Amazon a juggernaut? Quarterly sales and profit prove how indispensable tech giants have become to our society. In the midst of a pandemic, Big Tech mostly shows gains....more
8/3/2020
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Arbitration ,
Big Tech ,
Bitcoin ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Data Breach ,
Employment Litigation ,
Financial Markets ,
Hackers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Jeffrey Epstein ,
Occupational Exposure ,
Oil & Gas ,
Patent Infringement ,
Popular ,
Power Grid ,
Rape ,
S&P ,
Share Buybacks ,
SoftBank ,
TikTok ,
Twitter ,
Uber ,
United Airlines
Consumer spending at stores and auto dealerships increased in June, the second straight month, but the recent uptick in coronavirus cases could slow future growth....more
7/20/2020
/ Banks ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Data Breach ,
Data Storage ,
Dow Jones ,
Economic Growth ,
EU ,
Facebook ,
Financial Markets ,
Hackers ,
Nasdaq ,
Netflix ,
NFL ,
Oil & Gas ,
Personal Data ,
Russia ,
S&P ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Stock Prices ,
Twitter ,
Vaccinations
Gilead Sciences Inc. reports that its remdesivir virus treatment has been positively correlated with a 62% reduction in death risks compared with the standard of care in an initial analysis....more
7/13/2020
/ Clinical Trials ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Economic Growth ,
Financial Markets ,
Gilead Sciences ,
IEA ,
iPhone ,
Mobile Apps ,
Oil & Gas ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
S&P ,
Spotify ,
Stock Prices ,
Supply and Demand ,
Surveillance ,
Tesla ,
TikTok ,
Tinder
The Federal Reserve has “temporarily restricted shareholder payouts by the biggest banks,” preventing stock buybacks and barring increases in dividend payments in the third quarter. ...more
6/29/2020
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Bribery ,
Chapter 11 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Dividends ,
Dow Jones ,
Driverless Cars ,
Economic Downturn ,
Fashion Industry ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
Gap Inc ,
Kanye West ,
Microsoft ,
Nasdaq ,
Novartis ,
Oil & Gas ,
Restaurant Industry ,
S&P ,
Share Buybacks ,
Supply and Demand
American Airlines Group Inc. stated that it plans to pledge its loyalty program “as collateral for a $4.75 billion government loan as it seeks to shore up capital to manage through the coronavirus pandemic.” The company...more
6/15/2020
/ Agribusiness ,
American Airlines ,
Apple ,
Automotive Industry ,
Bid Protests ,
Capital Markets ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
DoorDash ,
EU ,
Excessive Noise ,
Facial Recognition Technology ,
Fifth Amendment ,
First Amendment ,
Food Supply ,
Fourth Amendment ,
Google ,
Law Enforcement ,
Microsoft ,
Patent Infringement ,
Pending Litigation ,
Police Brutality ,
Popular ,
S&P ,
Semiconductors ,
Sonos ,
Trump Administration ,
Wireless Technology
The U.S. market is improving, with employers adding 2.5 million jobs. For some perspective, “[t]he economy shed 22.1 million jobs combined in March and April.” So, we have a ways to go before we’ve fully recovered. ...more
6/5/2020
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Biometric Information ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
China ,
Class Action ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Donald Trump ,
Elon Musk ,
Facebook ,
Financial Markets ,
Free Speech ,
Freedom of Information ,
Google ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Iran ,
Jeff Bezos ,
Job Creation ,
Joe Biden ,
Political Campaigns ,
S&P ,
Settlement ,
Sick Leave ,
Trade Secrets ,
Trump Administration ,
Unemployment
Google cut costs by rescinding offers to more than 2,000 contract workers due to the strains of the pandemic....more
6/1/2020
/ 529 Plans ,
Capital Markets ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Charter Communications ,
Comcast ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Dow Jones ,
Driverless Cars ,
Google ,
GrubHub ,
Independent Contractors ,
Investment Portfolios ,
Joint Task Force ,
Layoffs ,
Nasdaq ,
OSHA ,
Popular ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
S&P ,
Samsung ,
Silicon Valley ,
SoftBank ,
Trump Administration ,
Uber ,
Viacom ,
Workplace Safety
Tesla sues to reopen its California factory; Elon threatens to move the company out of state. The company asked a federal judge to reopen the factory, arguing that the “local government’s insistence that it remain closed . ....more
5/12/2020
/ Airlines ,
Bitcoin ,
Business Closures ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Dow Jones ,
Elon Musk ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Nasdaq ,
Oil & Gas ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Stock Prices ,
Tesla
J.Crew filed for bankruptcy protection; the company’s lenders have agreed to “convert $1.65 billion . . . into equity.” Neiman Marcus Group Inc. and J.C. Penney are also on the bankruptcy path, already entering talks with...more
5/4/2020
/ Berkshire Hathaway ,
Blue Bell Creameries ,
Capital Markets ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Economic Downturn ,
Elon Musk ,
Embedded Tweets ,
Equal Pay ,
FDA Approval ,
Felonies ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Food Contamination ,
Food Recalls ,
Food Supply ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
J Crew ,
Listeria ,
Market Manipulation ,
Oil & Gas ,
Patent Litigation ,
Soccer ,
Stock Prices ,
Stock Trades ,
Tesla ,
Tyson Foods ,
Warren Buffett ,
Workplace Safety
Amazon asking customers to buy less! The pandemic has forced businesses, both winners and losers, to act “in unusual ways”....more
The U.S. Jobs Report Will Be Ugly: The March jobs report will likely show the worst numbers in the “post-World War II era,” and “it is playing out in a matter of weeks,” not years. One study suggests the U.S. has lost 27.9...more
4/3/2020
/ Antitrust Violations ,
Apple ,
Business Closures ,
Cell Phones ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Data Collection ,
Financial Markets ,
Furloughs ,
Google ,
Layoffs ,
Martin Shkreli ,
Musical Sound Recordings ,
Oil Prices ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
SoftBank ,
Spotify ,
Standing ,
Stock Prices ,
Tesla ,
Tracking Systems ,
Unemployment ,
Videoconference
The fallout of COVID-19 continues: “S&P 500 futures fell nearly 4%;” the yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury notes fell to 0.788%; Brent crude fell by 4.6%; the stimulus and fiscal relief package hit a roadblock in the Senate; and...more
3/23/2020
/ Airlines ,
Aviation Industry ,
Bailout ,
Business Closures ,
Business Interruption ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Markets ,
Hotels ,
Involuntary Reduction in Force ,
Martin Shkreli ,
Monopolization ,
Oil Prices ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Public Health ,
S&P ,
SoftBank ,
Stock Prices ,
Trade Wars
U.S. stocks continue to tumble, sinking by “8.1% at the open, triggering a 15-minute trading halt;” “Brent crude sank below $30 a barrel;” treasuries surged despite major moves from the Federal Reserve; and market sentiment...more
3/16/2020
/ Airlines ,
Amazon ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Big Tech ,
Bitcoin ,
Bonds ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Economic Downturn ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Grocery Stores ,
Oil Prices ,
Price Gouging ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Retailers ,
Stock Prices ,
Trump Administration ,
Whole Foods
Big Tech companies using facial recognition software have begun to support “’precision regulations’ that don’t allow mass surveillance.” Lawmakers in New York, Massachusetts, Hawaii, Michigan, and California are considering...more
3/9/2020
/ Aircraft ,
Big Tech ,
Boeing ,
China ,
Consumer Price Index ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Economic Downturn ,
Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Equity Markets ,
EU ,
European Central Bank ,
Facial Recognition Technology ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
Financial Markets ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Medical Records ,
Mobile Apps ,
New Regulations ,
Oil Prices ,
Personal Data ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
S&P ,
Startups ,
Surveillance ,
World Health Organization
Stocks rebounded with the S&P 500 making gains for the second time in three days and 10-year Treasury yields fell below 1%; analyst suggest the market upswing was caused, in part, by the Democratic primary results showing...more
3/4/2020
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
CEOs ,
Chrysler ,
Class Action ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Dismissals ,
Fiat ,
Financial Markets ,
General Electric ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Indexing ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Investment Fraud ,
Negligent Misrepresentation ,
Popular ,
Ransomware ,
Resignation ,
S&P ,
Securities Fraud ,
Startups ,
Stock Prices ,
Third-Party Service Provider ,
Token Sales
Wells Fargo & Co. agreed to pay a total of $3 billion to resolve criminal and civil investigations by the DOJ and SEC. Wells Fargo admitted “that it took millions in wrongful fees and interest, misused customer information...more
2/24/2020
/ Analytics ,
Audi ,
Boeing ,
Capital Markets ,
China ,
Cloud Computing ,
Competition ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Crude Oil ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Employee Misconduct ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Futures ,
Gold ,
Google ,
Huawei ,
Intuit ,
Investment ,
Layoffs ,
Marijuana ,
Popular ,
Public Health ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
SoftBank ,
Sprint ,
T-Mobile ,
Wells Fargo ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Wireless Technology ,
World Health Organization
On Tuesday, a U.S. federal tax court began hearing arguments regarding Facebook’s 2010 tax bill. The IRS valued Facebook at $13.8 billion, while Facebook reported only $6.5 billion. The final tally could potentially cost...more
2/19/2020
/ #MeToo ,
Airbus ,
Beverage Manufacturers ,
Boeing ,
Business Valuations ,
Cell Phones ,
Clorox ,
Commodities ,
Competition ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Dish Network ,
Dismissals ,
Environmental Policies ,
EU ,
Facebook ,
Facial Recognition Technology ,
Financial Markets ,
Gag Orders ,
General Mills ,
Grocery Stores ,
Huawei ,
Investor Protection ,
Investors ,
IRS ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Licensing Rules ,
Machine Learning ,
Marketing ,
Mobile Apps ,
Natural Resources ,
NDAA ,
Popular ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Rare Earth Metals ,
Retail Market ,
Rolls-Royce ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Tax Liability ,
Telecommunications ,
Water