Put-backs: How much are the banks worth?
BoA is trading around $11. Its book value is $21.45. The difference has a lot to do with whether investors in mortgage-backed securities will be able to get BoA (and other banks) to repurchase hundreds of billions of dollars of mortgage-backed securities because the bonds didn’t meet representations and warranties in the bond contracts. Here’s ... Put-backs: How much are the banks worth?
Agents Prosecuting Agents, at Overcriminalization 2.0.
Tomorrow in D.C. I’m joining a distinguished group for a program called “Overcriminalization 2.0” (agenda) presented by GMU’s Journal of Law, Economics & Policy and Law & Economics Center, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and the Foundation for Criminal Justice. According to the program, “[t]his symposium will capture the broad consensus on the ... Agents Prosecuting Agents, at Overcriminalization 2.0.
Journalism as advertising
This NYT article about management problems at the Tribune came with the following ad: “The finest journalism in Chicago? The New York Times, as low as $3.70 a week.”
The roots of foreclosure-gate: incentives and lawyers
Careless or even fraudulent documentation in foreclosure actions has stalled foreclosures, stymied recovery of the housing market, threatened the earnings and even financial stability of banks, and may lead to massive securities fraud actions. How did this happen? Per CR: [A] combination of getting swamped with foreclosures, lack of experienced staff, the poor economic environment ... The roots of foreclosure-gate: incentives and lawyers
Another unintended consequence of SOX: preliminary earnings
We know that Sarbanes-Oxley imposed significant costs on firms in the interests of more accurate disclosures. Maybe this is a cost worth bearing. But what if one of these costs is actually less accurate disclosures? Scott N. Bronson, Chris Hogan and Marilyn Johnson of Michigan State have written The Unintended Consequences of PCAOB Auditing Standards ... Another unintended consequence of SOX: preliminary earnings
Wilkes v. Springside and the Rise of the Uncorporation
As I noted last week I participated with several corporate law luminaries in a conference at Western New England College in Springfield, Massachusetts on the famous case of Wilkes v. Springside Nursing Home, 370 Mass. 842, 353 N.E.2d 657 (1976). Springfield is near Pittsfield, where Springside was located and this case originated. As most law students ... Wilkes v. Springside and the Rise of the Uncorporation
Close corporations in the age of LLCs
On Friday I’m joining Eric Gouvin, Lyman Johnson, Mark Loewenstein, Bob Thompson, Dan Kleinberger, Benjamin Means, Doug Moll, Deborah DeMott and Massachusetts Justice Francis X. Spina at a Western New England College conference on “Fiduciary Duties in the Closely Held Firm 35 Years after Wilkes v. Springside Nursing.” Not surprisingly, I’ll be talking about the ... Close corporations in the age of LLCs
Markets and art
We often seem to assume that market competition is inconsistent with great art. In fact this is not true. People like good art, especially rich people, and therefore will pay for it. Consider, for example, the state of movies and television today. Edward Jay Epstein (HT MR) notes that while subscription television has had turn to ... Markets and art
Information vs. advice
I’ve been writing about the transition of the lawyer market from advice to information. I posted about my talk last Friday in Seattle. My article, “Owning the Law,” with Bruce Kobayashi is in the works. So I was interested in the relevance to this project of Bloomberg Government, discussed in the NYT (HT Zaring). Bloomberg ... Information vs. advice
Zuckerberg as evil capitalist
I still haven’t seen “The Social Network” (waiting to watch it at home), but that won’t stop me from writing about it, as long as others are. Gordon Crovitz, writing in today’s WSJ: The hit movie * * * is crafted through the lens of lawsuits brought by others seeking a piece of the company, ... Zuckerberg as evil capitalist
Choice of forum and corporate governance
Choice-of-forum provisions are potentially important in all contracts. Not only can they match the parties with expert and efficient adjudicators, but they can reinforce a choice-of-law clause because courts tend to apply forum law. See The Law Market, Ch. 4. Choice of forum is getting a lot of attention in corporate law. Delaware has long ... Choice of forum and corporate governance
Mankiw on taxing the rich
I suppose that the Obama tax plan is something this blog should stay away from. But I can’t resist a note on Mankiw’s NYT column. Mankiw makes all the “correct” disclaimers: he’s being “narcissistic,” yes he can “afford to pay more in taxes,” “I don’t have trouble making ends meet,” “I am almost completely sated.” ... Mankiw on taxing the rich
