Scholars studying the history of modern colonialism have been more reluctant to make strongly contrarian claims about consumerism and commodification similar to those made by early modern Europeanists because they are more unsettled by some of the implications of their own studies. Modern consumer culture is strongly mapped to ‘Westernization’ and globalization. There is a very large class of scholarly studies that in some respect or another discuss the association between colonialism and consumption in nineteenth- and twentieth-century global culture. Even constrained to the Western European states that created or extended formal empires in Africa, Asia, and the Pacific after 1860, studies such as Anne McClintock's intricate reading of British commodity culture indicate the extent to which colonial meanings and images were circulating within metropolitan societies. This article discusses modern colonialism, globalization, and commodity culture. It first examines the middle classes, nations, and modernity, and then considers consumer agency in the context of globalization.
Purpose
To explain recent guidance released by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) regarding research analyst conflicts of interest that arise during the underwriter selection process.
Design/methodology/approach
The article discusses the risks associated with different communications between research analysts and issuers during the three phases of the underwriter selection process: the pre-IPO period; the solicitation period; and the post-mandate period.
Findings
While many questions remain, the FINRA guidance provides valuable insight to firms regarding the types of communications between research analysts and issuers that are permitted during different periods in the solicitation process. The risk levels associated with different types of communications during those time periods range from low to high to “unmanageable”. The article provides practical guidance on what research analysts can say and do during the different periods.
Practical implications
Broker-dealers should evaluate their policies and procedures to ensure compliance with the new FINRA guidelines.
Originality value
Practical guidance from experienced securities lawyers who are on the front lines in dealing with these issues.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.