Foreign Collusion, Naked Shorting (Counterfeiting) & Money Laundering — All Illicit Wealth
Supreme Court to Hear Appeal of Third Circuit ‘Naked’ Short Selling Securities Suit
Timothy Raub
LexisNexis, 30 June 2015
The U.S. Supreme Court today agreed to hear an appeal of a Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruling remanding a securities class action lawsuit over the alleged illegal “naked” short selling of a company’s stock back to state court Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc., et al. v. Greg Manning, et al., No. 14-1132, U.S. Sup.
High Court To Hear Merrill Lynch Naked Short Selling Suit
Law360, 30 June 2015
In a short order, the high court granted the banks’ petition for a writ of certiorari, which was filed over a Third Circuit decision to remand the shareholder suit to state court. The justices also granted the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association leave to file an amicus brief in the matter.
Overstock.com Settles Short Sales Litigation
Chris Fry
Courthouse News Service, 25 June 2015
Overstock.com’s long-running legal feud with Goldman Sachs has likely reached its final chapter, with the retailer settling with the financial giant over their “naked short sales” of the company’s stock.
Merrill Lynch Fined for Supervisory Failures Leading to Ponzo Scheme
Nicholas Guiliano
Securities Arbitration Attorneys, 20 June 2015
Bank of America subsidiary Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. has been fined $1 million by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA, for failure to supervise one of its stockbrokers at its branch office in San Antonio, Texas. FINRA announced the fine on Oct. 4.
Bruce Edward Hammonds, a registered representative with the firm, used a Merrill Lynch account to operate a Ponzi scheme, luring 11 people to invest more than $1 million in B&J Partnership, an entity he ran for over 10 months, according to information released by FINRA. Hammonds request to open a business account for B&J was approved by Merrill Lynch supervisors, who subsequently failed to monitor the funds that the investors deposited and Hammonds withdrew. He was fired by Merrill Lynch in June 2008.
UBS Fined $12M for System Failures Surrounding Nakes Short Selling
Nicholas Guiliano
Securities Arbitration Attorneys, 20 June 2015
UBS Securities LLC was fined $12 million and censured by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA, for widespread system deficiencies and a failure to supervise that led to tens of millions of improper short sales.
The firm violated federal securities laws and FINRA rules at various times from January 2005 through March 2010, with several violations continuing through the end of 2010. The violations included improperly excepting short sales from the rules and the improper inclusion of securities in short sales that should have been off limits.
Illegal Naked Short Selling Appears to Lie at the Heart of an Extensive Stock Manipulation Scheme
Larry Smith
SmithOnStocks, 16 June 2015
Only a motivated enforcement agency with subpoena power and an accompanying powerful enforcement infrastructure can prove that naked shorting is at the heart of an extensive stock manipulation scheme. However, I believe that the observational evidence is overwhelming that naked shorting practices are widely used to manipulate the stock prices of emerging biotechnology companies as well as many other small and large companies. Unfortunately, naked shorting is an investment variable that investors must understand if they are going to make investments in the emerging biotechnology space in particular and the equity markets in general.
Forbes, 07 June 2015
Greek citizens voted against further austerity measures demanded by the Troika financing their rescue package, casting even more doubt on the country’s future as a member of the eurozone and throwing bond and currency markets into an uproar.
The euro has plunged from $1.20 to $1.09 this year (see chart). The feared unraveling of the currency – which, admittedly, would take a lot more than Greece’s departure – calls to mind another currency fiasco from the early 1990s, when George Soros and a group of other investors that included fellow hedge fund managers Paul Tudor Jones and Bruce Kovner, bet against a central bank’s ability to hold the line on its currency.
Forbes took a deep dive into that trade in the November 9, 1992 issue, illuminating how Soros made $1.5 billion in just a single month by betting the British pound and several other European currencies were priced too richly against the German deutsche mark.
The entire group cashed in big-time. Jones’ funds made $250 million, while Kovner’s Caxton Corp. rang the register to the tune of $300 million, but no one made more than Soros, who cleared $1.5 billion in that fateful month of September. (The score made Soros’ legend and swelled his firm’s coffers; assets under management jumped to $7 billion, from $3.3 billion, by mid-October 1992, and to $11 billion by the end of 1993.)
How to Handle a Short Attack on a Stock You Own
Keith Fitz-Gerald
TotalWealth, 3 June2015
An anonymous individual writing under the name “The Pump Stopper” launched a vicious attack on Ekso Bionics Holdings Inc. (OTC:EKSO) yesterday that immediately pressured the stock and caused it to drop 24.28% to close at $1.36 a share on heavy volume. Understandably, that makes a lot of people nervous.
Comment: This appears to be a stellar example of a life-saving vital technology company being destroyed by collusion between a placement agent and naked short sellers.
Hongqi Liu, Nan Xu, Jianming Ye, 02 June 2015
This paper studies short sellers’ trading strategies and their effects on the financial market by examining their accusations of fraud against Chinese reverse merger firms (CRMs) in the US. We find that short sellers rely on firms’ fundamental information, especially relative financial indicators, to locate their “prey.” Specifically, they compare a target firm’s financial indicators (e.g., growth and receivables) with both the industry average and the firm’s history. Continue reading “Article: Short sellers’ accusations against Chinese reverse mergers: Information analytics or guilt by association?”
Merrill Lynch Admits Using Inaccurate Data for Short Sale Orders, Agrees to $11 Million Settlement
SEC, 1 June 2015
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged two Merrill Lynch entities with using inaccurate data in the course of executing short sale orders. Merrill Lynch agreed to admit wrongdoing, pay nearly $11 million, and retain an independent compliance consultant in order to settle the charges.
BofA’s Merrill fined $11m over short selling
Ben McLannahan
Financial Times, 1 June 2015
The Securities and Exchange Commission has fined Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch unit $11m for failing to keep proper records of stock available to borrow, after irregular trades were carried out over at least six years.
The case relates to short selling — or betting that the price of a stock will fall — in which investors such as hedge funds ask their brokers to find stock to borrow, which they then sell, hoping to buy it back later for less.
SEC charges Merrill Lynch, fines firm $11 million for short sales violations
Francine McKenna
MarketWatch, 1 June 2015
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced charges Monday against Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch subsidiary for using bad data since 2012 to “locate” stock for short sales, violating Rule 203(b) of Regulation SHO. That rule prevents “naked” short sales, shorting shares that are not “easy to borrow.” The firm admitted the wrongdoing and will pay a $9 million penalty plus interest and give up $1.6 million in profits. Merrill Lynch must also submit to a compliance review by an independent consultant.
SEC v Merrill Lynch
1 June 2015
These proceedings concern Merrill’s violations of Regulation SHO (Reg SHO”) of the Exchange Act, in connection with its practices relating to its execution of short sales. As described more fully below, the violations arose from two separate issues concerning Merrill’s use of its “easy to borrow” lists.
PDF (11 pages): SEC v Merrill Lynch
SEC charges Merrill Lynch, fines firm $11 million for short sales violations
Francine McKenna, 01 June 2015
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced charges Monday against Bank of America’s BAC, +1.88% Merrill Lynch subsidiary for using bad data since 2012 to “locate” stock for short sales, violating Rule 203(b) of Regulation SHO. That rule prevents “naked” short sales, shorting shares that are not “easy to borrow.” The firm admitted the wrongdoing and will pay a $9 million penalty plus interest and give up $1.6 million in profits. Merrill Lynch must also submit to a compliance review by an independent consultant. Continue reading “Article: SEC charges Merrill Lynch, fines firm $11 million for short sales violations”
THE DOLLAR HAS NO INTRINSIC VALUE : DO YOUR ASSETS?
