The Fed will wrap up its Open Markets Committee meeting today, and the recent dive on Wall Street has rather suddenly brought a bit of drama to what was a long-promised rate hike. Here’s a bit of background on what it’s been...more
12/19/2018
/ Automotive Industry ,
Barclays ,
Blue Apron ,
Bonds ,
China ,
Corruption ,
Data Breach ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Facebook ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
Germany ,
Hedging ,
Huawei ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
National Emissions Standards ,
Oil & Gas ,
Oil Prices ,
Personal Data ,
Quarterly Report ,
Registration Requirement ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
SpaceX ,
Subscription Services ,
Unicorns ,
Verizon ,
Volkswagen ,
Whistleblowers
The Dow’s serious dive on Friday helped put all three major indices into correction territory (aka, all are now at least 10% below their peak from earlier this year....more
12/17/2018
/ Asbestos ,
Class Action ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Data Breach ,
Facebook ,
Financial Markets ,
General Electric ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Huawei ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Johnson & Johnson ,
Malaysia ,
National Security ,
PayPal ,
Personal Care Products ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Toxic Exposure
Three weeks after his initial arrest, Japanese prosecutors have officially indicted former Nissan Chair Carlos Ghosn for understating his income by $43 million....more
12/10/2018
/ Bernie Madoff ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Debt-Relief Industry ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Facebook ,
Financial Fraud ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Huawei ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Japan ,
Job Creation ,
Nissan ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Sanction Violations ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Share Buybacks ,
Stock Prices ,
Student Loans ,
Uber ,
UK Brexit ,
Wall Street ,
Whistleblowers ,
Wire Fraud
After a brutal Tuesday, the White House tried to take advantage of yesterday’s market day off to run some damage control “and ease concerns that [the] trade truce with China was already floundering.” I suspect we’ll find out...more
12/6/2018
/ AIG ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Canada ,
CBS ,
China ,
Corporate Culture ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Data Collection ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Facebook ,
Financial Crisis ,
Financial Markets ,
Huawei ,
PayPal ,
RMBS ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Takeovers ,
UK ,
Venture Capital ,
Wells Fargo
GM’s Monday announcement about cutting 14,000 North American jobs drew the ire of the White House yesterday, which threatened to “end federal tax credits” that have helped subsidize the company’s electric-vehicle fleet....more
11/28/2018
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Automotive Industry ,
China ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Conde Nast ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Data Breach ,
Data Mining ,
Debt Collection ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Facebook ,
General Motors ,
Hedge Funds ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Layoffs ,
Medical Records ,
NFL ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Retailers ,
Sears ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Tax Credits ,
Uber
Amidst all of that Black Friday and general holiday craziness, the White House released a blockbuster report issued by a collection of 13 federal agencies on Friday warning that, if left unchecked, global climate change could...more
11/26/2018
/ Black Friday ,
Campbell Soup Company ,
Climate Change ,
Danske Bank ,
Exxon Mobil ,
Facebook ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Fraud ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
First Amendment ,
Mitsubishi ,
Money Laundering ,
NRA ,
PayPal ,
Renault-Nissan ,
Retailers ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Venmo ,
Whistleblowers
Nissan Board Chair Carlos Ghosn is on the verge of being ousted at the Japanese automaker after an internal investigation found that he had “underreported his compensation to the financial authorities for several years.”...more
11/19/2018
/ Automotive Industry ,
Brokers ,
China ,
Digital Currency ,
Disney ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Facebook ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Foreign Trade Regulations ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
J Crew ,
Nissan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Tariffs ,
Token Sales ,
Unregistered Securities ,
US Trade Policies
Early reports suggested that although Teresa May’s cabinet wasn’t thrilled, it backed the PM’s Brexit plan, leaving the controversial deal to make its way to Parliament. But the resignation of two Cabinet members—including...more
11/15/2018
/ Anti-Fraud Provisions ,
Berkshire Hathaway ,
Class Action ,
Consolidated Audit Trail ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disclosure ,
Economic Downturn ,
EU ,
Exports ,
Facebook ,
Failure to Comply ,
Germany ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Instagram ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Levi Strauss ,
Market Manipulation ,
Money Transfer ,
Preferred Shares ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Snapchat ,
Social Media ,
Stock Prices ,
Uber ,
UK ,
UK Brexit
Saudi Arabia is pushing OPEC and its allies to cut oil production in 2019, and it’s doing its own part by exporting 500,000 fewer barrels a day in December than now—all an attempt to “counter the price rout battering the...more
11/12/2018
/ #MeToo ,
Alibaba ,
Arbitration ,
China ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EU ,
Exploration and Production Assets ,
Facebook ,
Financial Crisis ,
France ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Italy ,
Netflix ,
Oil & Gas ,
OPEC ,
Retail Market ,
RMBS ,
Sears ,
Securities Violations ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Social Media ,
Tax Evasion ,
Tax Liability ,
UBS ,
Waivers ,
Wells Fargo ,
White Collar Crimes
Some reaction to the HQ2 x2 news, including what a pair of new tech hubs actually means for the cities that have thrown out the red carpet to Amazon and other technology giants....more
11/7/2018
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Benchmarks ,
Business Taxes ,
Cambridge Analytica ,
Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Mining ,
Data Privacy ,
Facebook ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Foreign Trade Regulations ,
General Elections ,
Homeless Issues ,
HSBC ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Libor ,
Nordstrom Inc. ,
Oil & Gas ,
Oil Prices ,
Personal Data ,
Rabobank ,
Resignation ,
Technology Sector ,
U.S. House ,
UBS ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Wells Fargo
We’ve been keeping tabs on the high-profile CEOs who have withdrawn from Saudi Arabia’s coming investment conference over the past few weeks. But pulling out the conference is very different from severing ties with the...more
10/22/2018
/ Appeals ,
Bank of America ,
CashCall ,
CBS ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Elon Musk ,
EU ,
Facebook ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Foreign Investment ,
Free Trade Agreements ,
Interest Rates ,
Italy ,
Moody's ,
Mortgage Escrow Account ,
National Bank Act ,
Newspapers ,
Payday Loans ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
Preemption ,
Procter & Gamble ,
Quarterly Report ,
Recessions ,
Saudi Arabia ,
Singapore ,
Social Media ,
Tesla ,
White Collar Crimes
The Federal Reserve bank released the minutes from its September meeting yesterday. Among other things, we learned that the Fed Governors moved largely in lockstep on September’s rate hike, even as the crew was less unanimous...more
10/18/2018
/ CEOs ,
China ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Corporate Executives ,
Corporate Governance ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Currency Manipulation ,
Data Breach ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Facebook ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Forex ,
Free Trade Agreements ,
FSOC ,
Insurance Industry ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Investment Fraud ,
Libor ,
Mark Zuckerberg ,
Martin Act ,
Prudential ,
Retail Market ,
Sears ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
SIFIs ,
Trade Relations ,
Trans-Pacific Partnership ,
U.S. Treasury
Sears marked the end of an era today, as the store that “more than a century ago pioneered the strategy of selling everything to everyone” filed for bankruptcy protection early this morning....more
10/15/2018
/ Brick-and-Mortar Stores ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Commodities Traders ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Data Breach ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Elon Musk ,
Embedded Tweets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Facebook ,
Financial Crisis ,
Fraud ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Italy ,
Prudential ,
Retailers ,
Sears ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement Agreements ,
SIFIs ,
SoftBank ,
Spoofing ,
Tesla ,
Theranos ,
White Collar Crimes
More on the rather shocking departure of John Flannery from GE, the Board that didn’t want to give him any more leash for his turnaround plans, and the future of the embattled corporate giant under Larry Culp....more
10/2/2018
/ Banks ,
Canada ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Data Breach ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Exports ,
Facebook ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Services and Markets Act ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Free Trade Agreements ,
General Electric ,
IMF ,
Imports ,
Insider Trading ,
Instagram ,
Investment Opportunities ,
IRS ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Mexico ,
NAFTA ,
PayPal ,
Resignation ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Social Media ,
Tax Fraud ,
Tesco ,
Trade Relations ,
UK ,
US Trade Policies ,
Wells Fargo
Though he was apparently ready to go with his “verbal agreement with the Saudis” defense, Elon Musk capitulated to pressure “from his lawyers and investors of Tesla” and agreed to resolve all SEC allegations of wrongdoing,...more
10/1/2018
/ 3-D Technology ,
Automotive Industry ,
Board of Directors ,
Canada ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Data Breach ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Elon Musk ,
Embedded Tweets ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Sector ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Facebook ,
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ,
Financial Institutions ,
Free Trade Agreements ,
Gender Equity ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
General Electric ,
Hackers ,
Housing Market ,
Internal Controls ,
Libor ,
Marijuana ,
NAFTA ,
Procter & Gamble ,
Saudi Arabia ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Violations ,
Social Media ,
SoftBank ,
Solar Energy ,
Tesla ,
Trade Relations ,
Twitter ,
UK ,
UK Brexit
Hiding somewhat in the shadows during the rise of virtual currencies over the past year or two has been blockchain, the ledger technology that undergirds bitcoin and other cryptos, and its potential application beyond digital...more
9/26/2018
/ Apple ,
Arby's ,
Banking Sector ,
Blockchain ,
Capital Raising ,
Community Reinvestment Act ,
Confidential Information ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Digital Currency ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Facebook ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
Financial Markets ,
FOMC ,
Franchises ,
Fraud ,
Futures ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Instagram ,
Intel ,
iPhone ,
Low-Income Issues ,
Market Manipulation ,
Money Laundering ,
Qualcomm ,
Redlining ,
Securities Violations ,
Social Media ,
Software ,
Spoofing ,
Virtual Currency ,
Wal-Mart ,
White Collar Crimes
Instagram co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger have resigned over the direction of their app, which Facebook acquired in 2012. The pair has reportedly been frustrated of late by the increasing intervention of Facebook’s...more
9/25/2018
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Chapter 11 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Data Protection ,
Debt Restructuring ,
Derivatives ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Facebook ,
Fashion Industry ,
Germany ,
Instagram ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Libor ,
Pandora ,
Sears ,
Silicon Valley ,
SiriusXM ,
Social Media ,
Starbucks ,
Technology Sector
China is answering the White House’s latest tariff announcement with another $60 billion in levies on US goods of its own....more
9/19/2018
/ BMW ,
Carbon Emissions ,
CFTC ,
China ,
Corruption ,
Cryptocurrency ,
DaimlerAG ,
Derivatives ,
Digital Currency ,
Elon Musk ,
Embedded Tweets ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
European Commission ,
Facebook ,
Government Investigations ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Imports ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
ISDAfix ,
Job Applicants ,
Market Manipulation ,
Securities Violations ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Social Media ,
Swaps ,
Tariffs ,
Tesla ,
Token Sales ,
Trade Relations ,
Trade Retaliation ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies ,
Virtual Currency ,
Volkswagen ,
White Collar Crimes
The FBI and OCC have each launched inquiries into pricing practices within American Express’s forex unit with an aim to determine “whether the foreign-exchange international payments department misrepresented pricing to...more
9/6/2018
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Aetna ,
American Express ,
CBS ,
China ,
CIGNA ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
CVS ,
Deregulation ,
Emerging Markets ,
Facebook ,
FBI ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Forex ,
Imports ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Libor ,
OCC ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Senate Confirmation Hearings ,
Tariffs ,
Theranos ,
Trade Relations ,
Trade Retaliation ,
Twitter ,
US Trade Policies
Big tech (including Facebook, Google [theoretically], and Twitter) is heading back to the Hill (with @jack pulling double-duty, because that’s how he rolls). Here’s what to expect today based on their prepared testimony....more
9/5/2018
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Argentina ,
Banking Sector ,
Canada ,
Class Action ,
Corporate Fines ,
Corruption ,
Cross-Selling ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Emerging Markets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Facebook ,
Financial Crisis ,
Financial Markets ,
Free Trade Agreements ,
Google ,
Insurance Industry ,
Market Manipulation ,
Money Laundering ,
NAFTA ,
Settlement ,
Spoofing ,
State Farm ,
Stock Prices ,
Trade Relations ,
Twitter ,
US Trade Policies ,
Wells Fargo ,
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
Uber’s throwing in the towel on Otto, its self-driving truck unit that was at the center of an IP-theft scandal with Waymo and will shift its focus to autonomous cars....more
7/31/2018
/ Barclays ,
Cambridge Analytica ,
CBS ,
Class Action ,
Dark Pool ,
Data Breach ,
Driverless Cars ,
Employee Benefits ,
Facebook ,
Food Supply ,
Forex ,
Hewlett-Packard ,
Imports ,
Investment Fraud ,
Kokesh v SEC ,
Morgan Stanley ,
Pensions ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Stock Options ,
Tariffs ,
Uber ,
UK Brexit ,
White Collar Crimes
The Journal is breaking news this morning that American Express has been raising forex prices on customers for years “without notifying customers in a bid to boost revenue and employee commissions”....more
7/30/2018
/ Agricultural Sector ,
American Express ,
Big Data ,
CBS ,
China ,
Class Action ,
Comcast ,
Commodities ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Disney ,
Facebook ,
Farms ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
Financial Crisis ,
Forex ,
Fox Broadcasting ,
GDP ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Investment Banks ,
Market Manipulation ,
McDonalds ,
Securities Fraud ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Stock Drop Litigation ,
Stock Prices ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Trade Retaliation ,
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
Fiat Chrysler chief Sergio Marchionne has died at age 66, three weeks after suffering complications after shoulder surgery. Marchionne took over Fiat in 2004 and engineered its takeover of Chrysler in 2009, returning the...more
7/26/2018
/ Agricultural Land ,
Agricultural Sector ,
Alphabet Company ,
Beverage Manufacturers ,
China ,
Coca Cola ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Driverless Cars ,
Facebook ,
Farms ,
Financial Aid ,
Foreign Investment ,
Imports ,
Investment ,
Qualcomm ,
RMBS ,
Tariffs ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies