Puerto Rico's travails hit muni bond firm that bet big
By: Ben Eisen, MarketWatch (Mar 2014)
Ben Eisen's "Puerto Rico's travails hit muni bond firm that bet big" of MarketWatch cites SLCG's blog post written by Craig McCann and Carmen Taveras on their work on the Oppenheimer Rochester Funds.
COMPLY-U.S. Regulator Intensifies Scrutiny of Fee-Based Accounts
By: Suzanne Barlyn, Reuters (Dec 2013)
Suzanne Barlyn's "COMPLY-U.S. Regulator Intensifies Scrutiny of Fee-Based Accounts" quotes Paul Meyer on the concerns of fee-based accounts and commission-based accounts.
Sales of Callable Stock-Tied Notes Soar on Markets as Risks Loom
By: Kevin Dugan, Bloomberg News (Nov 2013)
Dr. Tim Husson discussed the properties and risks of autocallable structured products in Kevin Dugan's Bloomberg News report titled "Sales of Callable Stock-Tied Notes Soar on Markets as Risks Loom." Dr. Husson notes the reinvestment risk that can arise from notes that are called back by the issuer.
Michael Piwowar Sworn in as SEC Commissioner
By: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (Aug 2013)
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced the swearing in of former SLCG Principal as a Commissioner nominated by President Obama replacing Commissioner Troy Paredes. Dr. Piwowar was an employee of SLCG after leaving the SEC's Office of Economic Analysis in 2006 until joining President Bush's Council of Economic Advisers in 2008.
Market-Linked Certificates of Deposit Overpriced, Report Says
By: Kevin Dugan, Bloomberg News (Aug 2013)
Kevin Dugan's "Market-Linked Certificates of Deposit Overpriced, Report Says" of Bloomberg News interviewed Dr. Husson about SLCG's recent whitepaper on structured (or market-linked) certificates of deposit. They explain the results of the study, which indicate that structured CDs are often overpriced and that the market-linked component is often of little value to investors.
Libor moving to NYSE Euronext
By: Alanna Petroff, CNN Money (Jul 2013)
Alanna Petroff reports to CNNMoney.com that Libor is moving to the NYSE Euronext. Dr. Tim Dulaney was quoted as saying that the move to NYSE Euronext was unlikely to restore confidence in LIBOR unless it was accompanied by fundamental change in the calculation methodology.
Study Claims Billions of Dollars of Excessive Muni Markups
By: Kyle Glazier, Bond Buyer (Jun 2013)
Kyle Glazier's "Study Claims Billions of Dollars of Excessive Muni Markups" summarizes the results of SLCG's comprehensive municipal bond markup study. We estimated that brokerage firms and underwriters charged $1 billion a year in excessive markups leading to higher borrowing costs for municipal issuers and lower returns for investors. Mr. Glazier's story led SIFMA's Michael Decker to criticize our work in a June 18, 2013 letter to the Bond Buyer editor, Fatal Flaws in Markup research paper, and Craig McCann's June 25, 2013 response, Rebuttal to Markup Report Criticisms.
TIC Awards Show Brokers Still Grappling with Real Estate Bubble Fallout
By: Bruce Kelly, Investment News (Jun 2013)
In "TIC Awards Show Brokers Still Grappling with Real Estate Bubble Fallout," Bruce Kelly of InvestmentNews discusses tenant-in-common (TIC) real estate securities with Dr. Tim Husson. Dr. Husson notes that even though TIC interests were mostly purchased before 2008, TIC investors are still struggling with the effects of these deals and several arbitration claims are still pending. To learn more about TIC interests, please see our blog posts and research paper.
The Intelligent Investor: What's Eating Your Munis?
By: Jason Zweig, The Wall Street Journal (Jun 2013)
Jason Zweig's "The Intelligent Investor: What's Eating Your Munis?" in this weekend's Wall Street Journal revisits excessive markups in the municipal bond market. His article cites SLCG's recently completed analysis of 20 million trades in long term municipal bonds between 2005 and 2013. Geng Deng and Craig McCann are the principal authors of the study. Their findings are reported in "Using Emma to Assess Municipal Bond Markups".
Structured Note Rules May Fail to Resolve Confusion Over Pricing
By: Kevin Dugan, Bloomberg News (Feb 2013)
Kevin Dugan's "Structured Note Rules May Fail to Resolve Confusion Over Pricing" discusses the remaining obstacles to the efficacy of fair value estimations of structured products following the April 2012 sweep letter from the SEC. Dr. Tim Dulaney is quoted as saying that "if you change your volatility assumptions...you could get a vastly different valuation." To read more about this story, feel free to visit our blog on Structured Product Issuers Under Pressure to Disclose Estimated Value.
