The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "investors" ...
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Dark Markets
The Wall Street Journal’s coverage of financial markets in 2012 performed a rare and extraordinary service: It exposed evidence of hidden manipulation by corporate executives and professional traders that the markets’ official government watchdogs were utterly unaware of. Reflecting potential widespread harm to millions of ordinary investors, federal prosecutors and securities regulators raced to follow the Journal stories with major investigations. A team of reporters spent six months creating a database examining how more than 20,000 corporate executives traded their own companies’ stocks over the course of eight years. What the team found was disturbing: More than 1,000 executives had generated big profits, or avoided big losses, by trading their company stock in the days ahead of corporate news announcements that led to big moves in the shares. The Journal also exposed a regulatory loophole that had helped the executives take advantage of inside knowledge ahead of other investors. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office and the Securities and Exchange Commission all launched investigations the day the Journal article appeared.
Tags: Financial markets; corporate executives; stocks; Federal Bureau of Investigation
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How Safe Are Your Savings?; The Time Bomb In Your Nest Egg
"The Time Bomb In Your Nest Egg" was the result of an intensive, year-long investigation which revealed how Wall Street firms and major banks are selling structured products by advertising them as safe, sure bets. In fact, they are essentially a repackaged version of the same high-risk products that played a major role in the 2008 financial collapse. "How Safe Are Your Savings?" details the nature of these investments, how they're sold, and who Congress and the SEC need to do to protect investors.
Tags: congress; SEC; wall street; nest egg; savings
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Inside Track
The Wall Street Journal staff exposed how new ways of insider trading have corrupted the U.S. financial, corporate, and political worlds, having enormous impact in the process. The article shows how well-connected investors managed to gain an advantage by getting early clues to the Federal Reserve's forthcoming policy moves, as well as to important legislation from Washington lawmakers.
Tags: Wall Street; insider trading; washington; lawmaker; federal reserve
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The Cruelest Show On Earth
"The Cruelest Show on Earth" documents a disturbing history of injury, illness, abuse, and fatal accidents in Ringling's famed heard of performing elephants- and the chronic failure of the USDA to intervene, even at the urging of the agency's own investors.
Tags: Circus; animal cruelty; elephants; abuse; circus; Ringling circus
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"The New Tax Man"
This series of stories by the Huffington Post Investigative Fund examines how tough financial times have affected "ordinary" citizens. Reporters revealed how local property tax collectors were "selling the right to collect unpaid taxes to private investors," which could leave homeowners with large extra fees, and the possibility of losing "their home if they are unable to pay."
Tags: taxes; mortgage; interest; unemployment; property tax; Baltimore; Wells Fargo; Bank of America; hedge fund; Fortress Investment Group
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Investor's Club
The story shows that the University of California had invested $2 billion into private equity funds and companies with policy making Regents that held substantial conflicts of interest. The Regents include California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, his personal investment adviser, and the husband of Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA).
Tags: Regents; conflict of interest; University of California; investment; Arnold Schwarzenegger
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Selling California
After Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed selling off two dozen state buildings to private investors, one reporter found this to be a costly deal for the state. The state legislature approved those sales and in closed-door negotiations gave Schwarzenegger the power to sell the properties without oversight.
Tags: Arnold Schwarzenegger; California; state buildings; state legislature; closed-door
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Investor's Club
The eight-month investigation found that the University of California invested $2 billion in private equity funds and companies in which several Regents held significant financial interests. The Regents include Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, his personal investment adviser, Paul Wachter, and Richard C. Blum, a Wall Street professional married to Senate Dianne Feinstein (D-CA).
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Barry Minkow 2.0
The LA Weekly found that Barry Minkow was duping investors for the second time, while the media looked the other way. Using thousands of pages of court documents, public companies' financial reports, and real estate records, the Weekly discovered a pattern of Minkow shortening stocks his Fraud Discovery Institute was about to issue critical reports on, sending the stocks plummeting.
Tags: Barry Minkow; fraud; extortion; libel; SEC
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A Raid at Fair Finance
The series digs deeper into the downfall of a well-known consumer lender, Fair Finance, in Akron, Ohio. The company's owners financed their expensive lifestyles by raising cash from unwitting Ohio investors. After a raid by the FBI, the company collapsed and lost $200 million coming from mostly middle class individuals and their organizations.
Tags: Fair Finance; investing; FBI; consumer lender; Akron