Business law Articles on Martindale.com
In the last couple of weeks, the Department of Justice has put the business and legal community on notice that the trend seen over the past years of vigorous enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) will be continuing for some time to come. The FCPA prohibits individuals and entities...
On November 12, 2009, the Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) voted to require all FDIC-insured depository institutions to prepay risk-based assessments for the fourth quarter of 2009 and for all of 2010, 2011 and 2012. The prepaid assessments are designed to...
Individuals and businesses filing U.S. income tax returns should take note of the Worker, Homeownership and Business Assistance Act of 2009 (the “Act”), signed into law on November 6, 2009. Under the Act, most taxpayers may elect to carry back net operating losses (”NOLs”)...
On November 10, 2009, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd released a discussion draft of proposed legislation to reform financial regulation. This proposed legislation follows the release by the House Financial Services Committee of its discussion draft of legislation intended to...
On November 6, 2009, President Barack Obama signed into law the Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009 (the "Act"). The significant tax changes applicable to businesses under the Act are summarized below.
On Friday, November 6, 2009, President Obama signed a bill expanding and extending the net operating loss (NOL) carryback rules. The Worker, Homeownership, and Business Act (the Act) expands the NOL carryback provision for small businesses that was in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act...
Mezzanine financing is a hybrid of equity and debt financing. It is a vehicle that can bridge what a bank will lend and the capital you need to achieve your goals. It is used for short term cash flow to finance acquisitions, research and development, or working capital.
On November 4, 2009, the Federal Trade Commission (the FTC or Commission) held a public forum to discuss proposed amendments to the Commission's Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) to address the sale of debt relief services. The proposed rules would reshape the availability of alternatives to...
No matter what you call it, it's not helping yet. As we all know, the federal government has come up with the "Troubled Asset Relief Program" (TARP) to help alleviate the credit crisis. In light of the bad name TARP has garnered, the federal government has tried to make it appealing by...
For those of us who have been around for a little while, we remember the movie bible for all sales people - Glengarry Glen Ross. Although the economy has changed since the movie, the principals of selling are the same. There are no excuses for not closing the sale. We can't say: "The economy...
On November 6, 2009, President Obama signed the Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009 (the Act). Among other things, the Act extends the period over which a net operating loss (NOL) may be carried back for tax years beginning in or ending in either 2008 or 2009.
The Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") recently announced that, at the request of Members of Congress, it will again delay enforcement of the "Red Flags" Rule until June 1, 2010. The enforcement date was previously extended to November 1, 2009. In a related matter, on October 30,...
This new column focuses on you, the entrepreneur. We'll start with whether you have what it takes to be the next great idea, or whether you should stay where you are -- somewhere in middle management.
So you've taken the leap, quit your cushy corporate job, and started your dream company. However, never underestimate the power of your image and credibility.
The Federal Reserve emphasized its newly donned role of the consumer protector on November 12, 2009 when it issued final revisions to Regulation E (the "Final Rule") that will require many banks to revise their existing procedures for paying and disclosing consumer overdrafts that result...
On September 22, 2009, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued its final Mandatory Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule that will impact most large industrial and manufacturing facilities as well as suppliers of fuels and industrial gases. Reporting requirements will take effect for the...
On August 1, 2009, the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") will begin enforcing new regulations aimed at detecting, preventing and mitigating identity theft ("Red Flags Rule").
Over the past year Japan has enacted a number of legislative initiatives in response to the global financial crisis, including an Act on Special Measures for Industrial Revitalization (the "Act"). Among other things, the Act establishes a process for consensual restructuring procedures...
When a company is provided with a software vendor's "standard" license agreement to sign, the company often signs without taking an opportunity to negotiate the terms contained in the agreement.
Last month, the United States District Court for the District of Maine certified a question of law to the Supreme Judicial Court of Maine regarding the issue of what constitutes cognizable injury to a consumer in a case stemming from the alleged theft of credit card data, a question of great...