A Better 2012 for BigLaw (With Big Asterisks)
In the world of compliance and ethics, the Citigroup internal control debacle serves as a glaring reminder of the critical importance of robust, well-designed, functioning and effective internal controls. The U.K. Financial...more
The SEC is reportedly probing whether recent stock sales by Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk and his brother Kimbal “violated insider-trading rules.” News of the investigation came less than a week after Tesla accused the Commission of...more
Saule Omarova, the White House’s pick to helm the OCC, has withdrawing from consideration for the post, saying it was “no longer tenable” for her to seek the position following withering attacks from the banking industry and...more
In a much-anticipated [well, for some of us central bank nerds, at least] to the Economic Club of NY, Fed Chair Powell on Wednesday acknowledged that pent-up consumer demand unlocked by a big government stimulus package could...more
Citigroup has chosen it President, Jane Fraser, to replace CEO Michael Corbat when he retires in February 2021. Fraser will become “the first woman to lead a major financial institution in the United States.” She’s been with...more
Unlike much of the world, the U.S. has not turned the corner on the coronavirus outbreak. But you wouldn’t know it by looking at the markets. On Tuesday, the S&P 500 topped out at its highest level ever, “capping a remarkable...more
It’s all coming up Elon these days for Tesla and its stock. “Positive developments” from the electric carmaker’s battery suppliers helped goose shares even higher, ending the day at $780/share—a nearly 20% gain since Friday....more
HSBC’s making good on its plans to shift to a focus on Asia by naming John Flint—who spent his first 14 years at the bank in Asia—as its new CEO. Flint will take over from Stuart Gulliver in February....more
P&G is banking on “a variation of America’s electoral arithmetic” as its best bet for keeping Trian’s Nelson Peltz away from its board. So . . . we’ll see him on there soon [?]....more
It may lack some of the flourish of a BBG missive, but you can be sure that plenty of insiders are paying close attention to Mr. Buffet’s annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders....more
We learned about Navient and its allegedly trouble-filled student-loan servicing practices yesterday. Turns out the issues are not only long-standing, but they bear similarities to the mortgage-lending issues that were at...more
The emissions cheating scandal that recently cost VW $4.3 billion and a mess of criminal indictments isn’t, it seems, confined to the Germans. We heard months ago about a similar probe into Mitsubishi, and yesterday we...more
The CFTC’s reportedly investigating the interest rate swap activities of Citigroup and others. Swaps allow companies to “hedge against a rise or fall in interest rates on the debt that they issue or hold, with banks usually...more
This case involved an underlying arbitration before an arbitration panel operating under the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) rules, which was brought by Judith and Kenneth Goldman against their financial...more
The District Court for the Southern District of New York recently addressed whether the “next best” or “reasonable approximation” standard should apply when the court evaluates proposed cy pres designations in class action...more
The 2d Circuit’s nixed a bid by investment fund SRM Global Master Fud LP to revive its $200 million securities fraud suit against Bear Stearns and Deloitte over alleged lies about Bear’s pre-collapse financial health. The...more
On Tuesday, the SEC announced that Citigroup would pay $7 million and admit that it submitted “inaccurate trade data” to the Commission over a period of 15 years in order to resolve claims that it left out “thousands of...more
Hedge fund managers—not that long ago the titans of Wall Street, thanks in part to their “2 and 20 model” that saw them receiving fees of 2% of assets under management and 20% of any gain in any year—are reeling from the loss...more
Breakingviews on the generally disregarded human side of all of the merger mania of late—from the uncertainty over job losses to the potentially unsettling reality of new management...more
New evidence uncovered by the digital security firm Symantec suggests that the recent series of Swift-based bank hacks may be linked to North Korea in what “appears to be the first known case of a nation using digital attacks...more
As promised, the Fed and FDIC have rejected the bankruptcy unwinding plans (or “living wills”) of JPMorgan and 4 other systematically important banks, including Bank of America, Wells Fargo, State Street, and BNY Mellon after...more
Andrew Ross Sorkin wades into the Valeant debacle, writing that Bill Ackman is, if not doubling down, far from giving up on the cratering Canadian drug maker. Valeant announced today that Ackman’s joining its board and also...more
European stocks couldn’t escape the pull of tough news in Asia after a disappointing G-20 meeting of finance ministers sent markets there lower today. In other words, US markets may be wishing that we just kept on leaping...more