In addition to dramatically changing the policies of former President Trump on the pandemic, the economy, immigration, and other key issues, the Biden Administration is likely to substantially increase the federal...more
The weekend’s business news was dominated by the word that AT&T has agreed to buy Time Warner for $85.4 billion in the biggest yet in a series of telecomm mergers....more
Billionaire hedge-fund manager Steven Cohen (he, formerly of SAC Capital Advisors) has agreed to be barred from commodities trading until 2018 under the terms of a settlement announced by the CFTC yesterday....more
Dealbook’s Strategies feature reviews the Fed’s latest non-move and suggests that the current bind in which the Fed finds itself is—at least in part—a problem of its own making....more
A lawsuit over an alleged Ponzi scheme involving a fund pushed by MetLife agents is raising hard questions for the insurance giant over the reaches of corporate liability...more
MetLife, accused by regulators of misleading tens of thousands of customers about variable annuities—“a product that retirees seek out for safety,” will pay a $25 million dollar fine for its actions. It’s the second-largest...more
Goldman Sachs—the last big-bank holdout—has agreed to resolve a spate of state and federal investigations related to its role in the 2008-era MBS debacle for an eye-popping $5.1 billion – WSJ and Bloomberg and Law360... ...more
The designation of MetLife as a systemically significant nonbank financial institution (SIFI) by the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) was recently rescinded by the United States District Court for the District of...more
The Deal Professor looks back on a wild week of “deal busting” that saw the government [often in the form of Treasury Secretary Jack Lew] put the hurt on Pfizer/Allergan and Halliburton/Baker Hughes alike – NYTimes... ...more
On March 30, the D.C. federal District Court ruled against the designation by the Financial Stability Oversight Counsel (“FSOC”) of MetLife as a “systemically important financial institution” under the Dodd-Frank Act. The...more
Well, can’t say we didn’t see this coming. Fresh off of shedding two more financial-related business units (and a day removed from the MetLife SIFI decision) GE has requested that federal regulators withdraw its own SIFI...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