Sky Blog
One of the key lessons of the recent financial crisis, and the greatest challenge facing post-crisis regulatory reforms, is the need to control and reduce systemic risk associated with financial innovation, complexity, and the growing interconnectedness of global financial markets. …
The Supreme Court recently granted certiorari to decide whether the whistleblower protections of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), 18 U.S.C. § 1514A, extend to employees of privately held contractors or subcontractors of a public company. The case, Lawson v. FMR,…
If Aesop were still in the fable-writing business, and he had been watching the last three years of Dodd-Frank Act rulemaking, we would probably be reading the Snail and the Tortoise to our kids. In this issue of Dodd-Frank at …
You may be surprised to learn that municipal bond issuers are not required to disclose bank borrowings. I’ve heard numerous estimates that such issuers have outstanding bank borrowings in the $200 to $300 billion range, which would amount to approximately
The Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday voted unanimously to propose rules to reform the money market fund industry. The overall goal is to make money market funds less susceptible to runs.
According to the SEC’s press release, “[t]he SEC’s proposal …
The Securities and Exchange Commission has opened what the Washington Post calls a “new front” in its “escalating … crackdown on insider trading.” At the center of this new front are entities that trade securities based on government information. Unless …
This post comes to us from Professor John Morley, who is currently an associate professor of law at the University of Virginia School of Law. He will be joining the Yale Law School faculty as an associate professor this July. …
The following is an excerpt of a speech that Commissioner Walter gave on April 16, 2013 at the 2013 NASAA Public Policy Conference in Washington, D.C.1
As you are aware, the Dodd-Frank Act transferred oversight of mid-sized investment advisers …
A divided Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 [in the last week of March] that certification of an antitrust class action was not proper because plaintiffs failed to establish that damages caused by actionable antitrust injury were capable of measurement …
The following is a speech delivered by Chairman Mary Jo White at the Investment Company Institute General Membership Meeting on May 1, 2013.
It is truly an honor to be here at the ICI, and to be here as – …
Latham & Watkins LLP has prepared a comprehensive report, “The JOBS Act After One Year: A Review of the New IPO Playbook.” The report focuses on Title I of the JOBS Act, which changed the initial public offering …
This is the season for report cards and grades. The securities laws are enforced by the plaintiff’s bar and the SEC. How well are they doing? What grades do they deserve?
I. Private Enforcement
In terms of private litigation, 2012 …
As annual meeting season approaches, so too does the first deadline for companies listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market (Nasdaq) to comply with amended compensation committee rules. Traditionally, evaluation of director independence of Nasdaq-listed companies differed for purposes of serving …
The following post comes from Professor Jeff Schwartz of the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law:
The influential SEC Advisory Committee on Small and Emerging Companies recently approved a new set of recommendations. The boldest among them is …
The following speech was delivered by Commissioner Aguilar on April 16, 2013 to the North American Securities Administrators Association (“NASAA”), Annual NASAA/SEC 19(d) Conference in Washington D.C.
Good morning. Thank you for inviting me to deliver the opening remarks of …
Equity ownership in the United States no longer reflects the dispersed share ownership of the canonical Berle-Means firm. Instead, in our new working paper, The Agency Costs of Agency Capital: Activist Investors and the Revaluation of Governance Rights, Ron …
The “European Market Infrastructure Regulation,” known as EMIR, was adopted on July 4, 2012, as the Regulation on OTC Derivatives, Central Counterparties and Trade Repositories (EU 648/2012), and took effect in all EU Member States on August 16, 2012. As …
This is the heyday of institutional investor activism in proxy contests. Insurgents are running more slates and targeting larger companies. They are also enjoying a higher rate of success: 66% of proxy contexts this year have been at least partially …
Earlier this week, the SEC announced that it had entered into a non-prosecution agreement (NPA) with Ralph Lauren Corporation to resolve an investigation under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). While the Department of Justice also announced that it had …
Commissioner Luis A. Aguilar gave the below statement at the SEC Open Meeting on March 7, 2013
In recent years, the securities markets have undergone significant changes, and none has had more impact than the development of technology systems with …