Live-video streaming site Twitch, an Amazon company, revealed on Wednesday that it “had endured a data breach that security researchers believe may have provided sweeping insight into the platform’s computer code, security...more
And like that [poof], Ozy Media is no more, shutting down on Friday after an incredible 5-day period in which reporting from Ben Smith “raised questions about the company and its leadership team” after a phone call in which a...more
10/4/2021
/ Apple ,
Facebook ,
Financial Markets ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Social Media ,
Takeover Bids ,
Tesla ,
United Airlines ,
Vaccinations ,
Whistleblowers ,
YouTube
Zoom and Five9 are walking away from their proposed $15 billion deal for lack of Five9 shareholder support. Zoom’s acquisition “had drawn national security scrutiny” over funding links to China...more
Congressional leaders have reportedly reached a last-minute short-term deal to “avert a government shutdown” before today’s midnight deadline. Plenty of issues—including the need to raise the debt ceiling and the status of...more
9/30/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Financial Markets ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Infrastructure Financing ,
Insider Trading ,
NLRB ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Student Athletes ,
Supply Chain ,
United Airlines ,
Vaccinations ,
Wal-Mart ,
YouTube
Markets continued what’s been a dismal end of September with their worst performance in months on Tuesday, with the three major indices averaging a 2% drop as Treasury bond yields rose over concerns about Fed tapering and the...more
Major Fed news to start the week, as we’ve learned that Dallas Fed President Robert S. Kaplan and Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren are stepping down (both earlier than planned) in the wake of a dust-up over each “trading...more
The Federal Reserve wrapped its September Open Market Committee meetings on Wednesday with the anticipated news that it would soon start to slowly taper its asset purchasing and is prepared to raise interest rates as early as...more
Justice Department officials have filed a federal antitrust action against American Airlines and JetBlue, asserting that the “growing alliance between the two carriers had created a ‘de facto merger’ in the New York and...more
9/22/2021
/ American Airlines ,
China ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Facebook ,
Financial Markets ,
Google ,
National Security ,
Real Estate Market ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Social Media ,
Vaccinations ,
Zoom®
Wall Street used the Chinese corporate debt crisis (and property development company Evergrande’s potential coming default in particular) as its reason for a big dive on Monday, with the Dow down 800 point at one point and...more
President Biden sat down with a range of executives from Microsoft to Columbia Sportswear to discuss the administration’s recently announced vaccine mandates...more
9/16/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Markets ,
Ford Motor ,
Mergers ,
Microsoft ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Tesla ,
Vaccinations ,
Whistleblower Awards
The team behind cryptocurrency Litecoin is scrambling after an employee “retweeted what turned out to be an untrue announcement about a partnership with Walmart Inc,” a move that briefly sent Litecoin and other cryptos...more
9/14/2021
/ Apple ,
CFTC ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Facebook ,
Financial Markets ,
Paramount Pictures ,
Pinterest ,
Pump and Dump ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Spyware ,
Viacom ,
Wal-Mart
Coinbase, the “largest cryptocurrency exchange” in the U.S., revealed on Wednesday that SEC officials are threatening to sue it “over a proposed financial product that would let customers earn interest on digital asset...more
9/10/2021
/ Bitcoin ,
Bonds ,
Coinbase ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Cryptocurrency ,
El Salvador ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
Fraud ,
Mergers ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Welcome to B-Day, the beginning of the grand cryptocurrency experiment for El Salvador, which “became the first country in the world to adopt bitcoin as legal tender on Tuesday.” Predictably, “the launch got off to a bumpy...more
A New York federal bankruptcy judge provisionally approved an opioid settlement plan on Wednesday that will dissolve Purdue Pharma and require members of the Sackler family (which owns Purdue) to “turn over billions of their...more
9/2/2021
/ Amazon ,
Apple ,
Biden Administration ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Facebook ,
Financial Markets ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Monopolization ,
NHTSA ,
Opioid ,
Payday Loans ,
Purdue Pharma ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Tariffs ,
Tesla
Forget Big Brother and meet Big Parent, as Beijing released new strict limits “on how long minors can play online video games” on Monday. The rules, which bar kids and teens from online gaming on school days and limit them to...more
8/31/2021
/ China ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Jury Selection ,
NLRB ,
Online Gaming ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Starbucks ,
Unions ,
Video Games ,
Zoom®
As we anticipated, Fed Chair Powell—appearing virtually at the annual Jackson Hole gathering of Fed officials and watchers—signaled the possibility of central bank bond-purchase tapering as early as this year. More notable,...more
While not mandating vaccines for its employees, Delta Airlines announced on Wednesday that it would begin charging unvaxxed workers enrolled in its healthcare program a monthly $200 surcharge, require Covid testing, and...more
8/26/2021
/ Asset Management ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Delta Airlines ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Facebook ,
Fashion Industry ,
Financial Markets ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Rental Assistance Programs ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Vaccinations
Markets used news of the FDA’s full approval of the Pfizer BioNTech coronavirus vaccine as the excuse they needed to jump back up after a few days of losses. All three major indices were up near the 1% range, with the Nasdaq...more
T-Mobile, the nation’s second-largest wireless carrier, has now confirmed that the cyberattack we reported earlier this week did indeed expose the personal information of some 48 million people—some of it including social...more
SEC chief Gary Gensler announced this week that his Commission will use its “existing authority” to “regulate cryptocurrency markets to the maximum extent possible” in an effort to address the “fraud, scams and abuse” that...more
Big union news on Monday, with a NLRB hearing officer advocating for the Board to set aside the results of an early April union election at the Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama based on the ‘zon allegedly “illegally...more
Members of the OPEC+ coalition have reached a deal to increase oil production, a “move that could help ease the pressure on gas prices and inflation as economies around the world recover after pandemic lockdowns.” ...more
As expected, the CPI update for June made waves on Tuesday, with prices climbing some 5.4% last month—the biggest increase in over a decade. The jump led Federal Reserve and White House officials to issue statements to...more
Chinese ride-hailing powerhouse Didi Global priced its forthcoming IPO at $14/share on Tuesday, “setting the stage for the company to begin trading” later today—a scant three days after it launched its investor pitch...more
Ailing e-truck startup Lordstown Motors found itself facing more challenges on Monday, as founder & CEO Steve Burns and CFO Julio Rodriguez resigned “after an investigation by the company’s board,” just weeks after the...more
6/15/2021
/ 5G Network ,
Airbus ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Biden Administration ,
Bitcoin ,
Boeing ,
China ,
Debt ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Elon Musk ,
G7 ,
Inflation Adjustments ,
International Trade Disputes ,
Junk Bonds ,
NASA ,
Outer Space ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Recessions ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Subsidies