On July 16, 2010, the CEO and co-founder of Instagram, Kevin Systrom, posted the very first photo to the social media platform, which depicted a golden retriever next to a taco stand. (Olivia Waxman, The New York Times). Within 18 months, Facebook, Inc. purchased Instagram, and nearly 8 years after Instagram’s inception, the co-founders of Instagram, Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, announced their resignation from Facebook, Inc. in a New York Times article. (Mike Isaac, The New York Times).
Read MoreThe Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) held a roundtable on November 15 to discuss whether the SEC’s current proxy voting rules and procedures should be updated. (Chairman Jay Clayton, SEC Announcement). According to the announcement, the evidence and testimony presented at the roundtable will aid SEC staffers in making their recommendations about what changes should be made. (Andrew Ramonas, Bloomberg Law). The roundtable is scheduled to discuss several topics, including the voting process, retail shareholder participation, shareholder proposals, proxy advisory firms, technology and innovation, and other actions. (Chairman Jay Clayton, SEC Announcement).
Read MoreThe emergence of cryptocurrency and blockchain poses questions for financial regulators around the world. Regulators are struggling to understand both where cryptocurrency fits within their regulatory framework and how to set up parameters for transparency and investor integrity. (Bob Pisani, CNBC). Recently, American regulators increased scrutiny for broker-dealers working with cryptocurrency. (Benjamin Bain, Bloomberg). Financial powers in other countries are also responding individually to the crypto-movement, and France exemplifies a recent response.
Read MoreOn August 7, Elon Musk made an abrupt announcement regarding his plan to take Tesla private. Mr. Musk claimed that this Twitter announcement came after he had “secured” funding from the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund. (Ben Bain and Matt Robinson, Bloomberg). After the announcement, Tesla’s shares rose in value to over $381 per share, from $342 (the closing price on August 6). (Mark Matousek, Business Insider). Nevertheless, the share price dropped dramatically over the next few weeks to as low as $263 on September 7.
Read MoreEarlier this year, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) amended Rule 15c2–12 (17 C.F.R. § 240.15c2–12). Rule 15c2-12 ensures that underwriters secure an agreement with states, cities, and other governmental entities issuing municipal securities that those entities will disclose information about the issued securities to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) on an ongoing basis. This information is intended to inform interested parties on the financial standing or other condition of the state government that may have an effect on the bonds.
Read MoreHow quickly things change—and not for the better. In June, Fortune magazine reported that woman were “making strides” because a whopping 6.4% of CEOs were female. As sad as that figure is, it just got much worse. Avon recently announced that CEO Sheri McCoy will leave the 131-year-old cosmetics firm in March. This news broke just one day Oreo and Cadbury owner Mondelez announced that its longtime CEO Irene Rosenfeld will give up the top spot at the company later this year. Moreover, let us not forget that in June, Marissa Myers stepped down as the CEO of Yahoo (now known as Altaba). Each of the CEO’s faced harsh criticism from activist shareholders during her tenure. And so, for now, we are down to 5.8% female representation of woman in Fortune 500 companies. Some strides.
Read More