Law Commons^™

Ecns Rip: How Regulation Nms Destroyed Electronic Communication Networks And All Their Market Improvements, Derek N. White

Derek N White

No abstract provided.

Going From The Frying Pan Into The Fire? A Critique Of The U.S. Treasury’S Newly Proposed Section 987 Currency Regulations, Joseph L. Tobin

Joseph L Tobin

In September 2006, the IRS proposed new regulations for taxation of currency gains and losses for U.S. corporations' foreign branches. The IRS has announced that it would like to finalize them as soon as possible, perhaps as early as the summer of 2008. The new regulations withdraw the old section 987 regulations of 1991. The IRS believes these new regulations are necessary in order to prevent taxpayers from taking "artificial" currency losses on assets such as land and machinery -- assets which do not vary with the exchange rate, according to the IRS. The new regulations propose to stop these …

Hedging Bets On Employees' Futures: Is Investing Pension Fund Assets In Hedge Funds A Breach Of Fiduciary Duty?, Maureen Whalen

Maureen McGreevy

Despite the fact that hedge funds remain an enigma to the majority of the country, more and more Americans are investing in them each year. Many of these new investments are direct investments in hedge funds made by wealthy investors who have enough assets to meet the minimum investment requirements set by funds. Increasingly, however, many others who do not meet these requirements are investing in funds nonetheless through various forms of indirect investments. Some of these indirect investments are made intentionally by investors who actively seek out the chance to participate in hedge funds, such as, for example, by …

International Strategic Alliance, Mohd Arif

Mohd Arif

A Strategic Alliance is a relationship between firms to creat more value than they can on their own

How The Government Can Protect Home Mortgage Consumers: A Proposal To Provide Consumers A Risk Assessment Of Mortgages, Adeline Park

Adeline Park

The recent sub-prime mortgage crisis has revealed the consumer’s vulnerability in the home mortgage marketplace. Consumers face an overwhelming variety of mortgage options, and are not motivated to invest the necessary time and resources to comprehend the meaning and implications of each loan feature. I propose that the government assess the risk of each loan feature available in the home mortgage market, based on the historical number of foreclosures each loan type has yielded. The government will then require lenders to display the risk assessment icon on all sales, marketing, and advertising materials. The risk assessment icon will identify the …

Reaffirming The Rights Of Foreign Investors To The Protection Of Icsid Arbitration: Sempra Energy International V. The Argentine Republic, Daniel Krawiec

Daniel A Krawiec II

Earlier this decade, the Argentine government responded to a substantial domestic economic crises by passing several emergency laws and unilaterally changing the terms of its investment agreements with foreign investors. Sempra v. Argentine Republic is an important case because the tribunal decisively reaffirmed the right to ICSID arbitration for American investors harmed by Argentina’s actions. Furthermore, the tribunal held that the U.S.-Argentina bilateral investment treaty provided substantial substantive investment protection.

The Trademark Trap, Aneta Ferguson

Aneta Ferguson

The currently existing scheme of two filing systems for recordation of security interests in trademarks causes a lot of legal uncertainty and numerous problems for lenders and trademark owners. The uncertainty about the rules of perfection and priorities increases costs associated with financing transactions involving trademarks and contributes to the complexity of those transactions. The empirical study of the security interests in trademarks shows that fifteen percent of creditors failed to fulfill the requirements of the currently existing dual filing system and as a consequence are left in a position of unsecured creditors. Legislative reform is very urgently needed in …

Ripping Off Grandma And Grandpa Without Hurting The Banks Of America: Allowing The Elderly And Other Easy Prey To Pay For The Crimes Of Immoral Individuals And Institutions, Brett D. Maxfield

Brett D Maxfield

This paper looks at the abuses of the banks of America in the ways they influence the law of credit and debt collection and what can be done to reform the system.

Subprime Market Roller Coaster Disaster, Willa E. Gibson

Willa E Gibson

This essay discusses the economic and societal implications of the subprime market losses with an emphasis on the federal regulators’ inability to curtail such losses. It discusses collateralized mortgage obligations and how these debt securities fueled the subprime market. The essay discusses how each of the players – lenders, debtors, investment bankers, securities firms and investors – speculated on homes whose values were a mere illusion. It describes how each party along the chain starting with the lender, used basic risk-shifting principles to engage in reckless speculation assuming they could externalize the cost associated with their behavior. It also identifies …

The Subprime Market Roller Coaster, Willa E. Gibson

Willa E Gibson

Please find attached an essay entitled “The Subprime Market Roller Coaster.” The essay discusses the economic and societal implications of the subprime market losses with an emphasis on the federal regulators’ inability to curtail such losses. It discusses collateralized mortgage obligations and how these debt securities fueled the subprime market. The essay discusses how each of the players – lenders, debtors, investment bankers, securities firms and investors – speculated on homes whose values were a mere illusion. It describes how each party along the chain starting with the lender used basic risk-shifting principles to engage in reckless speculation assuming they …

Foreign Tax Credit Arbitrage, Eric Silver

eric silver

Within the sophisticated world of international finance, there exists an inherent tension in characterizing particular tax strategies as either savvy investments or imprudent tax avoidance. At the center of this struggle are the proposed amendments to regulation section 901 of the Internal Revenue Code. Both the Internal Revenue Service (the IRS) and the Treasury Department claim that the proposed regulations will guide tax strategists in determining the appropriate amount of domestic and foreign taxes paid and the claiming of foreign tax credits. More specifically, the updates to the legislation concern transactions involving U.S.-owned foreign entities and certain structured passive investment …

Taking Certification Seriously – Why There Is No Such Thing As An Adequate Representative In A Securities Fraud Class Action, Richard A. Booth

Working Paper Series

Securities fraud class actions (SFCAs) arising under Rule 10b-5 are well established as a feature of the legal landscape, but they are a vestige of a largely outdated view of investor behavior and preferences. In the 1960s, most investors were undiversified stock pickers. Today, most investors hold stock through well diversified institutions. As a result, most investors are net losers from SFCAs. Moreover, it is arguable that it is irrational for most investors not to be diversified. A passive investor who fails to diversify assumes unnecessary risk for the same expected return that diversified investors enjoy. Given that federal securities …

Measuring Identity Theft At Top Banks (Version 1.5), Chris Hoofnagle

Chris Jay Hoofnagle

There is no reliable way for consumers, regulators, and businesses to assess the relative rates of identity fraud at major financial institutions. This lack of information prevents a consumer market for bank safety from emerging. As part of a multiple strategy approach to obtaining more actionable data on identity theft, the Freedom of Information Act was used to obtain complaint data submitted by victims in 2006 to the Federal Trade Commission. This complaint data identifies the institution where impostors established fraudulent accounts or affected existing accounts in the name of the victim. The data were aggregated and used to create …

Credit Cards And Bankruptcy, Todd J. Zywicki

Todd J. Zywicki

From 1980 to 2005 consumer bankruptcy filings increased five-fold. Conventional wisdom holds that a primary cause of rising bankruptcy filing rates was increased household financial distress caused by increased indebtedness caused in turn by increased credit card borrowing. In 2005, Congress enacted the bipartisan Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (BAPCPA). The legislation was enacted in response to twenty-five years of rising bankruptcy filings and a perception of widespread fraud and abuse that threatened the fairness and integrity of the system. BAPCPA marked the most profound and far-reaching overhaul of America’s bankruptcy system in over a generation. In the …

The Effect Of Enhanced Disclosure On Open Market Stock Repurchases, Michael N. Simkovic

Michael N Simkovic

Publicly traded companies distribute cash to shareholders either through dividends or through anonymous repurchases of the companies’ own stock on the open market. Companies must announce a repurchase authorization, but do not actually have to repurchase any stock, and until recently did not have to disclose whether or not they were in fact repurchasing any stock. Scholars and regulators noticed that companies frequently announced repurchases but then appeared not to complete them. They feared that such announcements might be used by insiders to exploit public investors. To reduce opportunities for exploitive behavior, the SEC required that companies disclose their repurchase …

Directed Brokerage, Conflicts Of Interest, And Transaction Cost Economics, D. Bruce Johnsen

D. Bruce Johnsen

This paper relies on the economics of transaction costs to assess the likely effect on investor welfare of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) prohibition on a puzzling business practice known as directed brokerage. Its key insight is that the quality of a broker’s execution of portfolio trades is difficult for a mutual fund adviser to assess until it is too late ─ that is, execution quality is an “experience good.” Low-quality brokerage can substantially reduce investor returns. To have the incentive to provide high-quality execution, a broker must expect to receive a stream of premium portfolio commissions in …

Should Securities Industry Self-Regulatory Organizations Be Considered Government Agencies?, Roberta S. Karmel

Roberta S. Karmel

Abstract for

“Should Securities Industry Self-Regulatory Organizations Be Considered Government Agencies?”

by Roberta S. Karmel, Centennial Professor, Brooklyn Law School

Securities industry self-regulatory organizations (“SROs”) began as private sector membership organizations of securities industry professionals. This article addresses the questions of whether, and to what extent, securities industry SROs have become government agencies, and whether, and to what extent, they should be subject to constitutional and statutory controls on government agencies. It focuses principally on the Financial Industry Regulatory Agency (“FINRA”), a new entity which combined the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. (“NASD”) and the member regulation functions of …

Shari'ah's Black Box: Civil Liability And Criminal Exposure Surrounding Shari'ah-Compliant Finance, David Yerushalmi

David Yerushalmi

This article examines the multitude of legal issues - both criminal and civil - that Shari'ah-compliant finance (SCF) presents to U.S. financial institutions and their professional advisers. In short, SCF is the practice of investing in conformity with Islamic law (Shari'ah). Such investment appears at first glance innocuous. With only a modicum of probing, however, SCF turns out to be a black box, where the financial industry and their legal professionals have hidden a doctrine at war with the West and have ignored the dangers and risks posed by Shari'ah authorities who determine the rules and principles of this industry. …

Against Financial Literacy Education, Lauren E. Willis

Lauren E Willis

The dominant model of regulation in the United States for consumer credit, insurance, and investment products is disclosure and unfettered choice. As these products have become increasingly complex, consumers’ inability to understand them has become increasingly apparent, and the consequences of this inability more dire. In response, policymakers have embraced financial literacy education as a necessary corollary to the disclosure model of regulation. This education is widely believed to turn consumers into “responsible” and “empowered” market players, motivated and competent to make financial decisions that increase their own welfare. The vision is of educated consumers handling their own credit, insurance, …

Corporate Corruption And The Complicity Of Congress And The Supreme Court - The Tortuous Path From Central Bank To Stoneridge Investment Partners, Llc V. Scientific-Atlanta, Inc.., Charles W. Murdock

Charles W. Murdock

This article asserts that Congress and the federal courts are complicit in the widespread corporate corruption that has come to light this past decade. It begins by exploring the notion of bias and then chronicles judicial developments which have protected corporate officials, who have engaged in securities fraud and other wrongful conduct, at the expense of innocent shareholders and investors. It also analyzes the public policy in favor of corruption embodied in the Private Litigation Securities Reform Act, and the actions of federal courts in expanding the protection of PLSRA even beyond that dictated by the language of the statute. …

Alternative Investment Vehicles & (Self) Regulation, Marco Lamandini

Marco Lamandini

This contribution briefly reviews the state of the art of the regulatory and self–regulatory initiatives as regards hedge funds and private equity funds in Europe, and calls for more intervention from the EU legislator leading to the introduction of a European passport for this industry.

Protecting Financial Markets: Lessons From The Subprime Mortgage Meltdown, Steven L. Schwarcz

Steven L Schwarcz

Why did the recent subprime mortgage meltdown undermine financial market stability notwithstanding the protections provided by market norms and financial regulation? This article attempts to answer that question by identifying anomalies and obvious protections that failed to work, and then by examining hypotheses that might explain the anomalies and failures. The resulting explanations provide critical insights into protecting financial markets.

Takeover Regulation As A Wolf In Sheep’S Clothing: Taking U.K. Rules To Continental Europe, Marco Ventoruzzo

Marco Ventoruzzo

Aesop was an optimist. In his cautionary fable that inspired the famous admonition about wolves in sheep's clothing, the predator intentionally dons a sheep's fleece in order to sneak up on a lamb. His disguise, it turns out, is so effective that he ends up being mistaken for the real thing and killed by another wolf. According to Aesop, even the most effective fraud can turn against its perpetrator, and justice be done. The results are not always so salutary with other clandestine predators, including legal rules that appear aimed at protecting vulnerable groups, but instead provide valuable tools to …

Misbehavior And Mistake In Bankruptcy Mortgage Claims, Katherine Porter

Katherine Porter

The greatest fear of many families in serious financial trouble is that they will lose their homes. Bankruptcy offers a last chance for families to save their homes by halting a foreclosure and by repaying any default on their mortgage loans over a period of years. Mortgage companies participate in bankruptcy by filing claims with the court for the amount of the mortgage debt. To retain their homes bankruptcy debtors must pay these amounts. This process is well-established and, until now, uncontroversial. The assumption is that the protective elements of the federal bankruptcy shield vulnerable homeowners from harm.

This Article …

Imperfect Competition In Auto Lending: Subjective Markup, Racial Disparity, & Class Action Litigation, Mark A. Cohen

Mark A Cohen

While the market for auto lending at first appears to be highly competitive, many consumers lack the ability to obtain accurate information about price. In many markets, uninformed consumers can “free ride” off the knowledge of informed consumers. However, the market for auto lending differs from traditional markets because price ultimately depends upon both the credit worthiness of the individual borrower and the details of the auto loan (e.g. term length, payment-to-income ratio, etc.). Auto dealers in this market act as agents of both consumers (identifying suitable auto lenders) and auto lenders (identifying prospective borrowers). Given the asymmetric information about …

Systemic Risk, Steven L. Schwarcz

Steven L Schwarcz

Governments and international organizations worry increasingly about systemic risk, under which the world’s financial system can collapse like a row of dominoes. There is widespread confusion, though, about the causes and even the definition of systemic risk, and uncertainty about how to control it. This article offers a conceptual framework for examining what risks are truly “systemic,” what causes those risks, and how, if at all, those risks should be regulated. Scholars historically have tended to think of systemic risk primarily in terms of financial institutions such as banks. However with the growth of disintermediation, in which companies can access …

Imperfect Competition In Auto Lending: Subjective Markup, Racial Disparity, And Class Action Litigation, Mark A. Cohen

Mark A Cohen

While the market for auto lending at first appears to be highly competitive, many consumers lack the ability to obtain accurate information about price. In many markets, uninformed consumers can “free ride” off the knowledge of informed consumers. However, the market for auto lending differs from traditional markets because price ultimately depends upon both the credit worthiness of the individual borrower and the details of the auto loan (e.g. term length, payment-to-income ratio, etc.). Auto dealers in this market act as agents of both consumers (identifying suitable auto lenders) and auto lenders (identifying prospective borrowers). Given the asymmetric information about …

Waging War With Wal-Mart: A Cry For Change Threatens The Future Of Industrial Loan Corporations, Zachariah J. Lloyd

Zachariah J. Lloyd

Although ILCs have existed with relatively little fanfare for decades and several blue chips already control ILCs of their own, Wal-Mart’s ILC application created unprecedented opposition and drastic calls for legislative action from nearly every arena to prevent Wal-Mart and other giant retailers like it from controlling a banking institution. The purpose of this Note is to chronicle the development of the ILC industry and analyze whether the separation of banking and commerce is a justifiable basis for opposing ILCs. Part II will address: the history of the ILC, from its creation to emergence as the banking entity of choice …

Auction Rate Securities: Mechanics And Turmoil, Sachin Raval

Sachin R Raval

This study's objective was to understand the origins, mechanics and recent turmoil of the Auction Rate Securities market. Prior to the 2008 collapse, the ARS market had a successful 20-year history. Many investors believed that auction rate securities were cash equivalents with above market yields. Unfortunately, due to the credit crunch, these securities became illiquid, as no buyers were willing to take existing holders' positions. Furthermore, the clearing rate or interest rate of these securities is set through a Dutch auction. In 2006, the SEC conducted a probe of the ARS market. This probe revealed that broker/dealers prevented failed auctions …

Tax Incentives: A Solution To Economic Uncertainty, Jared A. Hermann

Jared A Hermann

The article compares current economic conditions within the United States to those conditions present in the quarters preceding the 2001 recession. The article also discusses the interrelationship between consumer confidence levels and economic activity. The purpose of this article is to address the current economic uncertainty within the United States and recommend as a solution the temporary extension of the capital gains and dividend tax cuts of the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003. Such an extension will restore confidence in the economy by incentivizing investment activity and enhancing economic growth. In light of recent developments concerning …