After weeks of regular negotiations (and months of back-and-forth before that), the rough outlines of a broad US/China trade deal are starting to take shape. Early reports look like the end of US tariffs in exchange for...more
3/4/2019
/ Alibaba ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
China ,
Class Action ,
Derivative Suit ,
Grocery Stores ,
Huawei ,
Imports ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Jeff Bezos ,
Libor ,
Lyft ,
Office Depot ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies ,
USPS ,
Wells Fargo
As many expected, the US economy slowed in Q4 2018, growing at a 2.6% annual rate in the final three months of last year. That figure was better than some forecasters thought, but it still marks a “significant slowdown” from...more
3/1/2019
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Audits ,
Beer ,
Breweries ,
Business Profits ,
China ,
Credit Ratings ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Data Protection ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Development ,
Elon Musk ,
EU ,
Facebook ,
Fashion Industry ,
Gap Inc ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Ireland ,
KPMG ,
PCAOB ,
PG&E ,
Retail Market ,
Safety Standards ,
Tariffs ,
Tesla ,
Trade Wars ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
US Trade Policies ,
Wildfires
New evidence suggests that California’s PG&E repeatedly “delayed a safety overhaul” on a high-voltage transmission line “that is a prime suspect behind the deadliest wildfire in California history.” How repeatedly? Try 5...more
2/28/2019
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Automotive Industry ,
CFTC ,
China ,
COPPA ,
Data Collection ,
Elon Musk ,
Embedded Tweets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Reserve ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Services Committee ,
GDP ,
Government Bonds ,
Government Shutdown ,
Imports ,
Market Manipulation ,
Mobile Apps ,
Online Safety for Children ,
PG&E ,
Price Manipulation ,
Safety Standards ,
Securities Violations ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Stock Prices ,
Swaps ,
Tariffs ,
Tesla ,
Transmission Lines ,
Trump Administration ,
US-Mexico Border Wall ,
Ways and Means Committee ,
Wells Fargo ,
Wildfires
In what can only be classified as a second major “Oh yeah? Try this on for size” moment from Jeff Bezos in as many weeks, Amazon has announced that it’s canceling its planned HQ2 project in Queens, NY. Some local activists...more
2/15/2019
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Bitcoin ,
China ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Facebook ,
Federal Funding ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Government Shutdown ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Retail Market ,
Securities Fraud ,
Token Sales ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Unregistered Securities ,
US Trade Policies ,
US-Mexico Border Wall ,
Wall Street
The White House strongly hinted yesterday that it will consider delaying the rapidly approaching March 2 deadline to reach a trade deal with China, “saying the United States might not impose higher tariffs on Chinese goods if...more
2/13/2019
/ 5G Network ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
CBS ,
China ,
Confidential Information ,
Corruption ,
Foreign Trade Regulations ,
Grocery Stores ,
Huawei ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Insider Trading ,
KPMG ,
Lyft ,
PCAOB ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Stock Prices ,
Tariffs ,
Telecommunications ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Whole Foods ,
Wireless Technology
Federal prosecutors are reportedly weighing the allegations that Amazon chief Jeff Bezos has levied against Enquirer-parent American Media Inc., which, if found to have broken any law, “would be in violation of a deal with...more
2/11/2019
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Bribery ,
Financial Crisis ,
Hasbro ,
Hedge Funds ,
Jeff Bezos ,
Mattel ,
Presidential Elections ,
Puerto Rico ,
Startups ,
SunTrust ,
Tax Debt ,
Toys R Us ,
Unicorns ,
Wells Fargo
US trade negotiations with China have stalled such that the anticipated meeting between the countries’ leaders is, according the White House, “highly unlikely” to occur before the March 1 deadline marking the end of a 90-day...more
2/8/2019
/ Aircraft ,
Airlines ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Aviation Industry ,
Blackmail ,
BSA/AML ,
China ,
Danske Bank ,
Depositions ,
Estonia ,
EU ,
Extortion ,
Financial Crimes ,
FRCP 30(b)(6) ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Internal Controls ,
Jeff Bezos ,
Money Laundering ,
On-Demand Services ,
Publishers ,
Renault-Nissan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
UK Brexit ,
US Trade Policies ,
Witness Preparation
All of that SuperBowling seems to have put activist investor Starboard in the mood for some pizza—specifically, former NFL-partner Papa John’s, which has struggled in the wake of the removal of its founder and namesake John...more
2/4/2019
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Apple ,
Berkshire Hathaway ,
Citgo ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Confidential Information ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Facebook ,
Federal Reserve ,
Former Employee ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Google ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Misappropriation ,
Online Marketplace Lending ,
Opioid ,
OxyContin ,
Papa John's International ,
Payday Loans ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Proprietary Information ,
Sears ,
Venezuela
Once again, it’s Jobs Report Friday. Here’s some things to keep in mind as you review the numbers...more
2/1/2019
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Apple ,
Automotive Industry ,
Banks ,
Cartels ,
China ,
Cloud Computing ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
EU ,
Facebook ,
Government Bonds ,
Huawei ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Job Creation ,
Mobile Apps ,
No-Deal Brexit ,
Smartphones ,
T-Mobile ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Trade Secrets ,
Trump Administration ,
Unemployment ,
US Trade Policies
As world economic leaders (sans the U.S. government) gather in Davos this week, China’s economic cooling (coming just “when the world needs its spark”) is both a hot topic of conversation and a cause for concern....more
1/22/2019
/ Alphabet Company ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
China ,
Currency Fluctuation ,
Data Collection ,
Data Management ,
Fannie Mae ,
FHFA ,
Financial Crisis ,
Freddie Mac ,
GAO ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Insider Trading ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Online Advertisements ,
Prior Express Consent ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Puerto Rico ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Theresa May ,
UK ,
UK Brexit
Federal prosecutors have opened a criminal probe into Huawei Technologies’ alleged theft of trade secrets from its US business partners, “including technology used by T-Mobile US Inc. to test smartphones.” The investigation...more
1/17/2019
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
American Depository Receipts (ADRs) ,
Bank of New York (BNY) Mellon ,
Content Publishing ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Dividends ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Crimes ,
Foreign Currency ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Huawei ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Renault-Nissan ,
Smartphones ,
Sovereign Wealth Funds ,
T-Mobile ,
Theresa May ,
Trade Secrets ,
UK Brexit
The US and China have resumed trade talks in an effort to cool down an increasingly heated trade war between the economic powerhouses....more
1/8/2019
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
China ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Exports ,
Fidelity Investments ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Global Market ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Imports ,
Infrastructure ,
Insider Trading ,
Morgan Stanley ,
Nissan ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
SoftBank ,
Stock Exchange ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
UK Brexit ,
US Trade Policies ,
US v Newman ,
White Collar Crimes ,
World Bank
The financial world has been busy—and generally not in a great way—since we’ve been gone. Luckily, we’re returning on something of a rare high note after a stronger-than-expected December jobs report and some reassurance...more
1/7/2019
/ Airbags ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Ambac Financial Group ,
Apple ,
Automobile Recall ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Countrywide ,
Design Defects ,
E-Cigarettes ,
Earnings Reports ,
Eli Lilly ,
Elon Musk ,
Embedded Tweets ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Ford Motor ,
Jeff Bezos ,
Job Creation ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Nissan ,
Retailers ,
RMBS ,
Sears ,
Unemployment
It was quite a run, but on Thursday, ECB chief Mario Draghi announced that the bank is finally putting an end to the quantitative easing program it’s used “to hold down interest rates and encourage lending” since 2015. ...more
12/14/2018
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
China ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Digital Currency ,
European Central Bank ,
Exports ,
Farms ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Food Supply ,
General Electric ,
Housing Market ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Interest Rates ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Token Sales ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
White Collar Crimes
With the phrase “humiliating defeat” being bandied about quite freely by opposition leaders and Tory backbenchers alike, PM May delayed a parliamentary vote for her EU-backed Brexit plan that had been set for today. The...more
12/11/2018
/ Administrative Agencies ,
Administrative Appointments ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
CFTC ,
China ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Google ,
Huawei ,
iPhone ,
Patent Infringement ,
Presidential Appointments ,
Qualcomm ,
RMBS ,
Tariffs ,
Testimony ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
UK Brexit ,
US Trade Policies ,
Wireless Industry
On second thought, Wall Street does have some questions about the specifics of the pause in the trade war that apparently emerged from the G-20 sidelines this weekend. And when Wall Street has questions—well, not a banner...more
12/5/2018
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Antitrust Violations ,
AOL ,
Automotive Industry ,
Benchmarks ,
Class Action ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
COPPA ,
E-Commerce ,
EU ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
France ,
G20 ,
Gas Taxes ,
Germany ,
Higher Education Act ,
Imports ,
Loan Forgiveness ,
MasterCard ,
Navient ,
Online Advertisements ,
Preemption ,
Protests ,
Student Loans ,
Takeda Pharmaceuticals ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Transaction Fees ,
U.S. Treasury ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
US Trade Policies ,
USPS ,
Verizon ,
Wall Street ,
Yahoo!
The G-20 summit in Buenos Aires wrapped this weekend with the nations agreeing to a joint statement that “affirms the importance of the multilateral trading system” while giving ground to both the US and China over language...more
12/3/2018
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Apple ,
Automotive Industry ,
China ,
Class Action ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Energy Sector ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Failure To Disclose ,
Financial Crisis ,
Foreign Relations ,
FRCP 23 ,
G20 ,
General Electric ,
Material Misstatements ,
Microsoft ,
Natural Gas ,
Nissan ,
Oil & Gas ,
Oil Prices ,
OPEC ,
Qatar ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Snapchat ,
Tariffs ,
Tesla ,
US Trade Policies ,
White Collar Crimes
GM’s Monday announcement about cutting 14,000 North American jobs drew the ire of the White House yesterday, which threatened to “end federal tax credits” that have helped subsidize the company’s electric-vehicle fleet....more
11/28/2018
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Automotive Industry ,
China ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Conde Nast ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Data Breach ,
Data Mining ,
Debt Collection ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Facebook ,
General Motors ,
Hedge Funds ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Layoffs ,
Medical Records ,
NFL ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Retailers ,
Sears ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Tax Credits ,
Uber
General Motors delivered the harsh news on Monday that it plans to idle five North American factories and cut more than 14,000 jobs in an effort to save costs....more
11/27/2018
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Apple ,
Automotive Industry ,
Bitcoin ,
Campbell Soup Company ,
Citigroup ,
Cyber Monday ,
E-Commerce ,
EURIBOR ,
General Motors ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
iPhone ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Layoffs ,
Manufacturers ,
Mobile Apps
A no-deal Brexit wouldn’t merely be a disaster for PM May’s government. It would wreak definite havoc on UK-based companies (and those that do big business there). Here’s what they’re sweating at the moment....more
11/16/2018
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Bitcoin ,
Citibank ,
Derivative Suit ,
E-Cigarettes ,
Elon Musk ,
EU ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
HSBC ,
Interest Rates ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
No-Deal Brexit ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
SIBOR ,
SpaceX ,
Tesla ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Wells Fargo ,
Withdrawal Agreement
We seem to be in whipsaw territory, as a tech selloff on Monday spread into a “broad retreat” that led to the Dow tumbling 600 points....more
11/13/2018
/ Aircraft ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Boeing ,
Campbell Soup Company ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
DMV ,
Dow Jones ,
ETFs ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
General Electric ,
Identity Theft ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
NAFTA ,
SAP America Inc. ,
Stocks ,
Technology Sector ,
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) ,
US Trade Policies
Some reaction to the HQ2 x2 news, including what a pair of new tech hubs actually means for the cities that have thrown out the red carpet to Amazon and other technology giants....more
11/7/2018
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Benchmarks ,
Business Taxes ,
Cambridge Analytica ,
Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Mining ,
Data Privacy ,
Facebook ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Foreign Trade Regulations ,
General Elections ,
Homeless Issues ,
HSBC ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Libor ,
Nordstrom Inc. ,
Oil & Gas ,
Oil Prices ,
Personal Data ,
Rabobank ,
Resignation ,
Technology Sector ,
U.S. House ,
UBS ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Wells Fargo
The Wall Street Journal first reported yesterday that Amazon, fresh from a weekend leak suggesting that Northern Virginia was the HQ2 frontrunner, will choose two locations with an evenly split workforce for its next...more
11/6/2018
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
CFTC ,
China ,
Climate Change ,
Dollar Tree ,
Exports ,
Exxon Mobil ,
Farms ,
Food Supply ,
Insider Trading ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Oil & Gas ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Reversal ,
Securities Fraud ,
Swap Execution Facilities ,
Tariffs ,
Technology Sector ,
US Trade Policies ,
Verizon ,
Voting Leave ,
Wireless Industry
Mr. Buffett and his Berkshire crew just dropped nearly a billion on its own stock, a likely sign, according to analysts, of a “dearth of appealing investment options” for the company’s “large cash pile”....more
11/5/2018
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Barclays ,
Berkshire Hathaway ,
Beverage Manufacturers ,
Economic Development ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equity ,
EU ,
European Banking Authority (EBA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Insider Trading ,
Job Creation ,
Lloyds Banking Group ,
Penalties ,
Real Estate Development ,
Saudi Arabia ,
Share Buybacks ,
Soda Tax ,
SoftBank ,
Stress Tests ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
Wage and Hour ,
Warren Buffett
As promised, the Fed on Wednesday announced “one of the most significant rollbacks of bank rules” since the White House changed hands in the form of a draft proposal that would loosen capital and liquidity requirements for...more
11/1/2018
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Annuities ,
Bitcoin ,
Capital Requirements ,
Credit Ratings ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Deregulation ,
Digital Taxes ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
General Electric ,
Inflation Adjustments ,
Investment ,
Investment Products ,
Life Insurance ,
Liquidity ,
Minimum Wage ,
Moody's ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stocks ,
Technology Sector ,
UK ,
Virtual Currency