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Shortly before the bond market went straight to hell, boys, Texas Instruments snapped up $524 million worth of auction rate securities from Citigroup, BNY Capital Markets and Morgan Stanley. TI says, yeah, it knew maybe — pardon, “possibly” — that there was some “fail” potential, but, still, it was promised those bonds were “highly liquid,” safe as cash. Course, it’s a story that, at this late date, sounds awfully familiar.
Because, of course, they weren’t liquid, and in February 2008 the $330 billion market went busto. Which is why, on April Fool’s Day, TI sued Citigroup, BNY Capital Markets and Morgan Stanley in Dallas County District Court, according to this 12-page complaint provided by the Courthouse News Service. The line starts here.
