Merrill Puts Enron Scandal Behind It
Earlier this morning, Enron announced that Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. had agreed to fork over $29.5 million to settle “MegaClaims” litigation related to the bank’s alleged role in the energy company’s bankruptcy. Not that Merrill did anything wrong! The venerable firm of course did not admit liability or wrongdoing. It settled merely “to avoid the costs and uncertainties of further proceedings.” In all likelihood, this won’t be the last of the pay-offs either: Citigroup, Deutsche Bank AG, Barclays Plc and Fleet are all still entangled in litigation with Enron.
Merrill Settles Enron Case [Reuters]
What’s Another $10 Million Among Enemies?
After shelling out $15 million last month to settle charges that it had withheld emails repeatedly from regulators, Morgan Stanley agreed to pay another $10 million for failing to maintain and enforce anti-insider trading measures among its employees. “Morgan Stanley failed to conduct any surveillance of a massive number of employee accounts held at the firm and trading in certain securities in those and other accounts,” says the settlement announcement. We’ve got two words for you: Rounding Error.
Another Fine for Morgan Stanley [The Street]
Samberg Sandbagged By SEC Lawyer
If there’s one thing Martha taught us, it’s that if you’re going to engage in insider trading, you might as well make some real money. According to allegations coming out of the SEC, that may be the sole consolation for Pequot Capital Management, Art Samberg’s $7 billion hedge fund that now stands accused of pocketing $18 million over a one-month period in 2001 by trading on private information relating to the acquisition of Heller Financial by General Electric. In a letter to Senators Chuck Hagel and Christopher Dodd in May, SEC lawyer Gary Aguirre, “The evidence suggests that the hedge fund’s CEO acted on an unlawful tip in directing the hedge fund’s trades.”
Pequot Probed by Regulators [Reuters]
Inquiry Clouds Future of HF Survivor [NY Times]
NYSE To Cut Out Goldman Et Al?
In a move that would piss off a whole lot of people, the NYSE may be looking to disintermediate the brokerage firms that were its sole owners until the exchange went public earlier this year. The rationale? “The exchange is no longer a member owned co-operative, it must think like a large trading company,” said Instinet CEO Ed Nicoll. “It must maximize revenue and profit opportunities for its shareholders.”
NYSE May Bypass Brokerages [Crain’s]
Sweetheart Tax Deal A Boon to Paulson
Hank Paulson may be taking a big pay cut when he moves from New York to Washington, but he’ll also be getting a sweetheart deal from the IRS that’s sure to lessen the blow. The tax code lets government workers defer capital gains taxes on assets they have to sell to avoid a conflict of interest--the only catch is that the proceeds are reinvested in government securities or a broad array of mutual funds approved by the government within 60 days. Theoretically, if Paulson holds his replacement assets til death, he’d never have to pay capital gains. The chance to save $100 million or so in taxes must have figured into the guy’s decision to take the post.
Loophole for Poor Mr. Paulson [Forbes]
Page 166 of 183 pages « First < 164 165 166 167 168 > Last »
