Without admitting to our denying any wrongdoing, Citigroup has agreed to settle Securities and Exchange Commission charges that it took part in improper accounting related to specific Argentine bonds. According to the SEC, Citigroup was able to avoid paying another $479 million in pre-tax charges during the 4th quarter of…
Securities and Exchange Commission Administrative Law Judge James T. Kelly is ordering Next Financial Group Inc. to cease and desist from recruiting practices that violate privacy laws. He also has slapped the company with a $125,000 penalty. Recruiting practices that need to stop included those involving use of clients’ private…
In the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, former JP Morgan Chase and Credit Suisse investment banker Hafiz Muhammed Zubair Naseem was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his involvement in an insider tip scam. Prosecutors say that Naseem retrieved insider information from the internal…
Earlier this month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit refused to hear an interloculatory appeal regarding attorney-client privilege related to the lawsuit accusing Piper Jaffray & Co of giving faulty advice in two bond offerings. The lawsuit names Union County, Iowa as the petitioner. The case involves…
GunnAllen Financial Inc. has settled Financial Industry Regulatory Authority charges that it was allegedly involved in a trade allocation scheme, in addition to several reporting, anti-money laundering, supervisory, and recordkeeping deficiencies. The trade allocation scheme was allegedly conducted by Alexis J. Rivera, the former head trader at GunnAllen. FINRA says…
In Los Angeles Superior Court, a number of life insurance companies, mutual funds, retirement systems, and other investors are suing Wachovia Securities LLC for alleged fraud related to the sale of senior subordinated notes for beverage maker Le Nature’s Inc. The Pennsylvania-based company filed for bankruptcy in 2006. Causes of…
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas says that two ex-Southwest Securities Inc. brokers acted fraudulently when they purposely tried to circumvent policies designed to prevent market timing trades. The Securities and Exchange Commission had brought the case against the two men. The brokers were aleged to…
An AARP Financial Inc. survey says that many U.S. investors make investment errors and miss out on opportunities to invest because they find financial jargon confusing, technical, and hard to understand. GfK Custom Research North America of New York interviewed 1,203 adults by phone for the survey. Findings included: *Over…
A class action law suit has been filed on behalf of those who bought Schwab YieldPlus Investor Funds Investor Shares and Schwab YieldPlus Funds Select Shares against the Schwab Corporation, the underwriter and investment adviser connected to the funds, and several Schwab officers and directors. However, many smart investors are…
In a note to investors, Wachovia Securities Analyst Doug Sipkin commented on the state of the leading Wall Street securities firms in light of the worsening global credit crisis. Sipkin blamed the “The failure of Bear Stearns” on a “management issue” rather than a “market issue.” JP Morgan Chase &…