Version 3.0 of the PPP kicked off yesterday, with community lenders leading the way by focusing on “underserved borrowers—including women-led businesses and those run by Black, Latino and Asian owners and other minorities” in...more
1/12/2021
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Biotechnology ,
Bitcoin ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Denial of Certiorari ,
Economic Aid Act ,
Financial Markets ,
FinTech ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Life Sciences ,
London Stock Exchange ,
Meat Processing Plants ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Political Contributions ,
Poultry ,
Price-Fixing ,
Relief Measures ,
SBA Lending Programs ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stock Prices ,
Wal-Mart
Another day, another new Google antitrust lawsuit—this time thanks to a group of 30-plus states that have accused the company of “illegally arranging its search results to push out smaller rivals.” Oh, and money likely won’t...more
12/18/2020
/ Antitrust Violations ,
Biden Administration ,
Bitcoin ,
Coca Cola ,
Coinbase ,
Credit Suisse ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Google ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Relief Measures ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Trading Platforms ,
Unemployment ,
Universal
The Fed’s Open Markets Committee meeting wrapped on Wednesday, and in remarks following the meeting, Fed Chair Powell called the case for fiscal policy right now “very, very strong,”—a not-so-subtle nudge to Congress to act...more
12/17/2020
/ Accounting Fraud ,
Apple ,
AT&T ,
Bitcoin ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Facebook ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Google ,
HBO ,
Infectious Diseases ,
iPhone Tracking ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Monopolization ,
Online Advertisements ,
Relief Measures ,
Roku ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The long-awaited Facebook antitrust bomb dropped on Wednesday, with the FTC and attorneys general from more than 40 states accusing Zuck & Co. of “buying up its rivals to illegally squash competition” in D.C. federal district...more
12/10/2020
/ AirBnB ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Violations ,
AT&T ,
Big Tech ,
Canada ,
Capital Raising ,
CARES Act ,
Dairy Farmers ,
Disney ,
DoorDash ,
Facebook ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Fraud ,
General Electric ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Internet Streaming ,
Monopolization ,
Movies ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Sony ,
Stock Prices ,
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) ,
White Collar Crimes
DoorDash is entering the public markets fray today with hopes of “cash[ing] in on the frenzy in initial public offerings” of late. The food-delivery company is expected to price shares “at the high end of or above its...more
12/9/2020
/ Aircraft ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Competition ,
Corporate Sales Transactions ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
DoorDash ,
EU ,
Foreign Trade Regulations ,
Going-Private Transactions ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
McDonalds ,
Movies ,
Procter & Gamble ,
Rebates ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Share Buybacks ,
SoftBank ,
Tariffs ,
Uber ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Warner Brothers Entertainment
Mere months after an announced major investment in start-up electric truck company Nikola (and the subsequent claims that the company had “exaggerated its capabilities), General Motors announced this week that it had...more
12/1/2020
/ Antitrust Violations ,
Biden Administration ,
Big Tech ,
Bitcoin ,
Business Valuations ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
DoorDash ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Facebook ,
FCC ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
GAO ,
General Motors ,
Hydrogen Power ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Nasdaq ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Retail Sales ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Startups ,
Unemployment
The FAA has once again given Boeing the green light to send its troubled 737 Max models into the sky, “20 months after it was grounded following two fatal crashes blamed on faulty software and a host of company and government...more
11/19/2020
/ Aircraft ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Apple ,
Aviation Industry ,
Boeing ,
Coca Cola ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discrimination ,
E-Commerce ,
Economic Downturn ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
Financial Markets ,
Glass Ceiling ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Google ,
Infectious Diseases ,
iPhone ,
IRS ,
Jeffrey Epstein ,
Layoffs ,
MLB ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stock Prices ,
Target ,
Tax Court ,
Victoria Secret
Pittsburgh-based PNC Financial Services Group has reached a deal worth some $11.6 billion to buy the U.S. operations of BBVA, a Spanish lender. The mash-up, “one of the biggest banking deals since the 2008 financial crisis,”...more
11/16/2020
/ Administrative Resignation ,
Asia Pacific ,
Bank of England ,
Barclays ,
Berkshire Hathaway ,
Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cross-Selling ,
Data Breach ,
Data Protection Authority ,
DoorDash ,
Event Tickets ,
Financial Institutions ,
Free Trade Agreements ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Moderna Inc. ,
Operation Warp Speed ,
Personal Data ,
Pfizer ,
PNC ,
Presidential Appointments ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Share Buybacks ,
Student Loans ,
UK ,
Vaccinations ,
Wells Fargo ,
White Collar Crimes
The Google antitrust waiting game wrapped on Tuesday with the DOJ filing a federal D.C.-based lawsuit against the Alphabet unit, accusing the company “of using several exclusive business contacts and agreements to lock out...more
10/21/2020
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Apple ,
Bribery ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Exclusive Dealing Agreements ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Google ,
Guilty Pleas ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Mobile Apps ,
Oil & Gas ,
Popular ,
Relief Measures ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Trump Administration ,
Unregistered Securities
Big Friday win for Apple in its ongoing battle with Epic Games, as N.D. Cal. Federal Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled that Cook & Co. didn’t “need to reinstate the popular video game Fortnite in its App Store,” a blow to...more
10/12/2020
/ App Store ,
Apple ,
Bonds ,
British Airways ,
CEOs ,
Competition ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Economic Downturn ,
Electronic Trading ,
EPIC ,
EU ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Fraud ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Investment ,
Layoffs ,
Main Street Lending Programs ,
Mobile Apps ,
Netflix ,
Payment Systems ,
Popular ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Retailers ,
Robinhood Financial ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Small Business ,
Venmo
Here’s a fun little exercise. Pull up a chart of Tuesday's market activity, and see if you can pinpoint the exact moment the White House announced to the world that it was pulling support for another Covid stimulus bill...more
10/8/2020
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Apple ,
Banks ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
EU ,
Facebook ,
Financial Stimulus ,
General Electric ,
Google ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Monopolization ,
Relief Measures ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Trade Deficit ,
Trump Administration ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Wells Notice
The SEC has sued “cybersecurity pioneer John McAfee” for “promoting the sale of cryptocurrencies without disclosing that he was being paid to do so.” McAfee allegedly recommended “at least seven initial coin offerings to his...more
10/6/2020
/ Breach of Contract ,
Celebrity Endorsements ,
China ,
Cisco ,
Coal Industry ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Economic Downturn ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Markets ,
FinTech ,
Foreign Policy ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
NBC ,
Patent Infringement ,
Recovery Plans ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stock Prices ,
Tax Evasion ,
Trump Administration ,
Unemployment ,
US Trade Policies ,
Warner Brothers Entertainment ,
Wildfires
Palantir’s direct listing experiment generally went well yesterday, with the company’s shares beginning trading up nearly 40% from the $7.25 reference price set Tuesday evening. Fellow direct lister Asana also had a good...more
10/2/2020
/ Allstate ,
American Airlines ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Banks ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Dividends ,
Donald Trump ,
Economic Downturn ,
EU ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Hewlett-Packard ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Joe Biden ,
Layoffs ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Political Campaigns ,
Political Candidates ,
Political Debates ,
Ransomware ,
Relief Measures ,
Secretary of the Treasury ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Share Buybacks ,
Small Business ,
Stock Prices ,
Tokyo Stock Exchange ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Unemployment ,
United Airlines
House leaders are out with a new Covid stimulus effort—slimmed down from earlier packages but, at $2.2 trillion, a sizeable proposal that they say “is needed to support American households and businesses still experiencing...more
9/29/2020
/ Airlines ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Android ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
App Store ,
Apple ,
Audi ,
CEOs ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Diversity ,
EPIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Furloughs ,
Germany ,
Google ,
Google Play Store ,
Insider Trading ,
Mobile Apps ,
National Emissions Standards ,
Relief Measures ,
Search Engines ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
United Airlines ,
US Trade Policies
New U.S. unemployment claims rose last week according to data released on Thursday, the latest sign that America’s recovery from the pandemic-induced recession is slowing—a “particularly worrisome” trend as cold-state...more
9/25/2020
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
BMW ,
Bonds ,
Capital Raising ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Data Mining ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Economic Downturn ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Stimulus ,
FinCEN ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Layoffs ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Money Laundering ,
Recessions ,
Retail Sales ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Special Purpose Entities ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration ,
Unemployment ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
White Collar Crimes
JPMorgan is preparing to finalize a deal with federal prosecutors and regulators in which the bank would pay nearly $1 billion to “settle civil and criminal charges that its traders rigged futures and securities markets”...more
9/24/2020
/ App Store ,
Apple ,
Big Data ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
E-Commerce ,
Electric Vehicles ,
EPIC ,
Facebook ,
Financial Markets ,
Food Supply ,
Futures ,
Global Warming ,
Google ,
Infectious Diseases ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Mars ,
Mobile Apps ,
Oracle ,
Race Discrimination ,
Race Relations ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations ,
Spoofing ,
Spotify ,
Stock Prices ,
TikTok ,
Tinder ,
Trump Administration ,
Twitter ,
Wal-Mart ,
Wall Street ,
Wells Fargo
A World Trade Organization panel on Tuesday declared that the U.S.’s 2018 tariffs on China “violated international trade rules,” siding with China and its allegations that the White House’s trade war broke, among other...more
9/16/2020
/ Aluminum Sales ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Apple ,
Canada ,
China ,
CMBS ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Facebook ,
Federal Reserve ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FOMC ,
Heinz ,
Hotels ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Itt Educational Services ,
Kraft ,
Main Street Lending Programs ,
Mark Zuckerberg ,
Movie Theaters ,
Movies ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Private Student Loans ,
Retaliatory Tariffs ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
US Trade Policies ,
WTO
Federal authorities are prepping to “reprimand Citigroup Inc. for failing to improve its risk-management systems—an expansive set of technology and procedures designed to detect problematic transactions, risky trades and...more
9/15/2020
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Apple ,
Berkshire Hathaway ,
BNSF Railway ,
Citigroup ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Facebook ,
Financial Transactions ,
Generic Drugs ,
Hiring & Firing ,
iPhone ,
Job Creation ,
Kodak ,
Layoffs ,
National Emissions Standards ,
National Security ,
Northern Ireland ,
Oracle ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
TikTok ,
TracFone Wireless ,
UK Brexit ,
Verizon ,
Volkswagen ,
Whistleblowers ,
Woman Board Members
Blaming a “U.S. move to impose tariffs on French goods,” luxury brand conglomerate LMVH is pulling out of a proposed $16 billion deal to buy jeweler Tiffany & Co. Tiffany is now suing to enforce the ill-fated agreement....more
9/9/2020
/ Activist Investors ,
Aircraft ,
Apple ,
Boeing ,
Breach of Contract ,
CARES Act ,
CFTC ,
Climate Change ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Electric Vehicles ,
EPIC ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Form 13F ,
France ,
General Motors ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Interest Rates ,
iPhone ,
Joint Employers ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Luxury Goods ,
Nasdaq ,
Popular ,
Retail Market ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Startups ,
Tariffs ,
Tiffany and Company ,
Trade Relations ,
Trade Wars ,
Trump Administration ,
UK Brexit
New figures from the Congressional Budget Office predict that U.S. government debt will, thanks to the pandemic recession, just about eclipse the size of the nation’s GDP—a level not reached since just after World War II....more
9/3/2020
/ Algorithms ,
Amtrak ,
Australia ,
Cloud Computing ,
Congressional Budget Office ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Deficit Reduction ,
Dow Jones ,
Failure To Disclose ,
Financial Markets ,
Furloughs ,
GDP ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Infrastructure ,
Layoffs ,
Nasdaq ,
Oracle ,
Railroads ,
Recessions ,
Retailers ,
S&P ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
SoftBank ,
Trading Platforms ,
Unemployment ,
United Airlines
Walmart is again preparing to roll out its answer to Amazon Prime: Walmart+, a sub-$100/year membership service that features gas discounts and some free shipping (at qualifying thresholds)....more
9/1/2020
/ American Airlines ,
Anthem Insurance ,
China ,
CIGNA ,
Delta Airlines ,
E-Commerce ,
Exports ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Distress ,
Financial Markets ,
Foreign Policy ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Low-Income Issues ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Small Business ,
Subscription Services ,
Trump Administration ,
Unemployment ,
Volvo ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wal-Mart ,
Whistleblowers ,
Zoom®
Whoever emerges as the victor in the competition for TikTok will have to contend with another complication—this time from China, where on Friday the country “updated its export control rules to cover a variety of technologies...more
9/1/2020
/ BlackRock ,
CARES Act ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Export Controls ,
Financial Adviser ,
Fraud ,
Furloughs ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Investment ,
McDonalds ,
Microsoft ,
Mutual Funds ,
National Security ,
Oracle ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration ,
Unemployment
Still-new TIkTok CEO Kevin Mayer has stepped down, “just months after taking the helm of the viral short video app.” ByteDance had appointed Mayer in May in an effort “to make the case that TikTok operates as a separate...more
8/28/2020
/ Accredited Investors ,
Apple ,
Banks ,
Bitcoin ,
China ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Data Collection ,
Data Mining ,
Disney ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Facebook ,
Federal Reserve ,
Ford Motor ,
Goods or Services ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Infectious Diseases ,
iPhone ,
Layoffs ,
Mark Zuckerberg ,
Mobile Apps ,
National Security ,
Online Advertisements ,
Remote Working ,
Salesforce ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Social Media ,
Telecommuting ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration
Another day, another major U.S. restriction on Chinese tech. The Commerce Department is out with new rules “curbing Huawei Technologies Co.’s access to foreign-made chips.” The measures would “prohibit non-U.S. companies from...more
8/19/2020
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Berkshire Hathaway ,
China ,
Citigroup ,
Clawbacks ,
Cloud Computing ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Federal Reserve ,
Form 13F ,
Gig Economy ,
Huawei ,
Independent Contractors ,
Lyft ,
McDonalds ,
National Security ,
OCC ,
Opioid ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Purdue Pharma ,
Rare Earth Metals ,
Revlon ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Severance Pay ,
Supply Chain ,
Telecommunications ,
TikTok ,
Trading Platforms ,
Trump Administration ,
Uber
Apple has removed spectacularly popular video game Fortnite from its App Store after accusing maker Epic Games of violating App Store Guidelines. Specifically, Epic has been encouraging users to make app payments directly to...more
8/14/2020
/ AIG ,
App Store ,
Apple ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
DaimlerChrysler ,
Hertz ,
Mercedes-Benz ,
Mobile Apps ,
Monopolization ,
Motor Vehicles ,
National Emissions Standards ,
Oracle ,
Pay Discrimination ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Retail Market ,
Retail Sales ,
Retaliation ,
Secretary of Labor ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations ,
SoftBank ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
Unemployment ,
Video Games