In recent months, the equity markets have become increasingly more volatile, while the debt markets remain largely inaccessible for all but the most creditworthy issuers.
April 13, 2009
On May 1, 2009, the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") will begin enforcement of the new "Red Flags Rule," a little known regulation that likely impacts a surprisingly large number of business entities.The Red Flags Rule, which was developed pursuant to the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 and is codified at 16 C.F.R.
April 9, 2009
The Financial Services Authority (FSA), the UK's financial services regulator, has in the past month given three signals it is no light-touch enforcer.
April 9, 2009
Today, the Securities and Exchange Commission unanimously approved publication of a release proposing multiple price tests and circuit breakers to limit short selling.
April 8, 2009
Congressman Sander Levin (D-Mich.) recently reintroduced legislation in the House that would tax income and gains associated with "carried interests" as ordinary income.
April 7, 2009
New York partners Jonathan C. Dickey and Marshall R. King are the authors of "Delaware's Duty of Oversight - Directors Prevail in the Citigroup Subprime Litigation" [PDF] published in the April 2009 issue of Thomson Reuters's Securities Litigation Report.
April 6, 2009
Washington, D.C. partners Joseph D. West, Diana Richard, Karen L. Manos and associate Chrstyne K. Brennan are the authors of "Contractor Business Ethics Compliance Program & Disclosure Requirements" [PDF] published in the April 2009 issue of Thomson Reuters's Briefing Papers.This material from Briefing Papers has been reproduced with the permissions of the publisher, Thomson Reuters. Further use without the permission of the publisher is prohibited.
April 6, 2009
As described in our February 24, 2009 client alert, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (commonly knows as the stimulus bill) implemented a COBRA premium subsidy for employees who are involuntarily terminated between September 1, 2008 and December 31, 2009. The Labor Department and the Internal Revenue Service have issued important guidance to assist employers and plan administrators in satisfying their subsidy-related obligations.
April 3, 2009
The Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") voted on April 1 to issue and on April 2 voted to prepare final drafts of additional staff guidance that will modify a number of financial accounting standards relating to:1.
April 3, 2009
The Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher Financial Markets Crisis Group is closely tracking government responses to the turmoil that has catalyzed a dramatic and rapid reshaping of our capital and credit markets.
April 2, 2009
SummaryOn March 30, 2009, the SEC staff issued two no-action letters regarding the solicitation of proxies to vote in the election of directors in a situation where two dissident shareholders had submitted separate "short slates" of director nominees for election at the same annual meeting. The no-action letters permit a soliciting shareholder to "round out" its short slate of directors with the nominees of other dissident shareholders, under an expansive reading of the proviso to the "bona fide nominee" rule in Exchange Act Rule 14a-4(d). Such proviso had historically been interpreted only to permit a soliciting shareholder to "round out" its short slate with nominees of the registrant.The effect of the no-action letters is to facilit
April 2, 2009
Washington, D.C. of counsel Malcom Pfunder is the author of "Acquisitions from Financially Distressed Entities Under the HSR Act" [PDF] published in the April 1, 2009 issue of ABA's Antitrust.
April 1, 2009
New York partner Mark K. Schonfeld is the author of "Law Enforcement Response to the Financial Crisis" [PDF] published in the April 1, 2009 issue of Law Journal Newsletter: Business Crimes Bulletin.Reprinted with Permissions from the April 2009 edition of Law Journal Newsletters 2009, an incisivemedia publication.
April 1, 2009
Washington, D.C. partner David P. Burns and associate Erin K. Sullivan are the authors of "Navigating the FCPA's Complex Scienter Requirements" [PDF] published in the April 1, 2009 issue of Bloomberg Finance L.P.
April 1, 2009
Orange County partner Mark W. Shurtleff and associate David Lee are the authors of "Must the Health Problems of a Key Executive be Publicly Disclosed?" [PDF] published in the April 2009 issue of Orange County Business Journal.
April 1, 2009
In a significant decision, the Supreme Court today held that a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that clearly and unmistakably requires union members to arbitrate federal age discrimination claims is legally enforceable. See 14 Penn Plaza LLC et al., v. Pyett et al., No.
April 1, 2009
Los Angeles partner Theodore J. Boutrous Jr. and Julian W. Poon are the authors of "Tenth Circuit Rules on Loss Causation" [PDF] published in the March 2009 issue of Insights.
March 31, 2009
Last week, the Department of the Treasury and the FDIC announced their Public-Private Investment Fund (PPIF) concept, intended to remove troubled assets from banks. Significant details of the proposal remain undefined, and public comment is sought.As announced, private investors and the Treasury will invest side-by-side in PPIFs, and will share in both profits and losses. Treasury financing also will be available. Additionally, PPIFs may issue FDIC-guaranteed debt. Details of the capitalization of PPIFs, the terms of the potential investments and financing, the accounting and regulatory implications for banks that sell assets to PPIFs and related matters have not been finalized. Similarly, while officials have stated that compensation limits will not apply to
March 30, 2009
By Eduardo Gallardo and Matthew Walsh (Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP)*The recent financial turmoil has left many public companies' market capitalizations at 10-year lows. Such depressed stock prices and the inability to access traditional sources of financing, coupled with the gradual erosion of antitakeover defenses under the pressure of corporate governance groups, have left many public companies vulnerable to a hostile overture or an activist investor campaign. At the same time, other companies – particularly in the technology and pharmaceutical sectors – are flush with cash and searching for bargain acquisition candidates.
March 30, 2009
March 2009The inaugural issue of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher's Environmental News: Climate Change newsletter is now available. We hope you will find this periodic briefing on recent legal developments concerning climate change and greenhouse gas emissions informative.
March 27, 2009