Financial Institutions operating in the United States face two sets of breach notification requirements (BNR): one established by the Gramm-Leech Bliley Act (GLBA), and the other by state law. Currently, the GLBA sets a minimum BNR, allowing states to develop higher standards.1 For example, while under the GLBA an institution is only responsible for notifying…
Category: Blog Articles
Financial Times Acquired by Japan’s Nihon Keizai Shimbun in One of the Biggest Newspapers Deals Ever
On July 24th, 2015, the top officials of Nikkei, Japan’s largest media company, announced that the company has become the new owner of a prominent global newspaper, the Financial Times.1 The news came as a surprise to many, as senior executives of the FT and its parent company, Pearson, had been in negotiation with a…
Consumers are NOT “Amused” by Chicago’s New 9% Streaming Tax
Residents of Chicago may be familiar with the city’s “Amusement Tax,” which levies a 9% tax on admission fees or other charges for the “privilege to enter, to witness, to view or to participate in an amusement.”1 An amusement is broadly defined as including “any exhibition, performance, presentation or show for entertainment purposes,” or “any…
Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs): Creation, Operation, and Organization under the Investment Company Act of 1940
An exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) provides securities that offer institutional investment strategies, such as those offered by a mutual fund, but makes them available on security exchanges, just like stocks.1 Consequently, this unique and dynamic investment vehicle has grown rapidly since the first ETF began operation in 1993.2 $1.4 trillion of net new ETF shares have…
Securing the Glass House: Apple, Encryption, and the Fight Over Backdoors (Part I)
This summer, as the world eagerly awaited the latest i-offerings from Cupertino, the city associated with the latest in cutting-edge and fashionable tech from computer behemoth Apple Inc., James Comey, the current director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, published a list of concerns online regarding recent evolutions in encryption.1 According to Director Comey, the…
Proposal for a Flat Tax Rate Falls Flat
Anyone currently following the Republican primaries may not have noticed Rand Paul’s plan to abolish the tax code as we know it among the many controversial proposals. Paul is calling for the entire IRS tax code (comprising more than 70,000 pages) to be repealed and replaced with a 14.5% flat tax on individuals and businesses.1…
Master Limited Partnerships: Where They Have Been and Where They Are Going
A master limited partnership (“MLP”) is a business that acts like a corporation (meaning it is publicly traded and an investor can buy units of it like it would buy shares of a corporation) but is organized as a partnership—thus not subject to double taxation like a traditional corporation. The first MLP came into existence…
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank’s Implications on Global Project Finance
Over the past couple months China has made massive strides in the chartering of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), and with 50 countries signing up to join the bank in June, the AIIB seems near functional.1 Developed by China as a counter to the Western dominated World Bank and IMF, the stated objective of…
Implications of Department of Justice’s New Guidelines for White Collar Investigations
Earlier this month, the Justice Department issued a memo setting forth a new set of guidelines for white-collar civil and criminal investigations, signaling a new departmental focus on individual employees in the white-collar context.1 Aiming to “ease some barriers” to the investigation and prosecution of individual employees, the new guidelines codify Department priorities and establish…
Three Reasons Why Entrepreneurs Should Consider Detroit
It is not news that in the summer of 2013 Detroit filed the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.1 In spite of the bankruptcy proceedings, which formally concluded when Judge Steven Rhoades confirmed the City’s plan last November, Detroit received a lot of press as a burgeoning hub for entrepreneurial activity. While many may still…