DOE Green Investment Portfolio: Is This Government Qua Private Equity Investor Receiving Fair Criticism?
During the first debate, presidential candidate Mitt Romney called Tesla Motors, along with Solyndra, Ener1, and Fisker, “losers.” Governor Romney reiterated his displeasure with the Department of Energy’s (“DOE”) green investment portfolio in the last debate, and the recent bankruptcy filing of A123 has encouraged others to launch similar criticism. Most of these companies received loans or loan guarantees from the DOE intended for the development of innovative green energy technologies. Here is a list of all the DOE green energy loan projects for reference.
POSTED IN Energy, Government
To swipe or not to swipe, can’t we text our money already
As touted by articles covering Starbucks’ recent $25 million deal to set up the mobile payments service called Square at 7,000 coffeehouse locations, consumer payments might be on the brink of major change. Square makes an app that turns a merchant’s cell phone into a credit card reader and Square and Starbucks plan to introduce [...]
iFoxconn: The Corporation’s Role and the “Harder Problem” of Wages – Part II
International Justice Should Play a Part in a Corporation’s Role There are at least three compelling reasons to think that it would not go too far, however, to say that concerns for international justice should play a part in the role of prosperous corporations that do business in the developing world. First, these corporations have [...]
iFoxconn: The Corporation’s Role and the “Harder Problem” of Wages – Part I
(Editor’s Note: This is Part I of a two part series. Look forward to the next installment, which will be published on Friday morning.)
A Foxconn factory likely created the device you’re using to read this post as Foxconn manufactures over 40 percent of the world’s electronics for companies including Apple, Dell, Amazon, Sony, and Motorola. Headquartered in Taiwan, Foxconn employs over 1.2 million people, making it China’s largest private employer. Recent reports about Foxconn, summarized below, raise challenging normative questions related to the social responsibilities of corporations and separate yet related matters of international justice. More specifically, to what extent should a successful American company ensure that its suppliers and subcontractors are paying their workers [...]
Yahoo Makes a Racket During Facebook’s “Quiet Period”
Yahoo publically alleged recently that social-networking giant Facebook infringed on 10 to 20 of its patents, demanding license fees or alternatively face a lawsuit. Facebook, still in the “quiet period” following the February filing of its S-1 (a required SEC filing for companies going public to register their corporate securities), is still evaluating Yahoo’s claims. [...]
POSTED IN Capital Markets
A Non-Kodak Moment: Kodak Sues Apple/Apple Sues Kodak
Kodak, apparently, was not Apple’s sweetheart this year. On a day no other than Valentine’s Day, following Kodak’s bankruptcy filing last month, Apple has asked the bankruptcy court for permission (or requested a “lift” from the automatic stay) to sue Kodak for patent infringement, a right Apple claims to have even without the court’s permission. [...]
What’s Worse
A white-collar criminal, in a fine suit and with a perfect smile, nefariously bamboozles a single-parent widow into investing $25,000 into a ponzi scheme. But wait, a dangerous gang member robs the same widow on the street, at gunpoint, stealing her car, jewelry, and other belongings, totaling $25,000. What’s worse? All sorts of people, teachers, [...]
Occupy Wall Street Malaise
Everybody wants to know the significance of “Occupy Wall Street,” including CEOs and a presidential candidate who believes the protest is a “natural outcome of a bad education system teaching them really dumb ideas.” A more reasonable explanation for the civil unrest is the continuous collision between high life expectations and a debilitated job market, [...]
Cuban Misappropriates While Courts Still Determine the Rules of Misappropriation
The Case Against Cuban The SEC Inspector General recently cleared the SEC of alleged wrongdoing in the insider trading investigation of Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks. (If you happen to have an abundance of time, see the inspector general’s 96-page report). It is an important case testing an 11-year old regulation, SEC Rule [...]
POSTED IN Corporate Law, SEC Investigations
Featured Video
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Eugene P. and Delia S. Murphy Conference on Corporate Law
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Representation Without Accountability?
- Business Law Practitioners Series – Fall 2011
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The Philosophy and Practice of Disclosure
- BLPS – Rory Cutaia ’85
- The Looming Problems of The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection
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Financial Reform Legislation: There Ought To Be A Law, But Is This It?
Highlights From Volume 18 Book I
THE BEHAVIORAL PARADOX: WHY INVESTOR IRRATIONALITY CALLS FOR LIGHTER AND SIMPLER FINANCIAL REGULATION
It is widely believed that behavioral economics justifies more intrusive regulation of financial markets, because people are not fully rational and need to be protected from their quirks. This Article challenges that belief. Firstly, insofar as people can be helped to make better choices, that goal can usually be achieved through light-touch regulations. Secondly, faulty [...]
DEMANDING SUBSTANCE OR FORM? THE SEC’S PLAIN ENGLISH HANDBOOK AS A BASIS FOR SECURITIES VIOLATIONS
In 1998, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or “Commission”) released a style manual titled “The Plain English Handbook.” The culmination of a drive by its Chairman, Arthur Levitt, the Handbook drew upon the rules of grammar, best industry practice, and even the support of billionaire Warren Buffett in calling for a layman’s [...]
FULL OF HOT AIR? EVALUATING THE AIRGAS COURT’S RESERVATIONS ABOUT SHAREHOLDERS’ SHORT-TERM AND LONGTERM INTERESTS IN TAKEOVERS
This Note explores the incentives and preferences of shareholders in takeovers. This analysis is conducted in the context of the Delaware Chancery Court’s February 2011 decision in Air Products & Chemicals v. Airgas. In that case, the court’s decision largely turned on whether certain short-term and long-term shareholders have different preferences and incentives in takeovers. [...]
News & Events
- Can Woman Have It All? A Live Webcast with Anne-Marie Slaughter (4/24/2013)
- 13th Annual A.A. Sommer, Jr. Lecture on Corporate, Securities & Financial Law (4/18/2013)
- 13th Annual A.A. Sommer, Jr. Lecture on Corporate, Securities & Financial Law (4/18/2013)
- International In-House Counsel Breakfast Forum Series for Students (4/18/2013)
- Business Law Practitioners Series for students (4/16/2013)
- Fordham Corporate Center