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This investigative story by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch looks at the power of the "boiler room" brokers who sell "stock in obsure U.S. companies" to foreign investors at a markup price. These companies, which sometimes operate with just a phone number and a Web site, eventually pack up and leave the investors holding on to useless and unattractive stock. According to the questionnaire, the investigation "explained how scarce resources, juisdictional questions and other obstacles have prevented American and foreign regulators and law-enforcement officials from shutting down the rings, or even putting a serious dent in their business."