M & T Bank (MTB) will pay the U.S. government $64M to resolve a lawsuit about housing loans. The case stems from a whistleblower case filed by an ex-M & T underwriter accusing the bank of underwriting fraud. Following its investigation, the Department of Justice said that M & T…
Daniel Thibeault, the ex-CEO of GL Capital Partners, has entered a guilty plea to criminal charges accusing him of bilking fund investors of $15M. According to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Thiebeault used funds that were in the GL Beyond Income Fund to make fake consumer loans. Meanwhile, investors were…
VimpelCom Resolves FCPA Violations for $795M The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the U.S. Department of Justice, and regulators in the Netherlands have arrived at a global settlement with VimpelCom Ltd. to resolve Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations. The telecommunications provider purportedly committed the offenses in order win business in…
In the second round of layoffs, Aequitas Capital Management announced that it is letting of even more workers in the wake of financial problems. A week after disclosing that it would lay off about a third of its workers, the investment firm told employees that almost everyone else would have…
U.S. natural gas driller Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CYC) has been halting investor payouts and cutting jobs to keep its cash flow from drying up. Now, with its shares dropping 51% following reports by Debtwire that the company has hired restructuring attorneys to help deal with its $9.8 billion debt, investors…
With oil prices plummeting, investors may have reason for concern. This week, ConocoPhilip cut its dividend by two-thirds because of the drop in oil prices to $30/barrel. Its dividend went from 74 cents/share to 25 cents/share And Conoco isn’t the only company whose dividends are in trouble because of cheap…
A number of diversified stock funds posted significant losses at the end of the January. For example, funds seeking underpriced stocks saw their holdings lose value as did value funds. Here is a list (From Morningstar): · PIMCO RAE Fundamental Plus EMG (PEFIX) · Templeton Foreign A · Vanguard International…
Participants in Anthem Inc.’s 401(K) plan are accusing the plan’s fiduciaries of breaching their fiduciary duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. They claim that the fiduciaries churned excessive administrative and investment management fees in Vanguard mutual funds. Vanguard Group is the fund’s record-keeper. According to plaintiffs,…
Unpaid debt incurred by oil companies to pay for new drilling equipment and rigs could lead to a number of them defaulting. According to CNN, many of these companies had expected prices for oil to hit the $100 range when they incurred the debt and are now contending with oil…
In the wake of criticism regarding its proposed rule to enhance the investment advice standards that brokers must abide by when working with retirement accounts, the U.S. Department of Labor official reportedly will make modifications. Under the current proposal, brokers would have to act in their clients’ best interests in…