Paul Singer’s Elliott Management hedge fund revealed a $3.2 billion stake in AT&T and, along with it, a healthy-skepticism of the company’s 2018 purchase of Time Warner and general calls to divest as part of a 24-page letter to the company outlining changes needed to help drive up its share price – NYTimes and WSJ and Bloomberg and Law360
A bipartisan group of 48 state attorneys general formally declared their intention on Monday to investigate potential improper market power and corporate behavior by technology’s biggest companies in the U.S., with an early announced focus on Facebook and Google – NYTimes and Bloomberg and Law360
The FDA has accused Juul Labs in a warning letter of violating federal regulations in the marketing of its e-cigarettes “by selling its vaping products as a safe alternative to traditional tobacco cigarettes” without agency approval. The letter comes amidst the rising public health crisis over “more than 400 cases of vaping-related lung illness that have hospitalized many young teenagers and adults” – NYTimes and WSJ and MarketWatch and Law360
Our now-daily check-in with the UK, where the Brexit drama continues to be fast and furious. The latest includes the surprising decision by Speaker Bercow to step down [NYTimes], the expected failure of yet another call for a snap election by PM Johnson, and a new law that would order him to keep the UK from crashing out sans deal – NYTimes and WSJ and Bloomberg
A brutal year at Nissan appears to only be getting worse, with CEO Hiroto Saikawa announcing his departure “less than a week after Mr. Saikawa said he had received payments from Nissan well beyond his earnings—an admission that echoed the charges that led to” the fall of the company’s former chair, Carlos Ghosn – NYTimes and WSJ
The full Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals sitting en banc determined last week that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac investors may proceed with previously dismissed parts of their case alleging that the FHFA’s “net worth sweep” of the GSEs went beyond the agency’s authority, a big win for the investors that could also spell trouble for the constitutionality of the CFPB – Law360
New legislation that appears all-but-certain to pass in California this week or early next would deliver a major blow to ride-sharing companies Uber and Lyft by forcing the companies and others in the gig economy to reclassify their workforce as employees rather than independent contractors – WSJ and NYTimes
Major WeWork investor SoftBank is reportedly urging the startup to shelve its troubled IPO plans while focusing on the host of issues that have bubbled up in recent weeks – Bloomberg and MarketWatch
SEC Chief Jay Clayton was in scold mode this week, criticizing antibribery law enforcement around the world and pushing other countries to match the U.S.’s efforts in FCPA enforcement in order to dismantle the “two-tiered system that gives their domestic companies a leg up on U.S. firms that face punishment for not following the law” – WSJ and Law360
Bloomberg on what, precisely, the creeping recession risk looks like and what it could mean for 2020 – Bloomberg
Facebook has assured the U.S. Senate that it has no plans to back its Libra cryptocurrency with the renminbi, though the Libra Association will have the final say on the matter – Bloomberg
Marketplace sits down with Washington Post data guy Christopher Ingram, who went from disparaging Red Lake County, MN, to living there. Our takeaway? Don’t cross Minnesotans, folks. Just don’t do it – Marketplace
