Congressmen Mike Capuano of Massachusetts and Mike Castle of Delaware introduced the Hedge Fund Adviser Registration Act of 2009 (H.R. 711). The Act, if passed, would delete Section 203(b)(3) from the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. This section of the Investment Advisers Act exempts from registration an investment adviser who has fewer than 15 clients … Read more »
Electronic Filing of Form D and Amendments Becomes Mandatory on March 16
Beginning March 16, 2009, Form D filings are required to be made electronically on EDGAR. See SEC Release No. 33-8891 (February 6, 2008). Form D is commonly used for offerings made under the Rule 506 safe harbor to accredited investors. While the filing of a Form D is not a condition to the exemption, it … Read more »
Recent Trends and Patterns in FCPA Enforcement
Philip Urofsky and Danforth Newcomb of Shearman & Sterling LLP have released their latest update on the Recent Trends and Patterns in FCPA Enforcement (.pdf). The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act has been front page news quite a bit lately with the enormous settlement of Siemens. The first to break through $1 billion. The Hallibuton/KBR settlement … Read more »
The Ben Bernanke Interchange
View Larger Map The rural South Carolina town of Dillon has decided to dedicate Exit 190 on Interstate 95 as the Ben Bernanke interchange. [Insert your own joke about crashes.] Bernanke grew up in Dillon and graduated from Dillon High School. The dedication ceremony is scheduled for Saturday. So not confuse the Ben Bernanke Interchange … Read more »
Proposal to Tax Carried Interests as Ordinary Income
The Obama Administration has labeled their 2010 budget as A New Era of Responsibility. Part of that responsibility appears to be taxing carried interest as ordinary income. On page 122 of the budget there is a single line item: “Tax carried interest as ordinary income,” with projections of $2,742 million in 2011, $4,347 million in … Read more »
Time to Make the Donuts – Krispy Kreme Executives Charged With Securities Law Violations
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced that on March 4, 2009, it filed a Complaint in the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina against three former executives of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc.: Scott A. Livengood,Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer, John W. Tate, Chief Operating Officer, and Randy S. Casstevens, … Read more »
Corporate Compliance Fraud in Ohio
The Cleveland Plain Dealer is reporting a fraud that uses the cover of corporate compliance: ‘Corporate Compliance’ form not from any government agency. According to columnist Sheryl Harris, businesses are receiving official-looking mailings with a form requesting a $150 fee to comply with the annual meetings under state law. As the story points out, not … Read more »
Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act
Senator Levin of Michigan has introduced the Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act (S.506). It is a wide ranging bill that would require disclosure of beneficial ownership of foreign entities, implementation of anti-money laundering by formation agents, limit patents on tax planning inventions, change the tax opinion standard for penalties, and many other changes. There is … Read more »
The Inside Story on the Breakdown at the SEC
Adam Zagorin and Michael Weisskopf wrote a very critical article in Time Magazine about Christopher Cox’s tenure with the Securities and Exchange Commission: The Inside Story on the Breakdown at the SEC. The authors use Cox as a symbol of what went wrong with the US financial system, resulting it its current meltdown. They paint … Read more »
Ex-Employees Admit to Stealing Company Data
You ex-employees are probably stealing your company’s data on their way out the door. In a study by Symantec Corp. and Ponemon Institute, they found that 59 percent of ex-employees admit to stealing confidential company information: More Than Half of Ex-Employees Admit to Stealing Company Data According to New Study. That employees are taking data … Read more »