Portfolio

Responding to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s temporary ban on short selling in hopes of helping to stabilize the markets, Vanguard and Bank of America’s Columbia Funds have stopped lending securities to such traders, The Boston Globe reports.

One of the biggest arguments against the $700 billion bailout of Wall Street’s bad debt is that by having the government clean up investment houses’ balance sheets, the same firms that caused the problem might make outsized profits in helping the government assess the debt, the New York Times reports.

TD Ameritrade announced Wednesday that it will kick in an additional $50 million to support investors in Reserve Funds’ Primary Fund, whose net asset value fell to 97 cents.

The Securities and Exchange Commission issued an enforcement action Tuesday against AmSouth Bank and AmSouth Asset Management for defrauding the AmSouth mutual funds by using a portion of administrative fees that shareholders paid for marketing and other unrelated expenses that should have been paid out of the investment advisor’s coffers. Those expenses included the salary, bonus, benefits and country club membership of the president of the AmSouth Funds.

Minnesota U.S. District Court Judge Paul Magnuson has decided to expedite Ameriprise Financial’s lawsuit against Reserve Funds’ Primary Fund. The court will fast-track the discovery of documents and other supporting information.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is planning its next CCOutreach seminar for Nov. 13 at its Washington headquarters.

The Federal Reserve has moved to ease bank ownership thresholds, allowing private equity firms to acquire larger-sized stakes in banking companies along with board representation.

Sallie Krawcheck, the chief executive officer and chairman of Citi Global Wealth Management, is set to leave the firm, according to a statement from Citigroup, the parent company.

The labor supply may experience shortages in coming years as more Baby Boomers retire, according to a study by KPMG.

FRC Founder Bathon Forms New Company