Regulation

When I was growing up, the U.S. was launching the Great Society, which sought to summon the resources of government to wipe out poverty.

Aberdeen Asset Management last week wrapped up its acquisition of Artio Global Investors, a U.S. publicly-listed asset manager, effective May 21.

Chalk this one up to bad PR.

Through these documents, sent out by public companies in advance of annual meetings, shareholders learn issues on the agenda, voting procedures, backgrounds of individuals nominated for the board of directors and juicy details on executive compensation.

Kara M. Stein and Michael S. Piwowar, both senior U.S. Senate aides, were nominated by President Obama to join the SEC.

A House subcommittee Thursday looked at draft bills that would slow down the progress that the SEC is making toward implementation of a new, uniform fiduciary standard for broker-dealers and investment advisors.

Bankers and insurers are trying to use trade deals, which can trump existing legislation, to weaken parts of the Dodd-Frank Act designed to prevent a repeat of the 2008 financial crisis.

Rick Ketchum, CEO of FINRA, announced that the regulator will discuss a proposal at its board meeting in July that would require brokers to publicly disclose the compensation they receive when switching firms.

With markets at near historic highs, investor confidence still lags. Both regulators and financial firms share the responsibility to do something about it, said Richard Ketchum, CEO of FINRA on Tuesday.

Former three-term Republican U.S. Senator Judd Gregg, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association's new chief executive officer, said Monday that he wants to improve the image of the industry and make sure Dodd-Frank rules are focused and not overly burdensome.