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
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
Fiat Chrysler and struggling post-Ghosn French automaker Renault are in talks to complete a merger of equals that could “reshape the global automobile industry.” If a deal is reached the combined company would be the third...more
5/28/2019
/ Alibaba ,
Bitcoin ,
Chrysler ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Data Breach ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Fiat ,
Financial Services Industry ,
First American Title Insurance Co. ,
Hong Kong Stock Exchange ,
Huawei ,
Insider Trading ,
IP License ,
Johnson & Johnson ,
Licensing Rights ,
Mortgages ,
Nuisance ,
Opioid ,
Payment Processors ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Public Listing ,
Publishers ,
Renault-Nissan ,
Trump Administration ,
Vulnerability Assessments ,
White Collar Crimes
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)
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
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
Amazingly, April’s gone and it’s Jobs Report Friday again. Here’s what to look for in the numbers – Bloomberg and NYTimes and WSJ...more
5/4/2019
/ Bonds ,
Bribery ,
Brick-and-Mortar Stores ,
Capital Raising ,
Criminal Convictions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Federal Reserve ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Libor ,
Money Laundering ,
Opioid ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Racketeering ,
Swiss Banks ,
Tesla ,
Trump Administration ,
Tumblr ,
UBS ,
Yahoo!
A quick check-in with Fed Chair Powell, the man trying to help keep the US economy humming—a hard enough job as it is, but one made much tougher by a White House that hasn’t been shy about voicing its near-constant...more
4/15/2019
/ Apple ,
Danske Bank ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Emulex Corp. v Varjabedian ,
Exports ,
False Statements ,
Farm Animals ,
Federal Reserve ,
General Electric ,
KPMG ,
Money Laundering ,
Omissions ,
Ownership of Works ,
Patents ,
Qualcomm ,
Subprime Mortgages ,
Tender Offers ,
Trans-Pacific Partnership ,
Trump Administration ,
Waste Management ,
White Collar Crimes
Just how bad is the Brexit crisis for Prime Minister May? Well, she’s considering crossing the aisle and, gulp, working with the Labour Party on a departure plan. So really bad. And oh yeah, more time, please....more
4/3/2019
/ BlackRock ,
Bribery ,
Class Action ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disney ,
Economic Downturn ,
Equal Pay ,
Federal Reserve ,
HSBC ,
IMF ,
Insurance Regulations ,
Nissan ,
Pay Gap ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Stock Markets ,
Theresa May ,
Trump Administration ,
UK Brexit ,
Wall Street ,
Wynn Resorts
Lyft had a banner debut on the public markets, with its shares jumping 8.7% “after opening at $87.24, far above the public offering price of $72.” Some analysts are interpreting the strong showing as a sign that the gig...more
4/1/2019
/ Asbestos Litigation ,
Cancer ,
Chipotle Grill ,
Commodities ,
Data Breach ,
Economic Downturn ,
Federal Reserve ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Johnson & Johnson ,
Libor ,
Lyft ,
Opioid ,
Personal Care Products ,
Peugeot ,
Purdue Pharma ,
Secured Overnight Funding Rate (SOFR) ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Spoofing ,
Trump Administration ,
Wells Fargo
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
New evidence suggests that California’s PG&E repeatedly “delayed a safety overhaul” on a high-voltage transmission line “that is a prime suspect behind the deadliest wildfire in California history.” How repeatedly? Try 5...more
2/28/2019
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Automotive Industry ,
CFTC ,
China ,
COPPA ,
Data Collection ,
Elon Musk ,
Embedded Tweets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Reserve ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Services Committee ,
GDP ,
Government Bonds ,
Government Shutdown ,
Imports ,
Market Manipulation ,
Mobile Apps ,
Online Safety for Children ,
PG&E ,
Price Manipulation ,
Safety Standards ,
Securities Violations ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Stock Prices ,
Swaps ,
Tariffs ,
Tesla ,
Transmission Lines ,
Trump Administration ,
US-Mexico Border Wall ,
Ways and Means Committee ,
Wells Fargo ,
Wildfires
With a high-level White House meeting on Friday, the US and China have extended trade talks, even as a “final deal remains elusive” (aka, nothing at all is in writing yet). It also appears that the purported progress is...more
2/25/2019
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
China ,
Currency Fluctuation ,
Data Collection ,
Enron ,
Exports ,
Facebook ,
Heinz ,
Imports ,
Index Funds ,
Inflation Adjustments ,
Investment ,
Kraft ,
Personal Data ,
Privacy Concerns ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
State Street ,
Tariffs ,
Trump Administration ,
Twitter ,
US Trade Policies ,
Vanguard ,
Xerox
In what can only be classified as a second major “Oh yeah? Try this on for size” moment from Jeff Bezos in as many weeks, Amazon has announced that it’s canceling its planned HQ2 project in Queens, NY. Some local activists...more
2/15/2019
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Bitcoin ,
China ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Facebook ,
Federal Funding ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Government Shutdown ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Retail Market ,
Securities Fraud ,
Token Sales ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Unregistered Securities ,
US Trade Policies ,
US-Mexico Border Wall ,
Wall Street
The White House strongly hinted yesterday that it will consider delaying the rapidly approaching March 2 deadline to reach a trade deal with China, “saying the United States might not impose higher tariffs on Chinese goods if...more
2/13/2019
/ 5G Network ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
CBS ,
China ,
Confidential Information ,
Corruption ,
Foreign Trade Regulations ,
Grocery Stores ,
Huawei ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Insider Trading ,
KPMG ,
Lyft ,
PCAOB ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Stock Prices ,
Tariffs ,
Telecommunications ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Whole Foods ,
Wireless Technology
Once again, it’s Jobs Report Friday. Here’s some things to keep in mind as you review the numbers...more
2/1/2019
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Apple ,
Automotive Industry ,
Banks ,
Cartels ,
China ,
Cloud Computing ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
EU ,
Facebook ,
Government Bonds ,
Huawei ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Job Creation ,
Mobile Apps ,
No-Deal Brexit ,
Smartphones ,
T-Mobile ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Trade Secrets ,
Trump Administration ,
Unemployment ,
US Trade Policies
Though expected after its earlier move to cut its revenue forecast, Apple’s official quarterly profits reporting yesterday still disappointed, as the company posted its “first holiday-quarter drop in both revenue and profit...more
1/30/2019
/ Apple ,
Barclays ,
CBO Report ,
China ,
Class Action ,
Dark Pool ,
Federal Budget ,
Federal Funding ,
FinTech ,
Foreign Investment ,
Forex ,
Government Shutdown ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Market Manipulation ,
Polar Vortex ,
Quarterly Report ,
Real Estate Investments ,
Securities Fraud ,
Social Media ,
Standard Chartered Bank ,
Trump Administration ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
US-Mexico Border Wall ,
Venture Capital
California’s trouble-plagued Pacific Gas & Electric utility has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, listing debts of more than $51.7 billion....more
1/29/2019
/ Apple ,
Bonds ,
Caterpillar ,
Chapter 11 ,
China ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Government Shutdown ,
Huawei ,
Made in the USA ,
Manufacturers ,
NVIDIA ,
PG&E ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
S&P ,
Sanction Violations ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Trade Secrets ,
Trump Administration ,
UK Brexit ,
Utilities Sector ,
Wildfires
Nissan’s Carlos Ghosn problems now extend to the United States, where the Securities and Exchange Commission has opened a probe into the accuracy of the company’s financial disclosures and internal controls....more
1/28/2019
/ Audits ,
Bank of New York (BNY) Mellon ,
Canada ,
China ,
Facebook ,
Federal Budget ,
Federal Funding ,
Financial Statements ,
Government Shutdown ,
Huawei ,
Instagram ,
Internal Controls ,
Job Creation ,
KPMG ,
Next Generation ,
Nissan ,
RMBS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Social Media ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
Unemployment ,
US Trade Policies ,
US-Mexico Border Wall ,
Vodafone ,
WhatsApp
US banks are reporting that cases of financial abuse of seniors are on the rise. Treasury department data showed a 2-fold increase in suspected cases from just 5 years ago and a 12% increase from just a year ago....more
1/25/2019
/ Airlines ,
Airports ,
BuzzFeed ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Elder Issues ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
European Central Bank ,
Fannie Mae ,
Federal Budget ,
Federal Funding ,
Financial Fraud ,
Freddie Mac ,
Government Shutdown ,
Layoffs ,
Mortgages ,
Renault-Nissan ,
Spoofing ,
Spyware ,
Trump Administration ,
Unemployment ,
US-Mexico Border Wall ,
Vulnerable Victims ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Wire Fraud
The European Union has fined Mastercard $650 million for “breaching antitrust rules by raising payment-processing fees artificially, leading to higher prices for retailers and consumers” alike. The penalty came after a 6-year...more
1/23/2019
/ Antitrust Violations ,
CFTC ,
China ,
Danske Bank ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Espionage ,
EU ,
False Billing ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Budget ,
Federal Funding ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Markets ,
Forex ,
Government Shutdown ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Housing Market ,
Huawei ,
Internet of Things ,
MasterCard ,
Money Laundering ,
Payment Processors ,
Smart Devices ,
Trump Administration ,
US-Mexico Border Wall ,
Walgreens
The White House is reportedly considering easing some tariffs on Chinese markets “as a way to calm markets and give Beijing an incentive to make deeper concessions in a trade battle that has rattled global economies.” The...more
1/18/2019
/ Anti-Steering Rules ,
Barclays ,
CBS ,
China ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
EURIBOR ,
Exports ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Fraud ,
Government Shutdown ,
Imports ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Mitsubishi ,
Navient ,
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) ,
Severance Pay ,
Student Loans ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Tesla ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
US Trade Policies ,
USTR