[rz2k]

I agree that it's not a credible statement. I do not think that their primary interest is the public good, even if the public good is ultimately a beneficiary of their possible discovery of fraud and shorting of GE.

Releasing the statement is meant to fight the implications of the saying, "Markets can remain irrational a lot longer than you and I can remain solvent." In other words, they want the market to move faster toward the correction they believe GE should undergo. They are not disinterested, they need people to believe them.

In fact, this type of statement in retrospect has been the biggest sign that Enron was a fraud that should have been discovered earlier. Typically a fund that has a black box producing returns trades at a lower price than its yields alone would justify. You get punished for not showing your work. Enron on the other hand claimed that their black box deserved a premium.

GE could be a fraud, but when the messenger says not showing their work is a feature, there should be a presumption of shadiness.