On Friday, October 16, some very disturbing news came out. Billionaire hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam and several others are being accused of insider trading across several stocks. Phone calls were recorded, incriminating words were said.


 
 Morgan Stanley Smith Barney officials previewed the firm’s new pay plan with brokers on a conference call late today. The new pay plan will harmonize the schedules from the two merged firms and go into effect January 1, 2010.

As markup on financial reform legislation continued today in the House Financial Service Committee, a pattern has emerged in which committee members are not forced to go on the record to vote for key amendments that weaken financial reform. Instead, the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, Rep.


 
 Based on a draft amendment of the Investors Protection Act that was distributed today by the House Financial Services Committee to select members of the financial services industry, the duty of care applied to both brokers and financial advisers would be at least as high as the standards that the SEC applies to investment advisers. The draft, which has not yet been made public, amends the Investor Protection Act issued by House Capital Markets Subcommittee Chairman Paul Kanjorski, D-Penn. Under this amendment, the Securities and Exchange Commission would still be required to write the rules governing fiduciary standards that advisers and brokers — who give personal advice — would have to abide by

Stocks are supercharging ahead, while home prices are stalled and likely to dip further. Asset prices in general are rising far above the economic reality that would rationally support them. Main Street Americans are struggling to pay their bills, while Wall Street executives are getting record bonuses

The resignation of Ken Lewis as CEO of the Bank of America has left the board scrambling for a credible replacement scenario while the press has had a field day speculating about potential candidates. A hands-off board and a narcissistic CEO combined to create this embarrassing picture of a company that yet again doesn’t have its house in order. It seems that a succession crisis has been allowed to develop by a board that enthroned a CEO who killed off potential competitors

Last week, the Dow broke through the psychological barrier of 10,000 and many breathed a sigh of relief. The call went out that the economy was about to emerge from what can be characterized as the darkest financial period in recent history. There certainly are green shoots indicating that the worst of the recession is behind us.