The Times digs into what it’s calling private equity’s “conquer[ing of] the American tax system”—where “slight-of-hand tax-avoidance strategies” are so “aggressive” and pervasive that “at least three private equity officials...more
6/14/2021
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Apple ,
Bitcoin ,
Classified Information ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Data Breach ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Exxon Mobil ,
FBI ,
Gag Orders ,
Hackers ,
Internet Retailers ,
Lumber Industry ,
McDonalds ,
Microsoft ,
Pipelines ,
Private Equity ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
Supply Chain ,
Tax Avoidance
After years of protests, lobbying, and legal battles, TC Energy—the Canadian pipeline company behind the embattled Keystone XL pipeline project that “would have carried petroleum from Canadian tar sands to Nebraska”—announced...more
6/10/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Bitcoin ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Cryptocurrency ,
FBI ,
GameStop ,
Gig Economy ,
High Net-Worth ,
Internet Memes ,
Keystone XL Pipeline ,
Lyft ,
Meat Processing Plants ,
Mobile Apps ,
National Security ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pipelines ,
Ransomware ,
Royal Dutch Petroleum ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stock Prices ,
The Hague ,
TikTok ,
Uber ,
Wealth Tax
JBS, the world’s largest meat processor, shuttered operations at locations throughout the U.S. and Canada on Tuesday after a ransomware attack that also impacted its Australian operations. The White House has confirmed that...more
6/2/2021
/ Acquisition Agreements ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Asbestos ,
Cancer ,
Data Breach ,
Elon Musk ,
Employee Incentive Plans ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Etsy ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Internet Retailers ,
Johnson & Johnson ,
Kodak ,
Meat Processing Plants ,
Oil Prices ,
Ransomware ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Supply Chain ,
Terms of Service ,
Vaccinations
New jobless claims fell dramatically in new figures released on Thursday, as “the improving public health situation and the easing of pandemic-related restrictions allowed the labor market to continue its gradual return to...more
5/7/2021
/ CBS ,
Congressional Investigations & Hearings ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Debit and Credit Card Transactions ,
Economic Impact Analysis ,
FCC ,
Fee Disclosure ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Internet Streaming ,
Merger Agreements ,
Net Neutrality ,
New York Times ,
Publishers ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Telehealth ,
Unemployment ,
Viacom ,
Wal-Mart ,
Wells Fargo
Peloton has recalled all of its treadmill models—the Tread+ and Tread—“less than a month after it fought the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission as it warned that dozens of injuries and one death of a child had been...more
5/6/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Brokers ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Facebook ,
Financial Markets ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Investment Management ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Pharmaceutical Patents ,
Product Defects ,
Product Recalls ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Robinhood Financial ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Uber ,
Vaccinations
It didn’t come as a feature of the big Berkshire Hathaway shareholder extravaganza over the weekend, but Mr. Buffett made news nonetheless by revealing in an interview with CNBC that Gregory Abel ...more
5/4/2021
/ Acquisition Agreements ,
AOL ,
Apple ,
Automotive Industry ,
Berkshire Hathaway ,
Construction Project ,
Economic Downturn ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EPIC ,
Failure To Disclose ,
Federal Reserve ,
LA Times ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Supply Chain ,
Verizon ,
Yahoo!
The Fed’s Open Market Committee meeting broke yesterday leaving rates at near-zero and pledging to “continue buying government-backed bonds at a steady pace as it tries to support the economy’s recovery from the coronavirus...more
4/29/2021
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Administrative Resignation ,
AOL ,
Apple ,
Biden Administration ,
Big Tech ,
Chipotle Grill ,
Earnings Reports ,
Economic Growth ,
Elon Musk ,
Exxon Mobil ,
Facebook ,
Federal Reserve ,
Ford Motor ,
Human Rights ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Microchip Technology ,
Recovery Plans ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Supply Chain ,
Verizon ,
Work Schedules ,
Yahoo!
A unanimous SCOTUS ruling this week curbs the FTC’s “longtime practice of seeking to recover ill-gotten gains from companies and individuals who cheat or mislead consumers,” with the justices finding that the 1973 law that...more
4/23/2021
/ Airlines ,
AMG Capital Management LLC v FTC ,
Bitcoin ,
Capital Gains Tax ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Financial Markets ,
FTCA Section 13(b) ,
HBO ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Internet Streaming ,
Material Suppliers ,
Restitution ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Supply Chain ,
Takeover Bids ,
Tax Reform ,
Tourism
The latest round of quarterly results from Netflix shows that while the grand-daddy of streaming “still rules” that universe, a combination of upstart and old-guard rivals “have cut into Netflix’s share of viewers’...more
4/21/2021
/ Alibaba ,
Apple ,
Big Tech ,
Blockchain ,
Boeing ,
China ,
CMBS ,
Corporate Sales Transactions ,
DBRS ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
iPhone ,
Luxury Goods ,
Microsoft ,
Netflix ,
Privacy Concerns ,
Procter & Gamble ,
Rating Agencies ,
Retail Price Maintenance (RPM) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Because volatility’s the name of the game whenever we’re talking cryptos, it’s hard to be too shocked by the news that last week’s banner Coinbase public market debut gave way to a digital currency walkback this weekend that...more
4/19/2021
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Bitcoin ,
Citibank ,
Coinbase ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Digital Currency ,
Elon Musk ,
Federal Contractors ,
Financial Markets ,
Homeless Issues ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Investment ,
NASA ,
Retirement Plan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
SpaceX ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
The Tribune Company ,
Unions
Big bank earnings season kicked off this week, and impressive Q1 results from JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, and Wells Fargo has Wall Street feeling especially bullish. This, despite “sobering signs,” including climbing infections...more
4/15/2021
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Banks ,
Bernie Madoff ,
Bonds ,
CBS ,
Coinbase ,
Federal Reserve ,
Fine Art ,
Internet Retailers ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Quarterly Report ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Share Price
Mere days after Chinese regulators hit Jack Ma’s Alibaba with a staggering $2.8 billion antitrust fine, the e-commerce giant’s sister company, Ant Group, announced “that it would undertake a sweeping, government-ordered...more
4/13/2021
/ Alibaba ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Biden Administration ,
China ,
Climate Change ,
Coinbase ,
Credit Suisse ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Currency Manipulation ,
Financial Markets ,
Foreign Exchanges ,
Infrastructure ,
Janet Yellen ,
Microsoft ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Semiconductors ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
Supply Chain ,
Uber ,
Vaccinations
Chinese antitrust officials hit Alibaba with a “record” $2.8 billion fine over the weekend—the “biggest move yet in the government’s campaign to tighten its supervision of Big Tech.” ...more
4/12/2021
/ Alibaba ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Ameriprise Financial ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Big Tech ,
Boeing ,
China ,
Data Collection ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Google ,
Labor Relations ,
Newspapers ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Unions
Though raising projections for overall economic growth over the next 2 years, the IMF warned this week that “an uneven rollout of vaccines” threatens to add to concerns about a “K-shaped” economic recovery on a global scale. ...more
4/7/2021
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Credit Suisse ,
Data Breach ,
Data Protection ,
Economic Growth ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Facebook ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
General Motors ,
HBO ,
IMF ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Ireland ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Misappropriation ,
Movies ,
Netflix ,
Patent Infringement ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Recovery Plans ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Trade Secrets
Thursday delivered some welcome good news in the slow push for a labor market recovery. The Labor Department reported that new jobless benefits claims “fell to their lowest weekly level in the last year, a sign that the...more
3/26/2021
/ Car Accident ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Facebook ,
Ford Motor ,
Google ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Inflation Adjustments ,
Insurrection ,
Maritime Transport ,
NLRB ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shipping Cargo ,
SoftBank ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
Supply Chain ,
Tesla ,
Twitter ,
Unemployment ,
Union Organizers ,
Wrongful Termination
More on how the clogged Suez Canal is combining with “a burst of demand for consumer goods” thanks to a resurgent U.S. economy is “heaping pressure on already strained supply chains” and potentially push prices higher in...more
3/25/2021
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Big Tech ,
Coinbase ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Facebook ,
Financial Markets ,
Goods or Services ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Mobile Apps ,
Oil & Gas ,
PCAOB ,
Section 230 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Slack ,
Social Media ,
Supply Chain
With Wednesday’s passage in the House, the $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill is heading to President Biden’s desk for an anticipated Friday signature, “cementing one of the largest injections of federal aid since the Great...more
3/11/2021
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Biden Administration ,
BuzzFeed ,
Capital Markets ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Dow Jones ,
Facebook ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Stimulus ,
General Electric ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Interest Rates ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Relief Measures ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stock Prices
In a move we hinted at here recently, drug giant Merck is partnering with rival Johnson & Johnson to help produce production of J&J’s single-shot coronavirus vaccine. This unprecedented “Coke & Pepsi of the pharma world”...more
3/3/2021
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Biden Administration ,
Chapter 11 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Confirmation Proceedings ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cryptocurrency ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Hertz ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Intel ,
Johnson & Johnson ,
Labor Relations ,
Market Volatility ,
Merck ,
Patent Infringement ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Tax Evasion ,
Unions ,
Vaccinations
A quieter bond market was music to the markets’ ears on Monday, and they responded with their best day since last June...more
3/2/2021
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Biden Administration ,
Bitcoin ,
Bonds ,
China ,
Confirmation Proceedings ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Credit Suisse ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Electric Vehicles ,
General Motors ,
Inflation Adjustments ,
Insolvency ,
Manufacturers ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
SoftBank ,
State Taxes ,
Tax Revenues ,
Volvo ,
Wal-Mart
Your Big Tech vs. Australia update: after raising a “well, then, no search engine for you” fuss in response to the country’s proposed law requiring tech giants to “pay news organizations for the news articles that are shared...more
2/18/2021
/ Australia ,
Biden Administration ,
China ,
Corporate Governance ,
GameStop ,
Google ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Market Manipulation ,
National Security ,
News Stories ,
Reddit ,
Retail Sales ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Startups ,
Stock Prices ,
Stock Trades ,
Tariffs ,
Theranos ,
Virtual Meetings ,
Zoom®
NY AG Letitia James is suing Amazon, accusing the online retail giant “of not doing enough to protect workers in the state from the coronavirus” and calling its response to the pandemic “deficient.” ...more
2/17/2021
/ Accounting Fraud ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Big Tech ,
Bitcoin ,
Bonds ,
Business Interruption ,
Capital Markets ,
Citibank ,
CMBS ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disney ,
E-Commerce ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Newspapers ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Severe Weather ,
USAA ,
Wells Fargo ,
Whistleblowers ,
Wire Fraud ,
Workplace Safety
After months of drama that we dutifully catalogued right here, the U.S. plan to “force the sale of TikTok’s American operations” to Oracle and Walmart “has been shelved indefinitely.” The forced sale has “languished since...more
2/10/2021
/ Abuse of Discretion ,
Arbitrary and Capricious ,
Biden Administration ,
China ,
Commercial Leases ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Branding ,
Eli Lilly ,
FCC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Huawei ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Interest Rates ,
Main Street Lending Programs ,
Mobile Apps ,
National Security ,
Oracle ,
Poverty ,
Race Relations ,
Relief Measures ,
Salesforce ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Social Media ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
TikTok ,
Wal-Mart ,
Workplace Romances
Moved by Covid’s bite out of the energy industry, oil behemoths ExxonMobil and Chevron Corp. have held talks about joining forces, “testing the water for what could be one of the largest corporate mergers ever.” ...more
2/1/2021
/ Apple ,
Chevron ,
Exxon Mobil ,
Facebook ,
Financial Markets ,
GameStop ,
General Motors ,
IMF ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Mobile Apps ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pay Gap ,
Reddit ,
Robinhood Financial ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
Stock Trades ,
Zero-Emission Vehicles
GameStop’s continuing surge this week has gone from something of a lark to a collective small-trader effort to stick it to Wall Street hedge funds and institutionalists, with share-price fundamentals discarded entirely in...more
1/28/2021
/ Apple ,
Bitcoin ,
Boeing ,
Chrysler ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Downturn ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fiat ,
Financial Markets ,
GameStop ,
Guilty Pleas ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Interest Rates ,
iPhone ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Market Manipulation ,
Netflix ,
Quarterly Report ,
Reddit ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Short Selling ,
Stock Prices
Visa is “abandoning its $5.3 billion planned acquisition of Plaid Inc.,” a fintech startup that the DOJ had called an upstart “but important competitive threat to Visa” in its antitrust lawsuit challenging the deal....more
1/13/2021
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Air Cargo ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Biden Administration ,
Big Tech ,
China ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Gig Economy ,
Grocery Stores ,
Libor ,
Netflix ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
Trump Administration ,
Visa Inc