Month: October 2006

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Article: SEC Will Be Investigated in Probe Sought by Senate’s Grassley

Article - Media

SEC Will Be Investigated in Probe Sought by Senate’s Grassley

Otis Bilodeau

Bloomberg via Wayback, 26 October 2006

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, already under scrutiny for its handling of a trading probe that entangled Morgan Stanley Chief Executive Officer John Mack, now faces a broad review by government auditors of its management and methods for policing the financial markets.

The Government Accountability Office agreed last week to investigate the SEC’s enforcement division and compliance department after requests by Senator Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican who questioned whether the agency gave Mack special treatment. Grassley asked the GAO to examine the SEC’s “planning, oversight, control and other management processes” and gauge whether the agency does enough to oversee regulators at the New York Stock Exchange and NASD.

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Article: S.E.C. Inquiry on Hedge Fund Draws Scrutiny

Article - Media

S.E.C. Inquiry on Hedge Fund Draws Scrutiny

Walt Bogdanich, Gretchen Morgenson

New York Times, 22 October 2006

By the evening of June 20, 2005, the government’s investigation of possible insider trading by Pequot Capital Management, a prominent hedge fund, had reached a critical stage.

Throughout the day, Robert Hanson, a branch chief in the Washington office of the Securities and Exchange Commission, had been questioning his lead investigator in the case about taking the testimony of John J. Mack, an influential Wall Street executive.

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Article: Outcry grows over naked short sales

Article - Media

Outcry grows over naked short sales

Will Shanley

The Denver Post, 14 October 2006

It began as Pederson watched words appear on her computer screen at her Arvada home office. Investors, writing via an Internet chat room, were touting a mining company called CMKM Diamonds Inc.

The Las Vegas-based company, the investors claimed, owned mineral rights to more than a million acres of diamond-rich land in Saskatchewan, Canada. Intrigued, Pederson bought shares worth $15,000.

The decision began Pederson’s involvement in a saga that includes lawsuits, huge financial losses and allegations of fraud on Wall Street and inaction by federal regulators.

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Letter: NASAA Letter to SEC on Proposed Amendments to Regulation SHO

Letter

NASAA Letter to SEC on Proposed Amendments to Regulation SHO

Joseph P. Borg

NASAA, 4 October 2006

NASAA offers its support of the proposed amendments to Regulation SHO. While we are encouraged that the Commission is adopting a more proactive stance in this area, we believe that much more is necessary in order to regain public confidence in the integrity of U.S. capital markets and protect both the investing public and our nation’s small business interests. NASAA strongly urges the Commission to take all necessary steps to eliminate abusive short selling, and the corrosive practices that surround it, consistent with the Commission’s mission to protect investors, maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets, and facilitate capital formation.

PDF (22 pages): NASAA Letter to SEC on Proposed Amendments to Regulation SHO

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