Mutual funds

WASHINGTON — Initial claims for U.S. state unemployment benefits plunged 33,000 to 342,000 in the April 19 survey week, the Labor Department reported yesterday, but a Labor analyst cited “no special factors.”

WASHINGTON—Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson met in private with top lenders and servicers this week to warn them the housing market is continuing to deteriorate and press them for a new solution, several sources said Thursday.

The U.S. House of Representatives has gone on federal public record as warning the industry and government legislators that raising long-term capital gains on mutual fund investors any higher than it already is will seriously impair the markets, shareholders, and, eventually, retirees.

Fines Continue to be Levied on Fund Companies for Market Timing & Late Trading, With a Renewed Focus on U.K. Orders

After failing to redeem $580 million of the shares of three of its tax-free closed-end funds, Eaton Vance has successfully obtained private financing for the preferred shares in question.

In a lawsuit stunning for giving renewed life to the revenue-sharing scandals and for extending the period certain through 2006, Wells Fargo has been hit with a class-action lawsuit for allegedly sharing mutual fund revenue with brokers and other selling agents, without informing shareholders and through excessively high fees.

fund flows

Senate Democrats in Connecticut are pushing for a state-sponsored 401(k) retirement plan for small businesses, designed for employers who can’t afford to offer a retirement plan to their workers.

‘Bond Broadside’ Includes Two Worst-Performers, Down -73% & -70%

A number of news events in the past week alone indicate without question the U.S. economy is at a dangerous inflection point, but so far, no one-no economist, analyst, fund manager, regulator, legistator, president or CEO-is willing to put together the pieces to talk about something other than snapshot first-quarter, year-over-year or historical trendline data that make a case for the return of the markets.

John Paulson, founder of the hedge fund Paulson & Company, made an unprecedented $3.7 billion last year by betting against subprime mortgages and the financial products that held them.

Envestnet Snags Ibbotson's Henkel for Retirement Group

State Street Corp.'s top executive said that the Boston company plans to focus on adding customers, developing business and products through its investment management arm, and expanding internationally, and that he remains cautiously optimistic for growth the rest of this year.

Standard & Poor's said the potential bill to U.S. taxpayers for bailing out Wall Street firms could grow to $400 billion. If Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are included, the bill could soar by an additional $1.4 trillion, for a total of $1.8 trillion, causing the U.S. government to loose its AAA rating and plunging the country into a deep and prolonged recession.

Mutual fund managers invested in securities with any type of credit exposure will want to know that sister publication Asset Securitization Report has learned that another major wave of $2.8 billion-to perhaps as high as $8 billion-in collateralized debt obligation (CDO) liquidations is set to hit the market.

NEW YORK - While the majority of economists now believe the U.S. is in a recession, market optimists are already looking ahead to the rebound.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the Securities and Exchange Commission and New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo are looking into possible irregularities in auction rate securities (ARS).

A number of news events in the past week alone indicate without question the U.S. economy is at a dangerous inflection point, but so far, no one-no economist, analyst, fund manager, regulator, legislator, president or CEO-is willing to put together the pieces to talk about something other than snapshot first-quarter, year-over-year or historical trendline data that make a case for the return of the markets.

On the heels of its $328 million loss in the first quarter, down from a $81 million profit in the first quarter of 2008, American Airlines' parent company, AMR Corp., Fort Worth, Tex., announced on Wednesday it is unloading 90% of its American Beacon Advisors investment management unit for $480 million in cash.

NEW YORK - The financial sector took a beating in the first quarter, but financial "bottom feeders" will speed its recovery, possibly ahead of the rest of the market, experts said here at a gathering of researchers and data providers.