SEC

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SEC Chair Cox Fiddled as US Markets Burned
SEC Chair Cox Fiddled as US Markets Burned
ANALYSIS
Sep 22, 2008 3:22 PM CDT

SEC Chair Cox Fiddled as US Markets Burned

'Exceedingly cautious' approach had Paulson looking to kill agency

(Newser) - With US markets in upheaval, the head of the watchdog Securities and Exchange Commission was preoccupied with a new technology for corporate filing, Bloomberg reports. Christopher Cox’s inaction has provoked bipartisan criticism: McCain adviser Carly Fiorina said he has been “asleep at the switch,” while Democratic Sen....

Candidates Talk Leadership, Race, on 60 Minutes

Mac goes bipartisan, Obama talks leadership, plays down race

(Newser) - John McCain tried to strike a bipartisan tone during his 60 Minutes interview last night, and Barack Obama played down the race issue while highlighting his leadership experience. Both presidential candidates sat for prime-time interviews on the show, during which McCain floated the name of prominent Democrat Andrew Cuomo to...

Wall Street's New Rules Worry Traders
Wall Street's New Rules Worry Traders
Sep 20, 2008 11:22 AM CDT

Wall Street's New Rules Worry Traders

Temporary ban on short-selling causes fundamental shifts

(Newser) - Stocks roared back to life yesterday on the government’s actions to stabilize the markets, but many traders expressed uncertainty about the new rules of the game, the New York Times reports. The temporary ban on short selling and the new requirement to disclose such trades have wreaked havoc with...

Short Sellers Vilified But Vindicated
Short Sellers Vilified But Vindicated
ANALYSIS
Sep 19, 2008 3:36 PM CDT

Short Sellers Vilified But Vindicated

They may be vultures, but it's not their fault banks are in trouble

(Newser) - In a memo to Morgan Stanley employees, CEO John Mack fumed that the investment bank was being attacked "by fear and rumors, and short sellers are driving our stock down." Today, following similar action in the UK, the SEC banned short selling of 799 financial companies to stem...

Stocks Skyrocket as New Rules Boost Financials

(Newser) - Stocks surged this morning, with the Dow shooting up more than 400 points within minutes of the open, and steadying just under that, as investors celebrated new rules clamping down on short selling and the government’s hotly anticipated plan to buy bad debt from banks. The S&P and...

McCain Wants SEC Chief Out; Obama Says It's Not Enough

Candidates at odds over blame for market meltdown; Dem faults all Bush cronies

(Newser) - John McCain said today he would fire the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission and blasted federal regulators for being “asleep at the switch,” Bloomberg reports. McCain, who's lost ground in the polls during the recent economic turmoil, said the SEC “kept in place trading rules...

Cox Has Neutered SEC's Watchdog Role
Cox Has Neutered SEC's Watchdog Role
ANALYSIS
Sep 17, 2008 4:37 PM CDT

Cox Has Neutered SEC's Watchdog Role

Critics say agency has gotten soft, especially against big business

(Newser) - Under chairman Christopher Cox, the US Securities and Exchange Commission has drastically reduced the power of its enforcement division, Portfolio reports. Cox was brought in to “chill it out” after his predecessor was perhaps too zealous for White House tastes. Congress chided Cox for essentially turning down more funding,...

BofA Could Partner With China Fund on Lehman Bid

Bankruptcy remains possibility for firm

(Newser) - Bank of America could partner with financial investor JC Flowers and a Chinese sovereign wealth fund on a bid to rescue Lehman Brothers, the Financial Times reports. The hobbled investment bank had resisted selling itself, but is now eagerly seeking suitors before the last of its goodwill on Wall Street...

SEC Looking Into United Airlines Stock Glitch

Stock slid hard on bad, old info picked up by automated Google news service

(Newser) - The Securities and Exchange Commission is looking into the recent, but temporary, nosedive in United Airlines stock spurred by the republication of a 6-year-old article about the company’s bankruptcy, the Wall Street Journal reports. The agency has begun a preliminary investigation to see whether any shady behavior was involved,...

Investors, Companies Benefit by Accounting Switch: SEC

Move to international standard will require 'massive effort,' US firms say

(Newser) - The Securities and Exchange Commission sees a smoother ride for American companies, and investors, in its plan for the US to adopt international accounting standards, the Wall Street Journal reports—though the shift would be an expensive, “massive effort,” some say, requiring new training from business schools on...

SEC Wants US Firms to Switch to International Accounting

Multinationals would change first under plan

(Newser) - The Securities and Exchange Commission is planning to require US companies to switch to international accounting rules, the Wall Street Journal reports. The body voted today to seek public comment on a plan for the transition, which would stagger requirements. Large multinational firms would be expected to voluntarily switch in...

3 More Wall Street Firms Agree to Buy Back Securities

Settlement reached after auction-rate securities market collapse

(Newser) - Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank have agreed to a settlement with New York's attorney general and other state regulators to buy back $14.5 billion of now worthless auction-rate securities. The brokerages will also pay $162 million in fines to settle charges that they misled investors into thinking...

Citigroup Will Buy Back $7B of Bad Debt, Pay $100M Fine

Deal with SEC, NY state seen as 'face-saving,' could mean more ahead

(Newser) - Citigroup has agreed to buy back $7 billion in risky debt it marketed to consumers as safe and equivalent to cash, Reuters reports. Today’s deal, struck with New York's attorney general and the SEC, also requires the bank to pay fines totaling $100 million, and reimburse customers who took...

Invisible Ink, Hidden Numbers Help Fuzzy Accounting

SEC complaint shows CFO used printouts to fool auditors

(Newser) - Sometimes high-stakes fraud doesn’t have to be high-tech. The former chief financial officer at a company now called Voyager Learning allegedly cooked the company's books by entering figures as white text on white background—the equivalent of invisible ink, Adam Jones notes in a Financial Times blog.

Demonizing Shorters Won't Save the Likes of Lehman

Darwinian market bloodletting may eliminate raider targets

(Newser) - Short-sellers have the power to utterly crush Lehman Brothers, as they did Bear Stearns, writes James Cramer in New York, but it's largely Lehman's own fault. Lehman shares much of the "mismanagement, arrogance and recklessness" that brought down Bear, Cramer opines in a piece that says excoriating short-selling hedge...

SEC Will Limit Short Sales of Finance Stocks

Agency worried negative bets by traders are hurting the market

(Newser) - The SEC will step in to police naked short-selling of 17 financial firms, as well as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the Wall Street Journal reports. The agency said it plans to impose short-term, emergency rules on Monday that curtail traders betting on the stocks to drop, worried the short...

SEC Aims to Check False Rumors on Wall Street

Feds worried about false info in skittish market, but nailing culprits is tough task

(Newser) - After months of urging from business, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced plans yesterday to clamp down on the rumor mill that can induce Wall Street gyrations with false information. Last week's market turbulence pushed the feds to make the move before this week's trading, the New York Times reports—...

Feds Plan to Allow Foreign Accounting Rules

Critics slam 'outsourcing' of financial protections

(Newser) - Federal officials are proposing to loosen accounting regulations, allowing American companies to shift to international standards that offer more latitude in reporting earnings, the New York Times reports. The move would make businesses more competitive, the administration argues, but it would also effectively exempt them from the investor-protection measures instigated...

SEC Charges Ex-AOL Execs With Fraud
SEC Charges Ex-AOL Execs With Fraud
May 20, 2008 9:42 AM CDT

SEC Charges Ex-AOL Execs With Fraud

Alleges they inflated revenue during merger with Time Warner

(Newser) - The Securities & Exchange Commission has filed civil fraud charges against eight former AOL executives for allegedly inflating AOL's advertising revenues before its merger with Time Warner, the Wall Street Journal reports. The men are accused of giving firms money to buy ads on AOL that they didn't want or...

Broadcom Execs Charged With Backdating Stock Options

Chip-maker allegedly hooked up employees

(Newser) - The SEC has filed civil charges against four top Broadcom execs, alleging that the men backdated employee stock-option grants between 1998 and 2003, the Wall Street Journal reports. The suit seeks fines and also the return of their illegal gains. The chip-maker—one of the boom companies of the 1990s—...

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