FCSX Fcstone Grp. (MM)

Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP (�Coughlin Stoia�) (http://www.csgrr.com/cases/fcstone/) today announced that a class action has been commenced in the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri on behalf of purchasers of FCStone Group, Inc. (�FCStone�) (NASDAQ:FCSX) common stock during the period between November 15, 2007 and July 9, 2008, inclusive (the �Class Period�). If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than 60 days from July 16, 2008. If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests, please contact plaintiff�s counsel, Darren Robbins of Coughlin Stoia at 800/449-4900 or 619/231-1058, or via e-mail at djr@csgrr.com. If you are a member of this class, you can view a copy of the complaint as filed or join this class action online at http://www.csgrr.com/cases/fcstone/. Any member of the putative class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member. The complaint charges FCStone and certain of its officers and directors with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. FCStone is an integrated commodity risk management company providing risk management consulting and transaction execution services to commercial commodity intermediaries, end users and producers. The complaint alleges that during the Class Period, defendants issued materially false and misleading statements regarding FCStone�s business and financial results. As a result of defendants� false statements, FCStone stock traded at artificially inflated prices during the Class Period, reaching its Class Period high of $52.40 per share in January 2008. On June 22, 2008, an analyst with William Blair & Co. published a research note on FCStone, which stated that while current volatility in the agricultural commodities was increasing the need of producers and consumers to hedge their exposure to these commodities, the cost of hedging had dramatically increased due to an increase in the margin requirements, making it more difficult for producers and consumers to maintain hedge positions, and that tighter bank credit was limiting the ability of FCStone�s customer base to hedge, which could cause transaction volume to decrease. After this partial disclosure, FCStone�s stock fell $6.39 per share to close at $31.94 per share. Then, on July 10, 2008, before the market opened, the Company issued a press release announcing its third quarter 2008 results, which included an after tax reduction in net income of $4.2 million, or $0.14 per diluted share, including a $1.1 million net bad debt write-off primarily related to the consequences of unprecedented synthetic settlement pricing in the cotton market, and a $3.1 million decline in the fair value of interest rate derivative hedge instruments which had the effect of reversing previously recognized unrealized gains. Upon this disclosure, FCStone�s stock dropped $12.26 per share to close at $17.64 per share on July 10, 2008, a one-day decline of 41% on extremely high volume. According to the complaint, the true facts, which were known by the defendants but concealed from the investing public during the Class Period, were as follows: (a) the Company did not disclose the true risks associated with an interest rate hedge it had entered into in the first quarter of 2008; (b) the Company was not adequately reserving for its allowance for bad debts related to trading in the cotton market in violation of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles; (c) the Company had far greater exposure to the volatility in the commodities market and the turmoil in the credit market than it had previously disclosed; and (d) the Company lacked effective internal controls in its financial reporting process required to enable it to properly analyze and/or estimate the impact of its hedging activities and to properly analyze and/or estimate its allowance for doubtful accounts. Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of all purchasers of FCStone common stock during the Class Period. The plaintiff is represented by Coughlin Stoia, which has expertise in prosecuting investor class actions and extensive experience in actions involving financial fraud. Coughlin Stoia, a 190-lawyer firm with offices in San Diego, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Boca Raton, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Atlanta, is active in major litigations pending in federal and state courts throughout the United States and has taken a leading role in many important actions on behalf of defrauded investors, consumers, and companies, as well as victims of human rights violations. The Coughlin Stoia Web site (http://www.csgrr.com) has more information about the firm.