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Monthly Archives: December 2014

Compendium of U.S. Copyright Office Practices, Third Edition

“Register of Copyrights Maria A. Pallante has released the Compendium of U.S. Copyright Office Practices, Third Edition (the “Third Edition”). The first major revision in more than two decades, the Third Editon presents more than 1200 pages of administrative practices and sets the stage for a number of long-term improvements in registration and recordation policy. It is effective as of December 22, 2014, and is the governing administrative manual for registrations and recordations issued by the Office on or after that date.”

Foreign Intelligence Gathering Laws

Library of Congress – “This report contains information on laws regulating the collection of intelligence in the European Union, United Kingdom, France, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, and Sweden. The report details how EU Members States control activities of their intelligence agencies and what restrictions are imposed on information collection.  All EU Member States follow EU legislation… Continue Reading

A Mathematical and Empirical Analysis of Rebalancing Alpha

Qian, Edward E., A Mathematical and Empirical Analysis of Rebalancing Alpha (October 1, 2014). Journal of Portfolio Management, Forthcoming. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2543705 “Rebalancing alpha is the excess return of a fixed-weight portfolio, which is regularly rebalanced, over its buy-and-hold counterpart. Two kinds of effects, both results of portfolio rebalancing, contribute to rebalancing alpha. The… Continue Reading

A Field Experiment Exploring How Pay and Representation Differentially Shape Bias on the Pathway into Organizations

Milkman, Katherine L. and Akinola, Modupe and Chugh, Dolly, What Happens Before? A Field Experiment Exploring How Pay and Representation Differentially Shape Bias on the Pathway into Organizations (December 13, 2014). Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2063742 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2063742 “Little is known about how discrimination manifests before individuals formally apply to organizations or how it varies within… Continue Reading

SEC to Simplify Analysis of Corporate Financial Data

Pilot Program Will Be Expanded Next Year to Include Data in Footnotes By MARIA ARMENTAL, WSJ.com – Dec. 30, 2014 “The Securities and Exchange Commission has launched a program aimed at making it easier for investors to dig through and compare company financial filings. Under the program being tested, financial data the companies report will be organized into structured… Continue Reading

FTC Approves Final Order Settling Charges Against Snapchat

“Following a public comment period, the Federal Trade Commission has approved a final order settling charges that Snapchat deceived consumers with promises about the disappearing nature of messages sent through the service. According to the FTC’s complaint, which was first announced in May, 2014, Snapchat also deceived consumers over the amount of personal data it collected and… Continue Reading

Taking Regular Vacations May Help Boost Americans’ Well-Being

Gallup: “Making time for regular trips or vacations with family and friends is linked to higher overall well-being. Americans who say they take regular trips have significantly higher well-being than those who say they do not, as measured by Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index scores, and this difference persists across all income groups. In fact, those who… Continue Reading

Choice of Law in the American Courts in 2014: Twenty-Eighth Annual Survey

Symeonides, Symeon C., Choice of Law in the American Courts in 2014: Twenty-Eighth Annual Survey (December 31, 2014). American Journal of Comparative Law, Vol. 63, No. 2, 2015. Available for download at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2543744 “This is the Twenty-Eighth Annual Survey of American choice-of-law cases. It was written at the request of the Association of American Law… Continue Reading

Renewable Energy Review: Finance Mechanisms

Ernst and Young Editors: “Developers, manufacturers, investors and other renewable energy industry stakeholders need updates on the latest and greatest finance mechanisms available today. Since 2003, global consultancy Ernst & Young has released its Country Attractiveness Indices, which ranks global renewable energy markets by analyzing investment strategies and resource availability. The indices are updated on a… Continue Reading

Before The Internet, Librarians Would ‘Answer Everything’ – And Still Do

Via NPR – “Before Google there was — that paragon of accuracy and calm — the librarian. The New York Public Library recently came upon a box of questions posed to the library from the 1940s to the ’80s — a time capsule from an era when humans consulted other humans for answers to their daily… Continue Reading

Mortgage Securitization Discrimination

Beverly Adkins et al. v Morgan Stanley “The National Consumer Law Center is co-counsel for African American plaintiffs in a prospective class action lawsuit brought against Morgan Stanley. The lawsuit claims that the Defendant violated federal civil rights laws, the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act as well as state laws by… Continue Reading

The Enforcers & the Great Recession

Totten, Mark, The Enforcers & the Great Recession (December 7, 2014). Cardozo Law Review, Forthcoming. Available for download at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2535109 “No one played a more vital role responding to the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression than a small band of state attorneys general (AGs). Yet this story has never been told nor… Continue Reading