Sky Blog
Hedge funds’ distressed and default debt investments in the United States have increased dramatically in the last two decades (from around $70 billion in 1998 to around $867 billion in 2007) and hedge funds with strategies that focus on distressed …
On November 5, 2013, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC” or “Commission”) proposed new speculative position limits. The proposal (“New Proposal”) would establish spot-month and non-spot-month limits for 28 core physical commodity contracts and their “economically equivalent” futures, options, and
The following post is based on a memo originally published by Faegre Baker Daniels LLP on November 15, 2013 which is available here.
In September 2013, the long anticipated final rules issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) …
Boards of public corporations have more independent directors than ever before. Sixty percent of boards of S&P 500 companies are not only majority independent, but have a single insider on the board: the CEO. While Jamie Dimon is still CEO …
The following comes to us from Jillian Popadak, an applied economics doctoral student in the Business Economics and Public Policy Department at Wharton, University of Pennsylvania.
Corporate governance affects firm value, capital productivity and economic growth. Given its economic importance, …
The following remarks were delivered by Commissioner Daniel M. Gallagher of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission at FIA Futures and Options Expo on November 6, 2013.
Thank you Walt [Lukken] for your very kind introduction. I am delighted to …
The S.E.C recently provoked a storm of controversy when it voted to amend the executive compensation reporting requirements for public companies under the Dodd Frank Act. Many commentators, corporate leaders, and law firms immediately attacked the proposed rules and have …
Almost everyone has an opinion about securities enforcement. Many are disappointed (and even angry) that “few high level executives” have been prosecuted (criminally or even civilly) in connection with the 2008 financial crisis.[1] Deep in their bunker, the SEC …
The following is based on a memo from Davis Polk, published on October 7, 2013, which is available here. The original memo contains many useful tables and definitions which have been omitted from this post.
On September 18, 2013, …
On September 18, 2013, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) adopted its final rule on the permanent registration of municipal advisors (the “Final Rule”). The Final Rule replaces the current temporary registration scheme for municipal advisors
The following is a speech given by SEC Commissioner Luis A. Aguilar on October 23, 2013, available here. It is entitled “Harnessing the Internet to Promote Access to Capital for Small Businesses, While Protecting the Interests of Investors.”…
The following comes to us from the Honorable Judge Jed S. Rakoff, who sits in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Judge Rakoff is also an adjunct professor at Columbia Law School and will be …
The following post is based on a memo originally published by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP on October 13, 2013.
On Monday, October 7, the first day of the new term, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Chadbourne & …
The following comes to us from Christopher L. Doerksen, a partner at Dorsey & Whitney LLP in Seattle.
For years, issuers and broker-dealers have relied upon Rule 506 of Regulation D under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the …
The following comes to us from Felix Zhiyu Feng, a PhD candidate from the department of economics at Duke University
The lucrative compensation of Wall Street bankers and executives has always been an issue of media interest and public concern. …
Addressing the Need for Speed: CFTC Seeks Comment on Risk Controls for Automated Trading Environments
On September 12, 2013, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC” or “Commission”) published a Concept Release on Risk Controls and System Safeguards for Automated Trading
Over the last two years, there has been significant media coverage of Securities and Exchange Commission settlements that contain no admissions of wrongdoing—sometimes referred to as “Neither Admit, Nor Deny” agreements—and the lack of criminal charges for the 2008 financial …
On September 30, the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (the “SEC”) Division of Trading and Markets addressed an issue of great interest to the compliance and legal community concerning the circumstances under which the compliance and legal staffs
Mary Jo White promised Congress she would pursue a “bold and unrelenting” enforcement program as Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). In public remarks last week, White reiterated her desire for the Enforcement Division “to be everywhere” and …