Auction Rates Securities victims saw this information.

Updated: April 4, 2008

THE LAST UPDATE, ALL FUTURE UPDATES WILL BE POSTED AT THE ARS Fraud VICTIMS FORUM.

ARS Victim Action List
Your first steps towards getting your money back.

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When did UBS learn from SEC that ARS are NOT "Cash Equivalents"?
Here is your answer.
Here is more!!

http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/10683650/c_2984368/?f=archives

.....Three years ago, PwC and the others among the Big Four reportedly advised their corporate clients to change the way they accounted for auction-rate securities. Their suggestion was that U.S. corporations no longer treat ARS as similar to a cash equivalent, and the accounting firms asserted that they are more appropriately classified as "investments."....

One potential silver lining emerged from a survey conducted by the Association of Financial Professionals last August.

It found that one-third of the companies that invested in either auction-rate securities or variable-rate demand notes reduced use of the vehicles after the major accounting firms ruled that such investments were not cash equivalents.

So, corporations were told not to treat ARS as "cash equivalents" three years ago by the big accounting firms, and by August 2007 1/3 of them had cut back on use of ARS, reducing their exposure to the freeze.....while the brokers kept marketing them to us as "cash equivalents".

US issuers to bid on $2 bln of own auction-rate bonds
Step in the right direction.

Prices for ARS in the secondary market
Not all "cash equivalents" are created equal. WARNING: DO NOT CLICK THIS LINK IF YOU HAVE
1) Heart Condition
2) Sizable Portfolio
3) Have College ARC's or Muni perpetual Preferreds.
I suggest the Government insist the brokers put WARNING LABELS on the statements they mail to
ARS owners, just like they have them on the packs of cigarettes.

Updated: April 2, 2008

Interesting e-mail, full of crocodile tears

Who Benefits the most?
The reasons why nothing will ever happens if you just sit and wait things out.

Will you EVER trust your "Financial Advisor" again?

The Industry threw the small (under 25 mils) investor under the bus.
Small investor lets the industry know his feelings.

Welcome to the age of the Internet!
One can run but one can't hide. The documents published on the internet always leave the trace.
Here si the trace of now deleted Nuveen misleading information
This is how the same Nuveen page looks now.

I hope everybody had the great April Fools Day!

Joe Mysak tells it like it is
No sugar coating. Sad read but true. Welcome to the "Plankton World"

This Merrill Lynch document is authentic.
and still resides on Merrill Lynch website as I post this on April 1st, 2008 (THIS IS NOT A JOKE).
It says: Business owners who can afford to allocate capital to slightly longer-term securities might also consider variable-rate preferred (VRP) stock. VRPs let you match your cash-flow and liquidity requirements
for a specific time period (often 7, 28 or 49 days). They pay dividends during that time and then reset
based on market conditions to stay in line with interest-rate changes.

No disclosure, no nothing, despite the SEC order of 2006 (you can find the case I reffer to below). If this webpage mystireously disapears - I made a copy and so should you.
Sent by PDQ

One More Merrill Lynch document dated February 8th, 2008, YES, 4 days before the total freeze.
This Merrill Lynch document is authentic (verifyed by several sources), I say this is the most cynical investment piece of paper I ever seen,
on the level of Henry Blodget's "Amazon will go to $600!!" Investment Research for the Plankton.

Sent by IRS (No, NOT Internal Revenue Service)

Should I move my ARS from UBS to Merrill Lynch?
This will give me 20% INSTANT bump up in the value of my junkie and illiquid ARS!!!! I think I should apply for the Nobel Prize in Economy! and I'll share it with Merrill!

Fixing the Problem?

Marcel Ospel quits UBS
If you have a bank with spare 38 billions liquidity and investors dieing to invest in illiquid "good as cash" assets paying next to nothing
please take notice - Marcel Ospel is now FREE!

THE MOMENT WE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR:
1) Merrill Lynch, UBS, E*Trade, Bank of America just announced they will buy from investors ALL ARS they sold at par
plus 4% for investors pain and suffering and broken detrimental reliance covenant.

All major Investment Bankers and Brokerage houses signed Oxley Bargaine Declaration
and promissed that this was the last time investors were taken for the ride.

Bernie Ebbers was pardoned and offered position with AG Edwards at Fixed Liquid Income Department.

The head of Hezballah converts to Judaism.

HAPPY APRIL FOOLS DAY, EVERYONE!

If this Nuveen document is authentic (and I have no means to verify it), than we might have a case of the
Corporate Cover up AND "Beached Whale".
“At any time, MuniPreferred and FundPreferred shareholders may instruct their advisors to offer shares for sale at the next weekly auction. The $25,000 share price remains constant, providing a $1 in, $1 out feature that means the principal received upon sale will always equal the amount invested”

“Consider Nuveen FundPreferred is you’re seeking: A stable, short-term source of income; a place to park cash before choosing your next long-term investment; AAA ratings and weekly liquidity”

“MuniPreferred and FundPreferred attract investors because of their highly competitive yields and AAA rated quality. They appeal to individuals seeking an attractive alternative to various money market instruments”

This is the Original Page and this is how the same page looks today.
Sent by Lowell

If this UBS document is authentic (and I have no means to verify it), than we might have a case of the
Corporate Cover up.
This is the page dated February 29th, 2008 and this is how the same page looks today.
Sent by AG (No, NOT an Attorney General)

Rumor has it, UBS will come with ARS related announcement on April 4th. I have dental apointment that day and I am not cancelling it.
I'll post more when and if additional information becomes available.

Wells Fargo Posts redemption schedule by the funds. (Dated March 28, 2008)

Please email me immediately if you were an injured ARS investor with Bank of America.
Major, superb (and I mean superb)law firm bringing first case against B of A for auction rate securities fraud, hopefully more to follow.
Please email me asap lisaswanson@earthlink.net

Joe Investor is screwed again.
CNN sees the light, major brokerage houses (the whales) do not.

Check SEC website for the Court Ruling and where your broker/dealer might be in violation of the SEC rulings.

Inspirational quote of the day and kinda explains our current predicament:
"Wall Street is the only place that people ride to in a Rolls Royce to get advice from those who take the subway."
- Warren Buffet

Florida residents only.

I am just off the phone with attorney from Girad Gibbs who filed class action suits against major firms.
Accoring to his sources, UBS probably will have press conference on Monday or Tuesday to announce their plans regarding ARS investors. Stay tuned.

UBS seeks 16 Billion Swiss Francs
IQ TEST: Does UBS seek 16 billions to pay ARS Holders or
Does UBS seeks 16 billions to stay afloat?
I am stupid, I don't know the answer, but what I DO KNOW, upcoming week I'll be busier than one legged man
in ass kicking competition to move all my acounts out of UBS and spread cash, which is only covered by SIPC to the amount of $500,000 among the banks with FDIC insurance.
The Question Now Is: Does UBS stand for : Upcoming Bear Stearns!?

New York Times picks up the story first published on ARSclassAction.com webpage!

Read the personal stories of ARS holders

UBS Gives Haircuts
The Swiss bank told clients it was reducing the value of auction-rate securities in their accounts, by an average amount of 5%. It also refused to buy the bonds back from investors who bought the securities, thinking they were getting an easy-to-sell, higher-yielding alternative to money market funds but instead found themselves stuck with illiquid securities and capital losses

In its advertising, UBS tells clients "it's you and us," but on Friday it told investors "you're on your own."

Well, now we ALL know what UBS stands for : U Been Screwed!
My personal haircut is not 5%, it's:
Coupon Municipal Bond Arcs Total $544,389.50 $-105,610.50 -16.25%
Does this look like (from my UBS statement) "Cash Alternatives"?

Comic Relief: Otto buys ARS from UBS

President Bush Seeks Financial Regulation Overhaul
Long overdue. Bankers are too stupid (hey, guys, how much did you lose in subprime slime?) and too greedy to regulate themselves.

UBS marks down "cash equivalent securities"
I am ashamed to tell anybody that I am losing money investing in CASH! I hope my grandchildren never find out, they'll lose all respect for me.

Will you move your brokerage acount to safer harbors?
Another brilliant article by Peter Cohan

Legg Mason still has no clue
Would you trust Legg Mason with your money? The company which handles finances doesn't know ...how to raise finances for it's own purposes.
I think that either they do not care about Preferred Shareholders, or they just plainly DUMB, inexperienced and incompetent as far as Financial Services are concerned. YOU decide.

Mass. regulator subpoenas UBS, Merrill, BofA
as we alerted ARSclassAction.com readers yesterday.

Look who else is holding the bag, $1,000,000,000 bag that is.

If you still haven't filed the complaint with SEC, do it NOW!
It works! and here is the where to send it ENF-ARScomplaints@sec.gov

ATTENTION MERRILL LYNCH BROKERS
I'll pay top dollar (4 digits) for the alleged Merrill Lynch handbook or memo
which purportedly urged brokers to sell ARS as alternatives to money market funds. My contact information is above.
Full Confidentiality Assured.

Citibank is getting sued Lead Plaintiff is Lisa Swanson
"The collapse of the auction rate securities market ... was a direct result of defendants' unilateral decision to no longer artificially support the auction rate securities market," plaintiff Lisa Swanson, who purchased auction rate securities in 2006, claimed in one suit.

Securities and Exchange Comission response with follow up phone call.

Massachusetts Securities Division Opens investigation in UBS business practices.
Boston Nick wrote...
I received a call from Attorney Gombar at the MA Securities Division this morning.
They are opening up a UBS investigation and are issuing a comprehensive document subpoena today.
I was assured that this is a high priority for the MA Securities Division and can expect regular follow-up.
Cat's out of the bag...its only a matter of time before all of the broker dealers start sweating this big time -
could be criminal implications. Regulators are working for us and I think there is healthy competition
amongst each State's Securities Enforcement divisions to be the first to press charges.

Small ray of Hope?

Americas Watchdog Demands Banks & Financial Institutions Refund Small Investors Money Placed In Auction Rate Preferred Shares.
THOMAS MARTIN Americas Watchdog 866-714-6466

Auction Rates Securities and SEC. What investors MUST DO
Open Letter to Securities and Exchange Comission from Tom B.

Mike Ecohls posts:
I just received some interesting information. But, first some background: UBS has a broker level and an investment management level for their clients.

I was in the ‘broker’ level in Florida. I have a friend who was in the ‘investment’ management level in the Manhattan, N.Y. division. The difference: I didn’t pay a ‘management fee of 3% to have my money ‘managed’. My friend did. The other difference: the management division never put him in ARPS instruments….my broker did.

Moral of this story…maybe I should have gone with the management division because apparently they DID KNOW there was a problem with ARPS instruments and didn’t subject their clients to the problem.

Suits claim firms deceived clients on bonds
The investors accuse Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch of inappropriately marketing the bonds as money-market alternatives that could be readily sold, according to separate complaints filed yesterday in federal court in New York.

ASTAR alleges Merrill Lynch fraud
ASTAR Air Cargo has filed an arbitration claim against Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith seeking compensatory damages of $9.125 million and punitive damages of at least $27.375 million. ASTAR’s counsel, Dimond Kaplan & Rothstein of Miami, filed the claim with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority to gain access to ASTAR’s funds that currently are frozen in illiquid Auction Rate Securities (ARS) in the company’s Merrill Lynch account.
Nobody seems surprised by it

An Auction Rate Securities (ARS) David vs. Goliath story by Peter Cohan

Open Letter to Duff & Phelps Investments

Auction-Market Investors Look to Regulator for Hope by Joe Mysak

Morgan Stanley sued over auction-rate securities marketing
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, alleges that Morgan Stanley "deceptively marketed" auction-rate securities
as cash alternatives to money-market funds for investors needing liquidity and failed to make material disclosures about those securities.

Find who else is in your shoes and add your situation to the list
Listed total: $13,925,000 +++ as of 6:00 pm Eastern

Lisa Swanson, esq, posts:
The SEC email for complaints is now definitely working:
ENF-ARScomplaints@SEC.gov
It really does feel good to report your story. How can they ignore hundreds of these without an investigation?

Who is responsible for this debacle? - Meet the Key Players up close and personal.
UBS Board of Directors
Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.

I quote UBS website: "The BoD (Board of Directors) is the most senior corporate body with ultimate responsibility for the strategy and the management of the company and for the appointment and supervision of the executive management."

Care to guess how many of them have their own personal money frozen?

Good News for a change:
The Gabelli Convertible and Income Securities Fund Inc. to Redeem Auction Rate Preferred Stock The Board of Directors of The Gabelli Convertible and Income Securities Fund Inc. (NYSE:GCV) has authorized the filing of a shelf registration of up to $100 million in preferred stock or debt securities. The registration process typically takes approximately one to two months. Upon its completion the Fund will have additional flexibility to take steps toward resolving the illiquidity that has occurred for holders of the Fund’s auction rate preferred stock.

Class Action Lawsuit filed against:
DEUTSCHE BANK
AMERITRADE
WACHOVIA
UBS
by the Law Firm of Girard Gibbs LLP

Arbitrage Option by Jeffrey Kaplan

Severe Problem with Student Loan Arcs

Background of what exactly has happened. Read what Bill Gross has this to say about Auction Rate Securities (updated 3/30/08)

Where to attend shareholders meetings and make your voice heard

Legal Information - Arbitrage

I can be reached via e-mail at Serge Birbrair
and I am not just a web page publisher, but also a victim who trusted UBS and got burnt. Do YOU want to be next?
No? Don't believe everything you hear from your Financial Advisers, as they are played by the management too.