Portfolio

The Securities and Exchange Commission has received an emergency court order to halt a suspected Ponzi scheme targeted to Haitian-American investors.

Susan Markel, chief accountant for the Securities and Exchange Commission's enforcement division, will leave the agency in January after 14 years of service to become a managing director in the corporate investigations practice of AlixPartners LLP, a global business advisory firm.

The Timothy Plan, a Christian mutual fund family that shuns video games, has published an extensive and descriptive list of video games that promote violence and sex.

The personal fortunes of the 1,000 wealthiest people in Britain have tumbled by more than 50% in 2008, according to the 2009 Sunday Times Rich List.

Thanks to an independent effort by New York insurance regulators, MetLife expects to reduce by about $1.8 billion, or more than 30%, the amount it must post to back up its variable annuity living benefit guarantees, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Global research firm Morningstar has acquired U.K.-based Tenfore Systems, a privately owned provider of market data feeds and technology, for $20.9 million.

A consortium comprised of New York investment firms J.C. Flowers & Co., Dune Capital Management and Paulson & Co. is set to acquire distressed IndyMac Bancorp, according to published reports.

State Street Corp. has introduced 15 exchange-traded funds this year and says it will start more in 2009 despite a large, industrywide decline in ETF assets through the first 11 months of this year.

Total assets of money market mutual funds surged $34.40 billion to $3.808 trillion for the week ending Dec. 23, according to the Investment Company Institute.

Japanese mutual funds are headed for record declines this year as assets across the board have suffered losses from a combination of a global recession, plummeting interest rates and a surging yen.