After much deliberation, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced that he, too, will withdraw from the Future Investment Initiative conference in Saudi Arabia next week. His announcement follows over a week of intrigue...more
10/19/2018
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Blockchain ,
Campbell Soup Company ,
CFTC ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Data Mining ,
EU ,
Felonies ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Food Manufacturers ,
Futures ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Price-Fixing ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Saudi Arabia ,
Seafood ,
Sears ,
UK Brexit ,
Volcker Rule
In order to comply with European antitrust rulings against it earlier this year, Google announced that for the first time it will begin charging telephone handset manufacturers to install Gmail, Google Maps, and other popular...more
10/17/2018
/ Android ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Audi ,
Automotive Industry ,
Banks ,
Capital Raising ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Debt ,
Debt Ceiling ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Earnings Reports ,
Elon Musk ,
Embedded Tweets ,
EU ,
Federal Reserve ,
Fees ,
Germany ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Google ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Lyft ,
Market Manipulation ,
Mobile Apps ,
Mobile Devices ,
Nasdaq ,
NYSE ,
RMBS ,
Sears ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Sharing Economy ,
Tesla ,
Twitter ,
Uber ,
Volkswagen ,
White Collar Crimes
Dealbook gives us this uncomfortable take on China’s “nuclear option” in the trade war with the United States—its holdings of more than $1 trillion in US foreign debt and the possibility of stepping back from buying (or even...more
10/10/2018
/ Capital Raising ,
China ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Credit Suisse ,
Data Breach ,
Deutsche Bank ,
EU ,
Google ,
Hackers ,
HSBC ,
Imports ,
Mobile Devices ,
Morgan Stanley ,
Olympics ,
Retailers ,
RMBS ,
Sears ,
Securities Violations ,
Settlement ,
SoftBank ,
Spectator Sports ,
Startups ,
Stock Prices ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Trade Retaliation ,
Trump Administration ,
UBS ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
US Trade Policies ,
Vulnerability Assessments
Honda is joining forces with General Motors in an effort to win the race to develop self-driving cars through a $750 million stake in GM’s Cruise Holdings autonomous vehicle unit. The Japanese carmaker plans to contribute a...more
10/4/2018
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Automotive Industry ,
Barnes and Noble ,
Canada ,
China ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Deutsche Bank ,
eBay ,
EU ,
Federal Student Loans ,
General Motors ,
Honda ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Loan Forgiveness ,
Mexico ,
Navient ,
No-Poaching ,
Offerings ,
Presidential Elections ,
Public Employees ,
Spyware ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
US Trade Policies ,
Vulnerability Assessments ,
White Collar Crimes
“Pot is the new crypto,” declares Bloomberg, and if you’ve seen how the virtual currencies are faring these days, that should be a warning and not a selling point....more
9/20/2018
/ 21st Century Fox ,
Administrative Appointments ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Bank of America ,
Comcast ,
Corruption ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Data Collection ,
Digital Currency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Financial Institutions ,
Marijuana ,
Money Laundering ,
Nominations ,
Philanthropy ,
Resignation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
UK ,
Virtual Currency ,
Wells Fargo ,
White Collar Crimes
On Wednesday, the Census Bureau reported that median household income in the US reached just over $61k—a level it described as “statistically indistinguishable” from its pre-crisis level in 2007. Lots more here on the numbers...more
9/13/2018
/ #MeToo ,
CBS ,
China ,
Corporate Culture ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Enforcement Authority ,
EU ,
European Banking Authority (EBA) ,
European Commission ,
Financial Crisis ,
Foreign Investment ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Money Laundering ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sovereign Wealth Funds ,
Terrorism Funding ,
Turkey ,
White Collar Crimes
As expected based on buzz from late last week, longtime CBS chief Les Moonves is out at the network he’s led for more than 20 years. While his exit has been in the works for some time, a report out yesterday detailing new...more
9/10/2018
/ Alibaba ,
Banking Sector ,
CBS ,
Citigroup ,
Countercyclical Capital Buffer (CCyB) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Currency ,
Ether ,
EU ,
Financial Crisis ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Google ,
Job Creation ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Privacy Concerns ,
Pump and Dump ,
Resignation ,
Right to Be Forgotten ,
Search Engines ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Teva Pharmaceuticals ,
Trading Platforms ,
Unemployment
Less than a day after the Journal reported that CBS and the Redstones are nearing a deal to resolve their many differences, we’ve learned that CBS chief Les Moonves—facing an investigation into alleged sexual harassment...more
9/7/2018
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Apple ,
CBS ,
China ,
Credit Ratings ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Elon Musk ,
Emerging Markets ,
EU ,
Fannie Mae ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Fraud ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Freddie Mac ,
Investors ,
Job Creation ,
Lehman Brothers ,
NY Supreme Court ,
Price Manipulation ,
Quicken Loans ,
RMBS ,
S&P ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Stock Prices ,
Stocks ,
Tesla ,
Unemployment ,
Wells Fargo
Big tech (including Facebook, Google [theoretically], and Twitter) is heading back to the Hill (with @jack pulling double-duty, because that’s how he rolls). Here’s what to expect today based on their prepared testimony....more
9/5/2018
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Argentina ,
Banking Sector ,
Canada ,
Class Action ,
Corporate Fines ,
Corruption ,
Cross-Selling ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Emerging Markets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Facebook ,
Financial Crisis ,
Financial Markets ,
Free Trade Agreements ,
Google ,
Insurance Industry ,
Market Manipulation ,
Money Laundering ,
NAFTA ,
Settlement ,
Spoofing ,
State Farm ,
Stock Prices ,
Trade Relations ,
Twitter ,
US Trade Policies ,
Wells Fargo ,
White Collar Crimes
Coke is buying British coffee-shop chain Costa for $5.1 billion, as the coffee wars just keep on chugging. Costa has 3800 stores in 32 countries and “a foothold in China,” making Coke an instant player in the field....more
8/31/2018
/ Annuities ,
Argentina ,
Automotive Industry ,
Bias ,
China ,
Coca Cola ,
Emerging Markets ,
EU ,
Google ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Investors ,
MasterCard ,
Merrill Lynch ,
Online Advertisements ,
Private Company Shares ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies ,
Wells Fargo ,
White Collar Crimes ,
WTO
The US government is officially greenlighting fintech, with both the OCC and the Treasury Department issuing statements yesterday in support of the “emerging corner of the financial sector.” For the OCC, that means welcoming...more
8/1/2018
/ China ,
Coal Industry ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EU ,
Extradition ,
Financial Crisis ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Forex ,
Greece ,
High Frequency Trading ,
HSBC ,
IMF ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Kickbacks ,
Market Manipulation ,
NYSE ,
Securities Traders ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
UK Supreme Court ,
US Trade Policies
Facebook’s disappointing Q2 earnings (and, presumably, some pent-up scandal-fueled anti-‘Book sentiment) sent its stock into freefall yesterday, erasing more than $120 billion from the company’s market value as shares dove...more
7/27/2018
/ Advertising ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Bank of America ,
Barclays ,
Bitcoin ,
Chipotle Grill ,
Commodities ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Earnings Reports ,
Enforcement Actions ,
ETFs ,
EU ,
Facebook ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
Financial Markets ,
Franchises ,
Multidistrict Litigation ,
Nasdaq ,
Price-Fixing ,
Qualcomm ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sinclair Broadcast Group ,
Stock Prices ,
Tariffs ,
Television Programming ,
Trade Relations ,
US Trade Policies
OMB official Kathleen Kraninger is likely to face serious questions as she takes to the Hill today to begin confirmation hearings for her surprise nomination to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Why? Her lack of...more
7/19/2018
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Android ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Bondholders ,
China ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Dark Pool ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Violations ,
EU ,
FCC ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Global Market ,
Google ,
Imports ,
Libor ,
National Emissions Standards ,
Netflix ,
Papa John's International ,
Radio Stations ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Senate Confirmation Hearings ,
SiriusXM ,
Smartphones ,
Tariffs ,
Technology Sector ,
Trade Relations ,
Trading Platforms ,
US Trade Policies ,
Volkswagen ,
Wendy's
European antitrust authorities have delivered a stinging rebuke to Google in the form of a $5.1 billion penalty over its Android operating system practices. The sum displaces last year’s $2.7 billion fine, also against...more
7/18/2018
/ Android ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Article III ,
Banks ,
Business Model ,
Code of Conduct ,
Coinbase ,
Data Breach ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equifax ,
EU ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
Food Service Workers ,
Franchises ,
Fraudulent Charges ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Google ,
Joint Employers ,
Low-Wage Workers ,
McDonalds ,
Multidistrict Litigation ,
NLRB ,
Search Engines ,
Search Results ,
Standing ,
Stress Tests ,
Texas Instruments ,
US Trade Policies ,
Wages
The world’s keeping a wary eye on Turkey’s economic well-being, especially given the precipitous drop in the value of the country’s currency (which has pushed up prices for consumers and corporations) and President Erdogan’s...more
7/11/2018
/ Android ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Automotive Industry ,
Breach of Duty ,
China ,
Credit Suisse ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Forex ,
Google ,
Insider Trading ,
Judges ,
Morgan Stanley ,
Nominations ,
Retirement Plan ,
Rupert Murdoch ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Smartphones ,
Tariffs ,
Tesla ,
Trade Policy ,
Trade Relations ,
Trade Retaliation ,
Trump Administration ,
Turkey
CEO Dara Khosrowshahi is undoubtedly breathing a sigh of relief on news out of the UK yesterday that Uber will regain its taxi license in London—a “crucial victory for efforts by its new chief executive to revamp the...more
6/27/2018
/ Amazon ,
American Express ,
Bank of America ,
Canada ,
Class Action ,
ConAgra ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Credit Cards ,
Eskom ,
EU ,
Federal Reserve ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
General Electric ,
Harley-Davidson ,
Imports ,
Investment Fraud ,
Lending ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Ridesharing ,
Small Business ,
South Africa ,
Spotify ,
State Street ,
Steel Industry ,
Stress Tests ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Retaliation ,
Uber ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
US Trade Policies
Milwaukee-based Harley-Davidson announced on Monday that it will shift some of its motorcycle production overseas “to avoid retaliatory tariffs imposed by the European Union” in response to the White House’s trade moves....more
6/26/2018
/ Anti-Steering Rules ,
Anticompetitive Agreements ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Baker Hughes ,
Barclays ,
Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Burden of Proof ,
China ,
Credit Card Surcharges ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Denial of Certiorari ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Digital Currency ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
EU ,
EURIBOR ,
Facebook ,
FHFA ,
Financial Markets ,
General Electric ,
Harley-Davidson ,
Illegal Tipping ,
Insider Trading ,
Instagram ,
Merchant Fees ,
Merchants ,
Ohio v American Express ,
RBS ,
RMBS ,
Rule-of-Reason Analysis ,
SAC Capital ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities Fraud ,
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) ,
Social Networks ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Retaliation ,
UK ,
Virtual Currency
The SEC has an opened an investigation into whether companies are improperly rounding up their earnings per share reporting to the next highest cent—an inquiry reportedly prompted by a noticeable lack of “4s” in the tenths...more
6/25/2018
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Administrative Proceedings ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Automotive Industry ,
China ,
Earnings Reports ,
EU ,
Financial Reporting ,
Global Economy ,
Imports ,
Leverage Ratio ,
Lucia v SEC ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Recessions ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Retaliation ,
Uber ,
UK ,
UK Brexit
A couple of big-time SCOTUS opinions released yesterday will leave their mark on the financial world— First, the High Court found that internet retailers can be “required to collect sales taxes in states where they have no...more
6/22/2018
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Appointments Clause ,
Banks ,
CEOs ,
Chipotle Grill ,
Commerce Clause ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Deregulation ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Fannie Mae ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Fraternization Policies ,
Freddie Mac ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Intel ,
Internet Retailers ,
Interstate Commerce ,
Lucia v SEC ,
Physical Presence Test ,
Quill ,
Regulation A ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Removal For-Cause ,
Sales & Use Tax ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Single Director ,
South Dakota v. Wayfair ,
Special Trial Judges (STJs) ,
Stress Tests ,
Substantial Nexus ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations
Theranos founder and ex-CEO Elizabeth Holmes has been indicted on federal fraud charges along with former company president Ramesh Balwani. The charges come three months after Holmes settled civil charges with the SEC....more
6/18/2018
/ Administrative Appointments ,
China ,
Citigroup ,
Comcast ,
Competition ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
EU ,
Fraud ,
Global Economy ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Libor ,
Municipal Bonds ,
NAFTA ,
Oil & Gas ,
Oil Reserves ,
OPEC ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Tariffs ,
Theranos ,
US Trade Policies ,
Wells Fargo
We’ve begun exploring here the impact that the White House’s Iran deal pullout (and subsequent threat to impose sanctions on Iran’s trading partners) will have on particular EU-based companies (right, Peugeot)? Now we’ve...more
6/7/2018
/ Activist Investors ,
Agricultural Sector ,
Allergan Inc ,
Automotive Loans ,
Cargill ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Credit Suisse ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Director Mulvaney ,
EU ,
Farms ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Payday Loans ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Tariffs ,
Title Loans ,
Trade Relations ,
US Trade Policies ,
Warren Buffett
We got an official first look at the Fed’s revised Volcker Rule yesterday, and the “sweeping plan to soften” the rule will open “the door for banks to resume some trading activities restricted as part of the 2010 Dodd-Frank...more
5/31/2018
/ Aluminum Sales ,
Anbang ,
Class Action ,
Cross-Selling ,
Deregulation ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Disney ,
Dodd-Frank ,
EU ,
Financial Fraud ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Insurance Industry ,
Intrusion Software ,
Investment Fraud ,
New Legislation ,
Russia ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement Offer ,
Steel Industry ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Twentieth Century Fox ,
US Trade Policies ,
Volcker Rule ,
Wells Fargo ,
Whistleblowers
A political crisis in Rome has economics [at least partially] and EU commitment at its core and is reminding some observers of the Greece morass of a few years back. The uncertainty the situation’s creating is not expected to...more
5/29/2018
/ Automotive Industry ,
Banks ,
Bitcoin ,
Canada ,
Chrysler ,
Coinbase ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Data Breach ,
Digital Currency ,
Director Mulvaney ,
Dodd-Frank ,
EU ,
Fiat ,
Fidelity Investments ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Global Market ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Italy ,
Regulatory Agencies ,
Retail Market ,
RICO ,
Sun Capital Partners ,
Volcker Rule
Some analysis of last week’s jobs report, including thoughts on why a sub-4% unemployment rate poses a problem for a Fed still set on a slow and steady rate hike plan....more
5/7/2018
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Berkshire Hathaway ,
Case Consolidation ,
China ,
Class Action ,
Corporate Culture ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Financial Instruments ,
Insider Trading ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Job Creation ,
Libor ,
Mutual Funds ,
Nestle ,
Nike ,
Racial Bias ,
Regulatory Agencies ,
Retail Market ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Starbucks ,
SWIFT ,
Tariffs ,
Tesla ,
Unemployment ,
US Trade Policies ,
Wells Fargo
Chalk up a major win for Carl Icahn. Icahn has forced Xerox’s CEO, Board Chair, and 5 other board members out of their jobs as part of a push by activist investors. The shake-up will jeopardize the company’s $6.1 billion...more
5/2/2018
/ ABC Test ,
Activist Investors ,
Barclays ,
CA Supreme Court ,
CFTC ,
China ,
Class Action ,
Credit Default Swaps ,
Dark Pool ,
EU ,
Facebook ,
Forex ,
Free Speech ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Google ,
Imports ,
Independent Contractors ,
Inflation Adjustments ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Market Manipulation ,
Personal Data ,
Silicon Valley ,
Sprint ,
T-Mobile ,
Tariffs ,
Technology Sector ,
Telecommunications ,
US Trade Policies ,
Xerox