As a sub-prime mortgage hedge fund managed by Bear Stearns encountered margin calls and was on the brink of liquidation, the situation apparently did not faze the golfing of its chief executive, John Cayne. Weather permitting, Mr. Cayne hops a helicopter from Manhattan to a golf club in Ocean Township,…
The SEC has stirred controversy with its new online tool that allows investors to search for companies with ties to countries the State Department has designated as “state sponsors of terrorism.” The official list includes Sudan, Syria, North Korea, Iran and Cuba. The SEC initiated the online search site on…
According to the Government Accounting Office (GAO) Americans over 65 hold more than $15 trillion in assets and, with “Baby Boomers” soon reaching retirement age, that figure will likely balloon. As financial firms, including insurance companies, design products aimed at this pot of gold, scam artists lick their chops for…
A judge in The U.S. District Court in Honolulu ruled that those who lost in annuities cannot bring a class-action suit against the annuity insurer, despite potential misleading and deceptive actions by the insurance firm. [Yokoyama et al. vs. Midland National Life Insurance Company.] Lawyers representing the plaintiffs in the…
The Securities and Exchange Commission filed an emergency action in a Dallas federal court against Amerifirst Funding, Inc. and Amerifirst Acceptance Corporation alleging fraud. The SEC contends that the offering of securities, known as Secured Debt Obligations (“SDOs”), are notes purportedly secured by automobile financing receivables created or purchased by…
In the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, a jury issued its verdict in the “squawk box” front running case. Seven people were acquitted of securities fraud, while Timothy O’Connell, a former Merrill Lynch & Co. stockbroker was found guilty of making false statements and of…
A Texas judge dismissed a shareholder class action against the directors of energy firm TXU, holding that, under Texas law, shareholders of a company can not sue that company’s directors. Thus, shareholders can only sue the company itself, which is really suing themselves. Meanwhile, the company can sue the board…
On June 11, 2007, we published an article entitled “Should Brokerage Firms Continue to Vote Their Clients’ Shares without Permission, Including for Corporate Directors?” State Treasurer Richard Moore of North Carolina has recently answered that question with a resounding “No!” In a statement, Moore contends that allowing such votes thwarts…
Hallmark Capital Corporation sought a “No Action” letter from the SEC’s Division of Market Regulation seeking it be given an exemption from registration as a broker-dealer (securities firm). Hallmark states that it serves small businesses as a financial consultant, to assist such business with capital raising and other matters. It…
The Securities and Exchange Commission filed suit in a New York Federal Court contending that Simpson Capital Management Inc., its owner and its head trader entered into late-trades in hundreds of mutual funds, defrauding the funds and their shareholders of approximately $57 million. The SEC claims that the defendants placed…