The Law of the Financial Markets from Top Securities Lawyers
Sunday, April 20, 2025
Again. The Abuse of Power. The second part of the story is undoubted of more interest to securities lawyers, judges, and law professors, but the rest of you should continue reading. Government abuse is a topic that affects all of us and unfortunately happens too often. The abuse involves quests […]
What they are, how they work, and when they do not work. By Mark J. Astarita, Esq. 10b5-1 Plans- Insider Trading Defense As executive compensation becomes increasingly based on stock options, more and more executives find themselves in an insider trading quagmire when they attempt to sell their securities for […]
NASDR Warns Investors and Brokers of Promissory Note Fraud Schemes. Investors Beware. By Mark J. Astarita, Esq. The NASD has issued a regulatory alert to broker-dealers regarding the significant number of fraudulent promissory note schemes that have been offered to investors and to remind members and registered persons of the […]
Soft Dollar Arrangements are agreements between broker-dealers and their clients where the broker-dealer provides, in addition to other services, research to the client, in addition to execution services. The research, which includes reports, access to analysts, or third party reports is provided to the client by the broker-dealer at the […]
Panel awards Fidelity Brokerage Full Damages on Mistaken ACAT Transfer FIDELITY BROKERAGE SERVICES, INC. v. LaVALLIE, NASD ID # 99-03918 (New York, 8/22/03). A customer who wrongly retained an over delivery of securities is held liable for the consequences, in spite of the broker-dealer’s error. Fidelity made a mistake when […]
Ratifies Unauthorized Transactions by Failure to Object John Dawson & Associates, NDIll Bankruptcy Court John Dawson & Assoc., Inc., In Re, Adversary No. 99 A 00536 (N.D. Ill. Bankr., 1/16/03). Bankruptcy/Insolvency Issues * Ratification * Unauthorized Trading * Statutory Definitions (“Conversion”) * SIPA. SIPC claim is disallowed due to ratification […]
Proving Aesop Right Once Again – We Often Give Our Enemies the Means of Our Own Destruction By Mark J. Astarita, Esq. Avoid a remedy that is worse than the disease. We had better bear our troubles bravely than try to escape them We often give our enemies the means for […]
Analysts, Margin, Chat Rooms Come into Focus, But is the Focus Correct? By Mark J. Astarita, Esq. While many analysts and brokers ponder how much higher the market can go, and some industry professionals continue to call for the bursting of the bubble, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Arthur Levitt […]
New Obligations for Mutual Fund Directors? By John M. Baker, Esq. The staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission recently issued an interpretive letter on the obligation of investment companies and their directors to determine in good faith the fair value of the funds’ portfolio securities when market quotations are […]
New Proposals for a New Millennium – Suitability and Whisper Numbers Mark J. Astarita The end of the millennium has further demonstrated the changes that are in store for the brokerage industry in the start of the new millennium. Last month I took a look forward, but since writing that […]
