The SEC just filed a common-sense fraud case against a tiny, bankrupt body armor maker in Florida. So why can't it do the same against the banks that nearly wrecked our economy?

In a once-sleepy corner of the Treasury Department, regulation of overseas conduct is going strong. That's bad news for European banks, but good news for American foreign policy--and a handful of well-positioned firms that excel at both litigation and bank regulation.

In an unusual move, Barnes & Noble founder Leonard Riggio paid for a $29 million shareholder settlement out of his own funds. Why? His directors and officers policy likely has a "personal profit" exclusion, which denies coverage when the insured loses money he wasn't legally entitled to.

For the first time, China's securities regulator has agreed to turn over audit documents related to an ongoing SEC investigation of a U.S.-listed Chinese company.

The private equity industry enjoys a charmed life, with a business model that involves minimal risk and huge payoffs. But is it possible that PE firms—which have thwarted efforts to rein in their special privileges—might not always get their way?

It's been an eventful couple of weeks for plaintiffs lawyers at Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd who are targeting Morgan Stanley and the three big ratings companies in a pair of coordinated suits in New York.