CNBC Pulls Analyst Off The Air
The cable TV business network CNBC temporarily pulled one of its guest analysts off the air Wednesday after ethics questions arose about whether he was trading and commenting on a stock at the same time.
The network said that the move, involving James Cramer, a professional money manager, had to do with comments Cramer made two weeks ago about the stock of Internet company WavePhore Inc.
Cramer is expected to return to his role as a biweekly guest commentator on the program, although no timetable has been set, CNBC spokesman George Jamison said.
"By no means is this permanent or long-term," Jamison said.
WavePhore, a developer of online broadcasting technology, complained that Cramer said on the Dec. 2 CNBC program Squawk Box that he had tried to "short" the company's stock, a legal investment strategy based on the hope that a company's stock price will fall.In short-selling, an investor borrows shares and sells them immediately, hoping to buy them back at a lower price and pocket the difference.
On the show, Cramer said a recent rise in WavePhore's stock was based on speculation and might not last.
On Wednesday, he angrily denied trying to short sell the stock. He explained that he had simply asked the investment firm Goldman Sachs if there was any WavePhore stock available to borrow because he was investigating whether other investors were short-selling the stock.
Cramer said he does not own any shares of WavePhore and said he discloses all of his holdings to CNBC and the various publications he writes for.
"I have 100 percent disclosure at all times. I would like to see who else has that," he said.
Cramer runs the $340 million investment fund Cramer, Berkowitz & Co. and, in addition to his CNBC appearances, is widely known for his columns in GQ, The New York Observer and TheStreet.Com, the Internet investment news service he co-founded two years ago.
WavePhore stock had soared 72 percent to $15.25 the day before Cramer's Dec. 2 appearance.
Since the show, WavePhore stock has fallen and was trading at $8.43 3/4 Wednesday morning on the Nasdaq Stock Market. WavePhore has asked the Nasdaq and the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate the trading prior to Cramer's remarks.
Written By Eric R. Quinones, AP Business Writer