A lot of the furor over Elon Musk’s recent “going private” tweets has centered on whether he actually had the financial backing needed to pull it off. The Times sets aside that initial inquiry to explore the why and how,...more
8/24/2018
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Administrative Proceedings ,
Bribery ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Elon Musk ,
Embezzlement ,
Emerging Markets ,
Fannie Mae ,
FHFA ,
Financial Markets ,
Freddie Mac ,
Going-Private Transactions ,
Housing Market ,
Liquidation ,
Lucia v SEC ,
Microsoft ,
Mortgages ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Senate Confirmation Hearings ,
Software ,
Tesla ,
Toys R Us ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
White Collar Crimes
Walmart’s broader foray into the grocery biz—letting customers order online and pick up in person and expanding home delivery—is paying dividends for the retailer and helping push its revenue up 3.8% from this period a year...more
8/17/2018
/ Advertising ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Cable Television Providers ,
China ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Deutsche Bank ,
DirectTV ,
Elon Musk ,
Facebook ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Grocery Stores ,
Investment Fraud ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
MetLife ,
Misleading Impressions ,
Mortgage Loan Originators ,
Opioid ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
REIT ,
RMBS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Social Media ,
State Street ,
Stock Prices ,
Tesla ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
Wal-Mart
The rise of tariffs as a trade weapon has put the WTO in a very difficult position as “chief judge in an intense fight among its most powerful members”....more
8/15/2018
/ Alibaba ,
China ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Elon Musk ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Exports ,
Financial Crisis ,
Global Market ,
Grocery Stores ,
Imports ,
Investment Firms ,
Investment Fraud ,
Kroger ,
Municipal Bonds ,
RMBS ,
Royal Bank of Scotland ,
Sears ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Traders ,
Settlement ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Tesla ,
Trade Relations ,
Trade Retaliation ,
Trump Administration ,
Turkey ,
Uber ,
US Trade Policies ,
WTO
On Wednesday, Wells Fargo revealed that it reached a settlement with the DOJ after months of negotiating that will see the bank pay $2.09 billion to resolve allegations over its sales of toxic mortgage-backed securities in...more
8/2/2018
/ CFTC ,
China ,
CIGNA ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Financial Markets ,
FOMC ,
Ford Motor ,
RICO ,
RMBS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stock Options ,
Stock Prices ,
Tariffs ,
Tesla ,
Trade Policy ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
Valeant ,
Wells Fargo
The US government is officially greenlighting fintech, with both the OCC and the Treasury Department issuing statements yesterday in support of the “emerging corner of the financial sector.” For the OCC, that means welcoming...more
8/1/2018
/ China ,
Coal Industry ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EU ,
Extradition ,
Financial Crisis ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Forex ,
Greece ,
High Frequency Trading ,
HSBC ,
IMF ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Kickbacks ,
Market Manipulation ,
NYSE ,
Securities Traders ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
UK Supreme Court ,
US Trade Policies
Facebook’s disappointing Q2 earnings (and, presumably, some pent-up scandal-fueled anti-‘Book sentiment) sent its stock into freefall yesterday, erasing more than $120 billion from the company’s market value as shares dove...more
7/27/2018
/ Advertising ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Bank of America ,
Barclays ,
Bitcoin ,
Chipotle Grill ,
Commodities ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Earnings Reports ,
Enforcement Actions ,
ETFs ,
EU ,
Facebook ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
Financial Markets ,
Franchises ,
Multidistrict Litigation ,
Nasdaq ,
Price-Fixing ,
Qualcomm ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sinclair Broadcast Group ,
Stock Prices ,
Tariffs ,
Television Programming ,
Trade Relations ,
US Trade Policies
The DOJ has given Disney its official nod in its $71 billion bid for the entertainment assets of 21st Century Fox, contingent on Disney’s divestiture of Fox’s 22 regional sports networks (a condition all about Disney’s ESPN...more
6/28/2018
/ 21st Century Fox ,
Apple v Samsung ,
Blockchain ,
Countrywide ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disney ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Fundraisers ,
Janus v AFSCME ,
Lyft ,
Morgan Stanley ,
Mortgages ,
NY Supreme Court ,
Patent Infringement ,
SCOTUS ,
Securitization ,
Smartphones ,
Steel Industry ,
Stress Tests ,
Tariffs ,
Twentieth Century Fox
In what can only be described as a Lazarus-like return, the Ex-Im Bank is reportedly nearly back on its feet again. The White House has chosen Kimberly Reed to helm the agency after prior nominee Scott Garrett was rejected by...more
6/15/2018
/ AT&T ,
Barclays ,
CFTC ,
China ,
Citibank ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Currency ,
Ether ,
Forex ,
Imports ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
RBS ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
SoftBank ,
Stays ,
Student Loans ,
Tariffs ,
Trump Administration ,
UBS ,
UK Brexit ,
US Trade Policies ,
Virtual Currency
The DOJ vs. the AT&T/Time Warner deal. The much-anticipated ruling’s finally in, and . . . the merger’s a go. Repeat, the merger’s a go....more
6/13/2018
/ AT&T ,
Automotive Industry ,
Bitcoin ,
Comcast ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Homeless Issues ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Investment Fraud ,
Johnson & Johnson ,
Low Income Housing ,
Martin Act ,
Merrill Lynch ,
Price Manipulation ,
RMBS ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Tesla ,
Time Warner
We’ve begun exploring here the impact that the White House’s Iran deal pullout (and subsequent threat to impose sanctions on Iran’s trading partners) will have on particular EU-based companies (right, Peugeot)? Now we’ve...more
6/7/2018
/ Activist Investors ,
Agricultural Sector ,
Allergan Inc ,
Automotive Loans ,
Cargill ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Credit Suisse ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Director Mulvaney ,
EU ,
Farms ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Payday Loans ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Tariffs ,
Title Loans ,
Trade Relations ,
US Trade Policies ,
Warren Buffett
Deutsche Bank—in keeping with its post-Cryan plans to shrink its US footprint—has been considering plans “in recent weeks to eliminate close to 10,000 jobs.” [It’s now looking like 7,000.]
...more
5/24/2018
/ Automotive Industry ,
Bitcoin ,
CFTC ,
Chipotle Grill ,
Comcast ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Digital Currency ,
Imports ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Lay-Offs ,
Lowe's ,
Market Manipulation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Spoofing ,
Tariffs ,
Trump Administration ,
Unemployment
Meet ZTE (well, meet them again. We’ve discussed them before), the massive Chinese electronics maker banned last month by the White House from using US-made components that could well be the “first casualty of the high-tech...more
5/10/2018
/ Argentina ,
Aviation Industry ,
BlackRock ,
Boeing ,
China ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
FinTech ,
Hedge Funds ,
IMF ,
Investment Products ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Nike ,
RBS ,
RMBS ,
Securities Fraud ,
SoftBank ,
Startups ,
Technology Sector ,
Tesla ,
Variable Annuities ,
Wire Fraud ,
ZTE
Not an ideal report on the state of affairs for Zelle, the big banks’ payment-platform answer to Venmo. The Times reports that the “same features that make Zelle so useful for customers, its speed and ubiquity, have made it...more
4/23/2018
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
AT&T ,
Automotive Loans ,
Bond Markets ,
China ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Government Investigations ,
Imports ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Know Your Customers ,
Money Services Business ,
Music Streaming ,
OCC ,
Recessions ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Tariffs ,
Telecommunications ,
Unemployment ,
US Trade Policies ,
Verizon ,
Wells Fargo ,
Wireless Industry
The US and South Korea have announced a deal to renegotiate their trade pact, with “South agreeing to reduce its steel exports and open its market to American cares” in exchange for an exemption from the White House’s steel...more
3/27/2018
/ Activist Investors ,
Aluminum Sales ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Brick-and-Mortar Stores ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Forex ,
Grocery Stores ,
Imports ,
Joint Venture ,
Money Services Business ,
National Security ,
Novartis ,
Office Depot ,
On-Demand Services ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Railroads ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Singapore ,
South Korea ,
Steel Industry ,
Tariffs ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tax Reform ,
Trump Administration ,
Uber ,
US Trade Policies ,
White Collar Crimes
The White House’s protectionist plan to impose roughly $60 billion in annual tariffs on Chinese imports went over like a lead balloon on Wall Street, sparking fears of a trade war, increased volatility, and unintended ripple...more
3/23/2018
/ Aluminum Sales ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
AT&T ,
Bitcoin ,
China ,
Class Action ,
Corporate Culture ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Currency ,
Forex ,
Grocery Stores ,
HSBC ,
Imports ,
Infrastructure ,
Jeff Bezos ,
Martin Shkreli ,
National Security ,
Nike ,
Private Equity ,
RBS ,
Steel Industry ,
Tariffs ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies ,
Virtual Currency ,
Whole Foods
The Journal’s weekend report on Facebook’s role in the unauthorized use of data from 50 million users wreaked havoc on the ‘Book’s stock yesterday, with losses spreading across the tech sector (and fellow its FANGers in...more
3/20/2018
/ Antitrust Violations ,
AT&T ,
Bank of America ,
Chapter 11 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Credit Ratings ,
Data Collection ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EU ,
Facebook ,
Financial Crisis ,
Financial Markets ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Personal Data ,
PF Chang's ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Retailers ,
S&P ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Social Media ,
Stock Prices ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers
The DOJ is expanding its Wells Fargo sales probe into the bank’s wealth management division, a troubling move for an organization still trying to right the ship in its retail-banking unit where the sham-account scandal...more
3/19/2018
/ Blockchain ,
China ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Collection ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Facebook ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Franchises ,
FTSE ,
Housing Market ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Joint Employers ,
McDonalds ,
NLRB ,
Retaliation ,
Startups ,
Wealth Management ,
Wells Fargo
Just days after profiled Walmart’s efforts to keep pace with Amazon in the grocery biz, a whistleblower and former WM director of business development is accusing Walmart of issuing “misleading e-commerce results” and...more
3/16/2018
/ Antitrust Conspiracies ,
AT&T ,
Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Deutsche Bank ,
E-Commerce ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
EURIBOR ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Grocery Stores ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Interest Rates ,
Investment Adviser ,
Retail Market ,
Retirement Plan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Time Warner ,
Token Sales ,
Toys R Us ,
Wal-Mart ,
Whistleblowers
Chipotle and founder Steve Ells—which built an empire on the idea of offering a healthier, more authentic Mexican experience than its Tex-Mex fast food rivals—are turning ironically enough to Taco Bell’s CEO Brian Niccol to...more
2/14/2018
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
AT&T ,
Bribery ,
Broadcom ,
Chipotle Grill ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Price Index ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Deregulation ,
Drones ,
Energy Sector ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Market Manipulation ,
Media ,
Medical Supplies ,
Oil & Gas ,
Payday Loans ,
Qualcomm ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Royal Dutch Petroleum ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Time Warner
Even as JPMorgan has set the playing field for his successor (Daniel Pinto v. Gordon Smith, FYI), head honcho Jamie Dimon is making it clear that he’s not about to go anywhere anytime soon....more
1/31/2018
/ Advertising ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Apple ,
Berkshire Hathaway ,
Bitcoin ,
BlackRock ,
Capital Raising ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Digital Currency ,
Dow Jones ,
Elon Musk ,
Facebook ,
Financial Crisis ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
iPhone ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Kodak ,
RMBS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Social Media ,
Software ,
Tesla ,
Virtual Currency ,
Wall Street ,
Xerox
Coffee pod powerhouse Keurig Green Mountain is expanding its empire (and that of its parent JAB Holding Company) with the announcement of a $18.7 billion deal for the Dr Pepper Snapple Group. If approved by shareholders and...more
1/31/2018
/ Blockbuster ,
Boeing ,
CFTC ,
Currency Fluctuation ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Economic Development ,
Embraer ,
Futures ,
General Electric ,
Global Economy ,
HSBC ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Keurig Inc ,
NAFTA ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Spoofing ,
UBS ,
UK Brexit
NYSE owner Intercontinental Exchange is looking to do the as-yet inconceivable: bring some order to cryptocurrencies. The plan, announced yesterday, is to launch a data feed that pull info from cryptocurrency exchanges around...more
1/19/2018
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Apple ,
Bitcoin ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Currency Exchange ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Currency ,
Financial Markets ,
HSBC ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
IOSCO ,
IRS ,
NYSE ,
OCC ,
Offshore Funds ,
Presidential Appointments ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Repatriation ,
Technology Sector ,
Virtual Currency
HSBC announced yesterday that, 5 years after its controversial deferred prosecution agreement with the DOJ following the Swiss bank’s 2012 $1.9 billion payment over money-laundering allegations, it’ll be released from those...more
12/13/2017
/ Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Currency ,
Disney ,
E-Commerce ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Reserve ,
FOMC ,
Forex ,
Hedge Funds ,
HSBC ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Internet Retailers ,
Money Laundering ,
Xerox
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
As we’ve been expecting, the DOJ announced yesterday that it was suing to block AT&T’s $84.5 billion bid for Time Warner over antitrust concerns....more
11/21/2017
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
AT&T ,
Automotive Industry ,
Bonds ,
Credit Suisse ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Driverless Cars ,
Enron ,
EU ,
European Banking Authority (EBA) ,
Federal Reserve ,
Merrill Lynch ,
Regulatory Agencies ,
Ridesharing ,
Securities Fraud ,
Sharing Economy ,
SIFIs ,
Technology Sector ,
Time Warner ,
Uber ,
UK Brexit ,
Volvo