The Fed held its last Open Markets Committee meeting under outgoing Chair Yellen, and it agreed to hold the benchmark rate in a range between 1.25% and 1.5%. Here’s the lowdown....more
2/1/2018
/ Appeals ,
Benchmarks ,
Bitcoin ,
CBO Report ,
CFTC ,
China ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Credit Suisse ,
Derivatives ,
Digital Currency ,
Federal Reserve ,
GDP ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Morgan Stanley ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Shutterfly ,
Stocks ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tax Reform ,
Tax Revenues ,
UBS ,
Virtual Currency
Even as JPMorgan has set the playing field for his successor (Daniel Pinto v. Gordon Smith, FYI), head honcho Jamie Dimon is making it clear that he’s not about to go anywhere anytime soon....more
1/31/2018
/ Advertising ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Apple ,
Berkshire Hathaway ,
Bitcoin ,
BlackRock ,
Capital Raising ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Digital Currency ,
Dow Jones ,
Elon Musk ,
Facebook ,
Financial Crisis ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
iPhone ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Kodak ,
RMBS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Social Media ,
Software ,
Tesla ,
Virtual Currency ,
Wall Street ,
Xerox
ECB Chief Mario Draghi’s having none of the US Treasury Secretary’s recent weak-dollar talk, accusing the US official, in not so many words, of “violating agreements among nations against starting currency wars”....more
1/26/2018
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Automotive Industry ,
Bitcoin ,
Corruption ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Currency Fluctuation ,
Digital Currency ,
Financial Crisis ,
Layoffs ,
Municipal Securities Market ,
National Emissions Standards ,
Puerto Rico ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
SoftBank ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tax Reform ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Uber ,
Virtual Currency ,
Volkswagen ,
White Collar Crimes
A look at Amazon’s newest concept—Amazon Go—a convenience store that opens in Seattle today complete with “shelves of food” found at other stores (including Whole Foods) but with nary a cashier in sight....more
1/22/2018
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Bitcoin ,
Class Action ,
Financial Markets ,
Forex ,
FSOC ,
Government Shutdown ,
Investment Fraud ,
Iran ,
Joint Venture ,
MetLife ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
RMBS ,
SIFIs ,
Trading Platforms ,
Trump Administration ,
UK Brexit ,
Virtual Currency ,
Wells Fargo ,
Xerox
NYSE owner Intercontinental Exchange is looking to do the as-yet inconceivable: bring some order to cryptocurrencies. The plan, announced yesterday, is to launch a data feed that pull info from cryptocurrency exchanges around...more
1/19/2018
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Apple ,
Bitcoin ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Currency Exchange ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Currency ,
Financial Markets ,
HSBC ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
IOSCO ,
IRS ,
NYSE ,
OCC ,
Offshore Funds ,
Presidential Appointments ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Repatriation ,
Technology Sector ,
Virtual Currency
More trouble for the embattled British PM Theresa May. We learned yesterday that Britain’s second-largest construction firm—Carillion—was forced into liquidation after amassing a staggering $1.35 billion in debt. The downfall...more
1/16/2018
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Administrative Proceedings ,
Appointments Clause ,
Automotive Industry ,
Barclays ,
Bitcoin ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Computer-Related Inventions ,
Digital Currency ,
Fiat ,
Financial Solvency ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Libor ,
Liquidation ,
Lloyds Banking Group ,
Music Streaming ,
Pensions ,
RBS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Spotify ,
Startups ,
Technology Sector ,
UK ,
Virtual Currency
The Times explores the $27 billion in fixed-income-trading income that has seeped out of Wall Street over the past 5 years thanks to “a combination of tough regulations, new technologies, calm markets and changing customer...more
1/12/2018
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Banks ,
Bitcoin ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Data Storage Providers ,
Digital Currency ,
Dropbox ,
ETFs ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Fixed Income Investments ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Iran ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Shopping Centers ,
South Korea ,
Virtual Currency
AT&T has dropped plans to sell the Mate 10—the newest smartphone from China’s Huawei Technologies—just before the partnership was to be announced. AT&T gave no reasons for its abrupt reversal, but lawmakers have recently...more
1/10/2018
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
AT&T ,
Banks ,
Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Bond Markets ,
Broker-Dealer ,
China ,
Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Dominos ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Espionage ,
FCC ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Markets ,
FinCEN ,
Hackers ,
Huawei ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Insider Trading ,
Intel ,
Kodak ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Securities Violations ,
Smartphones ,
Telecommunications ,
Telemarketing Sales Rule ,
Virtual Currency ,
Vulnerability Assessments
An overview of last Friday’s jobs report, which saw the US adding fewer jobs than expected but also tracked a welcomed increase in wages for the least-educated workers....more
1/8/2018
/ Bank of America ,
Bitcoin ,
Class Action ,
Corruption ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Digital Currency ,
Economic Development ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Job Creation ,
Petrobras ,
Securities Litigation ,
Sharing Economy ,
SoftBank ,
Toyota ,
Uber ,
Unpaid Interns ,
White Collar Crimes
US regulators have given passing grades to the living wills for all 8 major US banks, a reversal from the April 2016 determination that 5 of the 8 had deficiencies in their bailout-prevention plans....more
12/20/2017
/ Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Barclays ,
Bitcoin ,
C-Suite Executives ,
Digital Currency ,
EU ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Gig Economy ,
Health Care Providers ,
Hospital Mergers ,
Libor ,
Living Will ,
Money Transfer ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Ridesharing ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sharing Economy ,
Transportation Industry ,
Uber ,
Virtual Currency ,
Woman Board Members
European authorities have opened an investigation into Inter Ikea, one of the Swiss retail giant’s two primary divisions based in the Netherlands, over “concerns that it may have been given unfair tax advantages”....more
12/19/2017
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Automotive Industry ,
Banking Sector ,
Bitcoin ,
Campbell Soup Company ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Digital Currency ,
Electric Vehicles ,
EU ,
IKEA ,
International Tax Issues ,
Retail Market ,
Retailers ,
Tax Reform ,
Technology Sector ,
Toys R Us ,
Virtual Currency
And after all of that, Nelson Peltz will end up on P&G’s board after all. It was an unexpected finale to one of the “largest, priciest and nastiest corporate proxy fights in history” between P&G and Peltz’s Trian Fund Mgmt...more
12/18/2017
/ Bitcoin ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Digital Currency ,
E-Commerce ,
Grocery Stores ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Procter & Gamble ,
Ridesharing ,
RMBS ,
Sharing Economy ,
Tax Rates ,
Tax Reform ,
Trade Secrets ,
Trump Administration ,
Uber ,
UK Brexit
Generic drugmaking giant Teva Pharmaceuticals will cut 25% of its workforce (around 14,000 jobs) and shutter manufacturing and R&D facilities in an effort to “simplify its structure and reduce its debt”....more
12/15/2017
/ Activist Investors ,
Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Browning-Ferris Industries of California Inc. ,
Commodities ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Digital Currency ,
Disney ,
EU ,
Hess Corporation ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Joint Employers ,
Libor ,
NLRB ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Telecommunications ,
Teva Pharmaceuticals
As widely expected, the Fed affirmed the general strength of the US economy today by raising the benchmark interest rate again today—the 5th raise since the financial crisis....more
12/14/2017
/ Alphabet Company ,
Bitcoin ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Derivative Suit ,
Digital Currency ,
Disney ,
E-Commerce ,
EU ,
Financial Markets ,
FOMC ,
Grocery Stores ,
Interest Rates ,
Internet Retailers ,
Legislative Agendas ,
MiFID II ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Target ,
Tax Reform ,
Trade Relations ,
Trade Secrets ,
Trump Administration ,
Uber ,
UK Brexit ,
Virtual Currency
Crowdfunding site Indiegogo is hoping that a bold move—as one of the first mainstream companies to do so— into the roller-coaster world of ICOs will help make the offerings more palatable for small and large investors....more
12/13/2017
/ Banking Sector ,
Bitcoin ,
Broadcom ,
Climate Change ,
Crowdfunding ,
Digital Currency ,
Disney ,
ETFs ,
Exxon Mobil ,
Fintech Charter ,
General Electric ,
Indiegogo ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
NYDFS ,
OCC ,
Qualcomm ,
Shopping Centers
Bitcoin futures started trading yesterday for the first time prompting concerns about the volatility of the cryptocurrency that prompted several exchange outages due to 10%+ swings in its price as well as heavy website...more
12/11/2017
/ Apple ,
Bitcoin ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Currency ,
Financial Markets ,
General Electric ,
Hospital Mergers ,
Job Creation ,
Libor ,
Mobile Apps ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Stock Prices ,
Technology Sector ,
Trading Platforms ,
UK Brexit ,
Virtual Currency ,
Wells Fargo
The UK and EU made a significant breakthrough early this morning to “unlock” Brexit divorce negotiations. The still-rough agreement would see Britain repaying $53 billion and addressed in at least vague terms thorny issues...more
12/8/2017
/ Bank of New York (BNY) Mellon ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Basel IV ,
Bitcoin ,
Caterpillar ,
Citigroup ,
Corruption ,
Digital Currency ,
Economic Development ,
Energy Sector ,
EU ,
Federal Reserve ,
General Electric ,
Ireland ,
Job Creation ,
Member State ,
Railways ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
RMBS ,
Stress Tests ,
Tax Reform ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
White Collar Crimes
The latest on the potential Disney move for “significant parts of 21st Century Fox,” which is nearing completion and could see Murdoch scion leaving his father and brother in order to work for Big Mouse....more
12/7/2017
/ Automotive Industry ,
Bitcoin ,
Corruption ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Data Breach ,
Digital Currency ,
Disney ,
Film Industry ,
Hackers ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
National Emissions Standards ,
Virtual Currency ,
Volkswagen ,
White Collar Crimes
The Senate Banking Committee has voted out of committee a bipartisan effort to ease Dodd-Frank regulations. The bill in question could “drastically cut” the number of banks subject to heightened Fed oversight and “would ease...more
12/6/2017
/ Aetna ,
Banking Regulators ,
Banking Sector ,
Barclays ,
Bitcoin ,
Class Action ,
Community Banks ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Credit Unions ,
CVS ,
Deregulation ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Digital Currency ,
Dodd-Frank ,
EU ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
HSBC ,
Ireland ,
Mortgages ,
Movie Theaters ,
Nationwide Insurance Co. ,
RMBS ,
Senate Banking Committee ,
UK ,
UK Brexit
Breakingviews on Broadcom’s threat to Qualcomm’s board in the form of a slate of 11 director nominees for the company it has, so far, unsuccessfully attempted to purchase....more
12/5/2017
/ Aetna ,
Apple ,
Back Taxes ,
Bitcoin ,
Broadcom ,
COPPA ,
Cryptocurrency ,
CVS ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Dollar General ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Facebook ,
Hartford Insurance Company ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Insurance Industry ,
Life Insurance ,
Mobile Apps ,
Pharmacies ,
Qualcomm ,
Richard Cordray ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Social Networks
Bitcoin surged to over $11,000 yesterday before falling 20% later in the day, prompting this look from the Journal at the widespread lure of Bitcoin mania....more
11/30/2017
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Appointments Clause ,
Bitcoin ,
Chipotle Grill ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Digital Realty Trust Inc v Somers ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Dow Jones ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
Mars ,
Nasdaq ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Senate Confirmation Hearings ,
Whistleblowers
Wells Fargo is again in federal regulators’ crosshairs. The OCC has dubbed the bank a repeat offender and is weighing a “formal enforcement action” over “improprieties in its auto-insurance and mortgage operations”....more
11/29/2017
/ Auto Insurance ,
Banking Sector ,
Bitcoin ,
Class Action ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cyan Inc v Beaver Cty Emps Ret Fund ,
Digital Currency ,
EU ,
Federal Reserve ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Manufacturers ,
MiFID II ,
Mortgages ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Social Networks ,
Supply Chain ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Wells Fargo
More trouble for Wells Fargo, this time involving its Forex operation, which an internal investigation revealed was plagued by routine overcharging of customers and other questionable practices by bankers engaged in a battle...more
11/28/2017
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Banking Sector ,
Bitcoin ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Corporate Bonuses ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corruption ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cyber Monday ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Digital Currency ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Financial Markets ,
Forex ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Unregistered Securities ,
Wells Fargo
Time Inc. announced yesterday that it’s sold itself as part of a roughly $3 billion all-cash transaction to Meredith Corporation. Meredith, which publishes Family Circle and Better Homes and Gardens, among other glossies, is...more
11/27/2017
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Banking Sector ,
Bitcoin ,
China ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Data Breach ,
Digital Currency ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Markets ,
Hackers ,
Insider Trading ,
Money Laundering ,
Presidential Appointments ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Richard Cordray ,
Ridesharing ,
Shadow Banking ,
SoftBank ,
Trading Platforms ,
Uber
As retailers do all they can to fight the e-commerce wave, some bricks-and-mortar shops are experimenting with a rather counterintuitive strategy: smaller spaces and a showroom-style approach....more
11/20/2017
/ Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Bitcoin ,
Brick-and-Mortar Stores ,
Digital Currency ,
E-Commerce ,
FSOC ,
General Electric ,
Global Systemically Important Banks (G-SIBs) ,
Inflation Adjustments ,
Internet Retailers ,
Non-Bank Lenders ,
Phillips Standard ,
Retail Market ,
SIFIs ,
Silicon Valley ,
Technology Sector ,
Virtual Currency ,
Wells Fargo