The dissent has a more compelling argument as to the duty that the employee owed to his employer. An employee negotiating his own salary clearly has no duty to state how much he is willing to take – just as the employer has no duty to tell the employee how much the employer is willing to pay. On the other hand, if an employee goes out to negotiate a deal as an agent, he has the broadest obligation to disclose all to his principal. If the employee lies about the course and terms of the…

Buy-side and sell-side share some common interests; e.g., all market participants seem to take electronic trading as a given. Both sides seem to accept the likelihood of more regulation in the trading of Treasuries, with the buy-side preferring that the new regulation fall largely on the sell-side, and the sell-side urging that the pain be spread. There was significant discussion in the comments on clearing functions, particularly with respect to repo trades. The sell-side asserted that…

If adopted, this proposal will make it more difficult for large financial institutions to hire top talent. The requirement of a long deferral period and clawback provisions (subject to an uncertain legal standard for up to seven years) may make it more attractive for individuals to pursue work at an unregulated entity or at least a smaller institution. It is far from obvious that it is good public policy to make it more expensive for larger financial…

Ready, fire, aim. This study is an unintentional critique of how Dodd-Frank and its related rulemaking has played out. First, mandate a change. Then, conduct a study to determine that, even if the prior system was somewhat flawed, the mandated alternatives are arguably worse.  

There are any number of provisions of Dodd-Frank as to which one could arguably make the same point. Mandated central clearing remains the poster child of the bunch. First, mandate…