The Law of the Financial Markets from Top Securities Lawyers
Sunday, October 12, 2025
The Defense of Securities Arbitration Claims Can Be Handled on a Flat Fee Basis By Mark J. Astarita, Esq. Every General Counsel at every brokerage firm that has ever been named in a securities arbitration, and every individual broker in the same situation, is aware of the cost of defending […]
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 […]
Rule Determined to be Arbitrary, Sent Back to SEC By Mark J. Astarita, Esq. In a decision issued on June 23, 2006, the United States Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit has thrown out the SEC’s controversial rule requiring the registration of hedge funds. The SEC’s rule, which […]
Lying to Investors Is Not. By Mark J. Astarita, Esq. While you would never know it from the press reports, and some pretty irresponsible statements from some regulators, market timing is not illegal. It is a perfectly legal trading strategy, which has been in existence for years, with the knowledge […]
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 […]
New regulations enacted to address analyst conflicts, and insure disclosure. Given the fact that such regulations already exist, who is benefiting from these new regulations? By Mark J. Astarita, Esq. On May 8, 2002, the SEC approved proposed rule changes by the NASD and the NYSE to address conflicts of […]
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 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 […]
INTERNET OFFERINGS CAN RESULT IN A DOUBLE WHAMMY: AN IPO BY INEXPERIENCED BROKERS IN A COMPANY WITH NO FUNDAMENTALS By now, you’re probably aware of Spring Street Brewing’s successful initial public offering completed last year. The company conducted a self-underwriting almost entirely on the Internet and then commenced trading of its securities on its Internet World […]
Changes for the New Century By Mark J. Astarita, Esq. Last year was the last of something of an incredible century for the world, and no less so than for the financial markets. The changes in the financial markets over the last 100 years have obviously been significant, but it […]
