The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is in high demand. Having repeated last year’s total of distributing more than $1 billion to investors who fell victim to fraudulent actions, they also brought 671 enforcement actions in 2008.

“The SEC’s role in policing the markets and protecting investors has never been more critical,” Linda Chatman Thomsen said.

There has been a spike of up to 25% in insider trading cases and more than 45% in market manipulation cases. Major fraud cases included a suit against a Wall Street short seller for “spreading false rumors about a company and profiting from the stock price’s subsequent drop.”

Another mentionable suit was against two former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers for misleading investors about two of the company’s hedge funds. And on the rise are Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) cases that involve U.S. public company bribery of foreign officials.

Good to know! Hopefully the current economy slip will push for stricter laws, better protection and more preventative steps geared towards stopping another “financial” outbreak.”

Popularity: 7% [?]

Initially having high hopes regarding President Bush’s $700 billion rescue floats, people are now discovering that there still isn’t a way to stop the “Titanic” from sinking. Therefore, lawyers are encouraging their clients to jump ship! Still, Wall Street brokers were hopeful that somehow, the floats were merely a sign that more would be magically done to repair the ship’s leak. However, on Monday, the Dow Jones industrials skidded more than 500 points and fell below 10,000 for the first time in four years.

According to the AP, “Investors around the world have come to the sobering realization that the Bush administration’s $700 billion rescue plan won’t work quickly to unfreeze credit markets. Global banks, hobbled by wrong-way bets on mortgage securities, remain starved for cash as credit has dried up.”

“The fact is people are scared and the only thing they’re doing is selling,” said Ryan Detrick, senior technical strategist at Schaeffer’s Investment Research. “Investors are cleaning out portfolios and getting rid of everything because nothing seems to be working.”

The bottom line is that the stock market is a leading economic indicator as to where the economy will be in six to nine months. And with only 98 stocks that rose on the NYSE and 3,114 dropping, it looks like we are headed for a tragic economic downfall in the weeks to come.

Popularity: 5% [?]

If you own a small company and are looking for investors to invest in your company, you may want to consider hiring an experienced placement agent to help secure investors. A placement agent will usually have relationships with institutional investors, such as pension or hedge funds, and can serve as a broker to try to convince these investors to invest in your company.

Like any agent for hire, the placement agent must be motivated by financial compensation. A key part of any placement agency agreement, therefore, is a provision discussing the placement agent’s fees and compensation. This provision is negotiable, of course, but as a guideline, it may be helpful for you to review other placement agency agreements to determine a fair rate. In a typical agreement, in consideration of the services rendered by the Placement Agent in connection with the Placement, the Placement Agent is paid a fee of 5.00% of the funds raised in the placement. It is also important to include a provision in the event that the offering originally secured is terminated. In this case, the Placement Agent should only be entitled to fees to the extent securities of the Company are placed by the Placement Agent.

Popularity: 8% [?]