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"issued a report identifying common weaknesses seen in sales of structured securities products and describing measures by broker-dealers to better protect retail investors from fraud and abusive sales practices."

"charged J.P. Morgan Securities LLC (JPMS) with fraudulently rigging at least 93 municipal bond reinvestment transactions in 31 states, generating millions of dollars in ill-gotten gains."

"Morgan Keegan & Company and Morgan Asset Management have agreed to pay $200 million to settle fraud charges related to subprime mortgage-backed securities. Two Morgan Keegan employees also agreed to pay penalties for their alleged misconduct, including one who is now barred from the...

"it has fined Northern Trust Securities $600,000 for deficiencies in supervising sales of collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs) and failure to have adequate systems in place to monitor certain high-volume securities...

for public comment on the feasibility of a system in which a public or private utility or a self-regulatory organization would assign a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) to determine credit ratings for structured finance products.

"charged UBS Financial Services Inc. (UBS) with fraudulently rigging at least 100 municipal bond reinvestment transactions in 36 states and generating millions of dollars in ill-gotten gains. To settle the SEC's charges, UBS has agreed to pay $47.2 million that will be returned to the...

"it has fined Jefferies & Company, Inc. $1.5 million for failing to disclose additional compensation received and conflicts in connection with the sale of auction rate securities (ARS). FINRA also ordered Jefferies to repay $425,000 in fees and...

"it has fined UBS Financial Services, Inc., $2.5 million, and required UBS to pay $8.25 million in restitution for omissions and statements made that effectively misled some investors...