Sky Blog
On Tuesday, October 31, the U.S. Departments of State and Treasury issued new guidance the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (“CAATSA”) relating to sanctions against Russia. This is in addition to guidance that the State Department previously issued on …
Investor relations (IR) connects the preparers of financial information with its users, aiming to facilitate efficient and effective interaction between the firm and the investment community. Historically, the IR function has been viewed as a communications role, and the investor …
In two recent decisions, the Eighth Circuit addressed the hotly-litigated issue of when consumer plaintiffs have standing to pursue claims arising out of a data breach. The decisions stake out the Eighth Circuit’s positions on a current circuit split and …
On September 27, President Trump, the House Committee on Ways and Means and the Senate Committee on Finance released their framework for tax reform (the “framework”), which represents the most detailed proposal for changes to the tax code issued during …
As cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum become more prevalent in investment circles
and acceptable for commercial transactions, the United States Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”)
has said little other than to label “virtual currencies” as property and state that transactions…
Professor Lucian Bebchuk has engaged in two rounds of law-review-article duels with Professor Martijn Cremers and Professor Simone Sepe over classified boards. The weapons were statistics (and common sense). Cremers and Sepe wore the classified-board-stakeholder colors; Bebchuk, the agency-model-shareholder-democracy colors. …
Fair lending compliance and community benefit plans are increasingly important factors in the merger and acquisition (M&A) approval process. In 2016 and the first quarter of 2017, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve) approved 20 …
Efficiencies, economies of scale, and the general desire to improve the customer experience are the lifeblood of all mergers. And one of the most common efficiencies in any deal comes from enhanced purchasing power, or the ability to lower costs …
For the last 40 years, the problem of managerial agency costs—corporate managers shirking duties and diverting resources—has dominated the study of corporate law and governance. Many scholars treat the reduction of agency costs as the essential function of corporate law …
In the 100 days since his election, President Trump and members of his cabinet have continued public calls for a rollback of Dodd-Frank and related regulations enacted since the financial crisis, while offering few concrete actions or proposals. Initially, Wall …
I appreciate your invitation to participate in this [April 19] panel discussion. In my remarks, I will discuss how U.S. monetary policy actions affect our foreign trading partners, with particular focus on how foreign economies have responded to the Federal …
After almost every major financial-reporting scandal, news stories and congressional speeches inevitably follow, detailing how corporate culture encouraged and enabled fraud. For example, in September 2016, Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf testified before the House Financial Services Committee regarding the
The world of Harry Potter is divided into wizards and muggles, those who can work magic, and those who (sadly) cannot. In the world of US federal securities laws, the division between domestic US companies and foreign private issuers, or …
Elizabeth Cabraser, a renowned litigator and name partner in the plaintiffs’ law firm of Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann & Bernstein, speaks with Reynolds Holding about settling the class action against Volkswagen for rigging emissions tests, the challenges of mass actions generally …
The U.S. capital markets experienced continued volatility throughout much of 2016, as the bond and equity markets were affected by a series of significant events: the November U.S. presidential election; the June Brexit vote; fluctuating oil prices over the course …
With a Republican sweep of Congress and the executive branch, there will be a concerted effort this year to reform and restrain the current regulatory state. The incoming Trump Administration and Republican Congress have a number of options to repeal …
The Comptroller of the Currency (the “OCC”) has been working for over a year to develop a comprehensive framework to improve the OCC’s ability to identify and understand trends and innovations in the financial services industry, as well …
The Blue Sky Blog will be quiet for the next week, but we will be back, better than ever, for the New Year. Happy Holidays.…
Many expect Donald Trump’s inauguration as U.S. president and Republican majorities in both houses of the U.S. Congress will result in a revised financial regulatory framework. Preliminary indications from the Trump transition team have signaled substantial changes may be in …