Federal regulators have fined Bank of America $225 million “for mishandling prepaid debit card accounts used by a dozen states to distribute unemployment benefits during the pandemic.” Beyond the fine, the bank must also...more
4.5 million Americans—a new record—voluntarily left their jobs in November, continuing a trend that marked much of 2021 thanks to “strong employer demand” that’s allowing some workers to “pursue better opportunities.” While...more
1/7/2022
/ AT&T ,
Bitcoin ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Economic Downturn ,
Financial Markets ,
FinTech ,
General Motors ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Retail Market ,
Telecommunications ,
Toyota ,
Verizon ,
Wells Fargo
Facebook has issued a broad legal hold to employees instructing them to “preserve internal documents and communications since 2016” about its business following “intense media, legal and regulatory scrutiny over the social...more
In welcome news for the Fed and anxious economists who have so-far stuck to their “transitory” inflation guns, Tuesday’s Department of Labor CPI release showed that “price increases for key products—like cars—were beginning...more
9/15/2021
/ Amazon ,
Apple ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Facebook ,
Financial Markets ,
FinTech ,
Instagram ,
Price Inflation ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
Startups ,
Tax Haven ,
Uber ,
Whistleblowers
Bill Ackman and his Pershing Square SPAC were on the receiving end of a “novel” lawsuit on Tuesday “that could have far-reaching implications for the SPAC industry.” The action argues that Ackman’s SPAC “isn’t an operating...more
Hyatt Hotels revealed plans this weekend to buy resort company Apple Leisure Group from PE owners KKR and KSL Capital Partners for a reported $2.7 billion. The move is “the latest sign of optimism about a return to vacation...more
8/16/2021
/ Apple ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Financial Markets ,
FinTech ,
Google ,
Huawei ,
Institutional Investors ,
International Trade Commission (ITC) ,
NASA ,
Patent Infringement ,
Startups
New figures coinciding with last week’s banner jobs report showed that employers “once again posted a record number of job openings in June,” (some 10.1 million, up from 9.5 million in May), but they also saw companies making...more
As expected, the CPI update for June made waves on Tuesday, with prices climbing some 5.4% last month—the biggest increase in over a decade. The jump led Federal Reserve and White House officials to issue statements to...more
While the torrid home buying pace is finally slowing, thanks to “a sharp rise in prices and a shortage of houses for sale” resulting in a fourth straight month of declines in the housing market for sales of existing homes ...more
Recently troubled SoftBank-backed financing firm Greensill Capital has filed for bankruptcy protection in Britain, just weeks after its insurer “refused . . . to renew its coverage for the company’s loans” ...more
3/9/2021
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
Financial Crisis ,
Financial Markets ,
FinTech ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Social Media ,
Twitter ,
UK
Walmart’s recent move to hire away a “pair of senior Goldman Sachs bankers” to head up the retailer’s new fintech startup (a collaboration with Ribbit Capital) has tongues wagging about the company’s ambitions to shove its...more
3/1/2021
/ Berkshire Hathaway ,
Biometric Information ,
Biometric Information Privacy Act ,
Credit Suisse ,
Data Collection ,
Facebook ,
Facial Recognition Technology ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
GameStop ,
Mail ,
Market Manipulation ,
McDonalds ,
Private Investment Funds ,
Reddit ,
Settlement Agreements ,
SoftBank ,
Stock Trades ,
United Airlines ,
Wal-Mart
Version 3.0 of the PPP kicked off yesterday, with community lenders leading the way by focusing on “underserved borrowers—including women-led businesses and those run by Black, Latino and Asian owners and other minorities” in...more
1/12/2021
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Biotechnology ,
Bitcoin ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Denial of Certiorari ,
Economic Aid Act ,
Financial Markets ,
FinTech ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Life Sciences ,
London Stock Exchange ,
Meat Processing Plants ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Political Contributions ,
Poultry ,
Price-Fixing ,
Relief Measures ,
SBA Lending Programs ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stock Prices ,
Wal-Mart
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
The SEC has sued “cybersecurity pioneer John McAfee” for “promoting the sale of cryptocurrencies without disclosing that he was being paid to do so.” McAfee allegedly recommended “at least seven initial coin offerings to his...more
10/6/2020
/ Breach of Contract ,
Celebrity Endorsements ,
China ,
Cisco ,
Coal Industry ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Economic Downturn ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Markets ,
FinTech ,
Foreign Policy ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
NBC ,
Patent Infringement ,
Recovery Plans ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stock Prices ,
Tax Evasion ,
Trump Administration ,
Unemployment ,
US Trade Policies ,
Warner Brothers Entertainment ,
Wildfires
American Airlines is pushing forward with plans to furlough 19,000 workers this fall, even as the airline industry lobbies a stalemated Congress for another multi-billion dollar bailout. That figure, “when combined with the...more
8/26/2020
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
American Airlines ,
Antitrust Violations ,
App Store ,
Apple ,
Appraisal ,
Auto Parts ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Culture ,
Currency Manipulation ,
EPIC ,
FinTech ,
Forbearance Agreements ,
Foreign Currency ,
Generic Drugs ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Layoffs ,
McDonalds ,
Mortgages ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Tariffs ,
Teva Pharmaceuticals ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Video Games ,
Vietnam
A state appeals court in California has preempted Uber and Lyft’s threatened state-wide shutdown over a new state law ordering them to reclassify their drivers as employees by “allowing them to continue operating [under their...more
8/21/2020
/ American Airlines ,
App Store ,
Apple ,
Bayer ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Data Breach ,
Economic Growth ,
Employee Definition ,
EPIC ,
European Central Bank ,
Financial Stimulus ,
FinTech ,
General Electric ,
Generic Drugs ,
Independent Contractors ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
IRS ,
Kodak ,
Lyft ,
Medical Devices ,
Misclassification ,
Mobile Apps ,
Monsanto ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Popular ,
Uber ,
Unemployment ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
W-2
Following recent histrionics from the White House, ByteDance, “the Chinese internet giant that owns TikTok, has offered to sell all of the popular video app’s American operations as a way to save the business from being...more
8/4/2020
/ 7-Eleven ,
Airlines ,
Apple ,
Chapter 11 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
EU ,
Facebook ,
FinTech ,
Foreign Currency ,
Gas Stations ,
GDP ,
Hate Speech ,
Hertz ,
iPhone ,
Layoffs ,
Lord & Taylor ,
Microsoft ,
Mobile Apps ,
Mobile Payments ,
Online Advertisements ,
Payment Processors ,
Permanent Bans ,
Popular ,
Race Relations ,
Reputational Injury ,
Rupert Murdoch ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Startups ,
Tesla ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration ,
Valeant
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
After weeks of “backlash over a lack of transparency,” the Treasury Department has agreed to make public information detailing “borrower information for recipients of millions of small-business loans through the $660 billion...more
6/22/2020
/ Apple ,
CARES Act ,
Cayman Islands ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Donald Trump ,
Equipment Failure ,
Extortion ,
Federal Prosecutors ,
FinTech ,
Intel ,
Microchip Technology ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
PG&E ,
Resignation ,
Trump Administration ,
Wildfires
Some rare last-minute SEC intervention forced Hertz to suspend its planned sale of up to $500 million in shares of the bankrupt car-rental company while the agency undertakes a closer review of the offering....more
6/18/2020
/ Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) ,
CARES Act ,
Charitable Donations ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Economic Downturn ,
Financial Stimulus ,
FinTech ,
Germany ,
Government Lockdown ,
Hertz ,
Inflated Projections ,
Low-Income Issues ,
Minority-Owned Businesses ,
Netflix ,
Opportunity Zones ,
Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020 (PPPFA) ,
PepsiCo ,
Race Relations ,
Real Estate Development ,
Recessions ,
Scholarships ,
Small Business ,
Stock Prices ,
Stock Sale Agreements ,
Trump Administration ,
Unemployment
The European Union’s antitrust authority is reportedly within days of filing charges against Amazon for the company’s “treatment of third-party sellers,” the latest step in a “two-year probe into Amazon’s alleged mistreatment...more
6/11/2020
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Bid Rigging ,
CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EU ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Stimulus ,
FinTech ,
Hertz ,
Insolvency ,
Interest Rates ,
NYSE ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Popular ,
Price-Fixing ,
Tyson Foods ,
Unemployment
California has sued ride-hailing companies Uber and Lyft over alleged violations of a new state law that requires companies to treat gig workers as employees “if they control how workers perform tasks or if the work is a...more
5/6/2020
/ AirBnB ,
Bonds ,
Class Action ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Costco ,
Data Selling ,
Employee Definition ,
European Central Bank ,
FinTech ,
Food Supply ,
Germany ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Loan Forgiveness ,
Lyft ,
Misclassification ,
Navient ,
Personal Data ,
Private Equity ,
Relief Measures ,
Retail Market ,
Stock Exchange ,
Student Loans ,
Supply Chain ,
Uber ,
Venmo ,
Wendy's
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
Late action by the Senate to pass a second COVID-19 relief package (that the White House soon signed) may [key word may] help markets yo-yo back upward today after a dismal Wednesday driven by crazy-low oil prices (West Texas...more
3/19/2020
/ Bailout ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
EU ,
European Central Bank ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Stimulus ,
FinTech ,
Gig Economy ,
Health Insurance ,
Hedge Funds ,
Independent Contractors ,
Medical Devices ,
Mutual Funds ,
New Legislation ,
Oil Prices ,
Public Health ,
Recessions ,
Sick Leave ,
Sick Pay ,
Sovereign Wealth Funds ,
Stock Redemption ,
Trump Administration ,
Workplace Safety
-The DOJ has announced charges against four members of China’s military related to the 2017 cyberattack on credit-reporting agency Equifax, the breach that revealed “trade secrets and the personal data of about 145 million...more
2/11/2020
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Banks ,
China ,
Cloud Computing ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Data Breach ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Growth ,
Employee Definition ,
Equifax ,
FDIC ,
Federal Budget ,
Federal Reserve ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Services Committee ,
FinTech ,
Gig Economy ,
Global Market ,
Hewlett-Packard ,
Independent Contractors ,
Indictments ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Microsoft ,
Misclassification ,
Personal Care Products ,
Popular ,
Proxy Advisors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sprint ,
Startups ,
T-Mobile ,
Takeover Bids ,
Telecommunications ,
Trump Administration ,
Uber ,
Wireless Industry ,
Xerox