The enforcement arm of the SEC took a big hit Wednesday as a federal appeals court has ruled that the use of in-house administrative judges by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is unconstitutional. The surprise ruling comes just four months after another appeals court ruled that the appointment of the same judges is upheld by the constitution. What changed? And how does this affect the SEC?

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TOSHIBA CRASHES AS COMPANY MAY BE FORCED TO TAKE MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR HIT ON U.S. NUCLEAR ACQUISITION

Toshiba Corp said it may have to book several billion dollars in charges related to a U.S. nuclear power plant construction company acquisition, sending its stock tumbling 12% and rekindling concerns about its accounting acumen. The Japanese group said cost overruns at U.S. power projects handled by the CB&I Stone & Webster Inc business it acquired last December from Chicago Bridge & Iron Company NV would be much greater than initially expected, potentially requiring a huge writedown.

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QUALCOMM HIT WITH $853 FINE BY SOUTH KOREA ANTITRUST REGULATORS

Qualcomm Inc. can easily afford an $853 million fine assessed by South Korea's antitrust authority. But the company's run-ins with regulators around the world are threatening to do longer-term damage to Qualcomm’s business model. The South Korean agency said the U.S. chipmaker acted improperly in licensing some of its important patents on mobile phone technology. In echoes of Qualcomm’s headaches in other parts of the globe, the antitrust regulator also said Qualcomm twisted the arms of customers to pay for patents to buy Qualcomm’s processors, which are essential building blocks of nearly every smartphone sold in the world.

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Closing Bell

– Wednesday, December 28th

Markets Close Lower as Crude Levels Off

Big Insider Trades

– Alphabet, Inc. (GOOG) President Sergey Brin Sells $26.75 m

-Digimarc Corp. (DMRC) Director Gary Destefano Buys $700k