The information contained herein is based on public sources and the views expressed are my own. Statements should not be construed in any way to be the views or opinions of any entity referenced herein. On September 19th, 2021, the New York Times published a report outlining how accounting firms craft favorable tax rules through the revolving door of employees between the “government and themselves.”[1] The report outlined how employees of massive accounting firms will join federal agencies and change policies in favor of the clients of their previous employers.[2] It continued to explain how that behavior is rewarded when…
Author: Thomas Rukaj
Overview Lawmakers across the aisle have teamed up to introduce legislation that would prohibit dominant tech companies from using discriminatory practices against competitors’ products on their online marketplaces.[1] This legislative proposal would largely affect Big Tech companies such as Amazon, Apple, Google, and Facebook, who have been accused of abusing their dominant positions in the past.[2] Current Senate Bill On October 14, 2021, Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee Antitrust Subcommittee, and Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, announced new antitrust legislation aimed at combatting the use of “self-preferencing,” a…
There has been a rapid growing interest in an emerging digital asset class known as non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Capturing the attention of investors and consumers alike, NFTs are used by blockchain games, crypto artists, and countless others because of their digital scarcity and uniqueness.[1] NFTs non-fungible nature distinguishes it from other digital assets.[2] Most blockchain tokens, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, are “created to be interchangeable.”[3] For example, two different bitcoin ledger entries are interchangeable, and being the holder of one allocation gives the owner the same rights as the other.[4] In contrast, each NFT contains computerized code which verifies…
Introduction As the world emerges from the pandemic, the global merger and acquisition (M&A) market has not only rebounded from its initial collapse but has also thrived.[1] Initially, the pandemic brought life as we knew it to a halt, and the M&A market was no exception.[2] In the first quarter of 2020, M&A deals dropped to $253 billion, a more than 50% drop compared to 2019’s first quarter.[3] Multibillion-dollar deals were abandoned such as Xerox’s $34 billion offer for HP and SoftBank’s $3 billion offer for WeWork shares,[4] and there was general uncertainty about how the market would adapt to…
A former Facebook employee has come forward in an interview with 60 Minutes to express her disdain with the company’s policy of prioritizing profit over the consumer.[1] She is calling for lawmakers to make changes to prevent Facebook, along with other social media companies, from continuing along this path.[2] Frances Haugen, the woman who has come forward with these claims, worked for the company for two years before leaving and taking thousands of private company documents with her.[3] Before Facebook, Haugen worked for other social media platforms including Pinterest and Google.[4] Her claims are that Facebook’s business model, unlike that of her previous…
I. Introduction In August 2021, Mr. George Assad – an alleged stockholder in each defendant SPAC – filed novel claims against three separate Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs), including Mr. Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Tontine Holdings, Ltd. (“PSTH”).[1] The complaint alleges that the defendant SPACs are “investment companies” under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (ICA) and, consequently, because the SPACs did not register with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), therefore the Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) for each were illegal and should be voided.[2] These ICA lawsuits have received a large amount of media attention, in part because of their potential…
Overview Data is often referred to as the “new oil”.[1] However, data is unlike oil and other commodities of the past because data is intangible, infinite, not openly traded on the market, and lacks value in its unprocessed form.[2] Due to data’s unique qualities, data monopolies operate differently from the natural resource monopolies of the past.[3] As a result, Big Data monopolies of the 21st century have largely evaded enforcement of 20th century law.[4] The Department of Justice’s (DOJ) recent antitrust lawsuit against Google could signal a departure from what some have referred to as a “laissez-faire” approach towards Big…
Aesop’s fable of the Tortoise and the Hare cautions that “the race is not always to the swift.”[1] It appears that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has thus far taken this message to heart in its regulation of the crypto industry. SEC Chairman Gary Gensler recently likened the state of the crypto industry to the “Wild West,” arguing that a lack of regulatory protections has led to risky conditions and a paucity of trustworthy information for potential investors.[2] However, as crypto usage continues to soar[3], the SEC seems poised to flex its regulatory muscle to catch up in the…
Background In today’s financial landscape, institutional investors and large corporations are increasingly interested in other factors beyond just the bottom line. Intensifying climate disasters worldwide, coupled with a renewed focus on social justice, have led companies to emphasize environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues in their corporate strategy.[1] There is no single, universally agreed upon list of what factors to consider when looking into the ESG commitments of a given corporate entity.[2] However, there are certain specifics that most investors and corporate boards have coalesced around.[3] For the environmental prong, the most important items include climate change, biodiversity, carbon footprint, and water conservation.…
Introduction The FinTech company Robinhood – developer of the homonymous stock trading App – claims to be “on a mission to democratize finance for all.” It went public on July 29, 2021, listing on the Nasdaq exchange. The shares were offered at an initial price of $38, as it was in the case of the IPO of Facebook on May 18, 2012, one of the largest of all time. These two IPOs were also similar in another respect: both companies raised capital with a dual class shares structure, allocating Class B shares – with 10 votes each – to their…