A mix of surging Covid cases, the renewed restrictions and shutdowns they’ve prompted, and the unlikelihood of more virus stimulus any time soon sent stocks sharply down to start the week, with the S&P 500 charting its...more
10/27/2020
/ AIG ,
Cloud Computing ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Facebook ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Gaming ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Libor ,
Life Insurance ,
Microchip Technology ,
Mobile Payments ,
Retailers ,
Retaliation ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Stock Prices ,
Valuation ,
Wells Fargo
Apple has removed spectacularly popular video game Fortnite from its App Store after accusing maker Epic Games of violating App Store Guidelines. Specifically, Epic has been encouraging users to make app payments directly to...more
8/14/2020
/ AIG ,
App Store ,
Apple ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
DaimlerChrysler ,
Hertz ,
Mercedes-Benz ,
Mobile Apps ,
Monopolization ,
Motor Vehicles ,
National Emissions Standards ,
Oracle ,
Pay Discrimination ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Retail Market ,
Retail Sales ,
Retaliation ,
Secretary of Labor ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations ,
SoftBank ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
Unemployment ,
Video Games
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
WeWork co-founder wants to get PAAAAAID, so he’s suing SoftBank in an attempt to force it to “go through with its canceled deal to buy $3 billion of the company’s shares, accusing the Japanese conglomerate and its Vision Fund...more
5/5/2020
/ AIG ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Chapter 11 ,
Cloud Computing ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disney ,
Earnings Reports ,
Economic Downturn ,
Hertz ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Internet Streaming ,
McGraw Hill ,
NBC ,
Office Space ,
Resignation ,
Retaliation ,
SoftBank ,
Startups ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Unemployment ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Victoria Secret ,
Whistleblowers
Fiat Chrysler and France’s Peugeot are in the midst of merger talks that, if finalized, could “create a nearly $50 billion trans-Atlantic auto giant.” One option being bandied about in the “fluid” talks is an “all-share...more
10/30/2019
/ AIG ,
Airplane Accidents ,
Algorithmic Trading ,
Automotive Industry ,
Boeing ,
Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) ,
Chrysler ,
Coal Industry ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
EU ,
Federal Reserve ,
Fiat ,
Financial Markets ,
FOMC ,
Futures ,
GDP ,
General Elections ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Investigations ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Mercantile Industry ,
Murray Energy ,
Office Space ,
Peugeot ,
Popular ,
Retirement Plan ,
S&P ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Sharing Economy ,
Testimony ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
UK Parliament
After a brutal Tuesday, the White House tried to take advantage of yesterday’s market day off to run some damage control “and ease concerns that [the] trade truce with China was already floundering.” I suspect we’ll find out...more
12/6/2018
/ AIG ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Canada ,
CBS ,
China ,
Corporate Culture ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Data Collection ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Facebook ,
Financial Crisis ,
Financial Markets ,
Huawei ,
PayPal ,
RMBS ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Takeovers ,
UK ,
Venture Capital ,
Wells Fargo
Incoming Goldman CEO David Solomon has chosen his top deputies, settling on investment banking vets John Waldron (49) and Stephen Scherr (54) as his president/COO and CFO, respectively, and signaling the firm’s shift away...more
9/14/2018
/ AIG ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Browning-Ferris Industries of California Inc. ,
Campbell Soup Company ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Digital Currency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Crisis ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Joint Employers ,
NLRB ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Token Sales ,
Unregistered Securities ,
Virtual Currency
The SEC has opened a probe into Guggenheim Partners’ asset-management arm over an $85-million real-estate transaction and a series of other deals involving ABS Capital—including a loan to BCBG Max Azria just months before the...more
4/16/2018
/ AIG ,
Capital Raising ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Dropbox ,
E-Commerce ,
Elon Musk ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Internet Retailers ,
Internet Taxation ,
Martin Act ,
Real Estate Transactions ,
Retail Market ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
South Dakota v. Wayfair ,
Spotify ,
Tesla ,
US Trade Policies ,
Volcker Rule
Daniel Loeb and his Third Point fund is pushing Nestle—despite its recent sale of its US confectionary business to Italy’s Ferrero for $2.8 billion last week—to make further changes, including dropping its stake in cosmetics...more
1/23/2018
/ AIG ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Article III ,
Bacardi ,
Beverage Manufacturers ,
KPMG ,
Morgan Stanley ,
Nestle ,
Netflix ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Quarterly Report ,
RMBS ,
Standing ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Wine & Alcohol
Travis is still kicking around at Uber, and he made that quite clear late last week by using his “outsize voting rights” to name two directors to the 8-member board ahead of a vote to reduce Kalanick’s voting power at the...more
10/3/2017
/ AIG ,
China ,
Class Action ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Data Breach ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Digital Currency ,
Equifax ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Forex ,
HSBC ,
Insider Trading ,
Mortgage Servicers ,
Mortgages ,
Securities Fraud ,
Sharing Economy ,
SIFIs ,
Uber
The ‘book is backing off of a 2016-proposed stock reclassification that “would have solidified Mark Zuckerberg’s control over the social network” after a shareholder suit that would have seen Zuck on the stand in a Delaware...more
9/25/2017
/ AIG ,
BlackRock ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Data Breach ,
EDGAR ,
ETFs ,
Facebook ,
Financial Crisis ,
Hackers ,
Misrepresentation ,
Offerings ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sharing Economy ,
SIFIs ,
Social Media ,
Uber
Uber’s got more than a spot of bother on its hands in London after this morning’s announcement that the company’s largest market in Europe won’t renew the ride-hailing service’s license to operate in the city (citing “a lack...more
9/22/2017
/ AIG ,
Banks ,
Bonds ,
China ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Credit Ratings ,
Data Breach ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EDGAR ,
EU ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
FSOC ,
Global Market ,
Google ,
Grocery Stores ,
Hackers ,
HTC America ,
Moody's ,
Payment Systems ,
Public Safety ,
S&P ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sharing Economy ,
SIFIs ,
Smartphones ,
Technology Sector ,
Uber ,
UK
The Times gives us some insight into the opaque (but powerful) HNA Group—the Chinese entity that began with Hainan Airlines and has grown into a global investing and acquisition powerhouse that is now the largest shareholder...more
5/10/2017
/ Activist Investors ,
AIG ,
Apple ,
Bailout ,
Banking Sector ,
Bitcoin ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Donald Trump ,
Insider Trading ,
Insurance Industry ,
Liquidity Coverage Ratio ,
Market Manipulation ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Stock Markets ,
Virtual Currency
Another tech-related disappointment for the Winklevii, this time with ramifications for an entire means of payment, as the SEC has rejected an application by the brothers to create an ETF tied to the price of bitcoin....more
3/13/2017
/ AIG ,
Banking Sector ,
Berkshire Hathaway ,
Bitcoin ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Fannie Mae ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Freddie Mac ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Libor ,
Real Estate Market ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Technology Sector ,
UK Brexit ,
Virtual Currency
There’s been a bit of a stir in the paint world, with Dutch firm Akzo Nobel rejecting a takeover bid from PPG Industries valued at $22 billion. In a statement, Akzo claimed that the offer “substantially undervalues” the...more
3/10/2017
/ AIG ,
Bitcoin ,
Bribery ,
Common Stock ,
Data Collection ,
Digital Currency ,
Economic Development ,
European Central Bank ,
Financial Institutions ,
IRS ,
Job Creation ,
Samsung ,
Section 409A ,
South Korea ,
Stock Options ,
Takeover Bids ,
Virtual Currency ,
White Collar Crimes
Former AIG chief Hank Greenberg and his co-defendant, AIG’s former CFO, reached an “unexpected” settlement last week with NY officials. The duo will fork over about $10 million in bonuses payments and admit that they...more
2/13/2017
/ AIG ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Automotive Industry ,
Bear Sterns ,
Capital Raising ,
Credit Ratings ,
Denmark ,
Feeder Funds ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Ford Motor ,
Fraud ,
Hedge Funds ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Insurance Industry ,
Rating Agencies ,
Snapchat ,
Social Networks ,
Tax Code ,
Technology
It wasn’t exactly a direct reaction to his testimony on the Hill, but Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf didn’t do himself any favors there, and Wells Fargo’s Board has announced that it will claw back an estimated $41 million in...more
9/28/2016
/ AIG ,
Bank Accounts ,
Banks ,
Clawbacks ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Cross-Selling ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Elon Musk ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinTech ,
Fraud ,
Indonesia ,
Insurance Industry ,
Life Insurance ,
NCUA ,
Online Marketplace Lending ,
Payday Loans ,
RBS ,
RMBS ,
Technology Sector ,
Tesla ,
Wells Fargo
A year after announcing that it would pay roughly $2.6 billion to settle with state and federal regulators over faulty MBS, Morgan Stanley’s taking an additional $600 million hit, putting the figure at $3.2 billion—no chump...more
News has emerged from China that online finance company Ezubao, a purported peer-to-peer lender, was running a Ponzi scheme that “bilked investors out of more than $7.6 billion, spent lavishly on gifts and salaries and buried...more
AIG may have shrugged off Carl Icahn for now, but Xerox has succumbed to his calls for breaking up and is expected to announce sometime today [update: it did] that it will separate its legacy hardware side from its services...more
Chinese economic data has already been wreaking havoc on markets in 2016. So I shudder to think about the impact of the recently announced investigation by China’s anticorruption commission into the head of the country’s...more
Oil spilled all over global markets again today, halting another short-lived stretch of stability – WSJ...
Just months after refusing to take up the contentious Newman appeal that regulators and traders alike hoped would...more
Likely prompted by its ongoing SIFI battle, MetLife is reportedly looking to spin off its retail life and annuity business and break up what’s now the largest life insurance company in the US, with $880 billion in assets –...more