Stories related to: SEC

The SEC has filed civil charges against four top Broadcom execs, alleging that the men backdated employee stock-option grants between 1998 and 2003, the Wall Street Journal reports. The suit seeks fines and also the return of their illegal gains. The chip-maker—one of the boom companies of the 1990s—settled charges with the government last month. More »

Three former heads of the Securities and Exchange Commission, including President Bush appointee William Donaldson, will endorse Barack Obama today, joining with former Fed chair Paul Volcker to say the candidate will take a “reasoned approach” to “balanced regulatory reform.” Donaldson said he was especially impressed by Obama’s recent comment that he would overhaul regulations for any business that borrows from government. More »

Already reeling from record losses and preparing to cut 5,500 jobs, UBS has acknowledged the Department of Justice is investigating the mega-bank for helping its wealthiest clients evade taxes. The feds "briefly detained" one of the Swiss firm's most senior private bankers as a "material witness," UBS said. Insiders told the Financial Times that the DoJ held the employee to encourage the bank to come clean. More »

Even a three-game playoff was too much for the BCS. Bowl Championship Series officials rejected a plan Wednesday to turn the much-criticized system for deciding a national champ into a playoff involving four teams, starting in the 2010 season. The BCS format will remain the same until at least the 2014 season. More »

Bear Stearns has been warned it could face civil charges stemming from an SEC probe into its anti-competitive bidding for municipal bonds, the Wall Street Journal reports. The firm is also being investigated by the FTC for alleged violations of consumer protection laws involving its mortgage-servicing unit. Bear Stearns officials said the company is co-operating with both agencies and the Department of Justice. More »

Condo-hotel rooms were a hot buy at the height of the housing boom, but marketing them as investments that would pay out every time they were occupied could come back to haunt developers, the Wall Street Journal reports. As business sours, buyers who find themselves making mortgage payments on empty rooms are suing to get refunds. More »

The LSU Lady Tigers reached their fifth consecutive Final Four by ousting top-seeded North Carolina 56-50 in the women’s NCAA tournament. Sylvia Fowles led LSU with 21 points, 12 rebounds and five blocked and was also named most outstanding player of the New Orleans regional. The loss snaps the Tar Heels’ 16-game winning streak, reports the Associated Press. More »

The "transformative" changes Henry Paulson has in mind for the regulation of the US economy will take years to implement, the Treasury Secretary said today. The plan would greatly increase the Fed's oversight powers, regulate the insurance industry for the first time, and add federal oversight of the mortgage business, the Wall Street Journal reports. “We need to begin the serious work of modernizing and reforming the structure,” Paulson said. More »

LSU had a fairly easy tuneup for North Carolina in the regional semifinals, as the Lady Tigers cruised by Oklahoma State 67-52 today, reports the Associated Press. Erica White led Louisiana State with 18 points, and three other teammates scored in double figures. LSU held the Cowgirls to 15% shooting in the first half and forced 13 turnovers. More »

The Treasury wants a newly empowered Federal Reserve to monitor market stability and swoop in on institutions that threaten it, the New York Times reports. If approved by lawmakers, the Treasury plan would merge a jumble of regulatory agencies and combine the SEC with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. But the plan also reduces or maintains current regulation in many cases—elements sure to provoke battles with Democratic lawmakers. More »

Rick Pitino improved to 8-0 in regional semifinals and has Louisville one win away from the Final Four after a 79-60 win over Tennessee last night, reports the Associated Press. Pitino mixed up his defenses throughout the game to shut down the high-powered offense of the No. 2-seeded Volunteers. The Cardinals jumped out to a 24-8 lead early, then held off repeated Tennessee comeback attempts late. More »

No.8 seed Indiana's trying season came to an end last night, with an 86-72 defeat at the hands of No.9 Arkansas in their East Regional first round matchup. Though IU almost capped off a stirring last minute comeback, the Razorbacks, lifted by Sonny Weem's career best 31 points, sent the Hoosiers to an ignominious early exit, the Indianapolis Star reports. More »

Jerel McNeal did most of the work and Wesley Matthews sealed the deal as Marquette defeated Kentucky 74-66 today in the first round the NCAA Tournament, reports the AP. McNeal had 20 points and Matthews hit eight free throws in the final 31 seconds to put the Wildcats away. More »

Third-seeded Xavier avoided the first major upset of the NCAA Tournament today when it came from behind to beat 14th-seeded Georgia 73-61, reports the Cincinnati Enquirer . The Musketeers (28-6) trailed by 11 points in the second half, but freshman Dante Jackson hit a 3-pointer with 7:23 left to put Xavier up for good. More »

The epic collapse of Bear Stearns didn't mean bad news for everyone on Wall Street—several big hedge funds made a mint off it, the Wall Street Journal reports. The funds essentially placed bets that Bear would stumble, then raked in millions when the security firm's shares took a nosedive. The SEC is investigating to make sure profiteers did not have insider knowledge of the coming collapse. More »

No. 5 Kansas knew it would need a big Rush to beat Texas A&M today, and luckily for the Jayhawks, they had it. Brandon Rush scored a career-high 28 points to lead Kansas to a 77-71 win in the Big 12 semifinals, reports the Kansas City Star. The Jayhawks will play Texas in the conference final today. In other NCAA action: More »

Clemson had lost 22 straight to No. 7 Duke and hadn't reached a conference tournament final in 46 years, but none of that matters now, as the Tigers beat the Blue Devils 78-74 in the ACC semifinals today, reports the Associated Press. Clemson, which was led by Trevor Booker's 18 points, will play North Carolina tomorrow. In other NCAA basketball action: More »

Foul trouble kept Kevin Love quiet in the first half, but early in the second fans heard him loud and clear. UCLA’s center hit three consecutive shots from beyond the arc to help the Bruins rout the California Golden Bears, 88-66, less than a week after a controversial finish in the teams' previous regular season game. Love ended the game with 11 points in all, as Darren Collision led the team with 18. More college hoops: More »

John Thompson III accomplished something today his father never did – he led Georgetown to consecutive Big East regular season titles. The 11th-ranked Hoyas battled No. 12 Louisville and hung on to win in the final minute of the game, 55-52. Georgetown, winners of five straight, head to MSG next week as the No. 1 seed in their conference tournament. Elsewhere in the AP Top 25: More »

Investment guru Peter Lynch and Fidelity Investment settled SEC charges brought against them alleging that Lynch used Fidelity traders to procure tickets to high-profile concerts and sporting events. Lynch, vice chairman of Fidelity's parent company, agreed to pay $15,948 for the tickets, plus $4,183 in interest. Fidelity will pay $8 million for nine other charges, reports the Wall Street Journal . More »