fine, but that still does not explain how legitimate, well respected firms on wall street pumped and dumped these enterprises. my point was, this is not a "legitimate function of the market", its fraud.
it would be as if a travel agency trade group got together and said that the existence of travel agencies who take people's vacation money, and they reneg on their trip plans and walk away, is somehow a "legitimate function" of the travel agency business. its not, its fraud.
I agree. There has been fraud in the market in the past and there will be fraud in the future. Even so, our markets remain the most reliable and transparent in the world. However, individuals need to take responsibility for their investments. If something sounds to good to be true...well, you know the saying. Investing in a company selling dog food on the internet, regardless of what they tell you, is just stupid. These kind of investors should be buying money markets and CD's.