2019 Lane Reports

How the European Union and California are Changing the Way Personal Data are Collected Online (and What That Means for You)
Monday, December 2, 2019
How the European Union and California are Changing the Way Personal Data are Collected Online (and What That Means for You) By Alexander Konetzki We live in a data-driven world. In just over a decade, data has arguably become the most important currency in global commerce. Many companies collect as much personal data as possible about the individuals who...
Davos Adds Its Voice to the Growing Call for "Stakeholder Capitalism"
Friday, November 1, 2019
Davos Adds Its Voice to the Growing Call for "Stakeholder Capitalism" By Marc J. Lane Recognizing that this is a time of widening economic inequality and deepening distrust of business, the Business Roundtable, an association of many of America’s leading CEOs, on August 19 restated its historic commitment to generating long-term financial returns to...
#MeToo Safeguards Come to Illinois
Tuesday, October 1, 2019
#MeToo Safeguards Come to Illinois By Marc J. Lane Illinois has joined a growing list of states that have enacted laws to combat sexual harassment in the workplace. Effective January 1st, the Workplace Transparency Act will prohibit the use of nondisclosure or non-disparagement agreements that prevent employees, contractors and consultants from making...
Is Shareholder Primacy Dead?
Tuesday, September 3, 2019
Is Shareholder Primacy Dead? By Marc J. Lane In a 1970 essay for The New York Times, economist Milton Friedman famously argued that a company has no "social responsibility" to the public or society; its only responsibility is to its shareholders, a view he justified by considering to whom, in his judgment, a company and its executives are accountable: ...
It's Time for Business to Help Tackle the Climate Crisis
Thursday, August 1, 2019
It's Time for Business to Help Tackle the Climate Crisis By Marc J. Lane Climate disasters are happening at the rate of one a week, according to the UN Secretary-General's special representative on disaster risk reduction. Droughts, cyclones, wildfires, rising seas and retreating icecaps make headlines around the world. Already we've seen rising...
Illinois Builds a Future for Worker Co-ops
Monday, July 1, 2019
Illinois Builds a Future for Worker Co-ops By Marc J. Lane A worker co-op is a business enterprise collectively owned and democratically controlled by workers who come together to pursue the economic, social and cultural goals they share. Prizing transparency and accountability, co-ops embrace the values of self-reliance, equality, equity and...
The United Nations Empowers Young Corporate Leaders to Drive Positive Social Change
Saturday, June 1, 2019
The United Nations Empowers Young Corporate Leaders to Drive Positive Social Change By Marc J. Lane Corporate sustainability starts with a company’s value system and a principles-based approach to doing business. This means operating in ways that meet fundamental responsibilities in the areas of human rights, labor, the environment and...
It’s Time to Act on a Federal Bill of Data Rights
Wednesday, May 1, 2019
It’s Time to Act on a Federal Bill of Data Rights By Marc J. Lane When petroleum spawned a new industry dominated by the Standard Oil Trust, antitrust regulators were prompted to break up the Rockefeller empire to protect consumers. Now, concerns are justifiably being raised about the tech giants that deal in data, the new oil – Alphabet...
The Chicago Reader, Now An L3C, Looks To Combine Social Impact And Expansion
Monday, April 1, 2019
With all eyes on the results of Chicago’s overstuffed mayoral race—and the prospect of the city being headed for the first time by an African American woman — it’s an exciting time for the Chicago Reader. The free alternative weekly, founded in 1971, was recently bought by an investment group headed by local heavyweights and turned...
Learning to Love Corrections
Friday, March 1, 2019
Learning to Love Corrections By Kenneth N. Green, MBA, CPA Last year, between September 28 and December 24, the S&P 500 dropped from 2,914 to 2,351, or 19.3%, with most of that occurring in December alone. Such market corrections are like summer storms in that they seemingly come from nowhere and are very scary. Between February, 2016 and January, 2018...
Elie Wiesel’s Legacy Enshrined in Anti-Atrocity Law
Friday, February 1, 2019
At a time when Democrats and Republicans rarely find common ground, the U. S. Senate and House have overwhelmingly supported the Elie Wiesel Genocide and Atrocities Prevention Act, which was signed by President Trump on January 14. It’s now U. S. policy to ”regard the prevention of genocide and other atrocity crimes as a national security...
Rules for Qualified Opportunity Funds Facilitate New Investment Opportunities
Wednesday, January 2, 2019
Readers of The Lane Report may recall the new Qualified Opportunity Zones program (discussed in the June 2018 Lane Report), which was established under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. Under this program, investors can defer paying capital gains tax by re-investing their capital gain in “qualified opportunity funds” within 180 days of...
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Announcing Marc J. Lane's 35th Book:

The Mission-Driven Venture: Business Solutions to the World's Most Vexing Social Problems

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