Investing

Washington, D.C., Nov. 17, 2009 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged two former Silicon Valley executives for improperly inflating the reported financial results at Santa Clara, Calif., semiconductor company Tvia, Inc.    » read more »

November 17, 2009 -- Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO) will introduce amendments to the Financial Stability Improvement Act (HR 3996) aimed at helping prevent future economic downturns.

The first amendment enables regulators to limit the size of financial firms that could pose a risk to the system on an institution-by-institution basis. Once a financial holding company becomes subject to stricter standards, the amendment would allow the regulators to work with the company to divest its commercial or investment banking activities in an orderly manner without causing the traditional banking side of the organizations to fail.    » read more »

Senator has pushed for action to investigate and prosecute financial fraud

November 17, 2009 -- (WASHINGTON, D.C.) – U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) said today’s announcement that the Justice Department will ramp up efforts to crack down on financial fraud “is critical to bring these modern day bank-robbers to justice, necessary to restore confidence in our financial system, and I applaud the Department of Justice for taking this action.”

Dorgan has been pushing for increased investigations and prosecutions of those who wrongly profited from the financial collapse. In January, Dorgan introduced the Taxpayer Protection Act (S. 195), which would, among other things, investigate and prosecute financial fraud that contributed to the collapse of our financial markets.    » read more »

Washington, D.C., Nov. 16, 2009 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged four individuals and two companies involved in perpetrating a $30 million Ponzi scheme in which they persuaded more than 300 investors nationwide to participate in purported environmentally-friendly investment opportunities.

The SEC alleges that Wayde and Donna McKelvy, who were previously married and living in the Denver area, particularly targeted elderly investors or those approaching retirement age to finance such "green" initiatives of Pennsylvania-based Mantria Corporation as a supposed "carbon negative" housing community in rural Tennessee and a "biochar" charcoal substitute made from organic waste.    » read more »

November 17, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of the Treasury today released Treasury International Capital (TIC) data for September 2009. The next release, which will report on data for October 2009, is scheduled for December 15, 2009.

Net foreign purchases of long-term securities were $40.7 billion.

* Net foreign purchases of long-term U.S. securities were $55.7 billion. Of this, net purchases by private foreign investors were $44.8 billion, and net purchases by foreign official institutions were $10.9 billion.
* U.S. residents purchased a net $15.0 billion of long-term foreign securities.

Net foreign acquisition of long-term securities, taking into account adjustments, is estimated to have been $31.7 billion.    » read more »

November 12, 2009 -- The Miami Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Miami Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) are seeking information from individuals who have invested in the Rothstein Structured Settlement Investment (RSSI) or from individuals who have information that would be helpful to the investigation. To facilitate information gathering, the FBI has established a dedicated e-mail address and an informational telephone line 1-800-CALL-FBI, "Rothstein Option."

Details of the investigation cannot be discussed at this time, as the investigation is ongoing. However, the FBI and IRS are seeking to identify victims and to obtain any information to determine the extent of any potential fraud.    » read more »

November 10, 2009 -- PREET BHARARA, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that MICHAEL KOULOUROUDIS, an accomplice of a former UBS investment banker, pleaded guilty before United States District Judge PAUL G. GARDEPHE on charges of conspiracy and securities fraud as a result of trading based on inside information stolen from UBS.

According to the Complaint and Superseding Indictment previously filed in this case, and statements made during KOULOUROUDIS's guilty plea:    » read more »

JDIG and One North Carolina Fund Grants Help Company Add 259 Jobs

11/13/2009 -- North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue announced today that international biopharmaceutical company Talecris Biotherapeutics is expanding its manufacturing facilities near Clayton, creating 259 new jobs over the next seven years and investing $268.7 million. The announcement was made possible in part by state Job Development Investment Grant and One North Carolina Fund awards and is contingent upon approval of local incentives.

“The competition for these types of jobs is fierce,” Perdue said. “The fact that Talecris has found the tools it needs to succeed in North Carolina shows why this state’s business climate is consistently named as the best in the nation.”    » read more »

Op-Ed By Barney Frank, The Boston Globe

November 11, 2009 -- MANY MARKET and regulatory failures led to the collapse of the nation’s financial markets last year. That collapse has led to a steep and painful recession and placed extraordinary burdens on working families. In response, the House Financial Services Committee, which I chair, is crafting a series of measures that will produce a comprehensive response by, among other things, regulating derivatives, ensuring proper mortgage lending, and making sure taxpayers never again have to take responsibility for reckless and irresponsible business decisions.    » read more »

November 11, 2009 -- Frederic A. Bourke Jr., of Greenwich, Conn., was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Manhattan to one year and one day in prison.

Following a six-week trial, Bourke, 63, was found guilty on July 10, 2009, of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and related prohibitions, and of making false statements to the FBI. The FCPA makes it a crime to pay or offer to pay foreign government officials in order to obtain or retain business. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge Shira A. Scheindlin ordered Bourke to pay a $1 million fine and serve three years of supervised release following the prison term.    » read more »

Study shows lack of liquidity leads to forced selling in distressed markets

BOSTON, November 10, 2009 — Long-term investors must plan for the short and medium term in order to avoid forced selling in distressed markets, according to a recent analysis by BNY Mellon Asset Management.

"This is exactly what happened to many university endowments during the 2008 market meltdown," said Robert A. Jaeger, senior market strategist for BNY Mellon Asset Management and co-author of the study. "Every long-term investor is also a short-term investor and a medium-term investor. We believe that endowments and other long-term investors would be well-served to explicitly divide their portfolios into long-term, medium-term, and short-term components."    » read more »

Washington, D.C., Nov. 10, 2009 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged the former chief financial officer of a New York-based hedge fund with securities fraud for arranging secret sales of securities from his personal trading account to the hedge fund accounts at inflated prices to generate his own illicit profits.    » read more »

Cantwell Introduces Legislation to Help Stop Abusive Speculation Practices

November 10,2009 -- WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), together with Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT), proposed legislation empowering state gambling regulators and attorneys general to examine unregulated derivatives trading and take appropriate action to protect citizens from practices which can harm the foundations of our economy. As part of a broader effort by Congress to pass comprehensive financial regulatory reform, Cantwell’s proposal treats derivatives trading for what it is: a sophisticated form of gambling.    » read more »

November 3, 2009 -- PREET BHARARA, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, JOSEPH M. DEMAREST, JR., the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI"), and PATRICIA J. HAYNES, the Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS"), announced today that DAVID G. FRIEHLING, the accountant for Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities, LLC ("BLMIS"), pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court before United States District Judge ALVIN K. HELLERSTEIN.    » read more »

Washington, D.C., Nov. 5, 2009 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a pair of lawyers for tipping inside information in exchange for kickbacks as well as six Wall Street traders and a proprietary trading firm involved in a $20 million insider trading scheme.    » read more »