1. Stop Options Backdating More than 100 companies were investigated by the Department of Justice and the SEC because of an article published in the Wall Street Journal in March 2006. The newspapers had asked a finance professor to give it a list of companies that made stock option grants…
Interests involving registered limited liability partnerships (RLLPs) are contracts within the federal securities laws’ meaning, according to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit. The court reversed a ruling made against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for its enforcement action against two promoters and their company, Merchant…
Roel Campos, the Securities and Exchange Commissioner says that he is working on a campaign to create a simplified, prospectus-like disclosure document that would give investors clear, concise information about the performance and cost of their retirement plan assets. Campos said it was a “given” that retirees would be on…
An NASD Hearing Panel issued $100,000 in fines against Kenneth Pasternak, former CEO of Knight Securities, L.P. (now known as Knight Equity Markets, L.P.), and John Leighton, former head of the firm’s Institutional Sales Desk, for supervisory violations in connection with fraudulent sales to institutional customers in 1999 and 2000.…
The Enron Corp. shareholders that are suing three big investment banks for their alleged roles in helping Enron hide its failing financial position have petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to look at a ruling made by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit that reverses the certification of…
Washington, DC – The NASD today issued an updated Investor Alert warning investors – not brokers – about the risks associated with trading on margin. Since the release of a previous Alert on this topic in 2003, the amount of debt taken on by investors to buy securities has reached…
For a second time, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York told J.P. Morgan Chase &Co. shareholders that they cannot hold the investment bank responsible for securities fraud related to its alleged complicity in helping Enron cover up its true financial situation. Judge Sidney H. Stein…
At a time when The New York Stock Exchange is paying-off National Association of Securities Dealers members to take over its compliance responsibilities, private firms are seeking to reduce oversight evern further. For decades the securities industry has insisted its self-regulatory structure works best to protect the public. Yet, after…
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed enforcement actions in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York March 22 against nine firms with names identical to or extremely close to those of legitimate firms and exchanges. The actions accuse the firms of fraud while soliciting customers to…
A Federal Appeals Court in New York reversed prior decisions and decided that statements in a NASD Notice of Termination Form U-5 are subject to absolute privilege from defamation actions. The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association claim the ruling is a victory for investors and that firms will now…