On June 17, 2009, the U.S. Treasury Department released the Obama Administration’s framework for financial regulatory reform. As part of the larger effort to strengthen the regulation of the financial services market, the Financial Reform Plan proposes certain reforms applicable to the insurance industry, including establishment of an Office of National Insurance (the “ONI”) within the Treasury Department, modernization of insurance regulation in accordance with six fundamental principles, special treatment of large systemic insurance conglomerates (known as “Tier 1 FHCs”), and the creation of a Consumer Financial Protection Agency (the “CFPA”)...

Over time, nobody beats the market. This basic premise of efficient capital markets theory has been confirmed in numerous academic studies. The only important exception to the rule traditionally has been corporate insiders trading in their own corporation’s stock. The obvious and generally accepted explanation for insiders’ results is their access to and use of material nonpublic information about the company...

The Federalist Society's Financial Services Practice Group hosted this panel discussion on Re-Privatization of the Financial Sector at the 2009 National Lawyers Convention on Friday, November 13, 2009. Panelists included Mr. John A. Allison, Chairman of the BB&T Corporation; Prof. William Black, Associate Professor of Economics and Law at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law; Mr. Alex J. Pollock, Resident Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute; Mr. Andrew J. Redleaf, Founding Partner and Chief Executive Officer for Whitebox Advisors LLP; and Judge Jerry E. Smith of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

The November 2009 issue of Engage is now online (exclusively a digital issue). Engage provides original scholarship on current, important legal and policy issues. Through its publication, we aim to contribute to the marketplace of ideas in a way that is collegial, measured, and insightful—and hope to spark a higher level of debate and discussion than is all too often found in today’s legal community. [Read now!]