After filing for an IPO in Februrary, 2011, streaming music company Pandora went public on June 15, 2011 with little fanfare.  In contrast to LinkedIn which went public last month with a soaring valuation, Pandora’s valuation has been largely as expected.  Off the heels of LinkedIn, this could be seen as disappointing. Here is a…

Microsoft made the headlines on May 10, 2011, when it acquired videoconferencing giant Skype for a reported $ 8.5 billion.  Following the antitrust procedure of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act, the companies filed a pre-acquisition notification to the various government bodies, required before the deal can be finalized. Generally, the companies need to show that the acquisition…

In recent years, the secondary market for stocks – a platform through which investors can buy and trade shares of private companies – has grown exponentially in size and use.  This year,    transactions on the online platforms of SharesPost and SecondMarket alone have totaled over $ 4.6 billion, and are projected to exceed $ 6.9…

Smaller Funds May Have Trouble Finding Clearing Member Though uncertainty may seem to be the one definite aspect of the regulations outlined in Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Act, experts warn that hedge funds should proactively select and secure a clearing member to handle their OTC derivative transactions. Many of the larger funds have reportedly…

India and U.S. Discuss Financial Reform  U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner held meetings in Washington yesterday and today with India’s Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in the second round of Economic Partnership talks between the two countries. During these meeting, Geithner, Mukherjee, and other attendees discussed some of the “financial sector reforms,” in an effort to…

Asia On Par with U.S. OTC Derivative Reform As previously reported (on Day 25 of this countdown), Mary Schapiro, SEC Chairperson testified before the House Financial Services Committee on June 16, 2011 regarding “Financial Regulatory Reform: The International Context.”  In her remarks, Schapiro noted that the G20 agreement contemplates that every G20 country will have…

Australia Contemplates New (but Limited) Derivative Market Reforms Australia is moving closer to fulfilling its G20 pledge to decrease systemic risk in the OTC derivatives market by implementing national regulation. Last week, Australia’s Council of Financial Regulators (the Council) released a discussion paper about what those regulations may look like. While the Australian OTC market…

Federal Reserve Board Aids in Implementing Title VII The Federal Reserve Board is taking seriously its share of responsibility under the Dodd-Frank Act. Michael Gibson, the Senior Associate Director of the Division of Research and Statistics on the Federal Reserve Board spoke before members of Congress last week (June 15, 2011) to communicate the Board’s…

Law firms need to take a lesson from their business-clients by utilizing technology to become more efficient and cut costs to clients. During the economic downturn, the quest for efficiency has been a primary focus for many companies struggling to adjust to the new business climate.  Many companies are finding that Web 2.0 technologies are…

Being that my brand is BrandGeek®, when I saw the Wall Street Journal headline, “Now That Everyone Wants to Be a Geek, Lawyers Have Been Called,” I thought trouble surely was headed my way.  Thankfully, I’m not pedaling electronics, nor religion via VW Beetle, so it appears I’m safe.  For now.  Imagine the panic when…