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Our experts frequently write blog posts about the findings of the research we are conducting.

Displaying 10 out of 91 results for "Puerto Ricof=Press Release".

SEC Litigation Releases: Week in Review - December 28th, 2012

(Dec 2012)

SEC Charges Two Brokers with Insider Trading
December 26, 2012, (Litigation Release No. 22581)
This week the SEC filed an amended complaint (opens to PDF) charging research analyst Trent Martin with tipping brokers Thomas C. Conradt and David J. Weishaus with nonpublic information about IBM Corporation's acquisition of SPSS Inc. Martin learned of the impending IBM-SPSS transaction "from an attorney friend who was working on the deal." Martin, Conradt, and Weishaus allegedly traded on the...

Auction Rate Securities Responsible for $9.6 Billion Loss to Taxpayers

(Dec 2012)

In a complaint filed in Nevada against Goldman Sachs last year, the city of Reno states that it issued $73.45 million of Auction Rate Securities (ARS) in 2005 and $137.43 million ARS in 2006 on the advice of Goldman. Like many other municipalities, Reno subsequently saw the market crash in 2008 and yields skyrocket, leading to a $9.6 billion loss for issuers.

The ARS structure was promoted by Goldman as liquid, cash-equivalent investments that would allow Reno to borrow money for long term...

Traded and Non-Traded REIT to Merge

(Dec 2012)

Earlier this week, American Realty Capital Properties (ARCP), a traded REIT under the American Realty Capital (ARC) family of real estate investments, announced that it will be merging with American Realty Capital Trust III (ARCTIII), a non-traded REIT in the same family. Investors in ARCTIII will be entitled to either $12.00 in cash or $12.26 per share in ARCP stock, a significant premium over the $10 per share purchase price.

This merger is remarkable for a number of reasons. While the...

SEC Litigation Releases: Week in Review - December 21th, 2012

(Dec 2012)

SEC Files Settled FCPA Charges Against Eli Lilly and Company
December 20, 2012, (Litigation Release No. 22576)
According to the complaint (opens to PDF),Eli Lilly and Company's subsidiaries in Russia, Brazil, China, and Poland made improper payments to foreign government officials in exchange for business. Lilly's Russian subsidiary allegedly paid "millions of dollars to third parties chosen by government customers or distributors" through offshore "marketing agreements "despite knowing little...

FINRA and BBB Launch Smart Investing Website to Educate Consumers on Financial Fraud

(Dec 2012)

The FINRA Investor Education Foundation in conjunction with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) announced the launch of their new website, BBB Smart Investing, last Friday. Smart Investing provides investors with "tools and information to help [them] better protect and manage" their money.

One useful feature that we've noted on the blog before is the FINRA BrokerCheck, a free search engine for disclosures, regulatory action and fines against brokers and brokerage firms. The search generates a...

Another Non-Traded REIT Revises Share Value Downwards

(Dec 2012)

Following in the footsteps of several other large non-traded REITs, Wells Timberland REIT has revised its estimated per share value down to $6.56, from approximately $9.50 reported in the company's last 10-Q. The shares were sold for $10.00 per share starting in August 2006 and as late as December 2011.

Non-traded REITs are largely illiquid real estate investments that can be sold to retail investors but are not traded on major exchanges (see our white paper on non-traded REITs for details)....

CFTC Amendment to Rule 4.5 Survives Challenge

(Dec 2012)

Last Thursday, a Federal judge ruled on a challenge to the CFTC's February 2012 amendment to Rule 4.5 that will require mutual funds and ETFs that have sufficient non-hedging participation in derivative markets to register with the CFTC as commodity pool operators (CPOs). The CFTC defines a CPO as a "person engaged in a business similar to an investment trust or a syndicate and who solicits or accepts funds, securities, or property for the purpose of trading commodity futures contracts or...

SEC Litigation Releases: Week in Review - December 14th, 2012

(Dec 2012)

SEC Charges Massachusetts Company, CEO and Promoters With $9 Million Securities Fraud
December 14, 2012, (Litigation Release No. 22572)
According to the complaint (opens to PDF), BioChemics, Inc., its CEO, John Masiz, and two individuals paid to solicit investors, Craig Medoff and Gregory Kroning, "made false statements to investors about collaborations with major pharmaceutical companies and the status and results of drug trials of [BioChemic's] main product." Additionally, the SEC claims...

SEC Charges Tiger Asia Executive with Insider Trading

(Dec 2012)

Earlier this week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged two New York-based hedge fund managers with insider trading. Sung Kook "Bill" Hwang of Tiger Asia Management and Tiger Asia Partners admitted to using material non-public information to short sell shares of Bank of China Ltd. and China Construction Bank Corp resulting in nearly $17 million in unlawfully gained profits. Tiger Asia covered its short positions with private placement shares that were obtained at a discount....

CFTC Chief Economist Finds High Frequency Trading Harms Traditional Investors

(Dec 2012)

Andrei Kirilenko, chief economist at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), recently released a report that purports to show that the "high-speed trading firms that have come to dominate the nation's financial markets are taking significant profits from traditional investors" according to an article posted by Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP) as well as the New York Times.

The report categorizes HFT firms as 'aggressive', 'mixed' or 'passive' depending upon the...

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