The SEC will vote today on what it’s calling Regulation Best Interest, “which says brokers can’t put their own paychecks ahead of a customer’s needs”—the more-industry-acceptable revision of an Obama-era fiduciary duty rule for advisors that has since died a slow death. Still left unclear under the new plan, however, is “whether it would disrupt how brokers are paid” – WSJ and Law360 and Bloomberg and MarketWatch
Stocks reacted positively yesterday to Fed Chair Powell’s comments furthering Wall Street’s suggestion that the central bank could drop rates to “sustain the economic expansion if President Trump’s trade war weakened the economy” – NYTimes and WSJ and Bloomberg and MarketWatch
Even as the White House looks to jumpstart trade negotiations with Mexico via tariff threats, some Senate Republicans took the rare step of announcing their public opposition to the plan – NYTimes and WSJ
For its part, Toyota is out with a warning that any proposed tariffs on Mexican imports “could increase auto-parts costs by more than $1 billion” and lead to disastrous effects on its top-selling Tacoma mid-sized truck line – Bloomberg
And automakers would hardly be alone in bearing the brunt of the tariffs – Bloomberg
The SEC has filed suit against social-media start-up Kik Interactive in the Southern District of New York, accusing the Canadian company for selling $100 million in digital coins (known as Kin) to investors without registering with the government – NYTimes and WSJ and Law360
Renault’s French-based board confirmed on Tuesday that it needs “more time to weight a merger proposal” from FiatChrysler, a deal that, if finalized, would “create the world’s third-largest auto maker by production” – WSJ and Bloomberg
Carnival Cruise Lines will pay $20 million for violating probation terms stemming from a 2016 Princess Cruise Lines action focused on the company’s illegal dumping of oil-contaminated waste into the sea and subsequent cover up – NYTimes
More fun for Wells Fargo, this time in the form of a recently filed FHFA lawsuit against the bank “over $1 billion in residential mortgage-backed securities purchased by Freddie Mac more than a decade ago” – Law360
The Journal gives us the inside scoop on some of the very personal side effects of Square-generated digital receipts being sent to the wrong people, a not—as it turns out—entirely uncommon event – WSJ
A group of app developers has sued Apple “over the costs associated with selling apps on the company’s App Store, accusing the tech business of monopolizing app distribution” – WSJ
My architectural soft spot welcomes this look at NYC’s evolving skyline and the accompanying pictures showing its jump skyward – NYTimes
