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Displaying 11-20 out of 27 results for "TICs".

Structured CD with an Exotic Embedded Option

(Aug 2013)

In the past few months, we have constructed a database of thousands of structured certificates of deposit (CDs). We have analyzed and evaluated hundreds of these CDs and have compiled these results into a recently completed study . Our results indicate that structured CDs are usually issued at significant discounts to face-value (comparable to structured products), offer little if any market exposure and are often less valuable than contemporaneously issued fixed rate CDs.

We've recently come...

SEC Litigation Releases: Week in Review - July 26th, 2013

(Jul 2013)

SEC Charges Former Portfolio Manager At SAC Capital with Insider Trading
July 25, 2013, (Litigation Release No. 22761)
This week the SEC charged Richard Lee, a former portfolio manager at SAC Capital Advisors, with insider trading "ahead of public announcements about a Microsoft-Yahoo partnership and the acquisition of 3Com Corporation by Hewlett-Packard." Lee's alleged insider trading caused "the S.A.C. Capital hedge fund that he managed to generate more than $1.5 million in illegal profits."...

Regulators Impose Record Fine for Brokerage Firm's Supervisory Failures

(Jul 2013)

Yesterday evening, the Wall Street Journal reported that FINRA and several US exchanges fined the brokerage firm Newedge USA, LLC $9.5 million over alleged failures to adequately restrict automated client trading activity that "sought to manipulate U.S. markets for nearly four years." The trading activity took place on several exchanges including NYSE Euronext, NASDAQ OMX, and BATS Global Markets according to the WSJ article. FINRA's press release can be found on the FINRA website.

Newedge...

Foreign Exchange Rate Fixing

(Jun 2013)

Bloomberg News recently reported that traders at some of the world's largest banks have been in the business of rigging foriegn exchange (FX) rates. An FX rate essentially tells you how much of one currency you can buy with another currency: for example, currently you can buy about 100 Japanese yen for each US dollar. The rates affect "trillions of dollars of investments" according to Bloomberg, since they are used for the valuation of portfolios, derivatives, and even equity and fixed...

Dodging Hedge Fund Requirements: The Case of Mariner Access

(Jun 2013)

Nowadays, there are several ways that retail investors can purchase risky investments which would typically be considered unsuitable. For example, many exchange-traded funds (ETFs) use derivatives to offer investors access to risky asset classes (such as CDOs) or complex options positions (such as covered calls). Since ETFs can be bought and sold like any other listed stock, essentially any investor can now take covered call positions regardless of her understanding of options. There is even...

Fitch Rolls Out New Ratings Indenture Abstract

(May 2013)

It is looking more and more like collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) and other asset-backed securities -- the 'toxic' assets highlighted as some of the worst excesses of the financial crisis -- are back. And while the agencies that rate asset-backed securities are still at the center of the debate over the validity of these investments, at least one of them is trying to improve its explanation of their labyrinthine terms and conditions.

Fitch has recently published the first example of...

SEC Charges Victorville, CA and Airport Authority with Securities Fraud

(May 2013)

Earlier this week, the SEC charged the City of Victorville, California and several other entities with municipal bond fraud. The charges relate to a $13.3 million 2008 bond offering by the Southern California Logistics Airport (SCLA) Authority, which was intended to refinance an "ill-conceived" redevelopment project for airplane hangers at the former George Air Force Base, which closed in 1992.

Municipal bonds are sometimes considered among the safest investments available. Municipal bond...

SEC Litigation Releases: Week in Review - April 19th, 2013

(Apr 2013)

SEC Files Subpoena Enforcement Action Against Andrew Farmer and Iridium Capital, Ltd. for Failure To Produce Documents in Market Manipulation Investigation
April 18, 2013, (Litigation Release No. 22680)
Last week, the SEC filed a subpoena enforcement action against Andrew Farmer and Iridium Capital, Ltd. "According to the filing, the SEC is investigating possible market manipulation in connection with transactions in the securities of Chimera Energy Corporation." Subpoenas were issued last...

Major Tenants-in-Common Sponsor Charged with Fraud

(Apr 2013)

Four former executives of DBSI, one of the largest sponsors of tenants-in-common (TIC) interests, have been indicted on 83 counts of securities fraud, wire fraud, mail fraud, and interstate transportation of stolen property. The indictment is seeking approximately $169 million in forfeiture of properties and assets, alleging that the executives misrepresented the financial condition of DBSI to potential investors. The executives named wereformer president Douglas Swenson, general counsel...

JP Morgan's New Incarnation of Non-Agency RMBS Weakens Provisions from Pre-Crisis Version

(Mar 2013)

Last week, the Wall Street Journal covered the first non-agency residential mortgage-backed security (RMBS) offering from JP Morgan since the financial crisis. This particular RMBS is a collateralized mortgage obligation (CMO) which is "supported by 752 jumbo mortgage loans [...] made to borrowers with high credit scores and with about 35% of their own money in a down payment for the property." JP Morgan originated nearly half of the mortgage pool (48%) and First Republic Bank originated...

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