Because the Nissan leadership scandal is about as well-contained as Chernobyl in the early days [thanks, HBO], French automaker Renault has voted this morning to remove Chief Executive Thierry Bolloré amid concerns over the...more
10/11/2019
/ Automotive Industry ,
Banks ,
Bitcoin ,
Business Valuations ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Capital Rules ,
CFTC ,
China ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Commodities ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Electricity ,
Ether ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
General Motors ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Investment Banks ,
Labor Relations ,
Layoffs ,
Lenders ,
Liquidity ,
Personal Data ,
PG&E ,
Regulatory Burden ,
Renault-Nissan ,
Reorganizations ,
Retailers ,
Rollbacks ,
Saudi Arabia ,
Saudi Aramco ,
Trade Wars ,
Trump Administration ,
UAW ,
US Trade Policies ,
Victoria Secret ,
Wal-Mart
A ruling this morning from South Korea’s top court means that Samsung’s de facto leader, its vice chair and chaebol heir Lee Jae-yong, could be heading back behind bars. The high court found that a lower appeals court “had...more
8/29/2019
/ Bayer ,
Bonds ,
Bribery ,
Class Action ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Forever 21 ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Investment Fraud ,
Merrill Lynch ,
Monsanto ,
Mortgages ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Passive Investments ,
Popular ,
Samsung ,
South Korea ,
Treasury Markets ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
White Collar Crimes
Credit bureau Equifax is closing in on an agreement with federal and state authorities in which it would pay $650-700 million to resolve claims related to the massive breach it revealed in September 2017 that exposed personal...more
7/22/2019
/ Brick-and-Mortar Stores ,
China ,
Commercial Leases ,
Data Breach ,
E-Commerce ,
Equifax ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FOMC ,
Foreign Investment ,
Google ,
Johnson & Johnson ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Public Health ,
Real Estate Investments ,
Renault-Nissan ,
Rental Property ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Silicon Valley ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Trade Wars ,
Trump Administration ,
Uber
Much more on the suddenly hot topic of Big Tech antitrust oversight, including a negotiated agreement among regulators that will see the DOJ handling Apple and Google while the Federal Trade Commission will take on Facebook...more
6/4/2019
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Apple ,
China ,
Chrysler ,
Denial of Certiorari ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Development ,
Facebook ,
Federal Reserve ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fiat ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
France ,
General Motors ,
Google ,
Government Investigations ,
Insider Trading ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Mexico ,
NYDFS ,
OCC ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Renault-Nissan ,
SAC Capital ,
SCOTUS ,
Tariffs ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tesla ,
Trump Administration
Fiat Chrysler and struggling post-Ghosn French automaker Renault are in talks to complete a merger of equals that could “reshape the global automobile industry.” If a deal is reached the combined company would be the third...more
5/28/2019
/ Alibaba ,
Bitcoin ,
Chrysler ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Data Breach ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Fiat ,
Financial Services Industry ,
First American Title Insurance Co. ,
Hong Kong Stock Exchange ,
Huawei ,
Insider Trading ,
IP License ,
Johnson & Johnson ,
Licensing Rights ,
Mortgages ,
Nuisance ,
Opioid ,
Payment Processors ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Public Listing ,
Publishers ,
Renault-Nissan ,
Trump Administration ,
Vulnerability Assessments ,
White Collar Crimes
Deutsche Bank on Wednesday confirmed the basics of a recent German newspaper report that revealed that the bank “had used faulty software to screen customer transactions for suspicious activity” while claiming that “no...more
5/23/2019
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Android ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Antitrust Division ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Avon ,
BSA/AML ,
Cosmetics ,
Data Management ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Services Industry ,
General Electric ,
Google ,
Huawei ,
Inflation Adjustments ,
Investment Banks ,
Investment Fraud ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Real Estate Brokers ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Smartphones ,
Software ,
Theresa May ,
UK Brexit ,
Wireless Industry
We were pretty sure that the Fed would keep interest rates steady as it wrapped its Open Market Committee meetings yesterday, and Fed Chair Powell delivered on that expectation. He also admitted that the same lack of...more
5/3/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Apple ,
Banks ,
Barclays ,
Cambridge Analytica ,
China ,
Credit Cards ,
Debt ,
Delinquent Borrowers ,
Derivative Suit ,
EU ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Interest Rates ,
Internet ,
Patent Litigation ,
Political Parties ,
Prime Minister ,
Qualcomm ,
Scandals ,
Secretary of Defense ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Telecommunications ,
Transaction Fees ,
UK Brexit
Zuck and Co. are launching a major platform redesign as Facebook attempts to move beyond years of privacy-related scandals and promote group-based communications rather than the public-square newsfeed....more
5/1/2019
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Alphabet Company ,
Apple ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
E-Commerce ,
Facebook ,
Federal Pilot Programs ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Instagram ,
Internet Streaming ,
Lost Profits ,
Music Streaming ,
OCC ,
Oil & Gas ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Renewable Energy ,
Sandbox ,
Share Buybacks ,
Social Media ,
Solar Energy ,
Solar Panels ,
Stock Prices ,
Tesla ,
Warren Buffett
The DC Circuit Court of Appeals dealt the DOJ a blow yesterday with a ruling that “rejected the government’s claim that a lower court had applied antitrust laws incorrectly in allowing the merger” between AT&T and Time Warner...more
2/27/2019
/ 5G Network ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
AT&T ,
Bank of America ,
Bonds ,
Commerzbank ,
Competition ,
Data Breach ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Elon Musk ,
Embedded Tweets ,
Fannie Mae ,
Fees ,
Fidelity Investments ,
Financial Services Committee ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Freddie Mac ,
Germany ,
Huawei ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Market Manipulation ,
Mutual Funds ,
Online Advertisements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Social Media ,
Time Warner ,
United Arab Emirates (UAE) ,
Wal-Mart ,
Wireless Industry
Regional lenders BB&T and SunTrust have announced plans to “unite in an all-stock deal” that would value the combined bank at $66 billion. The new lender would be the sixth-largest in the US, and, if allowed, would be created...more
2/7/2019
/ Ability-to-Repay ,
Alstom ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Browser History Sniffing ,
Chipotle Grill ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Data Collection ,
EU ,
Facebook ,
Farm & Fisherman Bankruptcies ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Germany ,
International Trade Disputes ,
Investment Funds ,
Music Streaming ,
Payday Loans ,
Podcasts ,
Privacy Concerns ,
Siemens ,
Smartphones ,
SoftBank ,
Sovereign Wealth Funds ,
Spotify ,
SunTrust ,
Tariffs ,
Video Games
USA Today publisher and media conglomerate Gannett has rejected a $1.3 billion hostile takeover bid from Alden Global Capital-backed MNG Enterprises, “kicking off a battle for shareholder votes to determine the future of the...more
2/5/2019
/ Australia ,
Automotive Industry ,
China ,
Class Action ,
Climate Change ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Energy Storage ,
Exxon Mobil ,
Facebook ,
Financial Fraud ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Hostile Takeover ,
Huawei ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Nissan ,
Presidential Appointments ,
Publishers ,
Retirement Plan ,
Slack ,
Stock Drop Litigation ,
Tesla ,
UK Brexit ,
Wire Fraud ,
World Bank
The US and China have resumed trade talks in an effort to cool down an increasingly heated trade war between the economic powerhouses....more
1/8/2019
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
China ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Exports ,
Fidelity Investments ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Global Market ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Imports ,
Infrastructure ,
Insider Trading ,
Morgan Stanley ,
Nissan ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
SoftBank ,
Stock Exchange ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
UK Brexit ,
US Trade Policies ,
US v Newman ,
White Collar Crimes ,
World Bank
It was quite a run, but on Thursday, ECB chief Mario Draghi announced that the bank is finally putting an end to the quantitative easing program it’s used “to hold down interest rates and encourage lending” since 2015. ...more
12/14/2018
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
China ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Digital Currency ,
European Central Bank ,
Exports ,
Farms ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Food Supply ,
General Electric ,
Housing Market ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Interest Rates ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Token Sales ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
White Collar Crimes
Three weeks after his initial arrest, Japanese prosecutors have officially indicted former Nissan Chair Carlos Ghosn for understating his income by $43 million....more
12/10/2018
/ Bernie Madoff ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Debt-Relief Industry ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Facebook ,
Financial Fraud ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Huawei ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Japan ,
Job Creation ,
Nissan ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Sanction Violations ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Share Buybacks ,
Stock Prices ,
Student Loans ,
Uber ,
UK Brexit ,
Wall Street ,
Whistleblowers ,
Wire Fraud
On second thought, Wall Street does have some questions about the specifics of the pause in the trade war that apparently emerged from the G-20 sidelines this weekend. And when Wall Street has questions—well, not a banner...more
12/5/2018
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Antitrust Violations ,
AOL ,
Automotive Industry ,
Benchmarks ,
Class Action ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
COPPA ,
E-Commerce ,
EU ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
France ,
G20 ,
Gas Taxes ,
Germany ,
Higher Education Act ,
Imports ,
Loan Forgiveness ,
MasterCard ,
Navient ,
Online Advertisements ,
Preemption ,
Protests ,
Student Loans ,
Takeda Pharmaceuticals ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Transaction Fees ,
U.S. Treasury ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
US Trade Policies ,
USPS ,
Verizon ,
Wall Street ,
Yahoo!
Amidst all of that Black Friday and general holiday craziness, the White House released a blockbuster report issued by a collection of 13 federal agencies on Friday warning that, if left unchecked, global climate change could...more
11/26/2018
/ Black Friday ,
Campbell Soup Company ,
Climate Change ,
Danske Bank ,
Exxon Mobil ,
Facebook ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Fraud ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
First Amendment ,
Mitsubishi ,
Money Laundering ,
NRA ,
PayPal ,
Renault-Nissan ,
Retailers ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Venmo ,
Whistleblowers
We seem to be in whipsaw territory, as a tech selloff on Monday spread into a “broad retreat” that led to the Dow tumbling 600 points....more
11/13/2018
/ Aircraft ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Boeing ,
Campbell Soup Company ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
DMV ,
Dow Jones ,
ETFs ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
General Electric ,
Identity Theft ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
NAFTA ,
SAP America Inc. ,
Stocks ,
Technology Sector ,
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) ,
US Trade Policies
Mr. Buffett and his Berkshire crew just dropped nearly a billion on its own stock, a likely sign, according to analysts, of a “dearth of appealing investment options” for the company’s “large cash pile”....more
11/5/2018
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Barclays ,
Berkshire Hathaway ,
Beverage Manufacturers ,
Economic Development ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equity ,
EU ,
European Banking Authority (EBA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Insider Trading ,
Job Creation ,
Lloyds Banking Group ,
Penalties ,
Real Estate Development ,
Saudi Arabia ,
Share Buybacks ,
Soda Tax ,
SoftBank ,
Stress Tests ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
Wage and Hour ,
Warren Buffett
New York has sued Exxon Mobile over its alleged failure to disclose to its shareholder the “expected risk of climate change to its business”—behavior that the state asserts amounts to a “’longstanding fraudulent scheme’ to...more
10/25/2018
/ Apple ,
China ,
Climate Change ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Data Protection ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Ethics Breach ,
Exxon Mobil ,
Failure To Disclose ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Foreign Relations ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Investment Fraud ,
Misleading Impressions ,
Oil & Gas ,
Payday Loans ,
Quarterly Report ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stock Prices ,
Tariffs ,
Tesla ,
Trading Plans ,
Trump Administration ,
Wells Fargo ,
WTO
Markets around the world took a beating yesterday amidst concerns about steel tariffs and other rising commodity costs, an economic slowdown in China, and brewing trouble in the EU. US stocks rallied by the end of the day to...more
10/24/2018
/ American Express ,
Budgets ,
Capital One ,
China ,
Class Action ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Commodities ,
Data Breach ,
EU ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Foreign Exchanges ,
Italy ,
Money Laundering ,
OCC ,
Sears ,
Steel Industry ,
Strict Compliance ,
Tariffs ,
Yahoo!
We’ve been keeping tabs on the high-profile CEOs who have withdrawn from Saudi Arabia’s coming investment conference over the past few weeks. But pulling out the conference is very different from severing ties with the...more
10/22/2018
/ Appeals ,
Bank of America ,
CashCall ,
CBS ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Elon Musk ,
EU ,
Facebook ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Foreign Investment ,
Free Trade Agreements ,
Interest Rates ,
Italy ,
Moody's ,
Mortgage Escrow Account ,
National Bank Act ,
Newspapers ,
Payday Loans ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
Preemption ,
Procter & Gamble ,
Quarterly Report ,
Recessions ,
Saudi Arabia ,
Singapore ,
Social Media ,
Tesla ,
White Collar Crimes
After much deliberation, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced that he, too, will withdraw from the Future Investment Initiative conference in Saudi Arabia next week. His announcement follows over a week of intrigue...more
10/19/2018
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Blockchain ,
Campbell Soup Company ,
CFTC ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Data Mining ,
EU ,
Felonies ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Food Manufacturers ,
Futures ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Price-Fixing ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Saudi Arabia ,
Seafood ,
Sears ,
UK Brexit ,
Volcker Rule
More on the rather shocking departure of John Flannery from GE, the Board that didn’t want to give him any more leash for his turnaround plans, and the future of the embattled corporate giant under Larry Culp....more
10/2/2018
/ Banks ,
Canada ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Data Breach ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Exports ,
Facebook ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Services and Markets Act ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Free Trade Agreements ,
General Electric ,
IMF ,
Imports ,
Insider Trading ,
Instagram ,
Investment Opportunities ,
IRS ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Mexico ,
NAFTA ,
PayPal ,
Resignation ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Social Media ,
Tax Fraud ,
Tesco ,
Trade Relations ,
UK ,
US Trade Policies ,
Wells Fargo
Less than a day after the Journal reported that CBS and the Redstones are nearing a deal to resolve their many differences, we’ve learned that CBS chief Les Moonves—facing an investigation into alleged sexual harassment...more
9/7/2018
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Apple ,
CBS ,
China ,
Credit Ratings ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Elon Musk ,
Emerging Markets ,
EU ,
Fannie Mae ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Fraud ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Freddie Mac ,
Investors ,
Job Creation ,
Lehman Brothers ,
NY Supreme Court ,
Price Manipulation ,
Quicken Loans ,
RMBS ,
S&P ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Stock Prices ,
Stocks ,
Tesla ,
Unemployment ,
Wells Fargo
Last Friday, the White House asked the SEC to “consider eliminating requirements that publicly traded companies post quarterly earnings reports.” Such disclosures, however, are required by federal securities law, so they’re...more
8/20/2018
/ Bank Fraud ,
CashCall ,
China ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Deregulation ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Elon Musk ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Interest Rates ,
Internet Lenders ,
Non-Bank Lenders ,
PepsiCo ,
Quarterly Report ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Tesla ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
Unconscionable Contracts ,
US Trade Policies