Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
Capital Markets
-
May 23, 2024
FTX Judge Declines To Undo Ch. 11 Digital Claim Estimation
The judge overseeing the Chapter 11 case of cryptocurrency exchange FTX Trading Ltd. on Thursday denied a request to vacate an earlier ruling allowing the debtor to estimate the claims of creditors holding digital assets based on their petition date value, saying the party seeking to undo the order had not provided any new evidence to justify the action.
-
May 23, 2024
Big Banks Hit With Claims Of Turning Man Into 'Money Mule'
A wealthy Texas entrepreneur says Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, Charles Schwab and Deutsche Bank turned him into a "money mule" by using his accounts to launder billions of dollars over multiple decades, alleging a conspiracy also involving his family and a prominent lawyer that cost him millions.
-
May 23, 2024
7th Circ. Unsure VIX-Fix Claims Were Wrongly Tossed
The Seventh Circuit seemed unsure Thursday that two investment companies should be allowed to pursue volatility index manipulation claims against Barclays, Morgan & Stanley Co. and other financial institutions after a lower court found that one lacked standing and the other missed a statutory deadline.
-
May 23, 2024
Ex-Fund Manager Settles SEC's $264M Offering Fraud Claims
A former private fund manager has agreed to pay $250,000 to resolve U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission claims he violated securities fraud laws by making promises that funds he handled would invest almost $264 million that they did not actually have on hand in issuers, including two special purpose acquisition vehicles.
-
May 23, 2024
Archegos Witness Admits Lying To Exec Charged In Collapse
An Archegos manager who pled guilty to fraud and is cooperating with prosecutors conceded to a Manhattan federal jury Thursday that he fostered an effort to mock his former boss and hide information before the hedge fund's $36 billion collapse.
-
May 23, 2024
House Passes Bill To Block Fed-Issued Digital Dollar
The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed a bill that would prohibit the Federal Reserve from issuing a digital dollar in a vote that fell starkly along party lines, with Democrats decrying the bill as fearmongering over privacy concerns and a departure from the previous day's bipartisan passage of a regulatory framework for digital assets.
-
May 23, 2024
Virtual Reality Startup's $150M SPAC Merger Is Scrapped
Blank-check company Maquia Capital Acquisition Corp. and virtual reality software provider Immersaid have mutually agreed to cancel their planned merger that would have taken Immersed public at an estimated $150 million valuation.
-
May 23, 2024
Wow Such Basic: Justices Back Crypto Fans In Dogecoin Duel
It's up to judges, not arbitrators, to figure out whether contracts between businesses and consumers have subtly superseded earlier agreements to hash out disputes in arbitration rather than litigation, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday.
-
May 22, 2024
American Air Pilots Win Cert. Over 401(k)'s ESG Investments
A Texas federal judge on Wednesday certified a class of pilots accusing American Airlines of packing its $26 billion retirement plan with investments that focused too heavily on environmental, social and governance factors, like climate change, and too little on financial returns.
-
May 22, 2024
Investors Say FIS Must Investigate Derivative Suit's Claims
An investor of fintech corporation Fidelity National Information Services has pushed back on the company and its executives' bid to escape a derivative lawsuit over a $46 billion market cap drop resulting from a business spinoff, saying the company must investigate the suit's allegations.
-
May 22, 2024
US House Passes Crypto Bill Over SEC, White House Dissent
The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a Republican-led framework to regulate digital assets despite pushback from many Democrats, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the White House, which questioned whether the bill will actually provide the clarity it promises.
-
May 22, 2024
Ex-FTX Exec Deserves Up To 7 Years For Fraud, Feds Say
Federal prosecutors have told a New York federal judge they are seeking a five- to seven-year prison sentence for former FTX executive Ryan Salame, arguing that his campaign finance offense "is one of the largest-ever in American history."
-
May 22, 2024
Skadden, Latham Lead Specialty Insurer's Upsized $128M IPO
Private equity-backed insurer Bowhead Specialty Holdings Inc. on Wednesday priced an upsized $128 million initial public offering above its planned price range, represented by Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP and underwriters' counsel Latham & Watkin LLP, marking the first sizable insurance IPO of 2024.
-
May 22, 2024
Binance.US Beats Fla. Regulator's Suspension Order
A Florida state appeals court agreed with Binance.US on Wednesday that the state's financial regulator shouldn't have denied the cryptocurrency exchange the ability to do business in the state after its affiliate and founder pled guilty last year, and that the agency didn't follow proper procedure in blocking Binance's operations.
-
May 22, 2024
Paul Hastings Leads Kayne Anderson Unit's $100M IPO
An affiliate of Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors has announced it raised roughly $100 million in an initial public offering, with Paul Hastings LLP advising the company and Ropes & Gray LLP representing the underwriters, joining a handful of similar specialty investment vehicles that have gone public in 2024.
-
May 22, 2024
Archegos Exec Says Founder Didn't Direct Him To Lie
The former director of risk management for Archegos told a Manhattan federal jury on Wednesday that the collapsed hedge fund's founder never instructed him to lie to banks in order to finance trading activity, as a defense lawyer sought to poke holes in the government's fraud case.
-
May 22, 2024
Del. Justices Reverse BitGo-Galaxy Merger Suit Dismissal
Delaware's Supreme Court on Wednesday reversed the dismissal of a lawsuit that cryptocurrency wallet provider BitGo Holding Inc. filed against digital assets firm Galaxy Digital Holdings Inc., remanding the dispute over their broken $1.2 billion merger back to Chancery Court to resolve multiple "ambiguities."
-
May 22, 2024
'Pump-And-Dump' Claims Sputter In 'Disorganized' RICO Suit
A Michigan federal judge on Tuesday freed multiple defendants accused of funding a "pump-and-dump" scheme, saying a company suing over shareholders' alleged $3 million losses couldn't prove that the defendants made any plans together, while taking jabs at both sides' "disorganized" filings.
-
May 22, 2024
Del. Supreme Court Affirms AMC Shareholder Settlement
Delaware's Supreme Court declared Wednesday that there shall be no sequel to the drama from common stockholders of AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. who objected to a class settlement of litigation in the state's Chancery Court.
-
May 22, 2024
NY Federal Reserve Associate GC Rejoins Covington
A former Covington & Burling LLP associate who left the firm 13 years ago to join the Federal Reserve Bank of New York has returned to work as of counsel, the firm announced Tuesday.
-
May 22, 2024
NYSE Parent Agrees To $10M SEC Fine Over Cyber Breach
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced Wednesday that the Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has agreed to pay $10 million to settle allegations that it failed to timely report a data breach that impacted the New York Stock Exchange and eight other subsidiaries.
-
May 22, 2024
Raspberry Pi Confirms June IPO With $40M In New Shares
Raspberry Pi confirmed on Wednesday that it intends to float on the main market of the London Stock Exchange, including by issuing $40 million in new shares and a parallel stock sale to main investors chipmaker Arm and investment manager Lansdowne.
-
May 22, 2024
Greenberg-Led SPAC To Buy Safety Biz For $1.85B, Quit LSE
Admiral said on Wednesday that it has agreed to buy industry safety company Acuren for $1.85 billion, as the blank-check business seeks a slice of the growing and resilient infrastructure inspection sector.
-
May 22, 2024
Citigroup Fined £61.6M For Trading Systems Failings
Two finance regulators said Wednesday they have fined Citigroup Global Markets Ltd. a total of £61.6 million ($78.4 million) for failures in trading systems that led to the lender mistakenly selling $1.4 billion in equities into European markets.
-
May 21, 2024
2nd Circ. Partially Backs Win For Nurses' Union Pension Plan
In a 90-page opinion, the Second Circuit on Tuesday mostly upheld a Manhattan federal judge's decision affirming an arbiter's award favoring a nurses' pension plan, agreeing that White Oak Global Advisors LLC must return "Day 1" fees totaling nearly $2 million and pay prejudgment interest said to top $22 million.
Expert Analysis
-
Bitcoin ETF Approval Doesn't Mean SEC Approves Of Crypto
While the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's approval last month of 11 applications for spot exchange-traded funds tracking bitcoin is a landmark moment for the crypto-asset industry, investors who are hopeful that the SEC will approve similar crypto-based ETFs may be disappointed, says attorneys at Mintz.
-
A Closer Look At Novel Jury Instruction In Forex Rigging Case
After the recent commodities fraud conviction of a U.K.-based hedge fund executive in U.S. v. Phillips, post-trial briefing has focused on whether the New York federal court’s jury instruction incorrectly defined the requisite level of intent, which should inform defense counsel in future open market manipulation cases, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert.
-
The Corporate Disclosure Tug-Of-War's Free Speech Issues
The continuing conflict over corporate disclosure requirements — highlighted by a lawsuit against Missouri's anti-ESG rules — has important implications not just for investors and regulated entities but also for broader questions about the scope of the First Amendment, say Colin Pohlman, and Jane Luxton and Paul Kisslinger at Lewis Brisbois.
-
Crypto Issues To Watch Amid Evolving Legal Landscape
This year will likely be a momentous one for crypto in the U.S., but whether it is successful or disastrous will depend on the outcome of high-profile court decisions and key regulatory actions, say attorneys at Venable.
-
Navigating The Sunset Of Sibor And Other Key Benchmarks
Similar to the recent transition away from Libor, the expected cessation deadlines of the Canadian Dollar Offered Rate and Singapore Interbank Offered Rate are nigh, so Canadian and Singapore dollar-denominated credit facilities will likely need to be amended, say attorneys at Cadwalader.
-
FTC AI Inquiry Signals Intensified Focus On Emerging Tech
The Federal Trade Commission's recent inquiry into investments and partnerships between Big Tech companies and artificial intelligence startups appears to be directed at guiding future enforcement decisions in competition, privacy and consumer protection — and three principles discussed at a related tech summit give insight on the agency's approach, say attorneys at Skadden.
-
What Shareholder Approval Rule Changes Mean For Cos.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission recently approved proposed rule changes to shareholder requirements by the New York Stock Exchange, an approval that will benefit listed companies in many ways, including by making it easier to raise capital from passive investors, say attorneys at Baker Botts.
-
Reimagining Law Firm Culture To Break The Cycle Of Burnout
While attorney burnout remains a perennial issue in the legal profession, shifting post-pandemic expectations mean that law firms must adapt their office cultures to retain talent, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.
-
What Are The Pros And Cons Of Selling A Bankruptcy Claim?
As companies navigate financial uncertainties and market challenges, they should understand the advantages and disadvantages of selling a bankruptcy claim, so that they can monetize it with confidence and minimize the risk that amounts received in connection with a sale will be subject to potential disgorgement, says Evelyn Meltzer at Troutman Pepper.
-
Series
Competing In Dressage Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My lifelong participation in the sport of dressage — often called ballet on horses — has proven that several skills developed through training and competition are transferable to legal work, especially the ability to harness focus, persistence and versatility when negotiating a deal, says Stephanie Coco at V&E.
-
What Financial Cos. Must Know For Handling T+1 Settlements
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has adopted a groundbreaking new T+1 settlement rule for securities transactions in order to improve market efficiency — but it presents significant challenges for the financial services industry, especially private equity firms, hedge funds and institutional asset managers, says Adam Weiss at Petra Funds Group.
-
CFTC Moves May Boost Interest In Voluntary Carbon Markets
As companies try to reduce their net greenhouse gas emissions, many have been cautious about embracing voluntary carbon credit markets — but recent moves by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission to regulate this sector may address some of its well-known challenges, say Deborah North and Laura Daugherty at Cleary.
-
3 Strategies For Aggressive Judgment Enforcement
As illustrated by the many creditors of Citgo Petroleum Corp. who may walk away empty-handed — despite the company's court-ordered sale — it is important to start investigating counterparty assets and planning for enforcement even before obtaining a judgment, says Brian Asher at Asher Research.
-
How Biotech Cos. Can Utilize Synthetic Royalty Financing
Synthetic royalty transactions have been on the rise as a funding structure for biotechnology companies, but questions have arisen surrounding how such transactions work, and structuring them correctly requires a nuanced understanding, say Todd Trattner and Ryan Murr at Gibson Dunn.
-
The Legal Industry Needs A Cybersecurity Paradigm Shift
As law firms face ever-increasing risks of cyberattacks and ransomware incidents, the legal industry must implement robust cybersecurity measures and privacy-centric practices to preserve attorney-client privilege, safeguard client trust and uphold the profession’s integrity, says Ryan Paterson at Unplugged.