On February 23, 2010, the Project On Government Oversight sent a letter to Congressional committee members charged with financial oversight urging them not to trust or rely on the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) to police the brokerage industry. See “Watchdog slams Finra’s ‘abysmal’ record,” by Dan Jamieson, published in InvestmentNews.
Continue reading "Government Watchdog Calls for Elimination of FINRA" »
Sales of poorly understood, non-conventional investments tend to increase in low-yield environments like the present. Reverse convertible notes are an example of this dangerous trend, says Jeff Benjamin in his recent InvestmentNews article, “Reverse convertible notes warrant sales scrutiny.”
While SEC Chairman Mary Shapiro is advocating a watered-down standard of conduct for brokers, which would not require them to act in their clients’ best interest, Republican fellow commissioners are trying to block many reforms she is willing to undertake, according to a recent Wall Street Journal article by Kara Scannell.
Continue reading "Is the SEC's Ineffectiveness the Result of Political Discord?" »
As reported in recent articles in Investment News, after the SEC filed fraud charges against Medical Capital Holdings Inc, the Financial Regulatory Authority indicated that it has “a number of investigations under way involving the allegations of wrongdoing arising from the sale of these ‘Reg D’ private placements.” Regulation D refers to the securities regulation that governs the sale of private-placement investments that don’t have to be registered with regulators.
Continue reading "Medical Capital Debacle Puts Private (Reg D) Offerings under the Microscope" »
On January 11, 2010, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), which is the so-called self-regulatory organization responsible for regulating brokerage firms’ sales practices, laid off five senior enforcement officials, according to a recent Wall Street Journal article by Suzanne Barlyn. They include Katherine Malfa, vice president and chief counsel of enforcement with nearly 20 years of service; Rory Flynn, vice president and chief litigation counsel; Evan Rosser, vice president of strategic planning, and Michael Armelin, an assistant director in the enforcement department, according to the article. The fifth enforcement official, from FINRA's New York office, wasn't identified.
There have been various developments over the past several weeks which investors may consider relevant in allocating their resources or evaluating alternatives that are available to them. Some of the more significant developments include, but are not limited to, the following:
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened the week at 10,067 and, on Monday jumped 118 points.
• On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 111 points.
• On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 26 points.
• On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 268 points.
• On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 10 points and closed the week at 10,012.
Continue reading "Page Perry's Market Monitor - February 5, 2010" »
There have been various developments over the past several weeks which investors may consider relevant in allocating their resources or evaluating alternatives that are available to them. Some of the more significant developments include, but are not limited to, the following:
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened the week at 10,173 and, on Monday rose 24 points.
• On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 3 points.
• On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 42 points.
• On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 116 points.
• On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 53 points and closed the week at 10,067.
Continue reading "Page Perry's Market Monitor - January 29, 2010" »
According to Don Schreibner Jr., they have. See his Jan. 3, 2010 InvestmentNews article, “It’s time to sell municipal bonds.” Mr. Schreibner is president and chief executive of WBI Investments, a money management firm.
Continue reading "Have Municipal Bonds Become High Risk Investments?" »
There have been various developments over the past several weeks which investors may consider relevant in allocating their resources or evaluating alternatives that are available to them. Some of the more significant developments include, but are not limited to, the following:
• The markets were closed on Monday for Martin Luther King Day.
• On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average opened at 10,610 and soared 116 points.
• On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 122 points.
• On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 213 points.
• On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 216 points and closed the week at 10,173.
Continue reading "Page Perry's Market Monitor - January 22, 2010" »
The President of the North American Securities Administrators Association, in testimony before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission last week, continued to blast the SEC and FINRA for dropping the ball. Denise Voigt Crawford said there is an "oversight gap" resulting from Congress stripping away substantial state regulatory oversight of brokers and advisors when it enacted the National Securities Markets Improvements Act in 1996. She urged Congress to return to the states all of the authority taken away by that law. If Congress acted on her request, the states would once-again have concurrent authority with the SEC over large investment advisers, like Bernie Madoff. She also urged Congress to return to the states power to oversee private placement offerings.
Continue reading "State Securities Commissioners Need More Authority to Fight Investment Fraud" »
The Wall Street Journal reported on January 15th that the major US banks are set to pay their employees record bonuses of approximately $145 billion for 2009. This staggering amount represents an 18% increase over bankers’ 2008 salaries. Wall Street tries to justify these huge bonuses by pointing out that there was an increase in bank revenues. The Journal projects that the top 38 banks and hedge funds generated about $449.6 billion in revenue for 2009, a 25% jump since 2007. Of course, Wall Street wouldn’t be earning any profits or revenues if not for government bailouts and capital injections. The Obama administration has paid attention to these record payouts and President Obama announced his proposal for a bank tax.
Continue reading "Does the Proposed Bank Tax Adequately Compensate Taxpayers for the Risks?" »
How short their memories. Wall Street firms on the brink of failure until rescued by a controversial taxpayer bailout continue to show their unabashed greed by claiming entitlement to massive amounts of money earned on funds "invested" by American taxpayers. Without those bailouts, most, if not all the Wall Street firms would be bankrupt or teetering on failure. Nevertheless, undeterred by the rising anger on Main Street and the populist backlash in Washington D.C., and flush with record revenues of $449.6 billion, Wall Street firms are on track to pay over $145 billion in bonuses for 2009, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The first public hearings by the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission were notable for what did not happen. The well-prepared Wall Street bankers faced the cameras with apparent humility, parried Commission clunkers with their own platitudes, and left pretty much unperturbed. Those who expected the reprise of the 1930s Pecora hearings must have been disappointed. “Pecora’s revelations enraged the public and stampeded Congress into creating the SEC and separating commercial banks from investment banks,” according to Paul Wiseman in his USA Today column, “Depression-era star muckraker shapes Wall Street inquiry.” He added: “In public hearings, Pecora squared off against the elite financiers of the age, pointing at them with his cigar and coaxing them into what [Senate historian Donald] Ritchie calls ‘startling admissions of wrongdoing.”
There have been various developments over the past several weeks which investors may consider relevant in allocating their resources or evaluating alternatives that are available to them. Some of the more significant developments include, but are not limited to, the following:
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened the year at 10,428 and, on Monday, the market soared 156 points.
• On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 12 points.
• On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 2 points.
• On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 33 points.
• On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average moved up 11 more points and closed the week at 10,618.
Continue reading "Page Perry's Market Monitor - January 8, 2010" »
Independent financial advisers are gaining on Wall Street brokers in the competition to manage more than $5 trillion in Americans' savings, according to E. S. Browning in his recent Wall Street Journal article, “More Brokers Flee Big Firms, Taking Investors With Them.”
There have been various developments over the past several weeks which investors may consider relevant in allocating their resources or evaluating alternatives that are available to them. Some of the more significant developments include, but are not limited to, the following:
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened the week at 10,520 and, on Monday, the market rose 27 points.
• On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 2 points.
• On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 3 points.
• On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 120 points and closed the year at 10,428.
• On Friday, the markets were closed for New Years Day.
Continue reading "Page Perry's Market Monitor - January 1, 2010" »
There have been various developments over the past several weeks which investors may consider relevant in allocating their resources or evaluating alternatives that are available to them. Some of the more significant developments include, but are not limited to, the following:
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened the week at 10,329 and, on Monday, the market rose 85 points.
• On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 51 points.
• On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average drifted up 2 points.
• On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 54 points and closed the week at 10,520.
• On Friday, the markets were closed for Christmas.
Continue reading "Page Perry's Market Monitor - December 25, 2009" »
Investors’ problems with private investments and Reg D offerings appear to be growing at an alarming pace. According to a recent InvestmentNews article by Sara Hansard (“Finra to get tough on Red D offerings,” Dec. 13, 2009), FINRA says it is “getting tough” and plans to file regulatory actions against brokerage firms involved in selling private-placement offerings next year. “We have a number of investigations under way involving allegations of wrongdoing arising from the sales of these Regulation D private placements,” James Shorris, executive vice president and executive director of enforcement at FINRA, was quoted as saying in the article.
There have been various developments over the past several weeks which investors may consider relevant in allocating their resources or evaluating alternatives that are available to them. Some of the more significant developments include, but are not limited to, the following:
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened the week at 10,471 and, on Monday, the market rose 30 points.
• On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 49 points.
• On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average sunk 11 points.
• On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 133 points.
• On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 21 points and closed the week at 10,329.
Continue reading "Page Perry's Market Monitor - December 18, 2009" »
There have been various developments over the past several weeks which investors may consider relevant in allocating their resources or evaluating alternatives that are available to them. Some of the more significant developments include, but are not limited to, the following:
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened the week at 10,389 and, on Monday, the market rose 1 point.
• On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 104 points.
• On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rebounded up 51 points.
• On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 69 points.
• On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 66 points and closed the week at 10,472.
Continue reading "Page Perry's Market Monitor - December 11, 2009" »
