US lawmakers are asking government regulators some tough questions about executive compensation at investment banks. Last week, Rep Dennis Kucinich, who heads the House Oversight Committee’s Domestic Policy Subcommittee, asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to determine whether Bank of America Corp. violated federal securities laws when it did not…
This month, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas put forth an order freezing the assets of Weizhen Tang, his hedge fund Oversea Chinese Fund LP, a number of related entities, and an investment adviser. The move comes after the Securities and Exchange Commission accused Tang and…
The Tennessee city of Lewisburg got an unpleasant surprise this January when they discovered that their annual interest rates on a bond was now $1 million. Officials had gotten themselves involved in risky municipal bonds after speaking with investment firm Morgan Keegan & Co. at a state-sponsored seminar five years…
A number of Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC representatives who left the company last year say that they were obligated to acquire certified financial planner certification but were also barred from revealing that part of their bonuses were affected by whether they sold certain proprietary products. About half of Fidelity brokers’…
Separate Financial Industry Regulatory Authority arbitration panels have issued awards to investors who suffered financial losses in Regions Morgan Keegan mutual funds. Last week, a FINRA panel awarded two California residents $267,711 plus interest for their losses-the largest bund fund arbitration award that Morgan Keegan has been ordered to pay…
Merrill Lynch & Co. must pay an investor $39.8 million in compensatory damages because of negligence on the part of one a subsidiary broker-dealer. A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority arbitration panel issued the award to Trustees of the Masonic Hall & Asylum Fund, which is an endowment for an Utica…
A year ago, a Wall Street Journal article warned about the risk of investing in “reversible convertibles.” Now, these risks have become a reality for many investors, who have experienced substantial losses due to these products. It began with Wall Street tempting investors who were hungry to make money with…
About 7,500 General Motors workers recently agreed to a buyout of early retirement incentives and leave the company. Chrysler, Ford and many suppliers of the industry have also made offers to entice workers to take early retirement. This follows tens of thousands of other industry workers who have been bought-out…
The US Supreme Court has decided not to listen to an appeal filed by InfoSpace founder Naveen Jain requesting that he be allowed to sue JP Morgan Securities and his former attorneys for allegedly mishandling an insider stock trading lawsuit. What happened was that InfoSpace Inc. INSP shareholder Thomas Dreiling…
About 7,500 General Motors workers have agreed to a buyout of early retirement incentives and leave, the company reported today. Chrysler has also agreed to extend its offers bo buy-out workers beyond tomorrow. This follows tens of thousands of other autoworkers workers who were in recent years persuaded to retire…