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POPSRevamping 401(k)s Some 401(k) plans are turning to collective funds since they typically charge lower fees than mutual funds. But, not surprisingly, there are drawbacks. Learn more here.
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POPSAnother Funny Deal, Filipino style, my Lord, not again! Where do supposedly bright people get the idea that they can make a fool out of other people or even think of them to be thick? Is this some kind of the psychological projection, where you think others are as thick or as dense as you are? (Sa lahat ng ayoko, iyong ginagawa kang tanga!)
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POPS The $4 Billion Senator Only last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced an investigation into the role of rumor-peddlers in the run on Bear Stearns. We somehow doubt that Mr. Schumer will receive similar SEC scrutiny for his very similar role in bringing about a liquidity crisis at IndyMac. But he may be more deserving. Last week, Mr. Schumer's Senate colleague Chris Dodd took the spotlight to insist that everything was fine, just fine, at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. For how that turned out, see here. In its own way, Mr. Dodd's declaration was as irresponsible as Mr. Schumer's, given that its goal was to protect the companies from greater regulatory scrutiny of the kind long proposed by the Bush Administration. http://online.wsj.com/ Paulson's Fannie Test Mr. Schumer was not content merely to share his profound concern with regulators. He also leaked the June 26 letter to the press – which is more like shouting "fire" in a crowded bank than dialing 911.
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POPSSEC investigating false rumors on Wall Street This would really be something. Some of the organizations being investigated are enormous. It's really incredible how ugly thing on Wall Street are these days. If it is proven that Bear Sterns was taken down - at least partially - by the spreading of false rumors, it would be a devastating blow to the credibility of our financial markets.
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POPS Exposing The Hidden Jihad In America You can download a pdf file of a shorter version of the legal memorandum, which will be published in the Utah Law Review in Sept 2008. The Center also works to educate the public, press and policymakers on the significant risks of Shariah and Shariah-Compliant Finance through the blog http://shariahfinancewatch.wordpress.com and a free weekly email newsletter, the Shariah Risk Due Diligence Newsletter. In addition to the legal analysis cited above, the Shariah Risk Due Diligence financial research team has been hard at work and their analyses will be introduced in May and June. On April 17, the Center announced the launch of a national campaign to alert the public to the serious risks of Shariah-Compliant Finance and Shariah Law - the Stop Shariah Now campaign. Other organizations including ACT America have also started national campaigns to stop the spread of Shariah-Compliant Finance through the U.S. finance system.
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POPSPeltz To Rising Food Costs: Meh Ethanol, rising fuel costs, and increasing demand from the developing countries have all conspired to jack up ingredient costs for food chains. That's made some investors wary but not Nelson Peltz. Worth noting since Peltz has proven his savvy in investing in this sector time and again.
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POPSBrave New Fed - Jonathan Macey Macey: "The result will further weaken the U.S. banking industry and lead to a wave of mergers among investment banks seeking to become "too big to fail."
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POPSMortgage Lender In Advanced Negotiations With Bank of America The takeover buzz surrounding Countrywide arose just two days after the company was forced into a hurried statement insisting there was "no substance" to rumours that it was about to file for protection from its creditors. Countrywide reported a $1.2bn loss in October - its first quarter in the red for 25 years. The company has cut more than 11,000 jobs and at the height of panic about the credit crunch last summer, several of its offices were besieged by anxious
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POPSGlobal Bankers Seek Raid Taxpayers On Subprime Fiasco Currently, Attorneys General in New York, Ohio, and Colorado are investigating illegal appraiser activity with respect to banks and other lenders pressuring appraisers to fudge their appraisals. The Securities and Exchange Commission is currently investigating illegal activity at credit rating companies who might have been pressured into issuing artificially high credit ratings. For the investment bankers, most of their profit is taken out of the "enhancement" value at the expense of the underlying investment that is being purchased by unsuspecting investors. In other words, the ultimate investor is getting hosed from the start but the house of cards doesn't fall until the cash flow starts to dry up -- as in, John Doe can't make his house payment and goes into default on his mortgage. Securitizations made against the subprime lending markets were simply the weakest links in the financial chain.
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POPSHalliburton faces criminal inquiry into its business ties with Iran
Earlier this year, the U.S. Senate tried to pass legislation prohibiting foreign subsidiaries of U.S. firms from trading with Iran, but the legislation was defeated, mostly along party lines. The subpoena comes on the same day that President Bush announced his administration is investigating whether Iran was involved in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on New York City and Washington, DC. Halliburton's July 19, 2004 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission states, "We received and responded to an inquiry in mid-2001 from OFAC with respect to the operations in Iran by a Halliburton subsidiary that is incorporated in the Cayman Islands. The OFAC inquiry requested information with respect to compliance with the Iranian Transaction Regulations. Our 2001 written response to OFAC stated that we believed that we were in full compliance with applicable sanction regulations. In January 2004, we received a follow-up letter from OFAC requesting additional information. We responded full
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