Tuesday, September 29, 2015

FBI Arrests 10 Puerto Rico Police in Corruption Crackdown

» FBI Arrests 10 Puerto Rico Police in Corruption Crackdown
29/09/15 15:36 from ABC News: ABCNews
FBI arrests 10 Puerto Rico police officers amid corruption crackdown



Puerto Rico Officials to Testify on...

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Puerto Rico Officials to Testify on Debt Crisis Before Senate Panel

New York Times - ‎18 hours ago‎
Puerto Rican officials will appear before a skeptical United States Senate panel on Tuesday to explain why the island may need federal assistance by the end of the year and how lawmakers preoccupied with the federal debt might help without setting an ...

Getting serious about helping Puerto Rico

The Hill - ‎9 hours ago‎
Whatever the United States government does in the coming months to help Puerto Rico, it is important that policymakers act with a deep sense of urgency about the scale of the problem the island faces. The crisis is far more than a fiscal one. If ...

Senator Hatch says Puerto Rico faces 'enormous fiscal challenges'

Reuters - ‎4 hours ago‎
"It isn't as simple as deciding to give more health funds to Puerto Rico, because doing so would necessarily mean reduced funding for other priorities, increased taxes, or even more federal debt," Hatch said. Hatch urged witnesses at the hearing to ...

Puerto Rico Debt Crisis Eludes U.S. Fix, Top Republicans Say

Bloomberg - ‎4 hours ago‎
A top Senate Republican said there's no easy way for the U.S. government to ease the fiscal crisis that's gripping Puerto Rico, saying an influx of federal funds since the recession hasn't prevented the Caribbean island from sinking deeper into debt.

UPDATE 2-UBS to pay $33.5 million for Puerto Rico fund abuses

Reuters - ‎21 minutes ago‎
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission also said it sued a former financial adviser at UBS Financial Services Inc of Puerto Rico, claiming he misled investors who bought $50 million of shares in the funds, which invested heavily in Puerto Rico ...

Puerto Rico officials press lawmakers for bankruptcy power

MarketWatch - ‎3 hours ago‎
Melba Acosta-Febo, president of the Government Development Bank for Puerto Rico, and Pedro Pierluisi, Puerto Rico's representative in Congress, told a finance committee hearing the bankruptcy power should be available to the island in the same way it ...

Senate GOP pushes Puerto Rico for more info on debt woes

The Hill - ‎13 minutes ago‎
“My constituents are understandably weary of studies, reports, plans and working groups,” said Pedro Pierluisi (D), Puerto Rico's nonvoting member of Congress. “They want, and they deserve, action on the part of political leaders in San Juan and ...

UBS Unit to Pay $34 Million in Settlements Over Puerto Rico Bond Funds

Wall Street Journal - ‎1 hour ago‎
A unit of UBS Group AG agreed to pay roughly $34 million in settlements with U.S. regulators on Tuesday regarding the sale of Puerto Rico bond funds that plummeted in value in recent years. The settlements come as Puerto Rico's financial crisis is ...

FBI arrests 10 Puerto Rico police in corruption crackdown

Yahoo News - ‎6 hours ago‎
A year later, U.S. prosecutors issued a scathing report that accused Puerto Rico police officers of illegal killings, corruption and civil rights violations. As a result, the island's police department is undergoing a 10-year federally mandated reform ...

Puerto Rico Congressman: We feel like 2nd class citizens

CNNMoney - ‎37 minutes ago‎
"Congress treats Puerto Rico in a discriminatory fashion under numerous programs." Pierluisi has a point. The island is in the midst of a massive a debt crisis after having defaulted in August, and Congress isn't helping out much. Puerto Rico owes $72 ...

Puerto Rico's Congressman at Odds With Governor Over Debt Crisis

Bloomberg - ‎5 hours ago‎
Puerto Rico's representative in the U.S. Congress criticized Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla's approach to restructuring the island's $72 billion of debt, illustrating the divided message in Washington as the territory seeks help from the federal ...

10 Puerto Rico police officers indicted on organized crime charges

<a href="http://UPI.com" rel="nofollow">UPI.com</a> - ‎2 hours ago‎
The Department of Justice announced Tuesday the indictment of 10 Puerto Rico police officers for allegedly running a criminal organization from a police department. The capital of Puerto Rico, San Juan, has a population of about 390,000 people. File ...

US SEC sues ex-adviser from UBS Puerto Rico unit, alleges fraud

Reuters - ‎3 hours ago‎
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued a former financial adviser from UBS AG'sPuerto Rico unit on Tuesday, accusing him of misleading investors in the sale of $50 million in mutual fund investments tied to the territory's municipal bonds.

FINRA Sanctions UBS Puerto Rico $18.5 Million for Supervisory Failures ...

MarketWatch - ‎2 hours ago‎
WASHINGTON, Sep 29, 2015 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced today that it has censured and fined UBS Financial Services Incorporated ofPuerto Rico (UBS PR) $7.5 million for supervisory failures related ...

No federal financial control board for Puerto Rico

The Hill (blog) - ‎Sep 28, 2015‎
The Senate Committee on Finance will hold hearings on Puerto Rico at the end of September. The subject of a financial control board will be on the table. Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.), Puerto Ricobondholders and the economists on their payroll are ...

Hedge Fund Splitsville Helps Puerto Rico

Bloomberg - ‎Sep 28, 2015‎
In the saga of Puerto Rico, dozens of hedge funds were shaping up as a formidable alliance until it looked as if some stood to gain more than others. Then they became enemies, at least in regard to their competing stake in the island's $72 billion of debt.

Saving Puerto Rico from the Federal Government

The Weekly Standard (blog) - ‎22 hours ago‎
Puerto Rico is an economic basket case. It's been in a recession for nearly a decade, its skilled labor is leaving the island in droves, and the island's government recently told its bondholders that it is unable to fully repay them. To emphasize that ...

SEC accuses ex-UBS employee from Puerto Rico branch of fraud scheme

Reuters - ‎4 hours ago‎
In a lawsuit filed in federal court in Puerto Rico, the SEC said Jose Ramirez, 56, convinced UBS customers to improperly use loans offered by UBS to buy additional shares in the non-exchange traded closed-end mutual funds. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in ...

Can Alphabet Soup Fix Puerto Rico's Debt Service Issues?

The National Law Review - ‎Sep 28, 2015‎
Last week, the Working Group for the Fiscal and Economic Recovery of Puerto Rico gave the broadest hint yet of the next tactic in Puerto Rico's ongoing quest to deleverage itself. Although the details have not yet been articulated, Puerto Rico ...

Puerto Rico Defends $14B Deficit Forecast

Bond Buyer - ‎22 hours ago‎
Puerto Rico's government defended its estimates after an analyst said the fiscal projections backing its plans to restructure its debt overstate anticipated cash shortfalls over the next five fiscal years by $8.4 billion. "A recent sales and trading ...

UPDATE 1-US Sen. Hatch says no help for Puerto Rico unless better disclosure

Reuters - ‎16 minutes ago‎
Puerto Rico, in recession for nearly a decade, has grown its debt to $72 billion, while the number of taxpayers shouldering the burden has dwindled, with thousands moving to the U.S. mainland each year. The U.S. territory defaulted on debt on Aug.

MarketsPuerto Rican official appeals to US lawmakers

Financial Times - ‎4 hours ago‎
Puerto Rico's de-facto finance minister laid out the dire state of the commonwealth's economy and finances in testimony to the US senate today, and called on US lawmakers to quickly pass a law that would allow it to use American bankruptcy courts ...

Puerto Rico Should Adopt Enterprise Zones, Not Austerity Tax Hikes

Americans for Tax Reform (blog) - ‎21 hours ago‎
Puerto Rico is on the verge of a debt-driven collapse in many of its basic governmental structures. This problem is made worse by the fact that Puerto Rican municipalities, unlike mainland cities and counties, have no ability to restructure using ...

SEC, Finra fine UBS $34 million over Puerto Rico funds

InvestmentNews - ‎1 hour ago‎
UBS Wealth Management Americas, which is facing a raft of customer complaints tied to its sales ofPuerto Rico municipal bond funds, has agreed to pay a combined $34 million to settle allegations from U.S. regulators tied to its supervision of sales of ...

FINRA, SEC Wallop UBS Puerto Rico With $33.5M in Penalties Over Closed-End Funds

ThinkAdvisor - ‎1 hour ago‎
FINRA charged UBSPR with shirking its supervisory responsibilities by failing to ensure the suitability of transactions in Puerto Rico closed-end funds (CEFs) for certain clients, and for encouraging certain clients to open lines of credit (LOCs) to ...

UBS Puerto Rico unit pays $18.5 million in Finra settlement

MarketWatch - ‎2 hours ago‎
Finra fined UBS AG's Puerto Rican unit $7.5 million and ordered it to pay $11 million in restitution to clients on Tuesday for allowing customers to borrow against risky Puerto Rican securities. UBS allowed customers to borrow against accounts largely ...

UBS Fined $34 Million Over Sales of Puerto Rican Mutual Funds

swissinfo.ch - ‎48 minutes ago‎
(Bloomberg) -- UBS Group AG agreed to pay about $34 million to settle regulatory claims that aPuerto Rico unit allowed a broker to sell risky municipal bond investments to conservative customers. The Swiss bank failed to properly supervise Jose ...

Puerto Rican truckers rally against impending business tax hikes

Reuters - ‎Sep 28, 2015‎
Drivers with La Central Autentica del Transporte union, or CAT, gathered outside the steps of Puerto Rico's legislative headquarters, blaring upbeat music, as they denounced a 4 percent tax to be levied on most professional services, such as ...

Menendez Speaks Before Senate Committees on Syrian Refugee Crisis and Puerto Rico

PolitickerNJ - ‎3 hours ago‎
Senator Bob Melendez spoke before the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and United States Senate Committee on Finance Tuesday, in two hearings on the state of humanitarian aid in Syria and on economic development in Puerto Rico.

UBS Puerto Rico Pays $34M to Settle SEC, FINRA Changes

Bond Buyer - ‎2 hours ago‎
UBS Financial Services, Inc. of Puerto Rico has agreed to pay $34 million to settle charges by the Securities and Exchange Commission and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority that it failed to supervise a former broker who had customers invest in ...