See You at the Rodman Conference

Now of course I love all my investment banking friends. A number of firms regularly put on conferences that include great presentations by interesting companies and, usually, some fun entertainment as well. And best of all they’re usually free! Being here in NY, I always enjoy the annual Rodman & Renshaw conference, this year being [...]

Dodd-Frank (”Dank”) Part IV: Not the End!

A memorandum from law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell makes it clear. The Dodd-Frank securities regulatory reform bill (I started calling it “Dank”) is just the beginning of reform. Much of the bill relates to instructing various agencies to conduct 243 rulemakings and 67 studies, according to the DPW memo. As mentioned in the prior part [...]

Dodd-Frank (”Dank”) Part III: “Accredited Investor” Definition Changed

Another meaningful change in the Dank bill affecting smaller companies: the definition of accredited investor as used in SEC Regulation D. When an offering is made under Reg D, a safe harbor is created assuring that the offering is not treated as a public offering. A key to this determination is to see how many [...]

Dodd-Frank Part II: Managing Systemic Risk

Yesterday the US Senate passed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, following the House of Representatives doing the same late last month. Last thing to do: Mr. Obama has to sign it. He will. When? Soon. On the news this morning he seemed very concerned about his daughter starting camp. But yes [...]

Dodd-Frank Part I: Fund Adviser Registration

It appears the Senate is poised to pass the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act in the next day or so, following the House’s passage late last month. The President is ready to sign it, possibly this weekend. Will Dodd and Frank’s names become as synonymous with securities law changes as Sarbanes and [...]

RM Crowd Heads North - Part III

In this last report from the Toronto Reverse Merger Conference, there was some discussion about the latest developments in the stock markets and regulatory environment. A few snippets:

FINRA’s plan to establish a “quotation collection facility” or QCF is meeting strong opposition from Pink OTC Markets and others as a method to “steal quotes” from other [...]

“Live Aid” and Thoughts on 25 Years Before the Bar

Remember “Live Aid”? I do. The day-long concert to help raise money to reduce famine in Ethiopia took place July 13, 1985. Two concerts were held simultaneously in London and Philadelphia. Two billion people in 60 countries watched it. Legends like Queen, Paul McCartney, Elvis Costello, David Bowie, U2 and a personal favorite, Adam Ant, performed [...]

RM Crowd Heads North - Part II

While a large chunk of the RM Conference in Toronto focused on Canadian stuff, there was a good panel updating everyone on China. There continues to be a “flood” of financings for Chinese companies that look to be or already are trading in the US. Valuations have been compressing and slowing things a bit, with [...]

RM Crowd Heads North - Part I

This is the first installment on observations and thoughts concerning this week’s Reverse Merger Conference in Toronto. There were a number of good panels as always, though attendance overall was down over previous years (probably due to the impending Canadian and US national holidays among other things).
Since we were in Canada, the first presentation was [...]

Flash! OTCBB Sale Close

There have been rumors for quite awhile, but never anything resembling official confirmation. FINRA, which owns the OTC Bulletin Board, had announced that it desires to sell it (or possibly shut it down). Now it has been confirmed here at the Reverse Merger Conference: FINRA is very close to selling the OTCBB and it could [...]

Now What? Supremes Declare PCAOB Board Appointment Process Unconstitutional

Greetings from Toronto and the Reverse Merger Conference. We anticipated a decision this week, and now it has happened. The US Supreme Court today ruled that the process by which Board members of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, which registers and audits every accounting firm that serves as auditors for US public companies, are appointed is unconstitutional.
When [...]