Wells Fargo has reportedly uncovered another trove of unauthorized accounts, according to a regulatory filing on Friday. The bank also disclosed a CFPB investigation over potential harm to customers over its practice of...more
8/7/2017
/ Apple ,
Arbitration ,
Bitcoin ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Cross-Selling ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Diversity ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Gender Equity ,
Google ,
Information Technology ,
Job Creation ,
Navient ,
Nike ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Student Loans ,
Technology Sector ,
Unemployment ,
Virtual Currency ,
Wall Street ,
Wells Fargo
The Fed’s Open Markets Committee meets today, and despite relatively robust economic numbers of late, the lack of oped-for inflation (among other things) is likely to keep the Fed from moving on interest rates again at this...more
7/25/2017
/ Bitcoin ,
CFTC ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Commercial Loans ,
Digital Currency ,
Elon Musk ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
Fraud ,
High-Speed Rail ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Martin Shkreli ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
PNC ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Regulatory Agencies ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Samsung ,
Trade Options ,
Transportation Industry ,
WebMD
Big American banks (BofA, Citi, Morgan Stanley) are avoiding deals with Chinese conglomerate HNA Group over concerns regarding HNA’s debt level and ownership structure....more
7/20/2017
/ Bank of America ,
Cable Television Providers ,
China ,
Citibank ,
Climate Change ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
Fintech Charter ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Inflation Adjustments ,
Morgan Stanley ,
OCC ,
Telecommunications ,
Trading Platforms ,
UK Brexit ,
Whole Foods
A Tuesday Times op-ed accuses Wall Street of “fleec[ing]” American pension plan, mutual fund, and insurance policy investors by routing orders to particular exchanges in return for “rebates”—fractions of cents for each trade...more
We covered subprime auto yesterday. Today, it’s the other growing debt concern in the US—student loan obligations. Though here’s an unexpected take on it: due to missing or fake documentation, billions in defaulted student...more
7/18/2017
/ Debt Collection ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Foreign Exchanges ,
Forex ,
France ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Netflix ,
Oil & Gas ,
Private Equity ,
Procter & Gamble ,
Share Price ,
Student Loans
Activist investor Nelson Peltz is officially taking on his biggest target yet—consumer-products giant Procter & Gamble. The announcement begins the public stage of a fight we’ve been waiting for since Peltz’s Trian Fund Mgmt...more
7/17/2017
/ Activist Investors ,
Automotive Loans ,
Banks ,
Bitcoin ,
China ,
Equity Transactions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Fixed Income Investments ,
Insider Trading ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Subprime Loans ,
Telecommuting ,
Wells Fargo
Vanguard CEO William McNabb announced plans yesterday to step down, a big announcement for the mutual fund giant that finds itself “in the middle of one of the biggest growth spurts ever experienced by a large asset...more
7/14/2017
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
DraftKings ,
FanDuel ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Martin Shkreli ,
Mutual Funds ,
RBS ,
RMBS ,
Roku ,
Toshiba ,
UK
The CFPB made waves yesterday by adopting a rule that would prohibit financial firms from forcing customers to arbitrate their disputes over bank and credit card accounts (and by allowing class actions on those same issues)....more
7/11/2017
/ Abercrombie & Fitch ,
Administrative Appointments ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Consumer Contracts ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
E-Commerce ,
Energy Sector ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Job Creation
With politics swirling around in the background, the AT&T/Time Warner mega-merger is still up in the air, with DOJ antitrust officials still working away (8 months after the deal was announced) to determine whether...more
7/10/2017
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
AT&T ,
Banks ,
Berkshire Hathaway ,
Biometric Information ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinTech ,
Investment Adviser ,
Martin Shkreli ,
Retirement Plan ,
Smartphones ,
Time Warner Cable ,
UK ,
UK Brexit
Tesla’s rise to the top of the US car heap in terms of market value raised a lot of eyebrows a few months ago. GM bumped it back down yesterday, but its three months as #1 marked what felt like a serious shift in the auto...more
7/10/2017
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Automotive Industry ,
Berkshire Hathaway ,
Class Action ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Data Breach ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Dish Network ,
Elon Musk ,
Financial Institutions ,
Food Supply ,
Grocery Stores ,
Hackers ,
Internet of Things ,
Job Creation ,
QVC ,
Technology Sector ,
Tesla
The DOL went to bat for its controversial fiduciary rule in a 5th Circuit briefing this week, but it agreed to drop a prohibition on class-action waivers that was further ruffling feathers....more
7/6/2017
/ Arbitration ,
Bonds ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Common Stock ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Financial Crisis ,
Financial Institutions ,
Fraud ,
Mortgages ,
Swaps
A banner round of stress-testing for the US’s biggest banks (all passed for the first time in the test’s 7-year history) is seen as paving the way for banks to pay out their largest dividends in nearly a decade....more
6/29/2017
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Asset Management ,
Banking Sector ,
Blue Apron ,
Business Valuations ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Morgan Stanley ,
Nike ,
Retailers ,
Rite Aid ,
Silicon Valley ,
Staples ,
Startups ,
Stress Tests ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Walgreens
Call it the Loeb effect: just days after Third Point announced its sizeable stake in Nestle, the company is preparing to spend billions on stock buybacks in an effort to create value for shareholders, hinting that it would...more
6/28/2017
/ Charter Communications ,
Comcast ,
Financial Institutions ,
Martin Shkreli ,
Nestle ,
Offerings ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Puerto Rico ,
Sprint ,
Virgin Islands ,
Wireless Industry
The latest Wall Street revolution appears to be driven in large part by companies like Creative Planning, a registered investment adviser in a suburb of Kansas City that’s helping lead a shift away from brokers and mutual...more
6/22/2017
/ Capital Raising ,
Capital Requirements ,
Deregulation ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Investment Adviser ,
OCC ,
Resignation ,
Senate Banking Committee ,
Sharing Economy ,
Startups ,
Stock Markets ,
Telecommunications ,
Theranos ,
Uber ,
Volcker Rule ,
Wal-Mart ,
Wall Street
There’s been a hitch in Saudi Aramco’s IPO plans (mind-boggling $2 trillion possible valuation and all): where to list. The frontrunners, by the way, are the London Stock Exchange and the NYSE....more
6/15/2017
/ Anbang ,
Bonds ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Consumer Bankruptcy ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Fashion Industry ,
Federal Reserve ,
Federal Sentencing Guidelines ,
Financial Institutions ,
Inflation Adjustments ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
J Crew ,
London Stock Exchange ,
Mortgages ,
Retailers ,
Saudi Arabia ,
Wells Fargo
Uber made it official today, announcing that controversial CEO Travis Kalanick will be taking an indefinite leave of absence, though even the announcement and board commentary that followed seemed to highlight the “bad-boy...more
6/14/2017
/ AOL ,
Bonds ,
Cartels ,
Chrysler ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Currency Exchange ,
Fiat ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Forex ,
General Electric ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
LendingClub ,
Market Manipulation ,
National Emissions Standards ,
Online Marketplace Lending ,
Social Media ,
Telecommunications ,
Uber ,
UK ,
Verizon ,
Yahoo!
Uber’s troubles over the past few months have been well documented (here, among many other places). Still, this weekend’s news that the ride-hailing company’s board is considering a three-month leave of absence for CEO Travis...more
6/12/2017
/ Climate Change ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Energy Sector ,
Exxon Mobil ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
General Electric ,
Interest Rates ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Mortgages ,
Oil & Gas ,
Succession Planning ,
Uber
PM Theresa May’s call for a snap election looked a lot better a few weeks ago than it does on the morning after. But regardless of the outcome (hung parliament, anyone?), the pound sterling sure took it on the chin....more
6/9/2017
/ Alibaba ,
Bailout ,
Clawbacks ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
General Elections ,
Internet Retailers ,
Kokesh v SEC ,
Nordstrom Inc. ,
Pending Legislation ,
Retail Market ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
UK
Uber made waves yesterday by firing 20 employees as part of an internal investigation into sexual harassment and other unsavory aspects of its workplace culture....more
6/7/2017
/ Banking Sector ,
BHP Billiton ,
Bitcoin ,
Bonds ,
Financial Institutions ,
General Motors ,
Robotics ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Shipping ,
Uber ,
Virtual Currency
Hoping to reverse recent years of struggles, J. Crew is bidding farewell to CEO Mickey Drexler (though he’ll stay on as chairman) in favor of West Elm’s James Brett....more
6/6/2017
/ Apple ,
Clawbacks ,
Connected Items ,
Dish Network ,
Executive Compensation ,
Fashion Industry ,
Financial Institutions ,
Forex ,
Insider Trading ,
J Crew ,
National Emissions Standards ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
TCPA ,
Volkswagen ,
White Collar Crimes
We covered the move by Exxon shareholders to push the company for greater climate-change accounting last week. Now we’re learning that the NY AG believes that Exxon’s been “misleading” its shareholders about the impact that...more
6/5/2017
/ BlackRock ,
Blue Apron ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Climate Change ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Exxon Mobil ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Hedge Funds ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Job Creation ,
Legislative Agendas ,
On-Demand Services ,
Pending Legislation ,
RMBS ,
Shadow Banking ,
Subscription Services
Its recent debt sale was enough to score Italy’s Monte dei Paschi a government bailout, one of the first since the 2008 crisis and a test case for the ECB’s new bank bailout rules....more
6/2/2017
/ Anbang ,
Bailout ,
Banks ,
Blue Apron ,
China ,
Climate Change ,
Exxon Mobil ,
Financial Institutions ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Job Creation ,
Junk Bonds ,
Oil & Gas ,
On-Demand Services
Goldman Sachs’ recent purchase of $2.8 billion in Venezuelan bonds has been kicking around the headlines for a few days now. Here’s what’s at stake for the country and the bank....more
5/31/2017
/ Administrative Proceedings ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
BlackRock ,
Bonds ,
Class Action ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Google ,
Hedge Funds ,
Impression Products v Lexmark International ,
Ocwen ,
Patent Infringement ,
RMBS ,
Robocalling ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
TCPA ,
Trade Secrets ,
Uber ,
Venezuela ,
Wells Fargo
A Dutch court has backed the local Akzo Nobel in a bid by Elliot Mgmt to remove Akzo’s chairman after ignoring multiple overtures from PPG for the pain and chemicals giant. Elliot had hoped to force a special shareholder...more
5/30/2017
/ Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Credit Ratings ,
Federal Reserve ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Indictments ,
Insider Trading ,
Investment Adviser ,
Italy ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Retirement Plan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Theranos ,
White Collar Crimes
So what happens when traders attempt to manipulate the index that’s meant to measure fear in the stock market itself? Well, we might just be finding out. Two UT Austin researchers think that we’re seeing efforts to mess with...more
5/26/2017
/ Automotive Industry ,
Best Buy ,
BHP Billiton ,
Derivatives ,
Financial Institutions ,
Foreign Investment ,
General Motors ,
Infrastructure ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Mark Zuckerberg ,
Market Manipulation ,
National Emissions Standards ,
Oil & Gas ,
Saudi Arabia