Mega rail news to start our week, as Canadian Pacific will joined forces with Kansas City Southern in a $25 billion deal, “creating the first railroad to traverse Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.” Industry watchers suggest that...more
3/22/2021
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Violations ,
AstraZeneca ,
Capital Requirements ,
CFTC ,
Coinbase ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Data Collection ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
E-Commerce ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
Tesla ,
Turkey ,
Vaccinations ,
Visa Inc ,
Volkswagen
The latest and greatest from Fed Chair Powell as the Fed’s March Open Markets Committee meeting wrapped yesterday, including a markets-pleasing assurance that better-than-expected economic growth wasn’t enough to push the...more
3/18/2021
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Aircraft ,
Biden Administration ,
Boeing ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disney ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
Federal Reserve ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
GameStop ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Interest Rates ,
IRS ,
Retail Investors ,
Stock Trades ,
Supply Chain ,
Tax Returns
Purdue Pharma has outlined its own plan to remove Sackler family control and restructure the pharmaceutical giant on the other side of bankruptcy—a 300-page effort that amounts to the company’s “formal bid to end thousands of...more
3/16/2021
/ Alibaba ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Restructuring ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Google ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Investment ,
Opioid ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Purdue Pharma ,
Radio Stations ,
Real Estate Transactions ,
Share Price ,
Unemployment ,
Volkswagen
Six-hundred million in its latest funding round means that payments company Stripe’s valuation now tops $95 billion, “making it the most valuable start-up in the United States”....more
3/15/2021
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Biden Administration ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Credit Suisse ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
E-Commerce ,
Economic Downturn ,
Federal Funding ,
Foreign Policy ,
Google ,
Imports ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Microsoft ,
Mobile Apps ,
Retail Market ,
Shopify ,
Startups ,
Tax Evasion ,
Telecommunications ,
Theranos ,
Tribal Governments ,
Whistleblowers
Thursday’s weekly unemployment report managed to pull double duty—marking another decrease in the still-high figures (roughly 709k new jobless claims last week, about 47k fewer than the week before) that suggests some cause...more
3/12/2021
/ 5G Network ,
Bonds ,
Border Security ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
E-Commerce ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Elon Musk ,
European Central Bank ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Innovative Technology ,
Offshore Funds ,
South Korea ,
Tax Evasion ,
Tesla ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Unemployment ,
Verizon
With Wednesday’s passage in the House, the $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill is heading to President Biden’s desk for an anticipated Friday signature, “cementing one of the largest injections of federal aid since the Great...more
3/11/2021
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Biden Administration ,
BuzzFeed ,
Capital Markets ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Dow Jones ,
Facebook ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Stimulus ,
General Electric ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Interest Rates ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Relief Measures ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stock Prices
Recently troubled SoftBank-backed financing firm Greensill Capital has filed for bankruptcy protection in Britain, just weeks after its insurer “refused . . . to renew its coverage for the company’s loans” ...more
3/9/2021
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
Financial Crisis ,
Financial Markets ,
FinTech ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Social Media ,
Twitter ,
UK
The Senate passed its version of President Biden’s $1.9 trillion Covid stimulus bill this weekend “after a grueling 27-hour session” that featured “the longest vote in modern Senate history.” ...more
3/8/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Cybersecurity ,
Drones ,
E-Commerce ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Gas Prices ,
General Electric ,
Hackers ,
Indictments ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Job Creation ,
Microsoft ,
Money Laundering ,
Oil & Gas ,
Relief Measures ,
Shipping Cargo ,
Unemployment ,
Wall Street ,
White Collar Crimes
Jobs Report Friday again! Here’s what we’re looking for in the February numbers, which are expected to be relatively modest...more
3/5/2021
/ Bonds ,
Capital Investments ,
China ,
Congressional Budget Office ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Google ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Infrastructure ,
Minimum Wage ,
Oil & Gas ,
Online Advertisements ,
Price Gouging ,
Severe Weather ,
Unemployment ,
Wage and Hour
In a move we hinted at here recently, drug giant Merck is partnering with rival Johnson & Johnson to help produce production of J&J’s single-shot coronavirus vaccine. This unprecedented “Coke & Pepsi of the pharma world”...more
3/3/2021
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Biden Administration ,
Chapter 11 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Confirmation Proceedings ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cryptocurrency ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Hertz ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Intel ,
Johnson & Johnson ,
Labor Relations ,
Market Volatility ,
Merck ,
Patent Infringement ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Tax Evasion ,
Unions ,
Vaccinations
In the wake of McKinsey’s $600 million settlement with states over sales advice it had given drugmakers on opioids, partners at the consulting powerhouse have voted out the firm’s top executive, Kevin Sneader. ...more
2/25/2021
/ CBS ,
Child Care ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Services Industry ,
GameStop ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Internet Streaming ,
Market Manipulation ,
Market Volatility ,
Opioid ,
SoftBank ,
Stock Prices ,
Unemployment ,
USPS ,
Viacom
Boeing needs another aircraft problem like a hole in the head, but that’s just what it got after a right-engine explosion on one of its 777-200 models that had just left Denver en route to Hawaii. ...more
2/23/2021
/ Aircraft Equipment ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Bias ,
Biden Administration ,
Boeing ,
CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Disney ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Elon Musk ,
Financial Markets ,
GameStop ,
Google ,
IBM ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Job Creation ,
Market Manipulation ,
OMB ,
Opioid ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Product Defects ,
Reddit ,
Senate Confirmation Hearings ,
Tesla ,
United Airlines
NY AG Letitia James is suing Amazon, accusing the online retail giant “of not doing enough to protect workers in the state from the coronavirus” and calling its response to the pandemic “deficient.” ...more
2/17/2021
/ Accounting Fraud ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Big Tech ,
Bitcoin ,
Bonds ,
Business Interruption ,
Capital Markets ,
Citibank ,
CMBS ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disney ,
E-Commerce ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Newspapers ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Severe Weather ,
USAA ,
Wells Fargo ,
Whistleblowers ,
Wire Fraud ,
Workplace Safety
After more than half a year without a leader, the WTO is poised to welcome its “first woman and first African” to the role in the form of Nigerian economist and former finance minister Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. ...more
2/16/2021
/ American Express ,
Apple ,
Biden Administration ,
Big Tech ,
Bristol-Myers Squibb ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Credit Cards ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Downturn ,
Facebook ,
Federal Reserve ,
Fraudulent Marketing ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Google ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Infrastructure ,
Interest Rates ,
Investment Portfolios ,
Nissan ,
OCC ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Recovery Plans ,
Robinhood Financial ,
Sanofi ,
Severe Weather ,
Small Business ,
Tesla ,
White Collar Crimes ,
WTO
In a much-anticipated [well, for some of us central bank nerds, at least] to the Economic Club of NY, Fed Chair Powell on Wednesday acknowledged that pent-up consumer demand unlocked by a big government stimulus package could...more
2/11/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Business Losses ,
China ,
Citigroup ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corruption ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Dating Services ,
Federal Reserve ,
Fidelity Investments ,
Financial Markets ,
GameStop ,
General Motors ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Investment ,
Job Creation ,
Manufacturers ,
Merck ,
Robinhood Financial ,
Uber ,
Unemployment ,
Vaccinations ,
Vanguard
After months of drama that we dutifully catalogued right here, the U.S. plan to “force the sale of TikTok’s American operations” to Oracle and Walmart “has been shelved indefinitely.” The forced sale has “languished since...more
2/10/2021
/ Abuse of Discretion ,
Arbitrary and Capricious ,
Biden Administration ,
China ,
Commercial Leases ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Branding ,
Eli Lilly ,
FCC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Huawei ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Interest Rates ,
Main Street Lending Programs ,
Mobile Apps ,
National Security ,
Oracle ,
Poverty ,
Race Relations ,
Relief Measures ,
Salesforce ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Social Media ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
TikTok ,
Wal-Mart ,
Workplace Romances
Friday’s “anemic” jobs report (just 49,000 jobs added in January, and precious few of those in the private sector) “underscored the pandemic’s brutal damage to the job market” and likely made President Biden’s sale of his...more
2/8/2021
/ Alphabet Company ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Apple ,
Biden Administration ,
Boeing ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Defamation ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
DTCC ,
Elon Musk ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Ford Motor ,
General Electric ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Legislative Agendas ,
National Emissions Standards ,
Popular ,
SoftBank ,
Stock Trades ,
Super Bowl ,
Twitter ,
Unemployment
With Vice President Harris acting as the tiebreaker (and following a 15-hour amendment vote-a-rama), the Senate voted on Thursday to move forward with the White House’s $1.9 trillion Covid relief measure....more
2/5/2021
/ Bank of England ,
Biden Administration ,
Chobani Inc ,
CNN ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Credit Suisse ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Dams ,
Dow Jones ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Financial Fraud ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Ford Motor ,
GameStop ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Internet Memes ,
Janet Yellen ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Microchip Technology ,
Mining ,
Nasdaq ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Reddit ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Relief Measures ,
Resignation ,
S&P ,
Stock Prices ,
Super Bowl ,
Unemployment
Seismic news out of Seattle yesterday, with Amazon founder and CEO informing employees that he’s stepping out of the top spot at the e-commerce giant this summer after a nearly 30-year run and transitioning “into the role of...more
2/3/2021
/ Aluminum Sales ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Automobile Recall ,
Biden Administration ,
CEOs ,
Chrysler ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fiat ,
Financial Markets ,
Fuel Efficiency ,
GameStop ,
Google ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Hormel ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Jeff Bezos ,
Kraft ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Relief Measures ,
Robinhood Financial ,
Stock Trades ,
Tariffs ,
Tesla ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Toyota ,
Uber ,
United Arab Emirates (UAE)
New CBO projections suggest that even without additional Congressional aid, the “American economy will return to its pre-pandemic size by the middle of this year.” While encouraging, the report offers cold comfort for the...more
2/2/2021
/ Apple ,
Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Economic Downturn ,
Economic Growth ,
Facebook ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Ford Motor ,
GameStop ,
GME ,
Google ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Mobile Apps ,
Recovery Plans ,
Reddit ,
Relief Measures ,
Robinhood Financial
General Motors announced on Thursday its ambitious plans to “phase out petroleum-powered cars and trucks and sell only vehicles that have zero tailpipe emissions by 2035, a seismic shift by one of the world’s largest...more
1/29/2021
/ American Airlines ,
Automotive Industry ,
Bitcoin ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
European Central Bank ,
Eurozone ,
Financial Markets ,
GameStop ,
GDP ,
General Motors ,
Huawei ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Motor Vehicles ,
Real Estate Investments ,
Robinhood Financial ,
Southwest Airlines ,
Stock Trades ,
Wall Street
U.S. drug giant Merck is shuttering its coronavirus vaccine development “after early trial data showed [its pair of vaccines] failed to generate immune responses comparable to natural infection or existing vaccines.” ...more
1/25/2021
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Bank of America ,
Biden Administration ,
Citibank ,
Clinical Trials ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Deutsche Bank ,
DuPont ,
Federal Reserve ,
FOMC ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Internet Streaming ,
Janet Yellen ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Layoffs ,
Merck ,
NBC ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Postmates ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
Vaccinations
Fiat Chrysler and France’s PSA Group completed their mega-auto-merger first agreed-to in late 2019, “creating Stellantis NV, a global auto-making giant that executives say will have the heft needed to compete in the...more
1/19/2021
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
AMG Capital Management LLC v FTC ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Biden Administration ,
Boeing ,
Bribery ,
BSA/AML ,
Capital One ,
Chrysler ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disgorgement ,
DoorDash ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fiat ,
Financial Crimes ,
FinCEN ,
GrubHub ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Janet Yellen ,
Postmates ,
Relief Measures ,
Samsung ,
Senate Confirmation Hearings ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
Twitter ,
White Collar Crimes
A big jump in unemployment claims, as reported yesterday, confirmed fears that a “resurgent pandemic” is challenging U.S.’s economic recovery. Some 1.15 million workers filed initial claims for state unemployment benefits...more
1/15/2021
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Biden Administration ,
CARES Act ,
Cisco ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Federal Reserve ,
Fitbit ,
General Electric ,
Google ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Misappropriation ,
Oil & Gas ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Siemens ,
TikTok ,
Trade Secrets ,
Unemployment
Version 3.0 of the PPP kicked off yesterday, with community lenders leading the way by focusing on “underserved borrowers—including women-led businesses and those run by Black, Latino and Asian owners and other minorities” in...more
1/12/2021
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Biotechnology ,
Bitcoin ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Denial of Certiorari ,
Economic Aid Act ,
Financial Markets ,
FinTech ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Life Sciences ,
London Stock Exchange ,
Meat Processing Plants ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Political Contributions ,
Poultry ,
Price-Fixing ,
Relief Measures ,
SBA Lending Programs ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stock Prices ,
Wal-Mart