New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer recently announced an agreement to resolve an investigation of market timing by a leading financial services firm. Under the agreement, Prudential Equity Group will pay $270 million in restitution to injured investors. Under ...

Tagged with: Security and Commodity Brokers

To say the market has been volatile recently would be an understatement. Whether deciphering the Fed’s language concerning interest rates, digesting corporate earnings announcements or worrying about geopolitical problems, investor behavior has proven to be unpredictable. In order to maneuver ...

Tagged with: Security and Commodity Brokers

Through last week the S & P 500 is up about 1.5 percent this year. In 2005 the return was about 5 percent, yet many people seem to think stocks should be doing 10 percent annually. The reason for this ...

Tagged with: Security and Commodity Brokers

At a retirement seminar several years ago, a long-time tax practitioner advised the audience that anyone with an IRA should always make sure that they were married, preferably to a spouse at least 20 years younger. This would ensure that ...

Tagged with: Security and Commodity Brokers

Reduction in number of estate tax audits (and auditors) — As previously announced in major media publications, the Internal Revenue Service has indicated a desire to substantially reduce the number of estate and gift tax audits to be conducted. At ...

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For many decades large corporations and labor unions offered their workers pension plans designed to provide a fixed annuity in retirement that would supplement Social Security benefits. Due to increasing costs, many organizations such as Hewlett-Packard and IBM have frozen ...

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Most investors consider municipal bonds to be a safe and conservative way to earn a steady stream of tax-free income without having to constantly monitor their investments as if they were a stock. While this statement is mildly accurate, most ...

Tagged with: Security and Commodity Brokers

This is one of my most favorite weeks of the entire year on the PGA Tour — the U.S. Open. Winged Foot is steeped in tradition and history and we will witness a true champion be tested, both with his ...

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Before the U.S. Congress starts to appropriate more money to bail out the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., it should first do an investigation as to why some pensions may be underfunded. It is estimated that the nation’s pension plans are ...

Tagged with: Security and Commodity Brokers

Did the defendants breach their fiduciary duties to the plaintiff when they recommended a reverse stock split and in fixing a “less than fair” value for fractional shares left over after the split≠ This was the issue before New York ...

Tagged with: Security and Commodity Brokers Transportation

Did the defendants breach their fiduciary duties to the plaintiff when they recommended a reverse stock split and in fixing a “less than fair” value for fractional shares left over after the split≠ This was the issue before New York ...

Tagged with: Security and Commodity Brokers Transportation

Finkelstein, Thompson & Loughran has filed a securities fraud class action lawsuit against Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. and the former head of its Internet group, Henry Blodget, on behalf of purchasers of iVillage Inc. securities between November 9, 1999 ...

Tagged with: High Tech Security and Commodity Brokers