Showing archive for: “Corporate Governance”
The criminalization of Lance Armstrong
Today’s WSJ says that federal prosecutors are going after Lance Armstrong in connection with his alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs based on documents from a private arbitration case. The article notes that “Mr. Armstrong has repeatedly denied doping allegations and has not been charged with any wrongdoing” and that “[u]sing performing-enhancing techniques in sports is ... The criminalization of Lance Armstrong
More on Elizabeth Warren on Theory and Interpreting Data
With all the talk about the CFPB, Elizabeth Warren has been in the news lately. The blogs too. Most of the discussion has been about whether or not Timothy Geithner is a friend or foe to the Democrats’ preferred option of getting Warren nominated as the first chief of the CFPB. Today, Megan McArdle started ... More on Elizabeth Warren on Theory and Interpreting Data
The Dell rule
More than three years ago I provided this “corporate crime primer”: The Apple Rule provides for an exception from corporate criminal liability when a popular business executive is accused of, or presides over a company that is accused of, misconduct. “Popular” is defined as “liked by journalists.” * * * By contrast, when an “unpopular” ... The Dell rule
The pressures on prosecutors
Tomorrow’ WSJ has an interesting story that sheds light both on why we haven’t seen prosecutions from the recent financial crisis, and why we saw so many before that. The story discusses the decision not to prosecute AIG’s Joe Cassano – the “man who crashed the world.” I discussed this decision last April, noting how ... The pressures on prosecutors
Congress enables a start-up
The WSJ reports on the sad state of venture capital: [F]und raising has now come to a near halt. Thomson Reuters estimates U.S. venture-capital funds raised just $1.9 billion in the second quarter. By comparison, in the same period of 2000, the peak year, funds raised $33 billion. In 2009, just 170 funds raised new ... Congress enables a start-up
The SEC’s strike suit
The SEC is heralding the $550 million settlement in its suit against Goldman as “the largest penalty ever assessed against a financial services firm in the history of the SEC,” and “a stark lesson to Wall Street firms that no product is too complex, and no investor too sophisticated, to avoid a heavy price if ... The SEC’s strike suit
Business and the Supreme Court
David Zaring has noted that courts have formed an unimportant part of the financial crisis interventions by the government, and that the end of the Supreme Court’s most recent term suggests that it gets to matters years, if not decades, after they have become settled law one way or the other. Steve Bainbridge responds: The ... Business and the Supreme Court
The Supremes: Congress messed up SOX but no big deal
The PCAOB members’ tenure unconstitutionally insulated them from executive supervision, but in David Zaring’s succinct summary The remedy is the key, and although the Court didn’t explain the remedy too clearly, it basically excised the removal protections, making members of the PCAOB removable at will by the President * * * and handed petitioners a ... The Supremes: Congress messed up SOX but no big deal
The Olmstead decision and the problem of single member LLCs
The Florida Supreme Court’s decision in Olmstead v. FTC on the surface is a highly convoluted case that outwardly appeals only to the sort of people who think about LLCs in the shower. Since I qualify, I suppose it falls to me to explain what this is all about. Bear me out, because this matters ... The Olmstead decision and the problem of single member LLCs
F Cubed and jurisdictional competition
The Supreme Court, per Scalia, opined yesterday in Morrison v. National Australia Bank that foreign plaintiffs who transacted in foreign shares on a foreign exchange (hence, “f cubed”) could not bring a 10b-5 action. Margaret Sachs has a good analysis on the Glom. I want to emphasize one important and generally overlooked aspect of the ... F Cubed and jurisdictional competition
The Supreme Court partially decriminalizes agency costs
In the Skilling-Black case, the Court struck down “honest services” wire fraud under 18 U.S.C. 1346 in the absence of bribery/kickback allegations and remanded for determinations whether the errors in applying the statute justify reversals. But the Court also held that adverse pretrial publicity and community prejudice did not prevent Skilling from obtaining a fair ... The Supreme Court partially decriminalizes agency costs
Carried interest and Swiss cheese
When I last wrote on the carried interest debate I commented on the NYT’s Andrew Sorkin’s support for characterizing private equity managers’ carried interest as ordinary income rather than capital gains. This is supposed to be a simple change that cuts fat cat fund managers down to size and fairly distinguishes what is essentially compensation ... Carried interest and Swiss cheese
