Energis & Morley Fund Management Limited - What's Going On?

I'm all for making money and learning of ingenious ways of doing so. However, I can't say that I'd place a bet on any event whether it be a horse race, a game of football, an election or the lottery even, if I knew that the outcome had been pre-determined by those in control of the event itself.

The law in most civilised countries also takes a dim view of such skullduggery. The fixing of sporting events is generally illegal, as is the gerrymandering of elections as far as I am aware, which I'm sure most of you will be relieved to hear.

That being the case, why then do we tolerate the manipulation of share prices by those with the means and powers to do so?

Let me put it another way, imagine that you're just about to place a spread bet on the price of a share or take out a T10 but just as you're on the phone to your broker, s/he informs you that the price of the share you're about to speculate on has already been decided for the next week, month and year. Furthermore, that it's every movement, in other words, it's chart has been mapped out for the forseeable future. Would you still proceed with your bet/deal under such conditions?

Before you answer, consider this, that your broker then informs you that the price of the share or its movement may be altered at any stage by those with the means to do so, in their favour and not yours. For instance, irrespective of whether the share in question had been heavily purchased or sold, the company had performed well or atrociously, the price will be dictated purely by those in a position to do so and that in theory, could include your broker who takes your and many others' order, say at a higher price, drives the price down by 50% or so because they can do so, then fulfills the order at half the price you paid, that's if you haven't exercised the panic button yet.

Well, would you still proceed? I suspect not. So why do we and those governing the integrity of the UK markets permit/tolerate it? I'll tell you why, it's because the LSE is one of the most corrupt in the world, that's why!

If you don't believe me then speak to those who trade in other countries including those that make a living on foreign exchanges, they'll tell you the same thing, that the LSE stinks to high heaven of corruption. Afterall, in which country did Nick Leeson hone his skills in?

Now, back to EGS, you may have detected a degree of cynicism in my posting and you'd be right. I'm currently holding a fair amount of Energis shares and as a consequence, quite a large loss. Fortunately, I'm in a position to hold on for as long as it takes for the price to recover to levels where I'll reap considerable profits. It's only a matter of time IMHO and I genuinely believe that I'll be back in profit with my EGS shares within the first 3 months of 2002.

The AOL deal is in the bag and it's a biggy! That's what makes it all the more frustrating, when you know you're right!

Sorry to be such a whinger, if you knew me personally, you'd appreciate that I'm generally a fun loving criminal, that tries to see the bright side of life on most occasions, but the markets at the moment are just taking the piss as far as I'm concerned.

Anyway, I'm going to have a very Merry Christmas regardless, and I wish everyone on these boards the same. If you're holding these stress-makers, don't despair, you're going to have a very prosperous New Year IMHO.