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The article discusses difficulties several U.S. states were facing in implementing the educational standards known as Common Core due to the fiscal and political costs associated with standards as of early November 2015. According to the article, over $7 billion had been spent or appropriated in connection with Common Core and the charitable group the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation spent $263 million on Common Core advocacy, and implementation. The article also discusses the group the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC).

The article states that the U.S. agency the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Manhattan U.S. attorney's office were examining whether U.S. food and beverage firm Dean Foods Co. ex-chairman Thomas Davis leaked inside information concerning the company's 2012 announcement of a spinoff of its division WhiteWave Foods to Las Vegas, Nevada, gambler William "Billy" Walters. The article states that Walters may have tipped off professional golfer Phil Mickelson about the spinoff.

The article reports that a panel of the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the 2012 convictions on insider-trading charges of former hedge-fund managers Anthony Chiasson and Todd Newman. The panel ruled that jury instructions in the two men's trial erred by failing to state insider trading requires the person receiving inside information to know the person giving it is deriving some material benefit from the disclosure.

The article discusses the U.S. Justice Department's inability to collect significant portions of fines arising from enforcement actions. In September of 2014 Justice said it would be able to obtain just $10 billion of the $97 billion in outstanding debts owed it. In some cases defendants' resources have been dwarfed by the penalties levied against them. Among those owing sizable amounts are Jordan Belfort, who was convicted of securities fraud, and Ponzi schemer Thomas L. Mitchell.

The article discusses businessman Paul Bilzerian's efforts to evade attempts by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to collect on a $62 million judgment against him following his 1989 conviction on securities-fraud charges. Details are presented on how Bilzerian and relatives including his wife, Terri Steffen, appear to have hidden assets from the SEC, which in 2014 said it was abandoning its pursuit of the money.

The article discusses an investigation by the U.S. Justice Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation into possible insider trading involving investor Carl Icahn, golfer Phil Mickelson, and sports bettor William "Billy" Walters. Media disclosure of the probe on May 31, 2014 has reportedly thwarted efforts by authorities to use secret wiretaps. Dean Foods Co. and consumer-products firm Clorox Co. are among stocks central to the investigation.

The article discusses an ongoing investigation into high-speed securities-trading firms by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in April 2014. Areas of inquiry include whether high-speed firms are exploiting information unavailable to other investors, whether they are manipulating markets, and whether high-speed transactions are being used to conceal insider trading.

The article discusses the U.S. Justice Department's tendency to file charges against companies but not their employees in cases of white-collar crime. Of nearly 400 firms that Justice either settled criminal cases with or got convictions against, two-thirds saw no charges levied against their employees. U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff is among critics of this practice.

The article discusses the use by traders at hedge funds of firms that employ capabilities including sensors, surveillance technology, and data-processing skills to gain insights into petroleum production, crop yields, electricity generation, and other markets where early information can provide a trading edge. Particular attention is paid to how Genscape Inc. uses heat-sensitive cameras to help it estimate the size of oil reserves at Cushing, Oklahoma.

The article reports that during 2013 the U.S. Energy Department blocked from its main Website and that of its Energy Information Administration users who requested too much information or made too many requests for data. The Department regularly releases figures on inventories for crude oil, projected energy prices, and other data that are much sought after by traders, although the identities of those blocked were not released.

The article discusses a November 4, 2013 settlement of insider-trading charges levied against hedge-fund firm SAC Capital Advisors LP by U. S. Attorney Preet Bharara, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Terms of the deal call for SAC to plead guilty and pay a $1.2 billion penalty, and for founder Steven A. Cohen to no longer manage money for outside investors.

The article reports that in early November 2013, hedge-fund firm SAC Capital Advisors LP is expected to plead guilty to insider trading as part of a $1.2 billion settlement with the U.S. Justice Department. In addition SAC, founded by Steven A. Cohen, will agree to discontinue managing money for outside investors.

The article reports that hedge-fund company SAC Capital Advisors LP and U.S. prosecutors have agreed in principal that SAC will pay a penalty of more than $1 billion as part of a settlement of insider-trading charges against SAC. Issues still being negotiated include what wrongdoing SAC would admit to, and for how long SAC founder Steven A. Cohen would be barred from managing other people's money.

The article reports that the U.S. Justice Department has offered to settle criminal-insider trading charges against hedge-fund firm SAC Capital Advisors LP for between $1.5 billion and $2 billion. It is believed attorneys for SAC will prepare a counter-offer. SAC founder Steven A. Cohen continues to be investigated by federal prosecutors.

The article looks at the U.S. government's investigation of alleged insider trading by financier Steven A. Cohen and others at Cohen's hedge fund company, SAC Capital Advisors LP, as of July 2013. It discusses the likelihood of criminal charges being brought against Cohen, noting the government has neither wiretap evidence nor cooperating witnesses against him. INSET: A Firm in Focus.

The article discusses a U.S. insider trading investigation into the hedge fund group SAC Capital Advisors LP as of June 2013, reporting that officials are considering the legal allegations of willful blindness and conscious avoidance as possible ways to bring charges against the hedge fund specialist Steven A. Cohen. Topics include the company's structure and a deadline for the potential filing of charges.

The article reports that the Conference Board, a private company that produces economic indicators including a monthly survey on consumer confidence in the U.S., will stop providing selected journalists an early look at the data out of concern that the information is being leaked and traded upon. Additional discussion is presented about challenges involved with the disclosure of market-sensitive data.

The article discusses the release of nongovernmental economic reports as of May 2013, with a focus on the need for U.S. laws to address the sale of early access to financial reports in high-speed trading. Topics include the selective disclosure of market-moving data to the highest-paying trading companies, the use of early access to trading data, and law and legislation in the U.S. regarding the securities industry and trading on nonpublic information.

The article reports on the possibility that the U.S. government will charge hedge fund SAC Capital Advisors as a criminal enterprise under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) for allegations of insider trading. Topics include how an investigation by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) revealed evidence of the company's insider trading practices, why prosecutors are considering using a RICO strategy, and the lack of charges against SAC founder Steven A. Cohen. INSET: CRACKING RACKETS.

The article discusses an investigation by U.S. prosecutors at the Federal Bureau Investigation (FBI) into alleged insider trading at the hedge fund firm SAC Capital Advisors LP, with information on possible criminal charges against the hedge fund group. Topics include the five-year deadline for the FBI to file charges related to trading practices by SAC founder Steven A. Cohen, as well as possible alternatives to a criminal prosecution including a deferred-prosecution agreement.

The article discusses the March 29, 2013 arrest in New York City of Michael Steinberg, an employee of hedge-fund company SAC Capital Advisors LP. Federal authorities charged Steinberg with several counts of securities fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud. He is alleged to have profited from inside information on trades involving shares of technology firms Dell Inc. and Nvidia Corp.

The article reports that U.S. officials are deciding whether to pursue insider-trading charges against Rengan Rajaratnam, the brother former hedge-fund mogul Raj Rajaratnam who was convicted in 2011 for insider trading. The Securities and Exchange Commission has subpoenaed Rengan's trading records for 2007-2009, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation has sought information about him from witnesses who cooperated against his brother.

The article discusses a $616 million settlement hedge-fund company SAC Capital Advisors LP made with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on March 15, 2013. SAC agreed to pay $602 million to settle charges of alleged insider-trading at its CR Intrinsic Investors unit involving former fund manager Mathew Martoma, and $14 million for alleged wrongdoing at its Sigma Capital Management Unit. The SEC continues to investigate SAC founder Steven A. Cohen.

The article reports that Jon Horvath, an analyst once employed by hedge-fund company SAC Capital Advisors has told U.S. prosecutors that his manager at SAC, Michael Steinberg, had urged him to collect inside information about publicly-traded technology firms. Both the Justice Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation are trying to build an insider-trading case against Steinberg.

The article reports that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is looking into a profitable options trade in stock options for weight-management firm Weight Watchers International Inc. in February, 2011 by billionaire Steven A. Cohen's hedge-fund company, SAC Capital Advisors LP. SAC bought about $400,000 worth of call options on Weight Watchers' stock days before the company announced an unexpectedly good earnings report. SAC's potential profit on the trade was $8.3 million.

The article discusses the case of Matthew Martoma, a former trader for hedge-fund company SAC Capital Advisors LP who has been charged by U.S. prosecutors with insider trading. Martoma has rebuffed efforts by agents of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation to gain his cooperation against SAC founder Steven Cohen.