In case anyone doubts whether Wall Street Inc. will screw you on the NASDAQ..................
biz.yahoo.com
Settlement soon in brokerage firm lawsuits-sources
WASHINGTON, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Settlement of a class-action lawsuit charging 31 brokerage firms with price-fixing may
be resolved before the year's end, industry sources said Friday.
Resolution of the lawsuit against the Wall Street firms, could result in the largest antitrust settlement in a civil suit, the sources
said.
''They took a lot of money from a lot of people,'' said Robert Skirnick, an attorney for the plaintiffs.
Four firms contacted -- Merrill Lynch [NYSE:DJM - news] & Co, Bear Stearns Cos, Goldman Sachs & Co and the former
Smith Barney Inc, now part of Travelers Group Inc [NYSE:TRV - news] -- refused to comment on the litigation.
Attorneys for some of the defendants did not return calls.
Attorneys on both sides of the case are under court orders not to discuss details, said Skirnick, partner with Meredith, Cohen,
Greenfogel & Skirnick, a New York law firm.
The lawsuit was brought on behalf of people who bought and sold securities on the Nasdaq electronic stock market with the
complaint alleging the Nasdaq market makers conspired to widen the spreads between the bid and the ask price.
The suit was filed on behalf of Nasdaq buyers and sellers for a small number of stocks, but subsequently expanded to 1,659
Nasdaq national market stocks that were the subject of the alleged price-fix.
Of 37 firms accused in the class action lawsuit, six have settled for a total about $100 million, said Robert Skirnick one of the
counselors for the plaintiffs.
The six are: Jefferies Group Inc [NYSE:JEF - news], Sherwood Securities, Kidder Peabody & Co., Cantor Fitzgerald LP,
Montgomery Securities Inc, a unit of NationsBank Corp (NYSE:NB - news) and Herzog, Heine Geduld Inc, said Skirnick,
In July, 1996, the Justice Department filed a lawsuit in New York federal court, alleging that Wall Street brokerage firms
violated antitrust laws by engaging in anti-competitive activities and a proposed civil settlement resolving the case.
The settlement against 24 firms on charges of price fixing required the firms to tape and monitor part of their Nasdaq traders'
conversations, with the Justice Department being able to listen in on those conversations.
But it was William Christie, a professor at Vanderbilt University, one of two academics who presented a landmark study in
1994, that led to the Justice investigation into the pricing activities on Nasdaq.
Microsoft gets the press, while the real humping is happening on Wall Street......... |
