Chinese companies sue anonymous shorter "Alfred Little"

Deer Consumer Products (DEER.NASDAQ) and Sino Clean Energy (SCEI.NASDAQ) are attempting to sue an anonymous stock blogger who writes under the pen name “Alfred Little” for defamation in US courts after Little’s accusations of fraud and financial misstatements caused both companies’ stocks to decline, Bloomberg reported. The Chinese companies are also suing the websites that published Little’s blogs, including Seeking Alpha. Shenzhen-based Deer was the subject of a report by Little that alleged the firm had inflated sales figures and engaged in other forms of corporate malfeasance; Deer shares subsequently declined 41% on the NASDAQ exchange. Shares in Sino Clean Energy were driven down 49% by Little and a report published by stock research company GeoInvesting. Little’s report alleged that observations of Sino Clean Energy’s manufacturing plants revealed “no meaningful production.” Last week shares in Sino-Forest (SNOFF.NASDAQ) plunged 71% after a report by short seller Carson Block’s firm Muddy Waters said the company had cooked its books; Sino-Forest is now considering action against Muddy Waters. Analysts say such suits are usually difficult to win. Alfred Little argued that short selling is beneficial for the market in an editorial in China Economic Review‘s June issue.