The first LIBOR scandal caused severe commotion in the banking industry after it unveiled the lack of scrutiny banks exercised with respect to the determination of daily interest rates. However, the international banking industry is now facing a potentially bigger scandal than the first LIBOR interest rate catastrophe. This time, the epicenter of the scandal is the FOREX market.
Long-term Investors Raise Concerns over JOBS Act Market Effects
It has been a little over two years since Congress passed the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (“JOBS Act”), modifying certain securities regulations to make it easier for companies with less than $1 billion of total gross revenue – emerging growth companies (“EGCs”) – to pursue initial public offerings (“IPOs”) and gain access to capital on the market. Under Title 1, EGCs covered by the JOBS Act only have to release two years of audited financial statements (instead of the standard three), disclose the pay packages of their three top-paid executives (instead of the standard five), initiate the IPO process confidentially and are exempt from the internal controls audit required by Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
HP to Split: Joining the Wave of Tech Spinoffs
Adding to the recent wave of spinoffs in the tech industry, Hewlett Packard Co. (“HP”), the nation’s largest technology company, is splitting up.
SIDECAR: Small Startup With Big Ideas, a Leading Innovator in Ridesharing Technology
Botox Maker Bloodied but Unbowed in Hostile Takeover Attempt
In recent months, Valeant Pharmaceuticals has teamed up with Bill Ackman and his company, Pershing Square Capital Management, for an aggressive courtship of Allergan, the maker of Botox. This hostile takeover attempt has been particularly contentious, with ongoing litigation over multiple issues.
eBay Spinning Off PayPal
On Tuesday, September 30, 2014, eBay’s 12 directors announced that they would be breaking up the company and spinning off PayPal as a separate publicly traded company. The highly anticipated split is expected to take place sometime during the second half of 2015.
Burger King Buys Out Tim Hortons
On August 26, Burger King Worldwide, Inc. (“Burger King”) and Tim Hortons Inc. (“Tim Hortons”), a Canadian-based multinational fast casual restaurant, announced that an agreement was reached under which the two companies would create a new global entity in the quick-service restaurant sector.
Former AIG Chief Executive Sues Government with Wall Street Backing
Trial began on Monday in a case that could impact not only future government bailouts, but also how large-scale litigation is financed.
The Corporation – An Alternative View Lecture Series: Can A Corporation Change the World and Make A Profit?
On September 29, 2014, the Berkeley Center for Law, Business and the Economy (BCLBE) hosted a lunchtime talk with Vivienne and Eric Harr about the entrepreneurship of Vivienne Harr and the stories behind her lemonade business and “Make a Stand.”
Treasury Attempting to Slow the Inversion Craze
United States companies are required by U.S. tax rules to pay taxes on profits earned elsewhere. Consequently, companies that receive a significant portion of their income from foreign sources are taxed both abroad and in their country of incorporation. Those companies are likely to use an inversion to lower their taxes – a strategy by which a company reincorporates overseas through a merger with a foreign counterpart, enabling the company to relocate its headquarters to a tax-friendly country. “Inverted” corporations still pay taxes on profits earned in the United States, but the inversion makes it easier for them to bring cash from overseas into the country.