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| 14-Jul-2010 14:04 |
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$8k to deliver pizzas? I’ll buy that If trust in capital markets is to return, investors must be able to believe due diligence has been conducted GRET CHEN MORGENSON I For the most part, banks have said they cannot be called out in court on any of this because they had no idea that so many of these loans went to people who lacked the resources to make even their first mortgage payment. Wall Street firms were intimately involved in the financing, bundling and sales of these loans, so their defence rings hollow. They provided hundreds of millions of dollars in credit to dubious underwriters and some even had their own people on site at the loan factories. Many Wall Street firms owned mortgage lenders outright. Because many of the worst lenders are now out of business, investors in search of recoveries have turned to the banks that packaged the loans into securities. But successfully arguing that Wall Street aided lenders in a fraud is tough under United States federal securities laws. This is largely a result of Supreme Court decisions barring investors from bringing federal securities fraud cases that accuse underwriters and other third parties as enablers. Where there’s a will, however, there’s a way. And state courts are proving to be a more fruitful place for mortgage investors seeking redress, legal experts say. Late last month, for example, Massachusetts Attorney-General Martha Coakley extracted US$102 million ($140 million) from Morgan Stanley in a case involving Morgan’s extensive financing of loans made by New Century, a notorious and now-defunct lender that was based in California. Morgan packaged the loans into securities and sold them to clients, even after its due diligence uncovered problems with the underlying mortgages that New Century fed to the firm, Ms Coakley said. In settling the matter, Morgan neither admitted nor denied the allegations. The investigation is continuing. On Friday, an investment management firm that lost US$1.2 billion in mortgage securities it bought for clients filed suit in Massachusetts state court against 15 banks, accusing them of abetting a fraud. The firm, Cambridge Place Investment Management of Concord, Massachusetts, purchased US$2 billion in mortgage securities from the banks and it says the banks misrepresented the risks in the underlying loans — both in prospectuses and sales pitches The complaint says the banks misled Cambridge Place by maintaining that the mortgages in the securities it bought had met strict underwriting requirements related to the borrowers’ ability to repay the loans. Cambridge also contends it relied on the banks’ claims of having conducted due diligence to verify the quality of the loans bundled into the securities. nvestors who lost billions on boatloads of faulty mortgage securities have had a hard time holding Wall Street accountable for selling the things in the first place.(see box).
‘ANYTHING GOES ’ LENDING The complaint also details the anything- goes lending practices during the sub-prime mortgage boom. Interviews in the complaint with 63 confidential witnesses turned up such gems as Fremont Investment Loan, which had been based in California, approving loans for pizza delivery men with reported monthly incomes of US$6,000, and management at Long Beach Mortgage, also in California, directing underwriters to “approve, approve, approve”. One Long Beach programme made loans to self-employed borrowers based on three letters of reference from past employers. A former worker said some letters amounted to “So-and-so cuts my lawn and does a good job”, adding that the company made no attempt to verify the information, the complaint stated. Such tales are hardly shockers. But they provide important context when Cambridge moves up the ladder to the banks that bundled and sold the loans. For example, the complaint contended that Credit Suisse, from whom it bought US$88 million of mortgage securities in 2005 and 2006, told Cambridge of its “superior” due diligence, including a performance review of every loan. Three-quarters of these loans are delinquent, in default, foreclosure, bankruptcy or repossession, the complaint said. Bear Stearns, now a unit of JPMorgan Chase, sold Cambridge US$65 million of securities. It owned three mortgage lenders and told Cambridge it sampled the loans it sold to check underwriting procedures, borrower documentation and compliance, the complaint said. Among others named in the suit are Bank of America, Barclays, Citigroup, Countrywide, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and UBS. All of those, as well as Credit Suisse and JPMorgan, declined to comment.
FAILURE TO TELL THE TRUTH Cambridge’s lawyers brought its case in Massachusetts under laws barring those who sell securities from making false statements about them or omitting material facts. A senior partner at Bernstein Litowitz Berger Grossmann, which represents Cambridge, said: “This case represents yet another example of Wall Street banks’ failure to live up to their basic responsibility to investors — to tell the truth about the securities they are selling.” The firm has jousted with Wall Street underwriters before. In 2004, it recovered US$6 billion in a suit against banks that underwrote debt issued by WorldCom, the defunct telco. Ms Denise L Cote, the federal judge overseeing that matter, concluded that because investors rely so heavily on underwriters, courts must be “particularly scrupulous in examining the conduct”, she said. It is too soon to tell if investors will recover losses in mortgage securities. But the efforts are reminiscent of those in the mid-90s against brokerage firms that cleared trades and provided capital to dubious penny-stock outfits. For decades, companies that cleared such trades — Bear Stearns was a big one — escaped liability for fraud at these socalled “BUCKET SHOPS”. But regulators went after clearing firms by accusing them of facilitating such acts; in a 1999 lawsuit, the Securities and Exchange Commission accused Bear Stearns of enabling a fraud at AR Baron. Bear Stearns paid US$35 million in fines and restitution to settle the case. If trust in capital markets is to return, investors must be able to believe what they read in prospectuses. Without that minimum standard, how can Wall Street expect the markets to function again? ¢ THE NEW YORK TIMESThe writer is assistant business and financial editor and a columnist at The New York Times. She won the Pulitzer Prize in 2002 for her “trenchant and incisive” coverage of Wall Street. Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley have been sued by a Boston-based fund seeking reimbursement for losses related to sub-prime loans, according to lawyers for the firm. Cambridge Place Investment Management, founded by ex-Goldman Sachs bankers, lost more than US$1.2 billion ($1.66 billion) as a result of the banks’ untrue statements, the company claims in a complaint filed on July 9 in state court in Massachusetts. The banks sold securities backed by mortgages that came from a “small group of now notorious subprime mortgage originators”, used faulty appraisals, accepted misleading information in loan applications and violated their own standards for underwriting, the firm claims. The banks offered or sold US$2.4 billion of residential mortgage-backed securities using untrue statements, according to the lawsuit. “The Wall Street banks created an environment of improper lending practices, conducted inadequate due diligence and failed to satisfy their own responsibilities,” Cambridge Place said in the lawsuit. BLOOMBERG¢ Fremont Investment Loan approved loans for pizza delivery men with reported monthly incomes of US$6,000. Long Beach Mortgage made loans to selfemployed borrowers based on three letters of reference from past employers About the Cambri dge Place suit ... |
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| 14-Jul-2010 13:42 |
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JACK CHEW understOOd bOth the prOblem and sOlutiOn mInIster sEEms tOtally ignOrant and OFF-guardIng Over SENiOR CiTiZENS JACK CHEW wOuld be a BETTER TRANSPORT MiNiSTER iN cOnteXt frOm the PEOPLE fOr the PEOPLE wIth the PEOPLE
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| 14-Jul-2010 13:37 |
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ENLIGHTENMENT
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| 14-Jul-2010 13:34 |
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SENIOR citizens will spurn transfers Letter from Jack Chew I REFER to the report on the new public transport fate formula, “Flexibility and choice are the aims” (July 12). One problem that hasn’t been mentioned is that most of us senior citizens avoid complicated transfers, preferring to stick to one service all the way — even if it takes longer, as we have all the time in the world, but not necessarily the energy to handle the transfers. Such transfers also increase the chance of tripping and hurting oneself climbing up and down vehicles. Also, for those active enough to enjoy regular outings for meals or window shopping — all part of active ageing, which we are encouraged to do — the NEW Time Limit for TRANSFERS is a DETERRENT. Second Minister for Transport and Finance Lim Hwee Hua suggests that the improved public transport grid will offer shorter journeys due to improved access in the future — so WHY not implement the new fares when this is in place? |
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| 14-Jul-2010 13:18 |
Straits Times Index
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STI to cross 3000 boosted by long-term investors
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Old bOOk wIth nEw cOver ? ? ? ? Old wIne iN nEw bOttle ? ? ? ? CHANGE TIME HAD CHANGED EAST HAD CHANGED WEST is NOW WORSE THAN EAST WHEN iN EAST, bE EAST. Is there a nEEd tO bE WEST Of EAST ? ? ? ? SWiSS Of the EAST ? ? ? ? bOstOn Of the EAST ? ? ? ? fOr WHAT ? ? ? ? WHAT fOr ? ? ? ?
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| 14-Jul-2010 13:10 |
Straits Times Index
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STI to cross 3000 boosted by long-term investors
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S’pore: The Boston of the East? SATIS H CHENEY satishkumar@mediacorp.com.sg SINGAPORE “These individuals are the engines moving research programmes in labs,” he said at the 10th A*Star ( Agency for Science, Technology and Research) scholarships awards ceremony. Just as Singapore has attracted a strong pool of senior scientific talent, this younger group must see a PhD or postdoctoral education in Singapore as adding value to their resume. This means offering impactful mentorship, as well as assisting them to transit in their careers — either to become established scientists, or to head onto industry and other research and development tracks. The A*Star scholarship programme has successfully nurtured a pipeline of 1,000 scholars over 10 years who will contribute to the Singapore R&D scene. The number included the 136 scholars who received their scholarships and fellowships yesterday. A*Star scientists recently made three breakthroughs in key areas of cancer research. Their findings, published in shed light on the mechanism behind cancer metastasis, suggest why breast cancer cells live as long as they do, and show a better way to detect and fight cervical cancer. — Efforts are being mounted to raise Singapore’s branding as a “Boston of the East” to attract early career researchers and graduate students, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Teo Chee Hean said yesterday.Cancer Cell, Nature Cell Biology and Cancer Research, |
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| 14-Jul-2010 13:04 |
RafflesEdu
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Raffles Edu
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One BiG OFF-Guard in tOday's educatiOn is: TEACHERS are nOt iNdependent Learners. iN FACT, teachers had STOPPED LearnIng lOng lOng lOng lOng agO . . . . ALL TEACHERS must be RE-TESTED and CERTIFIED on the course syllabus cOntent so that the TEACHERS themselves are nOt OBSOLETE and ARCHAiC. schOOl textbOOks and cOntent CHANGE almOst EVERY YEAR iN every sUbject ? ? ? ? came across parents who found OUT-DATED TEACHERS nOt knOwing the cOntent and dOn't know "HOW tO teach the nEw cOntent!" |
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| 14-Jul-2010 12:44 |
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A one-stop portal for teachers MOE launches online resource to help educators conducting holistic assessments of their pupils Joanne Chan joannechan@mediacorp.com.sg SINGAPORE The online resource will help educators with lesson plans and multiple assessment modes. And a few important lessons have already been learned from the experience of 16 prototype schools that were tasked last July with the challenge of replacing the semestral examinations with new ways to judge the progress of Primary 1 and 2 pupils. At CHIJ Kellock, learning Mathematics is now more engaging, as pupils solve problems using toy blocks, rather than pen and paper. English classes are also more interactive, as students work on their communication skills via show-and-tell. CHIJ Kellock Primary 2 pupil Sarah Long said: “You get to do more things. You can draw, and write and think of ideas.” CHIJ Kellock principal Clara Lim-Tan said holistic learning and assessment help to build independent thinkers. “In terms of the future of schooling, we can no longer just talk about the teachers’ role as spoon-feeding the children. We want to facilitate and get the kids to be curious about learning and to be independent learners themselves,” she said. The holistic assessment website will not only provide information on ageappropriate assessment tasks, but also the stories and reflections from the 16 schools from the perspective of pupils, teachers and parents. At a seminar yesterday, Senior Minister of State (Education) Grace Fu highlighted that parents had a key role in ensuring that holistic assessment works. Processes to enhance communication between teachers and parents will be needed. One way the 16 schools did this was to create portfolios for each child, to track their progress in the year. Each subject was broken down into different aspects for assessment, for example, public speaking and grammar for the English language, so that parents could take note of their child’s strengths and weaknesses. Ms Fu stressed that the development of the whole child requires careful planning. “There should also be a balance between assessments that provide feedback and do not count towards a final grade, and assessments that are graded to check for mastery of learning. The school’s assessment plan enables teachers to plan and coordinate,” she said. — With primary schools expected to embark over the next three years on holistic assessments of their pupils — which means going beyond high-stakes mid-year and year-end examinations, especially at the Primary 1 level — the Education Ministry has launched a one-stop portal for teachers.We want to facilitate and get the kids to be curious about learning and to be independent learners themselves. CHIJ Kellock principal Clara Lim-Tan |
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| 14-Jul-2010 12:33 |
Straits Times Index
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STI to cross 3000 boosted by long-term investors
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EXPENDITURE should be analysed into: - Technology - Weaponry (Missiles, sub-marines, nuclear weapons) - Firing Power (days of firing power) - Salaries (Overhead layers, FAT soldiers) ? ? ? ? |
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| 14-Jul-2010 12:27 |
Straits Times Index
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STI to cross 3000 boosted by long-term investors
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S’pore spends on defence ‘to feel safe’ HOUSTON (Texas) — A question was asked about Singapore’s defence expenditure when Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong met business leaders and politicians in Houston, Texas on Monday (yesterday morning, Singapore time).The Republic has allocated an estimated expenditure of about $11.5 billion this financial year to the Ministry of Defence, which tends to have the highest budget among all the ministries. Mr Lee told the gathering that Singapore spends on defence “in order to feel safe”. “We’re very small. Your Mayor said we’re the size of the city of Houston. But I think we’re smaller than the city of Houston, and there’s no such thing as strategic depth. If somebody arrives on your shore that means he’s already within five, 10 miles of the whole of the country. That’s it.” He added that Singapore’s military contributes to a stable and safe region, where countries can prosper and live together, and also cooperates with its defence counterparts around the region to solve shared problems from a slightly different perspective.
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| 14-Jul-2010 12:16 |
DBS
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US fOught and lOst the KOREAN WAR US fOught and lOst the VIETNAM WAR tO FiGHT has a 50% prObability Of lOsing . . . . and TOTAL FAiLURE tO STOP is 100% cOmmitment tO SUCCESS tO TERMiNATE is ABSOLUTE QUEST withOUT FAiL |
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| 14-Jul-2010 12:12 |
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S’pore committed to fight against illicit money flows PM Lee assures US businessmen that Republic cooperates with the world Imelda Saad imelda@mediacorp.com.sg |
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| 14-Jul-2010 12:06 |
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In THE AGE OF STUPiD, LEADERS are PAiD for FAILURE APOLOGY ? ? ? ? OR PERFORMANCE SUCCESS ? ? ? ? ALL iS VERY cOnfUsed nOw ? ? ? ? |
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| 14-Jul-2010 12:00 |
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DBS CEO apologises You have every right to expect uninterrupted services 24/7, 365 days a year from us and I am sorry we have failed you on that count. Mr Piyush Gupta, CEO , DBS Group Holdings MICA (P) 160/10/2009 • a publication of • NEW S HOTLINE 6822 2268 Wednesday July 14, 2010 www.todayonline.com we set you thinking6333 9888 M EDIACORP ADVERTISING ENQUIRIESBloomberg DBS is right to apologise. But what about compensation for customers, such as those who have had to pay fines for not being able to top up their cash cards to pass ERP gantries? DB MAS has noted DBS’ explanation for the failure and will review its investigation report on the incident. MAS will also assess the outcome of this investigation and the extent to which the bank has failed to meet the recommended standards set out in the Internet Banking and Technology Risk Management Guidelines before determining the appropriate regulatory action to take. The Monetary Authority of Singapore |
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| 14-Jul-2010 11:47 |
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Hunting for GOD or MFT
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can't find gOd iN sIngapore . . . . fOund One iN USA BARRACK OBAMA GOD fOr the PEOPLE frOm the PEOPLE wIth the PEOPLE LUCKY pOOr AmerIcans saVed by GOD In AGE Of STUPiD can GOD LAST ? |
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| 14-Jul-2010 11:30 |
SIA
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A380 A Great Way to Fly
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CEO is either pOOr and shOrt Of CASH Or KiND gIvIng a hInt tO mInOrIty sharehOlders . . . .
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| 14-Jul-2010 11:18 |
RafflesEdu
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HEARD this QUESTiON at a discussion on doing businesses OVERSEAS: Is there a CHiNA TOWN in iNDiA ? ? ? ? Chinese from mainland immigrated all over the wOrld. Chinese managed to establish CHiNA TOWN wherever they went and made gOOd economically in financial wellbeing. At the TiME of the discussion, those who were present were nOt aware of CHiNA TOWN in iNDiA . . . . WHY ? ? ? ? - CHiNA has one i while iNDiA had twIn i - iNDiA means it is fOr iNsIder Only - iNDiA has an eXtreme culture of Least Cost Governance - Mustafa Emporium is an eXtreme Living example; for all nOn-PRiCE-cOntrOl items, it is sUrely cheapest at Mustafa - CHiNESE could not beat iNDiAN in the Quest on Least Cost Governance That was HiSTORY . . . . Is there a CHiNA TOWN in iNDiA tOday ? ? ? ? CHECK iT OUT FiRST befOre DREAMiNG that One can make mOney iN iNDiA as an OUTsIder . . . . |
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| 14-Jul-2010 11:01 |
RafflesEdu
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Raffles Education: Focus on India expansion Summary: Raffles Education Corp (REC) is increasingly looking towards India for its next phase of growth; this in a bid to tap the rapidly expanding education industry there and also to reduce its dependency on China. Meanwhile, REC appears to have largely recovered from a temporary dip in price after announcing on 7 Jun that its deal to sell 10% stake in Oriental University City (OUC) has fallen through. While the development is a big setback to REC’s plans to monetize OUC, we have consistently treated these stake sales as non-operating and thus will not affect our estimates. While it appears that the worst may be over for REC, we think that the short-term outlook remains muted; we opine that enrolment numbers still need to show a sustainable increase. As such, we maintain our HOLD rating and revise our fair value to S$0.33 (previous: S$0.37) now based on 18x blended FY10/FY11 EPS (vs. 20x blended FY10/FY11F EPS). (Carey Wong) |
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| 14-Jul-2010 10:45 |
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spare cash
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MASTER Financial Economics so that your SPARE CASH will nOt suffer dimishing negative CAPITAL RETURNS
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| 14-Jul-2010 10:33 |
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spare cash
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FINANCIAL ECONOMICS QUOTIENT [FEQ] As broadcasted on TV, this is THE AGE OF STUPID Average population is suffering from a Monster Gap in FINANCIAL ECONOMICS knowledge. An emerging sub-PRiME CINE Divide in the Financial Sector is capitalising on this impoverishing Monster Gap in FINANCIAL ECONOMIC knowledge. The sub-PRiME CINE Bankers DIVERTED the TRUE INTEREST RATES from the decent depositors to endow their own exuberant salaries and excessive bonuses and personal wealth creation to surge INTERNAL INFLATION bursting COST OF LIVING and impoverish the depositors progressively with diminishing negative capital returns to ultimate financial, economic, democratic bankruptcy. The World Financial Tsunami seems like a Financial Economic Conspiracy because it had precipitated the cancerous growth of the sub-PRiME CINE Bankers Divide from the minority to the majOrity. UNforturnately and yet FORTUNATELY, there still exist a mInOrIty of TRUE HEARTED BANKERS who return TRUE CAPITAL MARKET INTEREST RATES to the DECENT DEPOSITORS terminating INTERNAL INFLATION and governing EXTERNAL INFLATION capping COST OF LIVING with POSITIVE DEPOSIT YIELD for a humane wellbeing liveable lifestyle to prevent the ONSLAUGHT of financial, economic, democratic bankruptcy of the depositor population. it is CRITICAL for every human to master FINANCIAL ECONOMICS rather than english, in THE AGE OF STUPID. every human today needs Financial Economic Shrewdness in order not to be Financial Economically Slave-Driven to a Life Time of Poverty DiSdemocracy. Without wealth, there is NO FINANCIAL FREEDOM and NO ECONOMIC DEMOCRACY and NO POLITICAL CHOICE. #Regardless of the mastery of english# |
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