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 …

From Investment Fraud Blawg, Securities Fraud Blawg, and Stockbroker Fraud Blawg:
Yesterday, August 17, 2009, the Attorney General of the state of New York announced that it had filed a lawsuit against Charles Schwab & Co. for its sales of auction rate securities. According to the press release, the Complaint charges Schwab with violations of the Martin Act for:
falsely representing auction rate securities as liquid, short-term investments without discussing the risks. These representations gave investors a false sense of security that …

From Investment Fraud Blawg, Securities Fraud Blawg, and Stockbroker Fraud Blawg:
The September 2009 edition of The Atlantic contains a story written by William D. Cohan, which outlines the Final Days of Merrill Lynch. Mr. Cohan is also the author of House of Cards: A Tale of Hubris and Wretched Excess on Wall Street (available at Amazon.com).
This article is an worthwhile (and brief) read for anyone interested in the collapse of Merrill Lynch or Wall Street in general.
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From Investment Fraud Blawg, Securities Fraud Blawg, and Stockbroker Fraud Blawg:
On August 4, 2009, the Wall Street Journal reported that Fidelity Investments had joined other broker-dealers in warning its customers about the risks of investing in Leveraged ETFs (see other blawg posts on this topic here and here). The article, written by Daisy Maxey, states that Fidelity’s website warned investors that “Leveraged products are complex, carry substantial risks and are intended for short-term trading,” and that “[m]ost reset daily and …