In an earlier post (here), The D & O Diary commented on the research published by Lucian Bebchuk of Harvard Law School and two colleagues, in which they examined over 19,000 options grant awards between 1996 and 2005, finding a disproportionately higher number of grants on the date during the month with the
AIM Reforms Rules for Companies
The would-be reformers who propose restructuring the U.S securities regulation regime cite the loss of U.S. IPO market share to overseas markets, particularly London’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM), as justification for regulatory reform. But as The D & O Diary has previously noted (most recently here and here), these overseas markets, especially the AIM,
Class Action Opt-Outs: The New Frontier
My recent posts on securities fraud opt-out litigation settlements (here and here) provoked a number of interesting responses, including one comment that was so detailed that I thought it would make an interesting guest blog post. The commentator accepted my invitation to be a D & O Diary guest blogger. I am pleased
Backdating Cases Proceed As Deadline Looms
As the Wall Street Journal noted in its February 16, 2007 article entitled “Probes of Backdating Move to Faster Track” (here, subscription required), the various options backdating investigations may be moving more rapidly now. Within the last weeks, there have been guilty pleas entered in connection with the Take-Two (here) and
Foreign IPO Activity in U.S Remains “Healthy”
Regular readers know that I have previously questioned (most recently here) the case for regulatory reform. Among the grounds the reformers routinely cite as the basis for regulatory reform is the U.S.’s loss of global IPO marketshare. A February 20, 2007 Wall Street Journal article entitled "Do Tough Rules Deter Foreign IPO Listing in
Is SOX Discouraging Employee Whistleblowing?
In a prior post (here), I raised the question whether the whistleblower protection under Section 806 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act is "more theoretical than real." A February 2007 study by Alexander Dyck of the University of Toronto, Adair Morse of the University of Michigan Business School, and Luigi Zingales of the University of
Changing Circumstances in the Global Financial Marketplace
In a recent post (here), I noted that the cross-border Siemens bribery investigation shows that regulators throughout the world increasingly recognize the importance of vigilance and scrutiny, and that the extent of alleged misconduct in that case could spur further efforts for oversight and reform. In that same vein, a February 15, 2007
SEC Urges “Exceedingly High” Pleading Standard?
As discussed in February 13, 2007 New York Times article entitled “SEC Seeks to Curtail Investor Suits” (here), the SEC and the DOJ have jointly filed an amicus brief in the Tellabs case pending on writ of certiorari before the United States Supreme Court, in which brief the agencies urge the Court
The Latest on the FCPA and D & O Risk
The D & O Diary has long contended (most recently here) that civil claims following on enforcement actions under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) represent a growing area of D & O claim risk. The entry last week (refer here) of a $26 million criminal fine – the largest criminal penalty ever
The Weak Case for Regulatory Reform Gets Even Weaker
At the heart of recent calls for regulatory reform in the Interim Report of the Committee on Capital Markets Regulation and in the Bloomberg/Schumer Report is the assertion that the U.S. securities markets are losing global IPO marketshare because of supposed regulatory overkill and the litigious environment in the U.S. Accompanying this assertion is the