More fun for Facebook, just a day after it revealed a coming FTC fine, with the news on Thursday that Canadian privacy commissioners “violated national and local laws in allowing third parties access to private user...more
Although we generally report on recent Commercial Division decisions, and sometimes commercial cases coming out of the Appellate Divisions, this time we go all the way to the top: the Court of Appeals. Not often do we see...more
Dealbook gives us this uncomfortable take on China’s “nuclear option” in the trade war with the United States—its holdings of more than $1 trillion in US foreign debt and the possibility of stepping back from buying (or even...more
A day of massive lows (opening bell) and impressive rallies (with the dow up 230 by the end of the day) marked a wild Wednesday on Wall Street....more
On March 7, 2018, New York Supreme Court Justice Marcy S. Friedman denied a motion by Morgan Stanley ABS Capital I Inc. (“Morgan Stanley”) to dismiss a claim by RMBS Trustee Deutsche Bank National Trust Company (the...more
In a thorough opinion last week by Justice Marcy Friedman in Bank of N.Y. Mellon v WMC Mtge., LLC, the New York County Supreme Court upheld the timeliness of “Failure to Notify” claims arising from subprime mortgage-backed...more
With Davos 2018 in the rear view mirror, some analysts are pegging the “geopolitical momentum” as China’s to claim, thanks in no small part to its expansive and ongoing “Belt and Road” initiative....more
Daniel Loeb and his Third Point fund is pushing Nestle—despite its recent sale of its US confectionary business to Italy’s Ferrero for $2.8 billion last week—to make further changes, including dropping its stake in cosmetics...more
Stinson Leonard Street served as lead counsel to Two Harbors Investment Corp. (NYSE:TWO) in its $295 million public offering of 11,800,000 shares of its 7.25% Series C Fixed-to-Floating Rate Cumulative Redeemable Preferred...more
Food and consumer products conglomerate Unilever’s making a big play for the Asian market with its $2.7 billion deal to buy Carver Korea, a South Korean-based skin care specialist....more
The FHLB Boston’s $5.9 billion MBS case against Morgan Stanley, UBS, and Credit Suisse, is back in Massachusetts state court—a result of the Supreme Court’s Lightfoot v. Cendant Mortgage case that held that Fannie Mae’s...more
The headline a few days ago was the arrest of VW exec Oliver Schmidt during an ill-advised trip to Miami last week. But the DOJ also indicted five other top executives over their role in VW’s emissions cheating scandal. No...more
As anticipated, the Fed raised its benchmark interest yesterday (for only the second time since the 2008 financial crisis) to somewhere between .5 and .75 percent and, perhaps more critically, revealed its expectation for...more
Italy’s struggling lender Monte Dei Paschi is cutting jobs and closing branches in an effort to revive the world’s oldest bank (and maybe save Siena in the process)....more
In a “highly anticipated” ruling from the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, a three-judge panel has found the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau unconstitutional, holding that the current organization...more
The Journal gives us a closer look at Italy’s Monte dei Paschi—the world’s oldest bank (founded in 1472)—that’s deeply tied to Siena and that’s threatening to drag the whole of the region’s economy down with it if it fails,...more
Financial Industry Developments - CFTC Announces Measures to Enhance Protection of Customer Funds - On August 8, 2016, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced three separate enhancements...more
On August 11, 2016, the First Department of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York affirmed a trial court ruling that investor-plaintiff IKB International to proceed with claims that RMBS sponsor...more
On August 11, 2016, the First Department of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York reversed the lower court, allowing RMBS Trustee U.S. Bank to proceed with claims against Morgan Stanley in...more
ValueAct Capital Mgmt, an activist investor, has taken a $1.1 billion stake in Morgan Stanley with 38 million shares that represent about 2% of shares outstanding. Unlike normal activists (at least for now), ValueAct took the...more
SEC Approves IEX Proposal to Launch National Exchange, Issues Interpretation on Automated Securities Prices - On June 17, 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") approved the application of Investors'...more
On June 16, 2016, Justice Marcy S. Friedman of the Supreme Court of the State of New York largely denied Morgan Stanley’s motion to dismiss a breach of contract action brought by RMBS trustee Wilmington Trust Company. The...more
On April 12, 2016, Justice Marcy Friedman of the New York Supreme Court granted motions to dismiss in two RMBS breach of contract actions filed by FHFA against Morgan Stanley ABS Capital I Inc. (“MSAC”) and Morgan Stanley...more
Talk about a regulation with teeth. Within days of the Treasury Department announcing new rules meant to discourage corporate tax inversion deals, Pfizer and Allergan announced they were scrapping their planned $152 billion...more
On February 11, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Attorney General of State of New York announced dual settlement agreements with Morgan Stanley providing for the payment of $3.2 billion. The settlements relate to Morgan...more