On December 15, 2021 the SEC proposed extensive amendments to Rule 10b5-1 that would, among other things, impose a cooling-off period for directors and officers buying and selling shares and require personal certification when they do so.
Officers and directors of public companies – that is, insiders – frequently use Rule 10b5-1 trading plans to buy or sell a predetermined numbe...
Regulation Archive
The UK’s International Regulatory Strategy Group (IRSG) is calling for the ESG ratings industry to be regulated, citing concerns around transparency, a lack of consistency in the data and lack of clarity for investors.
‘ESG and sustainability are becoming increasingly central to investment decisions around the world,’ says Kay Swinburne, IRSG council chair, in the new report titled: ...
Mifid II will have some of its ‘rough edges smoothed off’ in post-Brexit Britain, but there is no appetite to completely tear up the EU’s protection for investors in UK law, according to regulator the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
At an IR Society webinar last week on how Mifid II might be overhauled post-Brexit, as part of the government’s efforts to maintain London’s competitiveness as a financial center, Stephen Hanks, a manager at the FCA, said th...
What happens when a company’s case goes to the Supreme Court? How does it influence stock and options prices? And do investors price their anticipation of the outcome into these markets?
While cases surrounding public companies often do not make it to the Supreme Court, it is well understood that those that do must be important, such as Apple’s antitrust case (Apple vs Pepper), eBay vs MercExchange, Mobil Oil vs Federal Power Commission, Walmart vs Dukes and Mic...
– Reddit, the social media platform that found itself at the center of meme-stock mania earlier this year, filed to go public, reported the BBC. In the filing, Reddit did not specify the number of shares it ...
The UK’s Wholesale Market Review and the EU’s consultation on Mifid II’s Regulatory Technical Standards are both under way following Brexit. What do IROs need to know about the upcoming changes?
Generally, market liquidity has declined over the last 10 years, and there is a danger that the demerger of the UK/EU liquidity pool will make things worse, in a kind of Balkanization process. Generally, we anticipate that IR staff will start to repor...
The European Commission’s (EC) requirements for sustainability reporting already affect a significant portion of investments made by companies. Certain areas, however – such as strategic liquidity management, cover-funds from direct employer pension commitments and lump-sum support funds for corporate pension plans – have been omitted from regulation so far. This could change if the legislator wants to achieve transparency without contradiction and ambiguity.
...
The SEC’s division of corporation finance has updated its guidance on the process whereby companies seek permission to exclude shareholder proposals, potentially opening the door for more ESG-related measures to end up on proxy statements in 2022 and beyond.
The division on November 3 issued a notice that it is rescinding three staff legal bulletins – ...
Board directors should be held accountable for determining and implementing the purposes of their companies, according to a British Academy report.
Corporate purpose has been an evolving topic in recent years. In August 2019, the Business Roundtable released its Statement on Corporate Purpose, which outlined a modern standard for corporate responsibility.
Shortly after that, in 2020, the World Economic Forum launched a new Davos Manifesto with the objective o...
If the EU is to meet the challenging goals it has set itself on sustainability, companies need to play their part. The trade bloc’s policy aims – collectively referred to as the European Green Deal – include becoming the first world's net-zero continent and shifting to a ‘circular economy’ where economic growth no longer relies on the Earth's natural resources.
To help meet these objectives, the EU Commission has proposed the Corporate Sustainability Repor...