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ETFs Are Going BATS … and Why You Should Care!

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Contributor Post By: Ron Rowland The ETF marketplace changed last month.  You didn’t notice?  Don’t worry, you’re not alone.  Today I’ll tell you all about it. You already know that “exchange traded funds” trade on an exchange.  That’s what distinguishes them from old-fashioned mutual funds.  But what exchange trades them, and where is it? For some new iShares, the answer isn’t New York or Chicago.  Their trading hub is Lenexa, Kansas.  Let me explain … Exchange Floors No Longer Needed For most people, the term “stock exchange” brings to mind images of noisy rooms filled with men in colorful jackets, … Read more

SEC May Have Destroyed Papers on Bank Probes

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The Securities and Exchange Commission may have destroyed documents related to investigations into major banks and hedge funds, according to Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). “From what I’ve seen, it looks as if the SEC might have sanctioned some level of case-related document destruction,” Grassley said in a statement. “It doesn’t make sense that an agency responsible for investigations would want to get rid of potential evidence. If these charges are true, the agency needs to explain why it destroyed documents, how many documents it destroyed over what time frame, and to what extent its actions were consistent with the law.” … Read more

Obama has SEC Attack Standard & Poor’s

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Standard & Poor’s, whose unprecedented downgrade of US debt triggered a worldwide sell-off in equities is pushing against a US government proposal that would require credit raters to disclose “significant errors” in how they calculate their ratings. S&P, accused by the Obama administration of making an error in its calculations leading Friday’s downgrade, raised concern about the proposed new corrections policy and other issues in an 84-pg letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission, dated August 8. The SEC is weighing sweeping new rules designed to improve the quality of ratings after their poor performance in the financial crisis. The … Read more

SEC, Rajat Gupta Drop Their Cases, for Now

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NEW YORK—The Securities and Exchange Commission dropped its civil administrative proceeding against former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. director Rajat Gupta, but left the door open to pursue insider-trading charges against him in a civil lawsuit. The agency “is fully committed to the case and will proceed as appropriate,” a spokesman said Thursday. Specifically, the agency said that “it is in the public interest” to dismiss the administrative case but that “dismissing these proceedings will not prevent the Commission from filing an action against Mr. Gupta in United States District Court.” The SEC brought the administrative case against Mr. Gupta in … Read more