Short-selling and market efficiency
Another day, another paper showing evidence of the negative effect on market efficiency of bans on short-selling. Today it’s Yerkes, Regulatory Trading Restrictions, Overvaluation, and Insider Selling. Here’s the abstract: A contentious debate is emerging over the regulatory response to the financial crisis. This paper takes advantage of a rare opportunity to empirically test sweeping ... Short-selling and market efficiency
Tomorrow: Teleforum on lawyer licensing
Tomorrow, August 9, 1:00 EDT, I’ll be on the phone discussing “Grading the Bar Exam: Compulsory Licensing for Lawyers.” Sponsored by the Federalist Society Professional Responsibility and Legal Education Practice Group. To participate dial in to 1-888-752-3232. No prior registration necessary. After opening remarks, I’ll take questions from callers. Hear you there!
Government spending, cargo cults, and rules for growth
When the debate about the debt ceiling and spending gets past name-calling to real issues, it’s about the best path to growth and jobs. An example of the pro-spending view is James Surowiecki in the current New Yorker: [T]he spending cuts * * * will likely hit precisely the kind of public spending—on infrastructure, basic ... Government spending, cargo cults, and rules for growth
The arbitration (and death?) of securities class actions
Barbara Black has suggested that the time may have come to reconsider arbitration of federal securities claims against issuers (and not just brokers). And that’s only the beginning. Here’s the abstract: Ever since the U.S. Supreme Court held that arbitration provisions contained in brokerage customers’ agreements were enforceable with respect to federal securities claims, proposals have ... The arbitration (and death?) of securities class actions
Comparative uncorporate law
Don Clarke has written a nice piece on “the past and future of comparative corporate governance.” Here’s part of the abstract: Recent years have seen the rise of comparative corporate governance (CCG) as an increasingly mainstream approach within the world of corporate governance studies. This is a function partly of an increasing international orientation on ... Comparative uncorporate law
Kathleen Casey and the power of dissent
I would like to add to Jay’s praise of departing SEC Commissioner Casey my own appreciation. I noted a couple of weeks ago the Commissioners Casey and Paredes’ influence on the DC Circuit’s proxy access decision. These Commissioners haven’t just been nay-sayers throwing down a gauntlet against regulation. Rather, they have been consistently thoughtful and ... Kathleen Casey and the power of dissent
SEC dismisses the Gupta case
Amid yesterday’s market turmoil it’s easy to forget about Rajat Gupta. He’s the guy whose suit against the SEC led a federal judge to put the agency under judicial supervision. Now the SEC has dismissed its misbegotten administrative proceeding. They can file a civil insider trading case before the same judge who has cast his ... SEC dismisses the Gupta case
Should the SEC regulate corporate political speech?
Ten leading corporate and securities law professors have petitioned the SEC to develop rules to require companies to disclose their political spending. This is the latest iteration of efforts to end-run Citizens United’s restrictions on regulating corporate campaign activities by calling it corporate governance regulation. See my recent post on the Shareholder Protection Act. I’ve written ... Should the SEC regulate corporate political speech?
The SEC’s revolving door
I discussed last year the peculiarities of the SEC’s complaint against Goldman arising out of the infamous Abacus transaction. One peculiarity is how John Paulson, whose undisclosed role in structuring the transaction led to the charges against Goldman, has escaped blame. Today Andrew Ross Sorkin sheds some light on why that might be: a senior ... The SEC’s revolving door
The AIG-General Re reversals
A Second Circuit panel knocked over yet another federal prosecution, this one of General Re and AIG executives who were convicted of propping up AIG with an allegedly sham reinsurance transaction. As summarized by a WSJ editorial, the abuses that sent this prosecution down the tubes “include prejudicial evidence, botched jury instructions and “compelling inconsistencies” ... The AIG-General Re reversals
The remains of Howrey
I have previously covered the death of Howrey. I noted here the question of the extent to which Howrey’s LLP shield will protect its former partners from liability for the firm’s debts, and more generally what can happen following “the swift collapse of big law firms that have no real assets except the lawyers who, ... The remains of Howrey
Overcriminalization in action: the FCPA
I have written about the problems of criminalizing corporate agency costs and the intersection between these agency costs and the agency costs of the government agents who prosecute the crimes. Joe Yockey, in his recent paper Solicitation, Extortion, and the FCPA, shows that Foreign Corrupt Practices Act prosecutions provide a particularly acute illustration of these ... Overcriminalization in action: the FCPA
