Public PolicyRSS

  • September 18, 2009

    US Notifies Traders Of New Chinese Tire Tarriffs

    The U.S. government has officially notified the trade community of the steep new tariffs on Chinese tires, a controversial safeguard that critics say risks triggering a backlash of protectionist trade measures.

  • September 18, 2009

    EU Solidifies Public Funding For Broadband, NGN

    The European Commission has adopted guidelines for public funding of broadband and Next Generation Networks in what it says is an effort to foster investment and improve information technology infrastructure in areas where the marketplace does not drive sufficient interest from private telecommunications companies.

  • September 18, 2009

    DOC Extends Order Denying Exports For Iranian Airline

    The U.S. Department of Commerce has extended an order denying export privileges to Mahan Airways, an Iranian airline found to violate U.S. trade regulations by exporting American-made planes without government authorization.

  • September 18, 2009

    Deal Makers Brace For Tougher Antitrust Review

    As U.S. antitrust authorities appointed under the Obama administration start to make good on promises to take a more aggressive approach toward merger review, deal makers will have to add yet another item to their checklists: a more involved antitrust review process, experts say.

  • September 17, 2009

    SEC Votes 5-0 To Propose Flash Order Ban

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission voted unanimously Thursday to propose a rule banning so-called flash orders, which use specialized software to help give some stock traders a split-second advantage over other market participants.

  • September 17, 2009

    Lawmakers Take Aim At Insurer Antitrust Exemptions

    Legislation that would remove federal antitrust exemptions for health and medical malpractice insurers through a surgical repeal of the McCarran-Ferguson Act was introduced in both chambers Thursday.

  • September 17, 2009

    State Regulators Push Senate To Overturn Stoneridge

    A group of state securities regulators has urged a Senate panel to push forward with a legislative proposal that aims to overturn the Supreme Court's recent ruling in Stoneridge, allowing those that aid and abet securities fraud, including attorneys, accountants and bankers, to be sued by shareholders.

  • September 17, 2009

    Derivatives Groups Say OTC Regs Will Drive Up Costs

    Representatives of derivatives trading groups warned Thursday against the Obama administration's regulatory efforts to move over-the-counter derivatives to exchanges, saying the proposed legislation would increase costs of derivatives trading.

  • September 17, 2009

    EPA Tightens Regs For Medical Waste Incinerators

    Updated regulations from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will force operators of medical waste incinerators to cut emissions in order to reduce the amount of lead, mercury and pollutant gases released into the air each year.

  • September 17, 2009

    Obama To Urge Economic Vigilance At G-20 Summit

    The Obama administration intends to push world leaders at the upcoming G-20 summit to keep current economic stimulus packages in place, despite recent signs of hope that the economy is on the path to recovery.

  • September 17, 2009

    FDA Says Allergan Misleads Public On Eyelash Drug

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has told Allergan Inc. that it has made misleading claims and downplayed potential side effects about its drug Latisse, used to lengthen and darken eyelashes.

  • September 17, 2009

    SEC Creates New Risk Division Headed By Law Prof.

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has created a new unit to analyze risks in the financial markets and has appointed a law professor to head up the division.

  • September 17, 2009

    China's WTO Complaint Says Its Tires Didn't Hurt US

    China's request for World Trade Organization consultations with the U.S. over President Barack Obama's decision to impose tariffs on Chinese tires claims that the U.S. cannot justify the move because the statute authorizing the tariffs is flawed and Chinese imports were not a “significant cause” of injury to domestic industry.

  • September 17, 2009

    DOL Proposes ERISA Exemption For New GM

    The U.S. Department of Labor has proposed an exemption to employment law that would allow General Motors Co., or “New GM,” to transfer securities that include a $2.5 billion promissory note to a health plan covering 700,000 dependents and retirees.

  • September 16, 2009

    Hundreds Weigh In On Pending Korea, Colombia FTAs

    Hundreds of trade groups, companies and other stakeholders weighed in ahead of a deadline for public comment on whether the pending U.S. free trade agreements with South Korea and Colombia are in line with global trade goals.

  • September 16, 2009

    BLM Violated Law In Quick Drilling Approvals: GAO

    The U.S. Government Accountability Office has said that the Bureau of Land Management frequently violated and misinterpreted an energy law between 2006 and 2008, potentially leading to the approval of more oil and gas drilling than should have been allowed.

  • September 16, 2009

    SEC, FSA To Join Forces On Regulations

    Continuing talks begun by their predecessors, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairwoman Mary Schapiro and Hector Sants, chief executive of the U.K.'s Financial Services Authority, on Wednesday announced plans to explore common approaches to reporting and other regulatory requirements as the amount of capital flowing back and forth across the Atlantic continues to grow.

  • September 16, 2009

    House Panel Approves Satellite Broadcasting Bill

    A House panel has unanimously approved a measure aimed at extending the compulsory copyright licenses that allow cable and satellite television operators to retransmit television signals.

  • September 16, 2009

    EPA Vows To Reconsider Bush-Era Smog Standards

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency told a federal appeals court Wednesday that it would reconsider national smog standards implemented last year by the Bush administration, thus likely putting on hold litigation filed by states and a number of health and environmental advocacy groups.

  • September 16, 2009

    Tweaks Bring FINRA Rules Into New-Media Age

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has given its blessing to several newly amended Financial Industry Regulatory Authority rules designed to disclose conflicts of interest and expand into the realm of new media a 60-year-old prohibition against payments made in connection with published information meant to influence market prices.