is available.
  www.otcfn.com
• Lippert/Heilshorn & Associates, Inc.
  Designs strategic business communications programs for emerging growth companies. Capabilities include investor relations, public relations, and interactive communications.
  www.lhai.com
• Empire Relations Group
  Investor relations site offering corporate profiles, investment ideas, stock market thoughts, press releases, and small cap investment opportunities.
  www.empirerelations.com
• Financial Broker Relations, LTD.
  Investor relations for NASDAQ companies, investment banking & financial consulting, public shells, public and private financings for small growth companies.
  www.gopublic.com
• Sterling Communications, Inc.@
  Strategic communications for technology companies.
  dir.yahoo.com/.../Corporate_Services...
• Brainerd Communicators, Inc.
  Investor relations agency specializing in financial, public, media, and crisis relations for domestic and international companies.
  www.braincomm.com
• Allen & Caron Inc
  Provides investor and media relations and corporate communications services.
  www.allencaron.com
• Targeted IR
  Full service micro and small cap investor relations and stock promotion consultancy.
  www.targetedir.com
• National Financial Communications
  Financial communications and investor relations firm that specializes in serving emerging growth, micro/small, and mid-cap companies. Services include report dissemination.
  www.nationalfc.com
• Market Street Partners
  Investor relations services for technology companies, emphasizing strategic counsel and marketing to increase visibility and credibility.
  www.marketstreetpartners.com
• Taylor Rafferty Associates, Inc.
  Specializing in assisting companies with crossborder investor relations.
  www.taylor-rafferty.com
• IR on the Net
  Includes IR business directory, industry news, conference information, discussion forum, and more.
  www.ironthenet.com
• Wall Street Network, LLC
  Performance-based investor relations firm specializing in the banking sector to develop or improve analyst coverage and institutional ownership.
  www.wallstreet-network.net
• Gross Capital Associates
  Specializing in representing publicly traded companies whose stocks are undervalued due to a lack of retail, institutional, or analyst support.
  www.grosscapital.com