Hi Mark,

Let's see, clients of a brokerage firm (banks, etc...) buy and sell PRB shares through their brokers, or on-line trading, on recommendations by analysts in their research department. As an example:

- bought: 60,000 shares;

- sold: 10,000 shares

Net: 50,000 shares. So, they bought low @ around say $2.80/s compared to ~$3.00 before the recommendation to "sell PRB now". This amounts to some $10,000 saving to their clients (at the expense of others).

But, on a bigger scale, the Market Cap of PRB is affected in a big way. At $3.00 x 75Ms the Mkt Cap = $225M, now at $2.80/s x 75 M = $210M. Some whooping $15M reduction.

As I understand it, there is supposed to be a "China Wall" around their research department of a firm, so that what their analysts about to recommend would not go straight to the trading department first. But it sounds like the Wall is leaking like a sieve with all these research reports and trading alerts, and of course "casual" converstion among colleagues in the same firm. So, the idea of doing something to drop the price, and then move in to scoop up the shares cheap is a no-brainer (and just too much of a temptation, if they can get away with it). Can we call this price manipulation, hence illegal?

Forgot to mention shorting as part of this game plan.

goldhunter