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Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce's $125 million settlement with the SEC and Eliot Spitzer last week was for granting $1.3 billion worth of what the government characterized as "sham" market-timing loans, which CIBC routinely hid by rotating trades, or in industry vernacular-"flying under the radar."

Speaking in what might have been his last appearance before Congress last Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan expressed confidence in the nation's economy and indicated additional hikes in interest rates are necessary to sustain this growth.

Just when the mutual fund industry was ready for a breather from 20 months of intense regulatory scrutiny and costly new compliance measures, along comes Danny Black.

The bout over performance reporting for separately managed accounts has reached a fever pitch.

Amid growing allegations of fund advisory personnel accepting lavish gifts, parties and even midgets, it's refreshing to see a new entrant to the fund industry promising to donate dollars to charities.

A pair of high-ranking mutual fund executives have settled allegations that they permitted market timing and will pay a total of $225,000 in civil penalties.

House and Senate Republicans have a new proposal that could help make President Bush's Social Security reform package, including its controversial personal accounts, a reality, one prominent Beltway insider contends.

A judge has dismissed an attempt by MassMutual Financial Group to nullify a subpoena from Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin that sought information on the insurance firm's firing of CEO Robert O'Connell.

Employer-sponsored retirement funds could be an effective avenue into the world of investing for many African-Americans, who have historically lagged behind their Caucasian counterparts in stock market participation, the eighth annual Ariel-Schwab Black Investor Survey indicates.

Like it or not, prospective clients expect you to have a good Web site. Just like a business card or brochure, a top-notch Web site, be it for a financial adviser or fund company, shows that you're a serious professional. A good site's high-tech flexibility offers you myriad options for low-cost marketing and client-communication "touches."

Kevin F. Granger has joined hedge fund Leading Edge Investment Advisors (LEIA) as senior vice president and director of research. Granger, who is also founder and CEO of Anira Advisory Group (AAG), another hedge fund, will continue in that capacity.

American Express Financial Advisors (soon to be Ameriprise Financial) has hired two executives to manage sales for the company's American Express-branded products. The company has named Jeff McGregor vice president and national sales manager for inside product distribution; and Marty Griffin as vice president and general manager of outside product distribution.

Now, broker/dealers not registered as investment advisors will be required to give brokerage customers a disclosure stating: "Our interests may not always be the same as yours." Timed to coincide with the compliance deadline for the rule, which the Securities and Exchange Commission adopted in April, the Financial Planning Association is releasing a brochure for clients that explains the difference between a brokerage account and an advisory account.

In yet another demonstration that the mutual fund market-timing scandal is not yet over, the Securities and Exchange Commission has settled a $125 million case with Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce's broker/dealer and financing subsidiaries, citing a laundry list of securities violations. In this case, CIBC created structured transactions in the form of swaps in order to help hedge funds market time mutual funds and the company's CIBC World Markets unit facilitated market timing itself.

The American Stock Exchange has lost its biggest listing client now that Barclays Global Investors has moved 81 of its exchange-traded fund listings. All but one of Barclay's iShares will now have their prime listings with the New York Stock Exchange, soon to merge with Archipelago Exchange, an all-electronic market, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Kevin F. Granger has joined hedge fund Leading Edge Investment Advisors (LEIA) as senior vice president and director of research. Granger, who is also founder and CEO of Anira Advisory Group (AAG), another hedge fund, will continue in that capacity.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce has settled with the Securities and Exchange Commission and New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer for $125 million for enabling investors to market time mutual funds through what the regulators called "sham loans."

Speaking in what might be his last appearance before Congress yesterday, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan expressed confidence in the nation's economy and said additional hikes in interest rates are necessary to sustain this growth.

A pair of high-ranking mutual fund executives settled allegations that they permitted market timing and will pay a total of $225,000 in civil penalties, the Securities and Exchange Commission told Reuters for a July 18 report.

Smaller banks looking for more exposure among investors got a boost when Tacoma-based Frank Russell Co. launched a new microcap index last month.