Wallstlawblog

LATEST ARTICLES ( 44 )

• Did JPMorgan Commit Securities Fraud? Don't Overlook This Basic Analysis.

  There are myriad ways in which J.P. Morgan’s “hedge” could be securities fraud. Here's an easy one... At the most basic level, the fact that JPMorgan made... Read more

  Posted on 16 May 2012 BUSINESS, LEGAL

• Reconcile This: Former Bear Stearns Exec. Either Lied to FCIC Or Pulled An...

  

  Lying Under Oath to The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission is the Equivilent of Perjury. The Law:United States Code, Title 18, Section 1001: "Whoever, in any... Read more

  Posted on 12 May 2012 BUSINESS, LEGAL

• Subprime Analysis by Salomon Brothers, May 1994: Return of the Wall Street Law...

  

  From the Horse's Mouth? Fascinating 1994 Report on Subprime MBS From Salomon Brothers, The Firm That Coined the Term Securitization. Read more

  Posted on 28 March 2012 BUSINESS, LEGAL

• Fraudulent AAA Credit Ratings Have Many Tentacles, Don't They?

  

  The year? 2006. Hypothetical Bank X - knowing that AAA ratings on mortgage-backed securities on its balance sheet were bogus - accounts for the bonds in the... Read more

  Posted on 14 March 2012 BUSINESS, LEGAL

• Bear Stearns Planned to Dance Like Former Citi CEO Chuck Prince.

  

  The plan? Milk as much profit as possible for as long as possible from the mortgage securitization business. The Method? Keep finding borrowers for home... Read more

  Posted on 13 March 2012 BUSINESS, LEGAL

• The New Wildcard: Major League Baseball's Worst Call

  Extra Wildcard Is an OK Idea, but The Plan is All Wrong. Let's see - 162 game season; unbalanced schedule; 1 game playoff? Hypothetical: Let's say the NL East i... Read more

  Posted on 06 March 2012 BUSINESS, LEGAL

• When is a Prime Mortgage Not a Prime Mortgage? A Different Take on Contagion...

  How high-risk borrowers contaminated securities backed by prime mortgages. A story about the financial crisis and contagion.* * *In the 1980s we had trickle-dow... Read more

  Posted on 05 March 2012 BUSINESS, LEGAL

• Difference Maker? An Admission That Bear Stearns Chose Not to Share With Its...

  

  -Warning:If you owned shares of BSC (the former NYSE ticker symbol for Bear Stearns common stock) when Bear's share price was falling through during 2007 and... Read more

  Posted on 11 February 2012 BUSINESS, LEGAL

• Giants Win Makes Eagles Fan Seek Help from Red Sox Nation

  CAN BOSTON FANS HELP OUT A PHILLY BOY?My name is [REDACTED ON ACCOUNT OF SHAME] and I am a fan of the Philadelphia Eagles. Since Sunday night, I feel like acid... Read more

  Posted on 08 February 2012 BUSINESS, LEGAL

• Bottle Of Wine Key To Understanding Subprime Debacle

  

  Mortgage securitization for Dummies? Not exactly. However, the diagram featured in this post - a tipped wine bottle floating above an inverted pyramid of wine... Read more

  Posted on 04 February 2012 BUSINESS, ECONOMICS, LEGAL

• Bear Stearns Report: Relative to Income, Home Price "About as Stretched as...

  

  Another in an occasional series in which Wall Street Law Blog posts excerpts from primary source documents that flat out contradict Wall Street's revisionist... Read more

  Posted on 27 January 2012 BUSINESS, LEGAL

• The Great Mortgage Swindle: Most Lucrative Fraud of All Time?

  By Brett Sherman To be clear, Wall Street Law Blog does not intend the title of this blog post to be sarcastic, ironic, or hyperbolic. 1. Read more

  Posted on 17 January 2012 BUSINESS, LEGAL

• Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch Expected Housing Disaster (our All-time Most Viewed...

  "These aren't simply the comments of some junior level analysts" Lee Sherman, securities litigation consultant the question of foreseeability asks at what... Read more

  Posted on 02 January 2012 BUSINESS, LEGAL

• Why Did So Many Investors Buy Mortgage Bonds for So Long? The Ice Cream Analogy

  1. INTRO (a/k/a - Prelude to an analogy) US Treasury bills have, historically, served as a proxy for riskless investment. (Risk, in this context, means chance o... Read more

  Posted on 22 December 2011 BUSINESS, LEGAL

• Fake Alex Trebek, Fake Jeopary!, Very Real Financial Crisis

  

  Question: HOW BAD WAS THE CONDUCT OF WALL STREET'S FINEST? Answer: Well, read on. You'll get the idea. * * * Today, Wall Street Law Blog examines the scope of... Read more

  Posted on 15 December 2011 BUSINESS, LEGAL

• Fraud by Complexity: On Mortgage Bond Issuers, Boilerplate Risk Disclosures,...

  [Editor's Note - This is a new post with relevant excerpts from a previously Wall Street Law Blog publication about fraud, complexity, and a David Faber... Read more

  Posted on 12 December 2011 BUSINESS, LEGAL

• Legal Fees: Why Hourly Billing in Commercial Litigation is a Farce...

  Warning! Common sense ahead. It is pretty much impossible for lawyers to bill litigation clients by the hour without raising serious conflicts between the best... Read more

  Posted on 12 December 2011 BUSINESS, LEGAL

• Risky Business on Wall St: Contrary to Claims of Some, There is Fraud in Them...

  RISKY BUSINESS IS (usually) OK IF CLEARLY DISCLOSED TO INVESTORS. HOWEVER, MATERIAL MISREPRESENTATIONS about RISK APPETITE and APPROACH TO RISK MANAGEMENT are... Read more

  Posted on 08 December 2011 BUSINESS, LEGAL

• Should Investors Opt-out of Securities Fraud Class Action Settlements?

  

  Opt-outs and securities fraud litigation... Why some individual investors may be better off going it alone in securities fraud litigation or arbitration. Read more

  Posted on 22 November 2011 BUSINESS, LEGAL

• Greenspan: CDOs Too Complex for Investors... (fraud by Complexity)

  -Introduction IS IT REASONABLE TO BELIEVE WALL STREET USED COMPLEXITY TO FOOL SOPHISTICATED ABOUT THE QUALITY OF BONDS BACKED BY NONCONFORMING MORTGAGES DURING... Read more

  Posted on 01 November 2011 BUSINESS, LEGAL