May 2, 2013
STOCK Act Gets Shot In the Foot: Not So Funny
As noted in this article, Congress – and President Obama – partially repealed part of the STOCK Act quietly last week. The repeal kills an obligation to provide public disclosure for trades made by all Hill – and nearly all executive branch – staffers. So now the transparency provisions of the STOCK Act apply to just the President, Vice President, members of Congress (including those running for Congress) and a handful of the highest-ranking executive branch officials.
A repeal certainly is not good optics, as made clear by this hilarious segment from Jon Stewart’s “The Daily Show.” Not so funny is that the STOCK Act has so many loopholes that it might not do anything to prevent insider trading anyways, as noted in this article. Doesn’t anyone inside the Beltway recognize – or care – that this is not the way to rehabilitate a very tarnished image in the minds of the general public…
Here’s an interesting Bloomberg article entitled “Does Congress Have a Clue on Insider Trading?” – today’s Washington Post has a front-page article about this case…
Rule 10b5-1 Plans: Director Abuses?
The Wall Street Journal’s investigative reporting into Rule 10b5-1 plans continues. This April 25th article questions the use of these plans by directors who are also large shareholders at three companies – either individually or through funds they control. Then this follow-up article from Tuesday – entitled “Insider-Trading Probe Trains Lens on Boards” – notes that the U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District of New York issued subpoenas requesting information from the companies and funds cited in the April 25th article. Kevin LaCroix has blogged about these articles…
Happy Anniversary Baby! 11 Years of Blogging and Counting
Tomorrow marks 11 years of my blither and bother on this blog (note the DealLawyers.com Blog is nearly 10 years old – not shabby!). It’s one time of the year that I feel entitled to toot my own horn – as it takes stamina and boldness to blog for so long. A hearty “thanks” to all those that read this blog for putting up with my personality. I’m sure I won’t get more refined with age…
– Broc Romanek