-Caveat Lector- German market regulator to look into claims of suspicious short-selling before attacks By DAVID McHUGH, Associated Press FRANKFURT, Germany (September 17, 2001 11:35 a.m. EDT) - Germany's stock market regulator said Monday it was looking into claims of suspicious short-selling before the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington last week. The German agency's statement came amid market rumors that Osama bin Laden may have tried to profit from stock trading before the attacks. Published reports have said European and U.S. investigators were checking stock movements of three big European reinsurance companies - Germany's Munich Re, Switzerland's Swiss Re and AXA of France. Reinsurance companies provide coverage for losses by insurers. Industry experts have said losses due to the attacks could reach $20 billion. Sabine Reimer, a spokeswoman for Germany's federal securities regulator, said it was looking at shares as part of routine market observation of share price developments and trade volume, "within the scope of our usual responsibilities." Reimer stressed that it was too early to say what shares might be involved or what kind of investigation might result, "but the devastating events of last week make routine examination of shares all the more important." Asked about reports that the terrorists may have tried to profit from the attacks, U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill, appearing on CBS Monday, would say only: "As part of our general program to go after these rotten people, we're going to track down every terrorist and expected terrorist and we're going to confiscate their money wherever it is in the world. And I think we'll have the cooperation of every financial institution in every civilized society in the world. We're going to shut these people down." Uwe Velten, a spokesman for Deutsche Boerse, the Frankfurt stock market, said officials investigated trading in Munich Re stocks and found nothing suspicious on "the decisive days." On the Wednesday, Thursday and Friday before the attacks, Munich Re fell 4 percent, 5 percent and 4 percent, respectively. The share fell 16 percent the day of the attacks. The DAX index was down 3 percent each of the same days and 8 percent on the day of the attack. Munich Re spokesman Rainer Kueppers said Sunday the legal department of his company knew nothing about an investigation by German authorities into suspicious trades in its shares. Short-selling involves offering shares of a stock that the seller does not yet own in the expectation that the investor will be able to buy the stock at a cheaper price than he has promised to sell. Axa and Swiss Re refused to comment Monday. However, the Swiss stock exchange said it was conducting a routine investigation of the share movements. Spokesman Juerg von Arx declined further comment. Ettore Candolfi, a member of the exchange's board, said the exchange would be conducting a price pattern analysis on Swiss Re, a routine occurrence when there was an unusual movement in the price - such as the 17-percent drop after the attacks Tuesday. "There was a certain rise in volumes in the four days before the fact, but you have to bear in mind that the company also released its first half earnings," the Friday before the attack, Candolfi said. Given this, trading volume wasn't unusual, he added. Analyst Chris Hitchings, who follows the insurance industry for Commerzbank in London, conceded that "certainly, there was weakness in the share prices of the two companies." "But there are rational explanations for the price movements" without involving bin Laden, he added, noting that Swiss Re's earnings had fallen short of expectations. After the attacks, Swiss Re said it alone expects to cover $730 million in losses from the destruction of the World Trade Center, and Munich Re estimated its exposure at up to $903 million. Also Monday, Alberto Aghemo, spokesman for Italy's stock market regulator Consob, said the agency is investigating whether there were anomalies on the day of the attacks or the days before. He refused to say whether these checks were made at the request of American authorities. France's market watchdog declined Monday to say whether it has opened an inquiry on possible short-selling of stocks, but stressed the need for extra vigilance. Stock exchanges and regulators in London declined to comment on whether they were investigating. But in Tokyo, Nobohiro Hayashi, spokesman for the Japanese Financial Supervisory Agency, said his agency was investigating possible stock manipulation in relation to the attacks. However, he refused to comment on whether there were unusual fluctuations in the Tokyo stock market before the attack or to give other details. Steve Wingate, Webmaster ANOMALOUS IMAGES AND UFO FILES http://www.anomalous-images.com <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. 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