The timing couldn’t have been worse for retail giant Target’s massive data breach. Not only did the security failure compromise data, including credit card information, for as many as 110 million customers at the peak of holiday shopping season, it threatens to make the company a poster child for regulators and legislators who were already […]
Joe Mont
Posted inBoards & Shareholders
Proxy Advisers Have New Playbooks for 2014 Annual Meetings
As the 2014 proxy season nears, companies and investors will see some changes in how the two top proxy advisory firms make recommendations. During the past several weeks, Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis have released their strategies for vote recommendations this year as well as changes to their proxy voting policies. Both firms say […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
What They Will Be Watching: SEC Sets 2014 Examination Priorities
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced its examination priorities for 2014 this week, a road map for how exchanges, self-regulatory organizations, and broker-dealers will be scrutinized throughout the coming months. The examination priorities published on Thursday stress fraud detection and prevention, corporate governance, enterprise risk management, technology controls, issues posed by the convergence of broker-dealer […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
CFTC Seeks More Comments on Commodity Aggregation Changes
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission will extend the comment period on proposed amendments to aggregation rules that accompanied new standards for position limits until Feb. 10. The proposed amendment was published in the Federal Register on Nov. 15, 2013. On the same day the Commission announced the proposed amendment, it also adopted a proposal to […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
Senators Seek Agency Disclosures on Terms of Settlements
On Monday, Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) introduced “The Truth in Settlements Act,” a requirement that federal agencies publicly disclosure the terms of settlements negotiated with corporations to resolve violations of criminal or civil law. The past year saw a record-breaking number of settlements, but the details of many of them remain […]
Posted inBoards & Shareholders
Institutional Investors Petition SEC for ‘Mix and Match’ Board Elections
The Securities and Exchange Commission was asked to amend its rules for contested corporate board elections, allowing shareholders to more easily “split the ticket” and vote for any combination of management and dissident nominees, with a Petition for Rulemaking submitted by the Council of Institutional Investors on Wednesday morning. Currently, shareholders have “extremely limited ability […]
Posted inUncategorized
Critics of SEC’s Conflict Minerals Rule Speak Out at Appeal Hearing
A federal appeals court on Tuesday heard oral arguments in a case that threatens to undo the Securities Exchange Commission’s disclosure requirements for “conflict minerals.” Hearing arguments brought before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, a three-judge panel – that included Republican appointees David Sentelle and A. Raymond Randolph, and […]
Posted inData Privacy
Survey: Senior Management Is Weak Link in Data Security Efforts
Of all the cyber-security risks companies must face, the biggest might be right under their noses–senior management. That’s the claim of global investigations and risk services company Stroz Friedberg after parsing the results of its latest survey. As companies look for solutions to protect the integrity of their networks, data centers, and computer systems, “an […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
JPMorgan Pays $1.7B for Failed AML Compliance that Aided Madoff
JPMorgan Chase will pay $1.7 billion dollars as part of a deferred prosecution agreement reached with the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York on charges its failure to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program facilitated the multibillion-dollar Ponzi Scheme orchestrated by infamous New York broker Bernard Madoff. The monetary settlement, announced […]
Posted inTechnology
Are You Ready for Bitcoin?
When it comes to the virtual currency Bitcoin, there are two camps: fervent evangelists and dismissive skeptics. While the jury is out on whether the buzzed-about virtual currency will end up a boon or a bust, some businesses, including Overstock.com and Match.com, are rushing to accommodate it, either by accepting it for payment or as […]
