Block.

September 08, 2006 | Corporate Counsel

Two Senate leaders on Wednesday called on Congress and the SEC to crack down on executives who manipulated their stock options grants. Sens. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., and Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said the recent options backdating scandal obligates lawmakers to ensure that the SEC's investigative budget remains sufficient to ferret out instances of options rigging schemes and gives Congress incentive to rework tax laws favoring stock-based compensation for executives over cash salaries.

By Donna Block and Ron Orol

6 minute read

February 21, 2006 | Law.com

With little fanfare, the SEC has dismissed its suit to break up a $6.6 billion utility merger. The decision averted what undoubtedly would have led to a bitter court fight over disassembling a merger consummated nearly six years ago. The agency decided to throw in the towel in the wake of Congress' repeal of the 1935 Public Utilities Holding Company Act. The decision to drop the case has incensed public advocacy groups, which say the SEC sat on the case until the statute ran out.

By Donna Block

4 minute read

August 03, 2004 | Law.com

President George W. Bush installed Deborah P. Majoras as chairwoman of the Federal Trade Commission Friday in a recess appointment that allows the president to act without approval by the Senate. Some Senate Democrats voiced concerns that Majoras' work as a partner at Jones Day, during which she represented oil companies, created a conflict of interest making it inappropriate for her to oversee gasoline-pricing issues at the FTC.

By Donna Block

2 minute read

September 18, 2006 | Law.com

Chicago utility giant Exelon and New Jersey's Public Service Enterprise Group have abandoned their $16 billion union after failing to reach a settlement with New Jersey regulators. Last week's decision to terminate the deal followed several failed discussions with state officials and consumer advocates. The companies said that gaps between the settlement positions were insurmountable. Regulators in several states have blocked four of the nine largest utility deals in the past three years.

By Donna Block

5 minute read

September 23, 2004 | New York Law Journal

Technology executives fanned out across Capitol Hill on Tuesday to drum up support in the Senate for legislation that would limit corporate expensing of employee stock options.

By Donna BlockAmerican Lawyer Media

3 minute read

May 02, 2001 | Law.com

This month marks the one-year anniversary that America's love affair with technology stocks began to sour. As the NASDAQ hovers around 1,900, it seems like more than a year has passed since the giddy 5,000-plus days of early 2000. But the rumors of venture capitalism's demise have been somewhat exaggerated. Not only are VCs making investments, their choices are growing considerably more solid.

By Steven R. Block

7 minute read

April 04, 2006 | Law.com

In the wake of financial crises at companies with enormous pension obligations such as United and GM, pension shortfalls have become an enormous political issue and burden on the federal government, which provides a measure of guarantee for insolvent retirement plans. With an eye toward heading off pension implosions, accounting rulemakers have unveiled the first step in their plan to radically change how pension plans are treated on corporate books.

By Donna Block

4 minute read

May 01, 2006 | Law.com

A Republican lawmaker from Florida said last week he is drafting legislation to roll back portions of the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act because the law is hurting the economy. "New entrepreneurs are no longer considering the United States of America as a friendly place to raise capital," said Rep. Tom Feeney, a member of the House Financial Services Committee. The bill is the latest assault on the 2002 landmark law enacted by Congress after the Enron and WorldCom scandals.

By Donna Block

5 minute read

February 15, 2005 | Law.com

For more than a decade, Congress' failure to repeal the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 has hampered dealmaking among U.S. utilities. That could finally change in the coming year. The Bush administration is confident that with bigger Republican majorities in the Senate and House, there will be enough votes to pass a broad energy bill, which includes retiring the Depression-era law. If PUHCA is scuttled, supporters and critics of the move expect an explosion in energy investments.

By Donna Block

3 minute read

May 24, 2007 | New York Law Journal

A proposed merger of the regulatory arm of the New York Stock Exchange with the NASD will benefit investors, the brokerage industry and also put the nation in a better position to compete, regulators told a U.S. Senate panel last week.

By Donna BlockThe Deal

6 minute read