The trajectory of regulatory reform in the UK in the wake of the financial crisis

There has been much talk about regulatory reform around the world in the wake of the financial crisis but relatively little action. As a major international financial centre, the UK is very much at the heart of the debate and has a particular interest in the ultimate outcome. The financial crisis has exposed the weaknesses of ‘light touch’ regulation and ‘principles-based’ regulation, which characterised the UK system in the pre-crisis phase. Changes to the institutional structure of regulation recently announced by the new coalition government, combined with changes to regulatory style, are likely to have far-reaching consequences for the practice and intensity of regulation in the UK. This article reviews and assesses recent and proposed regulatory changes and considers the relationship between corporate governance and regulation. It evaluates the impact on the UK system of initiatives undertaken at international and EC levels as well as various interests and incentives within the UK that are likely to be influential in shaping the regulatory regime in years to come

Rethinking conduct regulation

Conduct regulation has evolved in a manner that lacks coherence. In this article, Professor Iain MacNeil identifies three fundamental characteristics that would need to be addressed in any wholesale reconfiguration

Quality of life improves in Brockton: fighting for the City of Champions: a collaboration of community lenders

For over a decade, community lenders in Brockton, Massachusetts, have been working together to revitalize this urban center. Leo MacNeil reports on the Brockton Housing Partnership's efforts to increase homeownership, improve social services, and build community.Community development - Massachusetts ; Loans - Massachusetts ; Housing - Massachusetts

Experimentation in securities market structure and regulation in China: from state to market

A key feature of the socialist market economy in China is the development of securities markets so as to facilitate entrepreneurship. With the national securities market now well established attention has shifted to the development of lower tier markets that may be able to meet the financing needs of smaller scale enterprises. In this article we examine how the concept of experimentation has been applied to the process of developing such markets and the regulatory framework in which they operate. We begin with a survey and critique of the policy and regulatory framework within which lower-tier markets have evolved. We argue that experimentation has been important in China but that it operates in a unique way as a result of the institutional structure in which securities markets are located. We then focus more specifically on the regulatory framework for lower tier markets and present two case studies focused on the establishment and operation of two local equity exchanges in a single province (LiaoNing). While this evidence supports our view on the significance of experimentation it also highlights the problems associated with developing lower-tier securities markets within the current policy framework

The ‘grand scheme of things’: biological invasions, their detection, impacts and management

Editorial of Management of Biological Invasions: International Journal of Applied Research on Biological Invasions, Volume 5, Issues 3

Good faith and the ubiquity of the “relational” contract

The judgment of Leggatt J in Yam Seng Pte Ltd v International Trade Corporation Ltd shows the common belief that the English law of contract does not have a doctrine of good faith to be mistaken. That law does not have a general principle of good faith, but its doctrine of good faith, articulated through numerous specific duties, is more suitable for the interpretation of contracts according to the intentions of the parties than a general principle which invites the imposition of exogenous standards. That Yam Seng involved a relational contract does not mean that paternalistic exogenous standards should be imposed. It means that the good faith obligations essential even to a commercial contract of this sort must be implied in order to give efficacy to the fundamentally co-operative contractual relationship

Spatiotemporal release of VEGF from biodegradable polylactic-co-glycolic acid microspheres induces angiogenesis in chick chorionic allantoic membrane assay

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.While vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is an acknowledged potent pro-angiogenic agent there is a need to deliver it at an appropriate concentration for several days to achieve angiogenesis. The aim of this study was to produce microspheres of biodegradable polylactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) tailored to achieve sustained release of VEGF at an appropriate concentration over seven days, avoiding excessive unregulated release of VEGF that has been associated with the formation of leaky blood vessels. Several formulations were examined to produce microspheres loaded with both human serum albumin (HSA) and VEGF to achieve release of VEGF between 3 and 10 ng per ml for seven days to match the therapeutic window desired for angiogenesis. In vitro experiments showed an increase in endothelial cell proliferation in response to microspheres bearing VEGF. Similarly, when microspheres containing VEGF were added to the chorionic membrane of fertilised chicken eggs, there was an increase in the development of blood vessels over seven days in response, which was significant for microspheres bearing VEGF and HSA, but not VEGF alone. There was an increase in both blood vessel density and branching – both signs of proangiogenic activity. Further, there was clearly migration of cells to the VEGF loaded microspheres. In summary, we describe the development of an injectable delivery vehicle to achieve spatiotemporal release of physiologically relevant levels of VEGF for several days and demonstrate the angiogenic response to this. We propose that such a treatment vehicle would be suitable for the treatment of ischemic tissue or wounds

Students Watching Stars Evolve

We describe a study of period changes in 59 RR Lyrae stars, using times of maximum brightness from the GEOS database. The work was carried out by outstanding senior high school students in the University of Toronto Mentorship Program. This paper is written in such a way that high school or undergraduate physics and astronomy students could use it as a guide and template for carrying out original research, by studying period changes in these and other types of variable stars