Germany’s diesel emissions scandal bears a lot of resemblances to the Wells Fargo debacle here at home. It just can’t seem to quit itself. This week, we’ve learned that German authorities have opened a criminal inquiry into...more
6/12/2018
/ AT&T ,
Audi ,
Automotive Industry ,
Boston Scientific ,
China ,
Class Members ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Cryptocurrency ,
DaimlerChrysler ,
Fraud ,
Germany ,
Homeless Issues ,
Housing Market ,
Low Income Housing ,
National Emissions Standards ,
SCOTUS ,
Stryker ,
Takeover Bids ,
Tariffs ,
Time Warner ,
Tolling ,
Trump Administration ,
Wells Fargo ,
ZTE
Tariffs were a hot topic at this weekend’s G-7 meeting in Canada, and as we’ve seen over the past weeks, it was once again the US vs. the world....more
6/11/2018
/ AT&T ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Elon Musk ,
G7 ,
Hedge Funds ,
Insurance Industry ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Tariffs ,
Telecommunications ,
Tesla ,
Time Warner ,
Trade Deficit ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies ,
ZTE
A surprisingly strong May US jobs report helped propel stocks up on Friday and end a tumultuous week on a high note....more
6/4/2018
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Apple ,
Australia ,
Banks ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Drug Trafficking ,
E-Commerce ,
Economic Development ,
Financial Markets ,
Hulu ,
Job Creation ,
Money Laundering ,
Referendums ,
SEC Commissioner ,
Smartphones ,
Stock Prices ,
Switzerland ,
Tariffs ,
Trump Administration ,
Unemployment ,
US Trade Policies ,
Warren Buffett
An early look at the reaction from allies Canada, Mexico, and the EU to this week’s announcement from the White House that it was moving forward with steel and aluminum tariffs against these US trading partners....more
6/1/2018
/ Aluminum Sales ,
CBS ,
Corporate Bonds ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Dividends ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Driverless Cars ,
Fannie Mae ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Freddie Mac ,
General Motors ,
Global Market ,
Imports ,
Infrastructure ,
Job Creation ,
Market Manipulation ,
NAFTA ,
SoftBank ,
Steel Industry ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Trump Administration ,
Unemployment ,
US Trade Policies ,
Volcker Rule ,
Voting Rights
Despite recent signs that both sides were backing off of the brinksmanship moving the US and China towards a protracted trade war, the White House unveiled plans on Tuesday to move ahead with tariffs and other “punitive...more
5/30/2018
/ Capital Raising ,
CBS ,
CEOs ,
China ,
Financial Markets ,
Housing Market ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Italy ,
Mortgages ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies
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 US House included the revised Volcker Rule that we’ve discussed in a broader package of Dodd-Frank reforms that it passed with bipartisan support last night. The bill—ostensibly aimed at easing restrictions on small to...more
5/23/2018
/ China ,
Class Action ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Facebook ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Foreclosure ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Kickbacks ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Lowe's ,
Mark Zuckerberg ,
Money Laundering ,
Mortgages ,
Payday Loans ,
Pending Legislation ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
SIFIs ,
Trump Administration ,
Unemployment ,
Valeant ,
Virtual Currency ,
Volcker Rule ,
Wire Fraud ,
ZTE
Vodafone will spend $23 billion in cash to snap up operations in four European countries from Liberty Global PLC, which specializes in cable operations....more
5/9/2018
/ Australia ,
Banks ,
Bitcoin ,
Comcast ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Corporate Culture ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Data Breach ,
Equifax ,
Incentive Compensation ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Nike ,
NYSE ,
Oil & Gas ,
Oil Prices ,
Token Sales ,
Trading Platforms ,
Trump Administration ,
Valeant
Some inside baseball on how Sprint and T-Mobile are likely to try to convince suspicious regulators that their merger is a good thing. Hint: it has a lot to do with China and 5G....more
5/1/2018
/ Aluminum Sales ,
AT&T ,
Aviation Industry ,
Blockchain ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
European Central Bank ,
Facebook ,
Fees ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Marathon Oil ,
Oil & Gas ,
Panasonic ,
Personal Data ,
Prudential Standards ,
Sprint ,
Steel Industry ,
T-Mobile ,
Tariffs ,
Telecommunications ,
Time Warner ,
Trump Administration ,
UK Brexit ,
US Trade Policies ,
WhatsApp ,
Wireless Industry
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
In what can only be deemed a major reversal, the White House has reportedly ordered its economic adviser and trade representative to study rejoining the Trans Pacific Partnership, just a year after yanking the US out of deal...more
4/13/2018
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Bank of America ,
Bernie Madoff ,
Bitcoin ,
Business Assets ,
China ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Deregulation ,
Digital Currency ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Free Trade Agreements ,
General Electric ,
NAFTA ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Public Offerings ,
Trans-Pacific Partnership ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies ,
Virtual Currency ,
Volkswagen ,
Wall Street
China’s latest response to the White House’s aluminum and steel tariff plans came in the form of a no-joke April 1 announcement of its own tariffs of roughly $3 billion in 128 U.S.-made products ranging from pork to wine and...more
4/3/2018
/ Aluminum Sales ,
Barclays ,
Broadcasting ,
Capital Markets ,
China ,
Data Breach ,
Debit and Credit Card Transactions ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Disney ,
Government Bonds ,
Imports ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Mark Zuckerberg ,
Mexico ,
National Security ,
Price-Fixing ,
Retailers ,
RMBS ,
Steel Industry ,
Tariffs ,
Technology Sector ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies ,
Viacom
The US and South Korea have announced a deal to renegotiate their trade pact, with “South agreeing to reduce its steel exports and open its market to American cares” in exchange for an exemption from the White House’s steel...more
3/27/2018
/ Activist Investors ,
Aluminum Sales ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Brick-and-Mortar Stores ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Forex ,
Grocery Stores ,
Imports ,
Joint Venture ,
Money Services Business ,
National Security ,
Novartis ,
Office Depot ,
On-Demand Services ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Railroads ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Singapore ,
South Korea ,
Steel Industry ,
Tariffs ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tax Reform ,
Trump Administration ,
Uber ,
US Trade Policies ,
White Collar Crimes
A look at the some of the losers—cities, mostly—in Amazon’s recent move to start collecting sales taxes in more states. The problem? While Amazon now collects sales taxes in every state that has one, it’s collection deals...more
3/26/2018
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Bank of America ,
Citigroup ,
Class Certification ,
Data Collection ,
Dropbox ,
E-Commerce ,
EU ,
Facebook ,
Forex ,
General Electric ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Internet Retailers ,
Libor ,
McDonalds ,
Privacy Concerns ,
Retailers ,
Sales Tax ,
Secured Overnight Funding Rate (SOFR) ,
Securities Violations ,
Tariffs ,
Trump Administration ,
UK Brexit ,
US Trade Policies
The White House’s protectionist plan to impose roughly $60 billion in annual tariffs on Chinese imports went over like a lead balloon on Wall Street, sparking fears of a trade war, increased volatility, and unintended ripple...more
3/23/2018
/ Aluminum Sales ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
AT&T ,
Bitcoin ,
China ,
Class Action ,
Corporate Culture ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Currency ,
Forex ,
Grocery Stores ,
HSBC ,
Imports ,
Infrastructure ,
Jeff Bezos ,
Martin Shkreli ,
National Security ,
Nike ,
Private Equity ,
RBS ,
Steel Industry ,
Tariffs ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies ,
Virtual Currency ,
Whole Foods
There’s falling from grace, and then there’s Elizabeth Holmes. Once compared glowingly to Steve Jobs, Holmes’ well-documented Theranos ills (including exaggerated and faked blood-test results) have landed her with SEC...more
3/15/2018
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Banking Sector ,
Bear Sterns ,
Disney ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Equifax ,
Grocery Stores ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Retail Market ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Theranos ,
Trump Administration ,
Unilever ,
Wal-Mart ,
Xerox
Breakingviews on what the White House’s intervention into Broadcom’s [dropped] bid for Qualcomm could mean for the US-based chip maker. [Hint, it involves China, and it’s not great for the big Q]....more
3/14/2018
/ Alphabet Company ,
Automotive Industry ,
Bear Sterns ,
Bitcoin ,
Broadcom ,
Digital Currency ,
Dropbox ,
Electric Vehicles ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Financial Crisis ,
Moody's ,
Mortgage Servicers ,
Mortgages ,
Nationwide Insurance Co. ,
New Zealand ,
Qualcomm ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Taxi Cabs ,
Trump Administration ,
Virtual Currency ,
Volkswagen
Heath insurance behemoth Cigna has agreed to buy Express Scripts—a “pharmacy benefits manger”—for $67 billion in cash and stock, including assuming $15 billion of its debt. The merger is one of a series of big moves in the...more
3/8/2018
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Aluminum Sales ,
Beverage Manufacturers ,
Bitcoin ,
Brick-and-Mortar Stores ,
Broadcom ,
CIGNA ,
Coca Cola ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
E-Commerce ,
Global Market ,
Housing Market ,
Imports ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Internet Retailers ,
Real Estate Transactions ,
Retailers ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Steel Industry ,
Tariffs ,
Token Sales ,
Toys R Us ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies ,
Virtual Currency
The US government’s determination that Broadcom’s hostile takeover bid of Qualcomm “could pose a national security risk” is complicating an already high-stakes (and unwelcomed) overture by Broadcom. The Committee on Foreign...more
3/7/2018
/ Administrative Resignation ,
Aluminum Sales ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Blackberry ,
Broadcom ,
Facebook ,
Financial Instruments ,
Hostile Takeover ,
Imports ,
Instagram ,
McDonalds ,
National Security ,
Patent Infringement ,
Qualcomm ,
RBS ,
RMBS ,
S&P ,
Steel Industry ,
Tariffs ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies ,
WhatsApp
US regulators are asking Qualcomm to delay its annual shareholder meeting in order to give them more time to investigate whether Singapore-based Broadcom’s takeover bid would threaten US national security....more
3/6/2018
/ Alibaba ,
Aluminum Sales ,
Bank of America ,
Breweries ,
Broadcom ,
Data Mining ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Global Market ,
Imports ,
Mortgage Escrow Account ,
Nordstrom Inc. ,
Qualcomm ,
Steel Industry ,
Tariffs ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies
A White House announcement about plans for steel and aluminum tariffs left the already-unsettled markets even shakier yesterday....more
3/2/2018
/ Aluminum Sales ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Deutsche Bank ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Imports ,
Investment Fraud ,
Libor ,
Material Suppliers ,
RBS ,
Steel Industry ,
Tariffs ,
Transportation Industry ,
Trump Administration ,
Uber ,
UK ,
Wealth Management ,
Wells Fargo ,
Whistleblowers ,
Whole Foods
EU regulatory officials have fined chipmaker Qualcomm $1.2 billion after a 2-year investigation into anti-competition allegations involving payments made to Apple....more
1/24/2018
/ Apple ,
Elon Musk ,
Energy Sector ,
EU ,
Fintech Charter ,
France ,
Kimberly-Clark ,
President Macron ,
Qualcomm ,
Renewable Energy ,
Solar Energy ,
Solar Panels ,
Tariffs ,
Tesla ,
Trump Administration ,
Twitter
A look at Amazon’s newest concept—Amazon Go—a convenience store that opens in Seattle today complete with “shelves of food” found at other stores (including Whole Foods) but with nary a cashier in sight....more
1/22/2018
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Bitcoin ,
Class Action ,
Financial Markets ,
Forex ,
FSOC ,
Government Shutdown ,
Investment Fraud ,
Iran ,
Joint Venture ,
MetLife ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
RMBS ,
SIFIs ,
Trading Platforms ,
Trump Administration ,
UK Brexit ,
Virtual Currency ,
Wells Fargo ,
Xerox
And after all of that, Nelson Peltz will end up on P&G’s board after all. It was an unexpected finale to one of the “largest, priciest and nastiest corporate proxy fights in history” between P&G and Peltz’s Trian Fund Mgmt...more
12/18/2017
/ Bitcoin ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Digital Currency ,
E-Commerce ,
Grocery Stores ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Procter & Gamble ,
Ridesharing ,
RMBS ,
Sharing Economy ,
Tax Rates ,
Tax Reform ,
Trade Secrets ,
Trump Administration ,
Uber ,
UK Brexit
As widely expected, the Fed affirmed the general strength of the US economy today by raising the benchmark interest rate again today—the 5th raise since the financial crisis....more
12/14/2017
/ Alphabet Company ,
Bitcoin ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Derivative Suit ,
Digital Currency ,
Disney ,
E-Commerce ,
EU ,
Financial Markets ,
FOMC ,
Grocery Stores ,
Interest Rates ,
Internet Retailers ,
Legislative Agendas ,
MiFID II ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Target ,
Tax Reform ,
Trade Relations ,
Trade Secrets ,
Trump Administration ,
Uber ,
UK Brexit ,
Virtual Currency