Here is the weekly summary for Securities Docket’s Web Watch (”This Week’s Best Blog Posts and Columns”):
The Wells Notice (This is Money)
This is Money | October 30, 2009
The Daily Mail City team explains what a Wells notice is and why companies wouldn’t want to receive one. What is it? It is a letter. But not the kind a company ever wants to receive.
Free Frank DiPascali Jr! (Gary Weiss, Portfolio)
Portfolio | October 27, 2009
Popular as it was to deny DiPascali bail, it was an immense mistake. Whether Judge Sullivan or Madoff’s victims like it or not, prosecutions of the Madoffs of this world and their accomplices hinge on the ability of law enforcement agents and prosecutors to enlist cooperating witnesses-“rats,” in cop parlance. Yes, cutting deals with admitted crooks is galling, but that is often the only way to prosecute the people involved in a criminal conspiracy, particularly a complex one like this.
Make That Sixteen . . . (FCPA Blog)
FCPA Blog | October 30, 2009
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act researcher Cody Worthington responded to our post “Their Days Are Numbered.” To our list of thirteen people waiting to be sentenced for violating or conspiring to violate the FCPA, he suggested we add three more.
Their Days Are Numbered (FCPA Blog)
FCPA Blog | October 30, 2009
We count at least thirteen people waiting to be sentenced for violating or conspiring to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Both offenses carry a prison term of up to five years.
Insider trading and suicide in Canada: a buddy story (Reuters)
Reuters | October 29, 2009
The Canadian case may have brought in less lucre, but the details — laid out in court documents and legal filings from the Ontario Securities Commission, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. District Court — read like a paperback detective novel on white collar crime.
THE USAO, THE SEC AND STAYS: ENFORCING THE LAW FAIRLY (SEC ACTIONS)
SEC Actions | October 28, 2009
If either the USAO or the SEC has no intention of litigating the charges brought in their respective complaints, then the actions should not be filed. Cases are filed in court to resolve claims, not make allegations which cannot be refuted while serving as vehicles for holding press conferences and issuing press releases. Law enforcement should be about enforcing the law and protecting the rights of citizens – all citizens including the accused – not headlines.
Thrills, links critical as greed in insider trading (Reuters)
Reuters | October 28, 2009
People who have millions and millions of dollars can be motivated just by being in the game and the adrenalin rush it provides. And sometimes, there is no rhyme or reason.
The Utter Absurdity Of Insider Trading Rules (Forbes)
Forbes | October 26, 2009
It seems the transformation of “insider trading” to the ugly term it is today is rooted in the absurd and politically correct belief that there should be a “level playing field” when it comes to the securities markets. A nice thought, but not one we should take seriously.
