LATEST REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS

SEC Says Brokerages That Valued Illiquid Securities During the Subprime Mortgage Crisis "Violated Their Own Procedures and Used Methods of 'Questionable Merit'" (July 23, 2008).

• SEC Compliance Alert.
• Bloomberg News Report.
• Financial Week Report.

Basel Committee on Banking Supervision Publishes Proposal To Require Bigger Banks to Set Aside More Capital to Cover a Wider Range of Risks on Their Trading Books (July 23, 2008).

• Basel Committee Press Release.
• Proposed "Guidelines for Computing Capital for Incremental Risk in the Trading Book".
• Proposed "Revisions to the Basel II Market Risk Framework".
• WSJ Report.
  

Public Comments on SEC's Amendment to Emergency Short-Sale Order (July 23, 2008)

SEC Chairman's July 18 "Op-Ed" Piece from Investor's Business Daily on Naked Short Selling (July 23, 2008).

U.K.'s FSA Proposes to Allow Financial Institutions to Receive Emergency Loans from Central Bank without Immediately Disclosing them to Investors (July 23, 2008).

• FSA Press Release.
• FSA Consultation Paper.
• WSJ Report.

Speech by SEC Commissioner Atkins:  Shareholder Rights, the 2008 Proxy Season, and the Impact of Shareholder Activism (July 23, 2008)

EMERGING LEGAL ISSUES

SEC Staff Confirms that Hedge Fund Solicitors Are Not Subject to the Cash Solicitation Rule (07/22/08)
From: Morgan Lewis

If it Quacks Like a Duck: Financial Instruments with Characteristics of Equity--Still Equity for FASB? (07/22/08)
From: Morrison & Foerster

Market’s Dramatic Response to Naked Short Sale Restrictions Underscores Need for Additional SEC Action (07/21/08)
From: Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz

Delaware Supreme Court Reaffirms Director-Centric Corporate Governance, dated July 17, 2008. (07/17/08)
From: Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz

Delaware Supreme Court Affirms Dismissal of Shareholder Lawsuit Against Directors of a Financial Firm Accused of Valuing Assets Improperly (07/17/08)
From: Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz

SEC Issues Emergency Order to Deter Uncovered Short Sales in Certain Financial Institutions(07/17/08)
From: Morgan Lewis

SEC Proposes Amendments to Money Market Fund Rule July 2008
From: Morrison & Foerster

SEC Bars Naked Short Sales of Major Financial Firms; More is Needed, dated July 16, 2008.(07/16/08)
From: Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz

Dashed Hopes: the FDIC Final Policy Statement on Covered Bonds(07/16/08)
From: Morrison & Foerster

Department of Justice Announces Key Changes to the Principles of Federal Prosecution of Business Organizations (07/15/08)
From: Morgan Lewis

SEC Proposes to Revise Registration Statement Eligibility Requirements and Various Securities Act Rules to Eliminate Reliance on Credit Ratings (07/14/08)
From: Mayer Brown

SEC Takes a First Step to Address Manipulative Rumor-Mongering; More Aggressive Action Still Needed (07/14/08)
From: Wachtell Lipton

SLEW Newsletter Summer 2008
From: Morrison & Foerster

Financial Weekly Digest (07/11/08)
From: Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP

SEC Proposes Broader Access by Foreign Broker-Dealers to U.S. Investors (07/08/08)
From: Morrison & Foerster

DOJ Seeks To Avoid Legislation By Adopting Revised Policies on Corporate Prosecutions (07/10/08)
From: Morrison & Foerster

SEC Grants No-Action Relief for Those Seeking to Aggregate Transaction Reporting under Section 16(a)
From: Morrison & Foerster

Heightened Derivatives and Trading Disclosure for UK Equity Markets
From: Morrison & Foerster

FSA Proposes Extension of UK Major Shareholder Notification Requirements to Equity Contracts for Differences (including Equity Swaps and other Equity Derivatives)
From: Morgan Lewis

De-Coupling of Ownership, Economic and Voting Power in Public Companies - The UK's Financial Services Authority (FSA) Moves Decisively to Close the Gap (07/03/08)
From: Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz

SEC Proposes Reforms Relating to Credit Rating Agencies (07/02/08)
From: Morrison & Foerster

SEC Proposes Rule That Would Require Equity Index Annuities to Be Registered Securities (07/01/08)
From: Morgan Lewis

OTHER BREAKING NEWS

Report Concludes Sarbanes-Oxley-Related Controls Appear to Reduce Some Types of Fraud, But May Make Financial Statement Fraud More Costly and Harder to Detect (July 23, 2008).

Lender Liability Suits Rise as Builders Sue Banks That Pull Financing Leaving Construction Projects Unfinished (July 23, 2008).

Venture Capitalists Say the IPO Market Will Be Dead Until 2010; Some Don't See a Rebound Until 2012 (July 22, 2008).

SEC Emergency Order on Short Sales "Is So Full of Mixed Messages and Contradictory Twists that the Agency's Plan Makes No Sense" .(July 23, 2008).