No puppetry today?

7:26 am (Hawaii) CNBC breaking news reporting that JP Morgan has been fined $153 million for misleading SEC investigators in the HUD scandal. I wonder if this is one of the reasons why silver is running so hot today. If JP Morgan/CME mafia are trying to keep a low profile, that might explain why they aren't trying to bury Spot prices. Or it could be just another bull trap. Or maybe the banksters are long PMs right now.

Investors get un-Focused

Focus Media's caution is fanning the flames of fear for investors.

Again.

Shares plummeted 5 percent to $44 today as FMCN's delayed earnings report and a hearing with Nasdaq looms. Though the Co has exercised caution since a short seller filed two letters in recent months, investors are shaking out of China's top advertising agency.

FMCN hit an all-time high of $52.09 on June 29, but slumped in the next session on news of the delay. In the first 20 minutes of July 2, the stock dropped to $44.28.

Shares rallied back to $52 intra-day on Monday, but optimism has been replaced by pessimism. Again. The fall, which resumed on Monday, came with strong volume of 4.7 million shares. Volume dipped to 2.8 million shares on Tuesday, but rose to 3.5 million yesterday. Today's drop came on 2.3 million shares.

Is the bottom in for Focus Media shares? If it is, this is another buying opportunity for longs. Still, shares are up 57 percent since early November, and with fears of a correction looming, a lot of investors are taking their profits and relieving themselves of any Nasdaq and SEC related stress.

Disclaimer: Pupule Paul is a skosh long FMCN.

Focus Media requests Nasdaq meeting, stock slips

Investors already skittish about Chinese ADRs got wobbly in the knees for a second time in two weeks about Focus Media.

The Chinese advertising company announced that it plans to ask for a hearing with Nasdaq regarding two letters received in June. When Focus Media first announced the problem, reportedly the result of a request from a short-seller, the stock sank from $50 to $44 in a 20-minute span two weeks ago.

This morning, FMCN sank almost $2 to $49.24 on the news of the hearing request. FMCN is currently trading at $49.39, which could be another buying opportunity for the most faithful of longs. For the skeptical, any press release or media story that mentions Nasdaq and/or the SEC has been a red flag, warranted or not.

Observers in Asia have collectively said that Focus Media's conservative approach has led to extreme caution in this situation.

Disclaimer: Pupule Paul is long FMCN. Just a skosh.

From the minds and hearts of DNDN's retail investors

The Dendreon forum at Investor Village is a haven for true believers in the Co's pioneering late-stage prostate cancer immunotherapy treament, Provenge.

At least, they hope it will be a pioneering treatment. I won't go into the many levels and chapters of the war between all parties involved. Between lawsuits, the FDA, hedge funds, corrupt doctors, insider information and victimized shareholders, all the info could fill a fat book and then some.

For now, I'll lead you to a highly pertinent post by one of the forum's regulars. In his post, These are the Questions the SEC, the DOJ (FBI), and HHS OIG Should Be Asking..., warlord_2010 leaves no stone unturned.


It's unfortunate that most folks, including myself, have a soft spot in our hearts for the underdog. Since Dendreon went into this uphill battle against many murderous opponents hiding in the wings — the ones who orchestrated the defeat of Provenge — it's been a one-sided, bloody fight. If this were held in a boxing ring, the referee would have declared this a TKO long ago.

Read warlord_2010's list and consider what role the FDA currently plays in saving human life, or whether the FDA has become de-evolved into something it was never meant to be.

Disclaimer: Pupule Paul is long DNDN.

Just another dysfunctional day at Dendreon

This is the kid you love, the kid who has all the potential in the world.

Time and time again, though, he needs help. Someone has to bail him out, not literally. Not yet, anyway.

The good news for Dendreon today was that a late-session surge vaulted the PPS to $8.15, a 4.6% gain. Nice.

Then came the bad news. For those of us who caught the close but ignored after-hours trading, it was a body blow. News of the SEC's inquiry — informal, they say — regarding prostate cancer immunotherapy treatement Provenge scared off the weakest of hands. DNDN traded at $7.63 by the end of the day.

That's 16 cents lower than Monday's close.


It's the latest in the long, unpredictable history of Dendreon. Shareholders are, once again, feeling powerless to help. Only the most patient and optimistic are still in the stock.

Along with the SEC's inquiry, Dendreon announced that it received a letter from shareholders. The letter, addressed to the board of directors, requested immediate investigation and action against exeuctives who may have acted improperly after the FDA's advisory counsel approved Provenge in late March.

Whatever the case is with the SEC — there's no clear indication that it will be as "informal" as suggested — Dendreon may have more than a little scuffle ahead with angry shareholders who have filed lawsuits. If Dendreon execs have, indeed, gained financially by witholding vital information from shareholders, ugly won't begin to describe the train wreck.

Then again, those of us who are long Dendreon already expect the worst, and in fact, all of the worst-case possibilities are probably built into the stock already.

It's just that ... shareholders just want to breathe some air here, and Dendreon management shows no signs of providing an oxygen tank. Par for the course.

How bad is perception plus reality for shareholders? If Gold were fired tomorrow, the PPS would probably spike. Yet, even a dysfunctional family has better prospects if Daddy can just straighten out rather than be removed from the home.

Two days into the week, two days of major news. What more could happen tomorrow?

Disclaimer: Pupule Paul is still long DNDN.