AMERICA IS STUPID PART 773

I could give two shits about Eliot Spitzer. Who cares? But.

* Price fixing (2006): A long running investigation of five computer chip manufacturers resulted in $730 million in fines and a guilty plea from Samsung Electronics Co., Elpida Memory Inc., Infineon Technologies AG and Hynix Semiconductor Inc. The fifth manufacturer, Micron Technology Inc., was granted immunity in exchange for cooperating with authorities in the case. This case is notable as one of the longest collusions between the largest number of companies to fix prices (1998 - 2002).

Now...could THIS have affected your life, or him getting a prostitute?

* Global Settlement (2002): Spitzer sued several investment banks for inflating stock prices, using affiliated brokerage firms to give biased investment advice and "spin" initial public offerings of stock by offering them to CEOs and other influential members of the business community. In 2002, a settlement of these lawsuits was negotiated by Spitzer, federal regulatory bodies, stock exchanges, and the investment banks and brokerage houses in question. The result was $1.4 billion in compensation and fines paid by the brokerages and investment banks, new rules and enforcement bodies created to govern stock analysts and IPOs, and the insulation of brokerage firms from pressures by investment banks. Ten firms paid fines to settle the case: Bear Stearns, Credit Suisse First Boston, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan Chase, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Salomon Smith Barney, UBS Warburg.

Now...could THIS have affected your life, or him getting a prostitute?

Late Trading & Market Timing Investigations (2003): Investigations by the office of Eliot Spitzer beginning in 2003 uncovered mutual fund brokers allowing select clients privileges deprived to ordinary customers. Spitzer targeted two practices in particular: "late trading" which allows hedge fund investors to file trades at the previous day's price after the market close, something ordinary customers cannot do; and "market timing" which allows privileged investors to buy and sell shares in funds more frequently than allowed under the fund's rules. The implications of these practices are that the brokerages and a small number of investors profit at the expense of other fund shareholders. In essence, by placing winning trades the privileged investors diluted the profit pool available to all fund shareholders while they sidestepped their share of the pool's losses. Their trading also increased administrative fees borne by ordinary customers and caused fund managers to increase the cash they held to meet liquidity needs. Through a number of prosecutions and lawsuits, Spitzer secured more than one billion dollars in fines and remuneration for investors as well as forcing reforms to eliminate the practice.

Now...could THIS have affected your life, or him getting a prostitute?

It's amazing to me...Amercians' don't mind anyone getting screwed, as long as it's themselves.