Oxford Business Law Blog

The popularity of index funds, which automatically track an index of stocks, is continuing to grow in the U.S, and, albeit less intensely, in the EU. Due to the high concentration of the index funds...

On 1 July 2018 the FCA (the Financial Conduct Authority, the UK’s financial services regulator) introduced a new category of premium listing exclusively available to equity issuers that qualify as ‘...

Compared to institutional investors, retail investors seem to be bound to remain minor actors on the corporate governance scene, even if Shareholders Rights Directive (SRD I) put forward shareholder...

The recent UK Parliamentary cross-party enquiry into the collapse of Carillion plc, the British multinational facilities management and construction services company makes interesting reading. Its...

From time to time I am asked to explain how I can support the disproportionate voting found in dual class shares while at the same time strongly criticizing the 'empty voting' of mutual fund advisors...

While corporate social responsibility (CSR) was for a long time considered a voluntary matter, to be exercised by companies in the interests of stakeholders, it is increasingly acquiring legal status...

In a previous post, we wrote that the UK Government announced a series of reforms to the UK Corporate Governance regime in August 2017. Some of these reforms are being addressed through the on-going...

The article ‘China’s “Corporatization Without Privatization” and the Late 19th Century Roots of a Stubborn Path Dependency’ analyzes the contemporary program of ‘corporatization without privatization...

The gender gap in pay and promotions is an extensively documented labor market phenomenon. The financial and legal sectors are prominent examples (see here, here and here). The bottom line is that...

The ‘Report on Improving Corporate Governance in Hong Kong’, published by the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants on 2 May 2018, assesses the strengths and weaknesses of Hong Kong’s...

Around 200 years ago Sir William Blackstone, the great commentator of English common law, used the metaphor of a shingle to describe the effects of self-commitments. Professionals who place a shingle...

As shown by the law and finance literature, most Latin American companies have concentrated ownership structures with controlling shareholders (La Porta et al, 1998, 1999). As a result, the primary...

The modern marketplace is saturated with ‘ratings’ and ‘reviews’ of a firm’s products, services, and financial performance on platforms such as Google, Yelp, Bloomberg, and Facebook. While we know a...

According to the classic Cadbury definition, ‘corporate governance is the system by which companies are directed and controlled’. On 5 December 2017, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) published a...

Addressing entrenched inequality is a pressing matter in India. It appears to acquire special urgency every five years, when a general election beckons. If 2013 saw the enactment of a mandatory...

For decades, corporate law played a pivotal role in regulating corporations across the United States. Consequently, Delaware, the leading state of incorporation, and its courts played a central part...

The stock markets of Hong Kong and Singapore are characterised by companies with concentrated shareholdings. In addition, they routinely attract issuers whose assets and businesses are located...

For about 50 years – at least since Texas Gulf Sulphur – the SEC has ordered defendants to disgorge their profits from transactions that violated the securities laws. Despite disgorgement’s long...