The author who literally wrote the book on the Enron is warning that the next financial crisis is lurking underground—aka, fracking has “turned the energy world upside down,” and it’s pulled in a bunch of Wall Street along...more
The SEC hasn’t had much luck with its attempts so far to hold MBS traders responsible for allegedly lying to customers about MBS prices. Yet on the Monday’s charges against ex-Nomura traders suggests that the agency’s not...more
You’ll remember Snap’s highly anticipated March IPO as a splashy affair, with a valuation in the $30+ billion range and a relatively consistent stock price. Well, reality hit hard yesterday, as Snap announced a $2.2 billion...more
We now know what all of that law-enforcement activity around Caterpillar HQ in past weeks. A government report out this week reveals that investigators are targeting CAT for tax and accounting fraud, though no charges have...more
The just completed IPO of Snap Inc. has received enormous buzz and plenty of press coverage, mostly about its eye-popping valuation and offering proceeds, the big winners among the founders and early investors and the...more
The SEC is set to decide this week whether to okay a new ETF that could provide investors easier access to bitcoin, a potentially transformative move for the virtual currency....more
In this week’s Common Sense entry, James Stewart lets us in on how an entity that loses so much money (Snap) could be worth so much [it gained 44 percent on its offering price in the first day of trading]. The answer is being...more
After months of anticipation, yesterday was finally official Snap IPO day. And despite losses of more than $500 million last year, the company saw willing investors flock to buy the $17 shares, pushing Snap’s valuation to...more
Shareholders have accused Under Armour of “concealing the impact” of Sports Authority’s bankruptcy from investors in order to artificially inflate its stock price. The suit comes on the heels of a disastrous Q4 for UA, in...more
We learned about KraftHeinz’s offer to merge with Unilever only after it had been rejected. And now it appears to be off the table completely—all $143 billion of it....more
We had a pretty good inkling this was coming. Yahoo and Verizon are reportedly nearing a new deal, with Y! knocking something close to $300 million off of the sale price to ensure that Verizon will still go through with the...more
Former AIG chief Hank Greenberg and his co-defendant, AIG’s former CFO, reached an “unexpected” settlement last week with NY officials. The duo will fork over about $10 million in bonuses payments and admit that they...more
Ex-VW-Chairman Ferdinand Piech has thrown a wrench in the automaker’s official narrative of the emissions cheating scandal by suggesting, in sworn testimony, that the company knew of the cheating months before it was...more
Private investment funds and advisers are likely to face new regulatory challenges and increased litigation risks in 2017, not only because of a change in the administration, but also because many advisers have not corrected...more
RBS has agreed to pay $85 million to the CFTC to resolve allegations that its traders “manipulated the ISDAfix benchmark rate over a period of five years to benefit the bank’s derivatives positions”....more
Snap Inc. filed its first public prospectus yesterday in advance of its fast-approaching offering date, playing up the strength of its ad revenue in just two short years as part of its pitch for big-time value....more
The Journal reported yesterday that more than 6,000 Wells Fargo branches were routinely tipped off to inspections by internal risk monitors, a practice that allowed the bank’s sham-account scandal to go undetected for years....more
JPMorgan and other asset managers are pushing hard for a new type of ETF that “mimics active strategies but keeps its investments secret.” The concept hasn’t yet been embraced by the SEC, though the heavy-hitters looking to...more
Bad news for RBS, which is tasked with scrounging up more capital after failing its Bank of England stress test—a bad sign for a British financial system still coping with Brexit fallout....more
It’s not quite in the 9-year AIG/Greenberg territory, but it’s been five years since the Feds started investigating former NJ Senator and Governor Jon Corzine and his role in overseeing the collapse of brokerage firm MF...more
Look to Miami for the latest legal troubles for the country’s biggest banks. After most have finally put to bed the remnants of Great Recession RMBS litigation, a new tack by the city is looking to hold them responsible for...more
A new service, Snapchat, has joined the constellation of social media services with potential business implications. Snapchat is a mobile application, originally aimed at teenagers, which allows users to send photos and text...more