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
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Category Archives: Securities Law
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
Research Shows XBRL Filing Costs Lower than Expected
AICPA: “EXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) is a global data standard used for reporting business information in a computer-readable format. The standardization of business reporting information eliminates the costs associated with manually processing this data or using proprietary products that lock data in incompatible formats. When it enacted the Final Rule for XBRL, the U.S.… 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
SEC Issues Annual Staff Reports on Credit Rating Agencies
[December 23, 2014] “the Securities and Exchange Commission issued its annual staff report on the findings of examinations of credit rating agencies registered as nationally recognized statistical rating organizations (NRSROs) and submitted a separate report on NRSROs to Congress. “These reports provide the most current and comprehensive picture of the credit rating industry,” said SEC Chair… Continue Reading
SEC Office of the Investor Advocate Report FY2014
REPORT ON ACTIVITIES FISCAL YEAR 2014 – Office of the Investor Advocate. “THE OFFICE OF THE INVESTOR ADVOCATE was established pursuant to Section 915 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (the “Dodd-Frank Act”), as codified under Section 4(g) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”), 15 U.S.C. § 78d(g). Exchange Act Section… Continue Reading
Home Depot SEC Filing – Pretax Breach Cost $43 million
eSecurity Planet – “In a recent SEC filing, Home Depot stated that a recent data breach that exposed 56 million credit cards and 53 million email addresses cost the company $43 million in the third quarter of 2014 alone. Specifically, Home Depot says it “recorded $43 million of pretax expenses related to the data breach, partially offset… Continue Reading
How the SEC Helps Speedy Traders
Jackson, Robert J. and Mitts, Joshua, How the SEC Helps Speedy Traders (November 6, 2014). Available for download at at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2520105 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2520105 “We show that the Securities and Exchange Commission’s system for disseminating market-moving information in securities filings gives some investors an advantage over others. We describe two systems — the SEC’s file… Continue Reading
Conflict Minerals and Resource Extraction: Dodd-Frank, SEC Regulations, and Legal Challenges
Conflict Minerals and Resource Extraction: Dodd-Frank, SEC Regulations, and Legal Challenges. Michael V. Seitzinger, Legislative Attorney; Kathleen Ann Ruane, Legislative Attorney. October 15, 2014. “Two sections of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Protection Act (Dodd-Frank) require that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) issue regulations to make public the involvement of U.S. companies in conflict minerals and in… Continue Reading
