Category: Uncategorized

Corporate Social Responsibility in Energy Investment and International Investment

BY: Trisha Gautam The concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (“CSR”) is growing increasingly popular, especially in the international investment sphere where questions of equitability, sustainability, and human rights are at the forefront. Growing concerns surrounding climate change and its imminent consequences have led to increased calls for faster investment treaty reforms. These reforms seek to […]

Is the 30-Year Fixed Rate Mortgage Causing Issues with the U.S. Housing Market?

BY Graham Steele-Perkins If you have been paying any attention to the news over the past few years, you have likely heard that it is a difficult time to buy a home. Following a period of frenzied activity during the pandemic, the housing market has since sunk into a “deep freeze”. Skyrocketing prices, limited inventory, […]

Monetary Policy: The Role of Reserve and Bank Capital Requirements

BY: Anthony Ramazani On September 20, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission adopted amendments to the Investment Company Act, more commonly known as the “Names Rule.” The most essential feature of the rule is its 80% requirement. Prior to the 2023 amendments, this required any fund with a name suggesting investments of a particular type, […]

The Future of Currency: Understanding China’s Central Bank Digital Currency

BY: Justin Pan As the modern economy goes into the digital age, Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) appears to be an innovative instrument for modern financial institutions. It merges the concept of blockchain technology with the legal status of fiat currency, aiming to create a transparent and efficient transactional medium. CBDC provides a variety of […]

Impacts of Increasing Women’s Property Ownership

BY: Neelam Karamchandani States in India recently enacted gender-based discounts to encourage female property ownership. These include stamp duty discounts, which provide a discount when property is transferred or registered to a woman, in addition to reductions on property taxes for female-owned properties.  These two discount structures have social and economic benefits. Besides increased financial […]

Rent Control in 2024

BY: Francis Figueroa  Today, over 200 local governments have a rent control policy in place. A proponent of rent control would replace “over” with “only.” The policy garners much attention and debate. Before discussing the most recent news regarding rent control, one should understand what rent control legislation typically looks like.   Rent control is most […]

Lights, Camera, Labor Action: The WGA and SAG strikes

BY: Sebastian Bergman The Writers Guild of America (“WGA”)  and the Screen Actors Guild (“SAG”) received unprecedented coverage compared to most other unions when on strike. They may not be essential workers, but they certainly are high profile, commanding the attention of the average American regularly.  In the latest episode of a long labor battle […]

Taming the DeFi Beast with a Regulatory Leash

BY: Serraya Quinn As the FTX saga continues to unfold, with the crypto-exchange founder Sam Bankman-Fried being sentenced to 25 years in prison, the devastating impact of unchecked centralization in the crypto space has been laid bare. Billions in customer funds allegedly mishandled, misappropriated, or lost entirely — a searing reminder that the promise of […]

Personal Income Tax Implications of COVID-19 & Remote Employment

BY: Harrison Fregeau, RBFL Editor When the pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”) struck the United States in March of 2020, many workers, particularly white-collar office workers, began to work from home. This movement to a work-from-home environment produced interesting state tax consequences for those whose homes were in different states than their workplace […]

Paycheck Protection Program and Loan Fraud: DOJ’s Response

BY: Zachary Trombly, RBFL Student Editor It’s been just over two years since the first outbreak of COVID-19 in the United States. Since early 2020, many small businesses who were crippled by mandated lockdowns and other COVID-related restrictions are still fighting to stay afloat while some have been forced to close their doors due to […]