The CBO sent shivers down the spines of deficit hawks yesterday with its latest forecast that shows federal cost overruns hitting $1 trillion for fiscal 2020, an increase of more than $100 billion from projections just 3...more
8/24/2019
/ Alibaba ,
Bonds ,
Capital Gains ,
CBO Report ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Economic Downturn ,
Employment Tax ,
Executive Compensation ,
Germany ,
Hedge Funds ,
Hong Kong ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Job Creation ,
Oil & Gas ,
Proxy Advisors ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Senate Banking Committee ,
Tax Reform ,
Trump Administration ,
Unemployment ,
Wells Fargo
Beyond the revamped Volcker Rule we discussed yesterday, Federal Reserve officials are “slowly, but steadily,” making a series of regulatory changes likely to weaken “capital requirements installed in the wake of the [2008...more
8/21/2019
/ Bayer ,
Capital Requirements ,
Chick-Fil-A ,
Economic Downturn ,
Employment Tax ,
Endo Pharmaceuticals ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Multidistrict Litigation ,
Opioid ,
Popular ,
RICO ,
Solar Energy ,
Stock Markets ,
Tax Reform ,
Tesla ,
Trade Wars ,
Trump Administration ,
Volcker Rule ,
Wal-Mart ,
Wendy's
A survey of the country’s most powerful CEOs by the Business Roundtable shows an interesting shift in how they view their top priority—no longer does advancing the interests of shareholders take the top spot. Instead, the...more
8/20/2019
/ Airports ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Big Tech ,
China ,
Disney ,
Economic Downturn ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Statements ,
General Electric ,
Huawei ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Lyft ,
OCC ,
Overstatement of Basis ,
Payroll Taxes ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Revenue Growth ,
Ridesharing ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Transportation Industry ,
Trump Administration ,
Uber ,
Volcker Rule ,
Wall Street ,
Whistleblowers
The White House is reportedly extending the temporary license for some US businesses to work with Huawei, a move that would likely help smooth the way for trade negotiators between the US and China to see their way back to...more
8/19/2019
/ Banks ,
CFTC ,
China ,
Citibank ,
Commodities ,
Economic Downturn ,
EU ,
Financial Markets ,
Food Manufacturers ,
Foreign Adversaries ,
Germany ,
Huawei ,
Kraft ,
Motion for Sanctions ,
Price Manipulation ,
Quarterly Report ,
Recessions ,
Ridesharing ,
RMBS ,
S&P ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Settlement ,
SoftBank ,
Supply Chain ,
Telecommunications ,
Temporary Licenses ,
Trade Negotiations ,
Trade Wars ,
Trump Administration ,
Uber ,
Venture Capital
Wall Street’s post-tariff-delay jubilance was short lived, as an inverted bond yield curve reared its ugly head yesterday, sending shares plummeting on a brutal day across all markets....more
8/15/2019
/ Accounting Fraud ,
Alibaba ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Basketball ,
Bernie Madoff ,
China ,
FCC ,
Financial Markets ,
General Electric ,
Prospectus ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Recessions ,
Securities Violations ,
Sharing Economy ,
Sprint ,
T-Mobile ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Retaliation ,
Trade Wars ,
Trump Administration ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
Warren Buffett ,
Whistleblowers
In the internal battle between keeping China off balance and keeping Wall Street happy, the White House has decided once again to focus on the latter, walking back the latest tariff escalation by postponing promised...more
8/14/2019
/ Banks ,
CBS ,
China ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Credit Scores ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Data Management ,
Facebook ,
Fannie Mae ,
Freddie Mac ,
Generation Z ,
Imports ,
Instagram ,
Libor ,
Mortgages ,
Multidistrict Litigation ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Tax Evasion ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies ,
Viacom
Les Wexner, the billionaire CEO of Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works parent company L Brands, has accused his former money manager and confidant, Jeffrey Epstein, of misappropriating “vast sums of money” from Wexner and...more
8/8/2019
/ Amazon ,
America Invents Act ,
Banks ,
Bonds ,
Broadcom ,
China ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Federal Reserve ,
FedEx ,
Financial Crisis ,
Financial Markets ,
Foreign Currency ,
Government Agencies ,
Huawei ,
Misappropriation ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Rating Agencies ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Shipping ,
Symantec ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Wars ,
Trump Administration ,
Victoria Secret ,
Wall Street ,
Wealth Management ,
White Collar Crimes
Last week’s wild economic ride combined with China’s currency-devaluing response (and, arguably, months more of trade-war-driven global uncertainty) led to the worst day on Wall Street since last December, with the Dow...more
8/6/2019
/ China ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Currency Manipulation ,
Data Breach ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Exports ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Transactions ,
Foreign Currency ,
Grand Juries ,
Imports ,
Marriott ,
Media ,
Money Services Business ,
Opioid ,
Pain Management ,
Publishers ,
Quarterly Report ,
Subpoenas ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Trade Retaliation ,
Trade Wars ,
Trump Administration ,
Tyson Foods ,
US Trade Policies
HSBC chief John Flint is out just 18 months after he assumed the role as head of the London-based bank, likely due to clashes with Board Chair Mark Tucker and the lender’s focus on expanding in China. HSBC also announced it...more
8/5/2019
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Blockchain ,
Bonds ,
Cancer ,
CBS ,
China ,
Credit Default Swaps ,
Derivatives ,
Digital Currency ,
Economic Downturn ,
EU ,
Exports ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Foreign Currency ,
HSBC ,
IMF ,
Imports ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Job Creation ,
Johnson & Johnson ,
Layoffs ,
Patent Applications ,
S&P ,
Talent Management ,
Tariffs ,
Toxic Exposure ,
Trade Wars ,
Trump Administration ,
Unemployment ,
Viacom ,
Wal-Mart ,
Wall Street ,
World Bank
The Fed delivered on its expected quarter-point rate cut yesterday, the first decrease in short term rates since 2008. Fed Chair Powell cited “the implications of global developments for the economic outlook as well as muted...more
8/1/2019
/ Aluminum Sales ,
Bank of England ,
China ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Currency Fluctuation ,
Elon Musk ,
Energy Sector ,
Exports ,
Federal Reserve ,
Foreign Currency ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Investment Fraud ,
Nordstrom Inc. ,
Prior Authorization ,
Retail Market ,
Share Price ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
SolarCity ,
Tariffs ,
Tesla ,
Trade Relations ,
Trade Wars ,
Trump Administration ,
UK Brexit ,
Unemployment ,
US Trade Policies ,
White Collar Crimes
At this point, pretty much everyone on Wall Street is expecting the Fed to cut interest rates as its FOMC meeting breaks later today. Some thoughts on what’s likely to happen and how the Street could react to the news....more
7/31/2019
/ Apple ,
Capital One ,
China ,
Data Breach ,
Federal Reserve ,
House Flipping ,
Huawei ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Natural Disasters ,
Real Estate Investments ,
Samsung ,
Technology Sector ,
Trade Relations ,
Trade Wars ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies ,
Vietnam
Credit bureau Equifax is closing in on an agreement with federal and state authorities in which it would pay $650-700 million to resolve claims related to the massive breach it revealed in September 2017 that exposed personal...more
7/22/2019
/ Brick-and-Mortar Stores ,
China ,
Commercial Leases ,
Data Breach ,
E-Commerce ,
Equifax ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FOMC ,
Foreign Investment ,
Google ,
Johnson & Johnson ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Public Health ,
Real Estate Investments ,
Renault-Nissan ,
Rental Property ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Silicon Valley ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Trade Wars ,
Trump Administration ,
Uber
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is the latest prominent government official to express concerns about Facebook’s coming Libra launch. Speaking at a briefing yesterday, Mnuchin focused on national security issues related to...more
7/16/2019
/ Agribusiness ,
Agricultural Sector ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Bayer ,
Broadcom ,
Cancer ,
Charles Schwab ,
China ,
Chipotle Grill ,
CMBS ,
Cryptocurrency ,
E-Commerce ,
Facebook ,
Farms ,
Fraud ,
Monsanto ,
National Security ,
RMBS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Senate Banking Committee ,
Subsidiaries ,
Symantec ,
Target ,
Tariffs ,
Toxic Exposure ,
Trade Wars ,
Trump Administration ,
USAA ,
Wal-Mart ,
Wealth Management
Amazon announced this week that it will spend $700 million to retrain a third of its US workforce to adapt to the increasing amount of robotic and automation technology in its warehouses. The 6-year effort will eventually...more
7/12/2019
/ ALEXA ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Big Tech ,
Bonds ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Digital Marketplace ,
Director Kraninger ,
Economic Downturn ,
Employee Retention ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Budget ,
Financial Literacy ,
Financial Reporting ,
France ,
Hedge Funds ,
Inflated Stock Purchase Price ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Job Creation ,
Opioid ,
PG&E ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Securitization Vehicles ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Stocks ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Trump Administration ,
Unemployment ,
Volcker Rule ,
Wildfires
The big takeaway from Day 1 of Fed Chair Powell’s Congressional testimony is that a July rate cut is still definitely on the table, despite last week’s strong US jobs numbers. As the Times puts it, “That the Fed is...more
7/11/2019
/ 1MDB ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bitcoin ,
Capital Raising ,
Corruption ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Digital Currency ,
Facebook ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
France ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Huawei ,
Illegal Tipping ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Insider Trading ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Regulation A ,
S&P ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sexual Assault ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Telecommunications ,
Trade Retaliation ,
Trade Wars ,
Trump Administration ,
UNESCO ,
Unfair Trade Practices Act ,
White Collar Crimes
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced yesterday that the US will, mere weeks after blacklisting Huawei altogether, allow some American companies to keep doing business with the Chinese telecom company. The reversal appears...more
7/10/2019
/ Administrative Resignation ,
Airbus ,
Aviation Industry ,
Boeing ,
China ,
Conspiracies ,
Federal Reserve ,
Hidden Fees ,
Hotels ,
Huawei ,
Investment Fraud ,
Marriott ,
Mexico ,
National Security ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Stress Tests ,
Supply Chain ,
Telecommunications ,
Testimony ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
UK ,
UK Brexit
Big Euro (and global) financial news emerging on Tuesday, as European officials rather surprisingly nominated current IMF chief Christine Lagarde to succeed Mario Draghi as European Central Bank president....more
7/3/2019
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Aviation Industry ,
Bank of America ,
Benchmarks ,
China ,
Electric Vehicles ,
EU ,
European Central Bank ,
Federal Reserve ,
Foreign Relations ,
Government Aid ,
Hedge Funds ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Lloyds Banking Group ,
Prison ,
Quarterly Report ,
Rabobank ,
Saudi Arabia ,
Tariffs ,
Tesla ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies
The US and China agreed to resume trade talks after a 7-week hiatus, “averting for now an escalation of their multibillion-dollar tariff war that has roiled global markets and threatened the future of the world’s two largest...more
7/1/2019
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
Boeing ,
China ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Deportation ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Exports ,
Franchisee ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Immigration Reform ,
Imports ,
Internships ,
Martin Shkreli ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Semiconductors ,
Subway ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Theranos ,
Trade Relations ,
Trade Retaliation ,
Trade Wars ,
Trump Administration ,
Undocumented Immigrants ,
US Trade Policies ,
YouTube
Ford announced major cuts to its European workforce yesterday, announcing that it would reduce its overall headcount there by 1/5 (or about 12,000 workers), roughly half of whom are salaried employees. Ford first revealed the...more
6/28/2019
/ Bitcoin ,
Bonds ,
Capital Gains ,
Data Breach ,
Equifax ,
Facebook ,
Ford Motor ,
G20 ,
Job Creation ,
National Security ,
Native American Issues ,
Nissan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Tax Reform ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
Unemployment
The DOJ has jumped on board claims made in existing civil class-action lawsuits and is considering criminal price-fixing charges against “some of the biggest American poultry companies, including Tyson Foods and Pilgrim’s...more
6/27/2019
/ Activist Investors ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Bitcoin ,
China ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Data Breach ,
Data-Sharing ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Electronic Medical Records ,
Facebook ,
Food Supply ,
G20 ,
Google ,
Imports ,
Oil & Gas ,
Patient Privacy Rights ,
Price-Fixing ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Trade Retaliation ,
Trade Wars ,
Trump Administration ,
Tyson Foods ,
US Trade Policies
A round of internal Facebook emails produced in response to an FTC probe appear to show that the company’s “potentially problematic privacy practices” had filtered their way up to the very top of the social networking...more
6/13/2019
/ Affirmative Defenses ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Class Action ,
Climate Change ,
Exxon Mobil ,
Facebook ,
Fannie Mae ,
Federal Reserve ,
FHFA ,
Freddie Mac ,
House Flipping ,
Huawei ,
Inflation Adjustments ,
Internal Communications ,
Investment Fraud ,
Privacy Laws ,
Real Estate Market ,
Social Security ,
Telemarketing ,
Trump Administration ,
Trust Funds ,
Verizon
Sprint and T-Mobile are facing new merger headwinds in the form of a NY & CA state AG-led lawsuit in the Southern District of New York that seeks to block the deal, alleging that it would cost customers of the companies “at...more
6/12/2019
/ Activist Investors ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Apple ,
China ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Google ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Loans ,
On-Demand Services ,
Raytheon ,
Slack ,
Sprint ,
T-Mobile ,
Tariffs ,
Telecommunications ,
Trade Wars ,
Trump Administration ,
Wells Fargo ,
Wireless Industry
Opioid manufacturer Insys Therapeutics, which just last week agreed to pay $225 million to “settle a federal investigation into the marketing practices for its powerful fentanyl painkiller,” has filed for bankruptcy...more
6/11/2019
/ Aerospace ,
Chapter 11 ,
Chrysler ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Defense Sector ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Elon Musk ,
Fast Track Process ,
Federal Reserve ,
Fiat ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Insider Trading ,
Interest Rates ,
Mexico ,
Money Laundering ,
Nasdaq ,
NYSE ,
Opioid ,
Pain Management ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Raytheon ,
Regulation A ,
Renault-Nissan ,
Shutterfly ,
Tariffs ,
Tesla ,
Trade Relations ,
Trade Wars ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies
The White House announced on Friday that the US and Mexico reached a deal that it deemed sufficient to keep from levying the threatened 5% tariffs on Mexican goods that was set to take effect today. As details of that deal...more
6/10/2019
/ Aerospace ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
China ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Defense Sector ,
Digital Currency ,
Economic Sanctions ,
FedEx ,
Huawei ,
Imports ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Job Creation ,
Mexico ,
National Security ,
Raytheon ,
Salesforce ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
Uber ,
Unemployment ,
US Trade Policies ,
Virtual Currency
Jobs Report Friday again! Lots to look for in the numbers this month, especially considering the economic uncertainty that’s defined the past few weeks....more
6/7/2019
/ 5G Network ,
Add-ons ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Barnes and Noble ,
Bribery ,
Chrysler ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
FCC ,
Fiat ,
Financial Institutions ,
Going-Private Transactions ,
Google ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Huawei ,
Job Creation ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Mexico ,
Opioid ,
Renault-Nissan ,
Robocalling ,
Tariffs ,
Trump Administration ,
Unemployment ,
US Trade Policies ,
Wells Fargo