Sky Blog
On July 30, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) charged the CEO and former CFO of QSGI, Inc., a computer equipment company, with misrepresenting to the company’s outside auditors and investors the condition of the company’s internal controls over …
The following post comes to us from John C. Coates IV, John F. Cogan Jr. Professor of Law and Economics at Harvard Law School. It is based on his recent article, “Securities Litigation in the Roberts Court: An Early Assessment,” …
The following post comes to us from Geoffrey Christopher Rapp, Harold A. Anderson Professor of Law and Values at the University of Toledo College of Law. It is based on his recent article, “Intelligence Design: An Analysis of the SEC’s …
In Kaess v. Deutsche Bank AG, No. 13-2364 (2d Cir. July 16, 2014), the Second Circuit applied the reasoning in its 2011 decision in Fait v. Regions Financial Corporation, 655 F.3d 105 (2d Cir. 2011), to hold that …
The following post comes to us from Benjamin P. Edwards, Director of the Investor Advocacy Clinic at Michigan State University College of Law. It is based on his working paper, “Securities Fraud, Federalism, and the Rise of the Disaggregated Class: …
The treatment of special purposes vehicles (“SPVs”) used to facilitate investments in portfolio companies has presented issues under Rule 206(4)-2 under the U.S. Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the “Custody Rule”) since the current version of the Custody Rule was …
On July 23, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission voted 3-2 to adopt amendments to the rules that govern money market funds under the Investment Company Act of 1940. The amendments include the following:
Registered investment companies that pursue alternative investment strategies (also referred to as “liquid alts”) are a relatively new form of offering for investment managers accustomed to operating private investment funds. Unlike a private fund, which invests without restrictions, the Investment …
With over $186 billion in average daily trading volume, the To-Be-Announced (“TBA”) market serves as a significant funding and hedging vehicle for consumer mortgage origination. Although a large portion of the TBA market is comprised of highly liquid agency MBS, …
The following remarks were delivered by SEC Chair Mary Jo White before the Economic Club of New York. A copy of the speech is also available here.
Today, I want to speak to you about the current state of …
INTRODUCTION
On June 24, 2014, the House of Representatives voted 265 to 144 to pass H.R. 4413, entitled the “Customer Protection and End-User Relief Act” (the “Reauthorization Act”). The Reauthorization Act reauthorizes the operations of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission …
Nearly four years after the enactment of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank Act”), on June 25, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) adopted its first in a series of final rules aimed at cross-border …
High frequency trading has more enemies than friends, but the key question is what are the costs of reform. Attorney General Schneiderman’s pending suit against Barclays PLC for allegedly misrepresenting that its dark pool (known as “LX”) was “safe” from …
The following post comes to us from Brent J. Horton, Associate Professor at Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business. It is based on his recent paper entitled “For the Protection of Investors and the Public: Why Fannie Mae’s Mortgage-Backed …
SUMMARY
A recent SEC court filing confirmed the existence of enforcement investigations into a potential violation of the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act. In a subpoena enforcement action filed against the House Ways and Means Committee and the …
On June 16, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued an order against Paradigm Capital Management, Inc. (Paradigm), a registered investment adviser, and its principal for engaging in principal trades without effective client disclosure and consent, and for retaliating …
I agree with much that was said in earlier postings on the implications of Halliburton II going forward. We simply don’t know how lower courts will structure the price distortion inquiry, and if the mess the courts have made of …
Simple. The lawyers. Cases will take longer to settle, litigation will be prolonged, and the outcome will be more legal fees – with no indication that it will actually improve outcomes.
There’s a certain irony in all of this – …
The recent all out, well-orchestrated effort in Halliburton II to reverse the “fraud on the market” presumption of reliance of Basic v. Levinson, 485 US 224 (1988), has clearly failed, but as we shall see, there is more to …