U.S. drug giant Merck is shuttering its coronavirus vaccine development “after early trial data showed [its pair of vaccines] failed to generate immune responses comparable to natural infection or existing vaccines.” ...more
1/25/2021
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Bank of America ,
Biden Administration ,
Citibank ,
Clinical Trials ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Deutsche Bank ,
DuPont ,
Federal Reserve ,
FOMC ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Internet Streaming ,
Janet Yellen ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Layoffs ,
Merck ,
NBC ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Postmates ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
Vaccinations
Markets gave a warm welcome to the Biden administration on Wednesday, as strong tech performance and hopes of “large-scale economic stimulus” helped power an across-the-board rally that brought all three major U.S. indices...more
1/21/2021
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Alibaba ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Biden Administration ,
BSA/AML ,
Capital One ,
Financial Markets ,
FinCEN ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Morgan Stanley ,
Payment Systems ,
Procter & Gamble ,
Quarterly Report ,
Stock Prices ,
Vaccinations
Version 3.0 of the PPP kicked off yesterday, with community lenders leading the way by focusing on “underserved borrowers—including women-led businesses and those run by Black, Latino and Asian owners and other minorities” in...more
1/12/2021
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Biotechnology ,
Bitcoin ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Denial of Certiorari ,
Economic Aid Act ,
Financial Markets ,
FinTech ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Life Sciences ,
London Stock Exchange ,
Meat Processing Plants ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Political Contributions ,
Poultry ,
Price-Fixing ,
Relief Measures ,
SBA Lending Programs ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stock Prices ,
Wal-Mart
Another day, another new Google antitrust lawsuit—this time thanks to a group of 30-plus states that have accused the company of “illegally arranging its search results to push out smaller rivals.” Oh, and money likely won’t...more
12/18/2020
/ Antitrust Violations ,
Biden Administration ,
Bitcoin ,
Coca Cola ,
Coinbase ,
Credit Suisse ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Google ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Relief Measures ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Trading Platforms ,
Unemployment ,
Universal
EU and British authorities unveiled new proposals this week to “crimp the power of ‘gatekeeper’ platforms like Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google and Microsoft, which policymakers argue deserve more oversight given their outsize...more
12/16/2020
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Apple ,
Bonds ,
Climate Change ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Counterfeit Goods Regulation ,
Cyber Espionage ,
EU ,
Facebook ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
FOMC ,
Google ,
Hate Speech ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Internet Retailers ,
Investment Management ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Microsoft ,
Online Advertisements ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Relief Measures ,
Stock Markets ,
UK ,
Vanguard
Drugmaker AstraZeneca agreed on Saturday to buy biopharma company Alexion for $39 billion in cash and stock. In the deal—the “biggest by a health care company this year”—will help AstraZeneca expand into the immunology...more
12/14/2020
/ AirBnB ,
Alexion ,
Alphabet Company ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
AstraZeneca ,
Biden Administration ,
Certiorari ,
Class Certification ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Congressional Committees ,
Corporate Sales Transactions ,
Data Breach ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disney ,
DoorDash ,
EU ,
Gaming ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Hackers ,
Housing Market ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Life Sciences ,
Real Estate Transactions ,
Retail Sales ,
Russia ,
SCOTUS ,
Stock Prices ,
Trade Negotiations ,
UK Brexit
Because too much of a good thing is always trouble (especially on Wall Street), market watchers are warning of a new tech bubble after Airbnb’s monster IPO on Thursday. The home-sharing app’s shares rose more than 112% to...more
12/11/2020
/ AirBnB ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Apple ,
Big Tech ,
Bitcoin ,
Bonds ,
Competition ,
Cookies ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Data Privacy ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
European Central Bank ,
Facebook ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Financial Stimulus ,
France ,
Google ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
MassMutual ,
MasterCard ,
Online Platforms ,
Pornography ,
Trade Agreements ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Unemployment ,
Visa Inc
The long-awaited Facebook antitrust bomb dropped on Wednesday, with the FTC and attorneys general from more than 40 states accusing Zuck & Co. of “buying up its rivals to illegally squash competition” in D.C. federal district...more
12/10/2020
/ AirBnB ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Violations ,
AT&T ,
Big Tech ,
Canada ,
Capital Raising ,
CARES Act ,
Dairy Farmers ,
Disney ,
DoorDash ,
Facebook ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Fraud ,
General Electric ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Internet Streaming ,
Monopolization ,
Movies ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Sony ,
Stock Prices ,
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) ,
White Collar Crimes
DoorDash is entering the public markets fray today with hopes of “cash[ing] in on the frenzy in initial public offerings” of late. The food-delivery company is expected to price shares “at the high end of or above its...more
12/9/2020
/ Aircraft ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Competition ,
Corporate Sales Transactions ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
DoorDash ,
EU ,
Foreign Trade Regulations ,
Going-Private Transactions ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
McDonalds ,
Movies ,
Procter & Gamble ,
Rebates ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Share Buybacks ,
SoftBank ,
Tariffs ,
Uber ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Warner Brothers Entertainment
Friday’s jobs report was not only 200,000 jobs below projections for November, but it marked the fifth straight month of a diminished pace of hiring in the United States and brought urgency to facing the reality that there...more
12/7/2020
/ AirBnB ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Architecture ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Asset Purchase Agreements ,
Barnes and Noble ,
Bitcoin ,
Chick-Fil-A ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Drones ,
E-Commerce ,
Employment Discrimination ,
ETFs ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Fuel Efficiency ,
Google ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Job Creation ,
Job Market ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Meat Processing Plants ,
Nissan ,
Price Gouging ,
Real Estate Development ,
Relief Measures ,
Retail Market ,
Unemployment ,
Vanguard
Mere months after an announced major investment in start-up electric truck company Nikola (and the subsequent claims that the company had “exaggerated its capabilities), General Motors announced this week that it had...more
12/1/2020
/ Antitrust Violations ,
Biden Administration ,
Big Tech ,
Bitcoin ,
Business Valuations ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
DoorDash ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Facebook ,
FCC ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
GAO ,
General Motors ,
Hydrogen Power ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Nasdaq ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Retail Sales ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Startups ,
Unemployment
The G-20 held a virtual summit this weekend, and discussions about taming the pandemic and addressing “the global economic damage it has wrought dominated” the meeting....more
11/23/2020
/ AirBnB ,
Airlines ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Biden Administration ,
Bitcoin ,
Black Friday ,
Chapter 11 ,
China ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
France ,
G20 ,
Guitar Center ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Infrastructure ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Oil & Gas ,
Refineries ,
Retailers ,
Student Loans
BuzzFeed has struck a deal with Verizon Media to acquire HuffPost, a mash-up that “would join a pair of digital-media giants that have found themselves searching for readers and revenue as they have fallen prey to some of the...more
11/20/2020
/ Biden Administration ,
BuzzFeed ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Digital Media ,
Economic Downturn ,
Fannie Mae ,
Federal Loans ,
Federal Reserve ,
FHFA ,
Freddie Mac ,
General Motors ,
Housing Market ,
Huffington Post ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Real Estate Transactions ,
Securities Violations ,
Trump Administration ,
Unemployment ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Verizon ,
Video Games
In a major shift (and with antitrust regulators breathing down its neck), Apple is halving the App Store fee it charges developers (from 30% to 15%) who produce “as much as $1 million in annual revenue from their apps and...more
11/18/2020
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Antitrust Violations ,
App Store ,
Apple ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Economic Downturn ,
Federal Reserve ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Mark Zuckerberg ,
Mars ,
Pharmacies ,
Retail Sales ,
Trading Platforms ,
Vaccinations
As we thought, stocks rallied on Monday thanks to Moderna’s news of promising results for its Covid-19 vaccine, with the Dow and S&P 500 hitting new record highs....more
11/18/2020
/ AirBnB ,
Bank of America ,
Biden Administration ,
CARES Act ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Dow Jones ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
Foreign Policy ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Home Depot ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Moderna Inc. ,
News Corp ,
Putative Class Actions ,
S&P ,
Southwest Airlines ,
Stock Prices ,
Tesla ,
Vaccinations ,
Viacom ,
Wells Fargo
Thursday’s unemployment figures showed technically falling claims (down to 723,000 new claims for state benefits) but “remained above records set in previous recessions,” as the number of “laid-off and furloughed workers...more
11/13/2020
/ Alibaba ,
China ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Credit Reporting Agencies ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Ford Motor ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Race Relations ,
Relief Measures ,
TikTok ,
Twitter ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
Unemployment ,
Vaccinations
No dispute about this—election day was good for Uber, Lyft, and other businesses in California dependent on the gig economy, thanks to passage of Prop. 22, the ballot measure that exempts such companies from “having to treat...more
11/12/2020
/ Alibaba ,
Ballot Measures ,
E-Commerce ,
Employee Definition ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Kodak ,
Lyft ,
Misclassification ,
Nasdaq ,
Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE) ,
State Labor Laws ,
Uber ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wells Fargo
So . . . . Nice, quiet week while we were gone, right?
Wall Street forecasts are always dicey, but it sure looks like Pfizer’s solid vaccine news (along with this weekend’s newfound presidential certainty) could make for...more
11/9/2020
/ Biden Administration ,
CARES Act ,
China ,
Consumer Bankruptcy ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
CVS ,
Deregulation ,
Economic Downturn ,
Financial Fraud ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Lame Duck Session ,
Libor ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Pfizer ,
Stock Prices ,
Student Loans ,
Trump Administration ,
Unemployment ,
Vaccinations ,
Warren Buffett
A mix of surging Covid cases, the renewed restrictions and shutdowns they’ve prompted, and the unlikelihood of more virus stimulus any time soon sent stocks sharply down to start the week, with the S&P 500 charting its...more
10/27/2020
/ AIG ,
Cloud Computing ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Facebook ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Gaming ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Libor ,
Life Insurance ,
Microchip Technology ,
Mobile Payments ,
Retailers ,
Retaliation ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Stock Prices ,
Valuation ,
Wells Fargo
PE-backed Inspire Brands is in negotiations to take over Dunkin’ Brands Group, the parent of both Dunkin’ and Baskin-Robbins, in a deal valued at nearly $9 billion. Inspire includes Buffalo Wild Wings and Jimmy John’s among...more
10/26/2020
/ 1MDB ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Anti-Corruption ,
AT&T ,
Bayer ,
Chapter 11 ,
CNN ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Compliance Monitoring ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Dunkin' Donuts ,
Employee Rights ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Guitar Center ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Internet Streaming ,
Investment ,
Monsanto ,
National Security ,
Presidential Elections ,
Private Equity ,
Right to Vote ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Startups ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration ,
Wage and Hour
ConocoPhillips is doubling down on its commitment to the Midland basin by buying Concho Resources Inc. in “an all-stock transaction valued at $9.7 billion,” even “as the American shale-drilling industry is facing a downturn...more
10/19/2020
/ 5G Network ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Apple ,
British Airways ,
China ,
ConocoPhillips ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Data Breach ,
Deficit Reduction ,
E-Commerce ,
Export Controls ,
Financial Markets ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
iPhone ,
National Security ,
Oil & Gas ,
Oracle ,
PACs ,
Political Campaigns ,
Popular ,
Recovery Plans ,
Social Networks ,
SoftBank ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
Stock Prices ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration ,
UK
Federal regulators—including the Federal Reserve and the OCC—have fined Citigroup $400 million over “longstanding” failures in the areas of risk management, data governance, and internal controls. In addition to the fine, the...more
10/8/2020
/ Agribusiness ,
Airlines ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Big Tech ,
Bonds ,
Citigroup ,
Corporate Governance ,
Data Management ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
E-Commerce ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Stimulus ,
FinTech ,
Information Governance ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Internal Controls ,
Layoffs ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Meat Processing Plants ,
OCC ,
Popular ,
Poultry ,
Price-Fixing ,
Recovery Plans ,
Relief Measures ,
Retail Market ,
Risk Management ,
Stock Prices ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration ,
Wells Fargo
Markets globally and U.S. futures are down as investors digest the news out of D.C. overnight...
Jobs Report Friday again. Here’s what we’re watching for in the numbers....more
10/2/2020
/ Airlines ,
Banks ,
CARES Act ,
CMBS ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Donald Trump ,
Economic Downturn ,
Financial Crisis ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Foreign Workers ,
General Motors ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Layoffs ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Money Laundering ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Public Health ,
Ransomware ,
Relief Measures ,
Stock Prices ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Unemployment ,
Visas
Palantir’s direct listing experiment generally went well yesterday, with the company’s shares beginning trading up nearly 40% from the $7.25 reference price set Tuesday evening. Fellow direct lister Asana also had a good...more
10/2/2020
/ Allstate ,
American Airlines ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Banks ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Dividends ,
Donald Trump ,
Economic Downturn ,
EU ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Hewlett-Packard ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Joe Biden ,
Layoffs ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Political Campaigns ,
Political Candidates ,
Political Debates ,
Ransomware ,
Relief Measures ,
Secretary of the Treasury ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Share Buybacks ,
Small Business ,
Stock Prices ,
Tokyo Stock Exchange ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Unemployment ,
United Airlines
Under the terms of a deal with the DOJ announced this week, JPMorgan will pay $920 million and sign on to a deferred prosecution agreement “to resolve charges that it had manipulated markets for U.S. government bonds and...more
9/30/2020
/ Airbus ,
Boeing ,
Chevron ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
ConocoPhillips ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Disney ,
Duke Energy ,
E-Commerce ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Exports ,
Financial Markets ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Layoffs ,
Lyft ,
NYSE ,
Oil & Gas ,
Retail Market ,
Royal Dutch Petroleum ,
Seasonal Workers ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Spoofing ,
State Labor Laws ,
Target ,
Tariffs ,
Uber ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wal-Mart ,
WTO