Rising Dollar Shakes Up Markets
Wall Street Journal
A resurgent dollar is rattling investments in many commodities and emerging markets, marking a retreat from riskier assets following a sharp 2016 rebound. The WSJ Dollar Index is up 3.2% this month, reflecting rising expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise short-term interest rates as soon as its June 14-15 meeting.
DOL’s Hauser Warns BDs to Prep for Fiduciary Deadline; AARP to Deploy ‘Mystery Shoppers’
ThinkAdvisor
Broker-dealers should be “nervous” if they don’t have policies and procedures in place before the Department of Labor fiduciary rule’s first deadline hits next April, Timothy Hauser, one of the chief architects of the rule, said Tuesday at a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority conference in Washington. Also on Tuesday afternoon, the Senate passed a resolution to overturn the rule.
New Regulations Clarify The Intersection of Partnerships, Disregarded Entities, And Self-Employment Taxes
Forbes
In temporary and proposed regulations issued earlier this month, the Treasury Department clarified the self-employment tax treatment for partners of a partnership that own a disregarded entity. Let me provide some background. The treasury regulations provide generally that a business that has a single owner and is not a corporation is treated as “disregarded as an entity separate from its owner.”
TIGTA Arrests 5 IRS Phone Scammers in Miami
Accounting Today
Agents working with the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration have arrested five individuals who impersonated Internal Revenue Service employees and demanded payment from taxpayers. TIGTA agents arrested the five suspects in Miami without incident Monday for wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
When the CEO Reports to Private-Equity Bosses
Wall Street Journal
Executives can make their mark—and lots of money—by becoming the leader of a company owned by private-equity investors. That is why plenty of people pursue the plum positions nowadays, several executive recruiters say. But there are downsides: Senior managers risk career derailment if they can’t handle the strict personal accountability, intense scrutiny and speedy decisions that private-equity firms often demand.
SEC Staff Updates Guidance on Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
JD Supra Business Advisor
On Tuesday May 17, 2016, the staff of the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance issued new C&DIs relating to Regulation G (which governs use of non-GAAP financial measures in public disclosures generally) and Item 10(e) of Regulation S-K (which governs use of non-GAAP financial measures in filings with the SEC and, in part, to earnings releases). These interpretations are the latest development in a recent resurgence of concern about the misuse of non-GAAP financial measures reflected in statements by Chair Mary Jo White and SEC staffers and in prominent press articles.
UPDATE 1-UK banks ditching fintech, foreign customers to cut costs
Thomson Reuters
May 24 Banks are ditching customers such as financial technology firms and foreign nationals to cut the cost of complying with tougher capital and anti-money laundering rules, an independent study for Britain's markets watchdog said on Tuesday. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which commissioned the 73-page study of how banks were lowering their risk, warned lenders on Tuesday they could fall foul of competition law if they refuse new business or close accounts without good reason.
Appeals Court Throws Out $1.27B Fraud Penalty Against Bank of America Mortgage Unit
Insurance Journal
A U.S. appeals court on Monday threw out a jury’s finding that Bank of America Corp. was liable for mortgage fraud leading up to the 2008 financial crisis, voiding a $1.27 billion penalty and dealing the U.S. Department of Justice a major setback. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York found insufficient proof under federal fraud statutes to establish Bank of America’s liability over a mortgage program called “Hustle” run by the former Countrywide Financial Corp.