Here is the weekly summary for Securities Docket’s Web Watch (”This Week’s Best Blog Posts and Columns”):
- THE D&O DIARY (June 5, 2009): What Does The SEC’s Enforcement Action Against Countrywide’s Mozilo Signify?
The more interesting question is the extent to which the SEC will be targeting other officials, whether for Rule 10b5-1 plan abuses or for disclosures relating to subprime loans and other lending practices. - The CONGLOMERATE (June 5, 2009): More on Sotomayor’s Securities Law Record
Although pundits are scouring Sotomayor’s other opinions to find judicial activism, there’s none here in the 10b-5 arena. If we’re worried about the nominee showing empathy instead of following the law, there’s no evidence of runaway shareholder empathy! - JONATHAN RAUCH, NATIONAL JOURNAL (June 5, 2009): The Peculiar Problem Of ‘Peekaboo’
In creating a regulator accountable only to another regulator, Congress never showed a need to abandon James Madison’s constitutional scheme. Nor has evidence of any such need arisen. - PROVIDED, HOWEVER (June 2, 2009): The Enforcement Scorecard
During Chris Cox’s tenure, SEC penalties imposed on companies fell 84 percent, from $1.59 billion in 2005 to $256 million in 2008. Does that statistic speak for itself? - MARCIA COYLE, NLJ (June 1, 2009): Big Issues Lurk Below Surface of Sotomayor Confirmation Hearings
Is she pro-management or pro-investor? Does she interpret Section 10b of the Securities Exchange Act narrowly or broadly? The high court is likely to be dealing with securities and corporate governance issues in the next few terms. - IDEOBLOG (May 30, 2009): Sotomayor, business and preemption
A key Sotomayor ruling in Dabit v. Merrill Lynch (a SLUSA case) may become an issue in her confirmation. It’s worth discussing because the implications aren’t obvious.