Governor Schwarzenegger’s final verdict on a host of critical consumer protection bills this past weekend left consumer advocates disappointed. Of the 14 bills identified by the Consumer Federation of California (CFC) as most important, in only six instances did the Governor take the side of the consumer.
While acknowledging that the Governor signed several consumer protection laws, Richard Holober, Executive Director of the Consumer Federation of California stated: “We are disappointed that the Governor sided with big business interests and against consumers on the majority of bills that reached his desk. The Governor turned a deaf ear to California consumers on key food safety, automobile insurance and financial privacy proposals.”
The Governor signed three bad anti-consumer bills, vetoed five pro-consumer bills, and signed six pro-consumer bills. All bills on the list were authored by Democrats.
“Pro” Consumer Bills Vetoed by the Governor
AB 1512 (Lieu) – would have prohibited a retailer from selling baby food, infant formula, and over the counter medicine after the "use by" date on its packaging. Citing the need for the bill, CFC stated, “California consumers should have the right to purchase medications that are safe and effective and parents and children deserve assurances that their baby food is nutritional and healthy.”
SB 20 (Simitian) - would have required financial privacy security breach notices to inform potential victims of identity theft about the nature of the beach, and to include contact information for credit reporting agencies.
AB 943 (Mendoza) – would have prohibited a prospective employer from using consumer credit reports in the hiring process unless the report is related to job duties.
AB 261 (Salas) – would have clarified that California students’ privacy rights allow limited access to student records by law enforcement and election officials to further juvenile justice and voter registration.
AB 811 (John Perez) - would have prohibited check-cashers from manufacturing and selling false identification cards, or identification cards that closely resemble a state drivers’ license card.
Source
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Receiver Takes Over Fla. Law Firm as Investors Reveal Pitches
Markit, a global financial information services company, today announced it has agreed to acquire ClearPar from FIS. ClearPar is an automated syndicated loan operations platform used for the settlement of par and distressed loan trades in the U.S. and Europe.Markit will integrate ClearPar with parts of its WSO division, a provider of portfolio management software and services for the syndicated loan market, to create an electronic loan settlement platform for buy-side and sell-side market participants. The combination of ClearPar and Markit's loan business will help reduce counterparty and operational risk in the approximately $600 billion leveraged loan market by improving loan settlement times.
Lance Uggla, Chief Executive Officer of Markit, said in a release: "Markit has spent the past five years focused on all aspects of the loan market, from loan pricing, identifiers and indices to portfolio management software and services. Our acquisition of ClearPar enhances our loan offering and allows us to combine parts of Markit WSO, a platform that is used by the buy-side, with ClearPar, which is widely used by the sell-side. By bringing these two assets together, Markit will be able to connect the market electronically, creating significant operational efficiencies. I believe this will be well received by market participants and regulatory bodies alike."
Armins Rusis, Executive Vice President and Global Co-Head of Fixed Income at Markit, said in the release: "We are excited about the ClearPar acquisition and the positive impact it will have on the marketplace. The combination of Markit's loan processing and data platform with ClearPar's settlement system will allow us to introduce faster, more accurate settlement of loan trades. Existing and prospective investors in the syndicated loan market have been seeking a global solution for some time."
ClearPar, launched in 2001, is part of FIS's Advanced Commercial Banking Solutions (ACBS) division and provides a middle-office platform for trade settlement in the syndicated loan market. The platform supports primary assignments and secondary market trading for U.S. and European credits, including a distressed debt settlement service that launched earlier this year. Markit WSO provides data, software and services designed to make the management of syndicated bank loans and structured deals more efficient and accurate.
E.A. Kratzman, President of Katonah Debt Advisors, said in the release: "As a major investor in credit, I view the combination of Markit and ClearPar as the most positive step toward true automation of closing and settlement in the loan market in many years. Most market participants are eager to see syndicated loan processing and trade settlement achieve the levels of workflow speed and efficiency that have evolved in other financial markets."
Richard Levy, President of FIS' ACBS division, said in the release: "FIS is proud of the innovation we have brought to the commercial loan marketplace including LMA settlement and, most recently, distressed trade settlement. This transaction will allow FIS' ACBS division to sharpen its focus on its market leading Loan Servicing System and front-office suite of products in sales, syndication and loan trading."
Source
Lance Uggla, Chief Executive Officer of Markit, said in a release: "Markit has spent the past five years focused on all aspects of the loan market, from loan pricing, identifiers and indices to portfolio management software and services. Our acquisition of ClearPar enhances our loan offering and allows us to combine parts of Markit WSO, a platform that is used by the buy-side, with ClearPar, which is widely used by the sell-side. By bringing these two assets together, Markit will be able to connect the market electronically, creating significant operational efficiencies. I believe this will be well received by market participants and regulatory bodies alike."
Armins Rusis, Executive Vice President and Global Co-Head of Fixed Income at Markit, said in the release: "We are excited about the ClearPar acquisition and the positive impact it will have on the marketplace. The combination of Markit's loan processing and data platform with ClearPar's settlement system will allow us to introduce faster, more accurate settlement of loan trades. Existing and prospective investors in the syndicated loan market have been seeking a global solution for some time."
ClearPar, launched in 2001, is part of FIS's Advanced Commercial Banking Solutions (ACBS) division and provides a middle-office platform for trade settlement in the syndicated loan market. The platform supports primary assignments and secondary market trading for U.S. and European credits, including a distressed debt settlement service that launched earlier this year. Markit WSO provides data, software and services designed to make the management of syndicated bank loans and structured deals more efficient and accurate.
E.A. Kratzman, President of Katonah Debt Advisors, said in the release: "As a major investor in credit, I view the combination of Markit and ClearPar as the most positive step toward true automation of closing and settlement in the loan market in many years. Most market participants are eager to see syndicated loan processing and trade settlement achieve the levels of workflow speed and efficiency that have evolved in other financial markets."
Richard Levy, President of FIS' ACBS division, said in the release: "FIS is proud of the innovation we have brought to the commercial loan marketplace including LMA settlement and, most recently, distressed trade settlement. This transaction will allow FIS' ACBS division to sharpen its focus on its market leading Loan Servicing System and front-office suite of products in sales, syndication and loan trading."
Source
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)