NEWS AND PUBLICATIONS

February 2, 2012. Law.com. Facebook's IPO has been eagerly anticipated as a defining moment for the latest web investing boom. It is expected to be one of the largest in history, seeking to raise $5 billion in capital, on its way to an estimated valuation between $75 and $100 billion. The social-networking company has redefined the way millions of people worldwide interact and share information on the internet. In "Regulators Prepare to Examine the Facebook IPO," Eric Talley observes that it can be a company's most arduous securities filing, and may even form the basis of future lawsuits if investors were to charge they were misled. Read more>

The January 2012 Update is now available!

 

 

 

 

 

January 24, 2012. WSJ. In "Unpacking the Law Around the Chinese Reverse Takeover Mess," Stanley Lubman observes that a new dispute over access to accounting information on US-listed Chinese companies should give American investors pause. The dispute stems from the fact that American auditing companies cannot open their own auditing offices in China and must operate through Chinese affiliates. The Chinese government has long rejected American requests to investigate Chinese auditing companies on the grounds of protecting Chinese sovereignty. Read more>

In "From Independence to Politics in Banking Regulation," Stavros Gadinis discusses how US financial regulation traditionally relied on independent agencies, such as the Federal Reserve and the FDIC. This paper studies reforms in 10 key jurisdictions for international banking.

January 2, 2012. The New York Times (by subscription only). In "New Laws Now Evaluated by Job Creation," David Card is quoted for remarks on legislative analysis:  The recent focus on job creation is “just a selling point.” Read more>

December 23, 2011. WSJ. "Wukan Protest: Will Rights Awareness Spread?" China expert Stanley Lubman's latest observations on the Wukan protests and whether the central government will address the root causes of the protests by implementing long-postponed legislation on rural land seizures and cracking down on corruption. Legislative drafters have been working for years on new land laws that would govern expropriations. Read more>

December 22, 2011. Taxanalysts.com. In the essay “On Tax Increase Limitations: Part I - A Costly Incoherence,” David Gamage and co-author Darien Shanske explore the theoretical implications of one particular type of fiscal limitation on state legislatures - namely, special rules for tax increase limitations (TILs) - and whether these are analytically sound. Read more> 

December 2011. "Don't Tax the Rich, Tax Inequality." Insightful analysis by Aaron Edlin and co-author Ian Ayres.  This work addresses inequality as a tangible and imminent threat to modern society. Edlin and Ayres believe we have reached a tipping point, and propose a plan for Congress to reform the tax code to put the brakes on further growth in inequality. Read more>

In his new book: "Justifying Intellectual Property," Robert Merges makes an ethical case for IP, arguing that these rights have deeper roots than economic efficiency alone. Read more> 

December 2011. Alan J. Auerbach published "Long-Term Fiscal Sustainability in Major Economies." As the world economy slowly recovers from the very deep and widespread recession of recent years, many countries confront very serious fiscal imbalances. How much time they have to deal with these imbalances is a central question. Read more>

November 22, 2011, Nature Journal. "Stem-cell pioneer bows out." Geron's announcement last week that it would cease work on its stem-cell-therapy programmes and focus on its anti-cancer portfolio has caused concern among investors and patients.  Ken Taymor observed that Geron's decision may benefit the field: Geron controls extensive intellectual property relevant to human ES-cell therapy, and it may now be more willing to license this portfolio to help others pursuing such therapies.