After hearing oral arguments in early December 2017 in the case Christie v. NCAA, 137 S. Ct. 2327 (2017), the Supreme Court has yet to issue a ruling regarding the legality of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (“PASPA”), the federal law which effectively bans sports gambling in all but four states. Going into…
Year: 2018
A Terrifying Proposition: Why Looking to Tariffs and Trade Wars to Fix Domestic Industry is a Bad Idea
When the Director of President Trump’s National Economic Council Gary Cohn resigned in March, the stock market dropped almost 300 points the morning after the announcement.1 While your first reaction may be to write it off as coincidental, it is anything but, as the market displayed a similar reaction when rumors of his resignation were…
Has the U.S. Market Closed the Door to Huawei?
Huawei, a Chinese technology company, has the world’s second largest smartphone brand. Its smartphone sales have surpassed Apple and is only behind Samsung.1 But Huawei is not only a smartphone manufacturer—it is a giant telecommunication company with business spreading across almost every corner of the industry, including smartphones, routers, cell towers, phone chips, etc. Huawei…
Revised Tax Treatment for Net Operating Losses and Potential Effects
When Congress passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in late 2017, the Internal Revenue Code (“Code”) experienced a major adjustment. In addition to numerous, noteworthy changes in the Code, the treatment of “net operating losses” is now subject to different parameters. A net operating loss (“NOL”) is a loss taken by a business where…
One Constant in a Series of Changes: State Courts Retain Jurisdiction over Securities Act Claims after Cyan v. Beaver County
The Wall Street Crash of 1929 brought about significant financial market reform. One of those reforms still in effect today is the Securities Act of 1933 (“1933 Act” or “the Act”). The Act aims to force companies offering public securities to provide “full and fair disclosure” of pertinent information.1 To foster compliance, it also provides…
The Tax Cuts and the Jobs Act, What Has Changed?
The United States initiated its biggest overhaul of the federal income tax system–the first major reform in 30 years–when it passed Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“TCJA”) on December 15, 2017.1 The TCJA included substantial changes to the taxation of both individuals and businesses across all industries in the United States.2 The bill, much like…
A Changing of the Guard at Wells Fargo—But What Has Changed?
In the wake of its consumer abuses, including the creation of millions of unauthorized accounts, Wells Fargo is desperately attempting to clean up its image and instate a series of protocols to avoid such issues in the future.1 Recently, the Federal Reserve (“Fed”) ordered the San Francisco-based bank to cap its growth and improve its…
H-1B Visas and the Irony of America First
The United States has been a magnet for skilled and talented immigrants from all around the world for the past several decades. The diverse set of ethnicities and cultures that surround us in our daily lives is living proof of this undeniable fact. Yet, as it has proven time and time again, the federal immigration system…
Foreign-listed Chinese Tech Giants May Come Back to Home Stock Market Soon
A securities regulation reform is taking place in China. The Chinese regulators are trying to entice its foreign-listed tech giants back to the home stock exchanges—the Shanghai Stock Exchange and Shenzhen Stock Exchange. Many Chinese tech companies, such as Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu, have earned a place alongside the most powerful tech giants in the…
Carpenter v. United States Raises Important Privacy Concerns
In November 2017, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case Carpenter v. United States. Carpenter was charged and convicted for his role in a string of armed robberies occurring mostly in the Detroit area. Investigators identified Carpenter as a suspect and were able to place him near the scene of multiple robberies by…