There have been various developments over the past several weeks which investors may consider relevant in allocating their resources or evaluating alternatives that are available to them. Some of the more significant developments include, but are not limited to, the following: The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened the week at 9996 and, on Monday, the […]
A federal judge in Atlanta recently dismissed a class action lawsuit brought against SunTrust for fraud in the sale of auction rate securities. The case was not dismissed on the merits of investors’ claims against SunTrust, but based on technical legal requirements about what it takes to plead a claim. Those requirements are strict in […]
Citigroup Global Market, Inc. has filed a motion to dismiss an action against it by KV Pharmaceuticals Co. arising out of sales of auction rate securities, according to an August 25 article in Law360 by Christine Caufield entitled “Citigroup Argues KV Pharma Knew ARS Risks.” The case is pending in the United States District Court […]
Regions Bank has agreed to pay $1 million to settle investment fraud charges brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to a September 21 article by AP Legal Affairs writer Curt Anderson. On September 21, the SEC issued a Cease-and-Desist Order finding that Regions, the primary banking subsidiary of Regions Financial Corporation, was a […]
Eighteen months after the auction rate securities markets collapsed when Wall Street withdrew its support, companies like Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., Texas Instruments, Corning, and Teva Pharmaceuticals are still suffering from the Wall Street debacle. They have written down their auction rate securities by $4.8 billion, according to an August 28 article on Bloomberg.com by Duncan […]
A retired securities lawyer and his wife have filed suit in the U. S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina over losses they sustained as a result of investing in preferred stock auction rate securities issued by Nuveen Investments. Auction rate securities are debt instruments — in this case preferred stock– for […]
Charles Schwab’s recent article in the Wall Street Journal, entitled “Brokers Aren’t Responsible for Bad Bets,” is a cynical attempt to change the subject that compares very unfavorably with the intellectual honesty of Warren Buffet, according to Susan Antilla in her August 21 article in Bloomberg.com. Mr. Schwab’s article was in response to a lawsuit […]
Northern Trust Securities, Inc. has succeeded in obtaining the dismissal of a class action filed against it by Aimis Art Corp. arising out of the sale of auction rate securities, reported Liz McKenzie in her Law360 article entitled “Northern Trust Escapes Investor’s ARS Action.” Aimis filed the lawsuit on September 17, 2008. On September 29, […]
Brokerage firms who sold auction rate securities had to feel a jolt if they read Chad Bray’s recent article in the Wall Street Journal (“Broker Convicted in Auction-Rate Case”). A jury convicted a former Credit Suisse broker of a crime ? subject to 45 years in prison ? after less than a day of deliberation. […]
Raymond James “long-suffering clients remain frozen in auction-rate securities hell,” says Gretchen Morgenson in her August 2 article in the New York Times called “Investors Without a Lifeline.” Raymond James misrepresented auction rate securities to retail investors as safe and liquid, just like many larger Wall Street firms that have settled with the regulators and […]
