Jan 17
In a recent report issued by Munich Re, a reinsurance group in Germany, 2011 was the costliest year in history for natural disasters with $380 billion in economic losses. Although some believe that global warming will continue to increase both the number and the extent of natural disasters, this report shows that 2011 was more about the geographic location, and less about the cause …
Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2012/01/natural-disasters-economic-losses-hit-record-high-in-2011/
Jan 16
The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has made a nuanced policy shift toward its fraud investigation settlements. Previously the SEC allowed companies to settle fraud charges by paying a fine without admitting wrongdoing. This practice has received widespread criticism despite SEC claims that it encouraged settlement and avoided expensive litigation. Going forward, the SEC will no longer allow defendants to say …
Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2012/01/sec-changes-it-policy-on-fraud-settlement-language-somewhat/
Jan 09
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act added requirements for the SEC to maintain a whistleblower reporting capability, and to annually report on the results each fiscal year. Section 922 of Dodd-Frank added Section 21F to the Securities Exchange Act, requiring the SEC to make monetary awards to those who voluntarily provide original …
Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2012/01/sec-whistleblower-program-collects-a-surprising-number-of-complaints/
Jan 06
Ernst & Young (E&Y) recently released a study of the annual recurring costs of going public. Most studies on this topic focus on sales commissions and discounts paid to investment bankers. The other costs of going public are often not available, and are minimized by some commentators. E&Y sheds light on this important subject, generally …
Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2012/01/new-study-shows-high-annual-costs-of-being-a-public-company/
Jan 05
I remember when gasoline prices eclipsed the $1.00 mark in the 1980s. This inevitable event had a deep psychological impact on my parents, who bemoaned the constantly rising cost of gas (and other necessities) and determined our family had to tighten our belts to make ends meet. The remnants of America’s pre-$1.00 per gallon days …
Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2012/01/910-the-most-common-yet-inconsequential-fraction/
Jan 04
Last week, USA Today/Gallup published the results of its December 15 – 18, 2011 public opinion poll. At the end of every year since 1948, with the exception of 1967 and 1976, Gallup has asked the following (among other) questions: What man that you have heard or read about, living today in any part of the world, do …
Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2012/01/misleading-survey-results-from-one-of-the-top-notch-polling-agencies/
Jan 02
In Spine Solutions vs. Medtronic Sofamor Danek, Case No. 2:07-02175-JPM-dkv (W.D. Tenn. Nov. 23, 2011), a District Court ordered a new trial on damages based on the Federal Circuit’s ruling in Uniloc USA, Inc. v. Microsoft Corp., 632 F.3d 1292 (Fed. Cir. 2011). In the Uniloc case, the widely-used 25% royalty rule was rejected as …
Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2012/01/25-reasonable-royalty-rule-is-rejected-even-with-no-objection/
Dec 30
With the holidays upon us, it is interesting to note that many Americans do not take all their annual vacation. The following statistics were reported in various conducted: The average American worker earns 14 days of vacation but will only take 12 of them (Expedia survey) The average American employee leaves 6.2 days of paid …
Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2011/12/americans-unused-vacation-time-can-hurt-both-employees-and-employers/
Dec 28
The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (“PCAOB”) recently released its 2010 inspection report on Ernst & Young (“E&Y”). Upon review of 62 audits and one assignment where E&Y had a role but was not the primary auditor, the PCAOB concluded that there were problems with 13. Certain problems were of such significance that they constituted …
Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2011/12/pcaob-finding-more-and-more-audit-failures/
Dec 23
This year, taxpayers will receive a revised Form 1099-B form which contains additional transaction information. The new reporting rules arise from the 2008 Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, which laid out a three-phase process for submitting cost-basis information to the Internal Revenue Service. Commonly known as the bank bailout bill, the 2008 Emergency Economic Stabilization Act …
Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2011/12/new-rules-and-reporting-for-investment-gains-losses/