Showing archive for: “Financial Regulation”
The counterproductive effects of SOX and Dodd-Frank
Much significant regulation has been inflicted on the financial markets over the last decade with little regard for evidence of whether the regulation is likely to accomplish its intended purpose. A couple of recent studies on SOX and Dodd-Frank suggest that at least some of this regulation has made things worse. Kim and Lu, Unintended Consequences ... The counterproductive effects of SOX and Dodd-Frank
This Wednesday: talking movies at Yale
I’ll be discussing Inside Job with Steve Davidoff and Roberta Romano, at the invitation of the Yale Law & Business Society. I managed to get through the movie last night without throwing any sharp objects at the screen. I’m hoping to repeat that performance on Wednesday. Suggested reading: How movies created the financial crisis, Wall ... This Wednesday: talking movies at Yale
The Dodd-Frank debacle, takeover edition
The so-called “Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act” was supposed to fix the problems that led to the financial bust. Of course, that would require some understanding of what, exactly, those problems were, which Congress lacked. The Act did little to fix the credit raters or the derivatives market that surely had something ... The Dodd-Frank debacle, takeover edition
Proposed Privacy Legislation
The Obama Administration is advocating a privacy bill. One provision will limit the use of data to the purpose for which it was collected unless a consumer gives permission for additional uses; another will give consumers increased rights to access information about themselves. Both of these provisions may actually reduce safety of data online. One additional purpose for which ... Proposed Privacy Legislation
Congressmen as securities traders
With all of the attention being given to insider trading by hedge funds and malfeasance by corporate executives, it’s worth reminding ourselves that the politicians who seek to impose discipline are themselves no angels. An important study published seven years ago revealed that U.S. senators were reaping returns from stock trading that strongly suggested they ... Congressmen as securities traders
Comment to the Federal Reserve Board on Regulation II: Where’s the Competitive Impact Analysis?
I have submitted a comment to the Federal Reserve Board concerning Regulation II, along with the American Enterprise Institute’s Alex Brill, Christopher DeMuth, Alex J. Pollock, and Peter Wallison, as well as my George Mason colleague Todd Zywicki. Regulation II implements the interchange fee provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act. The comment makes a rather straightforward ... Comment to the Federal Reserve Board on Regulation II: Where’s the Competitive Impact Analysis?
Lawyers as capitalists
The WSJ reports: Clients are seeking ways to lower their legal costs, and more of them are asking law firms to share the risk of litigation, particularly in intellectual property cases, with contingency payment arrangements in which the clients pay no fees upfront. Under this arrangement, a law firm only gets paid if it wins. ... Lawyers as capitalists
Small Business Financing Post-Crisis
Tomorrow I will be attending a symposium on small business financing sponsored by the Entrepreneurial Business Law Journal‘s at the Moritz College of Law at the Ohio State University. I’m on a panel entitled “Recessionary Impacts on Equity Capital,” which is a bit misleading–or at least a bit different that the topic I offered to ... Small Business Financing Post-Crisis
The iPad 2 and the E2
Professor B says: In the last week I used my iPad to: Watch QI on Youtube. Watch TV shows, movies, and music videos from my iTunes library. Online banking. Online shopping. Web access. WSJ. BBC. Dinner reservations over Open Table. Deer Hunter. Online poker. Document access via Dropbox. Document editing via Quick Office. IMDB. Twitter ... The iPad 2 and the E2
NYSE-Deutsche Borse and jurisdictional competition
The WSJ opines on the impending sale of the NYSE to Deutsche Börse of Frankfurt. It describes the merger as “a story of inevitable capitalist change and how no country or institution can take its dominance for granted” and a “lesson in how easily capital, both financial and human, can relocate.” It describes the 171 ... NYSE-Deutsche Borse and jurisdictional competition
Private equity and corporate jets
I’ve written about the benefits of private equity’s “uncorporate” discipline, including owner exit rights and high-powered compensation, in reducing managerial agency costs in large firms. See my Partnership Governance of Large Firms and the longer version in Chapter 8 of my Rise of the Uncorporation. Here’s some more evidence: Edgerton, Agency Problems in Public Firms: ... Private equity and corporate jets
Pay gaps as big law’s death rattle
Today’s WSJ reports on more evidence of the death of big law under the headline “Pay Gap Widens at Big Law Firms as Partners Chase Star Attorneys.”: Some of the biggest law firms are paying outsize salaries to star attorneys, in some cases 10 times what they give other partners, in a strategy that is ... Pay gaps as big law’s death rattle
