As widely expected, the Fed affirmed the general strength of the US economy today by raising the benchmark interest rate again today—the 5th raise since the financial crisis....more
12/14/2017
/ Alphabet Company ,
Bitcoin ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Derivative Suit ,
Digital Currency ,
Disney ,
E-Commerce ,
EU ,
Financial Markets ,
FOMC ,
Grocery Stores ,
Interest Rates ,
Internet Retailers ,
Legislative Agendas ,
MiFID II ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Target ,
Tax Reform ,
Trade Relations ,
Trade Secrets ,
Trump Administration ,
Uber ,
UK Brexit ,
Virtual Currency
Bitcoin futures started trading yesterday for the first time prompting concerns about the volatility of the cryptocurrency that prompted several exchange outages due to 10%+ swings in its price as well as heavy website...more
12/11/2017
/ Apple ,
Bitcoin ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Currency ,
Financial Markets ,
General Electric ,
Hospital Mergers ,
Job Creation ,
Libor ,
Mobile Apps ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Stock Prices ,
Technology Sector ,
Trading Platforms ,
UK Brexit ,
Virtual Currency ,
Wells Fargo
The latest on the potential Disney move for “significant parts of 21st Century Fox,” which is nearing completion and could see Murdoch scion leaving his father and brother in order to work for Big Mouse....more
12/7/2017
/ Automotive Industry ,
Bitcoin ,
Corruption ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Data Breach ,
Digital Currency ,
Disney ,
Film Industry ,
Hackers ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
National Emissions Standards ,
Virtual Currency ,
Volkswagen ,
White Collar Crimes
Breakingviews on Broadcom’s threat to Qualcomm’s board in the form of a slate of 11 director nominees for the company it has, so far, unsuccessfully attempted to purchase....more
12/5/2017
/ Aetna ,
Apple ,
Back Taxes ,
Bitcoin ,
Broadcom ,
COPPA ,
Cryptocurrency ,
CVS ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Dollar General ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Facebook ,
Hartford Insurance Company ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Insurance Industry ,
Life Insurance ,
Mobile Apps ,
Pharmacies ,
Qualcomm ,
Richard Cordray ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Social Networks
Bitcoin surged to over $11,000 yesterday before falling 20% later in the day, prompting this look from the Journal at the widespread lure of Bitcoin mania....more
11/30/2017
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Appointments Clause ,
Bitcoin ,
Chipotle Grill ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Digital Realty Trust Inc v Somers ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Dow Jones ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
Mars ,
Nasdaq ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Senate Confirmation Hearings ,
Whistleblowers
Wells Fargo is again in federal regulators’ crosshairs. The OCC has dubbed the bank a repeat offender and is weighing a “formal enforcement action” over “improprieties in its auto-insurance and mortgage operations”....more
11/29/2017
/ Auto Insurance ,
Banking Sector ,
Bitcoin ,
Class Action ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cyan Inc v Beaver Cty Emps Ret Fund ,
Digital Currency ,
EU ,
Federal Reserve ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Manufacturers ,
MiFID II ,
Mortgages ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Social Networks ,
Supply Chain ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Wells Fargo
More trouble for Wells Fargo, this time involving its Forex operation, which an internal investigation revealed was plagued by routine overcharging of customers and other questionable practices by bankers engaged in a battle...more
11/28/2017
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Banking Sector ,
Bitcoin ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Corporate Bonuses ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corruption ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cyber Monday ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Digital Currency ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Financial Markets ,
Forex ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Unregistered Securities ,
Wells Fargo
Big news out of Uber this weekend, where the company and its board resolved outstanding issues with Travis Kalanick in order to finalize a deal in which a SoftBank-led consortium of investors will buy up about $1 billion of...more
11/13/2017
/ Alibaba ,
Apple ,
Banking Sector ,
Bitcoin ,
Children's Toys ,
China ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Digital Currency ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
E-Commerce ,
Financial Markets ,
Foreign Ownership ,
Hasbro ,
Internet Retailers ,
Mattel ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Ridesharing ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sharing Economy ,
SoftBank ,
Stocks ,
Uber ,
Virtual Currency ,
Whistleblowers ,
Wireless Technology
Lyft, armed with a fresh billion from Google’s venture investment arm (CapitalG), is looking seriously at a 2018 IPO. The CapG money raises Lyft’s valuation from $6.9 billion to more than $10 billion....more
10/20/2017
/ Automobile Recall ,
Automotive Industry ,
Barclays ,
Bitcoin ,
Business Litigation ,
Capital Raising ,
CFTC ,
China ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
E-Commerce ,
Fashion Industry ,
Financial Markets ,
Google ,
Hedge Funds ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Insider Information ,
Internet Retailers ,
Japan ,
Lord & Taylor ,
Lyft ,
Manufacturers ,
Nissan ,
Retail Market ,
Retailers ,
Safety Inspections ,
Securities Fraud ,
Sharing Economy ,
Stock Markets ,
Subscription Services ,
Token Sales ,
Trading Platforms ,
Virtual Currency ,
Wal-Mart
If Netflix is to be believed (and, you know, it is a public company), there’s a LOT more Stranger Things and House of Cards on the way...
Turns out Nelson Peltz’s failed quest for a P&G board seat was crazy close. As in,...more
10/17/2017
/ Asset-Backed Securities ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Exchange-Traded Products ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Markets ,
Google ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Internet Streaming ,
Millennials ,
Netflix ,
Nordstrom Inc. ,
Procter & Gamble ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Retail Market ,
Retailers ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Startups ,
Token Sales ,
Unicorns ,
Unregistered Securities ,
Wells Fargo
Equifax’s ex-CEO Richard Smith will be on the Hill today to address the a subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Smith is expected to report that a “widespread breakdown in security safeguards” at his former...more
10/4/2017
/ Automotive Industry ,
Banking Sector ,
Bitcoin ,
Credit Reporting Agencies ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Data Breach ,
Digital Currency ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Equifax ,
Financial Markets ,
Ford Motor ,
General Electric ,
General Motors ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Hackers ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Senate Committees ,
Tesla ,
Testimony ,
Wells Fargo
Travis is still kicking around at Uber, and he made that quite clear late last week by using his “outsize voting rights” to name two directors to the 8-member board ahead of a vote to reduce Kalanick’s voting power at the...more
10/3/2017
/ AIG ,
China ,
Class Action ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Data Breach ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Digital Currency ,
Equifax ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Forex ,
HSBC ,
Insider Trading ,
Mortgage Servicers ,
Mortgages ,
Securities Fraud ,
Sharing Economy ,
SIFIs ,
Uber
The Fed’s Open Markets Committee will wrap up meetings tomorrow, and it’s expected [markets be ready] to avoid a rate hike but reveal the beginning of a measured shrinking of the Fed’s $4.2 trillion mortgage/Treasury bond...more
9/19/2017
/ Advertising ,
Best Buy ,
Bonds ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Debt Collection ,
Defense Sector ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Digital Currency ,
Equifax ,
Federal Reserve ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Investment Adviser ,
Retailers ,
Retirement Plan ,
Sharing Economy ,
Student Loans ,
Toys R Us ,
Uber
The Times’ tech guru—Farhad Manjoo—gets all indignant regarding the Equifax breach. Namely, if Equifax can’t handle its one job of safeguarding personal info, should it really be allowed to keep going at all now?...more
9/11/2017
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Blockchain ,
China ,
Costco ,
Credit Reporting Agencies ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Data Breach ,
Digital Currency ,
Equifax ,
FinTech ,
Foreign Currency ,
Foreign Investment ,
Hurricane Irma ,
Personally Identifiable Information
Q2 saw US growth hit the 3% mark for the first time in two years, besting last quarter’s lackluster showing by almost 2%. The report helped boost stocks across the board....more
8/31/2017
/ Arbitration ,
Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Bitcoin ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Economic Development ,
Employee Benefits ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Equal Pay Act ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Investment Management ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Parental Leave ,
Sharing Economy ,
Title VII ,
Uber ,
Virtual Currency ,
Wage and Hour
Mr. Buffett’s decided to sell his massive 10.6 million share stake in General Electric, withdrawing from the company to which he lent roughly $3 billion to help see it through the 2008 financial crisis....more
8/15/2017
/ Banking Sector ,
Bitcoin ,
Blue Apron ,
Corporate Culture ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Forex ,
General Electric ,
Market Manipulation ,
Pandora ,
Warren Buffett ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Whole Foods
Somehow, despite months of high-profile sideshows, the business of Uber must go on, and right now that means a tough call for the board. It’s currently considering three investment offers, including one from SoftBank, to buy...more
8/14/2017
/ Bank Fraud ,
Banking Sector ,
Bitcoin ,
BSA/AML ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Disney ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Netflix ,
RegTech ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
SoftBank ,
Uber ,
Volcker Rule
Wells Fargo has reportedly uncovered another trove of unauthorized accounts, according to a regulatory filing on Friday. The bank also disclosed a CFPB investigation over potential harm to customers over its practice of...more
8/7/2017
/ Apple ,
Arbitration ,
Bitcoin ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Cross-Selling ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Diversity ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Gender Equity ,
Google ,
Information Technology ,
Job Creation ,
Navient ,
Nike ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Student Loans ,
Technology Sector ,
Unemployment ,
Virtual Currency ,
Wall Street ,
Wells Fargo
A government audit report out yesterday accuses the US Dep’t of Housing and Urban Development of selling more than 100k distressed mortgages over a 7 year period to PE firms and hedge funds without following the proper rules...more
7/26/2017
/ Arbitration ,
Bailout ,
Banking Sector ,
Bitcoin ,
Capital Controls ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Consumer Contracts ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Distressed Assets ,
Fashion Industry ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Greece ,
Housing Market ,
HUD ,
Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) ,
Jimmy Choo ,
Mortgages ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
SoftBank ,
Stock Sale Agreements ,
Uber
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
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
There’s been a hitch in Saudi Aramco’s IPO plans (mind-boggling $2 trillion possible valuation and all): where to list. The frontrunners, by the way, are the London Stock Exchange and the NYSE....more
6/15/2017
/ Anbang ,
Bonds ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Consumer Bankruptcy ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Fashion Industry ,
Federal Reserve ,
Federal Sentencing Guidelines ,
Financial Institutions ,
Inflation Adjustments ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
J Crew ,
London Stock Exchange ,
Mortgages ,
Retailers ,
Saudi Arabia ,
Wells Fargo
The SEC hasn’t had much luck with its attempts so far to hold MBS traders responsible for allegedly lying to customers about MBS prices. Yet on the Monday’s charges against ex-Nomura traders suggests that the agency’s not...more
5/18/2017
/ Capital Raising ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Debt Market ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Global Economy ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Japan ,
Misleading Statements ,
Ransomware ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Snapchat ,
Social Media
The Times went all in on Twinkies this weekend, with a look at how they came to be and how their comeback recently helped private equity execs laugh their way to the bank....more
12/12/2016
/ Banks ,
Blockchain ,
Cross-Selling ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Food Manufacturers ,
France ,
Goldman Sachs ,
IMF ,
Insurance Industry ,
Negligence ,
Oil & Gas ,
OPEC ,
PepsiCo ,
Private Equity ,
Prudential Insurance ,
Twitter ,
Virtual Currency ,
Wells Fargo
A federal judge in Idaho has dismissed a $24 billion lawsuit against Credit Suisse alleging that the bank and real estate adviser Cushman & Wakefield ran a “predatory loan-to-own scheme that . . . loaded four luxury ski and...more
7/29/2016
/ Amazon ,
Banks ,
Bitcoin ,
Credit Suisse ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Derivatives ,
E-Commerce ,
EU ,
Financial Institutions ,
General Electric ,
Google ,
Industry Examinations ,
Olympics ,
Oracle ,
Predatory Lending ,
Quarterly Report ,
Real Estate Market ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Terrorism Funding ,
UK ,
UK Brexit