New Cop in Town

William Donaldson was a man of his time. He took over as chairman of the SEC in early 2003, and had to deal with the fallout from corporate scandals like Enron. Donaldson frequently broke rank with the other two Republicans on the five-commissioner SEC, and he came down relatively hard on corporate America until his resignation at the end of June.

Christopher Cox is a man of a very different time. Donaldson's replacement, Cox takes over as U.S. companies increasingly complain the pendulum has swung too far in the direction of regulation and over-sight. Corporate America is likely to find a more sympathetic ear with Cox than it did with Donaldson.