auction-rate securities

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NY AG Slaps Schwab With Suit Over Defrauding Clients

(Newser) - The New York attorney general has told Charles Schwab he will sue the brokerage for civil fraud over its marketing of securities to clients, reports the Wall Street Journal. Andrew Cuomo alleges that Schwab's brokers had little understanding of the financial instruments and then failed to inform clients that the...

Battle Over Regulation Looms in '09
Battle Over Regulation Looms in '09
ANALYSIS

Battle Over Regulation Looms in '09

Some worry Obama won't do enough to rein in derivatives market

(Newser) - After the economic meltdown of 2008, the coming year will see a battle over one of the most politically contentious issues in finance: the regulation of derivatives markets. Some who opposed government oversight before now acknowledge the need for tighter controls. But they face an uphill battle, reports Newsweek, against...

3 More Wall Street Firms Agree to Buy Back Securities

Settlement reached after auction-rate securities market collapse

(Newser) - 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...

Cuomo Raises Pressure on Merrill
Cuomo Raises Pressure
on Merrill

Cuomo Raises Pressure on Merrill

He says company faces lawsuit over auction-rate securities

(Newser) - With Wachovia locked in to buying back $9 billion in auction-rate securities from clients, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has his sights set next on finance titans Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs, Bloomberg reports. Cuomo says Merrill faces an "imminent" lawsuit after offering to buy back $10 billion...

Stocks Break 2-Day Slump
 Stocks Break 2-Day Slump 
MARKETS

Stocks Break 2-Day Slump

Rising dollar, falling oil contribute as well

(Newser) - Stocks posted solid gains today for the first time in three days as financials rebounded, the dollar gained, and oil fell nearly $1, MarketWatch reports. The Dow rose 82.97 points to close at 11,615.89, the Nasdaq gained 25.05 to 2,453.67, and the S&P...

Financials Lead Broad Slump
 Financials Lead Broad Slump 
MARKETS

Financials Lead Broad Slump

Equities fall even though oil does, too

(Newser) - Stocks fell today as waves of bad news from the financial sector battered investor sentiment, MarketWatch reports. Equities lost value despite a $1.44 drop in the price of oil, reversing what has recently been a consistent inverse relationship. The Dow fell 139.88 to 11,642.47, the Nasdaq...

Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan on Auction-Rate Probe Hot Seat

List of banks buying back bonds gets longer

(Newser) - As New York AG Andrew Cuomo's office continues applying heat, banks are scrambling to react to the auction-rate securities crisis, the Wall Street Journal reports. Morgan Stanley said yesterday it will buy back about $4.5 billion of the illiquid securities—but a Cuomo spokesman called the move “too...

UBS Agrees to $19.4B Auction-Rate Bond Buy-Back

(Newser) - UBS, pressured by state and federal authorities, has agreed to buy back $19.4 billion in risky auction-rate securities that were widely sold as cash-like and safe, the Boston Globe reports. The market for the securities, which are a type of bond sold by non-profits, art institutions and local governments,...

Citigroup Will Buy Back $7B of Bad Debt, Pay $100M Fine

Deal with SEC, NY state seen as 'face-saving,' could mean more ahead

(Newser) - Citigroup has agreed to buy back $7 billion in risky debt it marketed to consumers as safe and equivalent to cash, Reuters reports. Today’s deal, struck with New York's attorney general and the SEC, also requires the bank to pay fines totaling $100 million, and reimburse customers who took...

Auction-Rate Troubles Hit Silicon Valley Startups

Private companies hurting for cash

(Newser) - A freeze in the market for a type of securities known as auction-rate securities may cause big cash-flow problems for many Silicon Valley startups. A number of private companies have large chunks of cash tied up in the securities, reports the Wall Street Journal. Now, buyers have dried up and...

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