Sky Blog
Six months have passed since the implementation of the nuclear agreement with Iran, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (the Nuclear Agreement), and the related easing of certain trade and economic sanctions on Iran. As discussed …
Should governments be relying on corporate and securities law to promote humanitarian goals? This is the question that naturally arises when viewing the SEC’s Conflict Minerals Payment Rule, which requires corporations to disclose their conflict mineral usage as a means …
A new type of warfare is upon us. In this new mode of war, finance is the most powerful weapon, bullets are not fired, financial institutions are the targets, and almost everyone is at risk. Instead of smart bombs, improvised …
Academics who profess expertise in corporate governance sometimes find themselves on very strange turf. That has been my status for the last two years, serving as an adviser to the U.S. Commerce Department in connection with the Obama Administration’s efforts …
Reinsurance can be understood as simply insurer’s insurance. Under an insurance contract, a policyholder is protected from loss by transferring risk to an insurer; analogously, under a reinsurance contract, an insurer (the cedent or ceding company) is protected from exposure …
On June 16, 2016, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) issued a proposed rule (available here), which, if adopted, would result in a revamp of its disclosure requirements for mining company issuers. The proposed rule is intended to …
Attackers last February reportedly stole $81 million from the Bangladesh Central Bank by obtaining and exploiting the bank’s credentials for the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) network.[1] The attack – one of the biggest bank robberies in …
Much has been written and spoken in the immediate aftermath of the UK’s EU referendum about what the UK must do to leave the EU. We look at the key questions in this area, such as whether the UK has …
The Brent and WTI prices of crude oil fell by 60% between June 2014 and January 2015, marking one of the fastest and largest declines in oil history. Several potential factors (related to oil supply and demand) which could have …
The UK voters’ decision to exit the EU came as a surprise to many observers, as well as the markets, with the “Leave” campaign even hinting at defeat as the polls closed. The Wall Street echo chamber view that it …
Corporate expatriations – transactions that lead a U.S. company to become the subsidiary of a foreign parent – present two problems for the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (I.R.S.). First, they give expatriated companies the opportunity to use tax minimization strategies …
Moody’s, S&P and Fitch represent an oligopoly in the credit rating business, accounting for 94 percent of the global market (Candelon et al., 2014) and for about 96.5 percent of all the outstanding ratings in U.S.[1] The three agencies …
Target firms typically employ either an auction or a negotiation method during merger negotiations. In auction deals, the pre-public takeover process involves contacting several potential bidders, signing confidentiality/standstill agreements and accepting private bids. In negotiation deals however, the target engages …
There has been tension between the legal academy and the practising profession ever since law was first taught in university law schools in the 19th century. The sense of unease arose because of uncertainty as to whether the primary …
After the July 4th weekend, Reynolds Holding will be taking over as the fourth editor-at-large of the CLS Blue Sky Blog. It has been a remarkable year and a half, and I am confident our Blog will continue to grow …
Innovative businesses in the financial services industry looking to test exciting new financial products and services able to apply to the UK’s regulatory sandbox.
The “regulatory sandbox” is the next step for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as part of …
EU financial policymakers appear to be once more in a deadlock situation over proposals to limit the sovereign risk exposure of European banks. The strong exposure of some banks in the southern European periphery in their national sovereign’s debt was …
On May 5, 2016, the U.S. Department of Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions against 77 entities and individuals associated with the Waked Money Laundering Organization (“Waked MLO,” collectively, the “Waked Sanctions”). OFAC stated that the designation …
Customers sure love Uber. If you ask them to describe their experience with the ride-share firm, most Uber passengers will gladly tick off a long list of superlatives: Innovative! Economical! Revolutionary!
But a less-flattering picture of Uber has recently surfaced …
Unlike most other countries, the U.S. taxes corporations on earnings generated anywhere in the world. This means that U.S. corporations have a strong tax incentive to renounce their U.S. incorporation and redomicile in a foreign country. Enter the inversion, a …