Investing for Joe Common Man/Gal
The Nowicki family Christmas dinner was tonight. Michelle, the Nowicki family psychiatrist, said (to my FATHER, not me, the securities wonk) “How do I know what stock to invest in? I don’t follow the market. I don’t watch the stock shows on MSNBC. Jim Cramer – the mad money guy – all of that.” After ... Investing for Joe Common Man/Gal
US World and News Reports
Do we know when the Law School rankings for 2008 are due out? Just today, I was having a conversation with a colleague about z-scores and standard deviations and all that, and I found myself yearning to apply my mathmatical skills to the most recent information. Do we know what the due date is?
Hewlett Packard, if you can’t say anything nice (or true). . . .
Fox news reports today that the shareholder lawsuit regarding what can best be referred to as “the Hewlett Packard Fiasco†was amended yesterday to include claims of insider trading. It seems that at least eight HP executives, including incumbent CEO Mark Hurd, are alleged to have traded in HP securities in the two weeks prior ... Hewlett Packard, if you can’t say anything nice (or true). . . .
Dura and Section 10(b)
In my Sec. Reg. class, we are covering Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. One of my students raised a question today regarding Section 10(b) after Dura that left me ruminating. The student’s question was about whether a selling stockholder who sold at a profit can bring a suit after Dura if the ... Dura and Section 10(b)
Long Term Investors and Darts
I read with interest an article on cnn.com indicating that we have been on the “longest down streak since June 2005.†I have two comments: 1. “The longest down streak since June 2005†is hardly anything to write home about. We are talking about the longest down streak in the past 16 months, not . ... Long Term Investors and Darts
Hey- That’s Robert Monks!!!
I needed a catchy title, to compete with Mann’s title below. I could find no way to work “crack whore” into my title, however. But I figured mentioning Robert Monks – shareholder activist qua shareholder primacy radical – would have a small bit of the same impact. (Mind you, Robert Monks is a very very ... Hey- That’s Robert Monks!!!
Glaxo and the Value of Litigation Reserves
Experts opined yesterday on the announcement of GlaxoSmithKline’s $3.4 BILLION (*BILLION*) settlement with the IRS over litigation related to Glaxo’s transfer pricing. Transfer pricing, as defined by the WSJ: “That practice, called “transfer pricing,” is the art of attaching a monetary value to trademarks, patents, research and other intangibles that one arm of a multinational company ... Glaxo and the Value of Litigation Reserves
Discretionary Spending (and my mother)
Back during GW’s first term, when various folks were positing that the economy was in a recession, my mother said something along the lines of “I know that we are not in a recession because people are still buying bras from Victoria’s Secret.” True story. My mom’s point, for those of you who have never ... Discretionary Spending (and my mother)
The SEC: This one is for you, Peter Oh.
My position in the areas of securities law and corporate law has consistently been that painful shareholder lawsuits are generally likely to be much more effective deterrents than toothless legislation (SOX?) or rulemaking by an agency ill-equipped or disinclined to ruthlessly enforce its rules. I have taken this position in my writing with respect to investment banking research analysts, I have taken ... The SEC: This one is for you, Peter Oh.
Stock Options, Exec. Comp., etc.
I had lunch with a new colleague today, and we discussed both stock options and the SEC’s new Exec. Comp. rule. My colleague asked many good questions, not the least of which dealt with securities fraud. Given that I live alone, my conversation with my colleague was the first time I had tested out my ... Stock Options, Exec. Comp., etc.
Road Trip With Judge Robert Bork
I was in the car for 10 hours this weekend, driving from Richmond, VA, to upstate New York. Though Judge Robert Bork was not technically in the car with me, I spent most of my driving hours listening to his book, Slouching Towards Gomorrah, on tape. (I borrowed the book on tape two or three ... Road Trip With Judge Robert Bork
Seventh Grade Math, revisited
Upon the advice of my friend Kate Litvak, I took a short summer vacation to Walt Disney World. (In reality, the trip was a work excursion, to meet up with the other Professor Nowicki to work on an executive compensation paper. But the good news is that the other Professor Nowicki was then at Walt ... Seventh Grade Math, revisited
