Sky Blog
In their recent article, Jeff Schwartz and Alexandra Nelson critique the Securities and Exchange Commission’s cost-benefit analysis accompanying the Conflict Minerals Rule.[1] This rule requires public companies using conflict minerals in their production to annually disclose whether the minerals …
On May 17, 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued new Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations (“C&DIs”) on the use of non-GAAP financial measures. With a fiscal reporting period having passed since the SEC issued the C&DIs, we surveyed …
For chief executive officers, communication is essential. It allows them to help stakeholders understand a company’s strategies and form opinions about the company’s prospects as well as the CEO’s ability to create value. While effective communication is important at every …
Family does matter in the United States. Census data indicate that more than 20 percent of men have worked for the same employers as their fathers, while a recent New York Times article suggests that the sons of senators have …
Insider trading is a serious form of misconduct and can result in defendants receiving lengthy prison sentences and significant monetary sanctions. Our working paper, ‘Sanctions Imposed for Insider Trading in Australia, Canada (Ontario), Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand, the …
We all remember the hectic summer and fall of 2008, when the U.S. financial system was at the brink of collapse. Since then, policymakers have enacted structural reforms to the financial system but left the market in repurchase agreements largely …
A Delaware bankruptcy court has invalidated a lender’s attempt to prevent a borrower from filing bankruptcy by having the borrower amend its operating agreement to require unanimous consent among its members to file bankruptcy and then issuing one “golden share” …
A host of studies have examined the link between accounting and the 2007-2008 global financial crisis, most of them focusing on whether fair value accounting or accounting discretion at financial institutions helped skew valuations on bank balance sheets. In our …
On July 13, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted a final rule related to the reporting and public dissemination of security-based swap (SBS) transaction information. The rule builds on an earlier reporting rule for security-based swap dealers (SBSDs) finalized …
In March 2016, the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”) proposed new rules regarding disclosure of third-party compensation of directors. This third-party compensation, which may not be publicly disclosed, arises when a party other than the issuer, such as an activist …
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) brought over 400 enforcement actions in the first half of fiscal year (FY) 2016, and is on pace to surpass its record of 807 enforcement actions in a single …
Should governments be relying on corporate and securities law to promote humanitarian goals? This is the question that naturally arises when viewing the SEC’s Conflict Minerals Payment Rule, which requires corporations to disclose their conflict mineral usage as a means …
On June 16, 2016, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) issued a proposed rule (available here), which, if adopted, would result in a revamp of its disclosure requirements for mining company issuers. The proposed rule is intended to …
The Securities and Exchange Commission proposed Regulation Fair Disclosure (Reg FD) on December 20, 1999. The motivation behind the proposal was concern that an informational advantage provided by selective disclosures to certain market participants was resulting in a loss of …
The Delaware Supreme Court’s recent decision in Singh v. Attenborough (May 6, 2016, en banc, “Zale III”), written by Chief Justice Leo E. Strine, Jr., is consistent with the trend of Delaware decisions that, as a practical matter, have …
In Rule v. Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company,[1] our client challenged MassMutual’s 2014 Proxy Statement seeking to change its company bylaws. The Proxy told the over 1 million policyholder-owners that the proposed bylaw changes were consistent with the …
Recently, there has been concern among investors, preparers, regulators, and standard setters that corporate disclosure (in particular the annual report, Form 10-K) is becoming increasingly lengthy, redundant, complex, and onerous. In December 2013, the SEC began a comprehensive review of …
In 2009, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) mandated all registrants to file their 10-K and 10-Q in an interactive format using the eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL). The SEC adopted a phase-in implementation policy: the first phase started …
One of the primary rationales in favor of regulating disclosure is that more information may create positive externalities, or spillover effects, by helping investors learn about industry- or economy-wide trends and growth opportunities. In this way, a firm’s public disclosures …
In April of 2012, President Obama signed into the law the J.O.B.S. (Jumpstart Our Business Startups) Act. The law’s intent and design was to make it easier for small businesses to raise money by easing their regulatory burdens both on …