Court hears of Waterhouse bias claim

AN INDEPENDENT expert relied on by former Merrill Lynch client David Waterhouse has been accused by counsel for the broker of acting as an advocate for Mr Waterhouse rather than providing the court with independent evidence.

Insider trading charge to court

A FORMER director of resources at Lion Selection is facing insider trading charges stemming from last year's hostile takeover approach by mining giant Xstrata for copper and gold explorer Indophil. John O'Reilly, who was a non-executive director of Lion Selection until November last year, was ordered to surrender his passport and has been bailed to appear at the Melbourne Magistrate's Court on Friday.

Broker 'failed In Duty Of Care'

NINE unsophisticated retail investors, most said to be loath to big sharemarket gambles, are suing Macquarie Equities for millions of dollars, claiming the broker was reckless, deceptive, manipulative and conflicted when it backed them into high-risk investments.

Tougher Liquidity Rules Force Small Broker To Close

BOUTIQUE Melbourne stockbroker Lands Kirwan Tong will become the first securities house to close since the Australian Securities Exchange detailed a tough stand towards liquidity levels among brokers.

Broker's Clients Still Exposed

THE receivers for the Chimaera associate Primebroker Securities have made margin calls on Primebroker clients despite the clients' accounts being frozen since the company was put into receivership earlier this month.

Heavy Hitter Called In To Anz Securities In The Spotlight

ANZ has recruited heavyweight company director David Crawford to help with an expanded review of its involvement in securities lending and its entanglement with failed broker Opes Prime.

Bank Examines Its Role In Securities Lending

A WIDE review of ANZ's funding of the securities lending business has been ordered by chief executive Michael Smith after its exposure to the collapsed stockbroking firm Opes Prime came to light.

Volatility And Broker's Collapse Give Anz $1bn Bad-debt Headache

ANZ is facing about $1 billion in bad debts because of sharemarket volatility, the collapse of broker Opes Prime Group and the likelihood of further market turmoil.

Rush To Liquidate Failed Broker

ADMINISTRATORS to the failed broker Opes Prime say they will recommend that it be put quickly into liquidation when they meet creditors next week, giving them additional powers to investigate the collapse and reverse share transactions.

Water Trust Blames Broker As Crisis Hits Investment

A REGIONAL water authority has admitted it unintentionally bought investments affected by the US subprime crisis and says it may join a class action against its broker.

Millions Lost As Broker Crashes

HUNDREDS of investors have lost millions of dollars, several listed companies have been forced into trading halts and criminal investigations are possible after the collapse of Melbourne-based broker Opes Prime.

Tricom Slashes Securities Lending To Assure Market

TRICOM EQUITIES is drastically scaling back its securities lending business in an attempt to restore market confidence in the troubled broker and margin lender.

Margin Lending Broker Runs Out Of Money

THE solvency of the broking house Tricom may be in question after it was unable to cover the cost of trades yesterday, halting settlement on the Australian Securities Exchange for more than four hours.

Broker Pays For Dud Float

THE liquidators of a dotcom company that was to have been backed by the then high-flying businessman Rodney Adler have won a legal case against broker Hudson Securities for torpedoing the sharemarket listing. The company, OzEcom, put up 20 million shares for sale at 50c each to raise $10 million, but the offer was withdrawn after Hudson Securities failed to take up $2 million in unsold shares.

Dapto Broker On Dishonesty Charges

A FORMER Dapto insurance broker will stand trial on 10 charges of dishonest conduct following an investigation by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

How To Make $750 For Your Needy Broker

BROKERS will be paid up to $750 for every one of their Qantas shareholder clients who accepts the $5.45-a-share takeover offer. The inclusion of a broker handling fee was the reason for a fifth supplementary bidder's statement from the Airline Partners Australia consortium funding the $11.1 billion takeover.

Loans Broker 'misleading'

THE corporate watchdog claims national mortgage broker Sample & Partners has engaged in "misleading or deceptive conduct" to encourage home owners to switch loans. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has begun Federal Court proceedings against companies trading as Sample & Partners. These include GMS Group (NSW), GMS Group (Vic) and GMS Group Holdings, as well as a director of the companies, Matthew Sample, and national operations manager of Sample & Partners, Craig Turrell.

Chiquita Bid Gets Broker Nod

INDEPENDENT broker Austock Securities has cautiously welcomed the $108 million takeover bid for fruit group Chiquita Brands South Pacific by Timbercorp and the Costa Group.

Suicide Adds Woe To Meltdown

THE suicide of a securities broker yesterday added a note of tragedy to the growing odour surrounding one of the young guns of Japan's corporate world.

Mirvac Securities Sink As Boom Comes To An End

MIRVAC'S securities yesterday plummeted almost 12 per cent, its biggest fall in nearly six years, after the property developer signalled the end of the property boom with a massive profit downgrade.