Posts Tagged ‘SEC’
Posted by Larry Doyle on August 10th, 2010 6:42 AM |
Without information there can be no real truth. Without truth there can be no real justice. Without justice, what is the quality of our nation and ultimately our civilization?
Why do so many Americans remain enraged at the economic travesty of the last few years? For the very simple reason that those regulators who were charged to protect American investors not only failed in their initial charge but to a large extent have continued to fail investors by not aggressively pursuing justice where financial improprieties–if not outright fraud–transpired.
To this end, why am I not surprised that many auction-rate securities holders have quickly directed their attention and focus to the state of Colorado where securities commissioner Fred Joseph has filed a complaint against E*Trade for improperly marketing and distributing auction-rate securities. Other ARS holders are hoping Commissioner Joseph will take a similar tact on their behalf against other firms for the same reason.
In order for the Colorado state securities commissioner to pursue the truth, he needs the information. (more…)
Tags: ARPS, ARS, auction rate cases, auction rate securities cases, auction rate securities holders, Chuck Reinhardt in Colorado State Securities Office, Colorado securities commissioner, Colorado State Securities Commissioner, E*Trade, financial regulation, FINRA, FINRA liquidation of auction-rate securities, Fred Joseph, GIM, Greenwich Investment Management, Larry Doyle, Mario Cuomo, Oppenheimer, SEC, Sense on Cents, state attorneys general
Posted in ARPS, ARS, General | 13 Comments »
Posted by Larry Doyle on August 4th, 2010 7:29 AM |
Washington and Wall Street are skilled at utilizing smoke and mirrors to advance their collective agenda. The simple fact is most of our Washington operatives do not understand basic financial concepts. The reality of the situation is that our supposed leaders are content to remain blind to the realities of finance as long as Wall Street continues sending campaign funds their way.
Fortunately, others in our nation take a more impassioned view of the world and aggressively question where Washington often passes. To this end, I thank a friend who shared the following letter highlighted today at the Project on Government Oversight on our new favorite topic about the lack of transparency at the SEC.
This letter is comprehensive in addressing a number of critically important points. Do you ever wish that we could have representatives from these organizations questioning not only our elected officials, but also our appointed officials such as Mary Schapiro? I wish that all the time. Please take a few minutes to ponder the issues embedded in this letter. Ask yourself whom you really believe are protecting your interests.
August 3, 2010
Senator Christopher Dodd
Chairman
Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs
534 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510 (more…)
Tags: American Association of Law Libraries, American Library Association, Angela Canterbury, Barney Frank, Christopher Dodd, Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington, CREW, Dodd-Frank Act, Essential Information, financial regulation, financial regulatory reform, financial regulatory structure, FOIA, freedom of information act, GAP Government Accountability Project, GIM, Greenwich Investment Management, Investment advisers Act of 1940, Investment Company Act of 1940, Liberty Coalition, Mary Schapiro, OMB Watch, OpenTheGovernment.org, POGO, project on Government Oversight, Public Citizen, rule 9291, SEC, section 9291, Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Senator Patrick Leahy, Sense on Cents, Sunlight Foundation, transparency at the SEC, Washington Wall Street incest
Posted in General, SEC | 5 Comments »
Posted by Larry Doyle on August 1st, 2010 11:41 AM |
Does the SEC believe it needs to restrict the public’s access to information in order to gain the favor of those from whom it is requesting the information in the first place (that is banks, hedge funds, and money managers)? Is ‘looking toward the future’ a convenient line of reasoning when, in fact, the SEC is actually more concerned with skeletons from its past? Which skeletons might these be? Can you say Bernie Madoff and Allen Stanford? Is America supposed to take the SEC’s own internal reviews of these frauds as sufficient explanation as to the SEC’s failures on these frauds?
While many in the financial industry have little interest in ever again hearing the name Bernie Madoff, one individual in our nation continues the fight for justice from this massive fraud. To whom do I refer? Helen Davis Chaitman of Becker & Poliakoff.
Some may recall that last November I interviewed Ms. Chaitman, pro bono legal representative for a large number of Madoff investors. She provided riveting insights then and she did not disappoint on a recent interview on Fox Business. Helen is not bashful in highlighting that she plans on suing the SEC for its failings in the Madoff scam.
Is the SEC looking to restrict access to information because of Helen’s pending lawsuit? Let’s listen . . .
Helen is not only speaking up on behalf of Madoff investors, but she is truly standing up on behalf of all American investors. I commend her. No surprize that Helen is a decorated member of the Sense on Cents Hall of Fame!
LD
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Tags: Bernie Madoff, freedom of information request, Helen Davis Chaitman, Helen Davis Chaitman of Becker & Poliakoff, Madoff, Madoff Group for Investors Protection, Madoff investors, Madoff Ponzi scam, Mary Schapiro, SEC, SEC FOIA, SEC Madoff investigation, SEC restricting freedom of information
Posted in General, SEC | 1 Comment »
Posted by Larry Doyle on July 26th, 2010 6:30 AM |
A few weeks back, I chastised a local financial commentator, Julie Jason, for her condescending demeanor toward Madoff investors. This week, I am happy to praise Ms. Jason for her intuitive nature and exploratory work on mutual fund fees and expenses.
All too often we hear asset managers touting their performance and investment expertise. I have hardly ever heard an asset manager addressing the fees and expenses charged for their so-called management expertise. To this end, I tip my hat to Julie Jason for highlighting this critically important topic in writing, Helping Figure Out the Fees:
You may have heard that mutual fund 12b-1 fees, part of the operating expenses of a fund, will be eliminated, which would imply that mutual fund shareholders could benefit from lower costs. Lower costs should mean higher performance.
Don’t be so hasty! Wall Street does not merely allow fees to walk out the door. (more…)
Tags: 12b-1 fees, asset based sales charge, database of mutual funds, expense ratio, expenses in funds, fund expenses, GIM, Greenwich Investment Management, helping figure out the fees, Julie Jason, Larry Doyle, Morningstar Principia, mutual fund fees, mutual fund performance, mutual funds, operating expenses of mutual funds, SEC, Sense on Cents, service fees, total operating expenses, usury, wall street fees
Posted in General, mutual funds | 1 Comment »
Posted by Larry Doyle on July 22nd, 2010 1:15 PM |
One would think the SEC’s settlement with Goldman Sachs was just the break we needed in the logjam to finally get some real truth and transparency into Wall Street business practices. Recall that the Goldman CDO Abacus represented a mere .2 of the total CDO market from 2006-2008.
There must be many more fish in that tank just waiting to get caught by the SEC. American taxpayers deserve nothing less than a full and total accounting and adjudication of the travesty and transgressions embedded in a number of structured transactions on Wall Street. Will we receive that accounting? Is the SEC sending a strong message to those on Wall Street that ‘there’s a new sheriff in town?’ Or is the SEC placating the American public, applying a sizable slap on the wrist to Goldman, and giving Wall Street a wink and a nod indicating that it is ‘business as usual?’ Let’s navigate. (more…)
Tags: Abacus CDO, Adam Pritchard University of Michigan Law School, After Goldman's Concession, business as usual, CDO underwriters, Goldman Sachs SEC, Goldman Sachs settlement, Lloyd Blankfein, Mary Schapiro, New York Times, Regulator May Be Satisfied, Robert Khuzami, SEC
Posted in General, Goldman Sachs, SEC | 4 Comments »
Posted by Larry Doyle on June 14th, 2010 11:45 AM |
While the United States has very clearly chosen the Japanese path of ‘kicking the can down the road’ to deal with our current economic crisis, the Republic of Ireland has chosen the Swedish approach of ‘take your medicine as quickly as possible.’ Economists and analysts will debate the merits and shortcomings of each style for a long time. That said, is there anything we can learn currently from our friends in Ireland? (more…)
Tags: Anglo Irish bank, Celtic tiger, collapse of Lehman Brothers, FINRA, Ireland's Financial Lessons, Irish catholic guilt complex, Irish Nationwide, Irish transparency and integrity, Japanese style vs Swedish style, kick the can down the road, Klaus Regling and Max Watson, Patrick Honohan, Republic of Ireland, SEC, take your medicine as quickly as possible, the collapse of the Celtic tiger, thousand year storm, Wall Street-Washington incest, who is Patrick Honohan
Posted in General | No Comments »
Posted by Larry Doyle on June 2nd, 2010 1:20 PM |
Has America lost the courage to aggressively address those who commit fraud? Is the American public even aware of the massive fraud perpetrated by those in our financial system which led to our current economic crisis? Are those in Washington willing to take a stand, risk their own skins, call out those engaged in fraud, even if some of the fraudsters occupy neighboring seats at nearby regulatory bodies?
Unless we find people in our government who are willing to make these calls, repeat them publicly in a long, loud fashion, and compel prosecutors to issue indictments, then I fear our union will pay a price and incur a cost that may be immeasurable.
Why so strong? Why so strident? (more…)
Tags: addressing fraud, AIG, Arlen Specter, Barack Obama, Ben Bernanke, bill thomas, Brooksley Born, caveat emptor, CDS, Charles Keating, Conspiracy of Fools, control frauds, Dick Cheney, economic theory, efficient market hypothesis r, Enron scandal, Fannie Mae, FCIC, Financial crisis inquiry commission, financial frauds, fraud in our economy, frauds, Freddie Mac, George Akerlof, George W. Bush, Goldman Sachs, Hank Paulson, heather murren, how to address fraud, IBG YBG, indict fraudsters, investigating fraud, James Stewart's Den of Thieves, Joe Biden, John K. Galbraith, John Paulson, Kurt Eichenwald, Levy Economics Institute, liar loans, Lloyd M. Bentsen Jr. chair in Government Business Relations, market discipline, Mary Schapiro, Nelson's Eye, neutron loans, ninja loans, Paul Romer, Peter Fisher, phil angelides, rational expectations, Representative Doggett, Robert Johnson, Savings and loan fraud, SEC, speculation, systemic fraud, Thomas Ferguson, Tim Geithner, University of Texas, Wall Street, Washington, William K. Black
Posted in General | 4 Comments »
Posted by Larry Doyle on May 21st, 2010 9:05 AM |
In the midst of all the legislative wrangling in Washington and the financial gyrations on Wall Street, what does it all mean for everyday American investors? I am not so sure it means all that much. How much are everyday Americans impacted by proprietary trading, derivatives, merged regulators? Very little actually. I am not writing this to discount the proposed financial regulatory reform coming out of Washington, but I remain underwhelmed that it will truly protect everyday investors from the ways of Wall Street.
To this end, I am happy to propose my own Sense on Cents Financial Reforms which I believe regulators should impose on financial intermediaries (brokers, bankers, money managers, et al). I am not only proposing these reforms here, but I am sharing them today with Washington based financial regulators. In deference to my readers, you’re getting the first look. Feel free to share your thoughts on my proposed reforms, and add others which you believe should be implemented. (more…)
Tags: caveat emptor, competency risks, corporate credit risks, counterparty risks, currency risks, derivatives, extension risks, financial reforms, financial regulation, financial regulators, financial regulatory reforms, FINRA, how will financial regulatory reforms impact everyday Americans, interest rate risks, investment risks, liquidity risks, market risks, options, prepayment risks, proprietary trading, Risk Parameters, SEC, Sense on Cents, structure risks, transparency risks, volatility risks, Wall Street, what is a prospectus
Posted in General, Wall Street, regulation | 8 Comments »
Posted by Larry Doyle on May 18th, 2010 3:21 PM |
More evidence of the fraud surrounding auction-rate securities is exposed this morning in a story highlighting how Thomas Weisel Partners ’stuffed’ $15.7 million of auction-rate securities into client accounts in order to raise cash to pay bonuses. The Wall Street Journal reports, Weisel Accused of ‘Stuffing’ Auction-Rate Securities:
Finance industry regulators have charged Thomas Weisel Partners and one of its former executives with improperly “stuffing” $15.7 million of auction-rate securities into client accounts in order to raise cash to pay bonuses. (more…)
Tags: ARS, FINRA, FINRA investigates Weisel, SEC, Stephen Henry Brinck Jr., Thomas Weisel, Weisel Accused of 'Stuffing' Auction-Rate Securities, Weisel stuffed ARS into accounts, will SEC investigate FINRA sale of ARS
Posted in ARPS, ARS, Auction Rate Securities scandal, General | 5 Comments »
Posted by Larry Doyle on May 13th, 2010 2:18 PM |
News that the SEC and federal prosecutors are further investigating Wall Street firms involved in the structuring and distribution of CDOs (collateralized debt obligations) is not a surprise. Although Goldman Sachs has been targeted initially for its marketing of an Abacus transaction in conjunction with Paulson and Co., the simple fact is Goldman was not anywhere close to the largest player in this space. Who was? Well, I should more appropriately ask, “Who wasn’t?” All of Wall Street jumped on the CDO gravy train. (more…)
Tags: Abacus, CDO structuring, CDOs, Citigroup, collateralized debt obligations, Deutsche Bank, don't lie to me, FINRA, Goldman Sachs, how were CDOs structured, John Paulson, JP Morgan Chase, SEC, UBS, Wall Street CDO investigation, Wall Street mortgage-backed securities, Wall Street Probe Widens, Wall Street sales, what is a CDO, world of Wall Street CDOs
Posted in General | 6 Comments »
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