Washington’s Birthday, the federal holiday was originally implemented by the United States Congress in 1880 for government offices in the District of Columbia (20 Stat. 277) and expanded in 1885 to include all federal offices (23 Stat. 516). As the first federal holiday to honor an American citizen, the holiday was celebrated on Washington’s...
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It is only fitting that I am writing this book review on a Sunday. In Fed We Trust: Ben Bernanke’s War on the Great Panic starts off by telling about the importance of a few Sundays in 2008. In March, there was the Sunday when the Federal Reserve announced an unprecedented action to lend...
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Instead of substantive information, today’s post focuses on me and this website. Compliance Building went public on February 12, 2009.  Since then, it looks like I have managed to get out a blog post every business day.  Sometimes, more than one. Thanks for reading. If you haven’t done so already, you can subscribe and have my...
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Placement agents would have to register as lobbyists under legislation proposed by Assemblyman Ed Hernandez (D-West Covina). The legislation would define placement agents as lobbyists in accordance with the state’s Political Reform Act. Placement agents would have to register as lobbyists before pitching investment ideas to public pension plans in California. It seems like...
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If you care about network security, you are probably well aware of the Massachusetts Data Privacy Law and its requirement to secure wireless networks. But password-protecting a wireless router also has constitutional significance. A child pornography suspect had no constitutionally protected privacy right in the files found on his personal computer, accessible by a neighbor who...
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The United States Sentencing Commission has proposed some changes to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. Of the eight changes, one should catch the eye of compliance professionals. There is a proposed amendment to Chapter Eight of the Guidelines Manual regarding the sentencing of organizations, including proposed changes to §8B2.1 (Effective Compliance and Ethics Program) and §8D1.4...
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Dan Pink, at TED Global in July 2009, broke tasks, performance and rewards for performance into two groups. With complex problems, financial rewards do not impact performance and seem to dull creativity. Actually, they seem to deter performance. With a simple problem and a simple set of rules, then contingent motivations for performance (like...
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Here are some interesting stories from the past week: Can your Broker be your Facebook Friend? by Gil Yehuda on Gil Yehuda’s Enterprise 2.0 Blog Can brokers set up blogs? What about the comments that people post to their blogs? Can brokers give financial advice on discussion forums? What if a broker sets...
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New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo filed securities fraud charges against former Bank of America CEO Kenneth Lewis and former Chief Financial Officer Joseph Price. The Attorney General claims that the two decided not to disclose the enormous losses at Merrill Lynch & Co. before getting shareholder approval to acquire the Wall Street firm. The...
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A new treatise has been written on field of electronic stored information and sanctions for spoliation. In the Amended Opinion and Order for The Pension Committee of the University of Montreal Pension Plan et al., v. Banc of America Securities, LLC, et al. Judge Shira A. Scheindlin of the Southern District of New York,...
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Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission voted to provide public companies with interpretive guidance on existing disclosure requirements as they apply to business or legal developments relating to the issue of climate change. The SEC has now released the text of the guidance: Guidance Regarding Disclosure Related to Climate Change Those who are fired up...
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In India, petty corruption is pervasive. Its citizens often face situations where they are asked to pay bribes for public services that should be provided free. The 5th Pillar is advocating for paying the bribe with a zero-rupee note. According Vijay Anand, president of the 5th Pillar, the idea is credited to an expatriate Indian...
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