The latest from Chair Powell and the Fed from his Peterson Institute appearance this week, including the stark warning that the U.S. was “experiencing an economic hit ‘without modern precedent’” that could “permanently damage...more
5/15/2020
/ Breach of Duty ,
Coal Industry ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Data Breach ,
Derivative Suit ,
E-Commerce ,
Economic Downturn ,
Elon Musk ,
Facebook ,
Federal Reserve ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Government Lockdown ,
GrubHub ,
Investment ,
On-Demand Services ,
Renewable Energy ,
Retail Market ,
Retirement Plan ,
Shelter-In-Place ,
Tesla ,
Uber ,
Unemployment ,
Zoom®
For the first time, the Federal Reserve system will begin buying corporate bonds—all part of the central bank’s efforts to “support the economy and financial system in the coronavirus crisis.” The NY Fed will kick things off...more
5/12/2020
/ Banks ,
BlackRock ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Bonds ,
Economic Downturn ,
Elon Musk ,
ETFs ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Crisis ,
Financial Markets ,
Internet Streaming ,
Nasdaq ,
OCC ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Recessions ,
Relief Measures ,
S&P ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Tesla ,
White Collar Crimes
Not exactly stop-the-presses stuff at this point in the relationship, but negotiators from the U.S. and China have officially been in touch and agreed to keep talking as they work to implement the bilateral trade deal signed...more
5/8/2020
/ 1MDB ,
CARES Act ,
China ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Reserve ,
Gig Economy ,
Hong Kong Stock Exchange ,
Independent Contractors ,
Liquidity ,
Main Street Lending Programs ,
Neiman Marcus ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Trade Relations ,
Uber ,
Unemployment ,
US Trade Policies
The Fed closed out its April Open Markets Committee by holding rates steady at nearly zero but also pledging to “use its ‘full range of tools’ to insulate the economy as coronavirus lockdowns sap economic growth and throw...more
4/30/2020
/ Boeing ,
Business Interruption ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Director Kraninger ,
Facebook ,
Federal Reserve ,
GDP ,
Hertz ,
Insurance Claims ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Layoffs ,
Payday Lending Rule ,
Payday Loans ,
Quarterly Report ,
Recessions
The PPP is again flush with cash but also full of problems. Yesterday, that took the form of a Small Business Administration’s system for processing loan applications crashing within the first hours that the program reopened....more
4/29/2020
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Apple ,
CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
EU ,
Federal Loans ,
Federal Reserve ,
Food Supply ,
Foreign Investment ,
HSBC ,
iPhone ,
Loans ,
Oil Prices ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Relief Measures ,
Saudi Arabia ,
SCOTUS ,
Sovereign Wealth Funds
Monday saw U.S. oil prices take an unprecedented plunge into negative territory, as “concerns grew that storage tanks in the United States were near capacity and unable to hold all the unused code” (with the “bizarre movement...more
4/22/2020
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Argentina ,
Business Interruption ,
CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fannie Mae ,
Federal Reserve ,
FHFA ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Distress ,
Forbearance Agreements ,
Foreign Debt ,
Freddie Mac ,
GSE ,
Housing Market ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Mortgages ,
Municipal Bonds ,
Non-Bank Lenders ,
Oil & Gas ,
Oil Prices ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Privacy Concerns ,
Restructuring ,
SBA Lending Programs ,
Small Business ,
Supply and Demand ,
United Airlines ,
Videoconference ,
Zoom®
The Senate has passed a $484 billion measure that would add $130 billion to the Paycheck Protection Program, the “small-business loan program that ran out of funding last week after being deluged with applications.” The bill...more
4/21/2020
/ Chipotle Grill ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Credit Suisse ,
Facebook ,
Federal Reserve ,
Food Contamination ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Mark Zuckerberg ,
Netflix ,
Oil Prices ,
Relief Measures ,
Retail Market ,
RMBS
Markets kicked of Q2 pretty much where they left off as Q1 wrapped: down, and down big. A double whammy of massive anticipated unemployment figures and truly disheartening modeling on COVID-19-related deaths sent all three...more
4/2/2020
/ AT&T ,
Bakken Shale ,
Capital Requirements ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Federal Reserve ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Manufacturers ,
Oil Prices ,
Relief Measures ,
Sprint ,
Startups ,
T-Mobile ,
Tariffs ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Videoconference
Macy’s announced on Monday that it will furlough most of its nearly 130,000 workers (at its Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, and Bluemercury retail locations) starting this week as its stores remained shuttered due to the pandemic....more
3/31/2020
/ Bank of New York (BNY) Mellon ,
Business Closures ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Restructuring ,
Data Privacy ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Facebook ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
Furloughs ,
Gap Inc ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Insider Trading ,
Insurance Claims ,
Kohls ,
Layoffs ,
Macy's ,
Relief Measures ,
Retailers ,
S&P ,
Share Buybacks ,
Videoconference
Unpacking Friday’s $2.2 trillion COVID-19 stimulus bill reveals a heck of a lot of “small favors to special interests” and “a slew of policy changes that had gathered dust, some for years in a stagnant and divided Congress.”...more
3/30/2020
/ Accounting Standards ,
Banks ,
BlackRock ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Stimulus ,
FinTech ,
General Motors ,
Grocery Store Workers ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Loans ,
On-Demand Services ,
Strike
Anticipated House passage later today of the $2 trillion COVID-19 stimulus bill helped swing markets back to a bull run (though let’s keep that bubbly corked, shall we?). The news was enough for Wall Street to shrug off a...more
3/27/2020
/ CBS ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Stimulus ,
G20 ,
Global Economy ,
Recessions ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stock Prices ,
TARP ,
Trump Administration ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Viacom ,
Wells Fargo
Tuesday was one of those rare Bear Market good days. Renewed optimism about a forthcoming Congressional stimulus deal (including the estimated $2 trillion it encompasses) and more time to digest the Fed’s commitment to...more
3/25/2020
/ Amazon ,
Banks ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Facebook ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Manufacturers ,
Mark Zuckerberg ,
Microsoft ,
Rating Agencies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stress Tests ,
Trump Administration ,
Uber
A promise of “unlimited” QE from the Fed Monday morning briefly turned the tides on Dow futures but wasn’t enough to overcome another day of COVID-19-related fears and DC gridlock over the $1.8 trillion stimulus package III...more
3/24/2020
/ Airlines ,
Allen v Cooper ,
Big Tech ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Crisis Management ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Economic Downturn ,
Equipment Failure ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Futures ,
Government Lockdown ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Investment Fraud ,
Manslaughter ,
PG&E ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Social Media ,
Stock Sale Agreements ,
Theranos ,
Wildfires
The Federal Reserve is adding to its commitment to buy government bonds, announcing on Thursday that it would also buy up $150 billion in Treasury securities—all of which confirms the central bank’s commitment to a return of...more
3/20/2020
/ Bonds ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Eviction ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Food Supply ,
Foreclosure ,
Hedge Funds ,
Microsoft ,
Oil Prices ,
Securities Act ,
Siemens ,
Unemployment ,
Unemployment Benefits
Late action by the Senate to pass a second COVID-19 relief package (that the White House soon signed) may [key word may] help markets yo-yo back upward today after a dismal Wednesday driven by crazy-low oil prices (West Texas...more
3/19/2020
/ Bailout ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
EU ,
European Central Bank ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Stimulus ,
FinTech ,
Gig Economy ,
Health Insurance ,
Hedge Funds ,
Independent Contractors ,
Medical Devices ,
Mutual Funds ,
New Legislation ,
Oil Prices ,
Public Health ,
Recessions ,
Sick Leave ,
Sick Pay ,
Sovereign Wealth Funds ,
Stock Redemption ,
Trump Administration ,
Workplace Safety
Volatility’s the name of the game these days on Wall Street. So what was down on Monday was up (a bit, at least) yesterday, although the basics of the situation haven’t improved at all....more
3/18/2020
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Bailout ,
Banking Crisis ,
CEOs ,
China ,
Climate Change ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Costco ,
Crisis Management ,
Economic Downturn ,
Exxon Mobil ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
Futures ,
HSBC ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Italy ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Lending ,
Liquidity ,
Market Manipulation ,
Office Space ,
Public Health ,
Relief Measures ,
Retail Market ,
SoftBank ,
Startups ,
State Attorneys General ,
Suppliers ,
Trump Administration ,
Wal-Mart
As Americans [way-too] slowly come to the realization that COVID-19 is a very real and very present threat, the business world is changing around them at a staggering pace. Stocks nosedived again on Monday, with the three...more
3/17/2020
/ Abuse of Power ,
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Airlines ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Apple ,
Aviation Industry ,
Business Interruption ,
Capital Markets ,
CEOs ,
Chapter 11 ,
China ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Distance Learning ,
E-Commerce ,
Economic Downturn ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Aid ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Services Industry ,
France ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Infectious Diseases ,
IRS ,
Lockheed Martin ,
Net Operating Losses ,
OCC ,
PG&E ,
Public Health ,
Recessions ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Stock Prices ,
Tax Code ,
Tax Deductions ,
Telecommuting ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wells Fargo
Monday on Wall Street was the equivalent of a well-forecast storm that still managed to blow meteorologists’ minds. The deadly combination of diving oil prices and yet more COVID-19 worries spelled disaster for U.S. markets,...more
3/10/2020
/ Activist Investors ,
Bank Accounts ,
Bank of New York (BNY) Mellon ,
Board of Directors ,
China ,
Congressional Investigations & Hearings ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corruption ,
Cross-Selling ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Dow Jones ,
Economic Downturn ,
Exploration and Production Assets ,
Facebook ,
Federal Reserve ,
Fifth Third Mortgage Company ,
Financial Markets ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Investment ,
Oil Prices ,
OPEC ,
Public Health ,
Relief Measures ,
Resignation ,
Russia ,
S&P ,
Saudi Arabia ,
Short-Term Loans ,
Stock Prices ,
Twitter ,
Wells Fargo
HP has officially rejected Xerox’s enhanced takeover bid, again calling the offer “too low” and decrying its “disproportionate[] benefit” for Xerox shareholders....more
3/5/2020
/ CBS ,
China ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Disgorgement ,
DoorDash ,
Employee Definition ,
European Central Bank ,
Exploration and Production Assets ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
France ,
Gig Economy ,
Hewlett-Packard ,
Housing Market ,
Huawei ,
Infrastructure ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Liu v Securities and Exchange Commission ,
Oil Prices ,
On-Demand Services ,
OPEC ,
Oral Argument ,
Popular ,
Publishers ,
Racketeering ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Rental Property ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Takeover Bids ,
Telecommunications ,
Uber ,
Viacom ,
Wall Street ,
Wells Fargo ,
Xerox
Paul Singer and the Elliott Mgmt crew have a new target in their sights: Twitter’s founder and CEO, Jack Dorsey. Singer’s Elliott fund has amassed a “significant stake” in the company—perhaps as much as a billion—and is...more
3/2/2020
/ Activist Investors ,
American Express ,
AT&T ,
Australia ,
China ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corruption ,
Credit Cards ,
Credit Reports ,
Data-Sharing ,
DoorDash ,
Economic Downturn ,
FCC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Fees ,
Financial Markets ,
Global Economy ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Investment ,
Location Data ,
OECD ,
Popular ,
Public Health ,
Rate-Rigging ,
Rewards Programs ,
Sprint ,
Stock Prices ,
T-Mobile ,
Threat Management ,
Twitter ,
Verizon ,
White Collar Crimes
Wall Street apparently got together and decided that Monday was the day to start paying attention to the coronavirus for real. In the form of a massive selloff that left the Dow off more than 1000 points for its worst finish...more
2/25/2020
/ Acquisitions ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Credit Karma ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Director Removal ,
E-Cigarettes ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Hewlett-Packard ,
Hostile Takeover ,
Independent Directors ,
Intuit ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
TurboTax ,
Wall Street ,
Xerox
Newly released minutes from the Fed’s January meeting show central bankers preoccupied with global risks, including the still-growing economic impact of the coronavirus, while still taking a wait-and-see approach to any...more
2/20/2020
/ 401k ,
Appraisal ,
Bank of America ,
CEOs ,
China ,
Class Action ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Countrywide ,
Cyber Threats ,
Economic Injuries ,
Elon Musk ,
Employee Benefits ,
Federal Reserve ,
Fidelity Investments ,
Financial Reporting ,
Financial Services Industry ,
France ,
Fraud ,
Global Market ,
Government Investigations ,
Huawei ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Investment ,
Junk Bonds ,
Mortgages ,
NDAA ,
Presidential Pardons ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Renault-Nissan ,
Retirement Plan ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Solar Energy ,
Startups ,
Supply Chain ,
Telecommunications ,
Token Sales ,
Trump Administration ,
UBS ,
White Collar Crimes ,
ZTE
In a massive win for Amazon (because, again, Jeff NEEDS it), Court of Federal Claims Judge Patricia Campbell-Smith has granted the company’s motion for an injunction halting Microsoft’s work on the $10 billion cloud-computing...more
2/14/2020
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Violations ,
China ,
Cloud Computing ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Crisis ,
Financing ,
Google ,
Huawei ,
Indictments ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Injunctions ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Interference Claims ,
Liquidity ,
Microsoft ,
Music Industry ,
Popular ,
Racketeering ,
Royal Bank of Scotland ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Telecommunications ,
Tesla ,
Theft ,
Trade Secrets ,
Trump Administration
UK regulators are probing ties between disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein and Barclays CEO Jes Staley. The bank’s board is so far standing 100% with Staley, who has expressed “regret” over his relationship with Epstein....more
2/13/2020
/ Aircraft ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Android ,
Barclays ,
Boeing ,
CEOs ,
Child Abuse ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Facebook ,
Fear of Harm ,
Federal Reserve ,
Fraud ,
Google ,
Government Investigations ,
Jeff Bezos ,
Nissan ,
OFCOM ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Safe Harbors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Senate Confirmation Hearings ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Smartphones ,
Sprint ,
Startups ,
Stock Sale Agreements ,
T-Mobile ,
Telecommunications ,
Terrorist Acts ,
Theranos ,
UK ,
Wireless Industry ,
Wireless Technology
-The DOJ has announced charges against four members of China’s military related to the 2017 cyberattack on credit-reporting agency Equifax, the breach that revealed “trade secrets and the personal data of about 145 million...more
2/11/2020
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Banks ,
China ,
Cloud Computing ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Data Breach ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Growth ,
Employee Definition ,
Equifax ,
FDIC ,
Federal Budget ,
Federal Reserve ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Services Committee ,
FinTech ,
Gig Economy ,
Global Market ,
Hewlett-Packard ,
Independent Contractors ,
Indictments ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Microsoft ,
Misclassification ,
Personal Care Products ,
Popular ,
Proxy Advisors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sprint ,
Startups ,
T-Mobile ,
Takeover Bids ,
Telecommunications ,
Trump Administration ,
Uber ,
Wireless Industry ,
Xerox