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
HSBC’s making good on its plans to shift to a focus on Asia by naming John Flint—who spent his first 14 years at the bank in Asia—as its new CEO. Flint will take over from Stuart Gulliver in February....more
10/13/2017
/ Asset Diversification ,
Banking Sector ,
Bayer ,
Citigroup ,
Denmark ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Direct Advertising ,
Ethics ,
Film Industry ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Goldman Sachs ,
HSBC ,
Japan ,
Libor ,
Money Laundering ,
Monsanto ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
RMBS ,
Russia ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Steel Industry ,
White Collar Crimes
Goldman’s deal-making advising is sputtering a bit these days, so Lloyd and the gang are working on generating some of those deals themselves through a new Innovations Lab internal venture....more
10/12/2017
/ Banking Sector ,
Barclays ,
Caterpillar ,
Class Action ,
Computer Virus Protection ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Derivatives ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
FIRREA ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Inflation Adjustments ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Lloyds Banking Group ,
Malware ,
RMBS ,
Securities Fraud ,
Shareholder Litigation
The Peltz/P&G drama continues, with the company suggesting that Trian has lost its bid for a Board seat and the fund arguing that it disagrees with the company’s counting of the ballots....more
10/11/2017
/ AFL-CIO ,
Apple ,
Banking Sector ,
Board of Directors ,
Commercial Loans ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Data Breach ,
Debt Market ,
Dow Jones ,
Driver's Licenses ,
Equifax ,
Financial Markets ,
Forex ,
GlaxoSmithKline ,
Google ,
Honeywell International ,
HSBC ,
Information Sharing ,
Insider Trading ,
Moody's ,
Navient ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Pfizer ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Procter & Gamble ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Shareholder Votes ,
Spinoffs ,
Stocks
A roundup on Richard Thaler, the U Chicago professor named Monday as the winner of this year’s Nobel Prize in economics for his groundbreaking work in behavioral economics (and the consistently irrational human nature)....more
Equifax’s ex-CEO Richard Smith will be on the Hill today to address the a subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Smith is expected to report that a “widespread breakdown in security safeguards” at his former...more
10/4/2017
/ Automotive Industry ,
Banking Sector ,
Bitcoin ,
Credit Reporting Agencies ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Data Breach ,
Digital Currency ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Equifax ,
Financial Markets ,
Ford Motor ,
General Electric ,
General Motors ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Hackers ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Senate Committees ,
Tesla ,
Testimony ,
Wells Fargo
Equifax CEO Richard F. Smith is out as the fallout continues from the massive cyberbreach of the consumer credit reporting agency that exposed the personal information of as many as 143 million people....more
9/27/2017
/ Banking Sector ,
Credit Reporting Agencies ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Data Breach ,
EDGAR ,
Equifax ,
FBI ,
Federal Reserve ,
Hackers ,
Insider Trading ,
Interest Rates ,
PACE ,
Railways ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Siemens ,
Uber ,
UK
The CFPB issued a no-action letter to Upstart Network this week that will allow the online lender to “continue using alternative credit data to evaluate borrowers in exchange for providing data to the federal consumer finance...more
9/15/2017
/ Alphabet Company ,
Banking Sector ,
Bitcoin ,
China ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Data Breach ,
Digital Currency ,
Equifax ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Insider Trading ,
Lyft ,
Martin Shkreli ,
No-Action Letters ,
SAC Capital ,
SoftBank ,
Trading Platforms ,
Uber
The White House announced its intention yesterday to blocked a China-backed investor from buying American semiconductor maker Lattice over national security concerns. The “rare move” could “signal more aggressive scrutiny of...more
9/15/2017
/ Banking Sector ,
Barclays ,
Bitcoin ,
Bonds ,
China ,
Class Action ,
Data Breach ,
Digital Currency ,
Equifax ,
FinTech ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Martin Shkreli ,
Saudi Arabia ,
Securities Fraud
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
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
Vanguard’s not well known for making waves, but the $4.5 trillion mutual-fund manager has quietly increased its corporate engagement activity over the past year—discussing governance, pay, and other issues with nearly a...more
9/5/2017
/ Banking Sector ,
Bitcoin ,
China ,
Class Action ,
Cross-Selling ,
Derivatives ,
Digital Currency ,
Ethereum ,
Financial Fraud ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Google ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Innovation ,
Mutual Funds ,
Online Marketplace Lending ,
Payday Loans ,
Procter & Gamble ,
Silicon Valley ,
Tribal Loans ,
Tribal-State Gaming Compacts ,
Vanguard ,
Wells Fargo
As the scandal grows, WF’s newish CEO, Timothy Sloan, faces the unfortunate reality of being a company man (30-years at Wells) when the foundations of that company are cracking....more
9/1/2017
/ Bank Accounts ,
Bank of New York (BNY) Mellon ,
Banking Sector ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Cross-Selling ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Economic Development ,
Financial Fraud ,
Hurricane Harvey ,
Job Creation ,
Libor ,
Market Manipulation ,
Oil & Gas ,
Richard Cordray ,
RMBS ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wells Fargo ,
White-Collar Exemptions
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
Uber has picked a new CEO. Word emerged late yesterday that the board selected current Expedia chief Dara Khosrowshahi to take the helm. Khosrowshahi beat out high-powered execs like Jeff Immelt and Meg Whitman in assuming...more
8/28/2017
/ Banking Sector ,
Barclays ,
CFTC ,
Financial Crisis ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Markets ,
Forex ,
Government Shutdown ,
Netflix ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Securities Fraud ,
Uber
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
Chevron CEO John Watson is out in a move that leaves the energy giant without a board-confirmed successor and marks the “dramatic shift under way at big oil companies as they adapt to a prolonged period of lower prices...more
8/23/2017
/ Automotive Industry ,
Banking Sector ,
Bayer ,
BHP Billiton ,
Bitcoin ,
Capital Requirements ,
Cell Phones ,
Chevron ,
China ,
Cybersecurity ,
Digital Currency ,
Fiat ,
Google ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Jeep ,
Monsanto ,
Oil & Gas ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Retail Market ,
Virtual Currency ,
Wal-Mart
Breakingviews suggests that the devil is definitely in the details in Sempra Energy’s apparent winning bid for Oncor. Control of the company, for example, isn’t as simple as it might seem....more
8/22/2017
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Banking Sector ,
Berkshire Hathaway ,
BHP Billiton ,
Bonds ,
Energy Sector ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Fraud ,
Foreign Investment ,
Oil & Gas ,
RMBS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Wells Fargo
As expected, Wells Fargo has promoted former Fed governor and current vice chair Elizabeth Duke to succeed Board chair Stephen Sanger. Incredibly, the move makes Duke the first woman to hold the top spot at one of the...more
8/16/2017
/ Amazon ,
Automotive Industry ,
Automotive Loans ,
Banking Sector ,
Bonds ,
Class Action ,
Customer Privacy ,
Energy Sector ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Federal Reserve ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
KPMG ,
Oil & Gas ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Solar Energy ,
Uber ,
Wells Fargo ,
Whole Foods
Mr. Buffett’s decided to sell his massive 10.6 million share stake in General Electric, withdrawing from the company to which he lent roughly $3 billion to help see it through the 2008 financial crisis....more
8/15/2017
/ Banking Sector ,
Bitcoin ,
Blue Apron ,
Corporate Culture ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Forex ,
General Electric ,
Market Manipulation ,
Pandora ,
Warren Buffett ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Whole Foods
Somehow, despite months of high-profile sideshows, the business of Uber must go on, and right now that means a tough call for the board. It’s currently considering three investment offers, including one from SoftBank, to buy...more
8/14/2017
/ Bank Fraud ,
Banking Sector ,
Bitcoin ,
BSA/AML ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Disney ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Netflix ,
RegTech ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
SoftBank ,
Uber ,
Volcker Rule
Lack of workable replacement (so far, at least) be damned—the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority has announced that [the scandal-plagued] Libor will be phased out by 2021 in favor of “transaction-based benchmarks”....more
7/27/2017
/ Banking Sector ,
Bonds ,
Digital Currency ,
Diversity ,
Earnings Reports ,
Economic Development ,
Facebook ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Gender Equity ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Libor ,
Martin Shkreli ,
Online Advertisements ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
RMBS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Social Media ,
U.S. Treasury ,
UK ,
Wall Street
A government audit report out yesterday accuses the US Dep’t of Housing and Urban Development of selling more than 100k distressed mortgages over a 7 year period to PE firms and hedge funds without following the proper rules...more
7/26/2017
/ Arbitration ,
Bailout ,
Banking Sector ,
Bitcoin ,
Capital Controls ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Consumer Contracts ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Distressed Assets ,
Fashion Industry ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Greece ,
Housing Market ,
HUD ,
Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) ,
Jimmy Choo ,
Mortgages ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
SoftBank ,
Stock Sale Agreements ,
Uber
The DOJ is dismissing charges against former JPMorgan employees allegedly mixed up in the London Whale trading scandal that cost JPM more than $6 billion....more
7/24/2017
/ Automotive Industry ,
Banking Sector ,
Benchmarks ,
BMW ,
China ,
DaimlerChrysler ,
Deutsche Bank ,
FinTech ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Libor ,
National Emissions Standards ,
Private Equity ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Volkswagen ,
WebMD
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