Sky Blog
The ever-evolving challenges facing corporate boards prompt periodic updates to a snapshot of what is expected from the board of directors of a public company—not just the legal rules, or the principles published by institutional investors and various corporate and …
As previously reported by ISS Securities
In March 2020, as the Coronavirus pandemic started to spread across the U.S. and wreak volatility in the stock market, securities class action complaints started to follow. Not surprisingly, U.S.-based litigation often follows wild stock market fluctuations as investors look …
Soon after the coronavirus pandemic erupted in the spring, Congress enacted the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act, pumping $2.2 trillion into the economy. Now, nine months later, many of that law’s critical elements have ended or will …
Even before the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, shareholder activism had become a mainstay of public company life in the real estate investment trust world. But in the wake of the pandemic, which upended business as usual in a number …
The widespread economic uncertainty caused by COVID-19 poses distinct challenges for buyers and sellers seeking to identify M&A opportunities, as companies evaluate the impact of the pandemic on their businesses to date, and seek to predict its future impact. Continued …
Following the decision of the English High Court[1] in the high profile test case brought by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (the “FCA”), the UK insurance industry faces the prospect of being liable to cover losses relating to COVID-19 …
As American businesses, including financial institutions, adjust their operations in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), the need to work closely with state regulators has become increasingly apparent. As anticipated, under the current federal administration we have seen state …
From its February 2020 peak to a March 2020 trough, the S&P 500 index fell 34 percent. This fall was accompanied by extreme volatility, at a level last seen during the global financial crisis. Invariably the selloff was accompanied by …
In a new paper,[1] we study the impact on U.S. stock prices of news stories about accusations that several members of Congress traded ahead of private material information about COVID-19. The lawmakers traded stocks during the early stages of …
Companies will not survive Covid-19 unless they communicate with their stakeholders. As the world around them transforms, corporate leaders must welcome input from those on the front lines of corporate activity – primarily employees and consumers, but also local communities, …
From a systemic risk point of view, the SEC’s primary responsibilities[1] in this period of stress are three-fold:
We are all too familiar with the many ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic has transformed our personal and professional lives over these last several months.[1] We are confronting new and serious personal challenges, all the while endeavoring to
The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the ensuing market uncertainty, as well as recently enacted legislation, have upended the compensation and benefit programs of many companies. This is the fifth memorandum in a series of client memoranda that we are preparing …
The Covid-19 outbreak demonstrates how vulnerable our elaborate cross-border supply chains are to disruption. It isn’t the first time in recent memory that contemporary supply chains have been upended – the 2011 earthquake off the coast of eastern Japan is …
The CARES Act was passed under intense pressure and with minimal transparency. The consequence of this opaque process is that there are some surprising windfalls. No criticism is here expressed of the act’s purpose, but Wall Street knows one thing …
The impact of COVID-19 on business has been profound and sudden. Strategic plans, business forecasts, and operating budgets set before the current crisis are likely to bear no semblance to plans that might be set today. Moreover, plans set today …
Just as with the financial crisis of 2008, corporate boards of directors are facing the combination of increased responsibility, scrutiny, and uncertainty as their companies grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the wake of the Great Recession, The Conference Board …
When the markets go haywire, as they appear to be doing now, stock prices cease to provide useful signals about corporate value or the performance of the men and women in the C-suite. This is a major problem for the …