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Kathleen Tarr says AT&T Inc. employees looked to her as "their de facto 401(k) expert." Visiting their homes and offices, she advised them on their retirement plans as they called [...]

The National Association of Securities Dealers has fined Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch and Citigroup for failing to provide investors with information during arbitration cases.

FleetBoston Financial Corp. is being sued by former Robertson Stephens executives over pay that they claim is owed to them by the former. The executives are suing FleetBoston for $140 million (138.8 million euros).

Jefferies Group Inc.'s trader Kevin Quinn attracted business from mutual fund company Fidelity Investments with extravagant business gifts and entertainment. These practices are now being investigated by both the National Association of Securities Dealers and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A lavish bachelor party for Fidelity Investments' st ar trader Thomas Bruderman is an example of entertainment expenses by securities firms that are under investigation by government regulators.

Extrava gant gifts and entertaining given by securities brokers to attract business from other financial services are the focus of regulators who want stronger rules applied to their use.

Reports the California Public Employees' Retirement System (Calpers) has filed a lawsuit against the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) alleging that the exchange condoned improper trading by floor-trading companies known as specialist firms. Excerpt from a complaint filed by Calpers, indicating the specialists were in violation of the Exchange Act of 1934 and the NYSE's own rules; Amount in damages being sought by Calpers; Recent troubles encountered by the NYSE, including the dismissal of former chief executive officer Dick Grasso; Impact of institutional investors, like Calpers, on Grasso's dismissal; Details of allegations made against specialist firms by Calpers.

Reports that United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigators believe that Massachusetts Financial Services Co. (MFS) allowed short-term market-timing trades at several of the company's mutual funds. Admission of pending charges by Sun Life Financial Inc., MFS' parent company; Statements made by MFS to its shareholders, which the SEC has found the company contradicted by allowing such trades; Number of mutual funds MFS is now claiming it did not monitor for market-timing; Why Massachusetts securities regulators are probing MFS.

Reports that Putnam Investments, a unit of Marsh & McLennan Cos., is dropping its practice of rewarding brokers who sell more of the company's products by directing commissions to their firms. Discussion of the sales practice called "directed brokerage" and the illegalities of that practice; Details of a settlement between Morgan Stanley and the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), focusing on commissions; Excerpts of a letter sent to the SEC chairman William Donaldson by John A. Hill of Putnam, regarding the potential for conflicts of interest.

Reports that the U.S. House of Representatives approved a bill to curb mutual-fund trading abuses and increase regulatory oversight in the securities industry. Results of the House vote, indicating that it passed so overwhelmingly that the U.S. Senate will be under pressure to consider similar changes to address the mutual-fund scandal; When the Senate Banking Committee will hold hearings on the mutual-fund scandal; Comments from Michael Oxley, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, regarding the pervasive nature of the fraud within the industry; Details of the bill, designed to discourage the rapid of trading in mutual funds.

Reports that Putnam Investments, a unit of Marsh & McLennan Cos., has agreed to a settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over the charges that it failed to stop rapid trading in its own mutual funds. Details of the settlement, which angered Massachusetts state regulators, but was hailed as "groundbreaking reform," by Putnam's chief executive officer Charles E. Haldeman; Additional civil-fraud charges being sought by the Massachusetts Securities Division; Comments from William Galvin, who oversees the state's securities regulators, regarding the ineffective nature of the SEC. INSET: Putnam's Promise.

Focuses on Peter Scannell, a call-center employee at Putnam Investments, a unit of Marsh & McLennan Cos., who says he had to turn to Massachusetts regulators after Putnam and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) failed to act on his complaints about market-timing trades. Estimated number of mutual-fund companies under subpoena that have accommodated some form of market timing, according the SEC officials; Expected charges to be filed by the Massachusetts Securities Division against Putnam related to the company's failure to end rapid trading in employee-retirement accounts.

Reports that Putnam Investments, a unit of Marsh & McLennan Cos., will replace six money managers because they allowed improper trading activity, known as "market timing," of Putnam international mutual funds. When Massachusetts regulators are expected file charges against Putnam and several managers; View of author that the moves by Putnam will shakeup the mutual fund industry, which has long considered itself a model of integrity; Profits amassed by the fund managers, who traded in funds they managed; Discussion of the status of other governmental investigations in the mutual-fund industry.

Reports that several members of a New York (State) trade union reaped over two million dollars in profits from several thousands of trades in Putnam Investments mutual funds that are under governmental investigation by Massachusetts securities regulators for possible "market timing" transactions. Number of trades processed by 10 union members of the Boilermakers Union, trading through Putnam as the administrator for their 401(k) retirement plan; Definition of market timing; Discussion of fund pricing and how an investor can exploit stale prices at the disadvantage to long-term investors.

Reports that Massachusetts securities regulators plan to file a civil-fraud complaint against Putnam Investments in a development that would mark the first formal charges against a mutual-fund company into the governmental investigation into improper trading practices. Details of the allegations, claiming Putnam allowed some customers in 401(k) retirement plans to rapidly buy and sell shares in international portfolios; Comments from William Galvin, Massachusetts secretary of the Commonweatlh, who overseas the securities division, regarding the practice that harms the profits of long-term investors; Reaction of Putnam, a unit of insurance broker Marsh & McClellan Cos.

Reports that several stockbrokers and managers for Prudential Securities, which is controlled by Wachovia Corp., resigned after their mutual-fund trading for clients raised suspicions of improper market timing. Number of jobs lost that are attributed to the widening scope of an investigation begun by New York (State) Attorney General Eliot Spitzer into mutual-fund trading practices; Extent of an internal review conducted by Prudential; Comments from a Wachovia spokesperson, suggesting the company wants to earn the trust of its clients.

Focuses on the concept of fair-value pricing, seen as a method to discourage market timers, which is one of the subjects of the mutual fund investigation by New York (State) Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. How a computer program calculates the fair-value price for Putnam Investments; View of industry analysts and critics that fair-value pricing would eliminate the advantages of market-timing trades; Response of the mutual-fund industry to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) directive to adopt fair-value pricing, suggesting not enough fund companies are complying; Concern over the subjectivity of fair-value pricing.

Reports on the investigations of the National Association of Securities Dealers and the Securities and Exchange Commission into the gift-and-entertainment practices of Wall Street firms. Scrutiny of the regulators on the cost of golf junkets and trips that are given by firms to money managers with whom they are trying to entice for trading business.

Discusses how Fidelity's head of stock trading, Scott DeSano, has personified a major shift of power in the stock-trading business by making a career of squeezing Wall Street brokers. How DeSano has cut the firm's trading costs by hundreds of millions of dollars annually since he took charge of Fidelity; Ability of DeSano to persuade brokers to commit their own capital on many Fidelity trades; How DeSano has helped to install a sophisticated tracking system to see which brokers can execute trades most efficiently; Decrease in the amount of trading volume with Fidelity at firms including A.G. Edwards Inc., Raymond James Financial Inc., Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., and Deutsche Bank AG.

Focuses on a letter sent by Fidelity Investments to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) related to the practice of charging "bundled" trading commissions by securities firms. Proposed breakdown of the bundled trading commissions into specific categories; Claims of the securities industry regarding how difficult it is to quantify market expertise; Discussion of the stock-research budgets at securities firms; Excerpt from the letter, indicating Fidelity wants the SEC to change the disclosure rules. INSET: Fidelity's Critique.

Reports that mutual-fund employees at a unit of FleetBoston Financial Corp. improperly allowed market-timing trades in three funds. Asset value of the Columbia Young Investor Fund, created to "meet the needs of young consumers," which was involved in the trading and may prove to be particularly embarrassing as investors were allowed to skim profits from kids; Other admissions to improper trading by FleetBoston; Description of the arrangement, known as "sticky assets," that allow market-timers to rapidly trade in mutual funds; View or regulators regarding the use of sticky-asset arrangements.

Reports that Massachusetts regulators have charge mutual-fund company Franklin Resources Inc. with civil fraud, claiming senior executives approved a secret deal with a wealthy investor that enabled him to trade rapidly in one of the company's funds at the expense of long-term investors. Details of the allegations against Daniel G. Calugar, president of Security Brokerage Inc., who allegedly made an agreement with Franklin to invest in one of their hedge funds; Value of investment that Calugar was allowed to rapidly trade; Comments from William Galvin, the Secretary of the Commonwealth who oversees the Massachusetts Securities Division, regarding Franklin's arrangement with Calugar.

Reports the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is seeking to suspend temporarily Massachusetts Financial Services Co. (MFS) Chief Executive Officer John W. Ballen from the industry for his knowledge of improper mutual-fund trading. Details of a settlement between MFS and the SEC, New York (State) Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, and the New Hampshire Bureau of Securities Regulation; View of Howard Schiffman, a former SEC enforcement attorney, suggesting the SEC only takes action such has this in cases it deems serious; Ballen's career highlights; Ballen's impact on the success of MFS, a unit of Sun Life Financial Inc.

Examines the brokerage industry and why many push mediocre mutual funds on their clients. Estimated amount of payment received by Edward D. Jones & Co. from Putnam and other fund companies in exchange for favoring those companies' funds at Jones's U.S. sales offices; View of former Jones brokers about the bonuses and training given to brokers who push funds from the "preferred" fund companies, suggesting a potential conflict of interest; Number of Jones' clients in the U.S., indicating they are one of the largest brokers in the country; Comments from Thomas Frankel, a law professor at Boston University who specializes in mutual fund regulation, regarding the deceptive practice of "revenue sharing"; Discussion of properly disclosing information to clients.

Reports that Fidelity Investments, a family-run company, is worth $15 billion to $20 billion. Information which was revealed in a confidential debt-offering document from Fidelity, including cash-flow, profit margins, and the amount it spends on employee compensation; Comparison of the market capitalization of Fidelity to that of Charles Schwab Corp.; Value of the shares held by Edward C. Johnson III and his family.

Reports that former Robertson Stephens securities unit of FleetBoston Financial Corp. has been fined by United States securities regulators, who also charged one of its analysts with misconduct during the stock market bubble of the late 1990s. Total amount levied against Robertson Stephens, and reasons for the fines; Details of claims against stock analysts Paul E. Johnson; Significance of the case; Decision of FleetBoston to close the unit.