The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently held that, in order to convict a tippee for insider trading under Section 10(b) of the Securities Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5, the government must prove beyond a...more
On December 8, the Securities and Exchange Commission sanctioned a computer programmer for operating two online exchanges that traded securities using virtual currencies without registering them as broker-dealers or stock...more
In this issue:
- Recent Developments Relating to Rights to Exclude Shareholder Proposals from Proxy Statements
- SEC Approves MSRB Best Execution Rule
- SEC Sanctions Operator of Unregistered Virtual...more
12/15/2014
/ Banks ,
Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) ,
Bitcoin ,
Currency Exchange ,
Cybersecurity ,
EU ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Insider Trading ,
Investors ,
MiFID ,
MSRB ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Statements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Shareholders ,
Virtual Currency
Convicted investment fund founder Raj Rajaratnam filed an appeal of his Securities and Exchange Commission case in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, arguing that the district court improperly sought...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission recently charged a former pharmaceutical company executive and his longtime friend with insider trading, alleging that the friend generated more than $1 million in illicit profits by...more
In this issue:
- SEC Sanctions 10 Companies for Disclosure Failures Surrounding Financing Deals and Stock Dilution
- Delaware Court of Chancery Rejects Entire Fairness Review in Absence of Conflicted...more
11/10/2014
/ CFTC ,
Compliance ,
Dilution ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financing ,
Futures Commission Merchants (FCMs) ,
Mutual Funds ,
NFA ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
UK ,
Virtual Currency
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission accepted an offer of settlement submitted by the owner of Peak Capital Group, Inc., Scott Beatty, in anticipation of an administrative proceeding resulting from Beatty’s alleged...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission recently accepted an offer of settlement submitted by Filip Szymik, in anticipation of a cease-and-desist proceeding resulting from the purported insider trading in Herbalife, Ltd....more
In this issse:
- ISS Publishes Results of Annual Global Voting Policy Survey
- FINRA Requests Comment on a Rule Proposal to Implement the Comprehensive Automated Risk Data System
- NFA Issues Notice...more
10/6/2014
/ Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) ,
Commodity Trading Advisors (CTAs) ,
CPOs ,
Derivatives ,
Designated Contract Markets (DCMs) ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Fraud ,
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) ,
MiFID ,
NFA ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
SEFs
On August 15, the Texas Court of Appeals decertified a class of Brigham Exploration Co. shareholders, holding that the trial court failed to comply with a state rule requiring rigorous analysis of certification requirements. ...more
On August 15, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a complaint against Heidi Ann Gamer and two companies under her control, Gamer Economic Systems, LLC and Gamer Media Partners Corp. The SEC alleged that between...more
On August 19, Judge Jed S. Rakoff of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York issued a ruling in the case of Robert Faiella, holding that bitcoins are “money,” citing the plain meaning of the term in The...more
In this issue:
- ISS Launches New Equity Plan Data Verification Portal
- ISDA Publishes Protocol for 2014 Credit Derivatives Definitions
- FinCEN Issues Advisories for US Financial Institutions
-...more
8/25/2014
/ CFTC ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Compliance ,
Contests & Promotions ,
Derivatives ,
EMIR ,
Equity Plans ,
EU ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
FinCEN ,
Fraud ,
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) ,
ISDA ,
Judge Rakoff ,
OCC ,
Rule 10(b) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Security-Based Swaps ,
SEFs ,
Social Media ,
Swap Dealers ,
Swaps
The US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois denied a motion to dismiss a 16-count indictment for insider trading, finding the government adequately alleged each element of the offense....more
The Securities and Exchange Commission recently announced a settlement with a partner at an investor relations firm who allegedly traded on inside information obtained through his representation of two companies. ...more
In this issue:
- SEC Approves FINRA Rule Limiting Expungement
- CFTC Issues No-Action Relief from Certain Ownership and Control Reporting Requirements
- CFTC Releases Rule Enforcement Review of ICE...more
On June 3, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed an emergency enforcement action in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York against Scott Valente, an investment adviser, alleging that he used his...more
On June 10, a New York federal judge barred the government from introducing evidence of defendant Rajarengan “Rengan” Rajaratnam’s trading activities in Akamai Technologies, Inc. Prosecutors argued that the defendant had...more
The US Marshals Service (USMS) announced that it will hold an online auction on June 27 to sell bitcoins contained in wallet files seized from the servers of Silk Road, the “deep web” black market shut down by the Federal...more
In this issue:
- Commissioner Kara M. Stein Calls for More Stringent Net Capital Requirements for Broker Dealers
- US Marshals Service Announces Auction of Silk Road Bitcoins
- Investment Adviser Accused...more
6/16/2014
/ Akamai Technologies ,
Bitcoin ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fraud ,
Investment Adviser ,
Rule 10(b) ,
Rule 10b-5 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Fraud ,
Virtual Currency
The Securities and Exchange Commission recently announced that it had charged Professional Investment Management, Inc. (PIM), an investment adviser, and its president, Douglas E. Cowgill, with violating rules governing the...more
On May 8, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) unanimously affirmed in an advisory opinion that political committees (including candidate campaigns and political action committees) could legally accept small bitcoin...more
On May 5, the Securities and Exchange Commission brought charges in the US District Court for the District of New Jersey against a Toronto-based consultant and four associates for running a scheme to illegally reap millions...more
In this issue:
- FINRA Proposes to Amend Rule 11892
- SEC Approves FINRA Rule Change to Limit Self-Trading
- FATCA Transitional Relief and Extension of Time for the Implementation of New Account...more
5/12/2014
/ Bitcoin ,
Conspiracies ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
FATCA ,
FDIC ,
Federal Election Commission (FEC) ,
FFIEC ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
International Tax Issues ,
Investors ,
Privacy Laws ,
Reverse Mergers ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Self-Dealing
On March 28, the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed a lower court’s dismissal of a shareholder class action against BioMimetic Therapeutics Inc., finding that plaintiffs had failed to sufficiently allege that...more