Law and regulation

Although they may have lost their battle to get Fidelity Investments to drop mutual funds that are linked to genocide in Sudan, activists say they are emboldened that more than one out of four shareholders voted in favor of their proposal.

Shareholders in a number of large Fidelity mutual funds, most notably the $73 billion Contrafund, succeeded in forcing a proxy vote that will take place later today on whether the company should institute a “genocide-free” investment policy, the Associated Press reports. The unbinding measure is unlikely to pass, however.

On Sunday, Bear Stearns agreed to be purchased by J.P. Morgan Chase for $2 a share, or about $236 million. Bear's shares were going for $170 a year ago.J.P. Morgan said it would guarantee trading obligations of Bear Stearns and its subsidiaries.“J.P. Morgan Chase stands behind Bear Stearns,”said Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon. “Bear Stearns’s clients and counterparties should feel secure that J.P. Morgan is guaranteeing Bear Stearns’s counterparty risk.”Using J.P. Morgan as an intermediary, the Federal Reserve invoked a Depression-era provision on Friday that would give troubled securities firm Bear Stearns access to emergency funding.Bear's shares fell 47% to $30 on the news Friday, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbling nearly 195 points. Bankers and officials scrambled to arrange a deal over the weekend before the markets opened Monday.Bear CEO Alan Schwartz said the deal "represents the best outcome for all of our constituencies based upon the current circumstances.”

Investors still have room for improvements in disclosure, transparency and shareowner influence on executive pay practices, according to an investment advocacy group.

A rogue trader at MF Global Ltd. has racked up $141.5 million in losses by bypassing an entry-order system that should have blocked his efforts, according to the Associated Press.

Standard & Poor’s released ratings action on five of the bond insurers Monday, downgrading Financial Guaranty Insurance Co. to A, from AA, and maintaining a credit watch with developing implications, while downgrading XL Capital Assurance Inc. to A-minus, from AAA, and keeping it on negative watch.

Standard & Poor’s announced it would take 27 new steps to improve consumer confidence in credit ratings.

High-ranking Wachovia bank executives knew about fraudulent and deceptive practices by one of its telemarketing firms, but continued to provide services to them anyway, The New York Times writes.

The European Central Bank reported a “sharp tightening” of lending standards for businesses, due to the changing economic outlook, according to the Financial Times.

It wasn't long ago that Eliot Spitzer, reveling in the glory of a national media frenzy for having shaken down Wall Street scams with a power not even the entire Securities and Exchange Commission could muster, hinted he might one day run for president of the United States.

In the midst of an already crowded marketplace of exchange-traded fund (ETF) providers, two new players are making a run for the end zone hoping to score with investors.

It wasn't long ago that Eliot Spitzer, reveling in the glory of a national media frenzy for having shaken down Wall Street scams with a power not even the entire Securities and Exchange Commission could muster, hinted he might one day run for president of the United States.

The growing number of independent directors on mutual fund boards has renewed the debate over whether industry best practices should become mandatory, but few believe any regulatory action will be taken soon.

Investors large and small have weighed in on two Securities and Exchange Commission proposals dealing with shareholders' rights to nominate directors to company boards. With the comment period ended last Tuesday, many now say they fear their rights may be curtailed.

Amid research that mutual funds with good Morningstar stewardship grades tend to outperform funds with poor Stewardship grades, Morningstar has toughened those grades. Morningstar has just released new stewardship grades for more than 1,000 funds and plans to add to the coverage in the ensuing months.

For decades, the question of investor access to company proxies has been a Pandora's box for the Securities and Exchange Commission, chock-full of competing interests and opinions from the investment community.

We've got to hand it to the board of directors at AIM Investments for acting responsibly and in direct response to a profound change in public sentiment.

We've got to hand it to the board of directors at AIM Investments for acting responsibly and in direct response to a profound change in public sentiment.

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees released a report Tuesday calling AllianceBernstein, Barclays Global Investors and AIM "pay enablers."

They may be late to the party, but they seem to be making up for lost time.