Bank of America Corp. suffered a setback in its defense to civil charges that it misled investors after a judge ruled that it may not introduce at a trial testimony about media reports predicting it would pay bonuses. The U.S. ...

Tagged with: Bank of America lawsuit Merrill Lynch & Co. proxy statement U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission year-end bonuses

Jed Rakoff, the federal judge who rejected a $33 million settlement between the Securities and Exchange Commission and Bank of America Corp. over Merrill Lynch & Co. bonuses, is a stickler for fairness and transparency. His ruling this week in ...

Tagged with: Bank of America Jed Rakoff Merrill Lynch & Co. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

Finally a judge has dared say no to the once-venerable Securities and Exchange Commission and one of its cozy corporate settlements. If that wasn’t novel enough, this fellow first had the nerve to ask the SEC a bunch of questions ...

Tagged with: Bank of America Bernie Madoff General Electric Jed Rakoff Merrill Lynch & Co. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

Bank of America Corp. paid $33 million to settle U.S. regulatory claims that it misled investors about bonus payments while buying Merrill Lynch & Co. Bank of America said in a November joint proxy statement for the acquisition that Merrill ...

Tagged with: Bank of America Corp. executive bonuses Merrill Lynch & Co.

Even in the world’s safest debt market, investors are paying triple the average premium for the easiest-to-sell securities as the 19-month credit-market freeze shows few signs of ending. Buyers requiring only the newest, most-traded 10-year Treasuries are giving up about ...

Tagged with: Merrill Lynch & Co. treasuries

Bank of America Corp. will suffer “grave and irreparable harm” if Merrill Lynch & Co. employees paid $3.6 billion in bonuses just before the firm’s acquisition by the bank are publicly identified, its lawyers said. Bank of America Thursday filed ...

Tagged with: Andrew Cuomo Bank of America bonus John Thain Kenneth D. Lewis Merrill Lynch & Co.

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has powers vast and wide. But for him to go after Merrill Lynch & Co. for passing out bonuses is a bit of a stretch. I say, go for it anyway. The grounds he ...

Tagged with: Andrew Cuomo attorney general Bank of America Corp. Barney Frank bonuses Eliot Spitzer Merrill Lynch & Co.

At a time when central banks are attempting to prevent deflation, the hottest investments in the government bond market are securities that protect debt holders against rising consumer prices. Inflation-linked debt from the U.S. to Japan returned 5.77 percent since ...

Tagged with: banks consumer prices investment Merrill Lynch & Co. securities tips

General Motors Corp. said it has enough government loans to cover its worst-case forecast for U.S. auto sales and won’t need more if the economy holds up. Pledges from the U.S. Treasury for as much as $13.4 billion to help ...

Tagged with: auto sales economy General Motors Corp. George W. Bush Greg Martin Merrill Lynch & Co. U.S. Treasury