Posts belonging to Category Employment Issues



Inflated Credentials – A Growing Problem Among Financial Advisers

 

Investors beware – advisers who make up or inflate their credentials are committing fraud upon their clients. This is often the first step leading to the devastating losses to investors we read about almost every day. Overburdened and underfunded though they are, the SEC announced that it will take action to combat this growing problem.

Is the Unemployment Rate in the U.S. Really 16%?

 

Serious questions have been raised regarding the accuracy of the United States reported 8.1 percent unemployment rate. In fact, one respected expert has stated that the real unemployment rate in the United States is probably 16 percent.

District Court Confirms $10,250,000 Arbitration Award Against Merrill Lynch

 

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida confirmed an award in favor of two former financial advisers and against Merrill Lynch in the amount of $10,250,000. Merrill Lynch had petitioned the district court to vacate the award arguing, in essence, that the record of the arbitration proceeding demonstrated bias on the part […]

Middle Class Reality

 

While sometimes perception and reality are the same, perception and reality are very different when it comes to the lifestyle expectations of ordinary Americans. Ever since World War II there has been the expectation of upward mobility for future generations. That is how we see ourselves. Realistically that is not true anymore. The rich are […]

Wall Street Continues to Perpetuate the Same Old Abuses

 

A former UBS research analyst has filed a lawsuit filed against the bank alleging that he was fired for refusing to write inaccurate research reports to benefit (or avoid harming) UBS’s trading positions in the commercial mortgage-backed securities market. The analyst reportedly seeks reinstatement with 2.5 times accrued back pay. (“Former UBS Research Analyst Sues […]

Food for Thought: Does the U.S. Face a New Great Depression?

 

Many developed nations have borrowed and spent beyond their ability to repay their debt. Central banks around the world are faced with complex decisions on the best policies to improve liquidity. When economists weigh in with solutions, they fall into one of two groups ? those who want to borrow more and put more money […]

SEC Expected to Pay Hundreds of Millions of Dollars to Whistleblowers

 

The Securities and Exchange Commission will soon pay out $452 million to whistleblowers across the country, according to a New York Post article, “SEC set to hand out up to $452M to whistleblowers.” The SEC’s whistleblower program recently marked its first anniversary. Whistleblowers can collect from 10 percent to 30 percent of what the government […]

A Bet Your Life Decision for Retirees – Lump Sum or Annuity

 

Many retirees are facing a potentially life-changing financial decision. Ford Motor Co. recently offered 90,000 of its retirees a single lump sum payment that would take the place of their company-sponsored retirement annuity, which pays the retiree a guaranteed amount of income for life. General Motors plans to make the same kind of offer to […]

Repression of Middle Class Fosters Discord in America

 

“I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore!” That seems to describe the general feeling among people as diverse as Tea Party members and Occupy Wall Street types. It also captures the mood of a vast middle class of America that is fed up with our institutions of finance and government […]

Layoffs Loom for More Senior Level Securities Professionals

 

More Wall Street jobs cuts are expected as deal-making, capital-raising and lending have been severely crimped by the global economic downturn. The resulting lower revenues are making a new round of layoffs increasingly likely (“On Wall St., few places to hide as jobs ax hovers,” Reuters). As the article implies, the cuts have reportedly even […]