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Our experts frequently write blog posts about the findings of the research we are conducting.

Displaying 111-120 out of 128 results for "Muni Markup Week".

SEC Litigation Releases: Week in Review - February 15th, 2013

(Feb 2013)

Court Enters Final Judgments Against Former Wall Street Banker, Downstream Russian Trader and Trader's Wife in Insider Trading Scheme
February 13, 2013, (Litigation Release No. 22617)
A final judgment has been entered against Alexander Vorobiev and his wife, "relief defendant Tatiana Vorobieva," for their involvement in an insider trading scheme that resulted in over $1 million in illegal profits. Vorobiev traded using insider information regarding "numerous health care-related acquisitions,...

FDIC Insurance and Structured CDs

(Feb 2013)

As a continuation of our structured CDs week here on the SLCG blog, today we're going to discuss one of the biggest selling points for these products: FDIC insurance. FDIC insurance mitigates most of the credit risk found in structured products, but it may not be as significant a factor as the marking materials for structured CDs may suggest.

Structured products, the debt analog of structured CDs, are often maligned because of their exposure to credit risk. If the issuer of a structured...

Structured Certificates of Deposit Week

(Feb 2013)

Over the past several months, we have noticed more and more bank deposits that resemble structured products. These products go by various names: market-linked certificates of deposit, equity-linked certificates of deposit, contingent interest certificates of deposits, etc. For parsimony, we refer to these types of products as "structured CDs" or simply "SCDs".

We think structured CDs are a very significant development, as they can be designed to provide highly complex exposure, are almost...

Mis-sold Interest Rate Hedges

(Feb 2013)

The Financial Services Authority (FSA), Britain's highest financial regulatory agency, has ordered Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, and Royal Bank of Scotland to review all of their interest rate linked swap agreements sold to small businesses. In an investigation, the FSA found that four banks had violated at least one of its rules in over 90% of the 173 cases reviewed. The London Evening Standard is reporting that seven other banks may also launch similar reviews.

Interest rate swaps -- and related...

SEC Litigation Releases: Week in Review - February 8th, 2013

(Feb 2013)

Steven Harrold Settles SEC Insider Trading Charges
February 6, 2013, (Litigation Release No. 22613)
Afinal judgment was entered against Steven Harrold, former executive at a Coca-Cola bottling company, for his alleged insider trading "based on confidential information he learned on the job" concerning Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc.'s planned acquisition of The Coca-Cola Company's " bottling operations in Norway and Sweden. "The judgment permanently enjoins Harrold from future violations of various...

Call Options on Hedge Funds: Double Markups and Detrimental Mispricing

(Feb 2013)

A recently settled FINRA Arbitration case was brought by an investor who was sold a $2M call option on a basket of hedge funds by a large investment bank. The case was notable for two reasons. First, the investment bank charged a 25 percent markup on the fair value of the option. This large amount was charged even though the investment bank -- call it Investment Bank 1 -- simultaneously laid off all of its risk by buying an equivalent call option from another investment bank -- call it...

SEC Litigation Releases: Week in Review -February 1st, 2013

(Feb 2013)

SEC Charges Five Former Executives of Cay Clubs Resorts and Marinas in $300 Million Real Estate Investment Fraud
January 30, 2013, (Litigation Release No. 22607)
According to the complaint (opens to PDF), Cay Clubs Resorts and Marinas' former executives, Fred Davis Clark, Jr., Cristal R. Coleman, David W. Schwarz, Barry J. Graham, and Ricky Lynn Stokes conducted "an offering fraud and Ponzi scheme that raised more than $300 million from nearly 1,400 investors nationwide." Allegedly, from 2004...

What is a CDO, Anyway?

(Jan 2013)

We've talked a lot on this blog about collateralized debt obligations (CDOs), including a post just last week about how they might be regaining popularity. We thought it might be worthwhile to step back and explain just what a CDO is and why it is considered such a risky investment.

Part of the complexity just has to do with terminology. CDOs are a type of asset-backed security; so like a derivative, the value of a CDO is linked to the value of another asset. Typically, CDOs are linked to an...

SEC Litigation Releases: Week in Review - January 25th, 2013

(Jan 2013)

Randy M. Cho Sentenced to Prison Term of 12 Years in Criminal Action
January 24, 2013, (Litigation Release No. 22601)
Randy M. Cho was sentenced in a criminal action to 12 years in federal prison on charges of "perpetrating an investment scheme between 2001 and October 2009, which resulted in almost $8 million in losses from 57 investors." In addition to the prison sentence, Cho has been ordered to pay restitution of almost $8 million. In 2009, the SEC permanently enjoined Cho from violating...

European Traders May Face Financial Transaction Tax

(Jan 2013)

Earlier this week, eleven European countries were given the green light to implement a financial transaction tax according to an article from the Associated Press (AP). The story was subsequently picked up by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

According to the AP, the European Commission proposed "that trades in bonds and shares be taxed at 0.1 percent and trades in derivatives at 0.01 percent." Since these taxes will be based upon notional values for derivatives, the tax could be a large...

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