Investment Fraud Lawyer Blog http://www.investmentfraudlawyerblog.com/ en-us 2008-07-22T15:13:30-05:00 Wachovia's Woes Continue http://www.investmentfraudlawyerblog.com/2008/07/wachovias_woes_continue.html Wachovia Corp.’s subprime and credit crisis woes appear to be increasing at a rapid rate. Yesterday, the U.S. bank reported a record quarterly loss of $8.9 billion. The loss reflects, among other things, Wachovia’s ill-advised acquisition of Golden West Financial... Page Perry LLC 2008-07-22T15:13:30-05:00 Should Investors Sell Their Illiquid Auction Rate Securities? http://www.investmentfraudlawyerblog.com/2008/07/should_investors_sell_their_il.html Many auction rate securities investors are asking whether they should sell their illiquid holdings or should wait in hopes of their auction rate securities being refinanced or redeemed. Unfortunately, there is no one answer that is right for every investor.... Page Perry LLC 2008-07-21T16:15:34-05:00 Securities Arbitration Study is Disappointing but Does Not Tell the Whole Story about Investor Recoveries http://www.investmentfraudlawyerblog.com/2008/07/securities_arbitration_study_i.html A recent study of securities arbitration raises some disturbing questions about industry sponsored arbitration panels. A review of 14,000 NASD and NYSE securities arbitration awards for the period from 1995 through 2004 shows that individual investors are faring worse in... Page Perry LLC 2008-07-20T10:34:45-05:00 Wall Street Firms Knew That Failure of the Auction Rate Securities Market Was Imminent http://www.investmentfraudlawyerblog.com/2008/07/wall_street_firms_knew_that_fa.html The Boston Globe has reported that, in addition to UBS Financial Services, other major Wall Street firms expected the failure of the auction-rate securities markets prior to the collapse in February of this year, yet failed to warn investors of... Page Perry LLC 2008-07-19T09:48:15-05:00 Check Out Your Broker http://www.investmentfraudlawyerblog.com/2008/07/check_out_your_broker.html You are about to entrust a broker and a brokerage firm with a substantial amount of your money. Have you checked them out first? There are three sources for you to check. First is the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA);... Page Perry LLC 2008-07-18T09:42:31-05:00 States Raid Wachovia Securities Regarding Auction Rate Securities Abuses http://www.investmentfraudlawyerblog.com/2008/07/states_raid_wachovia_securitie.html A team of state regulators raided Wachovia Securities’ St. Louis headquarters today as part of a broad investigation into sales of auction rate securities to investors. The investigation is apparently focusing on Wachovia Securities’ sales practices in selling auction rate... Subprime Mortgage & Collateralized Debt Obligation Problems Page Perry LLC 2008-07-17T13:12:02-05:00 Has Washington's Bailout Of Wall Street Banks Compromised The SEC's Ability To Regulate And Protect The U.S. Capital Markets? http://www.investmentfraudlawyerblog.com/2008/07/has_washingtons_bailout_of_wal.html Washington’s recent decision to permit the Federal Reserve to advance loans to Wall Street banks may have the unintended effect of undermining the SEC’s ability to regulate and protect the investment markets. Simply stated, different agencies of the U.S. government... Subprime Mortgage & Collateralized Debt Obligation Problems Page Perry LLC 2008-07-17T11:13:19-05:00 SEC Finds "Serious Shortcomings" At Credit-Ratings Agencies http://www.investmentfraudlawyerblog.com/2008/07/sec_finds_serious_shortcomings.html Lack of staffing, conflicts of interest and poor business practices are among the reasons the SEC has found caused the three largest credit-rating agencies (Moody’s, S&P and Fitch) to award high credit ratings to questionable structured finance securities. Due to... Subprime Mortgage & Collateralized Debt Obligation Problems Page Perry LLC 2008-07-17T10:40:13-05:00 Investor Suitability Claims on the Rise http://www.investmentfraudlawyerblog.com/2008/07/investor_suitability_claims_on.html The subprime and credit crises affecting the economy have revealed an array of suitability abuses by Wall Street investment firms. While a rising stock market hides many abuses by brokerage firms, suitability abuses are more easily identifiable when times are... Page Perry LLC 2008-07-16T16:25:44-05:00 Washington's Bailout Of Financial Firms May Put The United States' AAA Credit Rating At Risk http://www.investmentfraudlawyerblog.com/2008/07/washingtons_bailout_of_financi.html According to recent reports, Washington’s decisions to open the government’s vault to support Wall Street banks, Freddie Mac, and Fannie Mae, among others, could have the collateral effect of costing the United States government its AAA credit rating. During the... Subprime Mortgage & Collateralized Debt Obligation Problems Page Perry LLC 2008-07-16T12:29:17-05:00