Post by jcline on Oct 25, 2007 16:48:13 GMT -5
US SEC sees "rampant" insider trading on Wall St.
By Rachelle Younglai
WASHINGTON, Oct 25 (Reuters) - A senior U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission official said on Thursday insider trading appeared to be "rampant" among Wall Street professionals and the agency has formed a working group to focus on it.
"I believe we're going to see more insider trading cases," Linda Chatman Thomsen, the SEC's enforcement director, told reporters on the sidelines of a securities fraud conference.
"I am disappointed in the number of cases we are seeing by people who make an abundant livelihood in the market that they are sort of abusing by insider trading," Thomsen said, referring to cases already brought against professionals this year.
Insider trading "appears to be rampant" among Wall Street securities professionals, she added.
Alice Fisher, assistant attorney general with the Justice Department's criminal division, echoed Thomsen's sentiment and said: "The number of insider trading cases don't seem to be going away."
During the past year, the SEC's enforcement lawyers have stepped up the pace of insider trading lawsuits and settlements. Some of its recent high-profile cases include charges against a husband and wife in Hong Kong stemming from their trades in Dow Jones & Co Inc (DJ.N: Quote, Profile, Research) shares ahead of News Corp's $5 billion takeover bid, and guilty pleas from three former Countrywide Financial Corp (CFC.N: Quote, Profile, Research) executives for trading in company shares in the days before a disappointing earnings report.
Also, in March U.S. prosecutors charged 13 people, including employees at top Wall Street banks UBS (UBSN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research), Morgan Stanley (MS.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Bear Stearns Cos Inc (BSC.N: Quote, Profile, Research) in what they called one of the most pervasive trading rings since the 1980s. The SEC also brought civil charges against 11 people, as well as against three hedge funds.
Insider trading involving hedge funds is the focus of one of the four internal working groups the SEC has set up to tap expertise and coordinate efforts throughout the agency. The $1.8 trillion hedge fund industry guards its secrecy and complex trading strategies.
The SEC also has a working group looking at municipal securities, one focused on subprime mortgage lending issues, and a group examining stock options backdating by executives.
Thomsen expected more enforcement actions related to options backdating, but would not provide a time frame.
"There will be more to come," she told the securities law conference.
More than 180 companies have been investigated by the SEC or have conducted their own internal inquiries into possible manipulation of stock option grant dates.
The SEC has brought civil charges against former executives at several companies, including Apple Inc's (AAPL.O: Quote, Profile, Research) former general counsel.
In the subprime lending area, Thomsen said there was a wide variety of potential violations, including disclosure issues and the packaging of the subprime loans. (Reporting by Rachelle Younglai)
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www.reuters.com/article/governmentFilingsNews/idUSN2558382320071025?pageNumber=2
( thanks for the link goldengirl
)
By Rachelle Younglai
WASHINGTON, Oct 25 (Reuters) - A senior U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission official said on Thursday insider trading appeared to be "rampant" among Wall Street professionals and the agency has formed a working group to focus on it.
"I believe we're going to see more insider trading cases," Linda Chatman Thomsen, the SEC's enforcement director, told reporters on the sidelines of a securities fraud conference.
"I am disappointed in the number of cases we are seeing by people who make an abundant livelihood in the market that they are sort of abusing by insider trading," Thomsen said, referring to cases already brought against professionals this year.
Insider trading "appears to be rampant" among Wall Street securities professionals, she added.
Alice Fisher, assistant attorney general with the Justice Department's criminal division, echoed Thomsen's sentiment and said: "The number of insider trading cases don't seem to be going away."
During the past year, the SEC's enforcement lawyers have stepped up the pace of insider trading lawsuits and settlements. Some of its recent high-profile cases include charges against a husband and wife in Hong Kong stemming from their trades in Dow Jones & Co Inc (DJ.N: Quote, Profile, Research) shares ahead of News Corp's $5 billion takeover bid, and guilty pleas from three former Countrywide Financial Corp (CFC.N: Quote, Profile, Research) executives for trading in company shares in the days before a disappointing earnings report.
Also, in March U.S. prosecutors charged 13 people, including employees at top Wall Street banks UBS (UBSN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research), Morgan Stanley (MS.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Bear Stearns Cos Inc (BSC.N: Quote, Profile, Research) in what they called one of the most pervasive trading rings since the 1980s. The SEC also brought civil charges against 11 people, as well as against three hedge funds.
Insider trading involving hedge funds is the focus of one of the four internal working groups the SEC has set up to tap expertise and coordinate efforts throughout the agency. The $1.8 trillion hedge fund industry guards its secrecy and complex trading strategies.
The SEC also has a working group looking at municipal securities, one focused on subprime mortgage lending issues, and a group examining stock options backdating by executives.
Thomsen expected more enforcement actions related to options backdating, but would not provide a time frame.
"There will be more to come," she told the securities law conference.
More than 180 companies have been investigated by the SEC or have conducted their own internal inquiries into possible manipulation of stock option grant dates.
The SEC has brought civil charges against former executives at several companies, including Apple Inc's (AAPL.O: Quote, Profile, Research) former general counsel.
In the subprime lending area, Thomsen said there was a wide variety of potential violations, including disclosure issues and the packaging of the subprime loans. (Reporting by Rachelle Younglai)
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www.reuters.com/article/governmentFilingsNews/idUSN2558382320071025?pageNumber=2
( thanks for the link goldengirl
)