Corporatocracy is an economic,political and judicial system controlled by business corporations or corporate interests.
Insider trading is the trading of a public company's stock or other securities based on material,nonpublic information about the company. In various countries,some kinds of trading based on insider information are illegal. This is because it is seen as unfair to other investors who do not have access to the information,as the investor with insider information could potentially make larger profits than a typical investor could make. The rules governing insider trading are complex and vary significantly from country to country. The extent of enforcement also varies from one country to another. The definition of insider in one jurisdiction can be broad and may cover not only insiders themselves but also any persons related to them,such as brokers,associates,and even family members. A person who becomes aware of non-public information and trades on that basis may be guilty of a crime.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government,created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market manipulation.
An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment banks,who also arrange for the shares to be listed on one or more stock exchanges. Through this process,colloquially known as floating,or going public,a privately held company is transformed into a public company. Initial public offerings can be used to raise new equity capital for companies,to monetize the investments of private shareholders such as company founders or private equity investors,and to enable easy trading of existing holdings or future capital raising by becoming publicly traded.
The Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002 is a United States federal law that mandates certain practices in financial record keeping and reporting for corporations. The act,Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law 107–204 (text)(PDF),116 Stat. 745,enacted July 30,2002,also known as the "Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act" and "Corporate and Auditing Accountability,Responsibility,and Transparency Act" and more commonly called Sarbanes–Oxley,SOX or Sarbox,contains eleven sections that place requirements on all U.S. public company boards of directors and management and public accounting firms. A number of provisions of the Act also apply to privately held companies,such as the willful destruction of evidence to impede a federal investigation.
Investment banking is an advisory-based financial service for institutional investors,corporations,governments,and similar clients. Traditionally associated with corporate finance,such a bank might assist in raising financial capital by underwriting or acting as the client's agent in the issuance of debt or equity securities. An investment bank may also assist companies involved in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and provide ancillary services such as market making,trading of derivatives and equity securities,FICC services or research. Most investment banks maintain prime brokerage and asset management departments in conjunction with their investment research businesses. As an industry,it is broken up into the Bulge Bracket,Middle Market,and boutique market.
Corporate governance are mechanisms,processes and relations by which corporations are controlled and operated ("governed").
Securities fraud,also known as stock fraud and investment fraud,is a deceptive practice in the stock or commodities markets that induces investors to make purchase or sale decisions on the basis of false information. The setups are generally made to result in monetary gain for the deceivers,and generally result in unfair monetary losses for the investors. They are generally violating securities laws.
A proxy statement is a statement required of a firm when soliciting shareholder votes. This statement is filed in advance of the annual meeting. The firm needs to file a proxy statement,otherwise known as a Form DEF 14A,with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. This statement is useful in assessing how management is paid and potential conflict of interest issues with auditors.
Naked short selling,or naked shorting,is the practice of short-selling a tradable asset of any kind without first borrowing the asset from someone else or ensuring that it can be borrowed. When the seller does not obtain the asset and deliver it to the buyer within the required time frame,the result is known as a "failure to deliver" (FTD). The transaction generally remains open until the asset is acquired and delivered by the seller,or the seller's broker settles the trade on their behalf.
Gary S. Gensler is an American government official and former Goldman Sachs investment banker serving as the chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Gensler previously led the Biden–Harris transition's Federal Reserve,Banking,and Securities Regulators agency review team. Prior to his appointment,he was professor of Practice of Global Economics and Management at the MIT Sloan School of Management.
Share repurchase,also known as share buyback or stock buyback,is the reacquisition by a company of its own shares. It represents an alternate and more flexible way of returning money to shareholders. When used in coordination with increased corporate leverage,buybacks can increase share prices.
Angelo Robert Mozilo was an Italian American mortgage industry banker who was co-founder,chairman of the board,and chief executive officer of mortgage giant Countrywide Financial until July 1,2008. Mozilo retired shortly after the sale to Bank of America for a total of $4.1 billion in stock The company's status as a major lender of subprime mortgages made it a central player in a subsequent mortgage crisis which collapsed the industry,bursting a housing bubble which had accumulated throughout the 2000s,and contributing heavily to the Great Recession. Mozilo later paid over $67 million in fines to settle a series of federal charges related to his conduct at the company. While Mozilo is often mentioned in connection with the 2008 housing crisis,he remains highly regarded among many mortgage and housing industry leaders and insiders.
Staggered elections are elections where only some of the places in an elected body are up for election at the same time. For example,United States senators have a six-year term,but they are not all elected at the same time. Rather,elections are held every two years for one-third of Senate seats.
The Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act,commonly referred to as Dodd–Frank,is a United States federal law that was enacted on July 21,2010. The law overhauled financial regulation in the aftermath of the Great Recession,and it made changes affecting all federal financial regulatory agencies and almost every part of the nation's financial services industry.
In the United States,the compensation of company executives is distinguished by the forms it takes and its dramatic rise over the past three decades. Within the last 30 years,executive compensation or pay has risen dramatically beyond what can be explained by changes in firm size,performance,and industry classification. This has received a wide range of criticism leveled against it.
Walter Joseph "Jay" Clayton III is an American attorney who served as the chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from May 4,2017 until December 23,2020. He was nominated for the position by President Donald Trump.
Securities market participants in the United States include corporations and governments issuing securities,persons and corporations buying and selling a security,the broker-dealers and exchanges which facilitate such trading,banks which safe keep assets,and regulators who monitor the markets' activities. Investors buy and sell through broker-dealers and have their assets retained by either their executing broker-dealer,a custodian bank or a prime broker. These transactions take place in the environment of equity and equity options exchanges,regulated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC),or derivative exchanges,regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). For transactions involving stocks and bonds,transfer agents assure that the ownership in each transaction is properly assigned to and held on behalf of each investor.
Roberta Sarah Karmel was an American attorney and the Centennial Professor of Law,and Co-Director of the Center for the Study of International Business Law,at Brooklyn Law School. She was the first female Commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Joshua Mitts is an American legal scholar. He is associate professor of law and Milton Handler Fellow at Columbia Law School. He is known for his research into short activism and its alleged market abuses.
