From the Investment Fraud Blawg
According to the Wall Street Journal, the U.S. government has determined that the Social Security system will run out of money sooner than expected.
The government’s estimate is that the Medicare fund will be exhausted in 2017 and the Social Security trust fund will be insolvent in 2037. The article quotes recently appointed HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius as stating “It’s a wake-up call for anyone concerned about Medicare and the health of our economy.” Politics aside, this …

From the Investment Fraud Blawg
The Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) has announced that it has committed more than $61 million to victims of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC. The SIPC has mailed letters to 125 claimants in the SIPA liquidation proceedings. In total, there have been 8,848 customer claims filed.
The SIPC has also announced that it anticipates it will have more than $100 million by Memorial Day. The news release also stated the following recent developments:

Identification and recovery to …

From the Investment Fraud Blawg
Robert Powell of Marketwatch.com recently posted an article entitled “Inflation hits hard when you can least afford it: Four ways older Americans can deal with higher inflation rates.”
The article offers four tips for retirees and those approaching retirement. Most importantly, the article states that retirees should (1) live within their means, and (2) calculate retirement expenses. This is good advice because retirees are as guilty as many Americans for failing to properly budget and plan. In …

From the Investment Fraud Blawg
A number of sites have provided summaries of the various federal bailout programs.  This post includes links to a few of these.

New York Times, Tracking the $700 Billion Bailout
New York Times, Adding Up the Government’s Total Bailout Tab
CNNMoney.com, Bailout Tracker
Propublica.com, Eye on the Bailout
FinancialStability.gov (published by U.S. Department of the Treasury)
Subsidyscope.com

From the Investment Fraud Blawg
As reported by multiple sources including CNBC.com, the California Public Employees Retirement System stated publicly that it opposes the reelection of each of the 18 members of Bank of America’s board, including Chairman Ken Lewis.  
This should come as welcome news to Bank of America shareholders following a year in which the company (1) suffered a decline in market value of more than 80%; (2) its questionable purchase of Merrill Lynch; and, (3) possible breaches of …

From the Investment Fraud Blawg
Darren Barbee of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram has written a good article that outlines various ways investors can reduce the risk of being defrauded by a financial or investment adviser.  
This is a “must read” article that anyone who is dealing with an investment adviser.  In addition, The Kueser Law Firm’s website contains an Investor Resource Center that provides helpful links to several sources that investors can utilize to do a background check on their financial …

From the Investment Fraud Blawg
For the first time, FINRA has publicly stated that it “makes sense” that broker-dealers who provide investment advice should be held to the same fiduciary standard that applies to Registered Investment Advisers.
This is a significant development because broker-dealers and their representatives have relied upon an exemption in the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 to escape these duties. The Investment Advisers Act exempts “any broker or dealer whose performance of such services is solely incidental to the …

From the Investment Fraud Blawg
Jim Rendon of SmartMoney Magazine recently authored an article entitled “10 Things Your Bank Won’t Tell You.”
With all of the turmoil in the banking industry, this article provides insight that consumers should consider. For example, the article reveals that “the average ATM service charge doubled between 1998 and 2007,” and that the federal government found that a significant number of banks failed to disclose information required by law.
To find out what other businesses and professionals aren’t …

From the Investment Fraud Blawg
Earlier today, it was reported through several media outlets (i.e., Reuters, FT.com, CNBC.com) that the federal government pressured Bank of America to acquire Merrill Lynch in late 2008.  
To make matters worse, it appears that the government’s threats may have occurred after Bank of America realized that Merrill Lynch was not a good acquisition.  Based upon the reports, Bank of America’s CEO Ken “Lewis testified in February that former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Fed Chairman …

From the Investment Fraud Blawg
On April 26, The New York Times reported that in 2009, “workers at the largest financial institutions are on track to earn as much money this year as they did before the financial crisis began.”  (See article here).  In fact, the article reports that six of the largest banks have “set aside over $36 billion in the first quarter to pay their employees.”   At Goldman Sachs, the average compensation per employee could equal as much …