Qatar’s response to its recent feud with its Persian Gulf neighbors is to “dramatically increase” its natural gas production—an “awkward time” to do so by most measures....more
7/5/2017
/ Bailout ,
Banking Sector ,
Barclays ,
Energy Sector ,
Financial Fraud ,
FinTech ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Italy ,
Libor ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
Qatar ,
Takeover Bids
Here’s the other shoe for that news that all the big banks passed their Fed stress tests the other day: are the “bad old days of enormous leverage and freewheeling deals” and the risk inherent in them back, too?....more
6/30/2017
/ Bank of America ,
Banking Sector ,
Blue Apron ,
Bonds ,
Capital Raising ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Policies ,
Exxon Mobil ,
Financial Markets ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
RMBS ,
Rupert Murdoch ,
Stress Tests ,
Transparency ,
Warren Buffett ,
Wells Fargo
A banner round of stress-testing for the US’s biggest banks (all passed for the first time in the test’s 7-year history) is seen as paving the way for banks to pay out their largest dividends in nearly a decade....more
6/29/2017
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Asset Management ,
Banking Sector ,
Blue Apron ,
Business Valuations ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Morgan Stanley ,
Nike ,
Retailers ,
Rite Aid ,
Silicon Valley ,
Staples ,
Startups ,
Stress Tests ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Walgreens
Troubled Japanese auto parts maker Takata, “crippled by vast airbag recalls,” has filed for bankruptcy protection in the US and is planning to sell its surviving operations to Key Safety Systems, an American rival owned by a...more
6/26/2017
/ Automotive Industry ,
Banking Sector ,
Breach of Duty ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Digital Currency ,
Ether ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Markets ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
National Security Agency (NSA) ,
Nestle ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Ransomware ,
Stress Tests ,
Takata ,
Virgin Islands
The US’s biggest banks had a good day yesterday on news that they “breezed through” the first phase of the Federal Reserve’s annual stress tests—a good sign that they “have enough capital to withstand the type of financial...more
6/23/2017
/ American Airlines ,
Aviation Industry ,
Banking Sector ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Financial Markets ,
Libor ,
Loans ,
Martin Shkreli ,
Morgan Stanley ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Qatar ,
Sharing Economy ,
Stress Tests ,
Trading Platforms ,
Uber
Barclays and a group of its former execs are facing charges of fraud by false representation by Britain’s Serious Fraud Office over deals they struck with Qatar in 2008 to avoid a government bailout....more
6/20/2017
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Banking Sector ,
Barclays ,
Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Bitcoin ,
Blue Apron ,
Brick-and-Mortar Stores ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Disgorgement ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Fraud ,
Gaming ,
Grocery Stores ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Investment Management ,
Jaguar ,
Misrepresentation ,
On-Demand Services ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) ,
Subscription Services ,
Valeant ,
Virtual Currency ,
Whole Foods
If the White House gets its way, Richard Cordray and the CFPB (and many other current Wall Street regulators and regulations) would be virtually unrecognizable as compared to their current form....more
6/13/2017
/ Banking Sector ,
Citigroup ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Deregulation ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Disgorgement ,
EURIBOR ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
General Elections ,
General Electric ,
Hedge Funds ,
Kokesh v SEC ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Trading Platforms ,
Trump Administration ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
White Collar Crimes
When it comes to the big (tech) 5, investors are cheering on their massive gains even as they nervously look around the corner for the dreaded market correction....more
6/8/2017
/ Banking Sector ,
Barclays ,
Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Cross-Selling ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Exports ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Financial Fraud ,
HSBC ,
Investment Adviser ,
Libor ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pinterest ,
Uber ,
UBS ,
Wells Fargo ,
Whistleblowers
Uber made waves yesterday by firing 20 employees as part of an internal investigation into sexual harassment and other unsavory aspects of its workplace culture....more
6/7/2017
/ Banking Sector ,
BHP Billiton ,
Bitcoin ,
Bonds ,
Financial Institutions ,
General Motors ,
Robotics ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Shipping ,
Uber ,
Virtual Currency
Even as the administration is mulling over withdrawing from the Paris Climate Accord, Exxon Mobil’s shareholders have voted to demand a more detailed accounting of the climate change policy risks facing the company—an...more
6/1/2017
/ Banking Sector ,
Bernie Madoff ,
Bitcoin ,
Bonds ,
China ,
Climate Change ,
Cybersecurity ,
Environmental Policies ,
Exxon Mobil ,
Financial Markets ,
Google ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Ireland ,
Morgan Stanley ,
Nasdaq ,
Paris Agreement ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Trump Administration ,
Uber ,
Venezuela ,
Virtual Currency
With complaint piling up, Fannie Mae has decided to stop selling REO properties to Vision Property, the rent-to-own home business that’s been the subject of predatory-lending investigations of late....more
5/24/2017
/ Bank of America ,
Banking Sector ,
Data Breach ,
Energy Sector ,
Fannie Mae ,
Fiat ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Interest Rate Swaps ,
Mortgages ,
National Emissions Standards ,
Predatory Lending ,
Putative Class Actions ,
REIT ,
Software ,
Startups ,
Target ,
Trading Platforms
Citigroup announced yesterday that it’ll pay nearly $100 million to resolve a long-running federal investigation into its Banamex USA group over lax money-laundering monitoring (largely for transfers between the US and...more
Store-branded credit cards are still big business, but as the Times tells us, their contribution to companies’ bottom lines are masking bigger troubles at retailers around the US....more
5/12/2017
/ Bank of New York (BNY) Mellon ,
Banking Sector ,
Barclays ,
Bond Markets ,
China ,
Credit Cards ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
McDonalds ,
Retail Market ,
RMBS ,
SoftBank ,
South Korea ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
US Trade Policies ,
Whistleblowers
The Times gives us some insight into the opaque (but powerful) HNA Group—the Chinese entity that began with Hainan Airlines and has grown into a global investing and acquisition powerhouse that is now the largest shareholder...more
5/10/2017
/ Activist Investors ,
AIG ,
Apple ,
Bailout ,
Banking Sector ,
Bitcoin ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Donald Trump ,
Insider Trading ,
Insurance Industry ,
Liquidity Coverage Ratio ,
Market Manipulation ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Stock Markets ,
Virtual Currency
Local-TV powerhouse Sinclair Broadcast Group isn’t all that well known outside of the Baltimore area, but it’s making a big play for the national stage as it nears a deal to buy Tribune Media—the former “Tribune empire’s...more
5/8/2017
/ Banking Sector ,
Charter Communications ,
Comcast ,
Cross-Selling ,
Derivative Suit ,
Dodd-Frank ,
EU ,
Euro ,
Financial Fraud ,
Financial Institutions ,
France ,
Individual Accountability ,
Misrepresentation ,
NRSRO ,
Omnicare ,
Presidential Elections ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Rating Agencies ,
Securities Fraud ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Television Broadcast Stations ,
Volkswagen ,
Wells Fargo ,
Wireless Industry
The Fed wrapped up its Open Market Committee meeting yesterday without any change in interest rates but with an expression of confidence in the economy, despite Q1’s sub-1 percent growth figure (which it dubbed “transitory”)....more
5/4/2017
/ Banking Sector ,
Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Breach of Duty ,
Credit Suisse ,
Credit Unions ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EU ,
Euro ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
France ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Investment Adviser ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
NCUA ,
Presidential Elections ,
Puerto Rico ,
RMBS ,
State and Local Government ,
U.S. Commerce Department
Italy’s Alitalia has filed for bankruptcy yet again, the third filing in less than a decade, and it’s home country looks far less likely to bail out the troubled carrier this time around....more
5/3/2017
/ Air Carriers ,
Apple ,
Automotive Industry ,
Aviation Industry ,
Banking Sector ,
CFTC ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Deutsche Bank ,
iPhone ,
Italy ,
Majority Shareholders ,
Manufacturers ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Smartphones ,
Trading Platforms
Investors’ decreasing appetite for actively managed mutual funds appears to have helped drive the major shake-up at AllianceBernstein Holding, which said so long to CEO Peter Kraus and removed nine board members in favor of 6...more
5/2/2017
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Bank of America ,
Bank of America v Miami ,
Banking Sector ,
Barclays ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
Fair Housing Act (FHA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Hedge Funds ,
Investment ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Mutual Funds ,
NCUA ,
OCC ,
Predatory Lending ,
RMBS ,
SCOTUS ,
Trump Administration ,
UBS ,
Wells Fargo
We know that China’s Didi Chuxing is powerful enough to have driven Uber out of China altogether. So what happens when Didi sets its sights outside of Chinese borders? Flush with $5.5 billion in new funding, Didi is likely...more
5/1/2017
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Bangladesh ,
Bank of America ,
Banking Sector ,
Canada ,
China ,
Cybersecurity ,
Financial Institutions ,
Forex ,
Grocery Stores ,
Housing Market ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Market Manipulation ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Mortgages ,
Retail Market ,
SWIFT ,
Uber
Wells Fargo’s Board Chair, Stephen Sanger, did survive his reelection vote the other day. Barely. But Breakingviews thinks he should think awfully hard about his future as a Director at the bank....more
4/27/2017
/ Banking Sector ,
Canada ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Deregulation ,
Earnings Reports ,
Family Offices ,
FCC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Fintech Charter ,
Free Trade Agreements ,
Internet ,
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Mexico ,
NAFTA ,
Net Neutrality ,
OCC ,
Procter & Gamble ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Subprime Loans ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies ,
Wells Fargo
The new administration is working on a tax plan that would slash corporate tax rates to 15 percent and doing so with a hastiness that could jeopardize House Republicans’ ability to make the cuts permanent....more
4/25/2017
/ Alibaba ,
Banking Sector ,
Business Valuations ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Cross-Selling ,
Data Collection ,
Financial Fraud ,
FSOC ,
Internet Retailers ,
Living Will ,
MetLife ,
SIFIs ,
Student Loans ,
Tax Reform ,
Trump Administration ,
Uber ,
Wells Fargo
The City of Cincinnati is suing Harbour Portfolio Advisors—“one of the nation’s largest sellers of foreclosed homes”—for skipping out on housing code violations and for targeting buyers with “predatory and unconscionable”...more
New FCC Chair Ajit Pai is wasting little time in reversing Obama-era regulatory efforts meant to restrict media firms and telecomm companies, and he’s got his sights set on net neutrality next....more
4/20/2017
/ Banking Sector ,
Business Valuations ,
Climate Change ,
Cross-Selling ,
Cybersecurity ,
Deregulation ,
Dodd-Frank ,
FCC ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) ,
Morgan Stanley ,
Net Neutrality ,
OCC ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Securities Fraud ,
Shadow Banking ,
Telecommunications ,
Theranos ,
Verizon ,
Wells Fargo
China’s infamous shadow banking industry—an $8.5 trillion marketplace that’s sprung up in reaction to the government’s “campaign against financial leverage”—is back and bigger than ever these days....more
4/19/2017
/ Banking Sector ,
China ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Foreign Currency ,
Global Economy ,
Goldman Sachs ,
IMF ,
Online Banking ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shadow Banking ,
Starbucks ,
Tax Liability ,
UK
Wells Fargo’s board not only issued a massive report on its fake account scandal yesterday. It also announced that the bank would claw back an additional $75 million from former CEO John Stumpf and former head of community...more
4/11/2017
/ Activist Hedge Funds ,
Automotive Industry ,
Bank Accounts ,
Banking Sector ,
Barclays ,
Citibank ,
Code of Conduct ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Corporate Culture ,
Cross-Selling ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Reserve ,
Insider Trading ,
Janet Yellen ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
RMBS ,
Tesla ,
Toshiba ,
UK ,
Wells Fargo ,
Whistleblowers ,
Whole Foods