The Fed sought to reassure markets for the foreseeable future on Wednesday by announcing that it plans to hold rates at their near-zero mark until into 2023 as it tries to “coax the economy back to full strength after the...more
9/17/2020
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Data Storage ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
FOMC ,
Golf ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Main Street Lending Programs ,
Oracle ,
Retail Sales ,
Spoofing ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration ,
Unemployment ,
Unemployment Benefits
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
If not immune to surprise at this point in 2020, that might be the appropriate feeling at the apparent emergence of late-stage suitor Oracle as the winner of the TikTok sweepstakes. Though terms between ByteDance and Oracle...more
9/15/2020
/ Antitrust Violations ,
Biotechnology ,
Cancer ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Freelance Workers ,
General Motors ,
Gilead Sciences ,
Google ,
Infectious Diseases ,
National Emissions Standards ,
Natural Gas ,
NVIDIA ,
Oil & Gas ,
Oracle ,
Popular ,
Rare Earth Metals ,
Securities Fraud ,
Social Media ,
SoftBank ,
Spoofing ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
White Collar Crimes ,
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
Last Friday’s US Jobs Report saw unemployment fall to 8.4%, but the end of federal aid programs and a solid-but-not-gangbusters 1.4 million jobs gained in August leads many to fear a much worse employment picture ahead....more
9/9/2020
/ App Store ,
Apple ,
Big Tech ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Dominos ,
Employee Benefits ,
EPIC ,
Financial Markets ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Job Creation ,
Mobile Apps ,
Robotics ,
SoftBank ,
Stock Prices ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration ,
UK Brexit ,
Unemployment
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
In hotly anticipated comments on Thursday—and yes, such a designation applies to a speech on monetary policy—Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell “announced a major shift in how the central bank guides the economy, signaling it...more
8/31/2020
/ Bayer ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
E-Commerce ,
Federal Reserve ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Japan ,
Microsoft ,
Mobile Apps ,
Monsanto ,
Nissan ,
Oracle ,
Payroll Taxes ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Unemployment ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Wal-Mart
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
Despite an earlier White House promise to postpone, American and Chinese trade negotiators met via videoconference on Monday to discuss “the status of the trade deal both nations signed in January, a pact that continues to...more
8/26/2020
/ Amgen ,
Apple ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Dow Jones ,
E-Commerce ,
EPIC ,
EU ,
Exxon Mobil ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
Government Lockdown ,
Home Depot ,
Honeywell International ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Inflation Adjustments ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Layoffs ,
Life Sciences ,
Pfizer ,
Raytheon ,
Remote Learning ,
Retail Market ,
Salesforce ,
Stock Prices ,
Stock Splits ,
Supply and Demand ,
Supply Chain ,
Takeda Pharmaceuticals ,
Target ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies ,
Video Games ,
Wal-Mart ,
Zoom®
More on TikTok’s plans to sue the U.S. over the White House’s recent executive orders seeking to block the app on American soil and force its owner, ByteDance, to sell its American assets. The company intends to argue that...more
8/24/2020
/ Agribusiness ,
Alphabet Company ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Apple ,
China ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Credit Suisse ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Data Collection ,
Executive Orders ,
Facebook ,
Farms ,
Federal Bans ,
Financial Crimes ,
Food Supply ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Instant Messaging Apps ,
Layoffs ,
Mark Zuckerberg ,
Microsoft ,
Mobile Apps ,
Movie Theaters ,
National Security ,
Oil Prices ,
Personal Data ,
Private Equity Firms ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Social Media ,
Supply and Demand ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration ,
Unemployment ,
Wells Notice
Apple tipped the $2 trillion mark this week, the first U.S. company to reach that valuation milestone, doing so just 2 years after it first hit $1 trillion. That it’s done so in the middle of a pandemic only punctuates how...more
8/20/2020
/ AirBnB ,
Apple ,
Boycotts ,
Business Valuations ,
CFTC ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employment Policies ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
Gig Economy ,
Goodyear ,
Independent Contractors ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Investment ,
Johnson & Johnson ,
Lyft ,
Momenta ,
Oracle ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Political Expression ,
Popular ,
Robinhood Financial ,
Sharing Economy ,
Spoofing ,
State Labor Laws ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration ,
Uber ,
Unemployment Benefits
Unlike much of the world, the U.S. has not turned the corner on the coronavirus outbreak. But you wouldn’t know it by looking at the markets. On Tuesday, the S&P 500 topped out at its highest level ever, “capping a remarkable...more
8/20/2020
/ Boeing ,
CalPERS ,
Carnival Cruise Lines ,
China ,
Citigroup ,
Co-payments ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Data Breach ,
Drug Pricing ,
E-Commerce ,
Economic Downturn ,
Economic Growth ,
Financial Markets ,
Illegal-Subsidies ,
Kickbacks ,
Medicare ,
NBC ,
Pension Funds ,
Popular ,
Ransomware ,
Retailers ,
Revlon ,
S&P ,
SoftBank ,
Supply Chain ,
Target ,
Teva Pharmaceuticals ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies ,
Viacom ,
Wal-Mart
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
The White House has “doubled down” on its recent actions against TikTok by “formally giving ByteDance, the Chinese owner of the popular video-sharing app, 90 days to divest from its American assets and any data that TikTok...more
8/18/2020
/ Advertising ,
App Store ,
Apple ,
Bailout ,
Boeing ,
China ,
Commodities ,
Competitive Bidding ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Data Management ,
Divestment ,
Economic Downturn ,
EPIC ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Home Depot ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Investment ,
Japan ,
Mobile Apps ,
NASA ,
National Security ,
Oracle ,
Personal Data ,
Rare Earth Metals ,
Retail Market ,
Retail Sales ,
Salesforce ,
Social Media ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration
Ride-hailing companies Uber and Lyft are warning that California’s new moves forcing them to classify their drivers as employees could force them both to shutter their operations altogether in that state (at least while they...more
8/14/2020
/ Barclays ,
Bias ,
CBS ,
Chapter 11 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Credit Cards ,
Economic Downturn ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Bans ,
Federal Reserve ,
General Motors ,
Gig Economy ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Independent Contractors ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Lyft ,
Misclassification ,
Retailers ,
School Sports ,
Social Media ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration ,
Uber ,
Viacom ,
Wage and Hour
Eight months after firing its CEO, Steve Easterbrook, for “sexting with a subordinate,” McDonald’s has sued Easterbrook for allegedly “lying, concealing evidence and fraud” in what appears to be a series of other workplace...more
8/12/2020
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
China ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Delta Airlines ,
E-Commerce ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Electronic Trading ,
Employee Definition ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Bans ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Regulatory Agencies ,
Fraud ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Inflation Adjustments ,
Infrastructure ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Lyft ,
McDonalds ,
Oil & Gas ,
Refineries ,
Relief Measures ,
Retailers ,
Securities Violations ,
Social Media ,
SoftBank ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
Target ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration ,
Uber
With “Twit-tok” trending this weekend, you should be unsurprised to learn that Twitter has joined the group of suitors for TikTok, revealing that it’s held preliminary talks with the video-sharing app about a possible combo. ...more
8/11/2020
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
CalPERS ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
China ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Eviction ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Loans ,
Generic Drugs ,
HBO ,
Huawei ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Job Creation ,
Kodak ,
Microchip Technology ,
Mobile Apps ,
National Security ,
Payroll Taxes ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Popular ,
Qualcomm ,
Relief Measures ,
Shopping Centers ,
Social Media ,
Social Security ,
Telecommunications ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration ,
Twitter ,
Unemployment ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Warren Buffett
Never one to let a competitor’s misfortune pass by without looking for an opportunity, Facebook’s Instagram is hoping to capitalize on TikTok’s questionable U.S. status by launching Reels, a new feature that allows users to...more
8/7/2020
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
CalPERS ,
Commerzbank ,
Deferred Action ,
Facebook ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Jeff Bezos ,
Kodak ,
Loans ,
Microsoft ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Popular ,
Preferred Shares ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Quicken Loans ,
Social Media ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration ,
Unemployment
Twitter will pay the Federal Trade Commission up to $250 million to “resolve new charges . . . that the social media giant breached a 2011 consent decree by using data provided for security purposes to target users with...more
8/4/2020
/ AIG ,
Argentina ,
Bank of America ,
Banks ,
BlackRock ,
Boeing ,
Bonds ,
Chapter 11 ,
China ,
Class Action ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Debt Restructuring ,
Facebook ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
Federal Reserve ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fraud ,
Hedge Funds ,
Mark Zuckerberg ,
Microsoft ,
Mortgage Escrow Account ,
Office Space ,
Online Advertisements ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Retail Market ,
SBA ,
SBA Lending Programs ,
Social Media ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration ,
Twitter
Following recent histrionics from the White House, ByteDance, “the Chinese internet giant that owns TikTok, has offered to sell all of the popular video app’s American operations as a way to save the business from being...more
8/4/2020
/ 7-Eleven ,
Airlines ,
Apple ,
Chapter 11 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
EU ,
Facebook ,
FinTech ,
Foreign Currency ,
Gas Stations ,
GDP ,
Hate Speech ,
Hertz ,
iPhone ,
Layoffs ,
Lord & Taylor ,
Microsoft ,
Mobile Apps ,
Mobile Payments ,
Online Advertisements ,
Payment Processors ,
Permanent Bans ,
Popular ,
Race Relations ,
Reputational Injury ,
Rupert Murdoch ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Startups ,
Tesla ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration ,
Valeant
OPEC and its oil-producing allies (in Russia and elsewhere) are reportedly working on a plan to ease cuts on oil production they agreed upon in April “amid signs that demand is returning to normal levels following...more
7/14/2020
/ Antitrust Violations ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disney ,
Exploration and Production Assets ,
Facebook ,
Florida ,
For Profit Colleges ,
France ,
Google ,
Infrastructure ,
Investment Funds ,
Loan Forgiveness ,
Oil & Gas ,
OPEC ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Political Advertising ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Recovery Plans ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Student Loans ,
Tariffs ,
Threshold Requirements ,
Trump Administration
On Monday, the White House announced its plan to extend a “freeze on ‘green cards’ for new immigrants” and to “suspend H-1B, L-1, J and other temporary work visas for skilled workers, managers and au pairs through the end of...more
6/23/2020
/ CFTC ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Disgorgement ,
Financial Fraud ,
Google ,
H-1B ,
H-2B ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Infrastructure ,
Mobile Apps ,
Online Advertisements ,
Revenue ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Spoofing ,
Stock Markets ,
Trade Relations ,
Trading Platforms ,
Trump Administration ,
Unemployment ,
Workplace Decontamination
After weeks of “backlash over a lack of transparency,” the Treasury Department has agreed to make public information detailing “borrower information for recipients of millions of small-business loans through the $660 billion...more
6/22/2020
/ Apple ,
CARES Act ,
Cayman Islands ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Donald Trump ,
Equipment Failure ,
Extortion ,
Federal Prosecutors ,
FinTech ,
Intel ,
Microchip Technology ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
PG&E ,
Resignation ,
Trump Administration ,
Wildfires
Some rare last-minute SEC intervention forced Hertz to suspend its planned sale of up to $500 million in shares of the bankrupt car-rental company while the agency undertakes a closer review of the offering....more
6/18/2020
/ Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) ,
CARES Act ,
Charitable Donations ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Economic Downturn ,
Financial Stimulus ,
FinTech ,
Germany ,
Government Lockdown ,
Hertz ,
Inflated Projections ,
Low-Income Issues ,
Minority-Owned Businesses ,
Netflix ,
Opportunity Zones ,
Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020 (PPPFA) ,
PepsiCo ,
Race Relations ,
Real Estate Development ,
Recessions ,
Scholarships ,
Small Business ,
Stock Prices ,
Stock Sale Agreements ,
Trump Administration ,
Unemployment