Securities and Exchange Commission Head Christopher Cox has introduced IDEA, an interactive system that will let investors more easily access key financial data about mutual funds and public companies. IDEA, which stands for Interactive Data Electronic Applications, Is the successor to the SEC’s EDGAR database and will eventually replace the…
Judge Sidney H. Stein of U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has dropped the securities fraud violation charges against three ex-traders. The nolle prosequi orders conclude the Justice Department’s probe, began in 2005, against 15 New York Stock Exchange specialists for securities fraud violations. Stein set…
The Securities and Exchange Commission and the US Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn are charging Eric Butler and Julian Tzolov, two ex-Credit Suisse brokers, with coming up with an auction-rate securities scam to mislead customers and increase their commissions. The fraud and conspiracy charges relate to the alleged deceptive sales of…
Whistleblower and former UBS Financial Services Senior Vice President Timothy Flynn has been asked to show that the UBS AG subsidiary falls under the federal whistleblower statute. According to Flynn’s attorney, The US Department of Labor made the request. The department is in charge of enforcing the Sarbanes-Oxley Act’s whistleblower…
The Securities and Exchange Commission says it has reached a preliminary settlement agreement with Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith to liquidate about $8.5 billion in auction-rate securities that are still held by the firm’s institutional and retail investors. Small businesses, individual investors, and charities have until January 15, 2010…
TIAA-CREF Enterprises Inc. is once more facing claims of negligent misrepresentation and breach of fiduciary duty following the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit’s reinstatement of the claims. The appeals court, however, did affirm the District Court’s decision to dismiss the 1934 Securities Exchange Act Section 10(b) and…
When investors placed funds in The Ultra Short Fund (Nasdaq: AULTX), managed by The Asset Management Fund (“AMF”), they believed their funds were safely on the sidelines in a money market alternative. Later surprised by substantial losses in this fund, many now seek legal representation. On its website, AMF describes…
As part of his widening investigation into the auction-rate securities market collapse, New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo has subpoenaed Charles Schwab, Fidelity, E*Trade Financial, TD Ameritrade, Oppenheimer & Co., and other ‘downstream’ brokerages that sold the securities to clients even if they did not underwrite them. The Regional…
The nearly $35 billion in auction-rate securities-related frozen debt that Wachovia Corp, Citigroup Inc, JP Morgan Chase & Co, UBS AG, and Morgan Stanley have agreed to repurchase consists of less than 18% of the $200 billion that New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo says is outstanding. Charities, individuals, and…
After months of uncertainty and delays, investors in Auction Rate Securities continue to receive conflicting news about their situation. While some investors may have access to funds in the near future, many have been severely damaged by this debacle and the delays. In settlements with regulators several firms were forced…