SEC Chair Mary Jo White spoke at the Fordham Law School 14th Annual A.A. Sommer, Jr. Corporate Securities and Financial Law Lecture, focusing on the importance of the SEC remaining nonpartisan. Chair White said her speech was a tribute to Al Sommer, and his staunch belief that politics has no place in the SEC hallways. She noted that Mr. Sommer spearheaded the SEC's groundbreaking rules to "unfix" brokerage commissioners and establish a national securities market system. Chair White stated that it is vital for the SEC and its employees to have the freedom to do what is right for investors and

The SEC announced that the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered final judgements against Philip A. Falcone, Harbinger Offshore Manager, L.L.C., Harbinger Capital Partners Special Situations GP, L.L.C., and Harbinger Capital Partners LLC in two related actions. The SEC filed enforcement actions in June 2012, alleging that Mr. Falcone improperly used $113 million in fund assets to pay personal taxes, secretly favored certain customer redemption requests at the expense of other investors, and conducted an improper "short squeeze" in bonds issued by a Canadian

The SEC Office of Investor Education and Advocacy issued an alert to warn investors about fraudulent solicitations using correspondence which appears to be from SEC staff and Commissioners. The alert stated that the SEC does not assist with the purchase or sale of securities or participate in fund transfers, and cautioned investors to be wary of letters which appear to come from the SEC. In particular, the SEC urged investors to be on alert for letters which: advise on the ownership of certain securities; verify the beneficiary of certain securities; seek or offer assistance to transfer funds

The SEC announced that Kenneth Israel, director of the Salt Lake Regional Office, is retiring after more than 38 years at the agency. Mr. Israel, who is departing at the end of this week, began working at the SEC in March 1975 in its Division of Corporate Regulation, where he reviewed Public Utility Holding Company Act filings. See: SEC Press Release.

The SEC announced that Dr. Scott Bauguess has been named deputy director and Vanessa Countryman will become chief counsel in the SEC Division of Economic and Risk Analysis ("DERA"). The Division provides economic analyses in support of rulemaking, risk assessment, and quantitative research. Dr. Bauguess will focus on overseeing the Division's risk assessment functions, as well as policy and rulemaking support activity. Ms. Countryman will provide advice and guidance to staff within DERA and across the agency regarding the legal aspects of integrating economic analysis and data analytics into