The announcement itself isn’t a shock, but given the potential players, it’s headline-worthy anyway: the DOJ announced yesterday that it’s officially opening an antitrust probe into Big Tech companies and “whether they had...more
7/24/2019
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Banks ,
Big Tech ,
Bonds ,
China ,
DaimlerChrysler ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Financial Transactions ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Interest Rates ,
Living Will ,
Money Laundering ,
Sharing Economy ,
Snapchat ,
Sprint ,
T-Mobile ,
Tariffs ,
Telecommunications ,
Trade Relations ,
US Trade Policies
EU regulators announced today that they’ve been conducting an investigation into Amazon and “how it collects and uses data from third-party sellers who appear on the retailing giant’s website” with an eye to potential...more
7/17/2019
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
CMBS ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Data Transfers ,
Data-Sharing ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Deregulation ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Elon Musk ,
EU ,
European Central Bank ,
Facebook ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Government Investigations ,
Hedge Funds ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Personal Data ,
RMBS
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is the latest prominent government official to express concerns about Facebook’s coming Libra launch. Speaking at a briefing yesterday, Mnuchin focused on national security issues related to...more
7/16/2019
/ Agribusiness ,
Agricultural Sector ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Bayer ,
Broadcom ,
Cancer ,
Charles Schwab ,
China ,
Chipotle Grill ,
CMBS ,
Cryptocurrency ,
E-Commerce ,
Facebook ,
Farms ,
Fraud ,
Monsanto ,
National Security ,
RMBS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Senate Banking Committee ,
Subsidiaries ,
Symantec ,
Target ,
Tariffs ,
Toxic Exposure ,
Trade Wars ,
Trump Administration ,
USAA ,
Wal-Mart ,
Wealth Management
Late Friday, the Federal Trade Commission hit Facebook with a $5 billion fine for the social media company’s range of privacy violations over the past few years....more
7/15/2019
/ Aerospace ,
Airbus ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Bank of America ,
Boeing ,
China ,
Commodities ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Debt Restructuring ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Deregulation ,
Economic Downturn ,
Facebook ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Futures ,
Huawei ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Labor Regulations ,
Layoffs ,
Merrill Lynch ,
Metals ,
Morgan Stanley ,
Puerto Rico ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Social Media ,
Spoofing ,
Telecommunications
Amazon announced this week that it will spend $700 million to retrain a third of its US workforce to adapt to the increasing amount of robotic and automation technology in its warehouses. The 6-year effort will eventually...more
7/12/2019
/ ALEXA ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Big Tech ,
Bonds ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Digital Marketplace ,
Director Kraninger ,
Economic Downturn ,
Employee Retention ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Budget ,
Financial Literacy ,
Financial Reporting ,
France ,
Hedge Funds ,
Inflated Stock Purchase Price ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Job Creation ,
Opioid ,
PG&E ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Securitization Vehicles ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Stocks ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Trump Administration ,
Unemployment ,
Volcker Rule ,
Wildfires
A round of internal Facebook emails produced in response to an FTC probe appear to show that the company’s “potentially problematic privacy practices” had filtered their way up to the very top of the social networking...more
6/13/2019
/ Affirmative Defenses ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Class Action ,
Climate Change ,
Exxon Mobil ,
Facebook ,
Fannie Mae ,
Federal Reserve ,
FHFA ,
Freddie Mac ,
House Flipping ,
Huawei ,
Inflation Adjustments ,
Internal Communications ,
Investment Fraud ,
Privacy Laws ,
Real Estate Market ,
Social Security ,
Telemarketing ,
Trump Administration ,
Trust Funds ,
Verizon
Sprint and T-Mobile are facing new merger headwinds in the form of a NY & CA state AG-led lawsuit in the Southern District of New York that seeks to block the deal, alleging that it would cost customers of the companies “at...more
6/12/2019
/ Activist Investors ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Apple ,
China ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Google ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Loans ,
On-Demand Services ,
Raytheon ,
Slack ,
Sprint ,
T-Mobile ,
Tariffs ,
Telecommunications ,
Trade Wars ,
Trump Administration ,
Wells Fargo ,
Wireless Industry
The White House announced on Friday that the US and Mexico reached a deal that it deemed sufficient to keep from levying the threatened 5% tariffs on Mexican goods that was set to take effect today. As details of that deal...more
6/10/2019
/ Aerospace ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
China ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Defense Sector ,
Digital Currency ,
Economic Sanctions ,
FedEx ,
Huawei ,
Imports ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Job Creation ,
Mexico ,
National Security ,
Raytheon ,
Salesforce ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
Uber ,
Unemployment ,
US Trade Policies ,
Virtual Currency
Much more on the suddenly hot topic of Big Tech antitrust oversight, including a negotiated agreement among regulators that will see the DOJ handling Apple and Google while the Federal Trade Commission will take on Facebook...more
6/4/2019
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Apple ,
China ,
Chrysler ,
Denial of Certiorari ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Development ,
Facebook ,
Federal Reserve ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fiat ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
France ,
General Motors ,
Google ,
Government Investigations ,
Insider Trading ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Mexico ,
NYDFS ,
OCC ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Renault-Nissan ,
SAC Capital ,
SCOTUS ,
Tariffs ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tesla ,
Trump Administration
The DOJ is considering joining its European counterparts in targeting Google for potential antitrust violations focused on Google’s “advertising practices and influence in the online advertising industry,” possibly including...more
6/3/2019
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Apartments ,
Apple ,
Biotechnology ,
China ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Facebook ,
Federal Reserve ,
Google ,
Imports ,
India ,
Inflation Adjustments ,
Influencers ,
Jeff Bezos ,
Johnson & Johnson ,
Martin Shkreli ,
Mesothelioma ,
Mexico ,
Online Advertisements ,
Punitive Damages ,
Real Estate Market ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Search Engines ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Policy ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
Volkswagen
Fed vice chair Richard Clarida, in comments to the Economic Club of NY on Thursday, hoped to calm turbulent markets by noting that central bank officials would indeed consider lower-than-desired inflation along with “global...more
5/31/2019
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
China ,
Citigroup ,
Doing Business ,
Earnings Reports ,
Exports ,
Fannie Mae ,
Federal Reserve ,
FHFA ,
Foreign Relations ,
Forex ,
Freddie Mac ,
Imports ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Interest Rates ,
Mortgages ,
NYDFS ,
Supply Chain ,
T-Mobile ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Trade Wars ,
Trump Administration ,
Uber ,
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) ,
US Trade Policies ,
Wireless Industry
Amazon is prepping to execute a more permanent purge on its orders to smaller, mom & pop suppliers as part of a push to “cut costs and focus on wholesale purchasing on major brands like Procter & Gamble, Sony and Lego” in an...more
5/29/2019
/ Alibaba ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Automotive Industry ,
Class Action ,
Economic Development ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Financial Markets ,
Flash Boys ,
General Motors ,
Global Economy ,
High Frequency Trading ,
Hong Kong Stock Exchange ,
Huawei ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Johnson & Johnson ,
Nissan ,
Opioid ,
Popular ,
Recessions ,
Retail Market ,
Sears ,
Stock Exchange ,
Tariffs ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
Deutsche Bank on Wednesday confirmed the basics of a recent German newspaper report that revealed that the bank “had used faulty software to screen customer transactions for suspicious activity” while claiming that “no...more
5/23/2019
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Android ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Antitrust Division ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Avon ,
BSA/AML ,
Cosmetics ,
Data Management ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Services Industry ,
General Electric ,
Google ,
Huawei ,
Inflation Adjustments ,
Investment Banks ,
Investment Fraud ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Real Estate Brokers ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Smartphones ,
Software ,
Theresa May ,
UK Brexit ,
Wireless Industry
Google parent company Alphabet [and a host of chipmakers] formally suspended all business with Huawei “that requires the transfer of hardware, software and technical services except those publicly available via open source...more
5/20/2019
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Bodily Injury ,
China ,
Credit Cards ,
EURIBOR ,
Financial Markets ,
Google ,
Huawei ,
Imports ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Johnson & Johnson ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Metals ,
Target ,
Tariffs ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies ,
Value-Added Tax (VAT)
Disney will take total control of the TV and movie streaming service Hulu after forking over at least $5.8 billion to buy out last remaining partner, Comcast. That price won’t be determined for a while, though, as the sale...more
5/15/2019
/ Aircraft ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Boeing ,
China ,
Comcast ,
Danske Bank ,
Disney ,
E-Commerce ,
Employee Definition ,
Estonia ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
Financial Crimes ,
Global Economy ,
Google ,
Hulu ,
Independent Contractors ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Money Laundering ,
NLRB ,
Online Advertisements ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Safety Standards ,
SoftBank ,
Stock Markets ,
Stock Prices ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Trade Retaliation ,
Uber ,
US Trade Policies
That massive thud? That would be the other shoe dropping in the form of Chinese counter tariffs on another $60 billion in US goods in response to the White House’s trade moves last week....more
5/14/2019
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
Apple Inc v Pepper ,
Bayer ,
Cancer ,
China ,
Class Action ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Financial Markets ,
Imports ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Interest Rates ,
Investment Fraud ,
iPhone ,
Loans ,
Marriott ,
Monopolization ,
Monsanto ,
Rental Property ,
SCOTUS ,
Share Price ,
Sprint ,
T-Mobile ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Trade Retaliation ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies
The latest on Uber’s Friday IPO includes new details on its anticipated pricing, which for now looks to come in at the midpoint of its $44-50/share range [though demand is probably strong enough for the company to shoot for...more
5/9/2019
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Annuities ,
Bonds ,
China ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Fraud ,
Financial Markets ,
General Motors ,
Germany ,
Grocery Stores ,
Hackers ,
IBM ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Investment ,
Manufacturing Facilities ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Tax Evasion ,
Uber ,
UBS ,
UK
Jobs report Friday again. Which, after February’s dismal numbers, is carrying extra importance today. We’ll be keeping an eye on US manufacturing, among other things. Here’s what to watch....more
4/5/2019
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Aiding and Abetting ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
China ,
Commerzbank ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Divorce ,
Elon Musk ,
Embedded Tweets ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Reserve ,
Jeff Bezos ,
Job Creation ,
Kickbacks ,
Manufacturers ,
Medicare ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Sears ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Social Media ,
Spoofing ,
Tesla ,
Theresa May ,
Trade Relations ,
Twitter ,
UK Brexit ,
Unemployment
Not shockingly, the White House’s recent insistence on keeping tariffs in place on China (to ensure deal compliance) is proving to be a major stumbling block in negotiations on a grand trade deal between the US and China....more
4/5/2019
/ Agricultural Workers ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
China ,
Cloud Computing ,
Construction Workers ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Economic Downturn ,
Employment Litigation ,
Facebook ,
FASB ,
Foreign Workers ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Japan ,
Job Creation ,
Lyft ,
Nissan ,
No-Action Letters ,
Personal Data ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Unemployment
Just months after Whole Foods raised prices on certain items after an initial Amazon-pushed lowering, Bezos & Co. are planning cuts on “hundreds of items” as early as this week in an effort to “change the chain’s high-cost...more
4/2/2019
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Barclays ,
China ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Direct Listing ,
Dow Jones ,
EU ,
EURIBOR ,
Facebook ,
Flash Crash ,
Grocery Stores ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Lyft ,
Mark Zuckerberg ,
NYSE ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities Violations ,
Slack ,
Software ,
Spoofing ,
Trade Relations ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Whole Foods
Facebook revealed yesterday that “millions of user account passwords had been stored insecurely, potentially allowing employees to gain access to people’s accounts without their knowledge.” The company said it “had found no...more
3/22/2019
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Banks ,
Beverage Manufacturers ,
Budweiser ,
Dilution ,
EU ,
Facebook ,
False Advertising ,
Fashion Industry ,
FDIC ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Levi Strauss ,
Mortgages ,
No-Deal Brexit ,
Right to Privacy ,
RMBS ,
Startups ,
Theresa May ,
Trademarks ,
Unicorns ,
Wal-Mart
Fascinating weekend feature from the Journal exploring how Sears Roebuck went from the dominant force in American retailing to the bankrupt shell of a company that it is now—all within a period of just 40 years....more
3/18/2019
/ #MeToo ,
Allianz ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Apple ,
Cambridge Analytica ,
China ,
Class Action ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Data-Sharing ,
Defamation ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Disclosure ,
Economic Downturn ,
Facebook ,
Gaming ,
Google ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
iPhone ,
Loan Modifications ,
Lyft ,
Mobile Apps ,
Mortgages ,
Patent Infringement ,
Personal Data ,
Qualcomm ,
Retailers ,
Sears ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Social Media ,
Technology Sector ,
UK Brexit ,
Wall Street ,
Wealth Management ,
Wells Fargo
With new data pointing to similarities between the Lion Air and Ethiopian Air Boeing 737 Max 8 crashes, the White House has decided to override the FAA and ground all models of the plane in the US....more
3/14/2019
/ Aircraft ,
Airplane Accidents ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Aviation Industry ,
China ,
Chrysler ,
Customer Information ,
Data Management ,
Dismissals ,
Facebook ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
Fiat ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Instagram ,
Investment Opportunities ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
National Emissions Standards ,
On-Demand Services ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Social Media ,
SoftBank ,
Uber ,
UK Brexit ,
Wal-Mart ,
WhatsApp
Concessions wrenched from EU leaders aside, PM May and her latest Brexit plan again fell apart in Parliament, with lawmakers voting it down 391-242. The defeat raises the ongoing specter of a no-deal departure from the Union...more
3/13/2019
/ 1MDB ,
Aircraft ,
Airplane Accidents ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Boeing ,
Contempt ,
Elon Musk ,
Embedded Tweets ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Committee ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Tesla ,
Uber ,
UK Brexit ,
Wells Fargo
Federal regulators moved this week to “ease oversight of Wall Street firms by scaling back two major mechanisms that were imposed to scrutinize big financial companies in the wake of the financial crisis.” ...more
3/7/2019
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Automotive Industry ,
Banks ,
Barclays ,
China ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Due Process ,
Electronic Communications ,
Elon Musk ,
Encryption ,
Facebook ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Crisis ,
HSBC ,
Huawei ,
Libor ,
NCUA ,
NDAA ,
Pop-Up Stores ,
Privacy Concerns ,
Regulatory Burden ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Short-Term Loans ,
Stress Tests ,
Too Big to Fail ,
Trade Deficit ,
Volcker Rule ,
Wall Street ,
Wireless Industry