Sky Blog
An August 21 blog post, “Shareholders Deserve Right to Choose Mandatory Arbitration,” by Professor Hal S. Scott, argues that the introduction of mandatory arbitration clauses into corporate charters would be good for stockholders. Nothing could be further from the truth.…
Global and U.S. M&A activity in July 2017 increased in total deal value, despite a decline in the number of deals. Globally, total deal volume by dollar value increased by 14.6% to $303.85 billion, while the number of deals decreased …
Scholars and politicians alike have spoken and written at great length about the importance of gatekeepers in our current corporate governance system. However, relatively little has been done to discipline gatekeepers who seem to have lost the keys to the …
The May 2017 WannaCry ransomware attack affected more than 200,000 computers spread across 150 nations. The results of the attack made clear that computers whose software is not up to date can hurt not only the computers’ owners, but ultimately …
This update provides an overview of key class action developments during the second quarter of 2017 (April through June):
On July 17, SEC Commissioner Michael Piwowar extended an important invitation to U.S. public companies. “For shareholder lawsuits,” Piwowar offered, “companies can come to [the SEC] to ask for relief to put… mandatory arbitration into their charters.” To some, this …
Fraud incidents have increased by over 130 percent in the past year, resulting in significant monetary and reputational losses for financial institutions. Many of these incidents — including high-profile crimes such as the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (“SWIFT”) …
An over-the-counter (OTC) market and an open limit order book (LOB) market are the two common mechanisms for organizing financial markets. An OTC is a decentralized market, where trades occur only through dealers. The dealers’ quotes are not fully transparent …
Brexit has set the stage for a retaliatory trade war that neither the U.K. nor the E.U. wants and that will injure consumers (and others) on both sides. Moreover, it could threaten the U.S. as well, if it leads the …
On August 7, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit unanimously upheld Michael Coscia’s conviction on spoofing and commodities fraud charges in United States v. Coscia, No. 16-3017 (KFR), 2017 WL 3381433 (7th Cir. Aug. 7, …
It’s time to exempt a certain type of hostile bid – an all-cash, all-shares tender offer – from a poison pill defense. In essence, I propose a statutory rule requiring a board to remain neutral in the face of such …
Few research topics over the last two decades have proven as alluring and elusive as corporate governance. Its allure is self-evident: Since the turn of the 21st century, a growing number of pundits, commentators, and scholars have argued that high …
Although a bedrock of the financial markets for over 30 years, LIBOR has been under pressure ever since the Wheatley Review, and a speech given by Andrew Bailey, Chief Executive of the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on July 27th …
The recently released public sections of the 2017 resolution plans submitted by the eight US global systemically important banks (G-SIBs)1 provide a unique window into the banks’ resolution planning efforts that have developed over the last five years. Notably, …
A recent decision issued by the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, Harrington v. Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals, Inc., highlights the value of established trading plans in defending against securities fraud allegations.[1] These trading plans, which are …
Following the recommendations of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, most financial systems around the world have imposed new capital requirements for banks in recent years. These moves seem to be justified on two powerful economic grounds. First, better capitalized …
More than 8,000 domestic equity securities were publicly traded in the U.S. over-the-counter (OTC) market in 2010. Yet, research studying this market is limited. On the one hand, the OTC market attracts stocks of firms that tend to be small …
A central question in the corporate governance literature concerns the impact of boards on performance. Some studies support the view that governance structures endogenously arise as optimal solutions to the contracting environment of the firm. Many studies support an opposing …
The first half of 2017 brought with it a nearly unprecedented rate of new filings (a pace few predicted), as well as several important developments in the securities laws. Among other things, the U.S. Supreme Court decided to weigh in …
Recent news of sexual harassment and other legal controversies at Uber and throughout Silicon Valley serves as a vivid reminder that irresponsible and unethical conduct continues across the corporate landscape. Revelations of serious transgressions by senior corporate leaders belies a …