Auction And Ebay Articles

Americas Watchdog Calls Auction Rate Securities The Worst Con Job In US History & They Want To Hear From Every Victim

(PRWEB) May 5, 2008 -- According to Americas Watchdog, "The auction rate securities scandal is by a light year, the worst case of out right fraud in US history." Americas Watchdog wants to hear from every US consumer who was conned into buying "auction rate preferred shares", or a "auction rate shares". Their number is 866-714-6466.

According to the group, "Our auction rate preferred shares investigation, or our auction rate shares investigation will not end until we have enough proof to send US stock brokers, US bankers, and financial institution executives to jail for the fraud they have committed on tens of thousands of innocent US citizens."

What are auction rate securities?

Action rate securities typically refers to a debt instrument (corporate or municipal bonds) with a long-term nominal maturity for which the interest rate is reset through a dutch auction. It could also refer to a preferred stock for which the dividend is reset through the same process. In a dutch auction, a broker-dealer submits bids, on behalf of current and prospective investors, to the auction agent. Based on the submitted bids, the auction agent will set the next interest rate by determining the lowest rate to clear the total outstanding amount of ARS. ARS holders do not have the right to put their securities back to the issuer; as a result no bank liquidity facility is required.

Sound Complicated? According to Americas Watchdog, "Auction rate preferred shares or auction rate shares are incredibly complicated. They are so complicated, they should be classified as an exotic investment that should have only been made available to the most sophisticated financial institutions. They should have never been sold to unsuspecting US citizens."

So why is the auction rate securities scam the worst case of fraud in US History?

1. Per the New York Times & Wall Street Journal, "The auction rate securities fiasco involves $320 Billion dollars or more. Most of the $320 billion consists of the life savings of tens of thousands of US citizens." According to Americas Watchdog, "Based upon our research, we could find not any financial scheme that came anywhere close to the $320 billion dollars involved in the auction rate securities scheme. As such, we consider this to be the worst case of fraud in US history."

So what is the big deal about auction rate shares or auction rate preferred shares? Why was it fraud, for name brand US banks, name brand US stock brokerage firms, and name brand financial institutions to sell these exotic investments to US consumers?

1. According to Americas Watchdog, unsuspecting US consumers were told by a US bank, a name brand stock brokerage firm or a financial institution that they should move out of their CD's, or money market accounts because auction rate preferred shares, or auction rate shares were safe, they were liquid, they came with no risk, the consumer could get out of these investments whenever they wanted, etc. According to Americas Watchdog, "Per the New York times article, our group has talked to 1000+ victims, and each one has the same no risk, same as cash, liquid investment story."

2. According to Americas Watchdog, it was all a big fat lie. Auction rate preferred shares, or auction rate shares were extremely risky, they were not safe, as it turned out they were not liquid, etc. Now tens of thousands of US consumers stand to lose their life savings because a US bank, a name brand stock broker or a name brand financial institution lied to them about a very unsafe investment.

In mid February of this year, the auctions failed, and now tens of thousands of US citizens live in fear that their life savings are gone. $320 Billion in investment limbo, and the Securities and Exchange Commission has done nothing? Americas Watchdog has called for the resignation of SEC Commissioner Christopher Cox for a do nothing approach on the part of his federal agency. $320 billion in peoples life savings, and the banks or stock brokerage firms have not cashed out US consumers on this, "Just like cash investment with zero risk?"

Lawsuits have been filed against UBS, Citi Group, Merrill Lynch, J P Morgan, Bank of America, Wachovia Bank, Morgan Stanley, Oppenheimer Holdings, TD Ameritrade, Wells Fargo Bank, Deutsche Bank, Sun Trust Bank, Eaton Vance, and many others (check the Internet for specific case filings). If a person who purchased a auction rate security feels like they were lied to with respect "a safe & liquid investment", they are welcome to call Americas Watchdog anytime at 866-714-6466. Their auction rate securities complaint center web site is located at http://ARSWatchdog.com.

If Wall Street, a major US bank or stock brokerage firm would lie to small US investors about the liquidity an investment that was supposed to be liquid, what else have they failed to tell US citizens?

Consumers who feel created by the auction rate preferred shares or auction rate shares fraud should call Americas Watchdog anytime at 866-714-6466.

Americas Watchdog's Auction Rate Securities web site is located at http://ARSWatchdog.com.

Americas Watchdog is all about consumer protection and corporate responsibility.

###

Other Article Sites

findabook.com  moneycd.info  a-mortgage.info   about-lemon-laws.info  aboutstudentloans.info
all-about-publishing.info  auctions-articles.info  bestcollege-university.com  bestispconnection.com
biblefolder.com  blogger-website.com  books-used.info  brokers-guide.info  buywindows.info  cable-dsl.info
career-miner.com  carpel-tunnel.info  cashinaflash.info  cashloanreviews.info  casinobell.com  chat-house.info
clearmycredit.info  collegeloantips.info  crones.info  depression-articles.info   dirnic.net  dishguides.info
divers-below.com  expodog.info   financewizz.com  fire-insurance.info  getgood.info  handleit.net   it-idea.info
health-supplies.info  hosting-right.com  insidealert.com  insurance-facts.info  jobs-employment.info
justgood.info  lookgold.net   lowcost-travel.info  money-source.info  myhostzone.info  numisblog.com
peoplesearchfinder.info  pr-articles.info  realeas.com   refinancing-guides.info  spyware-remove.info
telelot.info  the-law.info   toppaid.info  travel-deals.info  travelcorrect.com  wedding-guide-site.com
your-blog.info  your-credit.info

MORE ARTICLES:

How to Buy & Sell Gold Krugerrands on Ebay
The Krugerrand from South Africa is used at tender at the market value of it's gold content Not intended to be used for currency, it is considered as a medal or bullion coin

What To Look For In A Salvage Car Auction
A salvage car auction may be also advertised as insurance car auction. What you should know is that a salvage car auction has absolutely nothing to do with the normal auctions - public, government or wholesale.

You Don?t Have To Be An Ebay Power Seller To Make Money
At one time becoming an eBay Power Seller was considered the peak of online auction selling. Recognition that you were a grade A number one seller. But that?s not true anymore, if it ever was. All you have to do to become a Power Seller is average $1000 (?750 in the UK) a month sales and have good feedback rating .

Steal Your Way To Online Auction Profits
Stealing, well not really: If healthy competition is considered stealing, then there goes capitalism out the door.

Don?t Forget It's Ebay?s Ball
Recently some of the fees on eBay were raised and what was the immediate reaction from some sellers? ?We will all boycott eBay, that will bring them to their knees.? They cried.

Real Estate Auction Action - Buying A Home At Auction
Due in part to the popularity of the U. S.

Discount Video Game Seller, Thumbmonkey, Wins eBay's "Best in Stores" Contest
Online video game seller, Thumbmonkey (http://stores.ebay.com/Thumbmonkey-Video-Games), wins eBay's "Best in Stores" contest for the Best Store Marketing category. Only four winners, one in each of 4 different categories, were named in the contest which drew over 12,000 entrants.

12 Tips To Make Your eBay Business More Profitable
Sometimes it's the simple things that can make your eBay business more profitable and run smoother. Here are twelve things you can do that will lead to more sales and increased profits on eBay.

Get Serious – Stop Selling Junk On Ebay
You've sold all your junk. Emptied your attic.

Using Dropshippers For The Ebay Auction Arena!
Dropship Info and Real Wholesale Suppliers And Dropshippers: The whole delivery process is performed via the 'dropshipper'. Pretend for a moment that you have decided to sell remote controlled coffee makers,(I am using this as an example, as one of these sounded real good yesterday morning. Pardon me if I sound like your Junior Achievement teacher in high school.) and Is there alot of people selling these handy little devices? If there is, this just might not be a good thing, as an over saturation of a product makes it difficult, or impossible market to compete in. You can find this out by going to eBay, or to search engines and looking at what others are doing. An over saturated market such as home electronics is just about impossible to c...

Ultimate eBay Research Software Unveiled
New auction research software delivers information & statistics only eBay insiders previously had access to.

How To Sell On Ebay: Using Store Policies To Cement Your Credibility
In your quest to build credibility as an Ebay seller, few things are more important than creating and following consistent store policies. Doing so will provide your customers with an attractive buying atmosphere, where they will feel safe making any transaction.

Why Use An Ebay Store For Your Online Business?
Is it a good idea to invest your time and effort in building an eCommerce store? Many people without technical knowledge or marketing savvy have done quite well at it! People like Janelle Elms have made a lot of money and become very successful as a result of ebay powerselling.

New eBay Tool Makes Watching Auctions Fun
The biggest problem you have on eBay is monitoring auctions. Whether it is your own auctions as a seller, or keeping track of auctions you are bidding on, or just interested in maybe bidding on.