Google is facing a federal lawsuit in San Francisco over last week’s AP investigation that showed that the search giant “was sill tracking iPhone and Android device users, even if they turned off the ‘Location History’...more
8/21/2018
/ Android ,
Arbitration ,
Automotive Industry ,
BlackRock ,
Cell Phones ,
China ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
ConocoPhillips ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
E-Commerce ,
Elon Musk ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Excessive Fees ,
Failure To Disclose ,
Fashion Industry ,
Google ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Internet Retailers ,
Investment ,
iPhone ,
Location Data ,
Merrill Lynch ,
Mutual Funds ,
Oil & Gas ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Tariffs ,
Tesla ,
Trade Relations ,
US Trade Policies ,
Venezuela ,
Virtual Currency
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
Walmart’s broader foray into the grocery biz—letting customers order online and pick up in person and expanding home delivery—is paying dividends for the retailer and helping push its revenue up 3.8% from this period a year...more
8/17/2018
/ Advertising ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Cable Television Providers ,
China ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Deutsche Bank ,
DirectTV ,
Elon Musk ,
Facebook ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Grocery Stores ,
Investment Fraud ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
MetLife ,
Misleading Impressions ,
Mortgage Loan Originators ,
Opioid ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
REIT ,
RMBS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Social Media ,
State Street ,
Stock Prices ,
Tesla ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
Wal-Mart
Today’s Muskdate is all about the SEC issuing a subpoena to Tesla as it continues its investigation into Elon’s August 7 Twitter post about the “funding secured” detail of his plans to take the company private....more
8/16/2018
/ AT&T ,
ATMs ,
Automotive Industry ,
China ,
Commercial Real Estate Market ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Cybertheft ,
Data Security ,
Earnings Reports ,
Elon Musk ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Going-Private Transactions ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Internet ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Malware ,
Market Manipulation ,
Mortgage Fraud ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Ridesharing ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stock Prices ,
Tesla ,
Trade Relations ,
Uber ,
US Trade Policies ,
Volcker Rule
The rise of tariffs as a trade weapon has put the WTO in a very difficult position as “chief judge in an intense fight among its most powerful members”....more
8/15/2018
/ Alibaba ,
China ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Elon Musk ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Exports ,
Financial Crisis ,
Global Market ,
Grocery Stores ,
Imports ,
Investment Firms ,
Investment Fraud ,
Kroger ,
Municipal Bonds ,
RMBS ,
Royal Bank of Scotland ,
Sears ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Traders ,
Settlement ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Tesla ,
Trade Relations ,
Trade Retaliation ,
Trump Administration ,
Turkey ,
Uber ,
US Trade Policies ,
WTO
On Wednesday, Wells Fargo revealed that it reached a settlement with the DOJ after months of negotiating that will see the bank pay $2.09 billion to resolve allegations over its sales of toxic mortgage-backed securities in...more
8/2/2018
/ CFTC ,
China ,
CIGNA ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Financial Markets ,
FOMC ,
Ford Motor ,
RICO ,
RMBS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stock Options ,
Stock Prices ,
Tariffs ,
Tesla ,
Trade Policy ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
Valeant ,
Wells Fargo
Uber’s throwing in the towel on Otto, its self-driving truck unit that was at the center of an IP-theft scandal with Waymo and will shift its focus to autonomous cars....more
7/31/2018
/ Barclays ,
Cambridge Analytica ,
CBS ,
Class Action ,
Dark Pool ,
Data Breach ,
Driverless Cars ,
Employee Benefits ,
Facebook ,
Food Supply ,
Forex ,
Hewlett-Packard ,
Imports ,
Investment Fraud ,
Kokesh v SEC ,
Morgan Stanley ,
Pensions ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Stock Options ,
Tariffs ,
Uber ,
UK Brexit ,
White Collar Crimes
Facebook’s disappointing Q2 earnings (and, presumably, some pent-up scandal-fueled anti-‘Book sentiment) sent its stock into freefall yesterday, erasing more than $120 billion from the company’s market value as shares dove...more
7/27/2018
/ Advertising ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Bank of America ,
Barclays ,
Bitcoin ,
Chipotle Grill ,
Commodities ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Earnings Reports ,
Enforcement Actions ,
ETFs ,
EU ,
Facebook ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
Financial Markets ,
Franchises ,
Multidistrict Litigation ,
Nasdaq ,
Price-Fixing ,
Qualcomm ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sinclair Broadcast Group ,
Stock Prices ,
Tariffs ,
Television Programming ,
Trade Relations ,
US Trade Policies
OMB official Kathleen Kraninger is likely to face serious questions as she takes to the Hill today to begin confirmation hearings for her surprise nomination to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Why? Her lack of...more
7/19/2018
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Android ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Bondholders ,
China ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Dark Pool ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Violations ,
EU ,
FCC ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Global Market ,
Google ,
Imports ,
Libor ,
National Emissions Standards ,
Netflix ,
Papa John's International ,
Radio Stations ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Senate Confirmation Hearings ,
SiriusXM ,
Smartphones ,
Tariffs ,
Technology Sector ,
Trade Relations ,
Trading Platforms ,
US Trade Policies ,
Volkswagen ,
Wendy's
The world’s keeping a wary eye on Turkey’s economic well-being, especially given the precipitous drop in the value of the country’s currency (which has pushed up prices for consumers and corporations) and President Erdogan’s...more
7/11/2018
/ Android ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Automotive Industry ,
Breach of Duty ,
China ,
Credit Suisse ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Forex ,
Google ,
Insider Trading ,
Judges ,
Morgan Stanley ,
Nominations ,
Retirement Plan ,
Rupert Murdoch ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Smartphones ,
Tariffs ,
Tesla ,
Trade Policy ,
Trade Relations ,
Trade Retaliation ,
Trump Administration ,
Turkey
The SEC has an opened an investigation into whether companies are improperly rounding up their earnings per share reporting to the next highest cent—an inquiry reportedly prompted by a noticeable lack of “4s” in the tenths...more
6/25/2018
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Administrative Proceedings ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Automotive Industry ,
China ,
Earnings Reports ,
EU ,
Financial Reporting ,
Global Economy ,
Imports ,
Leverage Ratio ,
Lucia v SEC ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Recessions ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Retaliation ,
Uber ,
UK ,
UK Brexit
A couple of big-time SCOTUS opinions released yesterday will leave their mark on the financial world— First, the High Court found that internet retailers can be “required to collect sales taxes in states where they have no...more
6/22/2018
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Appointments Clause ,
Banks ,
CEOs ,
Chipotle Grill ,
Commerce Clause ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Deregulation ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Fannie Mae ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Fraternization Policies ,
Freddie Mac ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Intel ,
Internet Retailers ,
Interstate Commerce ,
Lucia v SEC ,
Physical Presence Test ,
Quill ,
Regulation A ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Removal For-Cause ,
Sales & Use Tax ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Single Director ,
South Dakota v. Wayfair ,
Special Trial Judges (STJs) ,
Stress Tests ,
Substantial Nexus ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations
After more than 110 years as one of its mainstays, General Electric is out of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. It will be replaced by drugstore retailer Walgreens Boots Alliance....more
6/20/2018
/ Asset Freeze ,
Automotive Industry ,
Banks ,
Bonds ,
China ,
Debt Instruments ,
Dow Jones ,
Elon Musk ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FDIC ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Ford Motor ,
General Electric ,
Investment Fraud ,
Living Will ,
Material Nonpublic Information ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Tariffs ,
Tesla ,
Trade Policy ,
Trade Retaliation ,
Volkswagen ,
Walgreens ,
Wall Street
JPMorgan has agreed to pay $65 million to US authorities [in the form of the CFTC] to resolve allegations that its traders attempted to manipulate the benchmark rate known as ISDAfix....more
6/19/2018
/ AT&T ,
Audi ,
Automotive Industry ,
Bailout ,
Carbon Emissions ,
CFTC ,
China ,
Comcast ,
E-Commerce ,
Google ,
Greece ,
ISDAfix ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Retail Market ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Tariffs ,
Time Warner ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Xerox ,
ZTE
In what can only be described as a Lazarus-like return, the Ex-Im Bank is reportedly nearly back on its feet again. The White House has chosen Kimberly Reed to helm the agency after prior nominee Scott Garrett was rejected by...more
6/15/2018
/ AT&T ,
Barclays ,
CFTC ,
China ,
Citibank ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Currency ,
Ether ,
Forex ,
Imports ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
RBS ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
SoftBank ,
Stays ,
Student Loans ,
Tariffs ,
Trump Administration ,
UBS ,
UK Brexit ,
US Trade Policies ,
Virtual Currency
We got an official first look at the Fed’s revised Volcker Rule yesterday, and the “sweeping plan to soften” the rule will open “the door for banks to resume some trading activities restricted as part of the 2010 Dodd-Frank...more
5/31/2018
/ Aluminum Sales ,
Anbang ,
Class Action ,
Cross-Selling ,
Deregulation ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Disney ,
Dodd-Frank ,
EU ,
Financial Fraud ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Insurance Industry ,
Intrusion Software ,
Investment Fraud ,
New Legislation ,
Russia ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement Offer ,
Steel Industry ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Twentieth Century Fox ,
US Trade Policies ,
Volcker Rule ,
Wells Fargo ,
Whistleblowers
Deutsche Bank—in keeping with its post-Cryan plans to shrink its US footprint—has been considering plans “in recent weeks to eliminate close to 10,000 jobs.” [It’s now looking like 7,000.]
...more
5/24/2018
/ Automotive Industry ,
Bitcoin ,
CFTC ,
Chipotle Grill ,
Comcast ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Digital Currency ,
Imports ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Lay-Offs ,
Lowe's ,
Market Manipulation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Spoofing ,
Tariffs ,
Trump Administration ,
Unemployment
The High Court has a daunting lineup of decisions yet to issue this year, but it’s checking one off the list with yesterday’s 5-4 holding upholding the right of companies to use arbitration clauses in employment contracts “to...more
5/22/2018
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Barclays ,
Capital Raising ,
CFTC ,
China ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Comcast ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Epic Systems Corp v Lewis ,
EURIBOR ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
General Electric ,
HSBC ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Online Marketplace Lending ,
Railroads ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement Offer ,
Takeover Bids ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
UK ,
Volcker Rule
More trouble for Wells Fargo, as news emerged yesterday that some employees in the company’s business banking wholesale unit “altered information on documents related to corporate customers” without customers’...more
5/18/2018
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
BlackRock ,
BSA/AML ,
CBS ,
China ,
Credit Default Swaps ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Food Manufacturers ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Investment ,
Iran ,
Money Services Business ,
PayPal ,
Peugeot ,
Price-Fixing ,
RMBS ,
Seafood ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Share Buybacks ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tax Reform ,
Toshiba ,
Trade Deficit ,
Wells Fargo
Chalk one up for big Carl (and Darwin). Xerox announced this weekend that it’s bowing to Icahn’s pressures and ending its $6.1 billion combination with Fuji....more
5/14/2018
/ Blockchain ,
Chapter 11 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Credit Default Swaps ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Elon Musk ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Relations ,
Investment Products ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
IRS ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Microsoft ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Symantec ,
Tax Liability ,
Tesla ,
Toys R Us ,
Uber ,
Xerox ,
ZTE
A scary combination of rising bond yields (across the 3% Rubicon!) and a warning from Caterpillar (which called its expectation-beating performance for Q1 the “high watermark for the year”) helped propel stocks significantly...more
4/25/2018
/ Bitcoin ,
Comcast ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Dun & Bradstreet ,
European Commission ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Fines ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Hackers ,
High Yield Bonds ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stock Prices ,
Subprime Mortgages ,
Telecommunications ,
Wells Fargo ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Yahoo!
It was a busy Thursday in the big pharma world, with drugmaker Shire rejecting a $60 billion takeover offer from Japan’s Takeda, while US rival Allergan disclosed that it was considering a bid of its own for Shire....more
4/20/2018
/ Amazon ,
Automotive Industry ,
Barclays ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Derivative Suit ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Export-Import Bank of the US ,
Exports ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Google ,
HSBC ,
Japan ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
RMBS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Takeda Pharmaceuticals ,
Takeover Bids ,
Tariffs ,
Technology Sector ,
Whistleblowers
The notoriously close-to-the-vest Amazon revealed for the first time yesterday in a letter to shareholders that its popular Prime program boasts more than 100 million paid members globally....more
4/19/2018
/ Amazon ,
Best Buy ,
Blockchain ,
Comcast ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Disney ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Financial Markets ,
National Emissions Standards ,
Porsche ,
Qualcomm ,
Retail Investors ,
Retailers ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shipping ,
Television Programming ,
Twentieth Century Fox ,
Unemployment ,
Volkswagen ,
Wall Street ,
White Collar Crimes
The White House has chosen Columbia University economist Richard Clarida as Fed Vice Chair—the number 2 spot at the central bank. Clarida is a “monetary policy scholar” and former Bush II administration Treasury official....more
4/17/2018
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Barclays ,
Benchmarks ,
China ,
Cloud Computing ,
Deutsche Bank ,
EURIBOR ,
Facebook ,
Investment ,
Job Creation ,
Marriott ,
Mergers ,
Netflix ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Secured Overnight Funding Rate (SOFR) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
SFO ,
Stock Prices ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies ,
ZTE
The SEC has opened a probe into Guggenheim Partners’ asset-management arm over an $85-million real-estate transaction and a series of other deals involving ABS Capital—including a loan to BCBG Max Azria just months before the...more
4/16/2018
/ AIG ,
Capital Raising ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Dropbox ,
E-Commerce ,
Elon Musk ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Internet Retailers ,
Internet Taxation ,
Martin Act ,
Real Estate Transactions ,
Retail Market ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
South Dakota v. Wayfair ,
Spotify ,
Tesla ,
US Trade Policies ,
Volcker Rule