The feud between Big Billy Gross and his former firm, Pimco, over BBG’s 2014 ouster is officially finished. The terms weren’t officially disclosed, but both sides noted that “any proceeds from the suit will be donated to...more
3/28/2017
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Financial Institutions ,
Foreign Investment ,
Oil & Gas ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Retail Market ,
Saudi Arabia ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Sharing Economy ,
SoftBank ,
Uber ,
Valeant ,
White Collar Crimes
Eric Mindich—famous for becoming the youngest-ever Goldman partner at 29—is shuttering his Eton Park Capital Management hedge fund and returning the $7 billion it manages to investors. Viewed along with Pershing Square’s...more
Following up on news last week that Bill Ackman was finally done with his grand Valeant experiment, the Times gives us a deeper look at what was really going on with the activist investor’s bet and ultimate $4 billion loss....more
3/20/2017
/ Activist Investors ,
Automotive Industry ,
Banking Sector ,
Debt Market ,
Ethics ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
General Motors ,
Netflix ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Private Equity ,
Resignation ,
RMBS ,
Sharing Economy ,
Stock Markets ,
Uber ,
Valeant
Financial transaction provider Euronet Worldwide’s made an unsolicited bid to acquire MoneyGram for about $1 billion in cash, throwing a wrench into Ant Financial’s plan to use MG as a way to break into the US market and...more
3/15/2017
/ Article 50 Treaty of the EU ,
EU ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Financial Institutions ,
Hackers ,
Indictments ,
Interest Rates ,
Investment Adviser ,
SIFMA ,
Stock Markets ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Yahoo!
Bill Ackman, not known for giving up easily, is finally throwing in the towel on Valeant (even after taking a board seat at the company) and cutting his losses after a failed “two-year bet that lost about $4 billion for his...more
3/14/2017
/ Automotive Industry ,
Chamber of Commerce ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Driverless Cars ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Financial Institutions ,
Golden Parachutes ,
Intel ,
Investment Adviser ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Marissa Mayer ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Retirement ,
RMBS ,
Stock Exchange ,
Technology Sector ,
Toshiba ,
Valeant ,
Verizon ,
Yahoo!
Another tech-related disappointment for the Winklevii, this time with ramifications for an entire means of payment, as the SEC has rejected an application by the brothers to create an ETF tied to the price of bitcoin....more
3/13/2017
/ AIG ,
Banking Sector ,
Berkshire Hathaway ,
Bitcoin ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Fannie Mae ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Freddie Mac ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Libor ,
Real Estate Market ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Technology Sector ,
UK Brexit ,
Virtual Currency
There’s been a bit of a stir in the paint world, with Dutch firm Akzo Nobel rejecting a takeover bid from PPG Industries valued at $22 billion. In a statement, Akzo claimed that the offer “substantially undervalues” the...more
3/10/2017
/ AIG ,
Bitcoin ,
Bribery ,
Common Stock ,
Data Collection ,
Digital Currency ,
Economic Development ,
European Central Bank ,
Financial Institutions ,
IRS ,
Job Creation ,
Samsung ,
Section 409A ,
South Korea ,
Stock Options ,
Takeover Bids ,
Virtual Currency ,
White Collar Crimes
We now know what all of that law-enforcement activity around Caterpillar HQ in past weeks. A government report out this week reveals that investigators are targeting CAT for tax and accounting fraud, though no charges have...more
3/9/2017
/ Accounting Fraud ,
Administrative Appointments ,
Banking Sector ,
Caterpillar ,
Class Action ,
Confirmation Proceedings ,
Financial Institutions ,
Germany ,
Industrial Products ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Nominations ,
Private Sector ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Snapchat ,
Social Media ,
SoftBank ,
Tax Fraud
Index-fund giant State Street is putting gender diversity on corporate boards front and center, announcing this week that it will begin voting against board members charged with nominating new directors if they don’t make an...more
3/9/2017
/ Android ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Automotive Industry ,
Capital Raising ,
Commodities ,
Diversity ,
Driverless Cars ,
Electric Vehicles ,
EU ,
Financial Institutions ,
Gender Equity ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Google ,
Inflation Adjustments ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Iran Sanctions ,
North Korea ,
Price Maintenance ,
Sharing Economy ,
State Street ,
Uber ,
Volvo ,
ZTE
The SEC is set to decide this week whether to okay a new ETF that could provide investors easier access to bitcoin, a potentially transformative move for the virtual currency....more
3/7/2017
/ Automotive Industry ,
Bitcoin ,
Bribery ,
Capital Raising ,
Dodd-Frank ,
EFTs ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
General Motors ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Insider Trading ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Offerings ,
Samsung ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Snapchat ,
Social Media ,
South Korea ,
Technology ,
Virtual Currency ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
It’s been far from a smooth ride for Uber over the past few weeks. And Friday’s revelation that the ride-sharing company’s been using a tool called “Greyball” to mine and use app data to “deceive the authorities in markets...more
3/6/2017
/ Appeals ,
Automotive Industry ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Capital Raising ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Digital Currency ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
General Motors ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Mobile Apps ,
RMBS ,
Securities Violations ,
Sharing Economy ,
Summary Judgment ,
Technology Sector ,
Uber ,
Valuation
In this week’s Common Sense entry, James Stewart lets us in on how an entity that loses so much money (Snap) could be worth so much [it gained 44 percent on its offering price in the first day of trading]. The answer is being...more
3/3/2017
/ Amazon ,
Banks ,
Bitcoin ,
Capital Raising ,
Caterpillar ,
Deregulation ,
Digital Currency ,
Dodd-Frank ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Financial Crisis ,
Financial Institutions ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Internet ,
Moody's ,
Offerings ,
Offshore Funds ,
Snapchat ,
Technology Sector
After months of anticipation, yesterday was finally official Snap IPO day. And despite losses of more than $500 million last year, the company saw willing investors flock to buy the $17 shares, pushing Snap’s valuation to...more
3/2/2017
/ Capital Raising ,
Data Breach ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Dow Jones ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Hedge Funds ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Insider Trading ,
Investment Adviser ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Snapchat ,
Social Media ,
SoftBank ,
Wells Fargo ,
Yahoo!
A collection of corporate heavy hitters are betting big on the blockchain technology behind bitcoin rival Ethereum to build a computing system to track data and financial contracts. The project is seen by some as a way to...more
2/28/2017
/ Banking Sector ,
Berkshire Hathaway ,
Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Bonds ,
Bribery ,
China ,
Corruption ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Derivatives ,
Digital Currency ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Elon Musk ,
Energy Market ,
Energy Sector ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Foreign Investment ,
Forex ,
Indictments ,
Insurance Industry ,
Samsung ,
Senate Confirmation Hearings ,
South Korea ,
Stock Markets ,
Stocks ,
Technology ,
Technology Sector ,
Tesla ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
Valuation ,
Virtual Currency ,
Warren Buffett ,
White Collar Crimes
It may lack some of the flourish of a BBG missive, but you can be sure that plenty of insiders are paying close attention to Mr. Buffet’s annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders....more
2/27/2017
/ Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Berkshire Hathaway ,
Bonds ,
Capital Raising ,
China ,
Citigroup ,
Dodd-Frank ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Foreign Workers ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
Japan ,
Offerings ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Smartphones ,
Stocks ,
Technology ,
Warren Buffett ,
Whistleblowers ,
Wireless Industry ,
Wireless Technology
FinCEN is extending its campaign to press title insurance companies to reveal the real buyers behind shell companies that pay cash for high-end real estate deals in select cities around the country....more
2/24/2017
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Beneficial Owner ,
Big Data ,
BSA/AML ,
Capital One ,
Cash Transactions ,
China ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Driverless Cars ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
FinCEN ,
Google ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Money Laundering ,
Patents ,
Real Estate Investments ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shell Corporations ,
Stock Markets ,
Technology ,
Technology Sector ,
Title Insurance ,
Trump Administration ,
Uber
A review of the Fed minutes released yesterday shows the willingness of some Fed Governors to start rate raising again sooner rather than later....more
2/23/2017
/ Academy Awards ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Energy Sector ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Crisis ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinTech ,
Foreclosure ,
Innovation ,
Innovative Technology ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Interest Rates ,
NASA ,
Outer Space ,
Renewable Energy ,
Secretary of the Treasury ,
Shareholders ,
Silicon Valley ,
Solar Energy ,
SolarCity ,
Tax Reform ,
TCPA ,
Technology ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Wells Fargo
Activist investor Carl Icahn has taken a sizeable stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb, a move that reportedly caught execs at the drugmaker unawares and sets the stage for a potential sale....more
2/22/2017
/ Activist Investors ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Automotive Industry ,
Automotive Loans ,
Bank Accounts ,
Banks ,
Bristol-Myers Squibb ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Cross-Selling ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Fraud ,
HSBC ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Money Laundering ,
Multinationals ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
UK ,
Universal Health Services Inc v United States ex rel Escobar ,
Wells Fargo
Shareholders have accused Under Armour of “concealing the impact” of Sports Authority’s bankruptcy from investors in order to artificially inflate its stock price. The suit comes on the heels of a disastrous Q4 for UA, in...more
2/21/2017
/ Arbitration ,
Bribery ,
Capital Raising ,
Climate Change ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EU ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Food Manufacturers ,
Heinz ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investors ,
Kraft ,
Member State ,
Merger Agreements ,
Public Offerings ,
Referendums ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Samsung ,
Search Engines ,
Securities Violations ,
Shareholders ,
Snapchat ,
Social Media ,
Sports Authority ,
Stock Prices ,
Telecommunications ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Unilever ,
Verizon ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Yahoo!
We learned about KraftHeinz’s offer to merge with Unilever only after it had been rejected. And now it appears to be off the table completely—all $143 billion of it....more
2/20/2017
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Capital Raising ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Deregulation ,
Employee Benefits ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Financial Institutions ,
Heinz ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Investment ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investors ,
Kraft ,
Merger Agreements ,
Public Offerings ,
Retirement ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Snapchat ,
Social Media ,
Trump Administration ,
Unilever
Acting SEC Chair Michael Piwowar has reportedly scaled back some of the agency’s enforcement staff’s use of delegated authority by funneling all subpoena issuance and probe initiation through the SEC’s director of...more
2/17/2017
/ Administrative Proceedings ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Banking Sector ,
Bribery ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Kraft ,
Online Marketplace Lending ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Samsung ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Takeover Bids ,
Technology ,
Technology Sector ,
Theranos ,
Unilever
We had a pretty good inkling this was coming. Yahoo and Verizon are reportedly nearing a new deal, with Y! knocking something close to $300 million off of the sale price to ensure that Verizon will still go through with the...more
2/16/2017
/ Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Financial Institutions ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Merger Agreements ,
Mortgages ,
Public Offerings ,
Snapchat ,
Social Media ,
Social Networks ,
Verizon ,
Yahoo!
Japan’s SoftBank hasn’t been shy about bold moves, but its most recent one—the decision to buy American PE giant Fortress Investment Group—is an especially big one. The deal is seen as bolstering SoftBank’s recently announced...more
2/15/2017
/ Activist Investors ,
Automotive Industry ,
Banking Sector ,
Class Action ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Foreign Exchanges ,
Forex ,
General Motors ,
Interest Rates ,
Investment Funds ,
Japan ,
Merger Agreements ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Procter & Gamble ,
Repeal ,
Technology ,
Toshiba
We’ve talked a fair amount about the switch to chip & pin card systems over the past few years. But how about a lack of cards altogether? Because that’s what the banks have in mind....more
2/14/2017
/ Aetna ,
Apple ,
Banking Sector ,
Chip and PIN ,
Credit Cards ,
Data Breach ,
Debit Cards ,
Financial Institutions ,
Fraud ,
Health Insurance ,
Humana ,
Insurance Industry ,
Internet Retailers ,
iPhone ,
Merger Agreements ,
Oil & Gas ,
OPEC ,
Point of Sale Terminals ,
Retail Market ,
Retailers ,
Saudi Arabia ,
Smartphones ,
Technology Sector ,
Wendy's
Former AIG chief Hank Greenberg and his co-defendant, AIG’s former CFO, reached an “unexpected” settlement last week with NY officials. The duo will fork over about $10 million in bonuses payments and admit that they...more
2/13/2017
/ AIG ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Automotive Industry ,
Bear Sterns ,
Capital Raising ,
Credit Ratings ,
Denmark ,
Feeder Funds ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Ford Motor ,
Fraud ,
Hedge Funds ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Insurance Industry ,
Rating Agencies ,
Snapchat ,
Social Networks ,
Tax Code ,
Technology