EU and British authorities unveiled new proposals this week to “crimp the power of ‘gatekeeper’ platforms like Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google and Microsoft, which policymakers argue deserve more oversight given their outsize...more
12/16/2020
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Apple ,
Bonds ,
Climate Change ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Counterfeit Goods Regulation ,
Cyber Espionage ,
EU ,
Facebook ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
FOMC ,
Google ,
Hate Speech ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Internet Retailers ,
Investment Management ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Microsoft ,
Online Advertisements ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Relief Measures ,
Stock Markets ,
UK ,
Vanguard
Friday’s jobs report was not only 200,000 jobs below projections for November, but it marked the fifth straight month of a diminished pace of hiring in the United States and brought urgency to facing the reality that there...more
12/7/2020
/ AirBnB ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Architecture ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Asset Purchase Agreements ,
Barnes and Noble ,
Bitcoin ,
Chick-Fil-A ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Drones ,
E-Commerce ,
Employment Discrimination ,
ETFs ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Fuel Efficiency ,
Google ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Job Creation ,
Job Market ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Meat Processing Plants ,
Nissan ,
Price Gouging ,
Real Estate Development ,
Relief Measures ,
Retail Market ,
Unemployment ,
Vanguard
Tuesday’s Senate Committee hearing with Fed Chair Powell and Treasury Secretary Mnuchin showed the growing rift between the two over their views of “challenges facing the United States economy in the months ahead.” ...more
12/2/2020
/ AirBnB ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Apple ,
BlackRock ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disney ,
Economic Downturn ,
Entrepreneurs ,
European Central Bank ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Hewlett-Packard ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Lame Duck Session ,
Microchip Technology ,
Recovery Plans ,
Salesforce ,
Slack ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Treasury
The official transition to a new administration and early Cabinet selections helped drive Wall Street to new highs on Tuesday, with the Dow topping 30,000 for the first time and the S&P 500 up 1.6% to another new high, too....more
11/25/2020
/ Asset Management ,
Biden Administration ,
CARES Act ,
CFTC ,
Dow Jones ,
Economic Downturn ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FCC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
General Electric ,
General Fund ,
Guilty Pleas ,
Interest Rate Swaps ,
J Crew ,
Janet Yellen ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Layoffs ,
National Security ,
OCC ,
OxyContin ,
Pain Management ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Purdue Pharma ,
S&P ,
Secretary of the Treasury ,
Spyware ,
Stock Prices ,
Tax Reform ,
Telecommunications ,
ZTE
Former Fed Chair Janet Yellen is “poised to become the first female Treasury secretary and one of few people to ever have wielded economic power from the White House, the Federal Reserve and the president’s cabinet.” If...more
11/24/2020
/ Biden Administration ,
BlackRock ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
E-Commerce ,
Economic Downturn ,
Elon Musk ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Distress ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Foreign Relations ,
Fuel Efficiency ,
General Motors ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Janet Yellen ,
Macy's ,
National Emissions Standards ,
Retailers ,
Tesla ,
Trump Administration ,
Visa Inc
BuzzFeed has struck a deal with Verizon Media to acquire HuffPost, a mash-up that “would join a pair of digital-media giants that have found themselves searching for readers and revenue as they have fallen prey to some of the...more
11/20/2020
/ Biden Administration ,
BuzzFeed ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Digital Media ,
Economic Downturn ,
Fannie Mae ,
Federal Loans ,
Federal Reserve ,
FHFA ,
Freddie Mac ,
General Motors ,
Housing Market ,
Huffington Post ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Real Estate Transactions ,
Securities Violations ,
Trump Administration ,
Unemployment ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Verizon ,
Video Games
In a major shift (and with antitrust regulators breathing down its neck), Apple is halving the App Store fee it charges developers (from 30% to 15%) who produce “as much as $1 million in annual revenue from their apps and...more
11/18/2020
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Antitrust Violations ,
App Store ,
Apple ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Economic Downturn ,
Federal Reserve ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Mark Zuckerberg ,
Mars ,
Pharmacies ,
Retail Sales ,
Trading Platforms ,
Vaccinations
As we thought, stocks rallied on Monday thanks to Moderna’s news of promising results for its Covid-19 vaccine, with the Dow and S&P 500 hitting new record highs....more
11/18/2020
/ AirBnB ,
Bank of America ,
Biden Administration ,
CARES Act ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Dow Jones ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
Foreign Policy ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Home Depot ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Moderna Inc. ,
News Corp ,
Putative Class Actions ,
S&P ,
Southwest Airlines ,
Stock Prices ,
Tesla ,
Vaccinations ,
Viacom ,
Wells Fargo
TikTok parent ByteDance, flying under the radar as other recent events have shoved the White House’s battle with the company to the back burner, has “asked a U.S. appeals court for additional time to work out a potential...more
11/12/2020
/ Alibaba ,
Apple ,
Biden Administration ,
Boeing ,
Casinos ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
E-Commerce ,
EU ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Job Creation ,
Silicon Valley ,
Social Media ,
TikTok ,
Unemployment
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
Intel Corp. has reached a nearly $9 billion deal to sell its NAND flash memory unit to South Korea’s SKY Hynix, a “move that reorient[s] the semiconductor giant away from an area of historical importance that has become...more
10/20/2020
/ Alibaba ,
China ,
ConocoPhillips ,
Corruption ,
Digital Currency ,
Economic Growth ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Intel ,
IRS ,
Money Laundering ,
Oil & Gas ,
Popular ,
Real Estate Investments ,
Semiconductors ,
SoftBank ,
Stock Prices ,
Tax Evasion ,
Warner Brothers Entertainment ,
White Collar Crimes
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
Federal regulators—including the Federal Reserve and the OCC—have fined Citigroup $400 million over “longstanding” failures in the areas of risk management, data governance, and internal controls. In addition to the fine, the...more
10/8/2020
/ Agribusiness ,
Airlines ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Big Tech ,
Bonds ,
Citigroup ,
Corporate Governance ,
Data Management ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
E-Commerce ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Stimulus ,
FinTech ,
Information Governance ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Internal Controls ,
Layoffs ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Meat Processing Plants ,
OCC ,
Popular ,
Poultry ,
Price-Fixing ,
Recovery Plans ,
Relief Measures ,
Retail Market ,
Risk Management ,
Stock Prices ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration ,
Wells Fargo
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
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
A federal judge has delivered another win for TikTok over the weekend, temporarily blocking a White House ban “on new downloads of the video-sharing network, which would have gone into effect at 11:59 p.m. in Washington.” The...more
9/29/2020
/ Airplane Accidents ,
Alphabet Company ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Boeing ,
Business Licenses ,
China ,
Commerzbank ,
Data Collection ,
Deutsche Bank ,
E-Commerce ,
eBay ,
Export Controls ,
Federal Reserve ,
Infrastructure ,
Interest Rates ,
Mobile Apps ,
National Security ,
Rare Earth Metals ,
Semiconductors ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Social Media ,
Spoofing ,
Tax Planning ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration ,
Uber ,
UK ,
Wire Fraud
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
Microsoft made a huge gaming move on Monday with its $7.5 billion acquisition of ZeniMax Media, the “parent company of gaming studios like Bethesda,” and maker of titles like “The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Doom, Quake and...more
9/22/2020
/ Antitrust Violations ,
BP ,
Chevron ,
Climate Change ,
Comcast ,
Congressional Investigations & Hearings ,
Digital Downloads ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Dow Jones ,
Due Process ,
Exxon Mobil ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Committee ,
Free Speech ,
Gaming ,
Google ,
Infrastructure ,
Internet Streaming ,
Microsoft ,
Mobile Apps ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
Oracle ,
Renewable Energy ,
Royal Dutch Petroleum ,
Stock Prices ,
Tiffany and Company ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration
The latest on the potential Oracle/TikTok deal includes news that the Treasury Department has added requirements addressing “how TikTok’s data and source code would be handled and secured” to any potential deal that the...more
9/18/2020
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Big Data ,
Blue Bell Creameries ,
BSA/AML ,
China ,
Data Collection ,
Data Management ,
E-Commerce ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
Food Contamination ,
Google ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Listeria ,
MetLife ,
Mobile Apps ,
National Security ,
Social Media ,
Stock Prices ,
Telecommuting ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration ,
Unemployment ,
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
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
Walmart is again preparing to roll out its answer to Amazon Prime: Walmart+, a sub-$100/year membership service that features gas discounts and some free shipping (at qualifying thresholds)....more
9/1/2020
/ American Airlines ,
Anthem Insurance ,
China ,
CIGNA ,
Delta Airlines ,
E-Commerce ,
Exports ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Distress ,
Financial Markets ,
Foreign Policy ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Low-Income Issues ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Small Business ,
Subscription Services ,
Trump Administration ,
Unemployment ,
Volvo ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wal-Mart ,
Whistleblowers ,
Zoom®
In hotly anticipated comments on Thursday—and yes, such a designation applies to a speech on monetary policy—Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell “announced a major shift in how the central bank guides the economy, signaling it...more
8/31/2020
/ Bayer ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
E-Commerce ,
Federal Reserve ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Japan ,
Microsoft ,
Mobile Apps ,
Monsanto ,
Nissan ,
Oracle ,
Payroll Taxes ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Unemployment ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Wal-Mart
Still-new TIkTok CEO Kevin Mayer has stepped down, “just months after taking the helm of the viral short video app.” ByteDance had appointed Mayer in May in an effort “to make the case that TikTok operates as a separate...more
8/28/2020
/ Accredited Investors ,
Apple ,
Banks ,
Bitcoin ,
China ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Data Collection ,
Data Mining ,
Disney ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Facebook ,
Federal Reserve ,
Ford Motor ,
Goods or Services ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Infectious Diseases ,
iPhone ,
Layoffs ,
Mark Zuckerberg ,
Mobile Apps ,
National Security ,
Online Advertisements ,
Remote Working ,
Salesforce ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Social Media ,
Telecommuting ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration