Wednesday, March 1, 2006

SEC Subpoenas Journalists On Overstock Stock Manipulation

The SEC has issued subpoenas to Herb Greenberg of MarketWatch, and Jim Cramer of TheStreet.com, two financial journalists, over coverage of Salt Lake City, Utah-based Overstock.com. Greenberg said in a column yesterday that he and a colleage at Dow Jones & Co. had received subpoenas demanding telephone records, e-mails, and other documents related to Overstock.com. Reportedly, the journalists received the subpoenas as part of a probe into manipulation of the company's stock. Overstock is embroiled in a lawsuit against Rocker Partners, a hedge fund, and Gradient Analytics, a research firm, over alleged conspiracy to drive down the company's stock. According to Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne in an interview on CNBC, the company was not behind the investigation.