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Category Archives: Securities Law

SEC and CFTC Turn to Swaps and Security-Based Swaps Enforcement

Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation – July 5, 2015 – Annette L. Nazareth, Davis Polk & Wardwell:  “The week of June 15, 2015 saw two of the first publicly announced enforcement actions brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) to enforce security-based swap… Continue Reading

SEC Re-Proposes Rules on Security-Based Swaps

Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation:  SEC Re-Proposes Rules on Arranging, Negotiating or Executing Security-Based Swaps, Annette L. Nazareth, Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP,  June 21, 2015 “On May 13, 2015, the SEC published proposed amendments and re-proposed rules on the application of certain Title VII requirements to cross-border security-based swap activities… Continue Reading

Disclosure of Material Information: A Cross-National Comparison

Baker, H. Kent and Haslem, John A., Disclosure of Material Information: A Cross-National Comparison (June 4, 2015). International Journal of Accounting Education and Research, Vol. 13, No. 1, pp. 1-16, Fall 1977 (With Robert H.Chenhall and Roger H. Juchau). Available for download at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2614537 “In recent years the controversy over disclosure and materiality in… Continue Reading

New GAO Reports: Homeland Security, SEC’s Internal Controls, SEC Oversight of FINRA, Southwest Border, Needy Families, USAID

Homeland Security: Actions Needed to Better Manage Security Screening at Federal Buildings and Courthouses, GAO-15-445: Published: Mar 31, 2015. Publicly Released: Apr 30, 2015. Management Report: Improvements Needed in SEC’s Internal Controls and Accounting Procedures, GAO-15-387R: Published: Apr 30, 2015. Publicly Released: Apr 30, 2015. Securities Regulation: SEC Can Further Enhance Its Oversight Program of… Continue Reading

SEC Staff and FINRA Issue Report on National Senior Investor Initiative

“With the Social Security Administration estimating that each day for the next 15 years, an average of 10,000 Americans will turn 65, the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) today issued a report to help broker-dealers assess, craft, or refine their policies and procedures for investors… Continue Reading

Is the Price Right? An Empirical Study of Fee-Setting in Securities Class Actions

Baker, Lynn A. and Perino, Michael A. and Silver, Charles, Is the Price Right? An Empirical Study of Fee-Setting in Securities Class Actions (February 11, 2015). Columbia Law Review, 2015, Forthcoming; U of Texas Law, Law and Econ Research Paper; St. John’s Legal Studies Research Paper No. 15-0003. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2584649 “Every year, fee… Continue Reading

Role of Academics and Industry in Improving Equity Market Structure

The Role of Academics and Industry in Improving Equity Market Structure, Michael S. Piwowar, Commissioner, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, on March 21, 2015. “Editor’s Note: Michael S. Piwowar is a Commissioner at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. This post is based on Commissioner Piwowar’s recent remarks at the University of Notre Dame, Mendoza College… Continue Reading

Insider Trading in Commodities Markets

Verstein, Andrew, Insider Trading in Commodities Markets (February 21, 2015). Available for download at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2568140 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2568140 “In securities markets, insider trading is a crime. In commodities, insider trading is almost completely legal. This divergent treatment has long been accepted as appropriate, given perceived differences between the markets. For example, it has been thought… Continue Reading

Who Regulates Whom and How? An Overview of U.S. Financial Regulatory Policy for Banking and Securities Markets

Who Regulates Whom and How? An Overview of U.S. Financial Regulatory Policy for Banking and Securities Markets. Edward V. Murphy, Specialist in Financial Economics. January 30, 2015. “Financial regulatory policies are of interest to Congress because firms, consumers, and governments fund many of their activities through banks and securities markets. Furthermore, financial instability can damage… Continue Reading

Bitcoin: Questions, Answers, and Analysis of Legal Issues

CRS – Bitcoin: Questions, Answers, and Analysis of Legal Issues. Craig K. Elwell, Specialist in Macroeconomic Policy; Maureen Murphy, Legislative Attorney; Michael V. Seitzinger, Legislative Attorney, January 28, 2015 “Bitcoin first appeared in January 2009, the creation of a computer programmer using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. His invention is an open-source (its controlling computer code… Continue Reading

OCC Issues Government Securities Act booklet of the Comptroller’s Handbook

“The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued today the Government Securities Act” booklet of the Comptroller’s Handbook. This new booklet, part of the Securities Compliance series, consolidates certain guidance from the Comptroller’s Handbook for Compliance, “Securities Activities” booklet, issued in September 1991, and the Comptroller’s Handbook booklet “Investment Securities,” issued in March… Continue Reading