Feds Wiretap Wall Street Rouge

Feds Wiretap Wall Street Rouge (since 2007)

 

The Galleon rules
The message for Wall Street coming out of the Galleon Management insider-trading prosecution is this: It's no longer enough to watch what you write, but now you've got to watch what you say.

 

One of the more notable things about the insider trading case against Raj Rajaratnam, the co-founder of Galleon, is the heavy reliance by federal prosecutors on evidence gathered through taps placed on his cellphone.

- full article

 

 

Galleon's Traders Seek Legal Advice
Galleon Group's analysts, portfolio managers and traders in New York are seeking legal advice and updating their resumes after the arrest of Raj Rajaratnam, the hedge-fund firm's founder, led to a flood of redemption requests.

At least 10 more people in the securities industry may be charged as early as this week in a federal investigation of insider trading that has been two years in the making, according to people familiar with the matter. Some of those may be connected to the case against Rajaratnam, the people said.

The pending crackdown may yield charges against hedge-fund managers and their associates, the people said, declining to be identified because the cases aren't public.
- full article

 

Enjoying the country morning. Fresh snow melts away. Inspiration for the new book: Win the 401k Game http://ping.fm/kGEEw

Threats to economic recovery remain

Summers says threats to economic recovery remain

 

Lawrence Summers, economic adviser to the White House, said weak demand and other issues could hinder economic recovery, although it appears the economy is returning to normal. A "lack of demand will be the major constraint on output and employment in the American economy for the foreseeable future," Summers said. "The combination of low-capacity utilization and substantial leveraging of household balance sheets raises questions about the sustainability of demand growth going forward."

- The Wall Street Journal

 

 

Retire the 401(k)?

Time To Retire the 401(k)?

Last year's market wipeout showed the vulnerability of the popular retirement-savings accounts. But the data are telling us that even in the long run, consumers need better options.

-full article (Time Magazine)

 

Also... Why Baby Boomers Can't Retire

Retire the 401(k)?

Time To Retire the 401(k)?

Last year's market wipeout showed the vulnerability of the popular retirement-savings accounts. But the data are telling us that even in the long run, consumers need better options.

-full article (Time Magazine)

 

Also... Why Baby Boomers Can't Retire

The BULL is Back! Merrill Lynch back on the street

BofA to begin promoting Merrill Lynch brand

Bank of America plans to spend $20 million for promotion to relaunch the Merrill Lynch brand in the fourth quarter. The Merrill logo of "the bull is back," said BofA Global Wealth & Investment Management President Sallie Krawcheck. "We recognize that the bull is a sense of pride for the financial advisers, and this is just as much about motivating them as it is the consumers," said Karen Kaplan, president of Hill Holiday, which is partnering with BofA on the campaign.

-The Wall Street Journal

Economist Say the Summer Market Rally Was Irrational

Stiglitz says market rally shows irrational exuberance

Policymakers should focus on rising unemployment, said Noble Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, and investors are unduly excited about the economic recovery. "There's a lot of risk going ahead of some big bumps," he said. "There's a very big risk that markets have been irrationally exuberant." Nouriel Roubini, a professor at New York University, and billionaire George Soros also warned about the rally in the stock market compared with the economic recovery.

-Bloomberg

US Economy Is Back From the Brink

USA was on verge of depression

Christina Romer, head of President Barack Obama's Council of Economic Advisers, said the country came extremely close to a second Great Depression. Columnist Robert J. Samuelson explains the difference between the past couple of years and 1929 that made it possible for the economy to avoid depression. He writes that the government's range of economic stimulus helped stem the panic, but that has yet to evolve into optimism.

-The Washington Post