Investments

A federal judge in Manhattan has ruled that a group of 11 California localities, including Los Angeles, may go forward with their civil cases against Goldman, Sachs & Co., Citigroup, and several other high-profile firms because they may have participated in an alleged conspiracy to rig bids for municipal investment contracts and derivatives.

Nearly half of alternative investors surveyed by Brighton House Associates said they were interested in hedge funds following global macro trends because of its broad economic approach and highly liquid structure.

Sen. Kohl applauds DOL, SEC providing more information to employers and investors alike.

French bank wants to become a tier-one prime broker

The Department of Labor announced that beginning in August, it will require asset management firms to provide further information on the risks and benefits of investing in target-date funds, including details on their glidepaths, to employers and employees.

Seven of 10 employed individuals have given up on the idea of retirement, according to the 2010 EBRI Retirement Confidence Survey.

Fidelity Investments has hired William J. Henderson as chief executive officer of Fidelity Clearing Canada., reporting to National Financial President Sanjiv Mirchandani.

Overall sales of annuities through bank holding companies rose 0.5% to $2.62 billion last year, but the results were somewhat skewed.

WASHINGTON—The Treasury Department released interim guidance yesterday instructing municipal issuers how to issue four tax-credit bonds as direct-subsidy bonds, as was authorized by a jobs law enacted in March.

The Treasury Department released interim guidance yesterday instructing municipal issuers how to issue four tax-credit bonds as direct-subsidy bonds, as was authorized by a jobs law enacted in March.

WASHINGTON — Republicans, as promised, banded together to block Senate debate on financial regulatory reform legislation Monday, picking up opposition from one Democrat, Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska.

Armed with its first full period of earnings since buying Barclays Global Investors, BlackRock announced its profits quintupled in the first quarter.

As Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner reached out to Republicans to get them on board with financial reforms, Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts, who won the seat vacated by former Sen. Edward Kennedy, vociferously defended the mutual fund industry.

Wherever the money’s going, it’s not going to municipal bond mutual funds.

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission said Monday it is seeking court orders to issue a trading ban against New York-based Tiger Asia hedge fund over alleged insider trading and market manipulation.

NEW YORK—Dividend-paying stocks may be the best option for investors looking for income, said Jason Brady, managing director and portfolio manager of Thornburg’s limited-term income and U.S. government strategies funds, speaking at the annual spring forum of the Financial Planning Association’s New York chapter last week.

Although financial advisers expect 2010 to be a great year, wirehouses are still feeling the turbulence, and concerns about breakaway brokers, although waning, remain, according to Aite Group.

A few months after its acquisition by Intuit, Mint.com has linked up with Intuit Financial Services’ aggregation capabilities, a move that should add millions of potential users to Mint.com’s roster, which currently totals one million people.

A Thornburg portfolio manager says dividend-paying stocks may be income-seeking investors’ best option right now.

AIG May Sue Goldman