A quick check-in with Fed Chair Powell, the man trying to help keep the US economy humming—a hard enough job as it is, but one made much tougher by a White House that hasn’t been shy about voicing its near-constant displeasure – NYTimes and WSJ
Part of the non-political difficulty for Chair Powell? A rise in retail stores’ planned closings—a total that, though only 4 months into 2019, already exceeds that of all of 2018—and no expectation for anyone to fill the void – NYTimes
Meanwhile, across the pond, Mario Draghi and the ECB has, “in a rare move,” expressed concern over the Fed’s independence in the face of the constant criticism from the White House – Bloomberg
Apple and Qualcomm have been at loggerheads for a long time over patent rights. That fight heats up again this week as the two tech giants face off in San Diego federal court over patent royalties, with billions and billions hanging in the balance in a battle that goes well beyond business – NYTimes and WSJ
GE will pay $1.5 billion to resolve DOJ claims over “subprime home loans that were bundled into the kind of risky securities that kneecapped the financial world when the underlying mortgages en masse around 10 years ago” – Law360
In what can only be described as a garbage deal, Waste Management has acquired Advanced Disposal Services for roughly $2.9 billion in an all-cash agreement – WSJ and MarketWatch
Some SCOTUS action today with the potential for wide-ranging effects on merger-related lawsuits. The high court will hear oral argument in Emulex Corp. v. Varjabedian, a case involving “the standard for alleging false statements and omissions related to tender offers,” and it may delve into the ability of private plaintiffs to “bring such suits in the first place” – Law360
French advertising company Publicis is getting close to a deal to acquire Epsilon, the marketing-services business of Alliance Data Systems Corp., for $4.5 billion. The mash-up “would give Publicis access to more consumer data and help modernize its business” – WSJ
Denmark has reported local E&Y and KPMG to the police as part of a “widening crackdown on money laundering in the country” and specifically for their roles in the Danske Bank and Kobenhavns Andelskasse scandals – Bloomberg and Law360
An America-less TPP is chugging along quite well, thank you, and the partnership’s success is likely to start affecting US agricultural and beef exporters soon – WSJ
What a Sunday, folks. The dragons were back, of course, after a years-long break. But they were far from the only [near-]mythical creature to again rise to prominence yesterday – NYTimes and WSJ and Bloomberg