http://www.wsj.com/articles/sec-warns-fenway-partners-of-possible-action-1428073087
SEC Warns Fenway Partners of Possible Action; Private-equity firm warned over disclosure of expenses, fees
RYAN DEZEMBER
Updated April 3, 2015 1:48 p.m. ET
Fenway Partners LLC has been warned that U.S. securities regulators may take action against the New York private-equity firm over its disclosure of expenses, fees and other financial information, according to people familiar with the matter. Continue reading
Ex-official said TPG partner might ‘smack’ his head into wall, lawsuit alleges
Friday, 03 April, 2015, 9:48pm
Reuters in New York
TPG Capital has been sued by its former head of public affairs, who accused the private equity giant of ignoring his warnings that the firm may have violated securities regulations and defrauded investors out of millions of dollars as a result. Continue reading
Macquarie to Pay $15 Million in Puda Coal Case
By Aruna Viswanatha
28 March 2015
Dow Jones Institutional News
WASHINGTON–A unit of Macquarie Group Ltd. will pay $15 million to resolve charges by the Securities and Exchange Commission that it underwrote a public offering for a China-based company even though it had information that contradicted statements in the offering materials.
The case is the SEC’s first against an underwriter in its long-running crackdown on alleged accounting fraud by Chinese companies, many of whom entered the U.S. capital markets through backdoor mergers. Continue reading
China’s leading over-the-counter exchange cracks down on illegal trading
Thursday, 02 April, 2015, 9:30pm
Reuters in Shanghai
Beijing’s New Third Board to investigate ‘ultra-high’ price quote on fears of overheating
The mainland’s leading over-the-counter (OTC) equity exchange is cracking down on illegal trading, with concerns growing that the market, which is aimed at small, high-growth firms and private equity investors, is overheating. Continue reading
One Woman’s Crusade for Samsung Family to Repay $2.2 Billion IPO Windfall
byRose Kim
April 1, 2015
(Bloomberg) — As a student, Park Young Sun always enjoyed standing up to the big boys.
“She was the unofficial head of all the girls and would confront boys that bullied or played pranks on them,” said Bruce Lee, a fund manager who first met the three-term opposition lawmaker almost five decades ago when they were seven-year-olds in elementary school in Seoul.
Park has shifted her sights from schoolyard bullies to business titans and her latest target is as powerful as they come: the family behind the nation’s biggest conglomerate or chaebol, Samsung Group. She says they should pay back profits from a 1999 deal later ruled by courts to be illegal — money she says the family may use to fund the transfer of assets to the children of Samsung patriarch Lee Kun Hee. Lee remains hospitalized following a heart attack. Continue reading
http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2015/03/31/class-action-lawsuits-follow-sec-interest-in-accounting-issues/
Mar 31, 2015
Class-Action Lawsuits Follow SEC Interest in Accounting Issues
MICHAEL RAPOPORT
The number of securities class-action lawsuits alleging accounting fraud jumped 47% in 2014, even as the overall number of securities class actions was little changed, according to a new report from Cornerstone Research issued Tuesday. The increase stems partly from a similar jump in accounting-fraud enforcement cases brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission, Cornerstone said, as the SEC renewed its focus on financial-reporting and disclosure issues in 2014 after several years of focusing on other matters. Continue reading
Accounting Class-Action Filings Jumped 47% Last Year
LOS ANGELES (MARCH 31, 2015)
BY MICHAEL COHN
Filings of securities class actions with accounting-related allegations increased 47 percent in 2014, according to a new study. The study, by Cornerstone Research, found that accounting settlements represented the majority of the number and dollar value of total settlements. After two years of relatively low activity, 69 new cases were filed with accounting allegations, compared with 47 in 2013 and 45 in 2012. Continue reading
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/b9f6b6a8-d796-11e4-849b-00144feab7de.html#axzz3W2lbGkvE
March 31, 2015 2:30 pm
Japan to tighten scrutiny of IPOs
Kana Inagaki in Tokyo
Japan’s main exchange operator is taking steps to restore confidence in the stock market after an investor outcry over a recent string of questionable initial public offerings. Atsushi Saito, chief executive of Japan Exchange Group, said on Tuesday that JPX will toughen the screening process for companies seeking listings by requiring them to disclose more detailed information on their earnings outlook. It will also tighten checks on accounting practices. The move came after several Japanese companies over the past year disclosed accounting irregularities or revised their guidance shortly after their shares floated on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Continue reading
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/ef286144-d6ee-11e4-97c3-00144feab7de.html#axzz3VweklAP0
Distressed Diva Loved Her Companies Too Much to Mark Them Down
5 MAR 31, 2015 9:42 PM EDT
By Matt Levine
Yesterday, the Securities and Exchange Commission brought civil securities fraud charges against Lynn Tilton and her firm, Patriarch Partners. Lynn Tilton once had a television show called “Diva of Distressed.” “It’s only men I strip and flip,” she said in the pilot. “My companies I keep long-term and close to my heart.” Here is a Jessica Pressler profile of Tilton in which a former employee complains that “the experience of working for Tilton was so emasculating that it took him months after leaving the firm to have sex again.” Lynn Tilton is what people call a colorful character, is the point I am trying to convey. Continue reading
Are markets developed by regulators, or crooked geniuses like Mike Milken & Harshad Mehta?
MC Govardhana Rangan
26 March 2015
The Economic Times
Who is the hero of the ongoing World Cup tournament? Brenden McCullum, or the International Cricket Council? Did Sachin Tendulkars and Kapil Devs make cricket a popular sport in India, or the Board of Control For Cricket in India?
If people ‘play’ in financial markets, what is true for cricket could be true for equities and bond markets as well. Historically, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been ruling the government securities market. Now, the plan is to shift it to the Securities & Exchange Board of India (Sebi) and equip an ‘independent’ debt management agency to take over the role of RBI as the government’s investment banker. Continue reading
AsianExtractor: Unearthing Accounting Fraud in Asia 