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To explain the new U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) Rule 2a-5 (the “Fair Value Rule”) under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”), which addresses the valuation practices of registered investment companies and business development companies.

Provides an overview of the Fair Value Rule, followed by a more detailed summary of the key provisions, including relevant guidance provided by the SEC in the release adopting the Fair Value Rule.

The Fair Value Rule establishes a specific framework, a standard of baseline practices across funds, and a set of required functions that must be performed in order to determine in good faith the fair value of a fund’s investments for purposes of applying Section 2(a)(41) of the 1940 Act.

Practical guidance from experienced investment management lawyers.

The article highlights one of several recent SEC enforcement developments involving whistleblowers.

The article describes a recent SEC enforcement action based on confidentiality provisions of a company agreement, highlights the provision that the SEC found to be a violation of federal securities laws as amended by the Dodd-Frank Act, and summarizes several other related recent federal regulatory developments. The article suggests actions that companies may wish to take in light of the SEC’s enforcement action in this case.

The SEC’s expansive view of the Dodd-Frank Act whistleblower protections may require companies to undertake a broad review of confidentiality provisions in various agreements and policies.

Companies should review all confidentiality provisions in light of the KBR enforcement action to determine which agreements, policies and other documents may require amendment to avoid violating the Dodd-Frank whistleblower protections under the federal securities laws. This potentially includes employment-related agreements, HR materials, various other legal documents, and corporate codes of conduct, among others.

The article presents the reasons and practical suggestions for review of confidentiality provision in company agreements, policies and other documents.

It may be a trite observation that the European Court of Human Rights is concerned with the preservation of individual rights, but the extent to which individual rights are to be asserted when faced with competing claims is not so clear. To what extent, for example, are competing rights and interests or the incidental costs of the individual right to be weighed in the balance so as to override that individual right? This issue arose in Goodwin v United Kingdom, where the European Court of Human Rights considered whether a company could obtain disclosure of a journalist's notes of a conversation with an informant who had obtained information from a stolen confidential business plan belonging to the company. The judgment of the European Court is important on a substantive level but of equal importance is the adjudicative process employed by the European Court, since an examination of this may reveal the manner in which the Court deals with competing claims.

Discusses how an in‐progress management development programme became the vehicle of a “cultural revolution” after acquisition by another company and helped to consolidate the new combined enterprise because of its timely and fortuitous emphasis on team building. Gives details of subsequent development of “Critical Care Management Programs” anchored in a strategic computerized simulation.

The milk supply of our country, in one form or another, has been the subject of discussion year after year at Congress meetings. Its importance is an admitted fact, but, notwithstanding, I again venture to call attention to the matter. On this occasion, however, I do not propose to touch much of the ground already covered by former papers, but to consider the results of experiments and observations made while dealing with milk supply under the Sale of Food and Drugs Acts. For many years dairy regulations have been in force throughout the country which deal with the construction of floors and walls, and with lighting and ventilation. The owners of dairy farms in many parts of Scotland have spent large sums of money in improving their farms. Indeed, some enthusiasts have gone the length of introducing a system of heating and mechanical means of ventilation. It is only reasonable to pause and consider the practical results of these improvements, and to discover who are reaping the benefits from a milk supply standpoint. Do the owners of dairy farms receive anything like a fair return for their capital outlay? No. It is a well‐known fact that rents are on the down grade. Is the farmer of to‐day in a better financial position than formerly? No. He will tell you that the working of a “modern dairy” is more expensive than in the old steading, and that there is less flow of milk from the cows in the large airy byre than in the small old “biggin.” The price of milk is considerably less than it was fifteen or twenty years ago. At that time it ranged from 10d. to 1s. per gallon, and it is well known to you that hundreds of gallons of milk are now sent into our large cities for at least a distance of 100 miles, carriage paid, at 7½d. per gallon. In some cases the price is 9d. per gallon during the winter and 7½d. in summer. A farmer I know has a contract with a dairyman to supply him with 20 gallons of sweet milk, 16 gallons of skim milk, and 4 gallons of cream every day at an average rate of 7½d. per gallon all the year round. I have proved, by having test samples taken of the sweet milk, that it contains an average fat of 4.89 per cent. in 16 gallons. Neither the owner nor occupier of the farm can be any better off so long as such small prices prevail. Does the profit then come to the consumer? It does not.

The federal crop insurance program has become the cornerstone of US agricultural policy. Since its introduction in the mid-1990s, crop revenue insurance has grown in prominence and now represents nearly 90 percent of liability for major crops. The pricing and design of revenue insurance raises a number of important challenges. The 2014 Farm Bill brought about several important changes in the program, resulting in a moving target for analysts and researchers. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

The risks are of a multivariate nature and are likely to be highly dependent on one another. The crop insurance setting is also constantly changing, with technological changes in production practices and highly volatile commodity prices. Compounding these challenges is the fact that US policymakers continually change the program.

The program has indeed undergone many changes and a number of important research questions need to be addressed.

Original research based upon recent policy.

During the first half of the eighteenth century the number of food shops in towns and cities had increased greatly as gradually a more varied range of foods became available for sale. According to Maitland (History and Survey of London, published 1756) nearly a quarter of all the houses in London in 1732 were shops or taverns selling some form of food or drink. This is remarkable, particularly as he was not including shops selling anything other than food. A quarter of all the houses in London! It is hardly surprising that Napoleon made his all too frequently quoted remark. London and most larger towns of the country had a multitude of very small shops, each concerned with only a small range of products. This position remained with little change until the beginning of the nineteenth century.