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Articles by Michael Mountain
BOOG and the Hall of Fame, Part 2: Infielders
Having presented the concept of BOOG Score in my previous article, we can now use it to discuss Hall of Fame candidacies for specific players. If you don’t have time to review the introductory piece, the CliffsNotes version is this: BOOG Score is an accumulating stat measuring overall player value, intended for comparisons between elite players. It’s a player’s career Wins Above Average (WAA) total, but with all negative seasons zeroed out and ignored.
BOOG and the Hall of Fame, Part 1 (Introduction)
In 1889, Hall of Famer John Clarkson had one of the best pitching seasons ever by WAR. He won the Triple Crown with a 2.73 ERA, 284 strikeouts, and a win-loss record of 49-19. He also threw 620 innings, the most in the league and a total that represented more than half the combined workload of his team’s entire pitching staff. Although no one knew it at the time, his retroactively calculated ERA- was 64 and his FIP- was 82; both of those rates led the league among qualified pitchers.
Preferred And Structured Equity Investments In The Spotlight Amid Uncertain Markets
Preferred equity investing is on the rise amid a search for yield and a fall in the number of high-quality assets coming to market. Here we explore the growing appeal of preferred equity instruments, outline the terms that are heavily negotiated in deals—and explain their impact on M&A. To find out more, you can listen to our podcast, which explores preferred equity trends from a U.S. and European perspective.
Considering animals as neighbors
Every morning, when he was living just outside of Washington, D.C., author and journalist Brandon Keim would go down to the neighborhood stormwater pond, sit with a cup of coffee, and watch the birds. “They would come for their morning bath,” he told me. “And it was such a wonderful part of my day.
Preferred Equity: Navigating A Rapidly Evolving Market-podcast
AO A&O Shearman More A&O Shearman was formed in 2024 via the merger of two historic firms, Allen & Overy and Shearman & Sterling. With nearly 4,000 lawyers globally, we are equally fluent in English law, U.S. law and the laws of the world’s most dynamic markets. This combination creates a new kind of law firm, one built to achieve unparalleled outcomes for our clients on their most complex, multijurisdictional matters – everywhere in the world.
Draft UK Listing Rules Published for new Commercial Companies Equity Segment
On 20 December 2023, the FCA published finalised proposals for the merger of the existing premium and standard equity listing segments into a new single equity segment.
FRC Scales Back 2024 Corporate Governance Code Revision
On 7 November 2023 the FRC issued a press release in relation to its ongoing review and update of the UK Corporate Governance Code (the ”Code”), announcing a big scaling back of revisions it had proposed to the Code. That review was launched in May and we produced a briefing about here. Publication of an updated Code is now promised for January 2024. Why are updates to the Code being scaled back?
Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 receives Royal Assent
The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (the “Act”) received Royal Assent on 26 October 2023, having received its first reading in Parliament over a year ago and more recently having been the object of a series of “ping pong” amendments and counter amendments between the House of Lords and the Government in the House of Commons.
Court of Appeal corrects a mistake in the drafting of articles of association
Last week the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal by DnaNudge Ltd against the first instance decision inVentura Capital GP Ltd v DnaNudge Ltd which invalidated an attempt by the ordinary shareholders in the company to convert, under a provision in its articles, all its preferred shares, against the wishes of the holders of those shares, into ordinary shares. This would remove from those shares all the preference rights and protections with which they had been issued.
FRC Consults on the UK Corporate Governance Code
On 24 May 2023, the Financial Reporting Council ("FRC") launched a consultation on proposed revisions to the current (2018) edition UK's Corporate Governance Code (the "Consultation" and the "Code").
FCA moves ahead with a single equity listing category
On 3 May 2023, the FCA published its consultation CP23/10*** setting out revised "semi-final" proposals for its listing segments reform. These follow on from its discussion paper DP22/2 published a year ago, which itself followed the launch by the FCA of its primary markets effectiveness review (CP21/21***). The CP23/10 proposals are largely concerned with the listing of equity shares in commercial companies (the proposed "ESCC" listing segment).
Are UK SPACs starting to unwind?
An announcement made on 23 April 2023 by Hambro Perks Acquisition Company Ltd ("Hambro Perks") underlines the serious difficulties currently faced by the UK SPAC market and the SPAC market globally. The company confirmed that it is giving up its search for a business combination and will be redeeming its shares and winding itself up.
Insider Dealing criminal offences to be aligned with relevant UK MAR definitions
On 20 April 2023, HM Treasury published a draft statutory instrument ("draft SI") that will amend Schedule 2 to the Criminal Justice Act 1993 (“CJA”) and revoke various statutory orders that have been made under the CJA, so that the type of securities and the markets on which they must be traded in order for any insider dealing in them to be criminalised under the CJA, will now be much more closely aligned with those applicable under UK MAR.
The Panel finalises two further sets of Rule changes
On 4 April, 2023, the Takeover Panel published Response Statements in relation to two consultations on Code rule changes that it issued last year - RS 2023/3 on the offer timetable in a competitive situation and RS 2023/4 on six miscellaneous further amendments to the Code.
FCA Primary Market Bulletin 44
Last week, the FCA issued its Primary Market Bulletin 44 ("PMB44") giving some guidance for listed companies preparing for their first season's reporting under the Listing Rules' new board diversity and inclusion rules, a warning about regulatory news announcements which include multimedia content and dropping its proposed guidance about prospectus requirements for share issuances in connection with schemes of arrangement.
Construction of articles and class rights - a recent case
Earlier this month the High Court had to consider: how two particular provisions in articles of association operated together (or in conflict), and the statutory right (under s. 633, Companies Act 2006 ("s. 633")) of the holders of at least 15% of a class of shares who did not consent to a variation of their rights, to ask the court to disallow a variation of their rights which would unfairly prejudice them.
New Targets to increase Ethnic Diversity on UK Boards, etc.
On 13 March 2023, the UK's (the “Review”) published an update report (the "2023 Update") detailing recent progress that has been made in addressing the disparity between levels of ethnic diversity in the UK population at large and ethnic diversity on UK FTSE 350 boards. It also announced an extension of the Review’s approach to increasing ethnic diversity on and below the boardroom level, to senior management in FTSE 350 companies and also to the UK’s 50 largest private companies and businesses.
Five Fundamental Rights of Whales & Dolphins
Tom White is a philosopher with considerable experience observing dolphins in the wild. He says that it’s not until you’re out on the ocean watching them flourishing in the wild that you can truly understand who they are and what it means for them to flourish. The concept of flourishing is key to understanding the argument for recognizing that dolphins and whales have clear and inalienable rights.
The Death of Nakai and the Future of Captive Whales
The young orca Nakai, who was born at SeaWorld San Diego and lived in a tank there all of his life, has died. He was just a few weeks short of his 21st birthday. On August 5th, SeaWorld announced that “Every attempt was made to save his life. Veterinarians and health specialists had been actively treating an infection, but aggressive therapeutic and diagnostic efforts were unsuccessful.” Nakai’s mother was Kasatka, who died in 2017.
Ula Was Never Part of Their "Family"
On Monday of this week, Loro Parque Zoo in the Canary Islands announced that the young orca Ula had died. The zoo wrote about its “immense pain and sadness” and about how it is “impossible for us to explain what the loss of little Ula means for the Loro Parque family …” But the zoo doesn’t even mention the one member of Ula’s family who is truly bereaved. Her name is Morgan, and she is Ula’s mother.
Say Hello to the World's First Whale Sanctuary
Say Hello to the World's First Whale Sanctuary It's the dawn of a new era for whales and dolphins retired by entertainment facilities or unlikely to thrive in the wild, thanks to a new, independent organization with plans to establish a model seaside sanctuary.
Travis, Tragedy and the Other Chimpanzees
Travis and Charla when he was a youngster In February, 2009, 14-year-old chimpanzee Travis attacked Charla Nash, a friend of the woman who "owned" him. He tore off her nose, ears and hands, and blinded her as his owner, Sandra Herold, frantically beat him, stabbed him and called the police. When they arrived at her home in Connecticut, they shot Travis dead.
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