1. Section 16(a) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended in 1990, requires that the officers, directors, and principal shareholders of companies disclose the extent of their ownership of equity securities of the company and any changes in the ownership. Section 16(b) permits companies to recover trading profits realized by such people arising from short-swing transactions in the company securities. Do you think that, as a result of these laws, the government will be forced to spend more money on its auditing and enforcement efforts? Explain.
2. Between 1972 and 1981, Texaco sold gasoline to independent Texaco retailers at “retail tank wagon prices” but granted substantial discounts to distributors Gull and Dompier. Gull resold the gas under its own name. Dompier resold the gas under the Texaco brand name to retail stations and entered the retail market directly. Since neither Gull nor Dompier had significant storage facilities, both distributors picked up gas directly from the Texaco plant and delivered it to their retail outlets. As a result, the sales volume increased substantially at the retail stations purchasing gas from these distributors, while independent Texaco retailers suffered a corresponding sales decline. In 1976, independent Texaco retailers filed suit against Texaco. In 1990, the Supreme Court of the United States found that Texaco had indeed violated antitrust law. Which law do you think Texaco was found guilty of violating?