Chipotle and founder Steve Ells—which built an empire on the idea of offering a healthier, more authentic Mexican experience than its Tex-Mex fast food rivals—are turning ironically enough to Taco Bell’s CEO Brian Niccol to...more
2/14/2018
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
AT&T ,
Bribery ,
Broadcom ,
Chipotle Grill ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Price Index ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Deregulation ,
Drones ,
Energy Sector ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Market Manipulation ,
Media ,
Medical Supplies ,
Oil & Gas ,
Payday Loans ,
Qualcomm ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Royal Dutch Petroleum ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Time Warner
As we hold our breaths at the opening bell to see if last week’s volatility continues, we consider the impact of computer-driven index funds on that market rollercoaster....more
2/12/2018
/ Alphabet Company ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Apple ,
Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi ,
Broadcom ,
Cisco ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Cyber Insurance ,
Data Breach ,
Dow Jones ,
Driverless Cars ,
Equifax ,
Financial Markets ,
Grocery Stores ,
Insurance Industry ,
Inversion ,
Libor ,
Olympics ,
Qualcomm ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tax Reform ,
Trade Secrets ,
Uber ,
Wells Fargo ,
Whole Foods
Volatility was again the name of the game on Thursday in the US markets, which closed down nearly 4% again and headed into official “correction” territory....more
2/9/2018
/ Alphabet Company ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Anti-Fraud Provisions ,
Appraisal ,
Bitcoin ,
Broadcom ,
Class Action ,
Commercial Real Estate Market ,
Countrywide ,
Cryptocurrency ,
currency ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Dow Jones ,
Driverless Cars ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
NYDFS ,
Qualcomm ,
Samsung ,
Shipping ,
Social Media ,
SoftBank ,
Trade Secrets ,
Twitter ,
Uber ,
Virtual Currency
Even as JPMorgan has set the playing field for his successor (Daniel Pinto v. Gordon Smith, FYI), head honcho Jamie Dimon is making it clear that he’s not about to go anywhere anytime soon....more
1/31/2018
/ Advertising ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Apple ,
Berkshire Hathaway ,
Bitcoin ,
BlackRock ,
Capital Raising ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Digital Currency ,
Dow Jones ,
Elon Musk ,
Facebook ,
Financial Crisis ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
iPhone ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Kodak ,
RMBS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Social Media ,
Software ,
Tesla ,
Virtual Currency ,
Wall Street ,
Xerox
ECB Chief Mario Draghi’s having none of the US Treasury Secretary’s recent weak-dollar talk, accusing the US official, in not so many words, of “violating agreements among nations against starting currency wars”....more
1/26/2018
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Automotive Industry ,
Bitcoin ,
Corruption ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Currency Fluctuation ,
Digital Currency ,
Financial Crisis ,
Layoffs ,
Municipal Securities Market ,
National Emissions Standards ,
Puerto Rico ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
SoftBank ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tax Reform ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Uber ,
Virtual Currency ,
Volkswagen ,
White Collar Crimes
It’s getting worse before better at GE, which yesterday made a disclosure double whammy of a $9.8 billion Q4 loss and an SEC inquiry over the company’s accounting practices....more
1/25/2018
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Banking Sector ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Digital Currency ,
Financial Markets ,
General Electric ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
KPMG ,
Retailers ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Token Sales ,
Toys R Us
A look at Amazon’s newest concept—Amazon Go—a convenience store that opens in Seattle today complete with “shelves of food” found at other stores (including Whole Foods) but with nary a cashier in sight....more
1/22/2018
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Bitcoin ,
Class Action ,
Financial Markets ,
Forex ,
FSOC ,
Government Shutdown ,
Investment Fraud ,
Iran ,
Joint Venture ,
MetLife ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
RMBS ,
SIFIs ,
Trading Platforms ,
Trump Administration ,
UK Brexit ,
Virtual Currency ,
Wells Fargo ,
Xerox
NYSE owner Intercontinental Exchange is looking to do the as-yet inconceivable: bring some order to cryptocurrencies. The plan, announced yesterday, is to launch a data feed that pull info from cryptocurrency exchanges around...more
1/19/2018
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Apple ,
Bitcoin ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Currency Exchange ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Currency ,
Financial Markets ,
HSBC ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
IOSCO ,
IRS ,
NYSE ,
OCC ,
Offshore Funds ,
Presidential Appointments ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Repatriation ,
Technology Sector ,
Virtual Currency
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
The moral of this story is as follows: if Maysayoshi Son says the merger’s off, it’s probably off (regardless of what the rest of the board says). We discussed the will they/won’t they status of the T-Mobile/Sprint deal last...more
11/6/2017
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Banking Sector ,
Board of Directors ,
China ,
Derivative Suit ,
E-Commerce ,
FHLB ,
Housing Market ,
Internet Retailers ,
Job Creation ,
Moody's ,
Qualcomm ,
Rating Agencies ,
RMBS ,
Securities Violations ,
Semiconductors ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Sprint ,
T-Mobile ,
Technology Sector ,
Telecommunications ,
Unemployment ,
Wells Fargo ,
Wireless Industry
Facebook may have had a difficult day on the Hill. But a 79% rise in Q3 profit—driven, ironically enough, by online ads—should help soften the blow....more
11/2/2017
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Apple ,
Arbitration ,
Automotive Loans ,
Banking Sector ,
Board of Directors ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Consumer Contracts ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Digital Currency ,
Facebook ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FOMC ,
Google ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Microsoft ,
Quarterly Report ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sharing Economy ,
Social Media ,
SoftBank ,
Subprime Loans ,
Token Sales ,
Trump Administration ,
Uber ,
Unregistered Securities ,
Virtual Currency
Samsung, beset by top-level resignations and a mess of bribery allegations reaching the former South Korean President and the crown prince of the family’s chaebol, has announced a new slate of execs “In an effort to bring...more
11/1/2017
/ Aetna ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Automotive Industry ,
Banking Sector ,
Bitcoin ,
Commodities ,
Commodity Futures Contracts ,
CVS ,
Digital Currency ,
E-Commerce ,
Extender Statutes ,
FDIC ,
Financial Crisis ,
FIRREA ,
FOMC ,
Hurricane Maria ,
Insurance Industry ,
Internet Retailers ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmacies ,
Puerto Rico ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Retailers ,
Samsung ,
Sears ,
Technology Sector ,
Tesla ,
Virtual Currency
Most insiders are chalking up last week’s CVS/Aetna news to a recent Amazon push into the pharma world. The Journal breaks down exactly what that means—both for the industry and for Amazon, which faces a series of challenges...more
10/30/2017
/ Aetna ,
Alibaba ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Basketball ,
Credit Reporting Agencies ,
CVS ,
Data Breach ,
Digital Currency ,
Disgorgement ,
E-Commerce ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equifax ,
Financial Markets ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Internet Retailers ,
Kokesh v SEC ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmacies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sports ,
Stock Prices ,
Tax Reform ,
Token Sales ,
Virtual Currency
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
The Journal gives us a revealing long look at the true meaning behind a Morningstar investment star ranking and finds that the coveted 5-star overall rating translated into a 5-year performance worthy of that designation just...more
10/26/2017
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
banking ,
Banking Sector ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Consumer Contracts ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Drones ,
E-Commerce ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Internet Retailers ,
Libor ,
Retail Market ,
Uber ,
Unmanned Aircraft Systems
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
Despite a stronger global economic outlook than we’ve seen in years, the world’s central bankers appear loath to let go of stimulus measures while lower-than-expected inflation bedevils them....more
10/16/2017
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Bank of New York (BNY) Mellon ,
Banking Sector ,
China ,
Commerzbank ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Energy Sector ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Global Economy ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Native American Issues ,
Oil & Gas ,
Online Marketplace Lending ,
Payday Loans ,
Private Investment Funds ,
Quarterly Report ,
RMBS ,
Saudi Arabia ,
Sovereign Wealth Funds ,
Technology ,
Tribal Governments ,
Tribal Loans
A sobering look at the post-recession economic recovery shows that while by many measures US economic figures are again strong, the recession caused wounds that “have not fully healed”—including the loss of more than 1.5...more
10/6/2017
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Bitcoin ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Data Breach ,
Data Protection ,
Digital Currency ,
Equifax ,
Federal Student Loans ,
Financial Crisis ,
Financial Services Industry ,
IMF ,
Job Creation ,
Navient ,
Online Marketplace Lending ,
Payday Loans ,
Personal Data ,
Recovery Plans ,
Student Loans ,
Testimony ,
U.S. House ,
Unemployment
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
The Times’ tech guru—Farhad Manjoo—gets all indignant regarding the Equifax breach. Namely, if Equifax can’t handle its one job of safeguarding personal info, should it really be allowed to keep going at all now?...more
9/11/2017
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Blockchain ,
China ,
Costco ,
Credit Reporting Agencies ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Data Breach ,
Digital Currency ,
Equifax ,
FinTech ,
Foreign Currency ,
Foreign Investment ,
Hurricane Irma ,
Personally Identifiable Information
Lots of Fed news this morning, and all of it on the administrative side. First, it now appears that a likely choice to replace Chair Yellen could be out before he was even in. And we’ve learned that Fed No. 2 Stanley Fischer...more
9/7/2017
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Banking Sector ,
Bernie Madoff ,
Facebook ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Crisis ,
FinTech ,
Hurricane Irma ,
Insider Trading ,
Janet Yellen ,
Online Advertisements ,
Procter & Gamble ,
Puerto Rico ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Small Business ,
Square
Drugmaker Gilead has kickstarted a largely quiet period for big pharma deals with the announcement that it’s acquiring Kite for about $11.9 billion. Kite Pharma’s best known for its emerging cancer treatments that focus on...more
8/29/2017
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Banking Regulators ,
Banking Sector ,
Class Action ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Jurisdiction ,
Financial Markets ,
Forex ,
Grocery Stores ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Retail Market ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities Violations ,
SLUSA ,
Whole Foods
Along with this week’s news that Amazon and Whole Foods are putting the finishing touches on their deal and have the government’s stamp of approval came word that as of Monday, the first official day of Amazon control, the...more
8/25/2017
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Banking Sector ,
Brick-and-Mortar Stores ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
FinTech ,
Grocery Stores ,
Inflation Adjustments ,
Internet Retailers ,
Janet Yellen ,
Libor ,
Market Manipulation ,
Mortgages ,
Oil & Gas ,
Online Marketplace Lending ,
Retail Market ,
SoftBank ,
US Bank ,
Wells Fargo ,
Whole Foods
The 2d Circuit has upheld by a 2-1 margin the insider-trading conviction of former SAC Capital Advisors portfolio manager Mathew Martoma. Martoma’s counsel had challenged the propriety of the jury instructions in light of the...more
8/24/2017
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
American Express ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Credit Cards ,
Debt-Relief Industry ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Grocery Stores ,
Insider Trading ,
Interest Rates ,
Martoma ,
Merger Controls ,
Puerto Rico ,
Retailers ,
Securities Fraud ,
Sharing Economy ,
Uber ,
Whole Foods