I noticed that over that past few days that State Street has been doing a lot of the selling. Maybe the following article has something to do with it.
State Street Subprime Damages May Surpass Reserve
By Carlyn KolkerMay 8 (Bloomberg) -- State Street Corp., the largest money manager for institutions, may have to pay more than the $625 million it set aside for damages from lawsuits over losses from subprime-mortgage investments made for pension funds.
Prudential Financial Inc., the second-largest U.S. life insurer, is suing the Boston-based company on behalf of more than 200 retirement plans, alleging that State Street inappropriately invested their money in risky securities. Three other companies filed similar actions.
Neither side has disclosed loss estimates. State Street reported in regulatory filings that the value of assets ``adversely affected'' by the collapse in subprime mortgages fell $7.8 billion to $6.1 billion at the end of 2007, from $13.9 billion on June 30. State Street initially declined to be specific about how much of the drop might constitute damages. Spokeswoman Hannah Grove said today that ``most'' of the fall resulted from redemptions, declining to be specific on losses.
``We are talking very large in terms of damages,'' said Marcia Wagner, 45, a partner at Boston-based Wagner Law Group. The firm specializes in retirement fund and employee-benefit law. She called the $625 million a ``lowball'' figure.
Adam Savett, a vice president at RiskMetrics Group Inc., a New York firm that studies corporate risks, including legal issues, also said the amount at risk may top $1 billion. A sum of $1 billion is about 80 percent of the company's 2007 net income.