Legal action on Credit Linked Notes

Several investors had received the rejection letters on their claims for compensation. They have been disappointed at the outcome, after waiting for several months. They felt that they were unfairly treated and are keen to take collective legal action now.

A few legal teams have been organised. Before you decide to join any collective action, you should get answers to the following questions:

1. What are the legal grounds proposed by the lawyer to pursue the claim for compensation?

2. What are the chance of winning based on the strategy proposed by the lawyer? Why and how?

3. What are the terms of engagement of the lawyer? 

Terms of engagement

a)  What is the initial amount payable

b) What are the estimated payments for the various stages of the case?

c)  What are the actual charges to be paid to the lawyers

d) Is there a maximum cap on the legal fees and charges?

e) If the cases are settled earlier, will the participants get a refund of the unused fees?

Before you sign on the letter of appointment and write your cheque, you should attend a briefing to be given by the lawyer where all of the above points have been explained and accepted by you. If you are not sure, you should get the viwes of fellow participants and make your personal judgement.

FIDREC

You still have the option of getting your case adjudicated in FIDREC for a fee of $50. You can ask FIDREC to get the financial institution representative to complete this questionnaire, so that the adjudicator has the full facts on both sides to make an adjudication.

There was no one left to speak for me

Extract from the letter by Lasantha Wikramatunga, assassinated editor of a newspaper in Sri Lanka.

People often ask me why I take such risks and tell me it is a matter of time before I am bumped off. Of course I know that: it is inevitable. But if we do not speak out now, there will be no one left to speak for those who cannot, whether they be ethnic minorities, the disadvantaged or the persecuted. An example that has inspired me throughout my career in journalism has been that of the German theologian, Martin Niemoller. In his youth he was an anti-Semite and an admirer of Hitler. As Nazism took hold in Germany, however, he saw Nazism for what it was: it was not just the Jews Hitler sought to extirpate, it was just about anyone with an alternate point of view. Niemoller spoke out, and for his trouble was incarcerated in the Sachsenhausen and Dachau concentration camps from 1937 to 1945, and very nearly executed. While incarcerated, Niemoller wrote a poem that, from the first time I read it in my teenage years, stuck hauntingly in my mind:

First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Communists
and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left to speak out for me.

If you remember nothing else, remember this: The Leader is there for you, be you Sinhalese, Tamil, Muslim, low-caste, homosexual, dissident or disabled. Its staff will fight on, unbowed and unafraid, with the courage to which you have become accustomed. Do not take that commitment for granted. Let there be no doubt that whatever sacrifices we journalists make, they are not made for our own glory or enrichment: they are made for you. Whether you deserve their sacrifice is another matter. As for me, God knows I tried.

Dispute Resolution through FIDREC

If you have lodged your complaint to FIDREC, please read the following advisory from MAS. 

You have probably been asked to complete a questionnaire to provide the facts on your complaint. This puts the onus on the investor to justify the claim.

As the complainant, you can ask FIDREC to get the financial institution's representative to complete a questionnaire based on the attached questionnaire. This will provide information for the adjudicator to decide on any possible mis-selling of the product.

I have asked the Consumer Association to suggest to FIDREC that this questionnaire should be used. I have not heard about any decision on this matter. 

As you investor, you can ask FIDREC to get the answers to this questionaire, in the interest of fairness and natural justice. I hope that you find this questionnaire to be useful to support your complaint,

Support needed from noteholders of Pinnacles Series 9 and 10

The Pinnacle Action Group wishes to write to MAS to investigate into the Pinnacle product that was engineered by Morgan Stanley. The group has consolidated some findings in series 9 and 10 and has identified several questions and they wish to get the regulator (MAS) to investigate.

They need the support from noteholders of the Pinnacle Series 9 and 10 to sign electronically on a letter to be sent to MAS. They like to ask the noteholders to write to pinnacle.action.group@gmail.com with their name and email address.

Obama: Bush government tried to undermine unions

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Tuesday the Bush administration had tried to undermine organized labor and he assured U.S. labor leaders they would always have a "place at the table" under his presidency.

"We need to level the playing field for workers and the unions that represent their interests," Obama said in prepared remarks for a video address to the executive board of the AFL-CIO, the largest U.S. labor federation, meeting in Miami. 

Article.

Book launch: How to survive unemployment

My friend, Gilbert Goh is launching his book. He asked me to speak a few words of support. Please attend the book launch, if you are free

Hi Friends
I have written a book entitled "How to survive unemployment" and it will be launched on:

Date:  7 Mar 09 (Sat):
Time:  5.15pm - 6.45pm
Place: Bishan Library Level 2

Please pick up a copy of the autographed book if you are coming. The price per copy is only $11.00. The price at major bookstores will be higher.

Gilbert

Buy a property report for $25

Before you buy, sell or rent a property, invest $25 in a property report. Here is a sample report. 

If you are interested in this introductory offer, complete this form.