Sunday’s Dilbert on financial reports, trusted advisors, and Ponzi schemes. Read more »
Year: 2009
Facing Conflicts of Interest in Troubled Times
As the recession continues, conflicts and ethics are likely to increase. Morrison & Foerster LLP and The Markkula Center for Applied Ethics put together a webinar: Facing Conflicts of Interest in Troubled Times. These are my notes. James Balassone, Executive in Residence, Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, started by talking about the environment in which … Read more »
Workplace Challenges of Pandemics
The reality of an influenza pandemic has now reached the American workplace. The Swine Flu H1N1 Influenza seems to have been overblown and is now ebbing. There were only two confirmed deaths. It appears that H1N1 is neither particularly contagious or deadly. In comparison, the H5N1 virus (the Avian Flu) is very deadly with an … Read more »
“Hello, Madoff” What the Secretary Saw
The June issue of Vanity Fair continues its coverage of Bernie Madoff. This issue centers around Eleanor Squillari, who spent two decades as Madoff’ private secretary. The article, entitled “Hello, Madoff!,” is accompanied by more than a dozen intimate photos of Madoff and his family from as far back as the 1970s. According to Eleanor … Read more »
Perspectives on Hedge Fund Registration
On Thursday, May 7, 2009, 11:00 a.m., the Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government Sponsored Enterprises will hold a hearing on: “Perspectives on Hedge Fund Registration” The Committee will be offering a live webcast of the hearing. Read more »
Insider Trading on Credit Default Swaps
The Securities and Exchange Commission brought its first insider trading enforcement action involving credit default swaps. Renato Negrin, a former portfolio manager at hedge fund investment adviser Millennium Partners L.P., and Jon-Paul Rorech, a salesman at Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., are charged with insider trading in credit default swaps of VNU N.V., an international holding … Read more »
Corporate Compliance & Ethics Week at The Home Depot
Crystal M. Consonery, PhD, CCEP shared the experiences of Home Depot during the 2008 Corporate Compliance & Ethics Week. The goal was increasing awareness of the Corporate Compliance department. So they decided to use Corporate Compliance & Ethics Week to launch their departmental awareness and branding. One of Home Depot’s eight core values is “Doing … Read more »
Advertising Limitations for Investment Advisers on Social Networking Sites
While FINRA has a very strict limitation on advertisements focusing on procedures, investment advisers have a principles driven approach to limitations on advertising. To start, an advertisement is any communication addressed to more than one person that offers (1) analysis concerning a security, (2) any information to used in making a determination to buy to … Read more »
Ethics and Facebook
Can a lawyer hire a third person to send a “friend request” to a witness? According to an opinion from the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Professional Guidance Committee the answer is no. Although the information on someone’s Facebook profile is discoverable, a lawyer can’t try to access the page through deception. Although imperfect, I liked this … Read more »
This Week is Corporate Compliance & Ethics Week
The Society of Corporate Compliance & Ethics is promoting the week of May 3-9, 2009 as Corporate Compliance & Ethics Week. Read more »