On September 24, the Chairman of the CFTC, Gary Gensler, addressed the European Parliament Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee about the state of LIBOR. His comments came in the wake of the LIBOR scandal, initially revealed to the public in March 2011, and in advance of the Financial Services Authority’s recommendations on the future of LIBOR. […]
Firm Advice: Your Weekly Update
Weil has published The 10b-5 Guide: A Survey of 2010-2011 Securities Fraud Litigation. The review crosses topics and circuits with updates on pleading standards, liability issues, and class action mechanisms. The survey also includes a preview of the upcoming Supreme Court term, including Amgen, a case considering whether plaintiffs in a securities fraud class action […]
Court Invalidates CFTC Position Limits Rule
On Friday September 29, Judge Wilkins for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia vacated a Dodd-Frank rule issued by the CFTC setting limits on the number of derivatives contracts that an individual trader or group of traders can own during a given period of time. The Court’s ruling turned on whether Dodd-Frank […]
The Wheatley Review on LIBOR Releases Final Report
“We need reform not replacement.” – Guy Sears, Investment Management Association to the Financial Times on September 10, 2012 “Despite a long and painful recovery, sometimes replacement is the better choice when a hip or a knee or even a benchmark rate has worn out.” – Gary Gensler, Chairman, Commodity Futures Trading Commission quoted in […]
The 2012 Philomathia Foundation Forum: “Where is the Money? Unlocking Capital for Real Estate Efficiency Improvements.”
On Friday, October 5th, the Berkeley Center for Law, Business and the Economy is sponsoring the 2012 Philomathia Foundation Forum at the Ritz-Carlton in San Francisco. The topic of the Forum is “Where is the Money? Unlocking Capital for Real Estate Efficiency Improvements.” The event will take place from 8:30am-4:30pm. The forum will explore what […]
Banks and Industry Groups Continue to Question the Soundness of Volcker Rule
The Volcker Rule, which bans banks from participating in proprietary trading, is still worrying bankers. Financial industry groups are now focusing on an exemption from the rule that allows banks to make certain investments as a part of a legitimate liquidity management program. Regulators will have to distinguish between liquidity trading and proprietary trading. Unfortunately, […]
Firm Advice: Your Weekly Roundup
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court granted cert in SEC v. Gabelli to decide when the federal five-year statute of limitations “accrues” in an action brought by the SEC. The court likely will resolve a lower court split between the Second and Fifth Circuits on whether the statute of limitations accrues when the alleged conduct occurs […]
SEC Studies Financial Literacy Among Investors
On August 30th, the Securities and Exchange Commission published a study regarding financial literacy among investors, as required by the Section 917 of the Dodd-Frank Act. In a 182 page report, the SEC examined 1) the existing level of financial literacy among retail investors; 2) methods to improve disclosures regarding financial intermediaries, investment products, and […]
Eminent Domain of Mortgage Securities: The Other Side
In our continuing coverage of Mortgage Resolution Partners’ (MRP) effort to facilitate local governments’ use of eminent domain to stem the mortgage crisis, today we present the other side—specifically, the comments submitted to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) by the American Securitization Forum (ASF) on September 7. The ASF is a professional forum with […]
Corporate Law: Firm Advice
This is the first in a series of posts rounding up firms’ advice on corporate law. California has a new private fund adviser exemption. The Dodd-Frank Act eliminated a similar federal exemption. California has followed suit by limiting exemption from California’s “investment adviser registration requirements for advisers to only ‘qualified private funds.’” What are “qualified […]