RSS Feed
Twitter
Facebook
Email
HomeARS UPDATE: Cries for Help Go Unanswered
Posted by Larry Doyle on February 27th, 2013 8:21 AM |
February 14, 2008: The auction-rate securities market freezes, and tens of thousands of our fellow citizens’ lives are forever changed as that simple American virtue of “trust” goes out the window never to return.
I have long described the ARS market as Wall Street’s greatest scam. Five years out, the pain of this fraud continues and ARS investors’ cries for help go unanswered.
What happened to our country? I will tell you what happened. Our government and regulators are ineffectual at best and corrupt at worst. You do not think so? Let’s navigate. (more…)
Oppenheimer’s Al Loewenthal: Better to Remain Silent and Be Thought a Fool…
Posted by Larry Doyle on March 15th, 2012 8:06 AM |
Reactions I heard to the Jerry Maguire type bombshell launched by former Goldman exec Greg Smith ran the gamut yesterday.
There are those who questioned Mr. Smith’s sanity at committing career suicide. Others appreciated his airing of dirty laundry and “come to Jesus” expose. I personally believe if Mr. Smith wanted to lash out at those at Goldman who created the culture he came to detest, he may have been more laser like in his approach.
The hand grenade he launched into the Goldman camp was the equivalent of friendly fire and also hit plenty of very good people who work very hard to make an honest living everyday. I know very honest and very good people in the firm.
I welcome being the harshest critic of those who deserve to be called out. (more…)
Auction Rate Pain Continues: February 14, 2008 to February 14, 2012 Recommended
Posted by Larry Doyle on February 14th, 2012 6:07 AM |
“Larry, they have forgotten about me. I do not know what to do and I have nowhere to turn.”
In so many words, I received that message from an Oppenheimer Holdings customer just yesterday who continues to be unable to access his cash which remains locked up in auction-rate securities a full four years to the day that the ARS market totally froze.
This is America?
We have an administration and regulators which fabricate settlements and try to support people many of whom were financially imprudent? But who is standing up and speaking out on behalf of those remaining ARS investors who were defrauded by financial intermediaries and cannot access their funds from what were supposedly cash surrogate investments?
Four full years later and tens of thousands of our fellow citizens remain largely disenfranchised and disowned and unable to access tens of billions of dollars that is THEIR MONEY?
This is America? (more…)
Judge Rakoff: “Truth is Confined to Secretive, Fearful Whispers”
Posted by Larry Doyle on November 28th, 2011 6:53 PM |
Many participants in our financial markets and political circles clearly have little interest in allowing a full exposition of facts and figures on a wide array of topics. Why let those trifling principles get in the way of maximizing profits and currying favor for political gain, right?
“That’s not how we roll” here at Sense on Cents. Truth, transparency, and integrity are ALWAYS the order of the day.
Our prized virtues may not be embraced in our nation and the world at large, but that does not mean we should or will ever forsake them. (more…)
ARS Update: Jefferson County, Oppenheimer Holdings
Posted by Larry Doyle on November 15th, 2011 7:33 PM |
The world of Wall Street may go on but for many tens of thousands of investors their financial world has remained locked in place since February 2008 when the $330 billion auction-rate market froze like the tundra.
The pain of that reality remains fresh for so many who remain unable to access THEIR cash and receive real justice for THEIR emotional pain and anguish.
Wall Street certainly wishes that this ARS issue could or would just go away. (more…)
What Should ‘Occupy Wall Street’ Demand?
Posted by Larry Doyle on October 11th, 2011 9:44 AM |
I received a call yesterday from a reporter from a highly regarded periodical inquiring about my recent commentary, ‘Occupy Wall Street’ Should ‘Occupy Washington’.
Having had a number of previous discussions with this reporter, I welcomed her question as to what I thought the OWS movement should look to achieve or demand.
I prefaced my comments by stating that I hope civil unrest and random violence do not come from these demonstrations. America needs a lot of things but we certainly do not need riots. (more…)
ARS Investor Seeks Help for ‘Theft by Any Other Name’
Posted by Larry Doyle on August 15th, 2011 6:00 AM |
The twists and turns in the ongoing saga of the auction-rate securities nightmare are replete with some of the most gut-wrenching personal stories I have experienced.
Regulators like to trumpet the progress made on cleaning up the ARS mess over the years.
Let’s hold the applause for these regulators because a full three and a half years have passed and approximately $100 billion remains frozen in those ARS which were pitched as cash surrogate, money market equivalent securities.
Over and above the cash, little attention is paid by the media or others to elevate and expose the personal nightmares of those individuals and businesses which continue to hold these frozen ARS. (more…)
President Obama, “Are You In?”
Posted by Larry Doyle on May 25th, 2011 7:57 AM |
Information is everything.
Regular readers of Sense on Cents are well aware of my having written that statement on many an occasion. Those on Wall Street who gain early access to critical information have a decided advantage. Those in Washington who gain the upper hand in controlling the flow of information are also at a decided advantage.
As these realities become ever more prevalent, Americans and people worldwide are working harder and digging deeper to attain unbridled access to information in order to determine the truth and promote transparency. With major media outlets often failing us in these pursuits, where do we turn for this information? The internet.
Against this backdrop, I am not surprised to see political powers in Washington accept and embrace the reality of the power of the information superhighway and put an ‘eye in the sky’ in order to monitor the traffic. To what do I allude? (more…)
Merrill Lynch Lawyer Told Eliot Spitzer: “Be Careful, We Have Powerful Friends”
Posted by Larry Doyle on April 18th, 2011 8:29 AM |
Is the need to repair the health of our financial system SO GREAT, that we should be willing to allow the basic rights of individuals and the laws of our land to be trampled and violated in the process? In my opinion, this very question is central to the rage that burns in so many hearts across our great land.
Bailing out banks may be anathema to those who love and cherish capitalism BUT not pursuing justice and real accountability for the transgressions of those individuals and those institutions central to our crisis is sickening. I believe it is inherently un-American to allow these transgressions to pass without proper prosecution. Which transgressions? (more…)
Amerivet Wins Round in Amerivet v. FINRA
Posted by Larry Doyle on March 5th, 2011 10:01 AM |
Did the Wall Street regulator FINRA have funds from its own internal investment portfolio invested directly or indirectly in Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme? Did FINRA effectively front run the auction-rate securities market in 2007 when it liquidated a position of approximately $647 million ARS from that same internal portfolio?
Do you think investors and all Americans would like to know the answers and details to these questions and much more? Do you think we deserve to know these answers? You think?
After developments this week, we are that much closer to learning answers to these questions and potentially much more about Wall Street’s regulator FINRA. How so? Let’s navigate.
The donnybrook legal battle continues between Amerivet Securities of Moreno Valley, California and the Wall Street self-regulatory organization FINRA. For those keeping score, the latest round this week was a decided victory for Amerivet. Why do I believe this specific case and the allegations made by Amerivet are so important? (more…)
