Money Management Executive Latest News

Some companies may not be able to repay commercial paper loans, also known as short-term IOUs, and that could hurt money market funds, which often put a great deal of money into such debt, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Bear Stearns is being sued by four securities litigation law firms that are representing institutional and retail customers in the sub-prime mortgage hedge funds that recently closed up shop.

The credit crunch causing worries in the global markets has the potential to cause the collapse of a major hedge fund that could disrupt markets even more Moody’s Investors Service warned, Dow Jones reports.

Amid the market turmoil prompted by mortgage concerns, investors are fleeing equity and bond funds and moving into money market funds and U.S. Treasuries, The New York Times reports.

With the recent departure of Ellyn McColgan from Fidelity Investments as head of distribution earlier this month, financial advisers and analysts are saying they are, indeed, wondering about the firm’s future, the Boston Herald reports.

TIAA-CREF has launched a new $50 million advertising campaign centered around a simple idea that it hopes will differentiate itself from other financial service companies: its dot.org status, The New York Times reports. In conjunction with this, it has also launched a new website, powerof.org.

Blame the ratings agencies for the subprime crisis, The Wall Street Journal reports. In 2000, for instance, Standard & Poor’s said that “piggyback” mortgages, whereby borrowers take out a second loan to pay the down payment, were as safe for lenders as standard mortgages, and this led to a boom in subprime mortgages. S&P, Moody’s and Fitch Ratings all gave high marks to securities based on these loans.

Despite threats from hedge funds, exchange-traded funds and separately managed accounts, mutual funds continue to grow in popularity, Investors Business Daily reports.

Most companies that offer retirement plans to their employees risk fiduciary liabilities, according to Fiduciary Risk Management, a new subsidiary that CPA firm Habif, Arogeti & Wynne has launched specifically to address the issue.

Legg Mason recently took a $44 million venture capital investment in Ning, a social-networking startup looking to compete with Facebook and MySpace, The Baltimore Sun reports.