Find a case which involved a bankrupt or closed securities firm, such as Enron or Lehman Bros. Research the case, and the settlement. The easiest way to do this is to go to the SEC site, look at the regulatory actions against securities firms, and follow a case. Here is the link to a current list of publicly traded companies that have been cited for SEC misconduct.
As you can see, many of them are banks and securities firms and some of these firms are no longer in business. It is your job to research the firm and find out which ones on this list are no longer around. Then, follow the thread through the SEC, the courts, and other reliable media such as Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, or the New York Times. The most important thing to learn in this assignment is how the enforcement process works.
A second aspect of your research should include noting the stock price of this public firm before the regulatory actions and ultimate demise of the firm, and what the shareholders ended up receiving. You can find this information through the SEC enforcement reports and by using your browser to find historical information on share prices.
Submission Requirements
Write a report detailing the company that failed and what caused the failure. Describe the economic value and the cost to individual investors from a human perspective. Discuss how the regulatory system for securities worked or didnt work and why. Was there any legislative or regulatory change because of this failure? Were there changes in society?
Your report should be 3 to 4 pages, double-spaced with 1-inch margins, and contain quantitative loss information from the failure (in other words the math), as well as a detailed narrative as to what went wrong. It also must show how the regulatory system for securities worked or didnt work and why.
This is the main website to use: https://www.sec.gov/news/press/2011/2011-36.htm
