Wilfredo Lee/APScott Rothstein is shown, left, in an autographed photo with Gov. Charlie Crist of Florida. Rothstein is serving a 50 year prison term related to fraud charges. Toronto-Dominion Bank will pay $52.5 million to settle U.S. civil regulatory charges that it failed to report suspicious activity in accounts linked to a Ponzi scheme by Florida lawyer Scott Rothstein, who is serving a 50-year prison term. The Canadian lender's TD Bank unit was fined $37.5 million by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, known as FinCEN, and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and $15 million by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Regulators said that from April 2008 to September 2009, TD Bank (TD) violated the federal Bank Secrecy Act by failing to uncover and report in a timely manner suspicious activities in accounts belonging to the law firm where Rothstein ran his $1.2 billion fraud. The SEC brought separate civil charges against Frank Spinosa, a former TD Bank regional vice president, in the U.S. District Court in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. It said the bank, through Spinosa, "told outright lies to investors," falsely representing that TD Bank had restricted the transfer of funds in Rothstein's accounts while assuring that the funds were safe. "Financial institutions are key gatekeepers in the transactions and investments they facilitate and will be held to a high standard of accountability when their officers enable fraud," Andrew Ceresney, co-director of the SEC enforcement division, said in a statement. FinCEN said it wasn't until after a 2011 review that TD Bank filed five reports identifying $900 million of suspicious activity involving Rothstein. "In the face of repeated alerts on Mr. Rothstein's accounts by the bank's anti-money laundering surveillance software over an 18-month period, the bank did not do enough to prevent the pain and financial suffering of innocent investors," FinCEN Director Jennifer Shasky Calvery said in a statement. Based in Toronto, TD is Canada's second-largest bank. It didn't admit or deny wrongdoing. A spokeswoman, Rebecca Acevedo, said: "TD Bank is pleased to resolve these regulatory concerns and to put the Rothstein matter behind us." Samuel Rabin, a lawyer for Spinosa, said in a statement his client will defend against the charges, is being "vilified" for the bank's compliance deficiencies, and has declined a settlement offer because "Mr. Spinosa is a victim in this massive fraud." TD is appealing a separate $67 million jury verdict from January 2012 relating to its Rothstein dealings. Rothstein, 51, pleaded guilty in January 2010 to five counts including wire fraud and conspiracies to commit fraud and money laundering, and agreed to forfeit assets including expensive homes and a fleet of foreign luxury and sports cars. He was sentenced in June of that year.
Top Canadian Stocks For 2014: UniSource Energy Corporation(UNS)
UniSource Energy Corporation engages in the electric generation and energy delivery businesses. The company?s TEP segment generates, transmits, and distributes electricity to approximately 403,000 retail electric customers, including residential, commercial, industrial, and public sector customers in southeastern Arizona. It also sells electricity to other utilities and power marketing entities. As of December 31, 2010, this segment owned or leased 2,245 MW of net generating capacity, as well as owned or participated in electric transmission and distribution system consisting of 512 circuit-miles of 500-kV lines; 1,087 circuit-miles of 345-kV lines; 379 circuit-miles of 138-kV lines; 478 circuit-miles of 46-kV lines; and 2,621 circuit-miles of lower voltage primary lines. TEP segment generates electricity from coal, gas, oil, and solar sources. The company?s UNS Gas segment distributes gas to approximately 146,500 retail customers in Mohave, Yavapai, Coconino, and Navajo c ounties in northern Arizona, as well as Santa Cruz County in southeastern Arizona. As of December 31, 2010, this segment?s transmission and distribution system consisted of approximately 30 miles of steel transmission mains, 4,211 miles of steel and plastic distribution piping, and 136,439 customer service lines. The company?s UNS Electric segment transmits and distributes electricity to approximately 91,000 retail customers consisting of residential, commercial, and industrial customers in Mohave and Santa Cruz counties. As of December 31, 2010, UNS Electric?s transmission and distribution system consisted of approximately 56 circuit-miles of 115-kV transmission lines, 271 circuit-miles of 69-kV transmission lines, and 3,599 circuit-miles of underground and overhead distribution lines. This segment also owns the 65 MW Valencia plant, as well as 39 substations having an installed capacity of 1,788,050 kilovolt amperes. The company was founded in 1902 and is based in Tucson, Arizona.
Top Canadian Stocks For 2014: TotalFinaElf S.A.(TOT)
TOTAL S.A., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated oil and gas company worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Upstream, Downstream, and Chemicals. The Upstream segment engages in the exploration, development, and production of oil and natural gas. It also involves in the transportation, trade, and marketing of natural gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG), as well as in LNG re-gasification and natural gas storage operations. In addition, this segment engages in the shipping and trade of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG); power generation from gas-fired power plants, nuclear, or renewable energies; production, trade, and marketing of coal, as well as in solar power systems and technology operations. As of December 31, 2010, it had combined proved reserves of 10,695 Mboe of oil and gas. The Downstream segment involves in refining, marketing, trading, and shipping crude oil and petroleum products. It also produces a range of specialty products, s uch as lubricants, LPG, jet fuel, special fluids, bitumen, marine fuels, and petrochemical feedstock. This segment holds interests in 24 refineries located in Europe, the United States, the French West Indies, Africa, and China, as well as operates a network of 17,490 service stations. The Chemicals segment produces base chemicals, including petrochemicals and fertilizers, as well as engages in rubber processing, resins, adhesives, and electroplating activities. TOTAL S.A. was founded in 1924 and is based in Paris, France.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Dan Caplinger]
For the largest oil companies, however, the story is much different. For them, even new discoveries that have opened up opportunities for oil fields that were thought to be entirely played out are relatively insignificant compared to the massive amounts of oil and gas that they currently produce. As a result, big oil stocks have to rely on innovation and asset purchases just to stay even with natural declines in existing-well output. During the first quarter, Exxon reported a 3.5% drop in production compared to the year-ago period, while France's Total (NYSE: TOT ) saw 2% production declines.
- [By Tyler Crowe]
2. Geopolitical risk. Oil is a very delicate commodity, and any potential disruption of supply could lead to large changes in prices. During the Libyan revolution, Total (NYSE: TOT ) , BP (NYSE: BP ) , and several other oil companies halted operations, and a country that was once repsonsible for 1.6 million barrels per day came to an almost screeching halt. From January to May 2011, as�Libyan�oil�prosecution�had tumbled 88%, Brent crude jumped almost 30% even though Libya supplied only 0.5% of total global exports.
- [By Paul Ausick]
SunPower is back in the money after the company sold a 60% stake to Total S.A. (NYSE: TOT) for $23.25 a share in the summer of 2011. Shares are trading at around $23.50 at noon on Monday, after peaking at over $28 in late July. It�� not hard to imagine that Total may want to shed SunPower, either through a sale or a spin-off. What�� a bit harder to imagine is that there�� a buyer lurking in the weeds.
5 Best Performing Stocks To Own For 2014: S&P 500/Barra Value(SU)
Suncor Energy Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated energy company. The company involves in the development of petroleum resource basins in Canada's Athabasca oil sands; acquisition, exploration, development, production, and marketing of crude oil and natural gas in Canada and internationally; transportation and refining of crude oil; and marketing of petroleum and petrochemical products primarily in Canada. Its Oil Sands segment produces bitumen recovered from oil sands through mining and in-situ technology, and upgrades it into refinery feedstock, diesel fuel, and by-products. This segment?s products include gasoline and distillates. The company?s Natural Gas segment acquires, explores, develops, and produces natural gas, natural gas liquids, oil, and by-products from reserves located primarily in western Canada, the Northwest Territories, Alaska, and the Arctic Islands. Its International and Offshore segment engages in the exploration and pro duction of oil and gas in offshore Newfoundland and Labrador, in the North Sea, and in Libya and Syria. The company?s Refining and Marketing segment refines crude oil at Suncor's refineries in Edmonton, Alberta; Montreal, Quebec; and Sarnia, Ontario in Canada, as well as in Commerce City, Colorado into a range of petroleum and petrochemical products for sale to retail, commercial, and industrial customers. It also transports crude oil through pipelines in eastern and western Canada, as well as through wholly-owned pipelines in Wyoming and Colorado; and produces specialty lubricants and waxes. In addition, this segment operates retail sites in Canada under the Petro-Canada brand; and in Colorado under Phillips 66 and Shell brands. Suncor Energy Inc. also engages in third-party energy trading activities. The company was formerly known as Suncor Inc. and changed its name to Suncor Energy Inc. in April 1997. Suncor Energy Inc. was founded in 1953 and is headquartered in Calgary , Canada.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Tyler Crowe]
As investors, though, it's important to know who this impacts in a positive way. In the video below, Fool.com contributor Tyler Crowe explains why Canadian oil sands producers Suncor (NYSE: SU ) and Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE: CNQ ) will benefit more than others from the movement of oil sands out of Canada, and why mid-continent focused refiners like HollyFrontier (NYSE: HFC ) and CVR Refining (NYSE: CVRR ) are in the best position of the US refiners to capture value from these cheap rail shipments of Canadian crude.
- [By Arjun Sreekumar]
For instance, Total SA (NYSE: TOT ) recently threw in the towel on its Voyageur�Upgrader project, a 200,000-barrels-a-day facility that was designed to "upgrade" bitumen into crude oil. It sold its 49% stake in Voyageur to its joint venture partner, Suncor Energy (NYSE: SU ) , for $500 million, arguing that the project was "no longer justified from a strategic and economic" standpoint. Not long after, Suncor also decided to abandon the project, for which it took a C$1.5 billion write-down.
Top Canadian Stocks For 2014: 3M Company(MMM)
3M Company, together with subsidiaries, operates as a diversified technology company worldwide. The company?s Industrial and Transportation segment offers tapes, coated and non-woven abrasives, adhesives, specialty materials, filtration products, energy control products, closure systems for personal hygiene products, acoustic systems products, and components and products that are used in the manufacture, repair, and maintenance of automotive, marine, aircraft, and specialty vehicles. Its Health Care segment provides medical and surgical supplies, skin health and infection prevention products, inhalation and transdermal drug delivery systems, dental and orthodontic products, health information systems, and food safety products. The company?s Display and Graphics offers optical film solutions for LCD electronic displays; computer screen filters; reflective sheeting for transportation safety; commercial graphics sheeting and systems; and mobile interactive solutions, includin g mobile display technology, visual systems products, and computer privacy filters. The company?s Consumer and Office segment provides office supply products, stationery products, construction and home improvement products, home care products, protective material products, certain consumer retail personal safety products, and consumer health care products. Its Safety, Security and Protection Services segment offers personal protection products, safety and security products, cleaning and protection products for commercial establishments, track and trace solutions, and roofing granules for asphalt shingles. The company?s Electro and Communications segment provides packaging and interconnection devices; fluids that are used in the manufacture of computer chips, and for cooling electronics and lubricating computer hard disk drives; high-temperature and display tapes; insulating materials, including tapes and resins; and related items. The company was founded in 1902 and is based in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Dan Caplinger]
3M (NYSE: MMM ) is scheduled to release its quarterly earnings report tomorrow, and shareholders have sent the stock on an impressive run so far this year, with sizable gains that have outpaced the overall performance of the Dow Jones Industrials (DJINDICES: ^DJI ) . Yet for the company to justify its higher valuation, 3M earnings need to keep pace with share-price gains, and that doesn't look very likely to happen in the near future.
Top Canadian Stocks For 2014: Everest Re Group Ltd.(RE)
Everest Re Group, Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, underwrites reinsurance and insurance in the United States (the U.S.), Bermuda, and international markets. The company operates in five segments: U.S. Reinsurance, U.S. Insurance, Specialty Underwriting, International, and Bermuda. The U.S. Reinsurance segment writes property and casualty reinsurance, on both a treaty and facultative basis, through reinsurance brokers, as well as directly with ceding companies within the United States. The U.S. Insurance segment offers property and casualty insurance primarily through general agents, brokers, and surplus lines brokers in the U.S. The Specialty Underwriting segment writes accident and health, marine, aviation, and surety business within the U.S. and worldwide through brokers and directly with ceding companies. The International segment offers non-U.S. property and casualty reinsurance. The Bermuda segment provides reinsurance and insurance to worldwide property and cas ualty markets and reinsurance to life insurers through brokers and directly with ceding companies, as well as offers reinsurance to the United Kingdom and European markets. The company was founded in 1973 and is based in Liberty Corner, New Jersey.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By John Emerson]
Last August, I purchased Everest Re (RE) when it fell within the value parameters outlined in today's article. I wrote an article about the stock titled: Everest Re: Low Risk High Reward http://www.gurufocus.com/news/143388/everest-re-low-risk-high-reward
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