Merrill Probed for 'Front Running' Trades

Related Newser Stories

• SEC Had Dirt on Madoff in '06

  Dec 18, 08 11:37 AM CST
  The SEC knew that Bernie Madoff was misleading them about how he was handling his customers' money in 2006, the Wall Street Journal reports, and noted multiple violations which, if investigated, would have laid bare his Ponzi scheme. Instead, Madoff’s firm was told to register as an investment adviser, which it did, and Fairfield Greenwich, a hedge fund that placed money with Madoff, was told to disclose more information about him to investors. The inquiry was dropped. More »

• 3 More Wall Street Firms Agree to Buy Back Securities

  Aug 22, 08 2:23 AM CDT
  Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank have agreed to a settlement with New York's attorney general and other state regulators to buy back $14.5 billion of now worthless auction-rate securities. The brokerages will also pay $162 million in fines to settle charges that they misled investors into thinking the securities were as liquid as cash, reports the Financial Times.
  More »

• SEC Aims to Check False Rumors on Wall Street

  Jul 14, 08 9:15 AM CDT
  After months of urging from business, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced plans yesterday to clamp down on the rumor mill that can induce Wall Street gyrations with false information. Last week's market turbulence pushed the feds to make the move before this week's trading, the New York Times reports—but proving that false information has been spread maliciously is a tough task. More »

• Feds Eye UBS as Subprime Probe Widens

  Feb 2, 08 12:06 PM CST
  US criminal prosecutors investigating the subprime mortgage mess want to find out if UBS deliberately misled investors, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Swiss banking giant may have put mortgage bonds on its books at high prices despite knowing their valuations had plummeted. There are multiple probes into the mortgage crisis; until now most of them have involved civil authorities. More »

• Merrill Hedging Prompts Inquiry

  Nov 2, 07 7:55 AM CDT
  Merrill Lynch, still reeling from an $8.4 billion write-down on mortgage-related losses last month, has been making deals with hedge funds that may have been calculated to keep further losses out of investors' view, the Wall Street Journal reports. The move has attracted the attention of the SEC, which is looking into whether the deals were made to move risky securities off Merrill's balance sheet temporarily.
  
    More »