Well, that was short lived. FiatChrysler broke news late yesterday that it’s withdrawing its offer to merge with France’s Renault, mere weeks after the companies bowled over the auto world with the proposal. Fiat blamed the...more
6/6/2019
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Aircraft Sales ,
Best Interest Standard ,
Boeing ,
CFTC ,
China ,
Chrysler ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Development ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fiat ,
Investment Adviser ,
Mexico ,
New Rules ,
Renault-Nissan ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Wars ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies ,
Volkswagen ,
Wall Street
The SEC will vote today on what it’s calling Regulation Best Interest, “which says brokers can’t put their own paychecks ahead of a customer’s needs”—the more-industry-acceptable revision of an Obama-era fiduciary duty rule...more
6/5/2019
/ Anti-Dumping Agreement ,
Apple ,
Automotive Industry ,
Best Interest Standard ,
Brokers ,
Carnival Cruise Lines ,
Code of Conduct ,
Digital Currency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Violations ,
Federal Reserve ,
FHFA ,
Freddie Mac ,
Imports ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Mexico ,
Mobile Apps ,
Probationary Period ,
Renault-Nissan ,
RMBS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Stocks ,
Tariffs ,
Toyota ,
Unregistered Securities ,
US Trade Policies ,
Wells Fargo
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
The DOJ is considering joining its European counterparts in targeting Google for potential antitrust violations focused on Google’s “advertising practices and influence in the online advertising industry,” possibly including...more
6/3/2019
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Apartments ,
Apple ,
Biotechnology ,
China ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Facebook ,
Federal Reserve ,
Google ,
Imports ,
India ,
Inflation Adjustments ,
Influencers ,
Jeff Bezos ,
Johnson & Johnson ,
Martin Shkreli ,
Mesothelioma ,
Mexico ,
Online Advertisements ,
Punitive Damages ,
Real Estate Market ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Search Engines ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Policy ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
Volkswagen
Fed vice chair Richard Clarida, in comments to the Economic Club of NY on Thursday, hoped to calm turbulent markets by noting that central bank officials would indeed consider lower-than-desired inflation along with “global...more
5/31/2019
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
China ,
Citigroup ,
Doing Business ,
Earnings Reports ,
Exports ,
Fannie Mae ,
Federal Reserve ,
FHFA ,
Foreign Relations ,
Forex ,
Freddie Mac ,
Imports ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Interest Rates ,
Mortgages ,
NYDFS ,
Supply Chain ,
T-Mobile ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Trade Wars ,
Trump Administration ,
Uber ,
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) ,
US Trade Policies ,
Wireless Industry
Recent San Francisco-federal court decisions from Judge Vince Chhabria suggest that the “dozens” of lawsuits accusing Facebook of violating users’ privacy for its own profit (many of which stemmed from the Cambridge Analytica...more
5/30/2019
/ 5G Network ,
Agribusiness ,
Bond Markets ,
China ,
Chrysler ,
Commodities ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Ericsson ,
Facebook ,
Farms ,
Federal Reserve ,
Fiat ,
Foreign Trade Regulations ,
Global Economy ,
Huawei ,
Nokia ,
Presidential Appointments ,
Renault-Nissan ,
Social Media ,
Sprint ,
T-Mobile ,
Tariffs ,
Telecommunications ,
Trade Relations ,
Trade Retaliation ,
Trade Wars ,
US Trade Policies ,
Wireless Industry ,
Wireless Technology
Amazon is prepping to execute a more permanent purge on its orders to smaller, mom & pop suppliers as part of a push to “cut costs and focus on wholesale purchasing on major brands like Procter & Gamble, Sony and Lego” in an...more
5/29/2019
/ Alibaba ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Automotive Industry ,
Class Action ,
Economic Development ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Financial Markets ,
Flash Boys ,
General Motors ,
Global Economy ,
High Frequency Trading ,
Hong Kong Stock Exchange ,
Huawei ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Johnson & Johnson ,
Nissan ,
Opioid ,
Popular ,
Recessions ,
Retail Market ,
Sears ,
Stock Exchange ,
Tariffs ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
The US’s ongoing trade war with China—which just isn’t going away any time soon—has prompted the White House to propose a new “$16 billion bailout for farmers hurt by Beijing’s tariffs.” At the same time, leaders from both...more
5/24/2019
/ Capital Raising ,
China ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Cyber Threats ,
Cybersecurity ,
Deregulation ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
DoorDash ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
High Risk Financial Products ,
Indictments ,
Investment Adviser ,
On-Demand Services ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Tariffs ,
Theresa May ,
Trade Relations ,
Trade Retaliation ,
UK Brexit ,
US Trade Policies
N.D. California federal judge Lucy Koh sided with the FTC in its antitrust suit against semiconductor-industry giant Qualcomm, finding that the company “abused its position . . . to harm competition and charge cellphone...more
5/22/2019
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
China ,
Coca Cola ,
Collateralized Debt Obligations ,
Federal Reserve ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
High Yield Bonds ,
Huawei ,
Inflation Adjustments ,
Leveraged Loans ,
Licensing Fees ,
Microsoft ,
Mobile Apps ,
Qualcomm ,
Quarterly Report ,
Retail Sales ,
Retailers ,
RMBS ,
Tariffs ,
UK Brexit ,
US Trade Policies
FCC Chair Ajit Pai gave his agency’s stamp of approval to the pending $26 billion T-Mobile/Sprint merger on Monday, helping move the deal towards completion based on pledges from the companies to develop “a robust 5G network...more
5/21/2019
/ 5G Network ,
Adidas ,
Bitcoin ,
Enforcement Actions ,
ETFs ,
Facebook ,
FCC ,
Financial Markets ,
Fines ,
Ford Motor ,
Foreign Banks ,
Forex ,
Google ,
Huawei ,
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) ,
Layoffs ,
Market Manipulation ,
Nike ,
RBS ,
Secured Overnight Funding Rate (SOFR) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sprint ,
T-Mobile ,
Tariffs ,
Telecommunications ,
UBS ,
US Trade Policies ,
Virtual Currency
Google parent company Alphabet [and a host of chipmakers] formally suspended all business with Huawei “that requires the transfer of hardware, software and technical services except those publicly available via open source...more
5/20/2019
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Bodily Injury ,
China ,
Credit Cards ,
EURIBOR ,
Financial Markets ,
Google ,
Huawei ,
Imports ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Johnson & Johnson ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Metals ,
Target ,
Tariffs ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies ,
Value-Added Tax (VAT)
Disney will take total control of the TV and movie streaming service Hulu after forking over at least $5.8 billion to buy out last remaining partner, Comcast. That price won’t be determined for a while, though, as the sale...more
5/15/2019
/ Aircraft ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Boeing ,
China ,
Comcast ,
Danske Bank ,
Disney ,
E-Commerce ,
Employee Definition ,
Estonia ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
Financial Crimes ,
Global Economy ,
Google ,
Hulu ,
Independent Contractors ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Money Laundering ,
NLRB ,
Online Advertisements ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Safety Standards ,
SoftBank ,
Stock Markets ,
Stock Prices ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Trade Retaliation ,
Uber ,
US Trade Policies
That massive thud? That would be the other shoe dropping in the form of Chinese counter tariffs on another $60 billion in US goods in response to the White House’s trade moves last week....more
5/14/2019
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
Apple Inc v Pepper ,
Bayer ,
Cancer ,
China ,
Class Action ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Financial Markets ,
Imports ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Interest Rates ,
Investment Fraud ,
iPhone ,
Loans ,
Marriott ,
Monopolization ,
Monsanto ,
Rental Property ,
SCOTUS ,
Share Price ,
Sprint ,
T-Mobile ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Trade Retaliation ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies
True, the economic headwinds weren’t its fault, but boy—not a banner debut for Uber after years of speculation and waiting....more
5/13/2019
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Bank Fraud ,
China ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Debt Collection ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Dividends ,
Economic Development ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Reserve ,
Flex-Time Policies ,
Foreign Trade Regulations ,
Huawei ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
SoftBank ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Trade Retaliation ,
Uber ,
US Trade Policies ,
Volkswagen
Chevron has dropped its $33 billion bid for Anadarko, ending the energy industry’s “fiercest takeover battle in 15 years” and leaving smaller rival Occidental “poised to become the dominant force in the largest oil field in...more
5/10/2019
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Audits ,
Chevron ,
China ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Danske Bank ,
Estonia ,
Financial Markets ,
FinCEN ,
Foreign Relations ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Jeff Bezos ,
Morgan Stanley ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Tariffs ,
Uber ,
US Trade Policies
China’s lead trade negotiator, Vice Premier Liu He, is in D.C. today—despite the White House’s latest threats to increase tariffs by 15% on $200 billion of Chinese goods—to continue trade talks with his U.S. counterparts. Mr....more
5/8/2019
/ China ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Debt Collection ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Imports ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Lyft ,
National Emissions Standards ,
Porsche ,
Regulatory Burden ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities Fraud ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
Uber ,
US Trade Policies ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Zillow
Occidental has increased the cash portion of its recent bid for rival Anadarko, upping the cash side of its $38 billion offer to 78% (from 50%). Chevron now has 4 days to sweeten its bid or lose out – NYTimes and WSJ and...more
5/7/2019
/ Auto Insurance ,
Board of Directors ,
China ,
Civil Investigation Demand ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Cookies ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Extradition ,
Federal Reserve ,
Google ,
Imports ,
Investment Funds ,
Leveraged Loans ,
Securities Fraud ,
Tariffs ,
Tesla
All of Treasury Secretary Mnuchin’s “great progress” reports be damned, apparently. Over the weekend, the White House threatened to fast-forward plans to raise tariffs from 10 to 25% on $200 billion of Chinese imports,...more
5/7/2019
/ 21st Century Fox ,
Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
China ,
Corporate Fines ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Disney ,
Exxon Mobil ,
Facebook ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Markets ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Sinclair Broadcast Group ,
Subpoenas ,
Tariffs ,
Technology Sector ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Uber ,
Warren Buffett
Elon Musk and the SEC have reached an agreement to revise their earlier agreement to settle the latest round of issues caused by Musk’s Twitter habit. Under its terms, a Tesla securities attorney must now “preapprove any of...more
4/29/2019
/ Agribusiness ,
Apple ,
Chevron ,
Commerzbank ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Elon Musk ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Exports ,
Farms ,
Financial Markets ,
Ford Motor ,
Germany ,
HSBC ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Mobile Apps ,
National Emissions Standards ,
Occidental Petroleum ,
RMBS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Slack ,
Social Media ,
Takeover Bids ,
Tariffs ,
Tesla ,
Twitter ,
Unicorns
Tuesday was yet another banner day on Wall Street, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closing at new highs. Most market watchers think we have the Fed’s recent pivot on interest rates to thank for the continuing bull market...more
4/24/2019
/ Administrative Appointments ,
CBS ,
CEOs ,
Chevron ,
Emulex Corp. v Varjabedian ,
EU ,
Exports ,
Federal Reserve ,
FinTech ,
Investment ,
Misleading Statements ,
Nasdaq ,
Private Equity Funds ,
Quarterly Report ,
S&P ,
SCOTUS ,
Social Media ,
Software Developers ,
Spoofing ,
Tariffs ,
Twitter ,
Wall Street
Carlos Ghosn, the onetime “savior” of Nissan, faced another indignity while again behind bars in Japan—the automaker officially removed the former chair from the board altogether....more
4/9/2019
/ Airbus ,
Airplane Accidents ,
Bayer ,
Boeing ,
Bonds ,
Cancer ,
Chapter 11 ,
Class Action ,
Collusion ,
Deregulation ,
Enforcement Authority ,
EU ,
Fannie Mae ,
Freddie Mac ,
Leveraged Loans ,
Monsanto ,
Nissan ,
Price Manipulation ,
Saudi Aramco ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Tariffs ,
Toxic Exposure ,
UK Brexit ,
US Trade Policies ,
Website Owner Liability ,
White Collar Crimes ,
WTO
Not shockingly, the White House’s recent insistence on keeping tariffs in place on China (to ensure deal compliance) is proving to be a major stumbling block in negotiations on a grand trade deal between the US and China....more
4/5/2019
/ Agricultural Workers ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
China ,
Cloud Computing ,
Construction Workers ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Economic Downturn ,
Employment Litigation ,
Facebook ,
FASB ,
Foreign Workers ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Japan ,
Job Creation ,
Lyft ,
Nissan ,
No-Action Letters ,
Personal Data ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Unemployment
OxyContin-maker Purdue Pharma and its owners, the Sackler family, reached a deal this week with the state of Oklahoma in which they will pay “$270 million to avoid going to a state court trial over the company’s role in the...more
3/27/2019
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Apple ,
Barclays ,
Boeing ,
China ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
Federal Reserve ,
Interest Rates ,
International Trade Commission (ITC) ,
IP License ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Lyft ,
Opioid ,
OxyContin ,
Pain Management ,
Patent Litigation ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Qualcomm ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Share Price ,
Tariffs ,
Theresa May ,
Trade Relations ,
Uber ,
UK Brexit ,
US Trade Policies ,
Wealth Management ,
Whistleblower Awards
Some continuing reaction to the potential end to the trade war between the US and China, through the lens of a Delaware lighting store [NYTimes] and US businesses far more broadly, who are grappling with the question of what...more
3/6/2019
/ Barclays ,
Board of Directors ,
China ,
Credit Default Swaps ,
Deutsche Bank ,
EU ,
Exports ,
Forex ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Hedge Funds ,
Imports ,
Insider Trading ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Money Laundering ,
Papa John's International ,
Securities Fraud ,
Stock Options ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies
After weeks of regular negotiations (and months of back-and-forth before that), the rough outlines of a broad US/China trade deal are starting to take shape. Early reports look like the end of US tariffs in exchange for...more
3/4/2019
/ Alibaba ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
China ,
Class Action ,
Derivative Suit ,
Grocery Stores ,
Huawei ,
Imports ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Jeff Bezos ,
Libor ,
Lyft ,
Office Depot ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies ,
USPS ,
Wells Fargo