Seismic news out of Seattle yesterday, with Amazon founder and CEO informing employees that he’s stepping out of the top spot at the e-commerce giant this summer after a nearly 30-year run and transitioning “into the role of...more
2/3/2021
/ Aluminum Sales ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Automobile Recall ,
Biden Administration ,
CEOs ,
Chrysler ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fiat ,
Financial Markets ,
Fuel Efficiency ,
GameStop ,
Google ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Hormel ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Jeff Bezos ,
Kraft ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Relief Measures ,
Robinhood Financial ,
Stock Trades ,
Tariffs ,
Tesla ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Toyota ,
Uber ,
United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Private equity behemoth Apollo Global Management’s CEO, Leon Black, is stepping down after an outside inquiry by Dechert—“ordered by the firm’s board at Mr. Black’s behest in October”—revealed that Black “had paid more than...more
1/26/2021
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Freight Forwarding ,
GameStop ,
Google ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Janet Yellen ,
Jeffrey Epstein ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Secretary of the Treasury ,
Senate Confirmation Hearings ,
Stock Prices ,
UPS ,
Vimeo ,
Wall Street ,
Web Browsers ,
Web Tracking ,
White Collar Crimes
U.S. drug giant Merck is shuttering its coronavirus vaccine development “after early trial data showed [its pair of vaccines] failed to generate immune responses comparable to natural infection or existing vaccines.” ...more
1/25/2021
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Bank of America ,
Biden Administration ,
Citibank ,
Clinical Trials ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Deutsche Bank ,
DuPont ,
Federal Reserve ,
FOMC ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Internet Streaming ,
Janet Yellen ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Layoffs ,
Merck ,
NBC ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Postmates ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
Vaccinations
Markets gave a warm welcome to the Biden administration on Wednesday, as strong tech performance and hopes of “large-scale economic stimulus” helped power an across-the-board rally that brought all three major U.S. indices...more
1/21/2021
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Alibaba ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Biden Administration ,
BSA/AML ,
Capital One ,
Financial Markets ,
FinCEN ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Morgan Stanley ,
Payment Systems ,
Procter & Gamble ,
Quarterly Report ,
Stock Prices ,
Vaccinations
Fiat Chrysler and France’s PSA Group completed their mega-auto-merger first agreed-to in late 2019, “creating Stellantis NV, a global auto-making giant that executives say will have the heft needed to compete in the...more
1/19/2021
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
AMG Capital Management LLC v FTC ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Biden Administration ,
Boeing ,
Bribery ,
BSA/AML ,
Capital One ,
Chrysler ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disgorgement ,
DoorDash ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fiat ,
Financial Crimes ,
FinCEN ,
GrubHub ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Janet Yellen ,
Postmates ,
Relief Measures ,
Samsung ,
Senate Confirmation Hearings ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
Twitter ,
White Collar Crimes
Visa is “abandoning its $5.3 billion planned acquisition of Plaid Inc.,” a fintech startup that the DOJ had called an upstart “but important competitive threat to Visa” in its antitrust lawsuit challenging the deal....more
1/13/2021
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Air Cargo ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Biden Administration ,
Big Tech ,
China ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Gig Economy ,
Grocery Stores ,
Libor ,
Netflix ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
Trump Administration ,
Visa Inc
EU and British authorities unveiled new proposals this week to “crimp the power of ‘gatekeeper’ platforms like Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google and Microsoft, which policymakers argue deserve more oversight given their outsize...more
12/16/2020
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Apple ,
Bonds ,
Climate Change ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Counterfeit Goods Regulation ,
Cyber Espionage ,
EU ,
Facebook ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
FOMC ,
Google ,
Hate Speech ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Internet Retailers ,
Investment Management ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Microsoft ,
Online Advertisements ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Relief Measures ,
Stock Markets ,
UK ,
Vanguard
The latest lame-duck Covid relief package proposal would trim about 150 billion dollars (and a number of key sticking points, including funds “to bolster state and local governments, and a temporary coronavirus liability...more
12/15/2020
/ Adidas ,
Algorithms ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Big Tech ,
Boeing ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Data Collection ,
Data Protection ,
DoorDash ,
Facebook ,
Fannie Mae ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Freddie Mac ,
Gender Discrimination ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Google ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Ireland ,
Manufacturing Defects ,
Pinterest ,
Public Utilities Commission ,
Reddit ,
Reebok ,
Relief Measures ,
Search Engines ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Snapchat ,
Social Media ,
Trade Wars ,
Twitter ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Uber ,
WhatsApp ,
YouTube
Because too much of a good thing is always trouble (especially on Wall Street), market watchers are warning of a new tech bubble after Airbnb’s monster IPO on Thursday. The home-sharing app’s shares rose more than 112% to...more
12/11/2020
/ AirBnB ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Apple ,
Big Tech ,
Bitcoin ,
Bonds ,
Competition ,
Cookies ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Data Privacy ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
European Central Bank ,
Facebook ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Financial Stimulus ,
France ,
Google ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
MassMutual ,
MasterCard ,
Online Platforms ,
Pornography ,
Trade Agreements ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Unemployment ,
Visa Inc
In yet another blow to the suffering movie theater industry, Warner Bros. announced on Thursday that all of its 2021 release calendar—including “big-budget extravaganzas like ‘Dune’ and ‘The Matrix 4’”—will arrive...more
12/4/2020
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Automotive Industry ,
Biden Administration ,
Capital One ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Exploration and Production Assets ,
Facebook ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Huawei ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Internet Streaming ,
Job Market ,
Lame Duck Session ,
Movies ,
Oil & Gas ,
OPEC ,
Paris Agreement ,
Podcasts ,
Russia ,
Ryanair ,
Senate Confirmation Hearings ,
Unemployment ,
Warner Brothers Entertainment
Tuesday’s Senate Committee hearing with Fed Chair Powell and Treasury Secretary Mnuchin showed the growing rift between the two over their views of “challenges facing the United States economy in the months ahead.” ...more
12/2/2020
/ AirBnB ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Apple ,
BlackRock ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disney ,
Economic Downturn ,
Entrepreneurs ,
European Central Bank ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Hewlett-Packard ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Lame Duck Session ,
Microchip Technology ,
Recovery Plans ,
Salesforce ,
Slack ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Treasury
Bay area business software powerhouse Salesforce is “in advanced talks to buy Slack Technologies,” the “buzzy newcomer on a mission to replace office email.” A deal could be announced as early as tomorrow, and it would mark...more
11/30/2020
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
E-Commerce ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Electronically Stored Information ,
Elon Musk ,
Exploration and Production Assets ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Junk Bonds ,
Mobile Apps ,
National Security ,
OPEC ,
OxyContin ,
Popular ,
Purdue Pharma ,
Russia ,
S&P ,
Salesforce ,
Slack ,
Tesla ,
TikTok ,
Vaccinations ,
Zappos
The G-20 held a virtual summit this weekend, and discussions about taming the pandemic and addressing “the global economic damage it has wrought dominated” the meeting....more
11/23/2020
/ AirBnB ,
Airlines ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Biden Administration ,
Bitcoin ,
Black Friday ,
Chapter 11 ,
China ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
France ,
G20 ,
Guitar Center ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Infrastructure ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Oil & Gas ,
Refineries ,
Retailers ,
Student Loans
In a major shift (and with antitrust regulators breathing down its neck), Apple is halving the App Store fee it charges developers (from 30% to 15%) who produce “as much as $1 million in annual revenue from their apps and...more
11/18/2020
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Antitrust Violations ,
App Store ,
Apple ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Economic Downturn ,
Federal Reserve ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Mark Zuckerberg ,
Mars ,
Pharmacies ,
Retail Sales ,
Trading Platforms ,
Vaccinations
The European Union has unveiled a new antitrust probe and accompanying charges against Amazon over alleged the “use of non-public business data from independent sellers on its marketplace that could benefit the company’s own...more
11/11/2020
/ Aircraft ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Apple ,
Biden Administration ,
Big Tech ,
Boeing ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Data Protection ,
Dow Jones ,
EU ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Markets ,
Food Supply ,
Infectious Diseases ,
iPhone ,
Junk Bonds ,
Labor Law Violations ,
McDonalds ,
Nasdaq ,
Retaliatory Tariffs ,
S&P ,
SoftBank ,
Stock Prices ,
Vaccinations ,
WTO ,
Zoom®
PE-backed Inspire Brands is in negotiations to take over Dunkin’ Brands Group, the parent of both Dunkin’ and Baskin-Robbins, in a deal valued at nearly $9 billion. Inspire includes Buffalo Wild Wings and Jimmy John’s among...more
10/26/2020
/ 1MDB ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Anti-Corruption ,
AT&T ,
Bayer ,
Chapter 11 ,
CNN ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Compliance Monitoring ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Dunkin' Donuts ,
Employee Rights ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Guitar Center ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Internet Streaming ,
Investment ,
Monsanto ,
National Security ,
Presidential Elections ,
Private Equity ,
Right to Vote ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Startups ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration ,
Wage and Hour
A California appeals court has affirmed a lower court decision requiring Uber and Lyft to “treat their California drivers as employees, providing them with the benefits and wages they are entitled to under state labor law.”...more
10/23/2020
/ 1MDB ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Anticompetitive Behavior ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Bayer ,
Bitcoin ,
Bonuses ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Clawbacks ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Executive Compensation ,
Facebook ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Gig Economy ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Google ,
Independent Contractors ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Infrastructure ,
Lyft ,
Misclassification ,
Monopolization ,
Opioid ,
PayPal ,
Popular ,
Retail Market ,
Ridesharing ,
Right to Vote ,
Uber ,
Unemployment ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wal-Mart
ConocoPhillips is doubling down on its commitment to the Midland basin by buying Concho Resources Inc. in “an all-stock transaction valued at $9.7 billion,” even “as the American shale-drilling industry is facing a downturn...more
10/19/2020
/ 5G Network ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Apple ,
British Airways ,
China ,
ConocoPhillips ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Data Breach ,
Deficit Reduction ,
E-Commerce ,
Export Controls ,
Financial Markets ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
iPhone ,
National Security ,
Oil & Gas ,
Oracle ,
PACs ,
Political Campaigns ,
Popular ,
Recovery Plans ,
Social Networks ,
SoftBank ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
Stock Prices ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration ,
UK
The WTO—already on shaky ground with the White House—did little to endear itself on Tuesday with a decision giving the EU “permission to impose tariffs on $4 billion worth of American products annually in retaliation for...more
10/14/2020
/ 5G Network ,
Airbus ,
Aircraft ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Apple ,
Bank of America ,
Boeing ,
Citigroup ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
E-Commerce ,
EU ,
Google ,
Investment Funds ,
iPhone ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Libor ,
Meat Processing Plants ,
Movie Theaters ,
Poultry ,
Price-Fixing ,
Quarterly Report ,
Retaliatory Tariffs ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Tariffs ,
Theranos ,
Trade Retaliation ,
Trade Wars ,
US Trade Policies ,
WTO
Federal regulators—including the Federal Reserve and the OCC—have fined Citigroup $400 million over “longstanding” failures in the areas of risk management, data governance, and internal controls. In addition to the fine, the...more
10/8/2020
/ Agribusiness ,
Airlines ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Big Tech ,
Bonds ,
Citigroup ,
Corporate Governance ,
Data Management ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
E-Commerce ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Stimulus ,
FinTech ,
Information Governance ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Internal Controls ,
Layoffs ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Meat Processing Plants ,
OCC ,
Popular ,
Poultry ,
Price-Fixing ,
Recovery Plans ,
Relief Measures ,
Retail Market ,
Risk Management ,
Stock Prices ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration ,
Wells Fargo
Here’s a fun little exercise. Pull up a chart of Tuesday's market activity, and see if you can pinpoint the exact moment the White House announced to the world that it was pulling support for another Covid stimulus bill...more
10/8/2020
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Apple ,
Banks ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
EU ,
Facebook ,
Financial Stimulus ,
General Electric ,
Google ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Monopolization ,
Relief Measures ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Trade Deficit ,
Trump Administration ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Wells Notice
House leaders are out with a new Covid stimulus effort—slimmed down from earlier packages but, at $2.2 trillion, a sizeable proposal that they say “is needed to support American households and businesses still experiencing...more
9/29/2020
/ Airlines ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Android ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
App Store ,
Apple ,
Audi ,
CEOs ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Diversity ,
EPIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Furloughs ,
Germany ,
Google ,
Google Play Store ,
Insider Trading ,
Mobile Apps ,
National Emissions Standards ,
Relief Measures ,
Search Engines ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
United Airlines ,
US Trade Policies
A federal judge has delivered another win for TikTok over the weekend, temporarily blocking a White House ban “on new downloads of the video-sharing network, which would have gone into effect at 11:59 p.m. in Washington.” The...more
9/29/2020
/ Airplane Accidents ,
Alphabet Company ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Boeing ,
Business Licenses ,
China ,
Commerzbank ,
Data Collection ,
Deutsche Bank ,
E-Commerce ,
eBay ,
Export Controls ,
Federal Reserve ,
Infrastructure ,
Interest Rates ,
Mobile Apps ,
National Security ,
Rare Earth Metals ,
Semiconductors ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Social Media ,
Spoofing ,
Tax Planning ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration ,
Uber ,
UK ,
Wire Fraud
New U.S. unemployment claims rose last week according to data released on Thursday, the latest sign that America’s recovery from the pandemic-induced recession is slowing—a “particularly worrisome” trend as cold-state...more
9/25/2020
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
BMW ,
Bonds ,
Capital Raising ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Data Mining ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Economic Downturn ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Stimulus ,
FinCEN ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Layoffs ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Money Laundering ,
Recessions ,
Retail Sales ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Special Purpose Entities ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration ,
Unemployment ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
White Collar Crimes
The latest from Fed Chair Powell and Treasury Secretary Mnuchin’s first of several days on the Hill, including their take that the economy is improving but that continued fiscal support—from the Fed and from Congress—was...more
9/23/2020
/ Accounting Fraud ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
China ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Competition ,
Congressional Investigations & Hearings ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
E-Commerce ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Employee Definition ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Gig Economy ,
Google ,
Independent Contractors ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Layoffs ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Mobile Devices ,
Ralph Lauren ,
Retailers ,
Supply and Demand ,
Tesla ,
Trump Administration