What do you do when the whistleblower sitting in front of you is an unreliable drug addict? Maybe you see some nugget of truth in the story. Maybe you see some way to find reliable evidence that proves that nugget of truth. Wendy Ruderman and Barbara Laker, reporters at Philadelphia’s Daily News were confronted with … Read more »
Compliance Bricks and Mortar for July 25
These are some of the compliance-related stories that recently caught my attention. What an Employment Lawyer Can Learn From Minecraft (or Not) by Daniel Schwartz in the Connecticut Employment Law Blog Minecraft is teaching a whole generation of “kids” (and not so “kids”) about the value of teamwork in a corporate culture. Moreover, there is … Read more »
Money Market Fund Reform Makes My Head Hurt
One of the critical moments of the 2008 financial crisis was caused by Lehman Brothers and its effect on the Reserve Fund, a money market fund. The fund had a significant amount of short-term debt issued by Lehman. Enough that the fund had to ‘break the buck.’ Now even “cash” was not a safe place … Read more »
Compliance Failures and Performance Measure
Progress Rail is under criminal investigation for failures in its railcar and locomotive repairs operation. Investigators claim that it was charging owners of rail equipment for making unnecessary repairs and replacements. There is also an environmental claim because the investigation indicates that workers were dumping parts in the ocean to hide them from auditors. That … Read more »
Compliance and Dodd-Frank at Four
It’s been four years since the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was signed into law. President Obama sat down on July 21, 2010 to sign the behemoth of a bill that was the most dramatic change to financial industry in years. Besides the hundreds of pages of text in the law itself, … Read more »
Compliance Bricks and Mortar for July 18
Book de Tour by Greig Leach These are some of the compliance-related stories that recently caught my attention. Big Settlements Elevate Compliance Officers in WSJ.com’s Risk & Compliance Journal Recent white-collar settlements are case studies in how compliance officers are ignored, circumvented and sidelined. But that’s likely having the effect of giving these staffers more … Read more »
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
Movies about compliance officers are few and far between. It may surprise you to find Chris Pine playing that role in Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit. Jack Ryan is the protagonist in Tom Clancy’s cold war thrillers. I read most of his books back in the 1980s. They were so cold war based I wondered how … Read more »
A Cliche Is Proven
One cliche thrown around is that tipping a golf buddy to material non-public information is an insider trading violation. The Securities and Exchange Commission just filed a case that proved that cliche true. Eric McPhail learned the expected earnings and major pending corporate developments at American Superconductor through a friend who is (was?) an executive … Read more »
Weekend Reading: A Time to Attack
What should we do about the nuclear weapon program in Iran? The country is not complying with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Iran has four main sites being used to create weapons-grade uranium. The country has stopped short of further purifying the uranium to the concentration needed for a bomb. But once … Read more »
Compliance Bricks and Mortar for July 11
These are some of the compliance-related stories that recently caught my attention. Firms Withdraw as MAs Ahead of Final Rule by Kyle Glazer in The Bond Buyer Nathan Howard, an attorney who works with municipal advisors, said the many withdrawals are the result of guidance that has made it more clear who is likely to … Read more »