At first I was dumbfounded, a stock trading at $0.0001 with a Market Cap of $848,342 getting a $400 million offer from Google. Even though the story in my mind was egregiously false, I watched as countless naive investors took the bait. Unfortunately, this type of story showcases the lengths that criminal investors will go through to manipulate the naive and/or novice investor. At this point the damage has been done, but everyone learned something from the PR yesterday...even PR's can be faked in this day and age.Google buys Wi-Fi provider ICOA for $400 million
Google buys wireless Internet network provider ICOA for $400 million
– Mon, Nov 26, 2012 10:56 AM EST
NEW YORK (AP) -- Google has bought an operator of Wi-Fi hotspots in high-traffic locations such as airports, hotels and fast-food restaurants. Google Inc. is paying $400 million for ICOA Inc., a Warwick, R.I., company, as part of the search company's efforts to diversify its portfolio. ICOA owns or operates Wi-Fi wireless access services in 40 states. It also sells technology for others to run similar Wi-Fi networks under their own brands. It's not Google's first venture into Internet access. The Mountain View, Calif., company is building an ultra-fast wired Internet service in Kansas City, primarily to showcase for what's technically possible and to test new ways to use the Internet. Shares of Google fell $6.07, or 0.9 percent, to $661.90 in morning trading Monday.
I am an advocate for the Pinksheet Markets, as I believe all companies should have an available avenue to reach investors. Smaller companies need capital for a shot at making their business plan a viable company. However, investors have the short end of the stick since the Pinksheets do not offer much protection for their investment. The requirements for companies are minimal, which leads to little transparency. The self-funded SEC seemingly takes a blind eye to the manipulation existing by companies, penny stock promoters, and investing message board users in the Pinksheet Markets probably since it is not worth their effort, as the legal payout is small, and there is probably thousands of prosecutable cases (i.e. they just don't have the resources to prosecute everyone). If the SEC and other regulators don't step up their efforts it will remain up to the individual investor to manage their investments in the risky pinksheet market.
Hopefully a story like the ICOA Hoax will bring more awareness to the issues with investing in the Pinksheet markets so that less investors will believe anything and everything they read as being truthful. Investors must always ask themselves, "Does this make business and/or logical sense?". Common sense does exist and hopefully it prevented a few novice investors from falling victim to a blatant manipulation scheme by a corrupt investor/group (I say this since the company has come out publicly stating they had nothing to do with the fake PR).
Here are some tips (not necessarily related to the PR hoax story) for novice investors to make better trading decisions in the OTC Markets in particular (Note: these tips are posted all over the internet and I apologize for not citing the original author, since I am unsure who it is):
1. History repeats itself.
2. People drive buying and selling.
3. Emotions drive people - that hasn't changed since the Garden of Eden. ~ Fear, passion, greed, hope and denial have been and will continue with us. ~ It is the emotion of people that drive the stock market. ~ If market participants are hopeful and optimistic they buy. ~ If they are fearful or unsure of the future, they sell. Engio guitian 4809483 1. Forget the news, remember the chart. You're not smart enough to know how news will affect price. The chart already knows the news is coming. 2. Buy the first pullback from a new high. Sell the first pullback from a new low. There's always a crowd that missed the first boat.
3. Buy at support, sell at resistance. Everyone sees the same thing and they're all just waiting to jump in the pool.
4. Short rallies not selloffs. When markets drop, shorts finally turn a profit and get ready to cover.
5. Don't buy up into a major moving average or sell down into one. See #3.
6. Don't chase momentum if you can't find the exit. Assume the market will reverse the minute you get in. If it's a long way to the door, you're in big trouble.
7. Exhaustion gaps get filled. Breakaway and continuation gaps don't. The old traders' wisdom is a lie. Trade in the direction of gap support whenever you can.
8. Trends test the point of last support/resistance. Enter here even if it hurts.
9. Trade with the TICK not against it. Don't be a hero. Go with the money flow.
10. If you have to look, it isn't there. Forget your college degree and trust your instincts.
11. Sell the second high, buy the second low. After sharp pullbacks, the first test of any high or low always runs into resistance. Look for the break on the third or fourth try.
12. The trend is your friend in the last hour. As volume cranks up at 3:00pm don't expect anyone to change the channel.
13. Avoid the open. They see YOU coming sucker 1-2-3-Drop-Up.
14. Look for downtrends to reverse after a top, two lower highs and a double bottom.
15. Bulls live above the 200 day, bears live below. Sellers eat up rallies below this key moving average line and buyers to come to the rescue above it.
16. Price has memory. What did price do the last time it hit a certain level? Chances are it will do it again.
17. Big volume kills moves. Climax blow-offs take both buyers and sellers out of the market and lead to sideways action.
18. Trends never turn on a dime. Reversals build slowly. The first sharp dip always finds buyers and the first sharp rise always finds sellers.
19. Bottoms take longer to form than tops. Fear acts more quickly than greed and causes stocks to drop from their own weight.
20. Beat the crowd in and out the door. You have to take their money before they take yours, period.
In general, never buy/sell based on what you read in message board posts.
Lastly, I am aware that corruption is rampant in all markets and exchanges, but fake PR's really bother the hell out of me. Investors would like to trust the content of press releases since it is often the only form of transparency they receive from the company. It may be time for the media outlets to put better security measures in place to ensure that only the company or authorized representative can submit press releases under the companies name.
