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Disclosure of ethics waivers under SOX: Recent scholarship from Rodrigues and Stegemoller
Usha Rodrigues and Mike Stegemoller have penned an interesting article, “Placebo Ethics,” assessing the effect of one of SOX’s disclosure provisions: The required immediate disclosure of waivers from a company’s code of ethics, found in Section 406 of the law. The article is concrete, informative, empirical and well-written. The article’s abstract summarizes the heart of ... Disclosure of ethics waivers under SOX: Recent scholarship from Rodrigues and Stegemoller
Health Care Reform, Reconciliation, and the Role of the Senate: Some Wise Counsel from Key Democrats
Well, it looks like Congress is going to attempt to enact the Senate’s health care bill using the reconciliation process. President Obama certainly suggested as much in Thursday’s Health Care Summit, downplaying the significance of such a move and suggesting it may be necessary in order to “move forward.” First, he said to Senator McCain: ... Health Care Reform, Reconciliation, and the Role of the Senate: Some Wise Counsel from Key Democrats
Big Yet Not-So-Surprising Antitrust News Of the Day: EU Opens Google Investigation
The EU has launched its preliminary investigation of Google’s search engine and search advertising businesses. From the Financial Times: According to Google, one of the three complaints was from rival Microsoft. That protest, from an online service called Ciao that was recently bought by the software company, echoes a complaint that had already been lodged ... Big Yet Not-So-Surprising Antitrust News Of the Day: EU Opens Google Investigation
Morons of the world, unite!
My wife makes me subscribe to the New York Times, and occasionally it is worth it. Take this recent essay by Roger Cohen. It is difficult to get past the faux-intellectual babble — “As it is, everyone’s shrieking their lonesome anger, burrowing deeper into stress, gazing at their own images” — but if you can ... Morons of the world, unite!
Why Don't Federal Judges "Hire" Economists More Often?
Dick Langlois’ post on Carl Kaysen’s role in the United Machinery antitrust case reminded me of a question I’ve been meaning to blog about. Langlois writes: Obituaries praise Kaysen for his role as a policy intellectual of great scope, especially in the area of nuclear non-proliferation. But they either fail to mention, or mention with ... Why Don't Federal Judges "Hire" Economists More Often?
Rakoff, part deux
Judge Jed Rakoff just approved a settlement between the SEC and Bank of America in a dispute about the disclosures made to shareholders during Bank of America’s acquisition of Merrill Lynch. This is significant becasue Rakoff causes a minor kerfuffle last year when he rejected a similar deal (although for only $33 million in fines ... Rakoff, part deux
Here Come the Price Controls
As Todd mentioned, the Obama Administration has released its latest plan for regulating (and mandating) health insurance. The new plan includes a novel element: the creation of a seven-member Health Insurance Rate Authority that would issue an annual schedule of “reasonable” rate increases. Increases deemed unjustified could be blocked, and insurers that imposed unjustified rate ... Here Come the Price Controls
The Party of No
In the comments to my last post on Mr. Obama’s health proposals (which have gotten worse — price controls!?), “Chris” and I have been having a back-and-forth about what he characterizes as a uniquely Republican disease — obstructionism. He calls Republicans “the Party of No.” I’m not a political scientist, but this seems like a ... The Party of No
Mr. Obama, go to "China"
The president revealed his last-ditch plan to reform our healthcare system today. (Funny the plan is revealed before the “bipartisan” meeting about health care being trumpeted for political reasons.) One thing I was hoping to see in the proposal is missing — an increase in the eligibility age for Medicare (and, while we are at ... Mr. Obama, go to "China"
Interchange Fees Symposium E-Book
Over at the International Center for Law and Economics website we’ve posted a link to a pdf e-book version of the collected content (including both posts and comments) from our recent “Interchange Fees and the Law and Economics of Credit Cards” symposium. Head on over and download a copy if you’re interested in a dead ... Interchange Fees Symposium E-Book
Government ownership of land
I love our national parks as much as the next guy (probably more, having visited every major one and dozens of smaller ones, and loving every minute of nearly every visit), but can someone tell me why the federal government owns so much of our country? Some maps tell the story. See here and here. ... Government ownership of land
Some thoughts on the Olympics
I just love the Olympics. Exhibit A for me was the face of American skier Lindsey Vonn in the starting gate last night before her gold-medal-winning race. Vonn was the overwhelming favorite, having proved herself the greatest skier in the world for the past few years. She was, however, plagued by a nasty shin injury ... Some thoughts on the Olympics
