Sky Blog
How much do corporate insiders make on their trades? It has long been shown that insiders realize significant positive abnormal returns on their transactions, in percentage terms. Surprisingly, however, there has been little research examining insiders’ dollar profits, even …
In recent years, the Securities and Exchange Commission has focused on using quantitative analysis to identify statistical outliers and anomalies through programs like the Aberrational Performance Inquiry, which evaluates hedge fund returns,[1] and the Accounting Quality Model (informally known …
Less than two weeks into the new congressional session, the U.S. House of Representatives passed by a vote of 239 to 182 the Commodity End-User Relief Act1 (the Bill or House Bill), marking the first step by the new …
In the fall of 2016, UFP, LLC, d/b/a uFundingPortal (UFP), became the subject of FINRA’s first enforcement action against a registered funding portal. During the course of the investigation, UFP shut down its website and withdrew its registration as a …
“What does Sarbanes-Oxley mean? That’s when two members of U.S. Congress fiddle and half a million accountants in Europe start dancing.”[1]
President Donald Trump pledged during his electoral campaign to repeal some of the reforms that came about …
On January 19, 2017, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”) Division of Enforcement (the “Division”) issued two Enforcement Advisories setting forth the factors that the Division may consider in assessing cooperation by companies and …
Much of the public has long believed that executives are overcompensated, a sentiment that has occasionally crept into legislation. In one case, Congress voted to impose punitive excise taxes on managers who received excessive golden parachute payments. Unlike most taxes …
2016 was, by any measure, an extraordinary year for the enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission assessed a record-shattering total of nearly $2.5 billion in penalties. But despite those …
An M&A appraisal case before the Delaware Supreme Court has drawn amicus briefs from two groups of esteemed professors — including three from Columbia Law School — with opposing views on how a company should be valued.
The case involves …
On January 13, 2017, the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) and the Treasury Department (the “Treasury”) published new final and temporary regulations (the “New Regulations”) and issued a notice of proposed rulemaking by cross-reference to the temporary regulations that address …
While a major overhaul of U.S. financial regulation may be unlikely during the early months of the Trump administration, changes should be expected as his nominees to lead the Treasury Department and financial regulatory agencies are confirmed. This will be …
President Donald Trump’s campaign proposals included changes to tax rates and a promise to repeal the Dodd-Frank Act. If enacted, these proposals could have a significant impact on the way businesses handle executive compensation, permitting companies greater flexibility in structuring …
In 2016, companies, governments, and consumers were again challenged to navigate an evolving landscape of cybersecurity and privacy issues. This year saw flash points impacting the trajectory for data breach litigation, the future for privacy class actions, and the scope …
The Delaware Supreme Court requested further consideration of the federal due-process issues that might arise where a court is asked to hold that a shareholder derivative action is precluded because a prior derivative action was dismissed based on the first …
On January 13, the UK Government took a step towards significant reform of the business crime landscape by issuing a formal “call for evidence” in relation to corporate liability for economic crimes such as fraud, false accounting and money laundering. …
Multiple recent developments suggest that governing boards will continue to be called upon to address the personal liability concerns of corporate gatekeepers and other executives. There may be no clear indication yet of whether the Trump administration will endorse government …
Thanks to the Republican sweep of the White House and the Congress, all the talk in recent years about tax reform is on the verge of turning into action. What many dismissed as idle chatter before Election Day suddenly became …