A long arm for securities law

THE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has just announced new disclosure rules that expand its scrutiny of foreign firms. It will require companies seeking to sell securities in the United States to disclose their activities in countries subject to American government sanctions—places like Cuba, Iraq and Sudan. Depending on how fund managers and allies react, says Roger Robinson, head of the William J. Casey Institute, the initiative could have “ground-breaking foreign-policy implications”. His think-tank has long agitated to have problems of national security, human rights and religious freedom treated as investment risks.