From Securities Arbitration Blawg:
FINRA recently reported its September 2009 arbitration statistics. As of September 30, 2009, 5,545 claims were filed, compared to only 3,471 as of September 30, 2008, an increase of 60%. FINRA also reported that 3,196 cases were closed through September and that the average turnaround time for cases that go to an arbitration hearing has declined by 9% (14.5 months from 16.0 months).
The most frequent claims/controversies involved continue to be breach of fiduciary duty, misrepresentation/fraud, negligence, and …

On October 5, 2009, FINRA reported that it will expand its “pilot” program that allows investors who file eligible claims to select an arbitration panel that consists of three “public” arbitrators, rather than the traditional panel comprised of two “public” arbitrators and one “non-public” arbitrator.
To accomplish this, FINRA has expanded the program to include cases against the following 14 broker-dealers (from 11 broker-dealers):

Chase Investment Services (10 cases);
Oppenheimer & Co. (15 cases);
Raymond James Financial Services/Raymond James & Associates (10 cases);
Citigroup Global …

On October 1, 2009, Colorado Securities Commissioner Fred Joseph announced that the Securities Division had filed a complaint against Stifel, Nicolaus & Company. According to the Division’s news release, the complaint alleges:
Stifel Nicolaus falsely represented auction rate securities as liquid, short-term investments to Colorado investors without discussing the risks. These representations gave investors a false sense of security that the investments would always be liquid when auction rate securities, in fact, faced significant, inherent liquidity risks.
A copy of the Notice …

From Investment Fraud Blawg and Securities Fraud Blawg:
“A nation that forgets its past is doomed to repeat it.” — Winston Churchill
On Wednesday, September 23, 2009, several major media outlets published articles discussing the Obama administration’s continued efforts to enact enhanced regulatory reform over the financial markets.
Given what has occurred over the past two years, enhanced regulation is absolutely necessary. As Paul Krugman noted in a New York Times Op-Ed article: “In the grim period that followed Lehman [Brothers'] failure, it …

From Investment Fraud Blawg, Securities Fraud Blawg, and Stockbroker Fraud Blawg:
On September 21, 2009, Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan announced that her office had finalized a consent order with JP Morgan Chase & Co. related to the firm’s marketing and sale of auction rate securities (ARS) to Missouri investors.
According to the press release, Missouri investors will receive more than $28 million. In addition, JP Morgan will pay $86,000 to the Missouri Investor Education and Protection Fund, which is used …

From the Securities Arbitration Blawg:
InvestmentNews recently pubished two articles discussing recently filed securities disputes.
First, on August 19, Jeff Benjamin and Sue Asci reported that NBA star Carmelo Anthony filed a lawsuit in federal court against California adviser Larry W. Hamilton. The claim alleges that the adviser transferred $1.75 million of Mr. Anthony’s assets and invested an additional $265,000 with other companies without consent. The complaint seeks an accounting of the adviser’s books and records, $2 million in compensatory damages, and …