by Chris Maxwell and Romeen Sheth

1. What are the two new rules the SEC adopted last week?

On July 10, 2013 the SEC (1) eliminated the prohibition on general solicitation and advertisement for securities offerings in which an issuer may privately raise an unlimited amount of capital from an unlimited number of accredited investors and up to 35 non-accredited investors and (2) adopted a rule to disqualify felons and other “bad actors” from participating in such securities offerings.

The elimination of the general ban on solicitation and advertisement fundamentally changes the way private offerings have been conducted

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The recent CMO Survey reveals a trend that may be reversing—most companies are behind the times when it comes to social media. A survey of almost 500 U.S. Chief Marketing Officers demonstrates they’ve finally heard the call and will up their spending on social media in the coming year and double it in the next 5. According to survey director Professor Christine Moorman, the increase will surely help, but social media also needs to be integrated into marketing strategies and companies must be present where customer conversations are happening.