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Posts Tagged ‘Securities and Exchange Commission’

$14 Million Whistleblower Award w/o Details

Posted by Larry Doyle on October 2nd, 2013 7:23 AM |

What state mottoes do you like most?

I am personally partial to New Hampshire’s “Live Free or Die” but in light of the opacity displayed across Wall Street and Washington over the last 4 to 5 years, I have a growing appreciation for Missouri as the “Show Me” state:

A name attributed to Representative Willard Van Diver. It connotes a certain self-deprecating stubbornness and devotion to simple common sense.

How about that? Common sense? What a novel concept in light of recent events in our nation and certainly applicable for my blog.

But I think about Missouri this morning given breaking news out of the SEC regarding its first meaningful whistleblower award in perhaps the last 25 years and its largest award ever. Isn’t this the type of thing to highlight and promote?   (more…)

SEC Outside Investigator Should Also Look Into. . . Recommended

Posted by Larry Doyle on May 8th, 2012 9:59 AM |

Perhaps it is only fitting that my 2000th post since launching Sense on Cents in January 2009 is directed at issues within our nation’s top financial cops at the SEC.

How interesting that a report is released today indicating that the SEC is bringing in an outside investigator to probe allegations of inappropriate activities within the Office of Inspector General during the tenure of the recently departed IG David Kotz.  (more…)

Can Whistleblowers ‘Cross-Examine’ the SEC? Part II

Posted by Larry Doyle on January 10th, 2012 6:37 PM |

My commentary the other day entitled Can Whistleblowers ‘Cross-Examine’ the SEC? received a fair bit of attention and some rather interesting comments. In light of the very fluid developments within the realm of financial regulation, I strongly recommend that post.

The primary concern I raised within that commentary – and hence the title – was that a key panel at the upcoming 39th Annual Securities Regulation Institute consists solely of industry insiders. Why might that be such a concern?

Well, one of the main critiques of our financial regulatory system made by many, including Harry Markopolos, has been the revolving door between our regulators and the industry.

Why is a revolving door such a concern? Stick with me here.  (more…)

Connecting the Dots: The US Attorney, the SEC, Art Samberg, Pequot Capital, Hush Money, Lying, and More

Posted by Larry Doyle on December 27th, 2010 12:22 PM |

This commentary and attached story are a little lengthy but very important. I hope you will take the time to read, review, and share. LD

Is it possible that our nation can experience a historic demise in our economy and markets with little if any criminal activity involved in that process? Was our economic and market meltdown largely ‘a perfect storm’?

I do not buy those who would put forth that line of reasoning. Nor do I think should you.

Does it defy logic to think that our nation has been hit with trillions of dollars in losses and untold economic pain but only a relative handful of individuals were involved in criminal behaviors connected to this turmoil? Yes, that does defy logic.

Where are the criminal prosecutions? (more…)

How Did FINRA Know the ARS Market Was Failing Well Before 2007?

Posted by Larry Doyle on December 1st, 2010 10:24 PM |

If you knew a market were starting to fail, would you step in and purchase that asset?

If that market were failing, but simultaneously being propped up by underwriters, do you believe regulators should protect you?

If that market were failing and a regulator charged with protecting you actually dumped some of those failing assets from its own portfolio, how would you feel?

If you owned some of these securities, do you think you might be protected by the regulator? The government?

Let’s reenter the world of auction rate securities and continue to bang the drum for those investors in America who have been so badly mistreated by the financial industry, the regulators charged with protecting them, and our government.

Although I have written voluminously on the auction-rate securities market, I was never fully aware of when auctions started to fail. Until now. (more…)

SEC Settles with Great American Gary Aguirre, or Wall Street-Washington Incest Personified RECOMMENDED

Posted by Larry Doyle on June 29th, 2010 1:15 PM |

Thanks very much to a regular reader of Sense on Cents for sharing a fascinating story. The Government Accountability Project just released the following story regarding a significant settlement paid by the SEC to a former SEC attorney Gary Aguirre. This story highlights the Wall Street-Washington incest to the ‘nth’ degree. Will the media pick this story up and highlight it? They should.

With the details provided in this story, Gary Aguirre clearly shows himself to be a great American and as such earns immediate induction into the Sense on Cents Hall of Fame. The General Accountability Project reports SEC Settles with Aguirre:

In what may be the largest settlement of its kind, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has agreed to pay $755,000 to settle the wrongful termination claim of Gary J. Aguirre, the attorney who headed the SEC’s insider trading investigation of Pequot Capital Management until his firing in September 2005. (more…)

SEC Oversight of Lehman, or Ignorance is Not Bliss

Posted by Larry Doyle on April 1st, 2010 9:42 AM |

Ignorance is never an excuse. Whether in regard to law enforcement, financial regulation, or other forms of supervisory oversight, ignorance may be the reality . . . but we can never allow it to be used as an excuse. Regrettably, ignorance (if not worse) was clearly on rampant display as the SEC (and in my opinion, FINRA as well) failed America miserably in its oversight of Lehman Brothers.

One of my favorite financial journalists, Bloomberg’s Jonathan Weil, highlights the pathetic performance of the SEC regulators who were charged with overseeing one of the firms that catapulted our economy off a cliff. Weil writes, Wall Street’s Repo 105 Cops Wake Up From Dead:

The good news this week from the Securities and Exchange Commission is that it’s on the hunt for companies that have used Lehman-style accounting tricks to make themselves look less leveraged than they really are. Now for the downside: The headline-chasing agency is way too late, as usual. (more…)

Erik Sirri and the Costs of a Politicized SEC

Posted by Larry Doyle on March 31st, 2010 6:27 AM |

When the exchange of financial ideas and, more importantly, capital becomes excessively politicized there are very real costs. Although those involved in the politicization process of these markets and exchanges may define the increased intervention of political influences as “in the best interests” of all involved, the supposed near term benefits come with long term costs.

Why do I broach this topic? A former SEC official decided he wanted to talk about the political overtones involved in the SEC’s decision to restrict short-selling in the equity markets in 2008. Bloomberg reports on this bombshell in writing, SEC Lets Politics Spur Short-Sale Decision, Sirri Says:

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s decision to restrict short selling was a political decision rather than one based on evidence, according to a former agency official who says it may set a precedent for future decisions. (more…)






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