A look at the some of the losers—cities, mostly—in Amazon’s recent move to start collecting sales taxes in more states. The problem? While Amazon now collects sales taxes in every state that has one, it’s collection deals...more
3/26/2018
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Bank of America ,
Citigroup ,
Class Certification ,
Data Collection ,
Dropbox ,
E-Commerce ,
EU ,
Facebook ,
Forex ,
General Electric ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Internet Retailers ,
Libor ,
McDonalds ,
Privacy Concerns ,
Retailers ,
Sales Tax ,
Secured Overnight Funding Rate (SOFR) ,
Securities Violations ,
Tariffs ,
Trump Administration ,
UK Brexit ,
US Trade Policies
The European Commission has drafted a new set of digital taxes as an answer to last year’s US tax overhaul that imposed a new minimum tax on the overseas efforts of companies with US operations. The EU’s plan would require...more
3/21/2018
/ Class Action ,
Cyan Inc v Beaver Cty Emps Ret Fund ,
Data Breach ,
EU ,
Facebook ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Orbitz ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Litigation ,
Silicon Valley ,
Stock Drop Litigation ,
Tax Liability ,
Technology Sector ,
Token Sales
The Journal’s weekend report on Facebook’s role in the unauthorized use of data from 50 million users wreaked havoc on the ‘Book’s stock yesterday, with losses spreading across the tech sector (and fellow its FANGers in...more
3/20/2018
/ Antitrust Violations ,
AT&T ,
Bank of America ,
Chapter 11 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Credit Ratings ,
Data Collection ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EU ,
Facebook ,
Financial Crisis ,
Financial Markets ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Personal Data ,
PF Chang's ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Retailers ,
S&P ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Social Media ,
Stock Prices ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers
As has been buzzed about for several months, music-streaming startup Spotify has officially filed [directly] a prospectus for its listing on the New York Stock Exchange....more
3/1/2018
/ Bank of America ,
Banks ,
Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) ,
Capital Raising ,
Corporate Culture ,
Credit Cards ,
Credit Ratings ,
Debt ,
EU ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Herbalife ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Millennials ,
Mortgage Servicers ,
Music Streaming ,
Ocwen ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Spotify ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Unemployment
EU regulatory officials have fined chipmaker Qualcomm $1.2 billion after a 2-year investigation into anti-competition allegations involving payments made to Apple....more
1/24/2018
/ Apple ,
Elon Musk ,
Energy Sector ,
EU ,
Fintech Charter ,
France ,
Kimberly-Clark ,
President Macron ,
Qualcomm ,
Renewable Energy ,
Solar Energy ,
Solar Panels ,
Tariffs ,
Tesla ,
Trump Administration ,
Twitter
US regulators have given passing grades to the living wills for all 8 major US banks, a reversal from the April 2016 determination that 5 of the 8 had deficiencies in their bailout-prevention plans....more
12/20/2017
/ Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Barclays ,
Bitcoin ,
C-Suite Executives ,
Digital Currency ,
EU ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Gig Economy ,
Health Care Providers ,
Hospital Mergers ,
Libor ,
Living Will ,
Money Transfer ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Ridesharing ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sharing Economy ,
Transportation Industry ,
Uber ,
Virtual Currency ,
Woman Board Members
European authorities have opened an investigation into Inter Ikea, one of the Swiss retail giant’s two primary divisions based in the Netherlands, over “concerns that it may have been given unfair tax advantages”....more
12/19/2017
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Automotive Industry ,
Banking Sector ,
Bitcoin ,
Campbell Soup Company ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Digital Currency ,
Electric Vehicles ,
EU ,
IKEA ,
International Tax Issues ,
Retail Market ,
Retailers ,
Tax Reform ,
Technology Sector ,
Toys R Us ,
Virtual Currency
Generic drugmaking giant Teva Pharmaceuticals will cut 25% of its workforce (around 14,000 jobs) and shutter manufacturing and R&D facilities in an effort to “simplify its structure and reduce its debt”....more
12/15/2017
/ Activist Investors ,
Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Browning-Ferris Industries of California Inc. ,
Commodities ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Digital Currency ,
Disney ,
EU ,
Hess Corporation ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Joint Employers ,
Libor ,
NLRB ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Telecommunications ,
Teva Pharmaceuticals
As widely expected, the Fed affirmed the general strength of the US economy today by raising the benchmark interest rate again today—the 5th raise since the financial crisis....more
12/14/2017
/ Alphabet Company ,
Bitcoin ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Derivative Suit ,
Digital Currency ,
Disney ,
E-Commerce ,
EU ,
Financial Markets ,
FOMC ,
Grocery Stores ,
Interest Rates ,
Internet Retailers ,
Legislative Agendas ,
MiFID II ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Target ,
Tax Reform ,
Trade Relations ,
Trade Secrets ,
Trump Administration ,
Uber ,
UK Brexit ,
Virtual Currency
The UK and EU made a significant breakthrough early this morning to “unlock” Brexit divorce negotiations. The still-rough agreement would see Britain repaying $53 billion and addressed in at least vague terms thorny issues...more
12/8/2017
/ Bank of New York (BNY) Mellon ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Basel IV ,
Bitcoin ,
Caterpillar ,
Citigroup ,
Corruption ,
Digital Currency ,
Economic Development ,
Energy Sector ,
EU ,
Federal Reserve ,
General Electric ,
Ireland ,
Job Creation ,
Member State ,
Railways ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
RMBS ,
Stress Tests ,
Tax Reform ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
White Collar Crimes
The Senate Banking Committee has voted out of committee a bipartisan effort to ease Dodd-Frank regulations. The bill in question could “drastically cut” the number of banks subject to heightened Fed oversight and “would ease...more
12/6/2017
/ Aetna ,
Banking Regulators ,
Banking Sector ,
Barclays ,
Bitcoin ,
Class Action ,
Community Banks ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Credit Unions ,
CVS ,
Deregulation ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Digital Currency ,
Dodd-Frank ,
EU ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
HSBC ,
Ireland ,
Mortgages ,
Movie Theaters ,
Nationwide Insurance Co. ,
RMBS ,
Senate Banking Committee ,
UK ,
UK Brexit
Wells Fargo is again in federal regulators’ crosshairs. The OCC has dubbed the bank a repeat offender and is weighing a “formal enforcement action” over “improprieties in its auto-insurance and mortgage operations”....more
11/29/2017
/ Auto Insurance ,
Banking Sector ,
Bitcoin ,
Class Action ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cyan Inc v Beaver Cty Emps Ret Fund ,
Digital Currency ,
EU ,
Federal Reserve ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Manufacturers ,
MiFID II ,
Mortgages ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Social Networks ,
Supply Chain ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Wells Fargo
As we’ve been expecting, the DOJ announced yesterday that it was suing to block AT&T’s $84.5 billion bid for Time Warner over antitrust concerns....more
11/21/2017
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
AT&T ,
Automotive Industry ,
Bonds ,
Credit Suisse ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Driverless Cars ,
Enron ,
EU ,
European Banking Authority (EBA) ,
Federal Reserve ,
Merrill Lynch ,
Regulatory Agencies ,
Ridesharing ,
Securities Fraud ,
Sharing Economy ,
SIFIs ,
Technology Sector ,
Time Warner ,
Uber ,
UK Brexit ,
Volvo
Breakingviews is raising an eyebrow at the news from yesterday about Broadcom’s unsolicited $105 billion offer for Qualcomm [the largest-ever proposed tech deal], especially in light of the “mountain of debt” Broadcom would...more
11/7/2017
/ Banking Sector ,
Barclays ,
Bitcoin ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Dark Pool ,
Digital Currency ,
EU ,
Financial Markets ,
Foreign Investment ,
Investment ,
Investment Management ,
MiFID II ,
Qualcomm ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Saudi Arabia ,
Sprint ,
T-Mobile ,
Technology Sector ,
Telecommunications ,
Trading Platforms ,
Virtual Currency ,
Wireless Industry
Deutsche Borse CEO Carsten Kengeter announced yesterday that he’ll step down in the wake of insider-trading allegations related to the exchange’s now-defunct merger with the London Stock Exchange Group....more
10/27/2017
/ Aetna ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Automotive Industry ,
Banking Sector ,
CEOs ,
CVS ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
European Central Bank ,
Financial Crisis ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
General Electric ,
Health Insurance ,
Insider Trading ,
London Stock Exchange ,
Nissan ,
Pharmacies ,
RBS ,
Resignation ,
RMBS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Trains
Old-school retailer Lord & Taylor has reached a deal with WeWork to sell its landmark New York flagship store for $850 million. L&T will continue on with a greatly decreased department store footprint in the space, but the...more
10/25/2017
/ Arbitration ,
Bonds ,
Brick-and-Mortar Stores ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Consumer Contracts ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Data Breach ,
Digital Currency ,
Energy Sector ,
EU ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
Forex ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Hackers ,
HSBC ,
Hulu ,
Infrastructure ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Lord & Taylor ,
Market Manipulation ,
MassMutual ,
McDonalds ,
Millennials ,
Power Purchase Agreements ,
Ransomware ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Renewable Energy ,
Retail Market ,
Retailers ,
RMBS ,
Securities Fraud ,
SolarCity ,
Sony ,
Tesla
A federal jury in Brooklyn has found former HSBC Holdings exec Mark Johnson guilty on 9 counts of front-running that grew out of the DOJ’s investigation into forex manipulation at HSBC....more
10/24/2017
/ Agricultural Land ,
Agricultural Sector ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Arbitration ,
Auto Parts ,
Automotive Industry ,
BMW ,
Chipotle Grill ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Consumer Contracts ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
DaimlerChrysler ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
EU ,
Farms ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Forex ,
General Electric ,
Germany ,
Goldman Sachs ,
HSBC ,
Market Manipulation ,
Price-Fixing ,
Trading Platforms ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Volkswagen
Tesla’s hoping that a manufacturing plant in China—the first in the country wholly owned by a foreign manufacturing company—will translate into big sales in the Chinese market. With the Chinese government loath to give up the...more
10/23/2017
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Automotive Industry ,
Banking Sector ,
Blue Apron ,
China ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Cross-Selling ,
Derivatives ,
E-Commerce ,
Electric Vehicles ,
EMIR ,
EU ,
Euro ,
Exchange-Traded Products ,
Fidelity Investments ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Forex ,
General Motors ,
Harassment ,
Hostile Environment ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Internet Retailers ,
Investment Banks ,
Manufacturers ,
Merrill Lynch ,
OCC ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Retail Market ,
Subscription Services ,
Technology Sector ,
Tesla ,
UK ,
Wal-Mart ,
Wells Fargo
Uber’s Board of Directors has officially voted to realign the power balance at the company, reducing the clout of ousted CEO Travis Kalanick, and setting the stage for a stock sale to SoftBank. Oh yeah, and prepping for that...more
10/5/2017
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Back Taxes ,
Consolidated Audit Trail ,
Debt ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EU ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Forex ,
HSBC ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Market Manipulation ,
Mortgages ,
Navient ,
Puerto Rico ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sharing Economy ,
SoftBank ,
Stock Sale Agreements ,
Uber ,
Wells Fargo
Uber’s got more than a spot of bother on its hands in London after this morning’s announcement that the company’s largest market in Europe won’t renew the ride-hailing service’s license to operate in the city (citing “a lack...more
9/22/2017
/ AIG ,
Banks ,
Bonds ,
China ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Credit Ratings ,
Data Breach ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EDGAR ,
EU ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
FSOC ,
Global Market ,
Google ,
Grocery Stores ,
Hackers ,
HTC America ,
Moody's ,
Payment Systems ,
Public Safety ,
S&P ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sharing Economy ,
SIFIs ,
Smartphones ,
Technology Sector ,
Uber ,
UK
Equifax is not exactly ending the week on a high note. The credit reporting agency revealed yesterday that a cyberattack [uncovered nearly 2 months ago] rendered potentially vulnerable the information of 143 million people....more
9/8/2017
/ Bank of New York (BNY) Mellon ,
Banking Sector ,
Credit Reporting Agencies ,
Data Breach ,
Equifax ,
EU ,
European Central Bank ,
Eurozone ,
Inflation Adjustments ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
RMBS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
State Street ,
Wells Fargo
We got our dose of Fed minutes yesterday, and it appears that the Fed—like the rest of us—is scratching its head over the “new reality” of concurrent low inflation and low unemployment. Fed officials are hoping that the low...more
8/17/2017
/ Alibaba ,
China ,
EU ,
European Central Bank ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
Foreign Trade Regulations ,
Inflation Adjustments ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
London Whale ,
NAFTA ,
Telecommunications ,
UK ,
UK Brexit
With all of Europe closely eyeing the ECB for hints about its move away from aggressive bond buying, some cities that have benefited disproportionately from the QE are being forced to consider what life on the other side will...more
7/21/2017
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Banking Sector ,
Citigroup ,
Derivative Suit ,
EU ,
European Central Bank ,
Fannie Mae ,
Freddie Mac ,
Google Glass ,
Jeff Bezos ,
Libor ,
Recessions ,
Rental Property ,
Sears
European antitrust regulators have dropped a massive $2.7 billion fine on Google for allegedly “unfairly favoring some of its own search services over those of rivals”....more
6/27/2017
/ Activist Investors ,
Amtrak ,
Antitrust Violations ,
CalPERS ,
Charter Communications ,
Comcast ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
EU ,
Facial Recognition Technology ,
Google ,
Martin Shkreli ,
Nestle ,
Search Engines ,
Search Rankings ,
Sprint ,
Takata ,
Telecommunications ,
Wireless Industry
An EU high court opinion yesterday about a trade deal with Singapore could throw yet another stumbling block in the way of Britain’s exit of the union. Read on for more on the intricacies of the EU division of competencies....more
5/17/2017
/ Ambac Financial Group ,
Automotive Industry ,
Corporate Governance ,
Countrywide ,
Disney ,
Economic Development ,
ETFs ,
EU ,
Financial Institutions ,
Job Creation ,
Mortgages ,
Refinancing ,
RMBS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Singapore ,
Trade Agreements ,
Trump Administration ,
UK Brexit