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Supreme Court Limits When SEC Can Levy Fraud Penalties

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 15:57:40 +0000

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday limited the authority of the federal government’s top securities regulator to seek civil penalties over conduct that occurred more than five years before investigators took action. The nine-member court held on a unanimous vote …

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President Obama to Nominate White to Head SEC, Renominate Cordray for Consumer Bureau

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 13:58:32 +0000

President Barack Obama will nominate former federal prosecutor Mary Jo White to head the Securities and Exchange Commission, the White House said on Thursday, showing a desire to have a tough cop policing Wall Street. White, the former U.S. attorney …

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Former Brooke Corp. Execs Again Indicted on Financial Fraud Charges

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 06:16:02 +0000

Two former executives of the now defunct insurance agency franchising firm, Brooke Corp., have been indicted on federal financial fraud charges, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Kansas. A federal grand jury in mid-November charged Robert D. Orr of …

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Judge Lets Claim Against U.S. Over Stanford Ponzi Scheme Go Ahead

Andrew G. Simpson — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 12:30:16 +0000

A lawsuit claiming U.S. securities regulators were negligent in failing to respond earlier to Allen Stanford’s $7 billion Ponzi scheme can go forward for now, a federal judge ruled in Florida on Friday. U.S. District Judge Robert Scola rejected the …

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SEC, Citgroup May Win Appeal in Mortgage Fraud Case

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 13:20:39 +0000

A federal appeals court stopped just short of throwing out a judge’s controversial rejection of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s $285 million fraud settlement with Citigroup Inc over mortgage investments. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals chastised U.S. …

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SEC Weighs Exempting Insurance Companies from Volcker Rule

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 13:19:30 +0000

The top U.S. securities regulator said on Tuesday her agency is exploring whether insurance companies can qualify for a coveted exemption in the proposed Volcker rule that would protect them from having to scale back their investments in hedge funds. …

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Major Companies Keeping Cyber Attacks Secret from SEC, Investors: Report

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:49:55 +0000

At least a half-dozen major U.S. companies whose computers have been infiltrated by cyber criminals or international spies have not admitted to the incidents despite new guidance from securities regulators urging such disclosures. Top U.S. cybersecurity officials believe corporate hacking …

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SEC Sues Texas Life Settlements Firm, Alleges Deception

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 16:47:28 +0000

Federal securities regulators filed suit against a Texas-based provider of so-called “life settlements,” accusing it and three top executives of defrauding shareholders by overvaluing the life insurance policies it buys from its customers. In a statement, the Securities and Exchange …

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Mines Must Disclose Safety Violations to Investors Under New SEC Rules

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 13:37:49 +0000

Mining companies will need to disclose to investors information about health and safety violations under new rules adopted on Wednesday by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The rules, which are required by last year’s Dodd-Frank Wall Street overhaul law, …

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SEC Sues Brokerage Insurance Fund Over Stanford Victims’ Claims

Anna Driver — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 15:31:30 +0000

Federal securities regulators have sued a brokerage industry backed fund on behalf of victims who lost money in Allen Stanford’s alleged $7 billion Ponzi scheme and have yet to recover any funds. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission asked a …

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AXA Rosenberg Settles Coding Lawsuit for $65 Million

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 14:58:34 +0000

Money manager AXA Rosenberg and co-founder Barr Rosenberg agreed to pay $65 million to settle a lawsuit by investors who said they lost money after a computer coding glitch impeded the firm’s ability to manage risk. Tuesday’s settlement came nine …

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U.S. SEC to Limit Charges Against Allianz

Mon, 17 Oct 2011 10:15:10 +0000

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission does not plan to charge Allianz SE for illegal activity at its private equity investments, according to two people familiar with the matter, in a case that could have tested the agency’s reach. Europe’s …

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SEC Concedes Challenges in Probes of Rating Agencies

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 12:31:52 +0000

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission faces hurdles proving wrongdoing at credit-rating agencies, the agency’s enforcement chief said, pointing to the complexity of the cases and the industry’s strong legal defenses. SEC Enforcement Director Robert Khuzami’s comments to Reuters came …

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S&P Balks at SEC Proposal to Disclose Rating Errors

Wed, 10 Aug 2011 13:45:57 +0000

Standard & Poor’s, whose unprecedented downgrade of U.S. debt triggered a worldwide stocks sell-off, is pushing back against a U.S. government proposal that would require credit raters to disclose “significant errors” in how they calculate their ratings. S&P, which was …

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Bank of America Says Legal Losses Could Hit $2.3 Billion

Fri, 05 Aug 2011 12:46:00 +0000

Bank of America Corp.’s legal losses could cost as much as $2.3 billion above money already set aside to cover litigation, the largest U.S. bank by assets said in a securities filing. BofA raised the possible legal loss estimate by …

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SEC Seeks More Disclosure by AIG on Credit Ratings

Mon, 01 Aug 2011 16:23:47 +0000

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has asked insurer American International Group (AIG) to provide more disclosure about how and why it assigns credit ratings to investments in its portfolio, according to letters between the regulator and the company disclosed …

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SEC Says Brokerage Fund Should Compensate Stanford Victims

Thu, 16 Jun 2011 12:22:12 +0000

In a major victory for victims of Allen Stanford’s alleged Ponzi scheme, U.S. regulators have concluded that they should be compensated by a brokerage industry-backed fund. The decision announced Wednesday by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission comes nearly two …

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SEC Proposes Tighter Rules for Securities Brokers

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 14:14:54 +0000

U.S securities brokers would be more closely scrutinized by accountants and be subject to stricter rules for how they handle their customers’ assets under a plan proposed by federal regulators Wednesday. The proposal by the Securities and Exchange Commission is …

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SEC Approves Whistleblower Rule

Thu, 26 May 2011 12:25:03 +0000

Corporate whistleblowers could score multi-million-dollar payouts for reporting financial wrongdoing under a new program approved by U.S. securities regulators on Wednesday. A divided U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission voted 3-2 to finalize the measure that has grown into one of …

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SEC: Mid-Size Firms Should Follow Sarbanes Oxley Internal Control

Tue, 26 Apr 2011 01:16:52 +0000

Accountants at the U.S. securities regulator are recommending that medium-size public companies should not be exempted from a key auditing provision in the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act, saying the benefits to investors outweigh the cost. In a new study by the …

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Under SEC Pressure, Berkshire Took Q4 Writedowns on Stocks

Ben Berkowitz — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 21:14:37 +0000

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway took nearly $1 billion in writedowns on three stocks last quarter under pressure from U.S. regulators who disagreed with the company’s accounting for losses in those shares, according to a series of letters released Monday. The …

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Firms Can Avoid Shareholder Lawsuits with Kid Behavior

Tue, 08 Feb 2011 15:43:04 +0000

When companies are looking at bad earnings news, a new study from the University of Iowa suggests it’s best for executives to remember what they learned as kids. “If a child does something wrong and tells his mother about it, …

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