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Caldera Software The Almighty Buck Linux

SCO Execs Dumping Stock 691

luigi6699 writes "According to the Salt Lake Tribune, 'SCO Group executives have sold about 119,000 shares of their company since it filed a lawsuit against IBM in March...' Their CFO started the $1.2 million sell-off just after the lawsuit."
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SCO Execs Dumping Stock

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  • by frieked ( 187664 ) * on Tuesday August 12, 2003 @03:18PM (#6679009) Homepage Journal
    And in other news...
    SCO Group to Shoot Babies
    By Jeff Heard
    Lindon, UT - The SCO Group announced the launch of a campaign to shoot 1% of all babies born in the US.

    "Statistically, 1% of all people are Linux users. Rather than have these young hoodlums grow up without any respect for our intellectual property, we have chosen to nip it in the bud, as it were," said SCO's CEO, Darl McBride.

    In addition, during the campaign announcement, SCO said that individuals could pay $2,499 per child for immunity from execution. "The price goes up to $5,200 dollars after that family's firstborn reaches 18 months, so it is in their advantage to pony up now," McBride continued.

    The announcement brought cheers from SCO's chief investors and supporters, including the Gartner Group, and the BSA (Blind and Shortsighted Alliance). The organizations hailed it as "A brave, innovative step in the fight against intellectual piracy."

    An RIAA spokesperson that was also present said that they were taking serious looks at SCO's proposal for fighting piracy in the music industry. "I think this will be a great deterrent. It will force parents to talk to their kids about the evils of intellectual piracy. In a free economy, this kind of thing is a must."

    SCO, which stands for "Satanic Cultists' Operation," changed its name from Caldera in 2002, when it was acquired by an obscure organization which exclusively employs 1200-year-old undead trial lawyers. They are now embroiled in an ongoing legal battle with IBM, Red Hat, and the Open Source community over alleged copyright infringements embedded inside Linux.

    Speculation has been abound about what will happen if SCO wins the lawsuit. Some have suggested that Linux will disappear entirely from the market. Others have speculated that if SCO loses the lawsuit, it will use its connections with the Underworld to assemble a massive Army of the Dead, march on IBM headquarters, and crush it into a smoldering oblivion. When asked about the possibility of an undead Armageddon scenario, a senior IBM spokesperson said, speaking in stereophonic bass-tones, "This will not happen."

    When booed during the announcement by a large rotten tomato-wielding crowd, McBride exhorted, "I am disappointed with your reaction to our announcement. I must say that your decision to throw tomatoes does not seem conducive to the long-term survivability of your firstborn children."
    • Source (Score:5, Informative)

      by tbdean ( 163865 ) on Tuesday August 12, 2003 @03:25PM (#6679131) Homepage
      At least point at the source:

      SCO Group to Shoot Babies [bbspot.com]

      And haven't you heard? On /. we hate BBSpot [bbspot.com]. It's only on Fark that we love Brian.

    • by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 12, 2003 @03:32PM (#6679260)
      SCO not exactly "loveable" ???

      Check out this additional story about SCO [sltrib.com] at the Salt Lake Tribune website.
    • by Psyx ( 619571 ) on Tuesday August 12, 2003 @04:22PM (#6679861)
      Wow! You did an amazing job. Google News is now reporting this on their front page:

      SCO Execs Dumping Stock
      Slashdot - 10 minutes ago
      Lindon, UT - The SCO Group announced the launch of a campaign to shoot 1% of all babies born in the US.
  • Mainstream media? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Bob McCown ( 8411 ) on Tuesday August 12, 2003 @03:18PM (#6679010)
    Maybe the mainstream media is finally going to get a peek at what we've been talking about for months!
    • by dnoyeb ( 547705 ) on Tuesday August 12, 2003 @03:26PM (#6679159) Homepage Journal
      Doubt it. SCOX stock is not really discussed by any professionals at this point. it has little to no institutional ownership. The players are ignoring SCOX...

      " Their CFO started the $1.2 million sell-off just after the lawsuit."

      I kind of think they started this dump AFTER their stock when through the roof. WHy did their stock go through the roof? First profitable quarter ever. Why was it the first profitable quarter ever? Microsoft. RTFQ(Q=Quarterly report) [Sun also bought a license]

      This was for UNIX licensing, little different that the law suit related stuff sort of.

      BTW, you should see all the sub $1.00 stock options flying about.

      Im into these fools for about 100 shares. On the short side.
    • by RealAlaskan ( 576404 ) on Tuesday August 12, 2003 @06:03PM (#6680706) Homepage Journal
      This is great! If you Google on ``SCO execs dumping stock'' this is what Google news turns up:
      SCO Execs Dumping Stock

      Slashdot - 2 hours ago
      By Jeff Heard. Lindon, UT - The SCO Group announced the launch of a campaign to shoot 1% of all babies born in the US. "Statistically ...
      Try it yourself [google.com], but it probably won't last long.

      This guy [slashdot.org] caught it when it was on Google's Top News [mindspring.com] page.

      This is funny, but it shows that we need to take things like Google with a grain of salt. There's no human in the loop, and sometimes it shows.

  • well... (Score:5, Funny)

    by cruppel ( 603595 ) * on Tuesday August 12, 2003 @03:18PM (#6679012) Homepage
    it's a new, but not suprising meaning to "take a wicked dump."
  • by webslacker ( 15723 ) on Tuesday August 12, 2003 @03:19PM (#6679030)
    I took a dump yesterday too!

    And the contents of my toilet had many similarities to SCO stock!
  • by Scott Lockwood ( 218839 ) on Tuesday August 12, 2003 @03:19PM (#6679034) Homepage Journal
    One really has to wonder - this is SO blatent, why is the SEC not in this up to their necks?
    • by Tom7 ( 102298 ) on Tuesday August 12, 2003 @03:26PM (#6679155) Homepage Journal
      Why, what are they doing that's illegal?
      It's not exactly "insider info" that their lawsuit is shit and their stock as high as it'll ever go...
      • by madcow_ucsb ( 222054 ) <slashdot2@@@sanks...net> on Tuesday August 12, 2003 @03:29PM (#6679209)
        Well, it is illegal if they're making bogus claims to get themselves in the news with the sole purpose of making their stock take off. Then they dump it all before it crashes...
        • by TopShelf ( 92521 ) * on Tuesday August 12, 2003 @03:34PM (#6679289) Homepage Journal
          Whether the claims are bogus or not will be determined in court, and as long as their sales filings to the SEC are in a timely manner, there's nothing to indicate that there's anything improper going on.

          This is a really overblown story. The figure they're quoting is only about 2% of insider shares, so it's not like this is a "pump and dump." Granted, nobody likes what SCO is doing, but this story doesn't cut it...
          • by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 12, 2003 @03:48PM (#6679460)
            So if a company diliberately brings a lawsuit they know is fake purposly to jack up the stock price so they can cash out before the company collapses i't totally ok?
            • by xsbellx ( 94649 ) on Tuesday August 12, 2003 @04:43PM (#6680068) Homepage
              Since when is there a direct connection between lawsuits and stock prices? A bogus lawsuit, of this magnitude, and the executives dumping stock should be seen by the investors (stock owners) for what it is; a really good indication that it's time to run, run far and run fast.

              As much as I don't like what SCO is doing and would love to see them all die a horrible flaming death, what, other than possibly baritry (SP?) have they done that is illegal? Before the flames are unleased, please read the question again, it say ILLEGAL not immoral or stupid.

              If the SCO execs all got together in, oh let's say November, and started buying large (insert abritrary SEC defined number) quantities of stock prior to announcing the suit, that could and to my untrained eyes would, be insider trading and/or fraud.

              Now just to let you in on another little secret, somebody has to be willing to buy what you are selling. So the real question now becomes who are the morons buying good money for a portion of a company that may or may not have a revenue stream? At the present time, anyone who considers SCO stock any better than an other-the-counter, very junior mining stock should start learning a little about investment. The old adage "A fool and his money are soon parted" applies quite well to this situation.
      • by El ( 94934 ) on Tuesday August 12, 2003 @03:39PM (#6679343)
        If I go into a chat room and make false claims about some company in order to make it's stock go up or down, I can be charged with securities fraud. (As at least one person has been.) Why then is it ok to make equally inacurate claims in a press release? These guys are deliberately trying to sabotage the share values of many large companies that have built products around Linux -- including IBM, Oracle, HP, Sharp and many others. Try lying about these companies in a public forum in a transparent attempt to try to drive their stock down, and see if the SEC doesn't come after you!
      • by stephenry ( 648792 ) on Tuesday August 12, 2003 @03:53PM (#6679532)
        This was an interesting post over on Yahoo (concerning the dramatic rise in SCO share price in the closing minutes of trading):

        "100 share lots, and the whole last 1o minutes (half the gain on the day) were done on less than 5000 shares. Thats less than 1/250th ( 0.4% - 4/10 of a percent) of the daily volume accounting for over HALF the closing price.

        If you look at the whole runup at the end, less than 1% of the volume accounted for 80% of the closing price gain.

        Someone is playing real monkey business with this stock.

        I wish there was full disclosure with buying and selling like there is on political donations. It would be very interesting to see who it is that keeps manipulating the closing price."

        That's Illegal.
    • by guanxi ( 216397 ) on Tuesday August 12, 2003 @03:30PM (#6679222)
      It's class action attorneys, and not the SEC, that 'regulate' this behavior. The SEC can't have the resources to regulate every company in the U.S. but class action attorneys, because of the contingency fee structure, do have the resources to sue them.

      Why do you think the corporations complain so much about class action lawyers? You don't hear them whining about the SEC.

      I only say this because I always hear complaints about class action attorneys (which seems strange to me on Slashdot). They perform an essential, and very valuable public service. And yes, they make good money from it -- but only when they win.
      • by milo_Gwalthny ( 203233 ) on Tuesday August 12, 2003 @03:41PM (#6679366)
        Well, they don't only make good money when they win. They generally make good money when they settle, which they seem to do at least 99% of the time. Much of the time they settle for less than what it would cost the sued company to adequately defend the lawsuit. That seems like a shakedown. You don't read about it in the paper, but this happens all the time.

        The other problem with class action litigators is that they keep a huge chunk of whatever damages are collected, rather than giving it to the people damaged. This makes their winnings a de facto penalty, rather than a repayment of damages. Penalties should be imposed by and paid to the government, in my opinion, not by and to individuals. If the class action attorneys can make so much money (and some of them have made a *lot* of money) from penalties, why shouldn't the SEC be allowed to enforce laws and extract penalties? In effect you've outsourced justice to a bunch of unprincipled vigilantes. Not good.
    • by Stone316 ( 629009 ) on Tuesday August 12, 2003 @03:58PM (#6679603) Journal
      Actually, most of the sells were automatic. Ie, a threshold is set and when the stock gets there a certain amount get sold. Its one of the ways execs try to avoid insider trading.
  • by Geekenstein ( 199041 ) on Tuesday August 12, 2003 @03:19PM (#6679039)
    This is a benevolent decision, folks. They want to share the wealth with the rest of the world who buys those shares when their stock price skyrockets. You know, after they prove their claims.

    What? It could happen!
  • Isn't there a law.. (Score:3, Interesting)

    by ihummel ( 154369 ) <ihummel AT gmail DOT com> on Tuesday August 12, 2003 @03:19PM (#6679043)
    against setting company policy solely so you can cash in your stock for a good price and screw the rest of the stockholders who don't know better?
  • HA (Score:5, Funny)

    by Loosewire ( 628916 ) * on Tuesday August 12, 2003 @03:19PM (#6679044) Homepage Journal
    I want to see all their new shareholders (due to them thinking the lawsuit was real and buying more) shit themselves when the price plummets :-)
    • Re:HA (Score:3, Interesting)

      I want to see all their new shareholders (due to them thinking the lawsuit was real and buying more) shit themselves when the price plummets :-)

      That would serve them right. Stocks should be bought and sold based on company worth and profitability.

      It is unnacceptable for people to try to cash in on the legal system. It's almost un-american. I would feel sorry for those stock holders (some are probably legitamate), but I will feel no remorse when those vultures get what is coming to them.
  • by joeldg ( 518249 ) on Tuesday August 12, 2003 @03:19PM (#6679046) Homepage
    they found out that the monopoly money we were all sending to them is not worth anything :)

    Well, this should go down as one of the most obivous scams that has happened on wall street since enron and martha..

    *sigh*
  • SCOX price chart (Score:5, Interesting)

    by killthiskid ( 197397 ) on Tuesday August 12, 2003 @03:21PM (#6679058) Homepage Journal
  • SEC complaint (Score:5, Interesting)

    by IgD ( 232964 ) on Tuesday August 12, 2003 @03:21PM (#6679059)
    The SEC should really look into this. The lawsuit is totally bogus. SCO is definetely not acting in the best interests of its shareholders. SCO seems to be acting in the best interests of Microsoft. It is very curious how Microsoft and SCO reached some kind of licensing agreement in the context of this lawsuit. It is also curious how SCO claims that a single company purchased one of their bogus licenses without disclosing the name. There needs to be full disclosure about the relationship between SCO and Microsoft.
  • by Omnifarious ( 11933 ) <eric-slash AT omnifarious DOT org> on Tuesday August 12, 2003 @03:21PM (#6679060) Homepage Journal

    For this kind of investor fraud, and for extortion, SCO executives should be charged as criminals. Here is an excellent Advogato article [advogato.org] summarizing how and more of why.

  • Duhh, knew that... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by dnoyeb ( 547705 ) on Tuesday August 12, 2003 @03:22PM (#6679070) Homepage Journal
    Uhh yea, its public knowledge. I been spouting off here for a while about that. Also you should see all the gloom and doom in their quarterly report. Nobody can accuse them of anything illegal as they are doing everything in the open...

    We know they do not expect to win...

    Matthew 6:21
    "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."
  • My proposal (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Marqui ( 512962 ) on Tuesday August 12, 2003 @03:23PM (#6679086)
    Pass a law making corporate execs unable to sell their shares when their company is taking part in nonsense suits like this! Captain should go down with the ship, RIGHT?!?!?!?!?
  • by handy_vandal ( 606174 ) on Tuesday August 12, 2003 @03:23PM (#6679097) Homepage Journal

    "Like rats from a sinking ship, these are the days of our lives ...."
  • That's Curious... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Doesn't_Comment_Code ( 692510 ) on Tuesday August 12, 2003 @03:24PM (#6679121)
    They're involved in huge legal battles with two (maybe more) computer superpowers. The entire user base that supports them hates them. And there's now a free version available of everything they sell.

    I wonder why they're selling their stock?
  • by aerojad ( 594561 ) on Tuesday August 12, 2003 @03:24PM (#6679124) Homepage Journal
    If this insider selling continues as an IBM vs. SCO trial were to draw closer, that would mean that SCOs own top brass don't think they much of a chance. Of course of SCO winds up going under, those same top brass will probably have questions asked of them for why they sold before IBM destroyed them (if it happens that way).

    Benifit of the doubt though, insider selling does happen in companies to take profit, and if you look at SCO's 1 year preformance [nasdaq.com] going from 95 cents to 16 dollars at it's recent peak (an increase of nearly 1,700%), you would see why it would seem intelligent to sell.
  • by Neophytus ( 642863 ) on Tuesday August 12, 2003 @03:25PM (#6679128)
    1) no evidence
    2) asking for payment (extortion)
    3) stock prices++
    4) stock selling

    Even she thinks something fishy is going on.
  • by cjustus ( 601772 ) on Tuesday August 12, 2003 @03:27PM (#6679162) Homepage
    Here's the link [yahoo.com] for those that want to see the complete rundown of insiders over the past little while at SCO...
  • by squarooticus ( 5092 ) on Tuesday August 12, 2003 @03:27PM (#6679173) Homepage
    ...this isn't just insider trading: it's fraud pure and simple, and thus should be punished.

    The difference between the two in my eyes is that insider trading charges can target people who have no control over the company's action. Case in point: Martha Stewart, who might have known that the stock was going to drop, but had no control over whether it did or not. Punishing someone for selling because of what they thought seems like an egregious violation of privacy and civil rights AND is incredibly hard to prove; but punishing someone for selling because they engage in the systematic dissemination of disinformation related to the enterprise for the express purpose of increasing their payout at the expense of other stockholders is perfectly justifiable. That, my friends, is fraud.
  • by jonhuang ( 598538 ) on Tuesday August 12, 2003 @03:28PM (#6679194) Homepage
    There, I said it. Sure linux marches on and the company will be pounded by big blue--but they, by which I mean the owners, get the cash for the FUD and run off. Legal liability is borne by SCO, which files for bankruptcy protection.

    There's a lot of gloating here today, but I think that the SCO execs got what they wanted, the lawyers got rich, and everyone else would have benifited from this never happening in the first place.

    gg.
  • by RobertB-DC ( 622190 ) * on Tuesday August 12, 2003 @03:31PM (#6679234) Homepage Journal
    From the R'ing The FA department:
    David Boies' law firm, Boies, Schiller & Flexner, represents SCO. Boies represented former Vice President Al Gore in the 2000 election recount and tried the U.S. antitrust case against Microsoft.

    Wow. Now if that isn't a stellar assortment of huge wins! I'm sure President Gore, who was so helpful in pursuing the now-completed Microsoft breakup, will be happy that his old friend is ensuring that SCO gets what they deserve for their valuable contributions to Linux.

    (Although, ironically, SCO may indeed get just what they deserve...)
  • Could I... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Waab ( 620192 ) on Tuesday August 12, 2003 @03:31PM (#6679237) Homepage

    If I go and buy a share or two of SCOX from one of the many rats fleeing their sinking ship, could I claim that my Linux installs would then be non-infringing since I would be a part owner of the company which "owns" the IP my 2.4.x kernel is supposedly copied from?

  • Bill Gates too (Score:3, Informative)

    by hey ( 83763 ) on Tuesday August 12, 2003 @03:32PM (#6679258) Journal
    Bill Gates Sold 1 Million More Microsoft Common Shares Friday [yahoo.com]
    I guess he releaiszed MSFT's days are numbered ;-)
  • I bet you (Score:3, Insightful)

    by damballah ( 691477 ) on Tuesday August 12, 2003 @03:32PM (#6679261) Homepage Journal
    that the company that bought their license yesterday is a little nervous right now.
  • by HardCase ( 14757 ) on Tuesday August 12, 2003 @03:34PM (#6679286)
    There is some info missing in the article that would probably add a little context.


    Specifically, it doesn't mention the time period over which the sales took place. There is a relatively limited window of time during which "insiders" can sell stock. Generally, it's in the middle of financial quarters and definitely closes well before the quarter's beginning or end.


    Although the article doesn't flat-out say it, it sort of implies that the execs selling stock have been doing it recently. Given the extraordinarily high level of scrutiny to insider trading abuses in publicly traded companies, I would be very surprised if the SCO insiders were anything other than legally scrupulous in their stock sales, particularly in the midst of litigation.


    You may not agree with their position regarding Linux...no, let me rephrase that...you probably think that they are beneath contempt because of their position regarding Linux, but there's nothing unlawful or particularly unethical about realizing that your stock price is outrageously high, you're in an insider trading window and it's almost time for the new model-year Lexus introductions!


    I think they deserve our scorn for playing fast and loose with the GPL and the Community in general, but I doubt they've broken any laws in this instance.


    -h-

  • by The Lynxpro ( 657990 ) <lynxpro@ g m a i l . com> on Tuesday August 12, 2003 @03:41PM (#6679369)
    If I recall correctly (no pun intended since I live in California), the SEC nailed several Nvidia employees over insider trading regarding selling their options after Microsoft announced Nvidia had won the contract for the important chips in the Xbox. Considering SCO's behavior is far more blatent (and from the top of the corporate pyramid versus a few peons) than Nvidia's, I would bet money the SEC will throw the book at them [SCO]. I'd also bet on it since so many high tech companies have historically been the allies of the Republican Party (unlike Apple Computer), crucial for getting the Administration to act on anything (or not to act as in Microsoft)... Finally, since the Defense Department seems so gung-ho on Linux for security purposes these days, I don't think Uncle Sam is going to be happy shelling out $699+ per CPU just so SCO can make a profit off someone else's intellectual property especially when the OS is supposed to be free...
  • Out of proportion? (Score:3, Informative)

    by UID30 ( 176734 ) on Tuesday August 12, 2003 @03:42PM (#6679385)
    I think this may be getting blown out of proportion ... in a previous post [slashdot.org], i reported that their insider activity was spread around 5 execs from SCO ... i'm not sure where the 119,000 share number comes from either ... unless you're mis-calculating Form144 & Form4Option into the mix.

    For the record, a Form144 is not a sell, but simply an insider registration of stock previously unknown to the public float ... and a Form4 Option is an exercise of options at a pre-determined stock price. These forms are usually, but not always, closely followed by Form4 Sells.

    By my calcs, the execs have cashed out for a total of 75k shares worth <$900k between the 5 of them. Not exactly the criminal mastermind plot the article made it out to be ...

    There is a lot to bash SCO about nowdays ... and certainly some execs have made a some money on the over-inflated price ... but this level of paranoia just makes /. look bad.
  • by BadElf ( 448282 ) on Tuesday August 12, 2003 @03:46PM (#6679430)
    If you read the article to its end and clicked the right-arrow at the bottom you get this article:

    SCO not exactly the lovable little guy [sltrib.com]

    I think it's pretty hilarious that SCO can't even get their local press to show them in a good light.
  • by TheSHAD0W ( 258774 ) on Tuesday August 12, 2003 @03:57PM (#6679579) Homepage
    (1) When the Linux crowd proves they aren't using stolen SCO IP, the stock will fall apart, and these guys will face a shareholder's lawsuit and a serious investigation. Expect these guys to get the hell out of the country, fast.

    OR:

    (2) Linux actually *does* have SCO IP stuck in it, and these execs just want to bail out while the stock is high and before people realize that Linux will survive whether it has to pull some code out or not.
  • by MichaelCrawford ( 610140 ) on Tuesday August 12, 2003 @04:09PM (#6679718) Homepage Journal
    From Let's Put SCO Behind Bars [goingware.com]:

    SCO's executives may be personally guilty of violating securities law. I understand its executives have engaged in questionable insider trading, possibly to take advantage of the artificial inflation in SCO's stock price resulting from its allegations. The quantities of stock being sold off by SCO executives does not suggest they really believe they are about to win a billion dollar lawsuit. For insiders to trade based on information that is not available to the general public is an offense for which they may be subjected to stern punishment by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

    The stock of companies offerring Linux products and services may have been unfairly devalued as well. Stockholders in any of the affected companies - either SCO or its competitors - may wish to avail themselves of the Security and Exchange Commission's Investor Complaint Form [sec.gov] to ask that something be done about this. You may not even be aware that you have standing to complain: if you invest in any mutual funds that hold shares in SCO, IBM, Red Hat or any other company that offers Linux products or services, then you have a right to ask the SEC to investigate. Check with your mutual fund to fund out which securities are in its portfolio.

    The article has a Creative Commons license. Please copy it to your own website, or to other message boards. Maybe someone who subscribes to a financial board could post it there. There is also a UBB code version [goingware.com] suitable for message boards that use that format.

  • Dear Slashdot Poster, Earlier today it was brought to our attention that an article posted to the Slashdot.com website mentioned that SCO executives were selling off their interests in the company. This letter is to inform you that the terms "SCO" and "SCO Stock" used in conjunction are owned exclusively by SCO and any unauthorized use without proper licensing is a violation of our intellectual property. In a good-faith effort to allow the general public to bring their posts about the SCO Company into licensing compliance, we are offering you the limited opportunity to properly license the terms "SCO" and "SCO Stock" for only $15,000 USD. This fee will not only allow you to use the terms "SCO" and "SCO Stock" but also the more valuable term "SCO Executives" without the need to pay any further licensing fees. It will be in effect until August 15th 2003 after which the fee will increase to $35,000 USD and WILL NOT include the right to use the term "SCO Executives" in your posts. Please contact SCO if you have any additional questions or to purchase a license. We appreciate your compliance with our demands and hope to have a long business relationship with you in the future. Sincerely, SCO(tm) Check out the great Linux PC I'm selling! [safferconsulting.com]
  • by PineHall ( 206441 ) on Tuesday August 12, 2003 @04:20PM (#6679838)
    http://biz.yahoo.com/t/s/scox.html [yahoo.com]

    Look at SCO VP Wilson did. He bought at very low prices 12,000 shares for $7920 and turned around and sold the shares for about $129,000. That is a nice profit.

    2003-07-15 WILSON, MICHAEL SEAN
    Senior Vice President 6,000 Option Exercise at $0.66 per share.
    (Cost of $3,960)

    2003-07-15 WILSON, MICHAEL SEAN
    Senior Vice President 6,000 Sale at $10.66 - $10.8 per share.
    (Proceeds of about $64,000)

    2003-07-14 WILSON, MICHAEL
    Senior Vice President 6,000 Option Exercise at $0.66 per share.
    (Cost of $3,960)

    2003-07-14 WILSON, MICHAEL
    Senior Vice President 6,000 Sale at $10.77 - $10.87 per share.
    (Proceeds of about $65,000)

  • by dmaxwell ( 43234 ) on Tuesday August 12, 2003 @04:59PM (#6680197)
    Most of the SCO executives are still holding on to quite a bit of stock. They're going to have to pump it a few more times to get rid of it. Now the license announcement is causing slow recovery of the price but in real terms, the price has plateaued and more hammers are going to fall on them. SUSE has all but announced they're cooking up something nasty, Sony and other consumer electronics firms aren't going to want to pay for their bogus licenses. Last but not least, every kernel contributor is a bomb that could go off at any time. Some of them may even have money for ruinious countersuits of their own.

    So what to do? They would have a hard time topping themselves in the outrageous statement department. I see at least four more pumping actions they can pull. They can loudly announce that they will "soon" be filing suit against large corporate users. When the price flattens out again, then they can actually file some of them. Then it's loud announcement time again. This time they'll bleat that individual users and small organizations are being sued. Then they can actually sue a few.

    They're like a turd on the ground. Yeah, we'll be able to squash it but the smell will stick to our shoes for a loooong while.
  • Sorry if this is a bit OT, but I couldn't resist...suggestions?

    [eco2geek@Jean-Luc]$man sco

    SCO(6)

    NAME

    sco - FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt) spreader and SCO Group satirizer

    SYNOPSIS

    sco OPTION

    DESCRIPTION

    SCO Group alleges that IBM misappropriated SCO's intellectual property and put it into Linux. SCO sued IBM for more than $3 billion (up from an original claim of $1 billion) in damages, and sent 1,500 letters to businesses warning them of possible liability for using Linux. Many critics think SCO's tactics are simply a way for a dying company to salvage whatever profitability it can. The most jaded critics allege that SCO's actions are a way for the company management to sell off stock at artificially inflated prices before the company folds (a.k.a. a "pump and dump" scheme).

    -q, --quote

    Displays a quote associated with the case. Quotes come from industry analysts, IBM and SCO Group officials, and leaders in the Linux community.

    -dp, --display-proof

    Displays the Linux kernel code that SCO alleges belongs to it (the result is a blank page, since SCO refuses to release its "evidence" publicly). Press "q" to return).

    -skl, --sco-kernel-license

    Displays the license agreement of the Linux kernel that SCO is distributing with its OpenLinux distribution, on its publicly-accessible ftp site. (Surprise: It's the GPL.)

    -l, --legalize

    Asks if you wish to delete the entire contents of /usr/src/linux as a way to prepare your computer for a "legal" SCO version of the kernel source. If your answer is "y" or "yes", does a realistic job of pretending to delete /usr/src/linux; otherwise, congratulates you on your wisdom and does nothing.

    -lb, --legalize-boot

    Asks if you wish to delete the entire contents of /boot as a way to prepare your computer for a "legal" SCO version of the kernel. If your answer is "y" or "yes", does a realistic job of pretending to delete /boot; otherwise, congratulates you on your wisdom and does nothing.

    -v, --version

    Prints the version and copyright information, then exits.

    AUTHORS

    Sosume Donchuwana and Greedo UnBridled

    DISCLAIMER

    SCO, the SCO Group, and OpenLinux are trademarks or registered trademarks of Caldera International, Inc. and used here for satirical purposes only.

    SEE ALSO

    sco 1.0 - August 2003 - SCO(6)

  • A different idea (Score:5, Informative)

    by Phoenix666 ( 184391 ) on Tuesday August 12, 2003 @05:16PM (#6680342)
    I read in Adbusters once. It was about revoking corporate personhood. Used to be that corporations existed at the sufferance of the public. They were allowed to operate for fixed periods of time, like 5 or ten years. Sort of like the Hudson's Bay Company. At the end of that time they had to petition to renew their right to exist. If they behaved badly, they were squashed like bugs.

    Then there was a landmark case in this country back in the 1800's (Santa Clara County v. the Southern Pacific Railroad) that established that corporations are legal persons. They have all the rights that an actual person has, except they exist potentially forever and don't have any of the responsibilities that you and I have. So essentially General Electric is in the eyes of the law an incredibly large, multi-billionaire. But unlike you or I, GE cannot now be put to death for its crimes.

    Adbuster suggested that either we revoke corporate personhood, or we institute the death penalty for corporations that cannot behave. Ahem, can anyone think of any corporations we might apply this to?

Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd. - Voltaire

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