BATON ROUGE, La.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The Shaw Group Inc. (NYSE: SGR) announced today that it has received notification from the Securities and Exchange Commission (”SEC”) that the SEC’s Division of Enforcement has completed its informal inquiry, which the company announced in June 2004, and that the Division of Enforcement does not intend to recommend any enforcement action.
The Shaw Group Inc. is a leading global provider of technology, engineering, procurement, construction, maintenance, fabrication, manufacturing, consulting, remediation and facilities management services for government and private sector clients in the energy, chemical, environmental, infrastructure and emergency response markets. A Fortune 500 company with nearly $6 billion in annual revenues, Shaw is headquartered in Baton Rouge, La., and employs approximately 27,000 people at its offices and operations in North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region. For further information, please visit Shaw’s Web site at www.shawgrp.com.
The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a “safe harbor” for certain forward-looking statements. The statements contained herein that are not historical facts (including without limitation statements to the effect that the Company or its management “believes,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “plans” or other similar expressions) and statements related to revenues, earnings, backlog or other financial information or results are forward-looking statements based on the Company’s current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on the Company. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting the Company will be those anticipated by the Company. These forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) and assumptions and are subject to change based upon various factors. Should one or more of such risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in the forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. A description of some of the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking statements can be found in the Company’s reports and registration statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Form 10-K and Form 10-Q reports, and on the Company’s Web site under the heading “Forward-Looking Statements.” These documents are also available from the Securities and Exchange Commission or from the Investor Relations department of Shaw.
Sam’s Notes
Being investigated by the SEC can be a scary thing for investors. The above press release is good news as the informal investigation has ended and no further investigation is under way.
LOS ALTOS, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Rambus Inc. (NASDAQ:RMBS) today announced it has received notification from the Staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission stating that the informal investigation into the Company’s past stock option practices has been terminated and that no enforcement action has been recommended to the Commission.
ROUND ROCK, Texas–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Dell (NASDAQ:DELL) has received a letter from the Board of Directors of The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC confirming that the company has regained compliance with all NASDAQ listing requirements by reason of its recent filing of past due periodic reports. Accordingly, the company’s securities will continue to be listed on NASDAQ.
The company also has launched its first online interactive year-in-review, which can be found at www.dell.com/fy07yearinreview. The new year-in-review site features videos and Flash microsites that describe the company’s products, services, milestones and impact around the world.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that it will ask a court to allow four months for investors and their brokers to respond in light of a court decision affecting an estimated one million fee-based brokerage accounts.
Commission Seeks Time for Investors and Brokers to Respond to Court Decision on Fee-Based Accounts
The biggest news in the investment world broke on March 30, 2007. On that date the court threw out an SEC rule that allowed brokers to provide investment advice through fee-based accounts without being treated as investment advisers. In a 2-1 decision, the court said that the SEC had exceeded its authority in adopting the rule.
The US securities regulator had previously exempted fee-based brokerage accounts from registering as investment advisory accounts, a decision successfully challenged by the Financial Planning Association of Denver.
The number of investors that are affected by this court ruling is not known but estimates place their assets in the $277.4 billion area. These investors will have to look carefully at their investments and decide which way to go with them.
The fee-based accounts have been very good in that the customer pays a flat fee (average of 1% of assets value) for the account. This sort of account removed the conflict of interest that can exist in a transaction-based account. The conflict comes in because the broker of such an account makes money everytime a customer buys or sells stock. This can lead to a situation where the broker selects stocks for the customer that are based on enriching himself rather than the customer as well as constant trading to insure a constant stream of income from transaction fees.
Even though the SEC has given up the fight others are still hoping to reverse the court’s desicion or even get Congress to change the laws on the books. The investment advisors say that the SEC has been allowing brokers to act as investment advisors without the proper credentials while the brokers say it’s just a bunch of extra paperwork.
The big brokerage houses do have a choice to make. Do they fight this or do they get their people properly trained to be investment advisors?
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