An irreverent Wall Street Blog
BrokeAndBroker.com Blog by Bill Singer WEEK IN REVIEW
January 24, 2015
As the economy recovers from the Great Recession, a
number of regulatory violations that had been somewhat dormant for the past few
years are once again showing up on the radar screen. With increasing number of
deals, we're also seeing rising numbers of enforcement actions involving
misconduct attendant to selling those deals, among which is the perennial
favorite Private Securities Transaction or PST. When a no-no has its own
acronym, it's a good indication that it's a pretty common problem. Read about this recent PST settlement. READ.
Ya got your butcher, your
baker, your candlestick maker. Ya also got your attorney, accountant, and
federal contractor -- and, while you're at it, let's toss in a stockbroker.
What the hell do the three characters in a nursery rhyme have to do with a
lawyer, CPA, contractor, and stockbroker? Frankly, if you have to ask that question, you
may be setting yourself up for a nasty surprise. Consider the recent
disciplinary settlement involving a CPA and registered person.
READ
Recently,
a number of clients have contacted me with stories about having been hit with a
Ransomware demand. Given the growing danger of this cyber-crime, the
BrokeAndBroker.com Blog reprints in full-text below a recent Federal Bureau of
Investigation warning. READ
You ever read something that, at first blush, you
thought you understood but when you try to explain it to someone else, you
realize that you must have missed something because it's not making any sense?
At that point, you go back and re-read . . . and then re-read again, and
perhaps again. Then it hits you. You didn't miss anything. The writer either
assumed too much or failed to provide you with sufficient content and context.
Consider a recent public customer's arbitration against three industry
respondents. It's a clear-cut victory
for the respondents . . . except, well, it's impossible to figure out why.
Which doesn't mean that the industry folks were wrong or should not have won.
It just means that we don't quite understand the underlying facts or the Decision.
READ