Stress Test Scenarios and Forecasts for Market Uncertainty: In the second paper of our two-part series in A&M Readings in Quantitative Risk Management, we continue to examine the behavior of human beings in times of financial stress and how the changes in human behavior impact stress testing and the management of capital at banks.

The proposed EU-U.S. Privacy Shield is designed to replace the now defunct Safe Harbor scheme which was developed to protect the transfer of personal data between the EU and the United States. However, the framework only addresses one aspect of risk in dealing with data.

Because of its magnitude and complexity, U.S. tax law is rife with ‘‘traps for the unwary.’’

Chapters 3-32 and 4-156 of the Municipal Code of Chicago impose taxes on personal property leases and amusement transactions, respectively. These laws were broadly drafted, but significant technological advancements since the effective date of these chapters have further broadened their scopes.

After several years of evolutionary changes, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced on January 26, 2015, a timeline of moving from volume to value in Medicare payments; i.e., from 30 percent of provider payments in 2016 to 50 percent by 2018.1 Implementation of the Comprehensive Care Joint Replacement initiative signals an intention to mandate, at least for targeted geographic areas, a value-oriented payment system across the entire continuum of care, from surgery and inpatient care to post-acute care recovery and rehabilitation.

Data is the lifeblood of most modern-day organizations. Email, infographics, databases, presentations, payroll systems, audio, video and spreadsheets are just a sampling of the types of data that comprise a business entity. The challenge with data is that it is portable, easily manipulated and relatively effortless to duplicate.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), created by the Dodd-Frank Act, is shifting its focus to the nonbank sector. Institutions such as mortgage companies (originators, brokers, servicers, and provider of loan modification or foreclosure services), payday lenders and private education lenders now fall under the CFPB lens. Further, through the ‘larger participant rule’ in Dodd-Frank, the CFPB is now the first federal regulator to supervise other nonbank markets.

2015 was a record year for private equity fund exits, with firms disposing of a large wave of assets, surpassing expectations. The record rate of funds realizing their investments has led some to suggest we could be reaching the peak in the cycle. Managing Director Adam Bradley makes the case for funds refreshing their focus on the performance of longer-held assets.

Executive compensation continues to be bombarded with scrutiny by shareholders, shareholder advisory firms, politicians and the media. With say-on-pay voting now well established, the voices of shareholders are getting louder, and companies are listening. Many companies have made significant changes to their compensation strategy in recent years to appease stakeholders. In particular, companies have altered their course on benefits provided to executives in connection with a change in control, commonly called "golden parachutes."

Because of costly new drug therapies, demographic changes, government regulations and expanded screening efforts, payers now face a variety of highly complex decisions around how to best manage the growing number of individuals infected with the Hepatitis C virus (HCV). This paper intends to explore all of these issues and present an entirely new approach for improving outcomes and reducing costs related to caring for this high-risk population segment.

Congress recently passed the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015 (the “PATH Act”).

If you haven’t heard, the latest installment of the Star Wars saga arrived in theaters in mid-December. Incredibly, it’s been almost 40 years since the original Star Wars premiered. In that first episode, Luke Skywalker and a plucky group of rebels band together to destroy the Galactic Empire’s Death Star. In the sequel, The Empire Strikes Back, the Galactic Empire, led by evil Darth Vader, pursues and captures many of the rebels and severely wounds Luke Skywalker.

Human Behavior in Financial Crises: A&M examines what happens in periods of financial crises, specifically human behavior in periods of stress, and suggests ways that bankers and regulators can make stress tests more sensitive to the impact of that behavior and its consequences for bank capital.

The Delaware Court of Chancery (the “Court”) recently issued a decision that is likely to subject director compensation to increased judicial scrutiny, making it easier for shareholders to bring suits against companies for issues regarding their director compensation.