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Bankruptcy versus Probate
I suppose that I ought to say something about the Anna Nicole Smith case that was argued today in the Supreme Court, given that I participated in the case (together with 14 other bankruptcy scholars) by filing an amicus brief on Anna Nicole’s side. For all the talk about how arcane the case is (see, ... Bankruptcy versus Probate
Hanno Kaiser's antitrust primer
While we’re on the topic of antitrust, I thought I would take this opportunity to draw our readers’ attention to a nice series of posts over at Antitrust Review. Collectively these posts make up the beginnings of an excellent primer on antitrust economics, told in Hanno Kaiser’s inimitable manner. I don’t agree with all of ... Hanno Kaiser's antitrust primer
SCOTUS Slays the "Exotic Beast"
SCOTUS’ Dagher opinion is indeed good news. For those unfamiliar with the case, the Ninth Circuit held that the pricing policy of two joint ventures between Shell and Texaco were per se illegal under the Sherman Act. As it stood, the Ninth Circuit’s analysis threatened per se antitrust liability for joint ventures engaging in the ... SCOTUS Slays the "Exotic Beast"
Good antitrust news from the Court
To almost no one’s surprise, the Court ruled today (unanimously) in Texaco v Dagher that a pricing agreement between Shell and Texaco which was part of a lawful joint venure is not per se illegal under the Sherman Act. See this Reuter’s story here (HT: Bill). The key grafs: Justice Clarence Thomas concluded in the ... Good antitrust news from the Court
Can the SEC Exempt Small Companies from Sarbanes-Oxley 404? (Part 2)
Back on the first day of TOTM’s existence, I raised the question of whether the SEC has the authority to exempt small companies from SOX 404 compliance as proposed by the SEC Advisory Committee on Smaller Public Companies (see here). I stated that “[i]t’s not clear to me that [the SEC has] the legal authority ... Can the SEC Exempt Small Companies from Sarbanes-Oxley 404? (Part 2)
Decline of the Blogosphere
With the blogosphere in decline, we figure we have to either eat or be eaten. We prefer the former over the latter, so we’re mulling hostile takeover attempts of ideoblog, conglomerate and/or bainbridge. We’ve also implemented various anti-takeover defenses including a non-chewable deadhand poison pill and a ten-class staggered board.
Whisper Numbers
A “whisper number� once meant the consensus Wall Street unofficial and unpublished earnings-per-share forecast for a public company. Wall Street analysts historically derived a whisper number by ferreting out non-public information from company personnel. The number was then shared with top clients. Studies indicated that trading on whisper numbers could result in abnormal returns (see ... Whisper Numbers
H&R Block Botches Its Own Taxes
H&R Block, the leading U.S. tax preparer, announced today in this press release that it will restate results for fiscal 2004 and 2005. “The restatement pertains principally to errors in determining the company’s state effective income tax rate, resulting in a cumulative understatement of its state income tax liability of approximately $32 million as of ... H&R Block Botches Its Own Taxes
Hedge-Fund-Like Mutual Funds
A recent W$J article reports that a number of mutual funds have amended their fund investment policies to allow the funds to engage in hedge-fund-like investment strategies such as the use of derivatives, leverage and short-selling. I think this is a favorable development because it increases the types of investment options available to everyday investors. ... Hedge-Fund-Like Mutual Funds
The Wisdom of Selling Off Isolated Public Forest Land
An article in the current issue of the Economist contends that “American environmentalists could be forgiven for throwing up their hands and heading north” (to Canada). Why? Because “the Bush administration wants to sell some 300,000 acres of national forest land in 35 states, mostly out west.” I’m afraid the normally sensible Economist (see, e.g., ... The Wisdom of Selling Off Isolated Public Forest Land
The Ethicist strikes again
One of my students brought to my attention this pearl of wisdom from (what appears to be this week’s forthcoming) The Ethicist column in the NYT: I am a 13-year-old boy. My school has a monthly pizza sale. Parents buy pies from a pizzeria and sell them to us for $1 a slice. I bought ... The Ethicist strikes again
Whose university is it?
There’s been some recent (and widely disparate) posting on the nature and governance of universities. See, for example, here (Tsai on sports and higher ed), here (Oesterle on endowment spending), here (Bollier on the knowledge commons; see especially comments by me and Josh in the . . . comments section (duh)), here (Posner on tenure), ... Whose university is it?
