Sky Blog
Welcome to the 39th Annual Small Business Forum. I want to thank Martha and the staff in the Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation – that includes Colin, Jenny, Jessica, Julie, Malika and Todd – for
Good afternoon everyone. Thank you to the Office of Municipal Securities for organizing this conference. And thank you to all the panelists for taking time to join us today.[1]
Since December 2018, when
On October 12, 2015, an activist hedge fund we’ll call John Doe Management filed a Form 13D, disclosing 5.5 percent ownership and an intent to pursue an activist campaign in a target firm we’ll call Industrial Corp (IC). The next …
Can silence solve problems that words cannot? The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) hopes so, because this premise underlies the confidential filing provision of the Jumpstart Our Businesses (JOBS) Act. But how firms benefit from confidential filings remains unclear, complicating …
One of the most serious corruption cases ever investigated in Israel is “Case 3000,” also known as “The Submarines Scandal.” It concerned suspicions that senior Israeli officers and public servants received bribes for over a decade in order to “fix” …
A $900,000 fine is a reminder for companies to use care in tracking and disclosing all elements of executive compensation.
Between 2015 and 2019, Argo Group International Holding, Ltd. reported some $1.2 million in perks and similar personal benefits paid …
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been putting pressure on companies that regularly file public reports to make detailed statements about the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on their businesses. Given the many uncertainties about those effects, the disclosures …
Over the past five years, international organizations ranging from the United Nations and the G20 to the World Economic Forum and the International Organization of Securities Commissioners (IOSCO) have advocated expanding environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) or “non-financial” reporting by …
Thank you, Michael [Heaney]. Good morning everyone, and welcome to this year’s second meeting of the Fixed Income Market Structure Advisory Committee. Thank you for joining us. I am glad we are able to meet virtually today.
I would like …
The JOBS Act and Regulation Crowdfunding were intended to create a new and inclusive type of online capital market where all entrepreneurs, regardless of their physical location, gender, or anything else, can go directly to the public (the “crowd”) to …
I look forward to hearing the Committee’s insights into the effects of the pandemic on the asset management industry and, in particular, our long-term Main Street investors.[1] An essential component of our national response to, and recovery from, COVID-19
Thank you Anne [Sheehan] and other members of the committee for arranging an impressive list of panelists to share their views and perspectives on the important topics on today’s agenda. The committee has not let COVID-19 stop it from holding
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regularly reviews financial filings to ensure compliance with accounting standards and other disclosure requirements. The SEC review team analyzes firm’s financial filings and asks questions (in a comment letter) about perceived deficiencies. A comment …
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
For nearly 90 years, scholars have debated whether the sole purpose of the business corporation is to maximize profits. This debate has been reframed over the past 50 years and now seems to have settled on a middle ground: Corporate …
Good afternoon. This is an open meeting of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on May 6, 2020, under the Government in the Sunshine Act. The Commission today will consider a staff recommendation to issue an Order that would direct …
Thank you, Anne (Sheehan). I really appreciate your prompt response to our request to reconvene a special meeting of the Investor Advisory Committee to focus on issuer-investor engagement in the context of the challenges posed by COVID-19, including, in particular,
In early 2020, State Street Global Advisors, BlackRock, and other investment firms announced their plans for persuading companies to address financially-material environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues. The high-profile announcements followed moves in recent years by Wellington Management, CalPERS, and …