With Vice President Harris acting as the tiebreaker (and following a 15-hour amendment vote-a-rama), the Senate voted on Thursday to move forward with the White House’s $1.9 trillion Covid relief measure....more
The latest on the potential Oracle/TikTok deal includes news that the Treasury Department has added requirements addressing “how TikTok’s data and source code would be handled and secured” to any potential deal that the...more
The Fed sought to reassure markets for the foreseeable future on Wednesday by announcing that it plans to hold rates at their near-zero mark until into 2023 as it tries to “coax the economy back to full strength after the...more
Amazon a juggernaut? Quarterly sales and profit prove how indispensable tech giants have become to our society. In the midst of a pandemic, Big Tech mostly shows gains....more
Podcasting megastar (and, for me, “News Radio” jack-of-all-trades) Joe Rogan has signed a multiyear deal to bring his “Joe Rogan Experience” show to Spotify, an agreement that “could be worth more than $100 million based on...more
As the world grapples with the health threat posed by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the secondary threats of the coronavirus—including economic and financial consequences—have come into clear view....more
The global market for credit is estimated to be more than $200 trillion, approximately three times larger in aggregate than the global equity market. It consists of bank loans, sovereign and sub-sovereign debt, corporate...more
HP has officially rejected Xerox’s enhanced takeover bid, again calling the offer “too low” and decrying its “disproportionate[] benefit” for Xerox shareholders....more
Facebook has agreed to pay $550 million to resolve a class-action lawsuit claiming that Zuck & Co.’s use of facial recognition technology violated Illinois’ biometric privacy law. Though the settlement is little more than “a...more
Hackers who targeted airport currency exchange mainstay Travelex in a ransomware attack on New Year’s Eve have alerted British media that they possess 5 GB of sensitive customer data from the company “since gaining access to...more
Oil jumped for a second straight day, with futures near $70/barrel as fallout from the U.S.’s drone-strike assassination of Iran’s Qassem Soleimani continues to raise “the prospect of disruptions in the world’s most important...more
Fiat Chrysler and rival Peugeot have agreed to binding merger terms that, if approved by US and European regulators, would create a “$50 billion auto giant that would rank among the world’s largest car companies by sales”....more
As expected, the Fed kept interest rates unchanged on Wednesday while also signaling that “they would wait to see how the economy fared before making another move”....more
More than a bit of drama in the auto world yesterday, with General Motors suing rival Fiat Chrysler, accusing it of “bribing United Auto Workers officials to gain competitive advantages in contract negotiations.” The UAW’s...more
As universally expected, the Fed’s Open Market Committee delivered its third interest rate cut of 2019 yesterday, though it did so while signaling that it’s likely to pause before taking action again and “is now shifting into...more
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
As pretty much expected, the Federal Reserve cut interest rates a quarter point again yesterday, its second cut since late July. Fed Chair Powell also indicated in remarks after the FOMC broke that a “‘more extensive’ series...more
The Federal Reserve took the rare step yesterday of stepping “into financial markets . . . to keep interest rates from rising above its target, the first time the central bank has had to carry out this type of ‘market...more
A ruling this morning from South Korea’s top court means that Samsung’s de facto leader, its vice chair and chaebol heir Lee Jae-yong, could be heading back behind bars. The high court found that a lower appeals court “had...more
A survey of the country’s most powerful CEOs by the Business Roundtable shows an interesting shift in how they view their top priority—no longer does advancing the interests of shareholders take the top spot. Instead, the...more
Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific Airways CEO Rupert Hogg has resigned in order to “take responsibility” a week “after the carrier was rebuked by China for staff involvement in the anti-Beijing protests rocking Hong Kong.” Hogg...more
HSBC chief John Flint is out just 18 months after he assumed the role as head of the London-based bank, likely due to clashes with Board Chair Mark Tucker and the lender’s focus on expanding in China. HSBC also announced it...more
The big takeaway from Day 1 of Fed Chair Powell’s Congressional testimony is that a July rate cut is still definitely on the table, despite last week’s strong US jobs numbers. As the Times puts it, “That the Fed is...more
The Federal Reserve released the minutes from its consequential January meeting yesterday, giving us (and Wall Street) the skinny on its new policy course that shifted from gradual regular rate hikes to a wait-and-see...more
The Fed will wrap up its Open Markets Committee meeting today, and the recent dive on Wall Street has rather suddenly brought a bit of drama to what was a long-promised rate hike. Here’s a bit of background on what it’s been...more