Compliance March 19, 2008

NYC Comptroller to Look at Bear Stearns Role in Pension Loss

New York City comptroller William Thompson said he will investigate whether the failure of Bear Stearns&Co was due to miscalculation or deception.
Reported by

Thompson told Reuters in a telephone interview that the drop in Bear Stearns’ share price resulted in a loss of about $10 million to the city’s public pension funds. The result of the investigation could spur a lawsuit.

After Bear Stearns agreed on Sunday to be bought by JPMorgan Chase at a price of $2 a share, its market value plummeted. On Friday Bear Stearns’ stock had closed at $30.85; on Tuesday the stock closed $5.91, Reuters said.

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Investigations and the possibility of lawsuits have been popping up ever since. In addition to New York City, Reuters pointed out Massachusetts has also launched an investigation into whether to sue Bear Stearns to recover its losses.

Law firms Keller Rohrback LLP and Stember Feinstein Doyle & Payne, LLC have also announced investigations into investments for participants in Bear Stearns various retirement plans (See Bear’s Ills Draw Company Stock “Investigation”).

Products March 19, 2008

SSgA Launches First International Inflation-Protected Bond ETF

State Street Global Advisors (SSgA), the investment management arm of State Street Corporation, announced that the SPDR DB International Government Inflation-Protected Bond ETF (Ticker: WIP) began trading on the American Stock Exchange (Amex) on March 19, 2008.
Reported by

The SPDR DB International Government Inflation-Protected Bond ETF seeks to track the DB Global Government ex-US Inflation-Linked Bond Capped Index, which includes 120 inflation-indexed bonds from 18 developed and emerging countries outside of the US. To be included in the Index, bonds must be capital-indexed and linked to an eligible inflation index; have at least one year remaining to maturity at the Index rebalancing date; have a fixed, step-up, or zero notional coupon; and settle on or before the Index rebalancing date.

The Fund’s expense ratio is 0.50 percent.

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“Demand for international inflation-linked bond exposure has increased significantly in recent years as investors look to improve the risk-return profile of their portfolios by hedging against inflation and US dollar exposure while improving diversification,’ said James Ross, senior managing director at State Street, in a company announcement.

More information can be found at www.ssga.com.

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