Securities Law Commons^™

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.

The Changing Structure Of The Securities Markets And The Securities Industry: Implications For International Securities Regulation, Aulana L. Peters, Andrew E. Feldman

Michigan Journal of International Law

This article addresses the impact internationalization has had on the world's securities markets with a particular focus on its role in forcing change in the structure of those markets. Part I describes the forces involved in the internationalization process, and analyzes capital movement and other phenomena that demonstrate the extent of internationalization. Next, it reviews the structural changes that securities markets and the securities industry have made in response to the internationalization process. Part II analyzes the measures regulators have taken to address the implications of those developments. Part III discusses the October Market Break and how it illustrates the …

Chinese Wall Or Emperor's New Clothes? Regulating Conflicts Of Interest Of Securities Firms In The U.S. And The U.K., Norman S. Poser

Michigan Journal of International Law

This article has two principal theses. The first is that, while Chinese Walls of securities firms are undoubtedly useful in some instances in preventing the flow of confidential information, the evidence that they actually do this is insufficient to justify basing a legal defense on the existence of a wall in a particular firm. In fact, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that at some firms the Chinese Wall is nothing but a convenient fiction aimed at avoiding liability for market abuses. The article's second thesis is that the isolation of information within a department of a firm which …

Capital Neutrality And Coordinated Supervision: Lessons For International Securities Regulation From The Law Of International Taxation And Banking, Charles Thelen Plambeck

Michigan Journal of International Law

Part I of this article provides some background on the legal forces which have influenced globalization and internationalization of the world's securities markets. Part II focuses on the international tax law principle of capital neutrality. Fundamentally, the principle of capital neutrality requires that regulations should not unintentionally direct the movement of capital. Part II analyzes the bases and parameters of the principle of capital neutrality, the experiences of international taxation in applying the principle to a globalizing economy, and the possibilities for applying the principle to international securities regulation. Part III focuses on the international banking law principle of coordinated …

The Case For Employee Ownership In Overseas Operations Of U.S. Multinational Enterprises In Central America, William G. Hopping

Michigan Journal of International Law

Part II of this note explains the relevance of using U.S. direct investment in Central America as a starting point for encouraging employee ownership. Part III describes the essential legal framework of the ESOP in the U.S., providing a framework from which to adapt the ESOP to other countries. Part IV argues that all parties participating in this form of expanded ownership will realize significant short and long-term benefits, but points out some problems of transferring ESOPs, a U.S. legal innovation, to different cultural and business environments. Part V presents some of the legal and economic issues of adapting ESOPs, …

Shareholders Versus Managers: The Strain In The Corporate Web, John C. Coffee Jr.

Michigan Law Review

Part I will seek to understand why firms trade in the stock market at a substantial discount from their asset value. It will answer that existing theories of the firm have not given adequate attention to a critical area where shareholders and managers have an inherent conflict, one that the existing structure of the firm does not resolve or mitigate. Despite the significant changes in the internal structure of the corporation over the last half century that have been described by business historians, there remains a deep internal strain between shareholders, on the one hand, and managers and employees, on …

Materiality, Law Reform, And Regulation By Prosecution, Michael Rosenzweig

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Regulation by Prosecution: The Securities & Exchange Commission Versus Corporate America by Roberta S. Karmel

Limiting The Use Of The Rico Act As A Defense To Hostile Corporate Takeovers, Mary Ann Lesniak

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Note argues that RICO could be a legitimate defense to a hostile corporate takeover pursuant to a cash tender off er if shareholders who retain stock will be harmed by the takeover. Part I of this Note examines the general background of the RICO Act. Part II applies the Act to a hostile cash tender offer and examines each element of a civil RICO action. Part III advocates the use of RICO's injury requirement to limit this application of the Act and analyzes the potential injuries to shareholders and management during a hostile cash tender offer. This limitation upon …

A Banker's Adventures In Brokerland: Looking Through Glass-Steagall At Discount Brokerage Services, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Several banks have recently entered or announced their intention to enter the discount brokerage business, and the Federal Reserve Board is considering a rule listing discount brokerage as an acceptable bank holding company activity. The securities industry has contested this entry, asserting that the Glass-Steagall Act requires separation between investment and commercial banking. Though the Act does mandate some division between the two lines of business, this Note argues that bank discount brokerage services do not violate the Act. Part I examines the competing "accommodation" and "agency" interpretations of the relevant statutory sections, concluding that the agency interpretation, which permits …

The Effect Of Insider Trading Rules On The Internal Efficiency Of The Large Corporation, Robert J. Haft

Michigan Law Review

Academics have hotly debated these justifications for years, and none of the three has achieved universal acclaim. This Article suggests another perspective: Prohibiting insider trading may enhance business decision-making in large corporations. With the exception of proponents of the Business Property view, analysts have focused on how an insider trading rule affects the national securities markets and traders in those markets. The internal governance of the large corporation is a different matter, one deserving separate consideration.

The Sec And The Public Interest, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

A Review of The SEC and the Public Interest by Susan M. Phillips and J. Richard Zecher

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 …

Sec Disciplinary Proceedings Against Attorneys Under Rule 2 ( E ), Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

This Note reassesses SEC authority to discipline attorneys under rule 2( e ). Part I explores the history of rule 2( e) proceedings against attorneys and the troublesome policy issues raised by the SEC's new approach to rule 2(e) enforcement. Part II examines the SEC's claim that general rulemaking provisions give it authority to discipline attorneys. The Note concludes that a proper construction of statutes and case law bars rule 2( e) proceedings against attorneys.

Implied Private Rights Of Action Under The Securities Act Of 1933 Section 17(A), Steven M. Stankewicz

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This article considers the existence of a private right of action under Securities Act section 17(a). Part I examines the evolving implication doctrines, and their applicability to section 17(a).Part II discusses the need for a statutory solution and the treatment of implied rights of action under the American Law Institute's proposed Federal Securities Code.

Social Investing And The Law Of Trusts, John H. Langbein, Richard A. Posner

Michigan Law Review

In Part I, after presenting a brief primer on the economics of securities markets, we analyze the economic and policy issues presented by social investing. We conclude that the usual forms of social investing involve a combination of reduced diversification and higher administrative costs not offset by net consumption gains to the investment beneficiaries. Social investing may therefore be economically unsound even though there is no reason to expect a portfolio constructed in accordance with the usual principles of social investment to yield a below-average rate of return - provided that administrative costs are ignored.

Part II relates our policy …

The Sec And Corporate Disclosure: Regulation In Search Of A Purpose, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

A Book Notice about The SEC and Corporate Disclosure: Regulation in Search of a Purpose by Homer Kripke

Corruption And The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Of 1977, Fredric Bryan Lesser

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This article first discusses the business activities and competing interests which prompted congressional action. Part II analyzes the FCPA and attempts to solve the ambiguities inherent in the criminalization provisions, thereby clarifying which activities are proscribed by the FCPA and what is meant by the Act's corruption requirement. Finally, Part III examines the possibilities for multinational agreements prohibiting bribery.

Rule 10b-6: Options Trading By Participants In A Distribution, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

After briefly discussing the history of options trading, this Note argues that where participants in a distribution trade options, the potential for abuse is sufficient to warrant regulation of this activity. It then evaluates existing statutes and SEC rules that seek to prevent similar abuses and concludes that language in some of these provisions -- particularly rule 10b-6 -- can be construed to prohibit participants in a distribution from engaging in certain put and call transactions that might manipulate the price of the security being distributed.

Standing Under Rule 10b-5 After Blue Chip Stamps, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

The purpose of this Note is to analyze the opinion in Blue Chip and to ascertain the content of the Birnbaum rule as it exists today. It will first discuss the opinion of the Court in Blue Chip itself and delineate the primary policy considerations upon which the majority focused. It will then apply these policy considerations to the major categories of case law that have arisen subsequent to Birnbaum and analyze the validity of this case law in light of Blue Chip.

Bank Securities Activities And The Need To Separate Trust Departments From Large Commercial Banks, Thomas J. Schoenbaum

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This article (1) analyzes the traditional Glass-Steagall Act restrictions on banks and the leading case of Investment Company Institute v. Camp, where the Supreme Court held that the offering by commercial banks of commingled agency accounts violated the Glass-Steagall Act prohibition against underwriting securities, (2) considers the. developments since that decision, and (3) offers suggestions on an approach to devising solutions to the policy questions involved.

Foreign Bribes And The Securities Acts' Disclosure Requirements, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

The Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 require most major corporations to disclose to investors all material information concerning company operations. Although they were not intended to regulate the conduct of business, these disclosure obligations can have a deterrent effect upon improper corporate activities. The recent revelation that a significant number of corporations have been making bribes and similar payments abroad has created interest in the feasibility of employing the disclosure requirements to curtail this practice. This Note will show that, despite recent pressures for change, the Securities and Exchange Commission has continued to view …

A Framework For The Allocation Of Prevention Resources With A Specific Application To Insider Trading, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

This Note enumerates and analyzes the three principal forces that induce individuals to abide by societal laws. These forces, or elements of effective prevention, are then combined to form a framework of general deterrence that both identifies the areas in which society can introduce resources into the prevention plan and explains in a general manner what the effect of particular expenditures will be. In the final section of the Note, the framework is applied to a specific prohibited activity-insider trading in securities-to exemplify its utility in determining more effective applications of prevention resources.

A Reconsideration Of The Stock Market Exception To The Dissenting Shareholder's Right Of Appraisal, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

This Note engages in such a reassessment. It contends, first, that appraisal has not been an unreasonable burden on corporations and that adjustments in the appraisal procedure can eliminate remaining inequities. Next, it asserts that the stock market exception inadequately protects the dissenting shareholder, since a market might, for a variety of reasons, price a shareholder's stock at less than its intrinsic value. Finally, this Note concludes that an appraisal procedure with modifications, and not the stock market exception, reflects the appropriate balance of corporate and shareholder interests.

Controlling Administrative Sanctions, Fredrich H. Thomforde Jr.

Michigan Law Review

This Article will consider some of the possibilities for controlling and guiding the SEC's discretion to impose sanctions upon broker-dealers. Although it is limited to an examination of the Commission's practice and a discussion of possibilities for reform, the analysis contains obvious implications for any agency with the power to impose sanctions.

Financial Disclosure By Small Corporations, Russell J. Bruemmer

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This note will focus upon the desirability of compelling financial disclosure by corporations not subject to control under the existing federal securities legislation, which includes the vast majority of American corporations. While differing in degree and extent of application to corporations of varying sizes, the benefits derived from disclosure by large, widely-held corporations would also be obtained when disclosure is made by smaller, less widely-held corporations. The extension of federal or state disclosure requirements to corporations of all sizes and ownership dispersions, requiring them to place financial information before their shareholders at least once each year, is suggested.

Private Causes Of Action Under Section 206 Of The Investment Advisers Act, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

This Note examines the propriety of implying a cause of action for damages under section 206. Upon concluding that such an implication is appropriate, it then suggests a scope for section 206 actions that implements the Act's underlying purposes.

Providing An Effective Remedy In Shareholder Suits Against Officers, Directors, And Controlling Persons, Michael H. Woolever

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Corporate officers, directors, and controlling persons occupy a fiduciary relationship toward the corporation and its shareholders in the exercise of control over corporate affairs. This fiduciary obligation requires that officers, directors, and controlling persons act in good faith and perform their offices in the best interests of the corporation and its shareholders and not to their own advantage. When this duty is breached, a shareholder may bring an action against these fiduciaries, either in his own name or derivatively for the benefit of the corporation. Under present law, however, it may be impossible for an American court to secure jurisdiction …

Competition And Regulation In The Stock Markets, Robert Pozen

Michigan Law Review

Part I of this article suggests that the courts have not satisfactorily resolved the tension between competition and regulation in the stock markets, and that the proposed legislation would in fact aggravate that tension. Part II uses an economic model of stock transactions to derive an alternative approach for reconciling competitive and regulatory considerations. Part III applies this approach to several key governmental decisions in the transition from fixed commission rates to the central market system.

Limiting The Plaintiff Class: Rule 10b-5 And The Federal Securities Code, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

The Penn Central litigation, involving a large, publicly held corporation, illustrates the need to examine the reach of the federal antifraud provisions. This Note discusses the problem of defining the plaintiff class when the number of past and present shareholders who are potential plaintiffs is very great. Attention will center on the methods courts have used to limit the class of investors compensable under rule 10b-5. Also, the effect that enactment of present drafts of the American Law lnstitute's proposed Federal Securities Code would have on the composition of the plaintiff class in analogous actions will be discussed. Finally, the …

Updating The Trust Indenture Act, Howard M. Friedman

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Holders of publicly distributed debt securities are, in essence, parties to contracts of adhesion. There is no opportunity for a purchaser of a debt security to negotiate the terms of his loan to the issuer. In addition, because there are a large number of geographically scattered small lenders, each of them is placed in a particularly vulnerable position. While lenders traditionally have numerous methods of protecting their interests, creditor protection is ineffective unless responsibility for enforcement is centralized. Widely scattered security holders find it difficult to police compliance with covenants in the loan agreement and to coordinate legal action in …