Despite an earlier White House promise to postpone, American and Chinese trade negotiators met via videoconference on Monday to discuss “the status of the trade deal both nations signed in January, a pact that continues to...more
8/26/2020
/ Amgen ,
Apple ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Dow Jones ,
E-Commerce ,
EPIC ,
EU ,
Exxon Mobil ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
Government Lockdown ,
Home Depot ,
Honeywell International ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Inflation Adjustments ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Layoffs ,
Life Sciences ,
Pfizer ,
Raytheon ,
Remote Learning ,
Retail Market ,
Salesforce ,
Stock Prices ,
Stock Splits ,
Supply and Demand ,
Supply Chain ,
Takeda Pharmaceuticals ,
Target ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies ,
Video Games ,
Wal-Mart ,
Zoom®
Apple tipped the $2 trillion mark this week, the first U.S. company to reach that valuation milestone, doing so just 2 years after it first hit $1 trillion. That it’s done so in the middle of a pandemic only punctuates how...more
8/20/2020
/ AirBnB ,
Apple ,
Boycotts ,
Business Valuations ,
CFTC ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employment Policies ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
Gig Economy ,
Goodyear ,
Independent Contractors ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Investment ,
Johnson & Johnson ,
Lyft ,
Momenta ,
Oracle ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Political Expression ,
Popular ,
Robinhood Financial ,
Sharing Economy ,
Spoofing ,
State Labor Laws ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration ,
Uber ,
Unemployment Benefits
Another day, another major U.S. restriction on Chinese tech. The Commerce Department is out with new rules “curbing Huawei Technologies Co.’s access to foreign-made chips.” The measures would “prohibit non-U.S. companies from...more
8/19/2020
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Berkshire Hathaway ,
China ,
Citigroup ,
Clawbacks ,
Cloud Computing ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Federal Reserve ,
Form 13F ,
Gig Economy ,
Huawei ,
Independent Contractors ,
Lyft ,
McDonalds ,
National Security ,
OCC ,
Opioid ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Purdue Pharma ,
Rare Earth Metals ,
Revlon ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Severance Pay ,
Supply Chain ,
Telecommunications ,
TikTok ,
Trading Platforms ,
Trump Administration ,
Uber
Ride-hailing companies Uber and Lyft are warning that California’s new moves forcing them to classify their drivers as employees could force them both to shutter their operations altogether in that state (at least while they...more
8/14/2020
/ Barclays ,
Bias ,
CBS ,
Chapter 11 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Credit Cards ,
Economic Downturn ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Bans ,
Federal Reserve ,
General Motors ,
Gig Economy ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Independent Contractors ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Lyft ,
Misclassification ,
Retailers ,
School Sports ,
Social Media ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration ,
Uber ,
Viacom ,
Wage and Hour
Eight months after firing its CEO, Steve Easterbrook, for “sexting with a subordinate,” McDonald’s has sued Easterbrook for allegedly “lying, concealing evidence and fraud” in what appears to be a series of other workplace...more
8/12/2020
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
China ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Delta Airlines ,
E-Commerce ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Electronic Trading ,
Employee Definition ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Bans ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Regulatory Agencies ,
Fraud ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Inflation Adjustments ,
Infrastructure ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Lyft ,
McDonalds ,
Oil & Gas ,
Refineries ,
Relief Measures ,
Retailers ,
Securities Violations ,
Social Media ,
SoftBank ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
Target ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration ,
Uber
Dramatically escalating the growing tension with China (despite considerable ambiguity in its language), the White House issued executive orders that would “ban all ‘transactions’” with ByteDance, the Chinese owner of TikTok,...more
8/10/2020
/ Bausch & Lomb ,
CalPERS ,
Capital One ,
China ,
Data Breach ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fashion Industry ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Hackers ,
Independent Contractors ,
Infrastructure ,
Job Creation ,
Lyft ,
Misclassification ,
NBC ,
Nintendo ,
Payment Systems ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Race Relations ,
Social Media ,
TikTok ,
Uber ,
Unemployment ,
Universal ,
USPS ,
Wage Theft
Twitter will pay the Federal Trade Commission up to $250 million to “resolve new charges . . . that the social media giant breached a 2011 consent decree by using data provided for security purposes to target users with...more
8/4/2020
/ AIG ,
Argentina ,
Bank of America ,
Banks ,
BlackRock ,
Boeing ,
Bonds ,
Chapter 11 ,
China ,
Class Action ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Debt Restructuring ,
Facebook ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
Federal Reserve ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fraud ,
Hedge Funds ,
Mark Zuckerberg ,
Microsoft ,
Mortgage Escrow Account ,
Office Space ,
Online Advertisements ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Retail Market ,
SBA ,
SBA Lending Programs ,
Social Media ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration ,
Twitter
As expected, the Fed left rates unchanged at near zero as the Open Market Committee broke on Wednesday but managed to buoy stocks by pledging to “keep supporting the United States economy as the pandemic continues to depress...more
7/30/2020
/ Big Tech ,
Boeing ,
Economic Development ,
Economic Downturn ,
Federal Reserve ,
GDP ,
General Electric ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Kodak ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Recessions ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Wirecard
Much more on what to expect from Big Tech’s “Big Tobacco Moment” on the Hill today, at which Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Apple’s CEOs will endeavor to make the case that their massive companies don’t “stifle rivals and...more
7/30/2020
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Apple ,
Campaign Finance Reform ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Defense Production Act ,
Facebook ,
Federal Loans ,
Federal Reserve ,
FOMC ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Google ,
Kodak ,
Lyft ,
National Security ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Remote Learning ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Uber ,
Unemployment Benefits
The SEC has served Wells notices to Under Armour, warnings that the company and its execs could “face civil-enforcement action related to the sportswear maker’s past accounting practices,” including “the company’s disclosures...more
7/28/2020
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Board of Governors ,
Dairy Farmers ,
Delta Airlines ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Exchange-Traded Products ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Google ,
Grocery Stores ,
Jeff Bezos ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Office Space ,
Popular ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Relief Measures ,
Remote Working ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Telecommunications ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Wal-Mart ,
Wells Fargo ,
Wells Notice
Goldman Sachs has reached a deal for $3.9 billion with the Malaysian government to resolve allegations of wrongdoing related to the massive 1MDB scandal. Goldman was the “main banker for the Malaysian fund” and raised...more
7/27/2020
/ 1MDB ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corruption ,
E*Trade ,
Federal Reserve ,
Foreign Relations ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Malaysia ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Popular ,
Public Health ,
Trading Platforms ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Vaccinations ,
Wal-Mart ,
Wells Fargo ,
White Collar Crimes
By a 5-4 margin, the Supreme Court has ordered the restructuring of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, “ruling the agency’s structure was unconstitutional because its director held too much unchecked power.” The fix,...more
7/1/2020
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
China ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Federal Reserve ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
GrubHub ,
Investment Adviser ,
Lululemon ,
Movie Theaters ,
National Security ,
On-Demand Services ,
Postmates ,
Removal For-Cause ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Retirement Plan ,
Reversal ,
S&P ,
SCOTUS ,
Seila Law LLC v Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ,
Separation of Powers ,
Severability Doctrine ,
Single Director ,
Uber ,
Wage and Hour ,
Zoom®
Fracking pioneer Chesapeake Energy has filed for bankruptcy, “unable to overcome a mountain of debt that became unsustainable after a decade of stubbornly low gas prices.” The company grew wildly in the early 2000s under...more
6/29/2020
/ Boeing ,
Bonds ,
Chapter 11 ,
China ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Facebook ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
Fracking ,
National Security ,
Online Advertisements ,
Trade Relations
May saw a huge jump in consumer activity to the tune of +17.7%, as Americans unleashed their pent-up demand. It was welcome news for markets and beyond, but “the underlying data presents a more complicated picture and shows...more
6/18/2020
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
AT&T ,
Capital Markets ,
Commerzbank ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Culture ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disney ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
HSBC ,
Inflation Adjustments ,
Layoffs ,
McDonalds ,
Morgan Stanley ,
Occupational Exposure ,
Online Platforms ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Public Nuisance ,
Race Relations ,
Recovery Plans ,
Retail Market ,
Retail Sales ,
Social Media ,
Trump Administration ,
Unemployment ,
Workplace Safety
On Monday, the Supreme Court delivered a surprising and monumental win for LGBTQ and transgender Americans, ruling 6-3 that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 applies to protect “gay and transgender workers from workplace...more
6/16/2020
/ 24-Hour Fitness ,
Altitude Express Inc v Zarda ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
App Store ,
Apple ,
Bond Markets ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
BP ,
Chapter 11 ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cyber-Stalking ,
Data Collection ,
eBay ,
EEOC v RG & GR Harris Funeral Homes ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
EU ,
Federal Reserve ,
Gender Identity ,
Hiring & Firing ,
LGBTQ ,
Oil & Gas ,
SCOTUS ,
Senate Banking Committee ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
Rising infection rates around the U.S. and the globe are worrying markets, as fear of a second wave of cases linked with the reopening of the economy freaks out traders....more
6/15/2020
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
American Express ,
Apple ,
China ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Culture ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Facebook ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Foreign Currency ,
Google ,
Hertz ,
Liability ,
Microsoft ,
Nissan ,
Payment Processors ,
PayPal ,
Race Relations ,
Recessions ,
Recovery Plans ,
Small Business ,
Social Distancing ,
Square ,
Unemployment
The European Union’s antitrust authority is reportedly within days of filing charges against Amazon for the company’s “treatment of third-party sellers,” the latest step in a “two-year probe into Amazon’s alleged mistreatment...more
6/11/2020
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Bid Rigging ,
CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EU ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Stimulus ,
FinTech ,
Hertz ,
Insolvency ,
Interest Rates ,
NYSE ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Popular ,
Price-Fixing ,
Tyson Foods ,
Unemployment
The Fed is expected to hold rates steady as its June Open Market Committee meeting wraps today. Analysts expect that the better-than-expected May jobs numbers won’t be nearly enough for the central bank to suggest it is close...more
6/10/2020
/ 1MDB ,
Adidas ,
Airbus ,
Airlines ,
Aviation Industry ,
Class Action ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Death Benefits ,
Diversity ,
Federal Reserve ,
France ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Infrastructure ,
Insolvency ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Life Insurance ,
MetLife ,
Mixed-Use Zoning ,
Mobile Apps ,
Movie Theaters ,
Race Discrimination ,
Race Relations ,
Resignation ,
S&P ,
Stock Prices ,
White Collar Crimes
No one—truly, not even the most casual economic observer—should be shocked by yesterday’s official declaration from the National Bureau of Economic Research that the U.S. is in a recession that officially began in February....more
6/9/2020
/ Airlines ,
BP ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Economic Downturn ,
Federal Loans ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
Layoffs ,
Main Street Lending Programs ,
Recessions ,
S&P
The DOJ has begun the prosecutorial phase of its chicken price-fixing investigation with a one-count indictment accusing current and former senior execs at Pilgrim’s Pride and Claxton Poultry Farms—including their current...more
6/4/2020
/ Agribusiness ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Banks ,
Bias ,
Bonds ,
Class Action ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
European Central Bank ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Interest Rates ,
Layoffs ,
Meat Processing Plants ,
Oracle ,
Overdraft Fees ,
Payday Loans ,
Price-Fixing ,
Relief Measures ,
Unemployment ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Vulnerable Victims ,
Warner Music Group
Civic unrest in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis is complicating reopening plans for cities and businesses around the country trying to restart after months of coronavirus-related closures....more
6/1/2020
/ Air Carriers ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Branding ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Data Breach ,
Debt ,
ETFs ,
Federal Reserve ,
Food Manufacturers ,
Forex ,
Hedge Funds ,
Inflation Adjustments ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Layoffs ,
NASA ,
Nestle ,
Outer Space ,
Plant Based Products ,
Police Brutality ,
Police Misconduct ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Renault-Nissan ,
Retailers ,
SpaceX ,
The Hague ,
Warner Music Group
This week’s latest initial unemployment filings numbered 2.4 million, a “slight drop-off in the wave of historically high weekly filings” since the pandemic hit the U.S. economy. Don’t get too excited, though. Continuing...more
5/22/2020
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Chapter 11 ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
E-Commerce ,
Economic Downturn ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Gig Economy ,
Hertz ,
Independent Contractors ,
Investment ,
Layoffs ,
Recessions ,
S&P ,
Secretary of the Treasury ,
Unemployment ,
Wrongful Termination ,
Zoom®
Podcasting megastar (and, for me, “News Radio” jack-of-all-trades) Joe Rogan has signed a multiyear deal to bring his “Joe Rogan Experience” show to Spotify, an agreement that “could be worth more than $100 million based on...more
5/22/2020
/ Apple ,
Automotive Loans ,
Bonds ,
Business Development ,
CARES Act ,
Contact Tracing ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Credit Cards ,
Economic Downturn ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Distress ,
Financial Markets ,
Gig Economy ,
Google ,
Independent Contractors ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Loan Forgiveness ,
McDonalds ,
Meeting Minutes ,
Mobile Apps ,
Nissan ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Podcasts ,
Software ,
Spotify ,
UK ,
Unemployment ,
Unions ,
United Airlines
In testimony to the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday, Fed Chair Powell and Treasury Secretary Mnuchin both “offered a stark assessment of the fragile state” of the U.S. economy, though they differed in a solution. ...more
5/20/2020
/ Air Carriers ,
Airlines ,
Auto Lease ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Data Breach ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Nasdaq ,
OCC ,
Sony ,
Sports ,
Target ,
U.S. Treasury
Optimism over promising results for a coronavirus vaccine from Moderna helped drive stocks up on Monday after a rough go of it last week....more
5/19/2020
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Beer ,
Chapter 11 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Credit ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disney ,
Economic Downturn ,
Facebook ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
Google ,
JCPenney ,
Leverage Ratio ,
Life Sciences ,
Moderna Inc. ,
Online Advertisements ,
PG&E ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Public Health ,
Retailers ,
SoftBank ,
Stock Prices ,
T-Mobile ,
Vaccinations ,
White-Collar Exemptions ,
Wildfires