Just days after Facebook announced its shift to more private communications, the company’s chief product officer (and longtime Zuck inner-circler) Chris Cox and WhatsApp head Chris Daniels are both heading out the door,...more
3/15/2019
/ Asbestos ,
Asbestos Litigation ,
Banks ,
Canada ,
China ,
College Admissions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Facebook ,
Foreign Currency ,
Hong Kong ,
Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (HKSFC) ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Interest Rates ,
Investment Fraud ,
Johnson & Johnson ,
Manufacturers ,
Mesothelioma ,
National Emissions Standards ,
Personal Care Products ,
Privacy Concerns ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Social Media ,
UBS ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Volkswagen
With new data pointing to similarities between the Lion Air and Ethiopian Air Boeing 737 Max 8 crashes, the White House has decided to override the FAA and ground all models of the plane in the US....more
3/14/2019
/ Aircraft ,
Airplane Accidents ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Aviation Industry ,
China ,
Chrysler ,
Customer Information ,
Data Management ,
Dismissals ,
Facebook ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
Fiat ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Instagram ,
Investment Opportunities ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
National Emissions Standards ,
On-Demand Services ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Social Media ,
SoftBank ,
Uber ,
UK Brexit ,
Wal-Mart ,
WhatsApp
Jobs Report Friday! Here’s what to watch as you’re sorting through the numbers this morning....more
3/8/2019
/ AirBnB ,
China ,
Class Action ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Disney World ,
Economic Development ,
EU ,
European Central Bank ,
Financial Crisis ,
Foreign Trade Regulations ,
Hedge Funds ,
Job Creation ,
Libor ,
Martin Shkreli ,
Opioid ,
OxyContin ,
Payday Loans ,
Purdue Pharma ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Star Wars ,
UBS ,
Unemployment
Federal regulators moved this week to “ease oversight of Wall Street firms by scaling back two major mechanisms that were imposed to scrutinize big financial companies in the wake of the financial crisis.” ...more
3/7/2019
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Automotive Industry ,
Banks ,
Barclays ,
China ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Due Process ,
Electronic Communications ,
Elon Musk ,
Encryption ,
Facebook ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Crisis ,
HSBC ,
Huawei ,
Libor ,
NCUA ,
NDAA ,
Pop-Up Stores ,
Privacy Concerns ,
Regulatory Burden ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Short-Term Loans ,
Stress Tests ,
Too Big to Fail ,
Trade Deficit ,
Volcker Rule ,
Wall Street ,
Wireless Industry
Some continuing reaction to the potential end to the trade war between the US and China, through the lens of a Delaware lighting store [NYTimes] and US businesses far more broadly, who are grappling with the question of what...more
3/6/2019
/ Barclays ,
Board of Directors ,
China ,
Credit Default Swaps ,
Deutsche Bank ,
EU ,
Exports ,
Forex ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Hedge Funds ,
Imports ,
Insider Trading ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Money Laundering ,
Papa John's International ,
Securities Fraud ,
Stock Options ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies
OxyContin maker Purdue Pharm is prepping for a possible bankruptcy filing “as it seeks to contain liability from hundreds of lawsuits alleging it fueled the nation’s opioid epidemic.” Officially, the company went on the...more
3/5/2019
/ AT&T ,
Barclays ,
Benchmarks ,
China ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Criminal Convictions ,
EURIBOR ,
Fees ,
Fidelity Investments ,
Foreign Trade Regulations ,
Forex ,
Huawei ,
Market Manipulation ,
Mutual Funds ,
Nissan ,
Opioid ,
OxyContin ,
Pain Management ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Retirement Funds ,
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) ,
Swaps ,
Time Warner ,
Trade Relations ,
UK
After weeks of regular negotiations (and months of back-and-forth before that), the rough outlines of a broad US/China trade deal are starting to take shape. Early reports look like the end of US tariffs in exchange for...more
3/4/2019
/ Alibaba ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
China ,
Class Action ,
Derivative Suit ,
Grocery Stores ,
Huawei ,
Imports ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Jeff Bezos ,
Libor ,
Lyft ,
Office Depot ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies ,
USPS ,
Wells Fargo
As many expected, the US economy slowed in Q4 2018, growing at a 2.6% annual rate in the final three months of last year. That figure was better than some forecasters thought, but it still marks a “significant slowdown” from...more
3/1/2019
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Audits ,
Beer ,
Breweries ,
Business Profits ,
China ,
Credit Ratings ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Data Protection ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Development ,
Elon Musk ,
EU ,
Facebook ,
Fashion Industry ,
Gap Inc ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Ireland ,
KPMG ,
PCAOB ,
PG&E ,
Retail Market ,
Safety Standards ,
Tariffs ,
Tesla ,
Trade Wars ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
US Trade Policies ,
Wildfires
New evidence suggests that California’s PG&E repeatedly “delayed a safety overhaul” on a high-voltage transmission line “that is a prime suspect behind the deadliest wildfire in California history.” How repeatedly? Try 5...more
2/28/2019
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Automotive Industry ,
CFTC ,
China ,
COPPA ,
Data Collection ,
Elon Musk ,
Embedded Tweets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Reserve ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Services Committee ,
GDP ,
Government Bonds ,
Government Shutdown ,
Imports ,
Market Manipulation ,
Mobile Apps ,
Online Safety for Children ,
PG&E ,
Price Manipulation ,
Safety Standards ,
Securities Violations ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Stock Prices ,
Swaps ,
Tariffs ,
Tesla ,
Transmission Lines ,
Trump Administration ,
US-Mexico Border Wall ,
Ways and Means Committee ,
Wells Fargo ,
Wildfires
GE—still in streamlining mode—agreed yesterday to sell its biopharma business to Danaher (current CEO Larry’s Culp’s former company, btw) for a reported $21.4 billion in the form of $21 billion in cash and $400 million in...more
2/26/2019
/ Antitrust Violations ,
Bank of America ,
Barclays ,
China ,
Contempt ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Elon Musk ,
Embedded Tweets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Markets ,
General Elections ,
Heinz ,
Investment Banks ,
Kraft ,
Libor ,
Merrill Lynch ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
RBS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Social Media ,
Tariffs ,
Tesla ,
UK Brexit ,
US Trade Policies ,
Warren Buffett
With a high-level White House meeting on Friday, the US and China have extended trade talks, even as a “final deal remains elusive” (aka, nothing at all is in writing yet). It also appears that the purported progress is...more
2/25/2019
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
China ,
Currency Fluctuation ,
Data Collection ,
Enron ,
Exports ,
Facebook ,
Heinz ,
Imports ,
Index Funds ,
Inflation Adjustments ,
Investment ,
Kraft ,
Personal Data ,
Privacy Concerns ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
State Street ,
Tariffs ,
Trump Administration ,
Twitter ,
US Trade Policies ,
Vanguard ,
Xerox
Kraft Heinz dropped a double-whammy on investors on Thursday, announcing a $15 billion charge against its Kraft and Oscar Mayer brands and revealing news of an SEC subpoena related to the company’s accounting practices....more
2/22/2019
/ 5G Network ,
Accounting Fraud ,
Asbestos ,
Baby Products ,
Banks ,
Canada ,
Cancer ,
Case Consolidation ,
China ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Danske Bank ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Crimes ,
Ford Motor ,
Google ,
Heinz ,
Huawei ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Johnson & Johnson ,
Kraft ,
Mesothelioma ,
Money Laundering ,
Mortgage Servicers ,
National Emissions Standards ,
Pinterest ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Standard Chartered Bank ,
Tariffs ,
Toxic Exposure ,
US Trade Policies
Quite a start to the week for consulting powerhouse McKinsey & Co., with a Times expose on the questionable relationship between McKinsey’s clients and the investments its hedge fund has made in those same clients, not to...more
2/20/2019
/ 5G Network ,
Automotive Industry ,
Bank of New York (BNY) Mellon ,
China ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Consultants ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Danske Bank ,
Data Privacy ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Emerging Growth Companies ,
Facebook ,
Failure To Disclose ,
Foreign Currency ,
Germany ,
Honda ,
Huawei ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Money Laundering ,
PCAOB ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
RMBS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
UK Brexit ,
US Trade Policies ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Wireless Technology
In what can only be classified as a second major “Oh yeah? Try this on for size” moment from Jeff Bezos in as many weeks, Amazon has announced that it’s canceling its planned HQ2 project in Queens, NY. Some local activists...more
2/15/2019
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Bitcoin ,
China ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Facebook ,
Federal Funding ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Government Shutdown ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Retail Market ,
Securities Fraud ,
Token Sales ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Unregistered Securities ,
US Trade Policies ,
US-Mexico Border Wall ,
Wall Street
The White House strongly hinted yesterday that it will consider delaying the rapidly approaching March 2 deadline to reach a trade deal with China, “saying the United States might not impose higher tariffs on Chinese goods if...more
2/13/2019
/ 5G Network ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
CBS ,
China ,
Confidential Information ,
Corruption ,
Foreign Trade Regulations ,
Grocery Stores ,
Huawei ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Insider Trading ,
KPMG ,
Lyft ,
PCAOB ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Stock Prices ,
Tariffs ,
Telecommunications ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Whole Foods ,
Wireless Technology
The Fed made news when it backed off of its plan to keep regular rate hikes going in 2019, and the decision has done far more than just make Wall Street happy for a day. Here’s a look at how the financial world has reacted...more
2/12/2019
/ Benchmark Pricing ,
BlackRock ,
Bonds ,
Chapter 11 ,
China ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Excessive Fees ,
Financial Markets ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Securities Litigation ,
Shareholder Litigation
US trade negotiations with China have stalled such that the anticipated meeting between the countries’ leaders is, according the White House, “highly unlikely” to occur before the March 1 deadline marking the end of a 90-day...more
2/8/2019
/ Aircraft ,
Airlines ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Aviation Industry ,
Blackmail ,
BSA/AML ,
China ,
Danske Bank ,
Depositions ,
Estonia ,
EU ,
Extortion ,
Financial Crimes ,
FRCP 30(b)(6) ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Internal Controls ,
Jeff Bezos ,
Money Laundering ,
On-Demand Services ,
Publishers ,
Renault-Nissan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
UK Brexit ,
US Trade Policies ,
Witness Preparation
Qatar and ExxonMobil are teaming up on a $10 billion natural gas investment plan in Texas and America’s growing status as an LNG exporting power....more
2/6/2019
/ Banks ,
Barclays ,
Benchmarks ,
Canada ,
Cartels ,
China ,
Commodities ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Digital Currency ,
Energy Market ,
Energy Projects ,
EURIBOR ,
Exxon Mobil ,
Federal Reserve ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Liquid Natural Gas ,
Market Manipulation ,
Nasdaq ,
Oil & Gas ,
Oil Prices ,
OPEC ,
Proxy Advisory Firms ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Qatar ,
Russia ,
Saudi Arabia ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stress Tests ,
Transparency ,
Unemployment
USA Today publisher and media conglomerate Gannett has rejected a $1.3 billion hostile takeover bid from Alden Global Capital-backed MNG Enterprises, “kicking off a battle for shareholder votes to determine the future of the...more
2/5/2019
/ Australia ,
Automotive Industry ,
China ,
Class Action ,
Climate Change ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Energy Storage ,
Exxon Mobil ,
Facebook ,
Financial Fraud ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Hostile Takeover ,
Huawei ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Nissan ,
Presidential Appointments ,
Publishers ,
Retirement Plan ,
Slack ,
Stock Drop Litigation ,
Tesla ,
UK Brexit ,
Wire Fraud ,
World Bank
Once again, it’s Jobs Report Friday. Here’s some things to keep in mind as you review the numbers...more
2/1/2019
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Apple ,
Automotive Industry ,
Banks ,
Cartels ,
China ,
Cloud Computing ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
EU ,
Facebook ,
Government Bonds ,
Huawei ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Job Creation ,
Mobile Apps ,
No-Deal Brexit ,
Smartphones ,
T-Mobile ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Trade Secrets ,
Trump Administration ,
Unemployment ,
US Trade Policies
The Fed wrapped its January meetings yesterday with the expected news that it would leave the benchmark interest rate unchanged and the less-guaranteed report that it was hitting the pause button on future rate hikes (aka,...more
1/31/2019
/ Activist Investors ,
Alphabet Company ,
Apple ,
China ,
Commerzbank ,
Data Collection ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Diversity ,
EU ,
Facebook ,
Federal Reserve ,
GDP ,
General Elections ,
Global Market ,
Google ,
Interest Rates ,
Internal Controls ,
KPMG ,
Privacy Concerns ,
Scams ,
Takeovers ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
UK Brexit
Though expected after its earlier move to cut its revenue forecast, Apple’s official quarterly profits reporting yesterday still disappointed, as the company posted its “first holiday-quarter drop in both revenue and profit...more
1/30/2019
/ Apple ,
Barclays ,
CBO Report ,
China ,
Class Action ,
Dark Pool ,
Federal Budget ,
Federal Funding ,
FinTech ,
Foreign Investment ,
Forex ,
Government Shutdown ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Market Manipulation ,
Polar Vortex ,
Quarterly Report ,
Real Estate Investments ,
Securities Fraud ,
Social Media ,
Standard Chartered Bank ,
Trump Administration ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
US-Mexico Border Wall ,
Venture Capital
California’s trouble-plagued Pacific Gas & Electric utility has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, listing debts of more than $51.7 billion....more
1/29/2019
/ Apple ,
Bonds ,
Caterpillar ,
Chapter 11 ,
China ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Government Shutdown ,
Huawei ,
Made in the USA ,
Manufacturers ,
NVIDIA ,
PG&E ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
S&P ,
Sanction Violations ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Trade Secrets ,
Trump Administration ,
UK Brexit ,
Utilities Sector ,
Wildfires
Nissan’s Carlos Ghosn problems now extend to the United States, where the Securities and Exchange Commission has opened a probe into the accuracy of the company’s financial disclosures and internal controls....more
1/28/2019
/ Audits ,
Bank of New York (BNY) Mellon ,
Canada ,
China ,
Facebook ,
Federal Budget ,
Federal Funding ,
Financial Statements ,
Government Shutdown ,
Huawei ,
Instagram ,
Internal Controls ,
Job Creation ,
KPMG ,
Next Generation ,
Nissan ,
RMBS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Social Media ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
Unemployment ,
US Trade Policies ,
US-Mexico Border Wall ,
Vodafone ,
WhatsApp
The European Union has fined Mastercard $650 million for “breaching antitrust rules by raising payment-processing fees artificially, leading to higher prices for retailers and consumers” alike. The penalty came after a 6-year...more
1/23/2019
/ Antitrust Violations ,
CFTC ,
China ,
Danske Bank ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Espionage ,
EU ,
False Billing ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Budget ,
Federal Funding ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Markets ,
Forex ,
Government Shutdown ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Housing Market ,
Huawei ,
Internet of Things ,
MasterCard ,
Money Laundering ,
Payment Processors ,
Smart Devices ,
Trump Administration ,
US-Mexico Border Wall ,
Walgreens