Congressional leaders have reportedly reached a last-minute short-term deal to “avert a government shutdown” before today’s midnight deadline. Plenty of issues—including the need to raise the debt ceiling and the status of...more
9/30/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Financial Markets ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Infrastructure Financing ,
Insider Trading ,
NLRB ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Student Athletes ,
Supply Chain ,
United Airlines ,
Vaccinations ,
Wal-Mart ,
YouTube
In what appears to be a serious black eye for the organization, the World Bank has canceled its prominent “Doing Business” report (which rates the “business environment of the world’s countries”) after an “investigation...more
9/17/2021
/ Airplane Accidents ,
Boeing ,
British Petroleum (BP) ,
Chevron ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
E-Cigarettes ,
Energy & Climate Debates ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Exxon Mobil ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Global Warming ,
Infectious Diseases ,
MassMutual ,
Oil & Gas ,
Opioid ,
Oversight Committee ,
Purdue Pharma ,
Retail Sales ,
Stock Trades ,
Unemployment ,
World Bank
President Biden sat down with a range of executives from Microsoft to Columbia Sportswear to discuss the administration’s recently announced vaccine mandates...more
9/16/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Markets ,
Ford Motor ,
Mergers ,
Microsoft ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Tesla ,
Vaccinations ,
Whistleblower Awards
On Friday, N.D. Cal. Federal Judge Yvonne Gonzalez issued an order in the high-profile Epic Games v. Apple App Store tilt, finding that Apple “violated California’s laws against unfair competition by barring app developers...more
9/14/2021
/ Amazon ,
App Developers ,
Apple ,
Bank of America ,
Car Dealerships ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Financial Markets ,
Hertz ,
Mergers ,
Semiconductors ,
Unfair Competition
We thought that more regulatory action was in the offing for Wells Fargo, and the OCC definitely delivered, hitting Wells on Thursday with an additional $250 million fine for “unsatisfactory remedial progress” in addressing...more
9/10/2021
/ Amazon ,
Biden Administration ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
Fines ,
Ford Motor ,
OCC ,
OSHA ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Wells Fargo
Dispatch #1 from the Elizabeth Holmes Theranos criminal fraud trial, which opened yesterday with jury selection and saw the excusing of 9 of the initial batch of about 50 potential jurors for lack of vaccination...more
9/1/2021
/ Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Facebook ,
Financial Markets ,
Fraud ,
Google ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Jury Selection ,
OCC ,
Oil & Gas ,
Private Equity ,
Surface Transportation Board ,
UK Brexit ,
Wells Fargo
Apple reached a settlement this week with a group of app developers that will allow them to “urge customers to pay them outside their iPhone apps”—a move that enables them to “avoid paying Apple a commission on their sales”...more
While not mandating vaccines for its employees, Delta Airlines announced on Wednesday that it would begin charging unvaxxed workers enrolled in its healthcare program a monthly $200 surcharge, require Covid testing, and...more
8/26/2021
/ Asset Management ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Delta Airlines ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Facebook ,
Fashion Industry ,
Financial Markets ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Rental Assistance Programs ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Vaccinations
The Federal Trade Commission refiled its antitrust lawsuit against Facebook on Thursday 2 months after a federal judge dismissed the agency’s original case. The updated action repeated many of the same allegations against...more
8/20/2021
/ Amazon ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Brick-and-Mortar Stores ,
CFTC ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cryptocurrency ,
E-Commerce ,
Facebook ,
Financial Markets ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Johnson & Johnson ,
Toyota
Hyatt Hotels revealed plans this weekend to buy resort company Apple Leisure Group from PE owners KKR and KSL Capital Partners for a reported $2.7 billion. The move is “the latest sign of optimism about a return to vacation...more
8/16/2021
/ Apple ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Financial Markets ,
FinTech ,
Google ,
Huawei ,
Institutional Investors ,
International Trade Commission (ITC) ,
NASA ,
Patent Infringement ,
Startups
That CPI data we were expecting yesterday hit analysts’ projections just about on the mark, with prices increasing 5.4% last month compared to a year earlier. Though undeniably high, that figure suggests that “gains are...more
Big union news on Monday, with a NLRB hearing officer advocating for the Board to set aside the results of an early April union election at the Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama based on the ‘zon allegedly “illegally...more
Markets dove at the opening bell and never recovered on Monday, with all three major indices off between 1 and 2%--the most across the board since May. Most market watchers blamed concerns over the economic recovery stalling...more
Jobs Report Friday again, and after a big miss on April’s rather lackluster numbers, all eyes will be on May’s figures. Lots to watch for here....more
6/4/2021
/ Activist Investors ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Attorney-Client Privilege ,
Capital Raising ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Economic Growth ,
Facebook ,
General Motors ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Internet Memes ,
Job Creation ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
Theranos ,
Unemployment
In a significant departure from decades of restrictive population management efforts, China’s ruling party will now permit couples to have three children—“ending a two-child policy that has failed to raise the country’s...more
6/1/2021
/ Acquisition Agreements ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Beverage Manufacturers ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Economic Development ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Inflation Adjustments ,
Lyft ,
MGM ,
OECD ,
Open Source Software ,
Private Equity ,
Uber
Amazon is nearing the final stages of a reported $9 billion deal to purchase MGM Holdings and its stable of big-name franchises (from James Bond to Rocky and The Pink Panther) in what would be Bezos & Co.’s second largest...more
AT&T made late-weekend waves with the announcement that it’s planning to spin off its WarnerMedia division (think HBO and CNN) and merge with Discovery’s “reality-TV empire” in a deal that could value the AT&T assets at...more
5/17/2021
/ Algorithms ,
Apple ,
AT&T ,
Big Tech ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
EPIC ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Inflation Adjustments ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Internet Memes ,
Masks ,
Movie Theaters ,
Pipelines ,
Ransomware
New jobless claims fell dramatically in new figures released on Thursday, as “the improving public health situation and the easing of pandemic-related restrictions allowed the labor market to continue its gradual return to...more
5/7/2021
/ CBS ,
Congressional Investigations & Hearings ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Debit and Credit Card Transactions ,
Economic Impact Analysis ,
FCC ,
Fee Disclosure ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Internet Streaming ,
Merger Agreements ,
Net Neutrality ,
New York Times ,
Publishers ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Telehealth ,
Unemployment ,
Viacom ,
Wal-Mart ,
Wells Fargo
New numbers show that the U.S. economy “picked up speed last quarter,” expanding 1.6% in the first three months of the year [for an annualized 6.4%], as a mix of stimulus money and falling unemployment helped power consumer...more
4/30/2021
/ Abuse of Power ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Apple ,
Biden Administration ,
Big Data ,
Big Tech ,
Boeing ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Economic Growth ,
EU ,
Federal Funding ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Infrastructure ,
Mobile Apps ,
Music Streaming ,
Payment Terms ,
Renewable Energy
Big Tech quarterly earnings season kicked off this week, and Alphabet got things started with a massive $55B in revenue, up 34% from a year earlier thanks largely to a return of its online advertising business and “continued...more
4/28/2021
/ Alphabet Company ,
Biden Administration ,
Big Tech ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Credit Suisse ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Earnings Reports ,
Economic Growth ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Innovative Technology ,
IRS ,
Manufacturers ,
Microchip Technology ,
Microsoft ,
Online Advertisements ,
Property Managers ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Supply Chain ,
Tax Evasion ,
Tax Fraud
Bitcoin’s back (and no, it never really left), thanks to a rally this morning that pushed its value up as much as 10% at one point in early trading today. Elon Musk’s weekend tweeting and news that presumptive top NFL draft...more
4/26/2021
/ Apple ,
Banks ,
Big Tech ,
Bitcoin ,
China ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Credit Suisse ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Executive Compensation ,
Infectious Diseases ,
iPhone Tracking ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Mobile Apps ,
OCC ,
On-Demand Services ,
Panasonic ,
Popular ,
Railways ,
Slander ,
Underwriting Agreements ,
Virtual Currency
A unanimous SCOTUS ruling this week curbs the FTC’s “longtime practice of seeking to recover ill-gotten gains from companies and individuals who cheat or mislead consumers,” with the justices finding that the 1973 law that...more
4/23/2021
/ Airlines ,
AMG Capital Management LLC v FTC ,
Bitcoin ,
Capital Gains Tax ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Financial Markets ,
FTCA Section 13(b) ,
HBO ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Internet Streaming ,
Material Suppliers ,
Restitution ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Supply Chain ,
Takeover Bids ,
Tax Reform ,
Tourism
Though raising projections for overall economic growth over the next 2 years, the IMF warned this week that “an uneven rollout of vaccines” threatens to add to concerns about a “K-shaped” economic recovery on a global scale. ...more
4/7/2021
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Credit Suisse ,
Data Breach ,
Data Protection ,
Economic Growth ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Facebook ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
General Motors ,
HBO ,
IMF ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Ireland ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Misappropriation ,
Movies ,
Netflix ,
Patent Infringement ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Recovery Plans ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Trade Secrets
Thursday delivered some welcome good news in the slow push for a labor market recovery. The Labor Department reported that new jobless benefits claims “fell to their lowest weekly level in the last year, a sign that the...more
3/26/2021
/ Car Accident ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Facebook ,
Ford Motor ,
Google ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Inflation Adjustments ,
Insurrection ,
Maritime Transport ,
NLRB ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shipping Cargo ,
SoftBank ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
Supply Chain ,
Tesla ,
Twitter ,
Unemployment ,
Union Organizers ,
Wrongful Termination
More on how the clogged Suez Canal is combining with “a burst of demand for consumer goods” thanks to a resurgent U.S. economy is “heaping pressure on already strained supply chains” and potentially push prices higher in...more
3/25/2021
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Big Tech ,
Coinbase ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Facebook ,
Financial Markets ,
Goods or Services ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Mobile Apps ,
Oil & Gas ,
PCAOB ,
Section 230 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Slack ,
Social Media ,
Supply Chain