Securities and Exchange Commission

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Obama Wants to Tame Wild Derivatives Market

(Newser) - President Obama wants to put the so-called dark markets under control, the New York Times reports, seeking congressional approval to regulate the byzantine world of derivatives trading—which played a large role in the current financial mess. In a letter to lawmakers, Treasury chief Timothy Geithner calls for an oversight...

US Weighs Shaving Bankers' Pay
US Weighs Shaving Bankers' Pay
May 13, 2009 5:17 AM CDT

US Weighs Shaving Bankers' Pay

Planned rules may apply to banks that weren't bailed out

(Newser) - The Obama administration has begun an ambitious project to overhaul compensation practices across the financial  sector, including at firms that received no bailout, reports the Wall Street Journal. The government may use the powers of the Fed or the SEC, as well as congressional legislation, to prevent banks from rewarding...

Stanford Was a Drug Informant: Report

Fraudster was likely shielded from SEC in 2006 for his trouble

(Newser) - Allen Stanford may have received earlier protection from the SEC by working as a drug trade informant, a BBC investigation has found. The accused fraudster’s bank paid $3.1 million to the DEA a decade ago as a middleman for a Mexican drug lord, and in 2006 an SEC...

Stung by Madoff, SEC Steps Up Pace, Triples Fraud Cases

Embarrassed committee gets aggressive with enforcement

(Newser) - Haunted by the failure to catch Bernie Madoff, the Securities and Exchange Commission is dramatically stepping up its investigation workload, reports the LA Times. Since February, the SEC has frozen the assets of 27 fraud suspects, compared to seven in the same period last year. “The clear message from...

Texas Firm Charged in Kickback Case

Pension 'pay to play' scheme had tentacles in many states: Cuomo

(Newser) - New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and the SEC brought criminal charges yesterday against Saul Meyer, founder of Aldus Equity Partners, saying the firm had been involved in a “pay to play” scheme to manage part of New York’s pension scheme. And that’s just the tip of...

Stanford Pulled in $5B While SEC Dithered

Feds ignored employee warnings, fumbled over jurisdiction

(Newser) - When the Securities and Exchange Commission sent probing questionnaires in 2005 to investors who’d bought certificates of deposit from Stanford Group, panic set in. “Then it all seemed to go away,” says one former Stanford employee. Concerns over jurisdiction stayed the SEC’s hand for almost 4...

Judge Okays Bankruptcy for Bernie Madoff

Makes personal assets more easily available to victims

(Newser) - Bernard Madoff’s victims can force him into bankruptcy and seek any assets that weren’t proceeds of his crimes, a federal judge ruled today, over objections from federal prosecutors, the SEC, and the trustee overseeing the bankruptcy of Madoff’s firm. The judge ruled that bankruptcy had the best...

Short Sellers Reined In by SEC, Lenders

(Newser) - After years of criticism, the SEC is reigning in short sellers, the Wall Street Journal reports. First it cracked down on “naked” short selling, the practice of selling stock one doesn’t actually possess, and tomorrow it could reinstate the “uptick rule,” which had, until 2007, forced...

Madoff Accountant Faces 105 Years for Fraud

He signed off on false books for years: feds

(Newser) - Bernard Madoff's longtime accountant has been arrested and charged with securities fraud in the $64 billion Ponzi scheme, the New York Post reports. David Friehling, 49, is accused of helping Madoff dupe his investors and the Securities and Exchange Commission by filing fake audits. Friehling allegedly received $186,000 annually...

Investors Need to Shoulder Blame in Madoff Folly, Too

(Newser) - As dastardly as Bernard Madoff’s scam was, it’s hard not to pin some blame on the victims themselves, Joe Nocera writes in the New York Times. They shouldn’t have put all their eggs in one basket, no matter how promising it seemed: “Diversification has many virtues;...

Doubt Cast on $50B Figure in Madoff Case

Insiders think real losses closer to $20B; no one really knows

(Newser) - Bernard Madoff and $50 billion. His name and that number have become inseparable in describing the enormity of what has been called the largest white-collar fraud in history. Investigators claim Madoff himself told them that he stole $50 billion, but it is becoming increasingly clear that the number may be...

FBI Arrests High-Ranking Stanford Exec

Investment officer faces SEC obstruction charges

(Newser) - FBI agents have arrested the chief investment officer of Stanford Financial Group, accusing Laura Pendergest-Holt of obstructing an SEC fraud investigation. The SEC has been investigating allegations of an $8 billion investment fraud involving Texas billionaire R. Allen Stanford's financial group. Pendergest-Holt, arrested in Houston, will appear in court tomorrow....

New SEC Chief Moves Fast to Restore Agency

Schapiro fills openings, reverses Bush policies at battered regulator

(Newser) - New chairwoman Mary Schapiro isn’t wasting time making over the Securities and Exchange Commission, the New York Times reports, reversing several of her predecessor’s policies and filling key positions that have sat vacant for months. “I recognize that we could all be defined by what we missed...

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