More substance on executive pay on the way
Posted on November 19, 2009 at 9:32 am
Bass Berry & Sims’ executive pay specialists say the Securities and Exchange Commission is getting serious about providing investors with more meat and less fat in 2010 proxy statements.
Parratt noted that there was too much discussion of the framework in which decisions are made and not enough insight into the reasons behind compensation policies and decisions. Therefore, for the upcoming 2010 proxy season, companies should present a thorough analysis of their compensation decisions, avoiding boilerplate and unnecessary information and instead providing the specific details of the actual decisions that were made.
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Red tape worries
Posted on November 12, 2009 at 11:18 am
Jeff Cornwall relays a study about small business owners’ top worries which shows that — despite the crummy economy, the credit crunch and all the other fallout from the housing bust — dealing with government regulations is by easily entrepreneurs’ biggest headache. And to think government spending has risen by 76 percent this decade…
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A lack of regulation? Phooey
Posted on November 11, 2009 at 10:10 amJeff Cornwall passes along a link to the latest Regulators’ Budget Report, which looks into the rise in spending on government regulation, a trend that started during the Bush administration and shows little sign of slowing — or of promoting entrepreneurship and job creation.
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Home builder agrees to EPA settlement
Posted on November 10, 2009 at 8:36 amAfter being charged with Clean Water Act violations, John Wieland Homes will pay $350,000 and implement a far-reaching stormwater management plan at its construction sites. The EPA says its deal with John Wieland will keep 37 million pounds of sediment per year out of various waterways.
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In defense of the maligned market
Posted on November 6, 2009 at 9:18 am
NYU professor Viral Acharya says we need to be careful when we talk about the financial crisis being caused by ‘the market’ failing to function properly. Regulators are there to patch up holes and prevent problems, he says, “but regulation also reduces market discipline” by introducing distorted incentives.
For instance, insured depositors are unlikely to “run” but they also freely deposit at the highest-yielding bank, not worrying about its credit risk. Thus, when regulators deem a bank as well-capitalized, the onus is on regulators that this be right. Markets may not have the incentive to gather this information nor possess the details of regulatory supervision that led to such an assessment. Conversely, when regulation allows itself to be arbitraged, the financial sector becomes more opaque exposing markets to unexpected outcomes.
Ghosn: Electric cars need regulatory help
Posted on October 29, 2009 at 8:12 am
Speaking at UPenn’s Wharton School of Business, Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn said that — between public perception and emerging-market growth — the auto industry has no choice but to dive headlong into the production of cars that don’t need fossil fuels. That said, he does say car makers need a good bit of government help to build a mass market.
The equipment isn’t cheap: A quick-charge device, Ghosn said, costs $30,000 — an investment that might make sense once there is a critical mass of electric-car drivers already on the road, but something that could seem expensive for service station owners in a market where electric cars remain rare. He called for governments to step in and spur the market via regulation. One idea: Make quick-charge facilities mandatory for anyone operating a gas station starting in 2012.
A latecomer to the Psych Solutions Class Action Ball
Posted on October 9, 2009 at 8:19 amAnother law firm has jumped on the bandwagon and filed a potential class action against Psychiatric Solutions over the Franklin-based company’s disclosures of regulatory issues at one of its Illinois hospitals.
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SEC investigating HCA
Posted on October 7, 2009 at 8:55 amThe Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating whether Nashville-based hospital operator HCA Inc. fabricated “tens of thousands of payments for phantom nursing shifts,” the Washington Post reported today. The probe focuses, at least in part, on HCA’s London operations, according to the Post’s report, which cites documents and people close to the investigation, as well as a statement from the company confirming it has been contacted by the SEC.
UPDATE: HCA released the following statement:
“We are aware that a former employee in our London payroll department is seeking money in a civil employment lawsuit, and she has made assertions about the accuracy of our nurse scheduling systems and the related compensation paid in our six UK hospitals. This former employee has made similar allegations to local authorities in London who have declined to investigate. Her allegations have no merit, and we are vigorously defending the employment litigation. We also have received a voluntary request for related information from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. We have provided requested information and look forward to working with them to conclude this inquiry.”
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Kentucky official says state should take over CCA prison
Posted on September 11, 2009 at 1:33 pmThe Kentucky Department of Corrections should take the troubled Otter Creek Correctional Center off the hands of Corrections Corp. of America, the state’s House speaker has written in a letter to a fellow lawmaker. Not surprisingly, CCA officials aren’t terribly keen on the idea.
SEE ALSO: Other recent items about Otter Creek
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The latest hurdle to health IT investments
Posted on September 9, 2009 at 7:18 amParts of the Recovery Act has been touted by many — including local player Healthcare Management Systems — as a nice kick in pants for spending on electronic health records and other health IT projects. But the attorneys at Baker Donelson say providers may want to wait for a little while before committing serious cash. The criteria, you see, are still a little fuzzy.
Obviously, this is wreaking havoc in a number of ways - it is nearly impossible to know for certain if existing technology will qualify, or to make plans for investing in new information systems that can be paid for from incentive payments.
FDA OKs Cumberland’s IV ibuprofen
Posted on June 12, 2009 at 6:50 am
Federal drug regulators have approved Cumberland Pharmaceuticals’ Caldolor, an intravenous version of ibuprofen that becomes the company’s third portfolio drug. In their quarterly report with the SEC last month, Cumberland officials called Caldolor their “most significant product opportunity” and cited stats that put the U.S. market for injectable pain relievers at more than $300 million per year.
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Bankers may get Wagonered
Posted on May 6, 2009 at 6:01 pm
Press Secretary Robert Gibbs says the Fed’s bank stress tests – results will be unveiled Thursday – may lead to some management changes.
“There are a significant number of people who have begun to ask whether existing management is up to the task,” former Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman William Isaac said in an interview last week.
The “judgment call” on whether to fire the CEOs of bailed-out banks should be made by the regulators, not the White House, said Isaac, now head of Secura Group, a consulting firm in Vienna, Virginia.
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Comptroller suggests swap changes
Posted on May 1, 2009 at 3:14 pmJustin Wilson today told the State Funding Board that interest rate swaps should be at least $50 million to keep smaller municipalities out of the trouble they got in after deals recommended by Morgan Keegan went south.
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Synovus unit takes over failed Georgia bank
Posted on April 24, 2009 at 6:44 pmBank of North Georgia, an Atlanta-area sister of The Bank of Nashville, will assume more than $50 million in deposits and $30 million in assets formerly belonging to American Southern Bank. It’s the fifth bank failure in Georgia this year.
Why Psych Solutions was off 8 percent
Posted on April 6, 2009 at 7:14 pm
Patient care issues at its Chicago-area operations continue to dog the Franklin-based company. This time, a report from the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services calls the care at Psych Solutions’ Riveredge Hospital “completely unacceptable.”
Shares of Psych Solutions (Ticker: PSYS) looked like a ski slope during regular hours Monday, closing at $14.60, but bounced back 3 percent after hours.
For more on the troubles at Riveredge, click here.
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