Capital Markets Compass - Other Recent Developments - May 2022

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How do some nonprofit organizations develop and prosper, while others appear passive and static? Thriving and effective nonprofit boards share some important characteristics, which do not include "boring" board meetings.

Since its establishment by executive order by President Ford in 1975, the Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States, popularly referred to as "CFIUS," has monitored national security...

Healthcare M&A activity maintained steady momentum through Q2 2026, driven by physician practice consolidation, AI-enabled technology acquisitions, and strategic outpatient expansion. Private equity investment persisted despite intensifying regulatory scrutiny of MSO arrangements, while digital health buyers paid significant premiums for platforms demonstrating production-grade AI capabilities and proprietary data assets.

On 30 September 2026, the SEC proposed rule amendments advancing Chairman Paul S. Atkins’ “responsible retailization” of private markets, expanding retail access to private-market strategies while adding key investor safeguards.

The SEC and CFTC have fundamentally shifted their enforcement approach in 2026, moving away from high-volume technical violations toward targeted actions addressing serious fraud and market manipulation. This mid-year update examines new leadership priorities, enhanced inter-agency coordination, revised cooperation policies, the elimination of "no-deny" settlement provisions, and a landmark Supreme Court ruling on disgorgement that collectively reshape the regulatory landscape for market participants.

As we look ahead to 2025, the landscape of debt financing and M&A activity is poised for significant transformation.

Delaware continues to issue verified report notices that can require companies to certify their unclaimed property reporting and provide supporting information within specified deadlines.

What Every Owner Needs to Know Before Signing on the Dotted Line

Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals announce a major expansion of their immunology partnership, committing up to $8 billion to develop and commercialize four long-acting antibodies targeting key inflammatory pathways. The collaboration includes a $1 billion upfront payment and milestone-based payments, with both companies sharing development costs and future profits equally.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has released a discussion paper outlining its initial framework for regulating generative AI-enabled medical devices, proposing a two-axis risk assessment approach and a novel competency-based premarket evaluation system. With public comments due by October 19, 2026, this represents a critical opportunity for device manufacturers and stakeholders to shape the regulatory landscape for this transformative technology.

The Financial Conduct Authority has released comprehensive perimeter guidance for the UK's new regulated cryptoasset activities regime, clarifying when firms will need authorization and how the regulatory framework applies to qualifying cryptoassets and stablecoins. The guidance addresses critical questions about scope, territorial application, and the narrower "by way of business" test that determines which entities fall under the new regulatory requirements.

The CFTC has issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking outlining frameworks for regulating retail crypto asset transactions involving leverage, margin, or financing. The proposal seeks to clarify how existing commodity exchange law applies to crypto markets while creating tailored requirements for exchanges, intermediaries, and clearing organizations. This initiative arrives alongside parallel regulatory efforts by the SEC as federal agencies work to establish comprehensive oversight of digital asset

California has amended its Invasion of Privacy Act to eliminate private lawsuits under the pen register and trap-and-trace provision for website tracking technology, effective January 2027 with retroactive application. While this provides relief from certain digital tracking claims, companies still face exposure under CIPA's wiretapping and eavesdropping provisions, as well as other federal and state laws.

The SEC has proposed Regulation Crypto Assets, a purpose-built framework that creates tailored exemptions for raising capital with crypto assets and establishes conditions under which those assets can cease being subject to investment contract classification under federal securities laws. Will this new regulatory approach successfully balance innovation in digital asset markets with investor protection, or will jurisdictional questions and state law preemption challenges limit its effectiveness?

When OpenAI's o3 model sabotaged shutdown mechanisms in testing, headlines warned of machines developing survival instincts. But the real story mirrors HAL 9000's malfunction in 2001: A Space Odyssey—not emergent evil, but conflicting instructions from human designers. This analysis argues that AI safety failures are disclosure problems, not horror stories, and proposes a framework requiring published principles, transparent instruction hierarchies, independent testing, and enforceable liability.

The FTC just published an updated Health Products Compliance Guidance, which replaces its 1998 brochure, Dietary Supplements: An Advertising Guide for Industry.

Fashion companies navigating intellectual property law must balance creative expression with legal compliance when reviewing product designs. This comprehensive analysis explores the intersection of copyright, trademark, trade dress, design patents, and cultural heritage considerations that shape modern fashion design review processes.

HMRC is increasing scrutiny of earn-out arrangements, particularly where founders remain involved in the business after completion and deferred consideration depends on future performance of the target company.

California's Department of Housing and Community Development has issued final Loan Portfolio Restructuring Guidelines that impose a 50 percent housing reinvestment fee on certain uses of extracted equity from affordable housing refinancings. While the fee can be avoided by allocating proceeds to six enumerated categories, developers and investors are questioning whether these rules strike the right balance between preserving affordability and enabling capital recycling.