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Regulators probe bank's role in Facebook IPO
Headline Legal News |
2012/05/23 09:30
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Regulators are examining whether Morgan Stanley, the investment bank that shepherded Facebook through its highly publicized stock offering last week, selectively informed clients of an analyst's negative report about the company before the stock started trading.
Rick Ketchum, the head of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the self-policing body for the securities industry, said Tuesday that the question is "a matter of regulatory concern" for his organization and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The top securities regulator for Massachusetts, William Galvin, said he had subpoenaed Morgan Stanley. Galvin said his office is investigating whether Morgan Stanley divulged to only some clients that one of its analysts had cut his revenue estimates for Facebook before the stock hit the market on Friday.
The bank said late Tuesday that it "followed the same procedures for the Facebook offering that it follows for all IPOs," referring to initial public offerings of stock. It said that its procedures complied with regulations.
The questions about the role played by Morgan Stanley, the lead underwriter for the deal, add to the confusion surrounding Facebook's IPO. In the most hotly anticipated stock debut in years, the offering raised $16 billion for the social networking company, valuing it at $104 billion.
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New charges for Indiana man suspected of killing 3
Court Watch |
2012/05/23 03:30
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A court official says prosecutors are planning to charge a southern Indiana man with murdering a third woman, whose body was found buried in his backyard last month.
The Floyd Superior Court official says Judge Susan Orth found probable cause during a Wednesday hearing to justify charging 54-year-old William Clyde Gibson with murdering 35-year-old Stephanie Kirk. The official declined to give her name, citing court policy, but said she was at the hearing.
Gibson is due in court later Wednesday. He is already charged with murdering 75-year-old Christine Whitis last month and murdering Karen Hodella, a woman visiting from Florida, in 2002.
Gibson was arrested on drunken driving charges last month while driving Whitis' car. Authorities found Whitis' body in his home and found Kirk's buried outside.
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NFL union files suit against league over 2010 cap
Court News |
2012/05/22 09:30
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The NFL Players Association has filed a complaint in federal court accusing the league of colluding to impose a secret salary cap during the uncapped 2010 season.
The claim was filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Minnesota, which oversees the Reggie White settlement covering NFL labor matters.
The complaint claims a "conspiracy" to set a $123 million salary cap for the 2010 season, when owners did not have the legal authority to do so. The Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins have had their future salary caps lowered for going over the limit in 2010.
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Facebook set to begin trading after $16B offering
Stock Market News |
2012/05/19 09:30
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Facebook is about to find out just how much status updates, puppy photos and billions of "likes" are worth on Wall Street, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg ringing the Nasdaq Stock Market opening bell Friday morning from company headquarters a continent away.
Trading of Facebook's shares has been delayed, but the company's stock was set to begin moving on the Nasdaq a day after the world's definitive online social network raised $16 billion in an initial public offering that valued the company at $104 billion.
The company's valuation is more than Amazon.com's and that of other well-known companies such as Kraft, Walt Disney and McDonald's. It's a big windfall for a company that began eight years ago with no way to make money.
Facebook priced its IPO at $38 per share on Thursday, at the top of expectations. Now, regular investors will have a chance to buy stock in Facebook for the first time. The stock will trade under ticker symbol will be FB.
Facebook has come to define social networking by getting 900 million people around the world to share everything from photos of their pets to their deepest thoughts.
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Md. highest court recognizes same-sex divorce
Topics in Legal News |
2012/05/18 21:49
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Maryland's highest court ruled Friday that same-sex couples can divorce in the state even though Maryland does not yet permit same-sex marriages.
The Court of Appeals ruled 7-0 that couples who have a valid marriage from another state can divorce in Maryland. The case involved two women who were married in California and denied a divorce in 2010 by a Maryland judge.
The ruling may have limited effect because same-sex weddings, and by extension divorces, are set to start in the state in January. However, opponents of the law passed this year are seeking to overturn it in a potential voter referendum in November.
"A valid out-of-state same-sex marriage should be treated by Maryland courts as worthy of divorce, according to the applicable statues, reported cases, and court rules of this state," the court concluded in a 21-page ruling.
It said Maryland courts should withhold recognition of a valid foreign marriage only if that marriage is "repugnant" to state public policy. The court says the threshold is a high bar that has not been met in the case that it ruled on.
Lawyers for the women told the Court of Appeals that is would be unprecedented for the state not to recognize gay marriages performed elsewhere.
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Investment Fraud Litigation |
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Securities fraud, also known as stock fraud and investment fraud, is a practice that induces investors to make purchase or sale decisions on the basis of false information, frequently resulting in losses, in violation of the securities laws. Securities Arbitration. Generally speaking, securities fraud consists of deceptive practices in the stock and commodity markets, and occurs when investors are enticed to part with their money based on untrue statements.
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The content contained on the web site has been prepared by Securities Law News as a service to the internet community and is not intended to constitute legal advice or a substitute for consultation with a licensed legal professional in a particular case. | Affordable Law Firm Website Design by Law Promo |
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