Showing archive for: “Financial Regulation”
The SEC takes heat over the Goldman suit
Per the WSJ, the SEC’s internal watchdog told the Senate Banking Committee that the SEC’s suit against Goldman was a “suspicious” attempt to “to distract attention from a report criticizing the SEC for failing to detect an alleged Ponzi scheme.” It’s not like I’m surprised. Here’s my criticism of the suit and the settlement. The only ... The SEC takes heat over the Goldman suit
Which CFPB Will We Get?
Todd mentions Elizabeth Warren’s “kick off” speech for the CFPB, in which she accepts the new “President and Special Advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury?” gig, and tells us what the new Bureau is all about: The new consumer bureau is based on a pretty simple idea: people ought to be able to read ... Which CFPB Will We Get?
Me Too @ Cato’s Constitution Day
Like Larry, I’ll be at Cato on Constitution Day. TOTM will be well represented. While Larry covers Jones v. Harris and mutual funds, I’ll have my sights on the Roberts Court’s recent decision in American Needle v. NFL. See you there! The abstract of my paper (co-authored with Judd Stone), Antitrust Formalism is Dead! Long ... Me Too @ Cato’s Constitution Day
The Supreme Court and mutual funds @ Cato
I’ll be helping Cato celebrate Constitution Day and the soon-to-be-published edition of their latest Supreme Court Review with my contribution on last term’s Jones v. Harris: Federal Misgovernance of Mutual Funds. See Walter Olson’s summary of the panel on the business cases. Here’s the abstract of my paper: In Jones v. Harris Associates, the Supreme ... The Supreme Court and mutual funds @ Cato
The SEC vs. shareholders
One of the great myths about the SEC’s new proxy access rule is that it is pro-shareholder, or at least gives new clout to shareholders. This is simply wrong, since the SEC evidently did not intend to help shareholders, or at least anything like a significant fraction of the universe of shareholders, and almost certainly ... The SEC vs. shareholders
Criminalizing fiduciary breach
I have posted my Senate testimony from last spring (“Fiduciary Duties of Investment Bankers: Senate Testimony – May 4, 2010”). There I comment on Arlen Specter’s subcommittee’s attempt to use the furor aroused by the SEC’s strike suit against Goldman to make some terrible new law. The subcommittee wanted to go beyond merely imposing new ... Criminalizing fiduciary breach
Mutual fund advisers’ fiduciary duties
As I discussed a couple of days ago in my post about the SEC’s moves toward imposing fiduciary duties on brokers, I have a new paper on how Congress and the courts messed up fiduciary duties in another context: Federal Misgovernance of Mutual Funds. The paper is about a Supreme Court case decided last term. ... Mutual fund advisers’ fiduciary duties
The future of the Company and the Uncorporation
The Economist has some important recognition of the uncorporation, written by its Schumpeter columnist, who is Adrian Wooldridge. Wooldridge co-wrote with John Micklethwait an important little book called The Company. The article begins, in the spirit of Wooldridge’s book, by noting that “for most of the past 150 years public companies have swept all before ... The future of the Company and the Uncorporation
Brokers as fiduciaries
One of Dodd-Frank’s major gifts to lawyers is Section 913(g), titled “authority to establish a fiduciary duty for brokers and dealers.” The section authorizes the SEC to create a standard of conduct for broker-dealers and investment advisers when providing personalized investment advice about securities to retail customers . . . to act in the best ... Brokers as fiduciaries
Top Ten Books in Corporate Governance
(Law Review Editors take note, my recent submission mentioned in the following post, titled: “Defending Against Shareholder Proxy Access: Delaware’s Future Reviewing Company Defenses in the Era of Dodd-Frank” is still in the process of negotiating for a permanent Law Review home, although the expedite process is getting very hot.) After two years of steadily ... Top Ten Books in Corporate Governance
Terrorism Finance Meets Business Associations
Now that TOTM blog traffic is hitting all-time highs, I thought it would be a good time to share a link to my most recently published paper, Terrorism Finance, Business Associations, and the “Incorporation Transparency Act.” It is highly critical of Senator Levin’s “Incorporation Transparency and Law Enforcement Assistance Act,” over which Senator Levin, Senator Lieberman, ... Terrorism Finance Meets Business Associations
The Countrywide cases
The WSJ today covers the legal battles surrounding Countrywide Financial. The story is about the effort to hang somebody for the financial crisis. It also reveals much about the problems of criminalization of corporate agency costs, the politicization of criminal justice, and financial reform. The case against Countrywide and its former ceo Angelo Mozilo is ... The Countrywide cases