A series of cyberattacks featuring ransomware rocked the world this weekend, and the aftershocks “could linger” for a while....more
5/15/2017
/ Bitcoin ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Driverless Cars ,
Equity Investors ,
FASB ,
Financial Institutions ,
Hackers ,
Malware ,
OCC ,
Ransomware ,
Uber ,
Virtual Currency ,
Volcker Rule
The Times gives us some insight into the opaque (but powerful) HNA Group—the Chinese entity that began with Hainan Airlines and has grown into a global investing and acquisition powerhouse that is now the largest shareholder...more
5/10/2017
/ Activist Investors ,
AIG ,
Apple ,
Bailout ,
Banking Sector ,
Bitcoin ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Donald Trump ,
Insider Trading ,
Insurance Industry ,
Liquidity Coverage Ratio ,
Market Manipulation ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Stock Markets ,
Virtual Currency
Mega luxury brand news yesterday, as LVMH announced a series of moves that, combined with $13.1 billion, helped it take over the 70-year-old French fashion house Christian Dior....more
4/26/2017
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Dubai ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Google ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Student Loans ,
Tax Reform ,
Technology ,
Trump Administration ,
Virtual Currency ,
Wells Fargo
One might think that Tesla shareholders would be thrilled with yesterday’s news that Elon’s car-making arm has surpassed even GM in market value. True, perhaps, but only to a point. Turns out that Tesla’s recent surge has...more
4/12/2017
/ Automotive Industry ,
Bitcoin ,
Cable Operators ,
Corporate Culture ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Investigations ,
Publishers ,
Resignation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Sharing Economy ,
Takeovers ,
Technology Sector ,
Tesla ,
Uber ,
Virtual Currency
Another tech-related disappointment for the Winklevii, this time with ramifications for an entire means of payment, as the SEC has rejected an application by the brothers to create an ETF tied to the price of bitcoin....more
3/13/2017
/ AIG ,
Banking Sector ,
Berkshire Hathaway ,
Bitcoin ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Fannie Mae ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Freddie Mac ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Libor ,
Real Estate Market ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Technology Sector ,
UK Brexit ,
Virtual Currency
There’s been a bit of a stir in the paint world, with Dutch firm Akzo Nobel rejecting a takeover bid from PPG Industries valued at $22 billion. In a statement, Akzo claimed that the offer “substantially undervalues” the...more
3/10/2017
/ AIG ,
Bitcoin ,
Bribery ,
Common Stock ,
Data Collection ,
Digital Currency ,
Economic Development ,
European Central Bank ,
Financial Institutions ,
IRS ,
Job Creation ,
Samsung ,
Section 409A ,
South Korea ,
Stock Options ,
Takeover Bids ,
Virtual Currency ,
White Collar Crimes
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
3/7/2017
/ Automotive Industry ,
Bitcoin ,
Bribery ,
Capital Raising ,
Dodd-Frank ,
EFTs ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
General Motors ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Insider Trading ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Offerings ,
Samsung ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Snapchat ,
Social Media ,
South Korea ,
Technology ,
Virtual Currency ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
It’s been far from a smooth ride for Uber over the past few weeks. And Friday’s revelation that the ride-sharing company’s been using a tool called “Greyball” to mine and use app data to “deceive the authorities in markets...more
3/6/2017
/ Appeals ,
Automotive Industry ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Capital Raising ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Digital Currency ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
General Motors ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Mobile Apps ,
RMBS ,
Securities Violations ,
Sharing Economy ,
Summary Judgment ,
Technology Sector ,
Uber ,
Valuation
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
3/3/2017
/ Amazon ,
Banks ,
Bitcoin ,
Capital Raising ,
Caterpillar ,
Deregulation ,
Digital Currency ,
Dodd-Frank ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Financial Crisis ,
Financial Institutions ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Internet ,
Moody's ,
Offerings ,
Offshore Funds ,
Snapchat ,
Technology Sector
A collection of corporate heavy hitters are betting big on the blockchain technology behind bitcoin rival Ethereum to build a computing system to track data and financial contracts. The project is seen by some as a way to...more
2/28/2017
/ Banking Sector ,
Berkshire Hathaway ,
Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Bonds ,
Bribery ,
China ,
Corruption ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Derivatives ,
Digital Currency ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Elon Musk ,
Energy Market ,
Energy Sector ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Foreign Investment ,
Forex ,
Indictments ,
Insurance Industry ,
Samsung ,
Senate Confirmation Hearings ,
South Korea ,
Stock Markets ,
Stocks ,
Technology ,
Technology Sector ,
Tesla ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
Valuation ,
Virtual Currency ,
Warren Buffett ,
White Collar Crimes
While Wall Street’s been waiting with bated breath for the big Snap IPO, Jose Cuervo (yes, that Jose Cuervo, via parent company Becle) has briefly stolen a bit of its public offering thunder with its plans to sell shares on...more
2/9/2017
/ Agricultural Sector ,
Anthem Insurance ,
Anticompetitive Behavior ,
Bitcoin ,
BSA/AML ,
CIGNA ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Digital Currency ,
Euro ,
European Central Bank ,
Farms ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Foreign Currency ,
Greece ,
Health Insurance ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Insurance Industry ,
Investment Adviser ,
Italy ,
Merger Agreements ,
Mexico ,
Payment Processors ,
PayPal ,
Public Offerings ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Snapchat ,
Stock Exchange ,
Virtual Currency
Ratings Agency Moody’s Corp. has agreed to pay roughly $864 million to resolve federal and state claims that it gave juiced ratings to risky MBS in the run-up to the financial crisis. Half of the total will end up in DOJ...more
1/17/2017
/ 401k ,
Automotive Industry ,
Bitcoin ,
Bribery ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Currency ,
Employee Benefits ,
EU ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
High Frequency Trading ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Investment Management ,
Mergers ,
Moody's ,
Rating Agencies ,
Retirement Plan ,
RMBS ,
Rolls-Royce ,
Samsung ,
Technology ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Virtual Currency ,
White Collar Crimes
The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation—the company that “serves as the back end for much Wall Street trading”—has announced a big step forward in the embrace of blockchain technology to track and report transactions. IBM...more
1/10/2017
/ Banks ,
Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Digital Currency ,
Economic Development ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
HSBC ,
Mortgage Servicers ,
Mortgages ,
OCC ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Virtual Currency ,
Wall Street ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Yahoo!
Former NJ Senator and Governor Jon Corzine has reached a $5 million settlement with regulators over the collapse of his MF Global firm, which filed bankruptcy in 2011 and lost more than $1 billion in customer investments....more
1/6/2017
/ Airlines ,
Bitcoin ,
Black & Decker ,
CFTC ,
China ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Customer Funds Protection ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Digital Currency ,
Employees ,
Financial Institutions ,
Foreign Currency ,
Futures ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Job Creation ,
MF Global ,
Sears ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Traders ,
Segregated Funds ,
Virtual Currency ,
Wells Fargo
Lynn Tilton’s very public spat with the SEC over the agency’s in-house court system may be heading to the Supreme Court, thanks in part to a recent 10th Circuit opinion last week that created a Circuit split over the...more
1/4/2017
/ Administrative Proceedings ,
Appointments Clause ,
Big Data ,
Bitcoin ,
China ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Credit Cards ,
Digital Currency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
Federal Reserve ,
Foreign Currency ,
Foreign Debt ,
Investment ,
Retailers ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stocks ,
Virtual Currency
Blackstone is spinning off a new housing maintenance and rental venture in the form of Invitation Homes LP, which could see an IPO as early as January 2017. Invitation Homes is the culmination of a four-year, $10 billion...more
12/6/2016
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Banks ,
Bitcoin ,
Citigroup ,
Credit Suisse ,
Digital Currency ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Financial Crisis ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinTech ,
Foreclosure ,
Hedge Funds ,
Housing Market ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Securities Violations ,
Tax Fraud ,
Virtual Currency ,
White Collar Crimes
The IRS isn’t waiting around for virtual currency to gain wider acceptance. No, it’s more than happy to go after Bitcoin users who have sought to use the virtual currency as a means of evading taxes....more
11/21/2016
/ Acquisitions ,
Anthem Blue Cross ,
Best Buy ,
Bitcoin ,
CIGNA ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Currency ,
Energy Sector ,
Executive Compensation ,
Fannie Mae ,
Financial Institutions ,
Freddie Mac ,
Internet Retailers ,
IRS ,
Microsoft ,
OCC ,
Retailers ,
Royal Bank of Scotland ,
Saudi Arabia ,
Tax Evasion ,
Technology ,
Virtual Currency ,
Wells Fargo
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
10/4/2016
/ Acquisitions ,
Bank Accounts ,
Banks ,
Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Cross-Selling ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Digital Currency ,
Financial Crisis ,
Financial Institutions ,
Fraud ,
Germany ,
Italy ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Morgan Stanley ,
Och-Ziff ,
RMBS ,
Royal Bank of Scotland ,
Underwriting ,
Virtual Currency ,
Wells Fargo
Testifying before the Senate Banking Committee yesterday, Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf admitted that the illegal sham-account-creation activity at the heart of its recent SEC fine may have begun earlier than first reported....more
9/21/2016
/ Antitrust Litigation ,
Apple ,
ATMs ,
Bank Accounts ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Barclays ,
Bitcoin ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Currency ,
Exxon Mobil ,
Financial Institutions ,
Fraud ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Interest Rates ,
Japan ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Libor ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Senate Banking Committee ,
Tesla ,
Virtual Currency ,
Wells Fargo
The past 2 years have been just short of disastrous for most hedge funds. But even without much to show in the form of results, the world’s biggest fund manager—Bridgewater Associates—has attracted $22.5 billion in investor...more
9/12/2016
/ Acquisitions ,
Apple ,
Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Digital Currency ,
Financial Crisis ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Hedge Funds ,
Investment ,
Ireland ,
REIT ,
Tax Evasion ,
Technology ,
Virtual Currency
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
8/3/2016
/ Allergan Inc ,
Banks ,
Bitcoin ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Digital Currency ,
E-Commerce ,
EU ,
Financial Institutions ,
Foreclosure ,
Hackers ,
Hong Kong Stock Exchange ,
HSBC ,
Instagram ,
Merck ,
Mortgages ,
Olympics ,
Procter & Gamble ,
Quarterly Report ,
Referendums ,
Snapchat ,
Social Media ,
Startups ,
Transparency ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Wall Street
A federal judge in Idaho has dismissed a $24 billion lawsuit against Credit Suisse alleging that the bank and real estate adviser Cushman & Wakefield ran a “predatory loan-to-own scheme that . . . loaded four luxury ski and...more
7/29/2016
/ Amazon ,
Banks ,
Bitcoin ,
Credit Suisse ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Derivatives ,
E-Commerce ,
EU ,
Financial Institutions ,
General Electric ,
Google ,
Industry Examinations ,
Olympics ,
Oracle ,
Predatory Lending ,
Quarterly Report ,
Real Estate Market ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Terrorism Funding ,
UK ,
UK Brexit
Private equity bigwig Lynn Tilton has reportedly hired appellate superstar Paul Clement (after Gibson Dunn got the boot) to represent her in her “bid to revive her challenge to the [SEC’s] in-house court at the Second...more
7/26/2016
/ Administrative Proceedings ,
Alibaba ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Banking Sector ,
Bitcoin ,
Digital Currency ,
Drones ,
EU ,
Going-Private Transactions ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Libor ,
Member State ,
Private Equity ,
Redbox ,
Referendums ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Startups ,
Takeover Bids ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Unmanned Aircraft Systems ,
Verizon ,
Virtual Currency ,
Yahoo!
EU financial watchdog ESMA has fined rating agency Fitch Ratings Ltd. $1.5 million for reportedly violating the EU’s rules for rating agencies relating to the 12-hour requirement, internal controls, and unauthorized...more
7/22/2016
/ Aetna ,
Anthem Blue Cross ,
Bitcoin ,
CIGNA ,
Elon Musk ,
EU ,
European Central Bank ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Facebook ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Crisis ,
Fitch ,
Housing Market ,
Humana ,
Interest Rates ,
Mergers ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Rating Agencies ,
Virtual Currency
The Treasury Dept’s Office of Financial Research has found that money-market funds are increasingly entering into direct repurchase loans with large investors and insurers—another sign that “participants in short-term lending...more
7/21/2016
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Anheuser-Busch ,
Banks ,
Beer ,
Bitcoin ,
Breweries ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Currency Manipulation ,
Digital Currency ,
Elon Musk ,
Financial Institutions ,
Freddie Mac ,
HSBC ,
Mergers ,
Money Market Funds ,
Student Loans ,
Subprime Mortgages ,
Takeover Bids ,
UK ,
Virtual Currency ,
Wells Fargo ,
Wire Fraud