The 10 Latest Financial, Banking, & SEC Articles

The Warning Signs Your Trade Secrets Are Walking Out the Door

Ward and Smith, P.A. — Fri, 11 Sep 2026 09:49:57 -0500

This article is the second installment in our four-part Trade Secrets at Risk: A Business Owner’s Guide series. Read Part One, and check back each Friday in September for the remaining installments. When an employee is about to steal your most valuable business information, the signs are usually there. Most North Carolina businesses miss them, wait too long to act, and, as a result, lose valuable legal options. What to Watch For One of the clearest early signals of potential trade secret misappropriation is unusual download or access patterns. If an employee who normally accesses ten files a week suddenly downloads five hundred in a day, immediate attention is necessary and warranted. While most IT systems generate logs that capture this kind of activity, this critical data is only useful if someone is reviewing it. The single most common smoking gun in North Carolina trade secret litigation is when an employee emails company documents to a personal account. This does not… Read the complete article here... © 2026 Ward and Smith, P.A.. All Rights Reserved.

Apple’s Siri Recap and the Rise of Ambient AI: Privacy Without an Interface

Barnes & Thornburg LLP — Fri, 11 Sep 2026 09:44:08 -0500

Highlights Apple’s new Siri Recap feature is a preview of a broader governance problem. AI is moving into ordinary devices that can collect and interpret information in the background, often without a screen, popup, procurement event, or obvious notice to everyone affected. Apple says Siri Recap does not create or store audio recordings. That is meaningful privacy engineering, but it does not end the legal analysis. Federal and state laws can regulate interception, acquisition, transmission, or eavesdropping even when no traditional audio file survives. Companies need to think beyond recording consent. Ambient AI can create new records involving customers, employees, patients, privileged communications, trade secrets, and other sensitive information, bringing privacy, AI governance, employment, retention, and discovery rules into the same conversation. The practical answer is to govern capabilities and contexts, not just named applications. Companies should set clear rules for… Read the complete article here... © 2026 BARNES & THORNBURG LLP

All Things Chemical | Why Oregon’s EPR Law Could Set the Rules for Every State — A Conversation with Karen R. Harned [Podcast]

Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. — Fri, 11 Sep 2026 09:18:35 -0500

This week, I had the pleasure of speaking with Karen R. Harned, Director of Litigation and Legal Policy for the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW), to discuss the hot off the press decision in National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors v. Feldon, the federal challenge to Oregon’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) law. We discuss NAW’s mission, the role of NAW’s Legal Policy Center, which Karen, as Director of Litigation and Legal Policy, leads, the reasons NAW sued the state of Oregon, and what Judge Michael H. Simon determined in his ruling of August 27, 2026. ©2026 Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.

The Reliability Premium: What's Driving Energy M&A in 2026

Foley & Lardner LLP — Fri, 11 Sep 2026 08:51:33 -0500

Energy, utilities, and resources M&A produced an unusual result in 2025. According to PwC, overall deal value increased 27 percent even as the number of transactions declined 2 percent. PwC also identified 20 transactions valued at more than $5 billion, compared with just six in 2024. Fewer deals were completed, but the dollars committed to the largest transactions increased dramatically. That divergence points to a broader trend emerging across the sector: investors are increasingly willing to pay a premium for assets that offer reliability, predictable cash flow, and a clear path to meeting growing power demand. PwC’s mid-year 2026 outlook suggests that buyers are directing capital toward assets that can deliver energy today rather than projects that may not come online for years because of permitting, construction, or interconnection delays. Where Capital Is Flowing The energy industry often describes today’s environment as an all-of-the-above strategy, but that phrase only… Read the complete article here... © 2026 Foley & Lardner LLP

California BCSA Signals Scrutiny of AI and Emerging Technologies

Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP — Thu, 10 Sep 2026 17:32:53 -0500

On August 31, California Business and Consumer Services Agency (BCSA) Secretary Rohit Chopra announced that examining businesses’ use of emerging technologies will be a priority for the newly formed agency. According to Chopra, the BCSA will evaluate how businesses use technologies, including chatbots, software, and other automated tools, to determine whether those practices harm consumers or undermine existing licensing and consumer protection requirements. The BCSA launched on July 1 and consolidates numerous California boards, bureaus, and departments responsible for licensing, enforcement, and consumer protection. Its oversight includes the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI), along with agencies regulating real estate and other professional and commercial activities. The announcement does not establish new legal requirements, but it provides an early indication of how the BCSA may approach technology-related supervision and enforcement. In particular, Chopra… Read the complete article here... Copyright © 2026 Sheppard

California Office of Tax Appeals Rejects Unitary Business Treatment for Gain from Sale of Company Division

Greenberg Traurig, LLP — Thu, 10 Sep 2026 14:13:18 -0500

In a pending precedential decision, the California Office of Tax Appeals (OTA) found that a beverage distribution division was not unitary with the taxpayer’s other divisions. As a result, the income from the sale of the beverage division was nonbusiness income and not apportionable to California. Based on the evidence presented, the OTA also held that the tax benefit rule did not require recovery of deductions previously taken on a unitary basis. Background The taxpayer, an S corporation, conducted business through 14 divisions. Its largest divisions were an interstate trucking business and a Colorado beverage distribution business. Other divisions included, for example, a division that manufactured parts for automobile racing, a graphic design and printing shop, and a travel agency. In 2010, the taxpayer sold the assets of its beverage distribution business, consisting mostly of beer distribution rights, with the remainder including inventory and other assets. The California… Read the complete article here... ©2026 Greenberg Traurig, LLP. All rights reserved.

Live Chat, Messaging, and the FCC’s Accessibility Rules

Nelson Mullins — Thu, 10 Sep 2026 13:34:59 -0500

A company can come within the FCC’s accessibility requirements for people with disabilities simply by adding a live chat window to its website. The rules governing advanced communications services reach well beyond traditional carriers, and they apply whether or not the FCC otherwise regulates the business. This is the second installment in a series introducing the attorneys of the Nelson Mullins Communications Practice Group. The first looked at the FCC’s reach into companies outside the communications sector. What Counts as an Advanced Communications Service? A company that provides any of the following must comply with the FCC’s accessibility rules, even if it is not otherwise an FCC-regulated entity: Non-interconnected Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services; Electronic messaging services; and Interoperable video conferencing services. The Category That Surprises People Electronic messaging is where most companies are caught off guard. An electronic messaging service… Read the complete article here... Copyright ©2026 Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP

Proposed Reform to Mexico’s Foreign Investment Law: National Security Screening for Investments in Sensitive Sectors

Foley & Lardner LLP — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 15:49:03 -0500

Proposed Reform to Mexico’s Foreign Investment Law: National Security Screening for Investments in Sensitive Sectors Iniciativa de Reforma a la Ley de Inversión Extranjera: Filtro de Seguridad Nacional para Inversiones en Sectores Sensibles A New Chapter in Mexico’s Foreign Investment Law Nuevo Capítulo en La Ley de Inversión Extranjera On August 30, 2026, President Claudia Sheinbaum submitted an initiative to the Senate to amend Mexico’s Foreign Investment Law (Ley de Inversión Extranjera, or “LIE”). Although the current Article 30 of the LIE authorizes the National Commission of Foreign Investment (Comisión Nacional de Inversiones Extranjeras, or “CNIE”) to block acquisitions by foreign investors on grounds of national security, that authority has not been exercised regularly in practice due to the absence of specific parameters and guidelines. The initiative proposes repealing Article 30 and replacing it with a new chapter on National Security in Foreign Investments (… Read the complete article here... © 2026 Foley & Lardner LLP

SEC Proposes Sweeping Modernization of Transfer Agent Rules

Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 14:51:21 -0500

On September 1, 2026, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC” or “Commission”) published a proposed rule release that would substantively update the regulatory framework governing registered transfer agents for the first time since the early 1980’s. The release proposes new rules, amendments to existing rules, revisions to Forms TA-1 and TA-2, and rescission of one rule. Comments are due by November 3, 2026. Key Takeaways The proposal would impose the industry’s first formal, board-approved compliance program requirement on all registered transfer agents. A new rule would directly regulate transfer agents’ role in placing and removing restrictive stock legends. Registration would become effective 45 days after filing Form TA-1 (up from 30 days), and Form TA-2 correction obligations would become mandatory rather than optional. The changes reflect the SEC’s stated concern that existing rules do not address the expanded role of transfer agents, including technology-driven… Read the complete article here... Copyright © 2026 Sheppard

LIV Golf Tees Off In Chapter 11: Another Bankruptcy in New Jersey

Stark & Stark — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 11:27:36 -0500

LIV Golf Holdings Ltd. and numerous related entities filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on September 8, 2026, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey. The lead case, filed under LIV Golf New Jersey LLC, has been assigned to Judge Michael B. Kaplan in Trenton, with the related debtor entities moving for joint administration under that case number. The Debtors are represented by Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP of New York as lead restructuring counsel, with Cole Schotz P.C. serving as local New Jersey counsel. What makes this filing especially notable is that many of the largest creditors aren’t banks or vendors, they are some of golf’s biggest names, owed money under their Player Participation Agreements. Of the 30 largest unsecured creditors listed in the petition, roughly half are professional golfers or golfer-affiliated entities. Topping the list is two-time major champion Jon Rahm, owed approximately $7.47 million. Close behind is Bryson DeChambeau, owed… Read the complete article here... COPYRIGHT © 2026, STARK & STARK