While the United States can justifiably feel some degree of pride in its efforts to fight commercial corruption outside the country, query whether the SEC should not also consider questions of practicality in bringing such cases. For example, the U.S. government brought an FCPA case against a firm that hired as interns the children of well-connected government officials in China. Though there is justification for that action, it was also, arguably, an impractical overreach. The SEC is not…

This is an interesting case because the enforcement action implies that the sales representative didn't have any malicious intent - he just didn't understand what he was selling. It also should serve as a caution to firms, particularly firms that operate on an independent contractor model as was the case here, that they are at risk if they let associated persons sell complicated products without a formal training system in place. The risks of a less-rigorous control system will increase as…

The new "currency" is essentially a blockchain-based, custodial receipt for physical gold. It is unlikely that it will have that much use as a currency, at least within the United States, but perhaps merchants in countries where inflation is high, or where there is a threat of a governmental seizure of the banks, will find the product attractive as a currency.

Given that the asset is a custodial receipt for a physical asset, it should not be either a "security" for purposes of the…

While the Commissioners assert that "sustainability" measures are well accepted, such measures remain subjective and often include a large number of factors having no direct correlation to climate change. For example, the , which the Commissioners cite in their remarks, outlines "sustainability" topics as including, in addition to environmental issues, "social capital," "human capital," "business model and innovation," and "leadership and governance." Each of these issues includes various…