The SOPA/PIPA uprising appears to have doomed those bills, but the United States Congress is not the only entity considering new restrictions on the web. Trade agreements are emerging as the new legal device for combatting unlicensed use of intellectual property online – avoiding the legislative process, and potentially impacting the openness of the Internet […]
ACTA Refracta: Future Uncertain for ‘Secretive’ IP Trade Agreement
Century Bonds- A Not-So-Rare Animal After All?
In August 2011, the University of Southern California joined Yale University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (‘MIT’) in selling $300 million of 100-year bonds, also known as ‘century bonds’. In October 2011, Ohio State University (‘Ohio State’), the most recent investment-grade borrower, issued $500 million of taxable AA-rated century bonds. These institutions of higher […]
Eurozone vs. Rating Agencies: The Battle Continues
News reports on the Eurozone in the last few weeks have been characterized by a dichotomy between those touting credit downgrades by rating agencies on the one hand, and attempts by Europe to reassure the markets on the other. Now that the major credit rating agencies are continuing their ‘mass downgrade’ despite the additional guarantees […]
The Network Lecture Series: Professor Nicholas C. Howson’s Insider Trading and China’s Administrative Law Crisis
Information is relevant to many exchanges. Those familiar with capital markets will appreciate the important role that information plays in capital trading. Securities regulators across the globe attempt to regulate the flow of information in markets to ensure efficiency and protect the interests of reasonable investors. Prof. Nicholas Howson made a very interesting presentation regarding the […]
Op-Ed: All Against One – Judge Rakoff’s Lonely Crusade
Since November 28,2011 Judge S. Rakoff of the Federal District Court in Manhattan has been the man of the hour. His refusal to approve a $285 million settlement of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with Citigroup Global Markets has attracted the attention of all parties involved in alike cases pursued by the SEC. It […]
Out, Out Brief Candle: European Union Competition Commission Blocks NYSE Euronext-Deutsche Boerse Merger
As reported by the Network last month, the proposed merger between NYSE Euronext and Deutsche Boerse (DB) was in jeopardy as Juan Alumnia, head of the European Union’s Competition Commission, publicly stated that he would recommend prohibiting the deal from going forward. On February 1, the commission officially blocked the proposed merger that would have […]
SEC Issues Controversial Rule Regulating Asset-Backed Securities
The SEC will soon put the finishing touches on a rule stemming from one of the most infamous cases of fraud from the 2007-08 financial crisis. The new rule prohibits certain material conflicts of interest between those who create or distribute asset-backed securities (ABS), including synthetic ABS, and the investors in the ABS. This proposal […]
Banking Supervision: Capital Conservatism
The broad supervisory standards and guidelines issued by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (‘the Committee’) have greatly influenced the manner in which Banks are organized in various jurisdictions. The Committee claims that the main culprit behind the current financial crisis is excessive leverage assumed by banks both on and off the balance sheet. The […]