Bad news for companies struggling to comply with the U.S. conflict minerals disclosure rules created by the Dodd-Frank Act—other countries are considering similar rules and they could be even more onerous. In the European Union, similar legislation has been in the works for months and could be on the books as early as the end […]
Joe Mont
Posted inFrom the Archive
CFTC Takes a Second Stab at Commodity Position Limits
Sent back to the drawing board after losing a legal challenge, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission is again trying to set position limits for commodities traders. With a 3-1 vote, it approved a new position limits proposal during a public meeting on Tuesday. A complete rundown of how the proposed limits would be determined, and […]
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CFTC Loses Another Commissioner With News of Chilton’s Departure
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission will soon be down another member. At a public meeting on Tuesday morning, Commissioner Bart Chilton announced that he has informed President Barack Obama of his intention to step down. Details of Chilton’s future plans, or timeline for remaining on the Commission, were not announced. He referred to his departure […]
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When a Data Breach Occurs, a Speedy Response Is Everything
Big Data can mean big risks. New sophisticated data collection and analysis tools can unlock amazing insights into customer habits and other business imperatives, but they can also create problems, since the massive amounts of information could be maliciously plundered by hackers or compromised by absent-minded employees. Experts say a breach is no longer a […]
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Johnson & Johnson Pays $2.2B For Off-Label Sales, Kickbacks
So much for Johnson & Johnson’s squeaky clean image. The pharmaceutical giant and two subsidiaries will pay more than $2.2 billion to resolve criminal and civil liability for promoting off-label uses of three drugs and paying kickbacks to physicians. The resolution, announced Monday morning by the Department of Justice, is touted as one of the […]
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
More Banks Will Face Federal Reserve Stress Tests in 2014
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and Federal Reserve have released details on the scenarios they will use to stress tests on large financial institutions, with the latter adding 12 more banks to its examination roster. The Dodd-Frank Act requires national banks and federal savings associations with total consolidated assets of more than […]
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Proxy Advisor ISS Put Up For Sale By Parent Company
Institutional Shareholder Services, one of the dominant proxy advisory services, is up for sale by parent company MSCI Inc. On Thursday, the board of directors for MSCI, a public company traded on the New York Stock Exchange, authorized the “exploration of strategic alternatives” regarding ISS. The announcement triggers the start of a process that may […]
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Feds Modify ‘Use-or-Lose’ Rule, Allow $500 Carryover for Health FSAs
The Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service have modified the longstanding “use-or-lose” rule for health flexible spending arrangements. Employers will be able to allow plan participants to carry over up to $500 of their unused FSA balance at the end of a plan year. Health FSAs are benefit plans employers can sponsor to allow their […]
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CFTC Lays Down Rules For Futures Brokers, Farmers Fight Back
With painful lessons from the demise of MF Global and Peregrine Financial Group still fresh, and amid continuing efforts to recover millions of dollars desperately shuffled around as they collapsed, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission this week approved new rules for futures brokers that are intended to protect customer funds from being plundered. By a […]
