Another day, another major U.S. restriction on Chinese tech. The Commerce Department is out with new rules “curbing Huawei Technologies Co.’s access to foreign-made chips.” The measures would “prohibit non-U.S. companies from...more
8/19/2020
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Berkshire Hathaway ,
China ,
Citigroup ,
Clawbacks ,
Cloud Computing ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Federal Reserve ,
Form 13F ,
Gig Economy ,
Huawei ,
Independent Contractors ,
Lyft ,
McDonalds ,
National Security ,
OCC ,
Opioid ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Purdue Pharma ,
Rare Earth Metals ,
Revlon ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Severance Pay ,
Supply Chain ,
Telecommunications ,
TikTok ,
Trading Platforms ,
Trump Administration ,
Uber
The White House has “doubled down” on its recent actions against TikTok by “formally giving ByteDance, the Chinese owner of the popular video-sharing app, 90 days to divest from its American assets and any data that TikTok...more
8/18/2020
/ Advertising ,
App Store ,
Apple ,
Bailout ,
Boeing ,
China ,
Commodities ,
Competitive Bidding ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Data Management ,
Divestment ,
Economic Downturn ,
EPIC ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Home Depot ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Investment ,
Japan ,
Mobile Apps ,
NASA ,
National Security ,
Oracle ,
Personal Data ,
Rare Earth Metals ,
Retail Market ,
Retail Sales ,
Salesforce ,
Social Media ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration
Eight months after firing its CEO, Steve Easterbrook, for “sexting with a subordinate,” McDonald’s has sued Easterbrook for allegedly “lying, concealing evidence and fraud” in what appears to be a series of other workplace...more
8/12/2020
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
China ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Delta Airlines ,
E-Commerce ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Electronic Trading ,
Employee Definition ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Bans ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Regulatory Agencies ,
Fraud ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Inflation Adjustments ,
Infrastructure ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Lyft ,
McDonalds ,
Oil & Gas ,
Refineries ,
Relief Measures ,
Retailers ,
Securities Violations ,
Social Media ,
SoftBank ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
Target ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration ,
Uber
With “Twit-tok” trending this weekend, you should be unsurprised to learn that Twitter has joined the group of suitors for TikTok, revealing that it’s held preliminary talks with the video-sharing app about a possible combo. ...more
8/11/2020
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
CalPERS ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
China ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Eviction ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Loans ,
Generic Drugs ,
HBO ,
Huawei ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Job Creation ,
Kodak ,
Microchip Technology ,
Mobile Apps ,
National Security ,
Payroll Taxes ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Popular ,
Qualcomm ,
Relief Measures ,
Shopping Centers ,
Social Media ,
Social Security ,
Telecommunications ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration ,
Twitter ,
Unemployment ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Warren Buffett
Dramatically escalating the growing tension with China (despite considerable ambiguity in its language), the White House issued executive orders that would “ban all ‘transactions’” with ByteDance, the Chinese owner of TikTok,...more
8/10/2020
/ Bausch & Lomb ,
CalPERS ,
Capital One ,
China ,
Data Breach ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fashion Industry ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Hackers ,
Independent Contractors ,
Infrastructure ,
Job Creation ,
Lyft ,
Misclassification ,
NBC ,
Nintendo ,
Payment Systems ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Race Relations ,
Social Media ,
TikTok ,
Uber ,
Unemployment ,
Universal ,
USPS ,
Wage Theft
Twitter will pay the Federal Trade Commission up to $250 million to “resolve new charges . . . that the social media giant breached a 2011 consent decree by using data provided for security purposes to target users with...more
8/4/2020
/ AIG ,
Argentina ,
Bank of America ,
Banks ,
BlackRock ,
Boeing ,
Bonds ,
Chapter 11 ,
China ,
Class Action ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Debt Restructuring ,
Facebook ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
Federal Reserve ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fraud ,
Hedge Funds ,
Mark Zuckerberg ,
Microsoft ,
Mortgage Escrow Account ,
Office Space ,
Online Advertisements ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Retail Market ,
SBA ,
SBA Lending Programs ,
Social Media ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration ,
Twitter
Goldman Sachs has reached a deal for $3.9 billion with the Malaysian government to resolve allegations of wrongdoing related to the massive 1MDB scandal. Goldman was the “main banker for the Malaysian fund” and raised...more
7/27/2020
/ 1MDB ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corruption ,
E*Trade ,
Federal Reserve ,
Foreign Relations ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Malaysia ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Popular ,
Public Health ,
Trading Platforms ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Vaccinations ,
Wal-Mart ,
Wells Fargo ,
White Collar Crimes
A Twitter-based crypto scam managed to hack some high-profile accounts Wednesday. VERY high profile...more
7/17/2020
/ American Airlines ,
Beverage Manufacturers ,
Burberry ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Default ,
Economic Downturn ,
EU ,
EU-US Privacy Shield ,
FinTech ,
Furloughs ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Government Lockdown ,
Hackers ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Layoffs ,
Loans ,
Morgan Stanley ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Race Relations ,
Recovery Plans ,
Social Media ,
TikTok ,
Twitter ,
Wal-Mart ,
Wirecard
The Treasury Department announced on Monday that the U.S. budget deficit hit a new record in June–$864 billion—“as the federal government continued pumping money into the economy to prop up workers and businesses affected by...more
7/14/2020
/ Business Closures ,
Business Travel ,
China ,
Comcast ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Deficit Reduction ,
Elon Musk ,
Government Lockdown ,
Huawei ,
Securities Litigation ,
SoftBank ,
Tesla ,
UK
United Airlines is preparing to furlough as many as 36,000 workers—“nearly 40 percent of its global work force”—if the travel industry remains weak as summer turns into fall. The October 1 cuts would coincide with the end of...more
7/10/2020
/ Bank Fraud ,
Bed Bath & Beyond ,
Brick-and-Mortar Stores ,
CFTC ,
China ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Disney ,
E-Commerce ,
Fashion Industry ,
Financial Markets ,
Internet Retailers ,
Investment Management ,
Layoffs ,
Main Street Lending Programs ,
Marijuana ,
Mobile Apps ,
Popular ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Retailers ,
Revenue ,
Trading Platforms ,
Unemployment ,
United Airlines ,
Wirecard
With the Treasury Department’s release of PPP data on Monday, we now have a clearer picture of the top recipients of the government’s “$660 billion small business relief program,” with “restaurants, medical offices and car...more
French aircraft giant Airbus is cutting 15,000 jobs—the “largest downsizing in the company’s history”—as it prepares for a “lasting decline” in airline demand in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic....more
7/2/2020
/ Airbus ,
China ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
FCC ,
Financial Markets ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Huawei ,
Layoffs ,
National Security ,
Pizza Hut ,
Relief Measures ,
ZTE
By a 5-4 margin, the Supreme Court has ordered the restructuring of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, “ruling the agency’s structure was unconstitutional because its director held too much unchecked power.” The fix,...more
7/1/2020
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
China ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Federal Reserve ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
GrubHub ,
Investment Adviser ,
Lululemon ,
Movie Theaters ,
National Security ,
On-Demand Services ,
Postmates ,
Removal For-Cause ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Retirement Plan ,
Reversal ,
S&P ,
SCOTUS ,
Seila Law LLC v Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ,
Separation of Powers ,
Severability Doctrine ,
Single Director ,
Uber ,
Wage and Hour ,
Zoom®
Fracking pioneer Chesapeake Energy has filed for bankruptcy, “unable to overcome a mountain of debt that became unsustainable after a decade of stubbornly low gas prices.” The company grew wildly in the early 2000s under...more
6/29/2020
/ Boeing ,
Bonds ,
Chapter 11 ,
China ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Facebook ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
Fracking ,
National Security ,
Online Advertisements ,
Trade Relations
On Monday, the White House announced its plan to extend a “freeze on ‘green cards’ for new immigrants” and to “suspend H-1B, L-1, J and other temporary work visas for skilled workers, managers and au pairs through the end of...more
6/23/2020
/ CFTC ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Disgorgement ,
Financial Fraud ,
Google ,
H-1B ,
H-2B ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Infrastructure ,
Mobile Apps ,
Online Advertisements ,
Revenue ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Spoofing ,
Stock Markets ,
Trade Relations ,
Trading Platforms ,
Trump Administration ,
Unemployment ,
Workplace Decontamination
Rising infection rates around the U.S. and the globe are worrying markets, as fear of a second wave of cases linked with the reopening of the economy freaks out traders....more
6/15/2020
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
American Express ,
Apple ,
China ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Culture ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Facebook ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Foreign Currency ,
Google ,
Hertz ,
Liability ,
Microsoft ,
Nissan ,
Payment Processors ,
PayPal ,
Race Relations ,
Recessions ,
Recovery Plans ,
Small Business ,
Social Distancing ,
Square ,
Unemployment
New estimates from the Congressional Budget Office suggest that the “U.S. economy could take the better part of a decade to fully recover from the coronavirus pandemic and related shutdown” and see as much as a 3% contraction...more
6/2/2020
/ CBO Report ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Economic Downturn ,
Facebook ,
Financial Crisis ,
GDP ,
Mark Zuckerberg ,
Oil & Gas ,
Puerto Rico ,
Puerto Rico Oversight Management and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA) ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
REIT ,
SCOTUS ,
Virtual Currency ,
Volkswagen ,
Zoom®
The path for extradition of Huawei exec Meng Wanzhou is much clearer now that a Canadian court has ruled that “the conduct she is accused of in the United States, if proved, also constitutes a crime in Canada.” That...more
5/28/2020
/ Attorney-Client Privilege ,
Canada ,
Capital One ,
China ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Data Breach ,
Data Management ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Discovery ,
Economic Downturn ,
Elon Musk ,
Eviction ,
Extradition ,
General Electric ,
Hiring Statistics ,
Huawei ,
Lost Profits ,
NASA ,
Outer Space ,
Renault-Nissan ,
Rental Property ,
S&P ,
SpaceX ,
Telecommunications ,
Wall Street
Not exactly stop-the-presses stuff at this point in the relationship, but negotiators from the U.S. and China have officially been in touch and agreed to keep talking as they work to implement the bilateral trade deal signed...more
5/8/2020
/ 1MDB ,
CARES Act ,
China ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Reserve ,
Gig Economy ,
Hong Kong Stock Exchange ,
Independent Contractors ,
Liquidity ,
Main Street Lending Programs ,
Neiman Marcus ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Trade Relations ,
Uber ,
Unemployment ,
US Trade Policies
Unpacking Friday’s $2.2 trillion COVID-19 stimulus bill reveals a heck of a lot of “small favors to special interests” and “a slew of policy changes that had gathered dust, some for years in a stagnant and divided Congress.”...more
3/30/2020
/ Accounting Standards ,
Banks ,
BlackRock ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Stimulus ,
FinTech ,
General Motors ,
Grocery Store Workers ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Loans ,
On-Demand Services ,
Strike
Volatility’s the name of the game these days on Wall Street. So what was down on Monday was up (a bit, at least) yesterday, although the basics of the situation haven’t improved at all....more
3/18/2020
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Bailout ,
Banking Crisis ,
CEOs ,
China ,
Climate Change ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Costco ,
Crisis Management ,
Economic Downturn ,
Exxon Mobil ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
Futures ,
HSBC ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Italy ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Lending ,
Liquidity ,
Market Manipulation ,
Office Space ,
Public Health ,
Relief Measures ,
Retail Market ,
SoftBank ,
Startups ,
State Attorneys General ,
Suppliers ,
Trump Administration ,
Wal-Mart
As Americans [way-too] slowly come to the realization that COVID-19 is a very real and very present threat, the business world is changing around them at a staggering pace. Stocks nosedived again on Monday, with the three...more
3/17/2020
/ Abuse of Power ,
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Airlines ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Apple ,
Aviation Industry ,
Business Interruption ,
Capital Markets ,
CEOs ,
Chapter 11 ,
China ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Distance Learning ,
E-Commerce ,
Economic Downturn ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Aid ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Services Industry ,
France ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Infectious Diseases ,
IRS ,
Lockheed Martin ,
Net Operating Losses ,
OCC ,
PG&E ,
Public Health ,
Recessions ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Stock Prices ,
Tax Code ,
Tax Deductions ,
Telecommuting ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wells Fargo
It’s been a week or so, and we’re running out of ways to say that this is bad. But it certainly is. Your bear market stats for the day: the biggest daily drop by percentage for both the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial...more
3/13/2020
/ AirBnB ,
Aircraft ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Aviation Industry ,
Bid Protests ,
Boeing ,
Business Continuity Plans ,
Business Interruption ,
CEOs ,
China ,
Cloud Computing ,
Competitive Bidding ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Defense Sector ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Dow Jones ,
E-Cigarettes ,
Economic Downturn ,
EU ,
European Central Bank ,
FDIC ,
Federal Contractors ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Gig Economy ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Interference Claims ,
Jeff Bezos ,
Microsoft ,
Paid Leave ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Popular ,
Public Health ,
Quarantine ,
RBS ,
Relief Measures ,
Resignation ,
Revenue ,
RMBS ,
S&P ,
Share Buybacks ,
SoftBank ,
Stock Prices ,
Travel Ban ,
Trump Administration ,
Wage and Hour
Go ahead and put Tuesday, March 11th in the history books. The same day the WHO declared the COVID-19 outbreak as an official pandemic, the US stock market’s 11-year bull run officially came to an end, with the Dow closing...more
3/12/2020
/ Activist Investors ,
Boeing ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Crisis Management ,
Dow Jones ,
eBay ,
Economic Downturn ,
Emergency Response ,
Exploration and Production Assets ,
FedEx ,
Financial Markets ,
Fine Art ,
Futures ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Instagram ,
IRS ,
Museums ,
Oil & Gas ,
Oil Prices ,
Public Health ,
Relief Measures ,
Russia ,
S&P ,
Saudi Arabia ,
Stock Prices ,
Tax Reform ,
Trump Administration ,
UK
Wells Fargo’s latest CEO, Charles Scharf—the bank’s third chief in the past four years—faced a hostile but less pitchfork-and-torch wielding House Financial Services Committee hearing on Tuesday, distancing himself from his...more
3/11/2020
/ Airlines ,
Aviation Industry ,
Bank of England ,
Beverage Manufacturers ,
China ,
Congressional Investigations & Hearings ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Crisis Management ,
Economic Downturn ,
Energy Drinks ,
Equipment Failure ,
FEMA ,
Financial Services Committee ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Internet Streaming ,
Patent Infringement ,
PepsiCo ,
PG&E ,
Popular ,
Property Damage ,
Public Health ,
S&P ,
Startups ,
Stock Markets ,
Stock Prices ,
Trade Secrets ,
Trump Administration ,
Wells Fargo ,
Wildfires