David Zetland on political influence, insider trading and Cadiz
Posted on | August 12, 2009 | 1 Comment
DAVID ZETLAND, the Berkeley-based water economist and publisher of Aguanomics, today follows up on Cadiz’s June 5 stock surge and the market position of Cadiz CEO Keith Brackpool: Who knew what when in advance of the Cadiz-issued endorsements of the Cadiz groundwater project by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rep. Jim Costa (D-Fresno) and San Bernardino County Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt?
“What intrigues me is that Brackpool took options on 60,000 shares on May 22,” Zetland writes. “They were worth about $400,000 then and about $750,000 two weeks later. (He only had 90,000 shares before exercising that option. Was it “in the money”? Did he sell those shares?…)”
“Bottom Line,” Zetland writes, “It’s fine to buy and sell water to make a profit. It’s NOT fine to use political influence to change the value of your water trading company. I would not be surprised if Cadiz has crossed that line.”
To read Zetland’s full posting on recent Cadiz trading, click here.
To read Los Angeles Times writer Michael Hiltzik on the June 5 Cadiz trading, click here.
To read more from Chance of Rain on Cadiz, click on the headline: Cadiz Inc boondoggle is back, The rich are different, Question time for Cadiz, Dear Governor, The Governor’s bump
This post has been updated.
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September 24th, 2009 @ 6:43 pm
[…] to the business wires with no trace of it from the governor’s office raised questions in this blog and the Los Angeles Times. Soaring stock prices positioned Mr. Brackpool, who had taken stock […]