A NEW study has found significant evidence that hedge funds benefit from information they obtain in private meetings with company executives, adding to mounting research suggesting that selective access to management undermines regulators’ fair disclosure objectives. The study’s authors, David H. Solomon, University of Southern California and Eugene F. Soltes, Harvard Business School, found that [...]
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ALAN Meckler, CEO of WebMediaBrands Inc. (NASDAQ: WEBM), may be single-handedly redefining how corporate executives in the buttoned-down world of public companies communicate with their investors. The 64-year-old media entrepreneur, whose company owns interests in a number of online businesses and blogs, has been using Twitter to talk about his micro-cap company in ways that [...]
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STATISTICS from trackable links in company press releases suggest that even small companies’ websites are the most heavily used sources for financial disclosure information and that dissemination via PR wire services is mostly ignored by investors. The public statistics bust the widely held misconception among investor relations professionals and securities lawyers that PR wire services [...]
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AMID deep public distrust of all things Wall Street, regulators are coming under growing pressure to act against the billion-dollar business of private meetings between corporate executives and an elite group of traders and analysts. At the heart of the issue is whether large investors glean valuable information not available to other investors when they [...]
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AS MORE companies and their executives begin to use Twitter in their investor relations communications, regulatory issues are becoming a pressing concern for IR professionals and in-house counsel. While there are many complex securities law considerations that companies need to be aware of when using social media, one of the most common areas of concern [...]
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WHEN business communicators think about disclosure rules, they typically worry most about Regulation Fair Disclosure (Reg FD) – but for all the angst this particular regulation causes, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s list of enforcement actions is surprisingly short. Still, there’s much that can be learned from looking at prior enforcement actions. This article will [...]
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REGULATION FD was designed to put an end to the practice of companies selectively disclosing material nonpublic information to certain market participants who could reasonably be expected to trade on the basis of that information or to provide others with advice about trading. Once material information becomes public, however, a subsequent selective disclosure — such [...]
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SEEKING Alpha CEO David Jackson, whose company ranks as the largest provider of free earnings call transcripts, says companies have no grounds to claim copyright over their calls. He was reacting to the news that Swiss company Swatch Group is suing Bloomberg for transcribing and redistributing its Feb 8 invitation-only earnings call. The case is [...]
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SWISS watch company Swatch Group AG is suing Bloomberg for distributing a recording and transcript of its latest earnings call, but the case could have unintended consequences for the company and its European peers. The world’s largest watchmaker filed a copyright infringement suit saying Bloomberg was not invited to its earnings call with a select [...]
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Deciding whether a particular piece of information is material is probably one of the most difficult aspects of complying with Regulation FD.
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