Treasury Secretary Yellen perhaps inadvertently dipped back into Fed Chair mode for a bit on Tuesday, acknowledging that some movement in interest rates may be necessary to “keep the economy from overheating given the large...more
5/5/2021
/ Apple ,
China ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Electric Vehicles ,
EPIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Fraud ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Grants ,
Inflation Adjustments ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Nonprofits ,
Pfizer ,
Quarterly Report ,
Theranos ,
Vaccinations
New numbers show that the U.S. economy “picked up speed last quarter,” expanding 1.6% in the first three months of the year [for an annualized 6.4%], as a mix of stimulus money and falling unemployment helped power consumer...more
4/30/2021
/ Abuse of Power ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Apple ,
Biden Administration ,
Big Data ,
Big Tech ,
Boeing ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Economic Growth ,
EU ,
Federal Funding ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Infrastructure ,
Mobile Apps ,
Music Streaming ,
Payment Terms ,
Renewable Energy
Big Tech quarterly earnings season kicked off this week, and Alphabet got things started with a massive $55B in revenue, up 34% from a year earlier thanks largely to a return of its online advertising business and “continued...more
4/28/2021
/ Alphabet Company ,
Biden Administration ,
Big Tech ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Credit Suisse ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Earnings Reports ,
Economic Growth ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Innovative Technology ,
IRS ,
Manufacturers ,
Microchip Technology ,
Microsoft ,
Online Advertisements ,
Property Managers ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Supply Chain ,
Tax Evasion ,
Tax Fraud
Bitcoin’s back (and no, it never really left), thanks to a rally this morning that pushed its value up as much as 10% at one point in early trading today. Elon Musk’s weekend tweeting and news that presumptive top NFL draft...more
4/26/2021
/ Apple ,
Banks ,
Big Tech ,
Bitcoin ,
China ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Credit Suisse ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Executive Compensation ,
Infectious Diseases ,
iPhone Tracking ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Mobile Apps ,
OCC ,
On-Demand Services ,
Panasonic ,
Popular ,
Railways ,
Slander ,
Underwriting Agreements ,
Virtual Currency
The latest round of quarterly results from Netflix shows that while the grand-daddy of streaming “still rules” that universe, a combination of upstart and old-guard rivals “have cut into Netflix’s share of viewers’...more
4/21/2021
/ Alibaba ,
Apple ,
Big Tech ,
Blockchain ,
Boeing ,
China ,
CMBS ,
Corporate Sales Transactions ,
DBRS ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
iPhone ,
Luxury Goods ,
Microsoft ,
Netflix ,
Privacy Concerns ,
Procter & Gamble ,
Rating Agencies ,
Retail Price Maintenance (RPM) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
A fiery, deadly Tesla crash outside of Houston over the weekend is prompting a federal probe of the company’s self-driving autonomous mode for “potential gaps in self-driving car technology.” ...more
4/20/2021
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Argentina ,
Automotive Industry ,
Bailout ,
Car Accident ,
China ,
Coca Cola ,
Corporate Sales Transactions ,
Credit Suisse ,
Digital Media ,
Driverless Cars ,
Elon Musk ,
Financial Markets ,
Foreign Debt ,
High Risk Financial Products ,
IMF ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Labor Relations ,
Merger Agreements ,
Netflix ,
Oprah Winfrey ,
Plant Based Products ,
Railways ,
Tesla ,
Unions
More good economic news in the U.S. this week, with first-time jobless claims falling to 613k, a decrease of more than 150,000 from a week earlier and the lowest level of the pandemic. ...more
4/16/2021
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Best Interest Standard ,
Broker-Dealer ,
CBS ,
China ,
Class Action ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Dow Jones ,
Economic Growth ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Financial Markets ,
Jeff Bezos ,
Music Industry ,
Retail Sales ,
Robinhood Financial ,
Securities Regulation ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Stock Prices ,
Unemployment ,
Unions
Mere days after Chinese regulators hit Jack Ma’s Alibaba with a staggering $2.8 billion antitrust fine, the e-commerce giant’s sister company, Ant Group, announced “that it would undertake a sweeping, government-ordered...more
4/13/2021
/ Alibaba ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Biden Administration ,
China ,
Climate Change ,
Coinbase ,
Credit Suisse ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Currency Manipulation ,
Financial Markets ,
Foreign Exchanges ,
Infrastructure ,
Janet Yellen ,
Microsoft ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Semiconductors ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
Supply Chain ,
Uber ,
Vaccinations
Chinese antitrust officials hit Alibaba with a “record” $2.8 billion fine over the weekend—the “biggest move yet in the government’s campaign to tighten its supervision of Big Tech.” ...more
4/12/2021
/ Alibaba ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Ameriprise Financial ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Big Tech ,
Boeing ,
China ,
Data Collection ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Google ,
Labor Relations ,
Newspapers ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Unions
Most eyes in the labor world are on Birmingham, Alabama, where the NLRB is hand-counting the 3215 ballots cast by workers in Amazon’s Bessemer, AL warehouse on whether to unionize. Though results could be released later...more
4/9/2021
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Apple ,
China ,
Credit Suisse ,
Entertainment Venues ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Internet Streaming ,
iPhone ,
Labor Relations ,
Music Industry ,
Netflix ,
Plant Based Products ,
Procter & Gamble ,
SoftBank ,
Sony ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
Targeted Digital Advertising ,
Unions ,
Vaccinations
Back at it. Let’s get caught up . . . Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is calling for a global minimum tax rate on multinational corporations, a move aimed at helping “prevent companies based in other countries from having a...more
4/6/2021
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
China ,
Climate Change ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Credit Suisse ,
Digital Currency ,
Fair Use ,
Financial Crisis ,
Financial Markets ,
Google ,
Java ,
Multinationals ,
NLRB ,
Oracle ,
Oracle v Google ,
SCOTUS ,
Subprime Loans ,
Tax Rates ,
Tax Reform ,
Unfair Labor Practices
The NFL has scored a new media deal spread across outlets from CBS, NBC, and Fox to ESPN and Amazon worth nearly $110 billion over 11 years, “nearly doubling the value of its previous contracts” and “cement[ing]” the league’s...more
3/19/2021
/ Acquisition Agreements ,
Anti-Bribery ,
Biden Administration ,
China ,
Facebook ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
Hartford Insurance Company ,
LinkedIn ,
Media Relations ,
NFL ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Securities Fraud ,
Social Media ,
Toyota
Six-hundred million in its latest funding round means that payments company Stripe’s valuation now tops $95 billion, “making it the most valuable start-up in the United States”....more
3/15/2021
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Biden Administration ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Credit Suisse ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
E-Commerce ,
Economic Downturn ,
Federal Funding ,
Foreign Policy ,
Google ,
Imports ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Microsoft ,
Mobile Apps ,
Retail Market ,
Shopify ,
Startups ,
Tax Evasion ,
Telecommunications ,
Theranos ,
Tribal Governments ,
Whistleblowers
The Senate passed its version of President Biden’s $1.9 trillion Covid stimulus bill this weekend “after a grueling 27-hour session” that featured “the longest vote in modern Senate history.” ...more
3/8/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Cybersecurity ,
Drones ,
E-Commerce ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Gas Prices ,
General Electric ,
Hackers ,
Indictments ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Job Creation ,
Microsoft ,
Money Laundering ,
Oil & Gas ,
Relief Measures ,
Shipping Cargo ,
Unemployment ,
Wall Street ,
White Collar Crimes
Jobs Report Friday again! Here’s what we’re looking for in the February numbers, which are expected to be relatively modest...more
3/5/2021
/ Bonds ,
Capital Investments ,
China ,
Congressional Budget Office ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Google ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Infrastructure ,
Minimum Wage ,
Oil & Gas ,
Online Advertisements ,
Price Gouging ,
Severe Weather ,
Unemployment ,
Wage and Hour
A quieter bond market was music to the markets’ ears on Monday, and they responded with their best day since last June...more
3/2/2021
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Biden Administration ,
Bitcoin ,
Bonds ,
China ,
Confirmation Proceedings ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Credit Suisse ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Electric Vehicles ,
General Motors ,
Inflation Adjustments ,
Insolvency ,
Manufacturers ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
SoftBank ,
State Taxes ,
Tax Revenues ,
Volvo ,
Wal-Mart
Your Big Tech vs. Australia update: after raising a “well, then, no search engine for you” fuss in response to the country’s proposed law requiring tech giants to “pay news organizations for the news articles that are shared...more
2/18/2021
/ Australia ,
Biden Administration ,
China ,
Corporate Governance ,
GameStop ,
Google ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Market Manipulation ,
National Security ,
News Stories ,
Reddit ,
Retail Sales ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Startups ,
Stock Prices ,
Stock Trades ,
Tariffs ,
Theranos ,
Virtual Meetings ,
Zoom®
In a much-anticipated [well, for some of us central bank nerds, at least] to the Economic Club of NY, Fed Chair Powell on Wednesday acknowledged that pent-up consumer demand unlocked by a big government stimulus package could...more
2/11/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Business Losses ,
China ,
Citigroup ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corruption ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Dating Services ,
Federal Reserve ,
Fidelity Investments ,
Financial Markets ,
GameStop ,
General Motors ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Investment ,
Job Creation ,
Manufacturers ,
Merck ,
Robinhood Financial ,
Uber ,
Unemployment ,
Vaccinations ,
Vanguard
After months of drama that we dutifully catalogued right here, the U.S. plan to “force the sale of TikTok’s American operations” to Oracle and Walmart “has been shelved indefinitely.” The forced sale has “languished since...more
2/10/2021
/ Abuse of Discretion ,
Arbitrary and Capricious ,
Biden Administration ,
China ,
Commercial Leases ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Branding ,
Eli Lilly ,
FCC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Huawei ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Interest Rates ,
Main Street Lending Programs ,
Mobile Apps ,
National Security ,
Oracle ,
Poverty ,
Race Relations ,
Relief Measures ,
Salesforce ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Social Media ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
TikTok ,
Wal-Mart ,
Workplace Romances
Tesla dropped an incredible $1.5 billion on bitcoin on Monday “and signaled its intent to begin accepting the cryptocurrency as a form of payment, sending prices to a record after the vote of confidence from the EV leader and...more
2/9/2021
/ Bitcoin ,
Bonds ,
Business Valuations ,
CBO Report ,
China ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Digital Currency ,
Electronic Arts ,
Financial Markets ,
Gaming ,
Lyft ,
Minimum Wage ,
Popular ,
Reddit ,
Shopping Centers ,
Tesla ,
Uber ,
Wage and Hour
Intel has ousted CEO Robert Swan “as the company faces pressure from an activist investor and grapples with the loss of leadership in producing ultrafast chips.” Swan had been at the helm since January 2019...more
1/14/2021
/ Airplane Accidents ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Auto Parts ,
Automotive Industry ,
BlackRock ,
Cargill ,
China ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Data Collection ,
Data-Sharing ,
Economic Growth ,
Facebook ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Google ,
Intel ,
Microchip Technology ,
Misappropriation ,
Mobile Apps ,
National Bank Charters ,
OCC ,
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
Aaaand we’re back. Hope all have stayed safe and healthy. Let’s get to business. Friday’s Jobs Report saw the U.S. recovery thrown in reverse, with employers cutting 140,000 jobs in December amidst “rising coronavirus cases...more
1/11/2021
/ ATMs ,
Bitcoin ,
Boeing ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Credit Suisse ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Facebook ,
Foreign Policy ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Theranos ,
Twitter ,
UK Brexit ,
Unemployment
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
A new bill that has now passed the House would further increase oversight of “Chinese companies listed on American stock markets, the latest attempt by the United States to scrutinize financial ties with China.” The law...more
12/3/2020
/ CARES Act ,
China ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Financial Markets ,
Foreign Corporations ,
Google ,
Interest Rates ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Listing Rules ,
Mortgages ,
NLRB ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Refinancing ,
Salesforce ,
Securities Regulation ,
Slack ,
Surveillance ,
Theranos ,
UPS ,
Wall Street