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Articles 1 - 29 of 29
Full-Text Articles in Law
Blockchain Stock Ledgers, Kevin V. Tu
Blockchain Stock Ledgers, Kevin V. Tu
Indiana Law Journal
American corporate law contains a seemingly innocuous mandate. Corporations must maintain appropriate books and records, including a stock ledger with the corporation's shareholders and stock ownership. The importance of accurate stock ownership records is obvious. Corporations must know who owns each of its outstanding shares at any point in time. Among other things, this allows corporations to determine who receives dividends and who is entitled to vote. In theory, keeping accurate records of stock ownership should be a simple matter. But despite diligent efforts, serious share discrepancies plague corporations, and reconciliation is often functionally impossible. Doing so may require the …
Informed Trading And Its Regulation, Merritt B. Fox, Lawrence R. Glosten, Gabriel V. Rauterberg
Informed Trading And Its Regulation, Merritt B. Fox, Lawrence R. Glosten, Gabriel V. Rauterberg
Articles
Informed trading--trading on information not yet reflected in a stock's price-- drives the stock market. Such informational advantages can arise from astute analysis of varied pieces of public news, from just released public information, or from confidential information from inside a firm. We argue that these disparate types of trading are all better regulated as part of the broader phenomenon of informed trading. Informed trading makes share prices more accurate, enhancing the allocation of capital, but also makes markets less liquid, which is costly to the efficiency of trade. Informed trading thus poses a fundamental trade-off in how it affects …
The Fragmented Regulation Of Investment Advice: A Call For Harmonization, Christine Lazaro, Benjamin P. Edwards
The Fragmented Regulation Of Investment Advice: A Call For Harmonization, Christine Lazaro, Benjamin P. Edwards
Michigan Business & Entrepreneurial Law Review
Decades of short-term thinking and regulatory fixes created the bewilderingly complex statutory and regulatory structures governing the giving of personalized investment advice to retail customers. Although deeply flawed, the current systems remain entrenched because of the difficulties inherent in making radical alterations. Importantly, the current patchwork systems do not seem to serve retail customers particularly well. Retail customers tend to make predictable and costly mistakes in allocating their assets. Some of this occurs because many investors lack basic financial literacy. A recent study released by the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) on financial literacy among investors …
The Jobs Act Trojan Horse: A Gift To Startups With Something Else Inside?, Erik Gordon
The Jobs Act Trojan Horse: A Gift To Startups With Something Else Inside?, Erik Gordon
Michigan Business & Entrepreneurial Law Review
This Comment will analyze which provisions of the Act are consistent with the purpose that sponsors would have the public believe, that emphasized by the name “JOBS Act,” and distinguish them from those provisions that serve as menacing soldiers hidden under the cover of a name that diverts attention from the Act’s true purpose.
From Revolutionary To Palace Guard: The Role And Requirements Of Intermediaries Under Proposed Regulation Crowdfunding, Andrew D. Stephenson, Brian R. Knight, Matthew Bahleda
From Revolutionary To Palace Guard: The Role And Requirements Of Intermediaries Under Proposed Regulation Crowdfunding, Andrew D. Stephenson, Brian R. Knight, Matthew Bahleda
Michigan Business & Entrepreneurial Law Review
Intermediaries in securities crowdfunding face significant requirements as a result of the statutory mandates of Title III of the JOBS Act. The SEC, in its proposed rules, provided structure to these requirements. The proposed rules would create strict requirements for intermediaries regarding their relationships with investors and how they undertake crowdfunding transactions under Section 4(a)(6) of the Securities Act. The proposed rules would also create and establish the guidelines for funding portals, a new type of limited purpose securities broker. While some commentators decry the SEC for placing undue burdens and legal liabilities on intermediaries in securities crowdfunding, the SEC …
Revisiting 'Truth In Securities Revisited': Abolishing Ipos And Harnessing Private Markets In The Public Good, Adam C. Pritchard
Revisiting 'Truth In Securities Revisited': Abolishing Ipos And Harnessing Private Markets In The Public Good, Adam C. Pritchard
Articles
My thesis is that the transition between private- and public-company status could be less bumpy if we unify the public-private dividing line under the Securities Act and Exchange Act. The insight builds on Cohen's thought experiment where Congress first enacted the Exchange Act. My proposed public-private standard would take the company-registration model to its logical conclusion. The customary path to public-company status is through an IPO, typically with simultaneous listing of the shares on an exchange. There is nothing about public offerings, however, that makes them inherently antecedent to public-company status. What if companies became public, with required periodic disclosures …
Securities Class Actions Move North: A Doctrinal And Empirical Analysis Of Securities Class Actions In Canada, Adam C. Pritchard, Janis P. Sarra
Securities Class Actions Move North: A Doctrinal And Empirical Analysis Of Securities Class Actions In Canada, Adam C. Pritchard, Janis P. Sarra
Articles
The article explores securities class actions involving Canadian issuers since the provinces added secondary market class action provisions to their securities legislation. It examines the development of civil liability provisions, and class proceedings legislation and their effect on one another. Through analyses of the substance and framework of the statutory provisions, the article presents an empirical and comparative examination of cases involving Canadian issuers in both Canada and the United States. In addition, it explores how both the availability and pricing of director and officer insurance have been affected by the potential for secondary market class action liability. The article …
Populist Retribution And International Competition In Financial Services Regulation, Adam C. Pritchard
Populist Retribution And International Competition In Financial Services Regulation, Adam C. Pritchard
Articles
The pattern of regulatory reform in financial services regulation follows a predictable pattern in democratic states. A hyperactive market generates a bubble, the bubble deflates, and much financial pain ensues for those individuals who bought at the top of the market. The financial mess brings the scrutiny of politicians, who vow "Never again!" A political battle ensues, with representatives of the financial services industry fighting a rearguard action to preserve its prerogatives amidst cries for the bankers' scalps. Regulations, carefully crafted to win the last war, are promulgated. Memories fade of the foolish enthusiasm that fed the last bubble. Slowly, …
All In The Family As A Single Shareholder Of An S Corporation, Douglas A. Kahn, Jeffrey H. Kahn, Terrence G. Perris
All In The Family As A Single Shareholder Of An S Corporation, Douglas A. Kahn, Jeffrey H. Kahn, Terrence G. Perris
Articles
Subject to a few exceptions, a corporation that has elected to be taxed under subchapter S of chapter 1 of subtitle A of title 26 of the United States tax code is not taxed on its net income. Instead, the income, deductions, credits, and other tax items of an S corporation pass through to its shareholders on a pro rata basis. To qualify for subchapter S treatment, an electing corporation must satisfy the requirements that are set forth in section 1361, one of which is that the corporation can have no more than 100 shareholders. One aspect of that requirement …
Prevention Of Double Deductions Of A Single Loss: Solutions In Search Of A Problem, Douglas A. Kahn, Jeffrey H. Kahn
Prevention Of Double Deductions Of A Single Loss: Solutions In Search Of A Problem, Douglas A. Kahn, Jeffrey H. Kahn
Articles
In the current tax system, a corporation is treated as a separate taxable entity. This tax system is sometimes referred to as an entity tax or a double tax system. Since a corporation is a separate and distinct entity from its owners, the shareholders, the default rule is that transfers between them are treated as realization events. Without a specific Internal Revenue Code (Code) provision providing otherwise, such transactions will also require the parties to recognize the realized gain or loss. Congress has enacted several nonrecognition corporate provisions when forcing the recognition of income could prevent changes to the form …
The Sec At 70: Time For Retirement?, Adam C. Pritchard
The Sec At 70: Time For Retirement?, Adam C. Pritchard
Articles
The Article proceeds as follows. Part I explains the pathologies of the SEC and explores the relation between those pathologies and the SEC's status as an independent agency. Part II then outlines an alternative regulatory structure primarily situated within the executive branch. I also argue that such a relocation of authority would enhance regulatory effectiveness while simultaneously reducing the cost of excessive regulation. The Article concludes with some thoughts about the viability of my proposal.
The Sec At 70: Time For Retirement?, Adam C. Pritchard
The Sec At 70: Time For Retirement?, Adam C. Pritchard
Articles
As one grows older, birthdays gradually shift from being celebratory events to more reflective occasions. One's 40th birthday is commemorated rather differently from one's 2lst, which is, in turn, celebrated quite differently from one's first. After a certain point, the individual birthdays become less important and it is the milestone years to whch we pay particular attention. Sadly for entities like the Securities and Exchange Commission, it is only the milestone years (the ones ending in five or zero, for some reason), that draw any attention at all. No one held a conference to celebrate the SEC's 67th anniversary. Clearly …
Stock Market Volatility And 401 (K) Plans, Colleen E. Medill
Stock Market Volatility And 401 (K) Plans, Colleen E. Medill
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
Many workers today depend on their 401(k) plan to provide them with an adequate income during retirement. For these workers to achieve retirement income security, their 401(k) plan investments must perform well over their working lifetime. Employers' selection of investment options for the 401(k) plan, a fiduciary duty under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), plays a critical role in determining investment performance. In this Article, Professor Medill uses a series of hypothetical litigation scenarios to illustrate how interpretation of the employer's duty of prudence and duty of loyalty under ERISA present different policy choices for the …
Moving Toward A Clearer Definition Of Insider Trading: Why Adoption Of The Possession Standard Protects Investors, Lacey S. Calhoun
Moving Toward A Clearer Definition Of Insider Trading: Why Adoption Of The Possession Standard Protects Investors, Lacey S. Calhoun
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
In recent years, insider trading has become a publicized focus of securities law enforcement. The definition of insider trading has emerged slowly through case law, and the term has been clarified by new theories of liability. The use and possession tests are two standards of liability used to judge the treatment of inside information. The use standard offers a defense to insider trading liability while the possession standard premises liability on mere possession of inside information. This Note argues that courts should adopt the possession standard because this standard better protects investors, a primary goal of the Securities Exchange Act …
Markets As Monitors: A Proposal To Replace Class Actions With Exchanges As Securities Fraud Enforcers, Adam C. Pritchard
Markets As Monitors: A Proposal To Replace Class Actions With Exchanges As Securities Fraud Enforcers, Adam C. Pritchard
Articles
Fraud in the securities markets has been a focus of legislative reform in recent years. Corporations-especially those in the high-technology industry-have complained that they are being unfairly targeted by plaintiffs' lawyers in class action securities fraud lawsuits. The corporations' complaints led to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 ("Reform Act"). The Reform Act attempted to reduce meritless litigation against corporate issuers by erecting a series of procedural barriers to the filing of securities class actions. Plaintiffs' attorneys warned that the Reform Act and the resulting decrease in securities class actions would leave corporate fraud unchecked and deprive defrauded …
The Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act Of 1998: The Sun Sets On California's Blue Sky Laws, David M. Lavine, Adam C. Pritchard
The Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act Of 1998: The Sun Sets On California's Blue Sky Laws, David M. Lavine, Adam C. Pritchard
Articles
It is often said that California sets the pace for changes in America's tastes. Trends established in California often find their way into the heartland, having a profound effect on our nation's cultural scene. Nouvelle cuisine, the dialect of the Valley Girl and rollerblading all have their genesis on the West Coast. The most recent trend to emerge from California, instead of catching on in the rest of the country, has been stopped dead in its tracks by a legislative rebuke from Washington, D.C. California's latest, albeit short-lived, contribution to the nation was a migration of securities fraud class actions …
Insider Trading Deterrence Versus Managerial Incentives: A Unified Theory Of Section 16(B), Merritt B. Fox
Insider Trading Deterrence Versus Managerial Incentives: A Unified Theory Of Section 16(B), Merritt B. Fox
Michigan Law Review
Part I of this article assesses the social costs of a crude rule of thumb. Because section 16(b) applies to a given class of paired transactions, it deters both transactions based on inside information and transactions not so based. Each time section 16(b) is stretched to include a class of paired transactions, it deters some additional innocent transactions. This side effect will take the form of officers' and directors' purchasing fewer shares in their own companies and refusing to accept as large a portion of their compensation in a form based on share price. There are strong theoretical and empirical …
Section 338 And Its Foolish Consistency Rules - The Hobgoblin Of Little Minds, Douglas A. Kahn
Section 338 And Its Foolish Consistency Rules - The Hobgoblin Of Little Minds, Douglas A. Kahn
Articles
The purposes of this Article are to examine whether there is any longer a reason for concern because a target corporation can choose selected assets for nonrecognition and to what extent the 1994 regulations properly deal with potentially abusive circumventions of tax goals. Before examining the current status of the consistency requirements, the historical background that led to the adoption of Section 338 and the operation of the section is discussed. The historical background includes: the judicially created Kimbell-Diamond rule, the codification and modification of that rule by the old version of Section 334(b)(2), the operation of the old version …
Should General Utilities Be Reinstated To Provide Partial Integration Of Corporate And Personal Income—Is Half A Loaf Better Than None?, Douglas A. Kahn
Should General Utilities Be Reinstated To Provide Partial Integration Of Corporate And Personal Income—Is Half A Loaf Better Than None?, Douglas A. Kahn
Articles
The General Utilities doctrine is the name given to the now largely defunct tax rule that a corporation does not recognize a gain or a loss on making a liquidating or nonliquidating distribution of an appreciated or depreciated asset to its shareholders. The roots of the doctrine, can be traced to a regulation promulgated in 1919 that denied realization of gain or loss to a corporation when making a liquidating distribution of an asset in kind. No regulatory provision existed which specified the extent to which realization would or would not be triggered by a nonliquidating distribution such as a …
Survey Of National Legislation Regulating Insider Trading, Mary J. Houle
Survey Of National Legislation Regulating Insider Trading, Mary J. Houle
Michigan Journal of International Law
In recent years much attention has been focused on the phenomenon of "insider trading." The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) now appears to have wide-spread public support for its hard-line approach toward insider trading practices. Previously hostile to a broad prohibition of insider trading, even the Supreme Court has lent a sympathetic ear to the pleas of the SEC in the recent Carpenter case, which hinted at support for the misappropriation theory of insider trading. The prevailing attitude is that confidence in the fair operation of the securities markets must not be undermined by insiders who deprive those …
Survey Of Registration And Disclosure Requirements In International Securities Markets, Scott D. Cohen
Survey Of Registration And Disclosure Requirements In International Securities Markets, Scott D. Cohen
Michigan Journal of International Law
This survey of the domestic registration and disclosure requirements in the United Kingdom, the Federal Republic of Germany, France, Australia, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Canada, and Japan provides a topical overview of the institutions, requirements, and procedures involved in securities trading in foreign markets. While the goal of a unified international securities regulation system may represent the best long-term course for an efficient world-wide system of capital markets, the necessity to conform to domestic securities regulations will remain important in the coming years.
Closely Held Stocks—Deferral And Financing Of Estate Tax Costs Through Sections 303 And 6166, Douglas A. Kahn
Closely Held Stocks—Deferral And Financing Of Estate Tax Costs Through Sections 303 And 6166, Douglas A. Kahn
Articles
The enactment of the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 (hereinafter referred to as "the 1981 Act") will reduce both the impact of federal wealth transfer taxes and the number of persons still subject to them. Nevertheless, even after the 1981 Act takes full effect, a category of persons remains for whom wealth transfer taxes will constitute a meaningful burden and whose estates face a liquidity problem in satisfying the estate tax liability. The focus of this article is on two statutory techniques: redemptions of stock pursuant to section 3031 and deferral of estate tax payments under section 6166.2 These …
Insider Liability For Short-Swing Profits: The Substance And Function Of The Pragmatic Approach, Michigan Law Review
Insider Liability For Short-Swing Profits: The Substance And Function Of The Pragmatic Approach, Michigan Law Review
Michigan Law Review
This Note will discuss the inquiries encompassed by the "possibility of abuse" test. It will also evaluate whether the test is properly employed only in determining that an unorthodox transaction is or is not a "purchase" or "sale" or whether the test could better be used as a threshold inquiry in all cases.
An Analysis Of Recent Proposals For Reform Of Federal Securities Legislation, William H. Painter
An Analysis Of Recent Proposals For Reform Of Federal Securities Legislation, William H. Painter
Michigan Law Review
Today the securities industry is in the midst of rapid change. Indeed it has been for at least the past decade, but in recent years the pace of change has increased, and its emphasis has shifted. Legislative and administrative reforms that could not have been anticipated a decade ago are likely in the near future, and it is still impossible to predict accurately the shape of the markets of tomorrow or the rules by which they will be governed. It is the purpose of this Article to focus on these recent developments, to summarize and evaluate various proposals for reform, …
Income Tax--Capital Gains Tax--Meaning Of "More Than 80 Percent In Value Of The Outstanding Stock" Under Section 1239, Michigan Law Review
Income Tax--Capital Gains Tax--Meaning Of "More Than 80 Percent In Value Of The Outstanding Stock" Under Section 1239, Michigan Law Review
Michigan Law Review
The sale of property by a taxpayer to a corporation which he controls has been a frequently attempted method of tax reduction for more than thirty years. Such a transaction has the advantage of maintaining ownership of the property in virtually the same hands, while at the same time resulting in a substantial mitigation of tax liability. For instance, in the post-World War II period, when property values were generally increasing, a taxpayer could sell to his controlled corporation at a gain depreciable property with a basis lowered by adjustments for prior depreciation allowances. The gain was immediately taxable at …
The Corporate Creditor And Legislative Restrictions On The Distribution Of Capital
The Corporate Creditor And Legislative Restrictions On The Distribution Of Capital
Indiana Law Journal
No abstract provided.
Constitutionality Of Non-Voting Stock, Jack C. Burdett
Constitutionality Of Non-Voting Stock, Jack C. Burdett
West Virginia Law Review
No abstract provided.
A Comparative Study Of The Laws Of The Philippine Islands And Of The United States Of America Applicable To Private Corporations, Emilio M. Javier
A Comparative Study Of The Laws Of The Philippine Islands And Of The United States Of America Applicable To Private Corporations, Emilio M. Javier
SJD Dissertations
The main objective of the present treatise is to expound the similarities and dissimilarities of the laws of the Philippine Islands and of the United States of America applicable to private corporations. Act 1459, otherwise known as the Philippine Corporation Law, as amended and as radically modified recently, in many or its important provisions, by Act 3518, is made the basis of discussion from the Philippine view point. All the decisions of the Supreme Court of the Islands interpreting the provisions of the law, and which the author considers pertinent, are also discussed herein. Due to the fact that each …
Stock Dividends As Income, Robert E. More
Stock Dividends As Income, Robert E. More
Michigan Law Review
In the case of Towne v. Eisner, the United States Supreme Court has recently held that under the Income Tax Law of 1913, the stock dividends received by a shareholder during the year 1914 could not be taxed upon their full par value, where the corporate surplus thus distributed all accrued prior to January I, 1913. The Treasury Department subsequently announced that the decision is not applicable to the Income Tax Law of 1916.1 It is the purpose of this article to review the case of Towvne v. Eisner,2 and then to discuss the soundness of the position taken by …