A mix of surging Covid cases, the renewed restrictions and shutdowns they’ve prompted, and the unlikelihood of more virus stimulus any time soon sent stocks sharply down to start the week, with the S&P 500 charting its...more
10/27/2020
/ AIG ,
Cloud Computing ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Facebook ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Gaming ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Libor ,
Life Insurance ,
Microchip Technology ,
Mobile Payments ,
Retailers ,
Retaliation ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Stock Prices ,
Valuation ,
Wells Fargo
A California appeals court has affirmed a lower court decision requiring Uber and Lyft to “treat their California drivers as employees, providing them with the benefits and wages they are entitled to under state labor law.”...more
10/23/2020
/ 1MDB ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Anticompetitive Behavior ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Bayer ,
Bitcoin ,
Bonuses ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Clawbacks ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Executive Compensation ,
Facebook ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Gig Economy ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Google ,
Independent Contractors ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Infrastructure ,
Lyft ,
Misclassification ,
Monopolization ,
Opioid ,
PayPal ,
Popular ,
Retail Market ,
Ridesharing ,
Right to Vote ,
Uber ,
Unemployment ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wal-Mart
The Google antitrust waiting game wrapped on Tuesday with the DOJ filing a federal D.C.-based lawsuit against the Alphabet unit, accusing the company “of using several exclusive business contacts and agreements to lock out...more
10/21/2020
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Apple ,
Bribery ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Exclusive Dealing Agreements ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Google ,
Guilty Pleas ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Mobile Apps ,
Oil & Gas ,
Popular ,
Relief Measures ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Trump Administration ,
Unregistered Securities
ConocoPhillips is doubling down on its commitment to the Midland basin by buying Concho Resources Inc. in “an all-stock transaction valued at $9.7 billion,” even “as the American shale-drilling industry is facing a downturn...more
10/19/2020
/ 5G Network ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Apple ,
British Airways ,
China ,
ConocoPhillips ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Data Breach ,
Deficit Reduction ,
E-Commerce ,
Export Controls ,
Financial Markets ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
iPhone ,
National Security ,
Oil & Gas ,
Oracle ,
PACs ,
Political Campaigns ,
Popular ,
Recovery Plans ,
Social Networks ,
SoftBank ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
Stock Prices ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration ,
UK
New Disney CEO Bob Chapek made one of his biggest moves yet since taking the reins, announcing a realignment “of its business divisions on Monday that placed the focus squarely on Disney+ and its other streaming services as...more
10/14/2020
/ AirBnB ,
Amazon ,
Apple ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disney ,
E-Commerce ,
Economic Downturn ,
Farms ,
Federal Aid ,
Financial Distress ,
Financial Markets ,
Holidays ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Internet Streaming ,
Movies ,
Presidential Elections ,
SoftBank ,
Stock Prices ,
Target Company ,
Trade Wars ,
Trump Administration ,
Wal-Mart
Big Friday win for Apple in its ongoing battle with Epic Games, as N.D. Cal. Federal Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled that Cook & Co. didn’t “need to reinstate the popular video game Fortnite in its App Store,” a blow to...more
10/12/2020
/ App Store ,
Apple ,
Bonds ,
British Airways ,
CEOs ,
Competition ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Economic Downturn ,
Electronic Trading ,
EPIC ,
EU ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Fraud ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Investment ,
Layoffs ,
Main Street Lending Programs ,
Mobile Apps ,
Netflix ,
Payment Systems ,
Popular ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Retailers ,
Robinhood Financial ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Small Business ,
Venmo
Yesterday’s jobless numbers were down a bit from a week earlier but still topped 800,000 for the 4th week in a row. “Claims remain above the pre-pandemic peak of 695,000 and are higher than in any previous recession for...more
10/9/2020
/ 1MDB ,
AT&T ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Downturn ,
Federal Bans ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Google ,
Infectious Diseases ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Layoffs ,
Lobbying ,
Malaysia ,
National Security ,
NLRB ,
Political Campaigns ,
Recovery Plans ,
Relief Measures ,
Restructuring ,
Sovereign Wealth Funds ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration ,
Unemployment ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Unions ,
Warner Brothers Entertainment ,
White Collar Crimes
Here’s a fun little exercise. Pull up a chart of Tuesday's market activity, and see if you can pinpoint the exact moment the White House announced to the world that it was pulling support for another Covid stimulus bill...more
10/8/2020
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Apple ,
Banks ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
EU ,
Facebook ,
Financial Stimulus ,
General Electric ,
Google ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Monopolization ,
Relief Measures ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Trade Deficit ,
Trump Administration ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Wells Notice
The SEC has sued “cybersecurity pioneer John McAfee” for “promoting the sale of cryptocurrencies without disclosing that he was being paid to do so.” McAfee allegedly recommended “at least seven initial coin offerings to his...more
10/6/2020
/ Breach of Contract ,
Celebrity Endorsements ,
China ,
Cisco ,
Coal Industry ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Economic Downturn ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Markets ,
FinTech ,
Foreign Policy ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
NBC ,
Patent Infringement ,
Recovery Plans ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stock Prices ,
Tax Evasion ,
Trump Administration ,
Unemployment ,
US Trade Policies ,
Warner Brothers Entertainment ,
Wildfires
Along with the topline numbers (661,000 jobs added in September and unemployment rate declined to 7.9%), Friday’s U.S Jobs Report delivered the rough news that 2.4 million Americans have now been out of work for 27 weeks or...more
10/5/2020
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Credit Suisse ,
Facebook ,
Federal Bans ,
Financial Markets ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Mobile Apps ,
Recessions ,
Tesla ,
TikTok ,
Trade Policy ,
Trump Administration ,
Unemployment ,
USTR ,
Vietnam
Markets globally and U.S. futures are down as investors digest the news out of D.C. overnight...
Jobs Report Friday again. Here’s what we’re watching for in the numbers....more
10/2/2020
/ Airlines ,
Banks ,
CARES Act ,
CMBS ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Donald Trump ,
Economic Downturn ,
Financial Crisis ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Foreign Workers ,
General Motors ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Layoffs ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Money Laundering ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Public Health ,
Ransomware ,
Relief Measures ,
Stock Prices ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Unemployment ,
Visas
Palantir’s direct listing experiment generally went well yesterday, with the company’s shares beginning trading up nearly 40% from the $7.25 reference price set Tuesday evening. Fellow direct lister Asana also had a good...more
10/2/2020
/ Allstate ,
American Airlines ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Banks ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Dividends ,
Donald Trump ,
Economic Downturn ,
EU ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Hewlett-Packard ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Joe Biden ,
Layoffs ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Political Campaigns ,
Political Candidates ,
Political Debates ,
Ransomware ,
Relief Measures ,
Secretary of the Treasury ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Share Buybacks ,
Small Business ,
Stock Prices ,
Tokyo Stock Exchange ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Unemployment ,
United Airlines
Under the terms of a deal with the DOJ announced this week, JPMorgan will pay $920 million and sign on to a deferred prosecution agreement “to resolve charges that it had manipulated markets for U.S. government bonds and...more
9/30/2020
/ Airbus ,
Boeing ,
Chevron ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
ConocoPhillips ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Disney ,
Duke Energy ,
E-Commerce ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Exports ,
Financial Markets ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Layoffs ,
Lyft ,
NYSE ,
Oil & Gas ,
Retail Market ,
Royal Dutch Petroleum ,
Seasonal Workers ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Spoofing ,
State Labor Laws ,
Target ,
Tariffs ,
Uber ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wal-Mart ,
WTO
House leaders are out with a new Covid stimulus effort—slimmed down from earlier packages but, at $2.2 trillion, a sizeable proposal that they say “is needed to support American households and businesses still experiencing...more
9/29/2020
/ Airlines ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Android ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
App Store ,
Apple ,
Audi ,
CEOs ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Diversity ,
EPIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Furloughs ,
Germany ,
Google ,
Google Play Store ,
Insider Trading ,
Mobile Apps ,
National Emissions Standards ,
Relief Measures ,
Search Engines ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
United Airlines ,
US Trade Policies
New U.S. unemployment claims rose last week according to data released on Thursday, the latest sign that America’s recovery from the pandemic-induced recession is slowing—a “particularly worrisome” trend as cold-state...more
9/25/2020
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
BMW ,
Bonds ,
Capital Raising ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Data Mining ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Economic Downturn ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Stimulus ,
FinCEN ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Layoffs ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Money Laundering ,
Recessions ,
Retail Sales ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Special Purpose Entities ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration ,
Unemployment ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
White Collar Crimes
JPMorgan is preparing to finalize a deal with federal prosecutors and regulators in which the bank would pay nearly $1 billion to “settle civil and criminal charges that its traders rigged futures and securities markets”...more
9/24/2020
/ App Store ,
Apple ,
Big Data ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
E-Commerce ,
Electric Vehicles ,
EPIC ,
Facebook ,
Financial Markets ,
Food Supply ,
Futures ,
Global Warming ,
Google ,
Infectious Diseases ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Mars ,
Mobile Apps ,
Oracle ,
Race Discrimination ,
Race Relations ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations ,
Spoofing ,
Spotify ,
Stock Prices ,
TikTok ,
Tinder ,
Trump Administration ,
Twitter ,
Wal-Mart ,
Wall Street ,
Wells Fargo
The latest from Fed Chair Powell and Treasury Secretary Mnuchin’s first of several days on the Hill, including their take that the economy is improving but that continued fiscal support—from the Fed and from Congress—was...more
9/23/2020
/ Accounting Fraud ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
China ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Competition ,
Congressional Investigations & Hearings ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
E-Commerce ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Employee Definition ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Gig Economy ,
Google ,
Independent Contractors ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Layoffs ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Mobile Devices ,
Ralph Lauren ,
Retailers ,
Supply and Demand ,
Tesla ,
Trump Administration
The White House has given its crucial imprimatur to a deal for Oracle (and Walmart) to take a stake in Chinese video app TikTok, “an agreement that will delay the U.S. government’s threat to block the popular app in the...more
9/21/2020
/ BSA/AML ,
Business Continuity Plans ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Data Collection ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Electric Vehicles ,
EU ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Markets ,
Fraud ,
Infectious Diseases ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Mobile Apps ,
Money Laundering ,
Mortgages ,
National Security ,
Oracle ,
Remote Learning ,
Social Media ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration ,
Wal-Mart
The Fed sought to reassure markets for the foreseeable future on Wednesday by announcing that it plans to hold rates at their near-zero mark until into 2023 as it tries to “coax the economy back to full strength after the...more
9/17/2020
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Data Storage ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
FOMC ,
Golf ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Main Street Lending Programs ,
Oracle ,
Retail Sales ,
Spoofing ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration ,
Unemployment ,
Unemployment Benefits
A World Trade Organization panel on Tuesday declared that the U.S.’s 2018 tariffs on China “violated international trade rules,” siding with China and its allegations that the White House’s trade war broke, among other...more
9/16/2020
/ Aluminum Sales ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Apple ,
Canada ,
China ,
CMBS ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Facebook ,
Federal Reserve ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FOMC ,
Heinz ,
Hotels ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Itt Educational Services ,
Kraft ,
Main Street Lending Programs ,
Mark Zuckerberg ,
Movie Theaters ,
Movies ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Private Student Loans ,
Retaliatory Tariffs ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
US Trade Policies ,
WTO
If not immune to surprise at this point in 2020, that might be the appropriate feeling at the apparent emergence of late-stage suitor Oracle as the winner of the TikTok sweepstakes. Though terms between ByteDance and Oracle...more
9/15/2020
/ Antitrust Violations ,
Biotechnology ,
Cancer ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Freelance Workers ,
General Motors ,
Gilead Sciences ,
Google ,
Infectious Diseases ,
National Emissions Standards ,
Natural Gas ,
NVIDIA ,
Oil & Gas ,
Oracle ,
Popular ,
Rare Earth Metals ,
Securities Fraud ,
Social Media ,
SoftBank ,
Spoofing ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Woman Board Members
Citigroup has chosen it President, Jane Fraser, to replace CEO Michael Corbat when he retires in February 2021. Fraser will become “the first woman to lead a major financial institution in the United States.” She’s been with...more
9/11/2020
/ CARES Act ,
Citigroup ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Economic Downturn ,
Economic Stimulus ,
European Central Bank ,
Eurozone ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
Fraud and Abuse ,
Infectious Diseases ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Mining ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Relief Measures ,
Remote Learning ,
Retailers ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
TikTok ,
Unemployment ,
Wildfires ,
Woman Board Members
Blaming a “U.S. move to impose tariffs on French goods,” luxury brand conglomerate LMVH is pulling out of a proposed $16 billion deal to buy jeweler Tiffany & Co. Tiffany is now suing to enforce the ill-fated agreement....more
9/9/2020
/ Activist Investors ,
Aircraft ,
Apple ,
Boeing ,
Breach of Contract ,
CARES Act ,
CFTC ,
Climate Change ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Electric Vehicles ,
EPIC ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Form 13F ,
France ,
General Motors ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Interest Rates ,
iPhone ,
Joint Employers ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Luxury Goods ,
Nasdaq ,
Popular ,
Retail Market ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Startups ,
Tariffs ,
Tiffany and Company ,
Trade Relations ,
Trade Wars ,
Trump Administration ,
UK Brexit
Last Friday’s US Jobs Report saw unemployment fall to 8.4%, but the end of federal aid programs and a solid-but-not-gangbusters 1.4 million jobs gained in August leads many to fear a much worse employment picture ahead....more
9/9/2020
/ App Store ,
Apple ,
Big Tech ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Dominos ,
Employee Benefits ,
EPIC ,
Financial Markets ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Job Creation ,
Mobile Apps ,
Robotics ,
SoftBank ,
Stock Prices ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration ,
UK Brexit ,
Unemployment
New figures from the Congressional Budget Office predict that U.S. government debt will, thanks to the pandemic recession, just about eclipse the size of the nation’s GDP—a level not reached since just after World War II....more
9/3/2020
/ Algorithms ,
Amtrak ,
Australia ,
Cloud Computing ,
Congressional Budget Office ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Deficit Reduction ,
Dow Jones ,
Failure To Disclose ,
Financial Markets ,
Furloughs ,
GDP ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Infrastructure ,
Layoffs ,
Nasdaq ,
Oracle ,
Railroads ,
Recessions ,
Retailers ,
S&P ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
SoftBank ,
Trading Platforms ,
Unemployment ,
United Airlines