On May 17, 2007, Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson, Jr. announced (here) his latest "initiatives…to enhance U.S. capital market competitiveness." In a Financial Times op-ed piece published the same day (here), Paulson said the purposes of the initiatives were to "ensure we preserve an efficient financial reporting system that provides reliable
Apple, The Big Apple, and “Pay to Play” Plaintiffs’ Lawyers
In a series of recent editorials, the New York Sun has raised some interesting and troubling questions about a New York City’s pension fund’s involvement as lead plaintff in the Apple Computer options backdating securities litigation.
The first Sun editorial on the topic, entitled "New York Versus Apple "appeared on January 25, 2007 (here
The Bloomberg/Schumer Report on U.S. Capital Market Competitiveness
On Monday January 22, 2007, Republican New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Democratic New York Senator Charles Schumer released the joint report they commissioned from McKinsey & Company, entitled "Sustaining New York’s and the U.S.’s Global Financial Services Leadership." The report can be found here, and the joint press release describing the
Looking at Auditor Liability Caps
When the Committee on Capital Markets Regulation (popularly known as the Paulson Committee) in its Interim Report (here) recommended "setting a cap on auditor liability," the Committee relied for support on the steps in that direction that have been taken by the European Commission. In its latest effort along those lines, the
Is London’s “Light Touch” Attracting Fraudsters?
In my prior comments on the Paulson Committee’s calls for regulatory reform (most recently, here), I have suggested that perhaps the U.S. securities markets may be better off without at least some of the companies that are avoiding the U.S. exchanges’ tougher listing requirements. A recent report by a U.K. accounting firm contains interesting
Paulson Committee’s Weak Case for Regulatory Reform
When the blue-ribbon Committee on Capital Markets Regulation (popularly known as the Paulson Committee) released its Interim Report (here) calling for regulatory reform, it based its case for reform in large part on the U.S securities exchanges’ loss of market share in the global IPO marketplace. As The D & O Diary has
Looking at The Paulson Committee’s Proposed Litigation Reforms
As noted yesterday (here), the Committee on Capital Markets Regulation (often referred to as the Paulson Committee) has released its Interim Report (here). The Report contains much text, many graphics, and 32 recommendations supposedly addressed to how to improve the competitiveness of the U.S. securities markets. As proof that the U.S.
Paulson Committee Releases Interim Report
The Committee on Capital Markets Regulation (popularly known as the "Paulson Committee") has released its "Interim Report" (here). Weighing in at 148 graphic intensive pages, the 11.50 mb document is a memory hog. Readers who want a quick overview and don’t want to spend the rest of the day trying to download the
Regulatory Reform: Solving a Problem or Introducing a Weakness?
The Committee on Capital Markets Regulation (or the "Paulson Committee" as the group has come to be known) is scheduled to release its recommendations later this week, on November 30. The Paulson Committee is concerned with the competitiveness of the U.S. securities exchanges in the global marketplace, and the perceived inability of the U.S exchanges
A “Modest Proposal” for Securities Litigation Reform
As The D & O Diary has previously noted (most recently here), the attempts by the Paulson Committee to propose ways to improve the competitiveness of the U. S. securities exchanges in the global marketplace may include securities litigation reform. Interest in the Committee’s reform efforts increased substantially as a result of media reports