Visa is “abandoning its $5.3 billion planned acquisition of Plaid Inc.,” a fintech startup that the DOJ had called an upstart “but important competitive threat to Visa” in its antitrust lawsuit challenging the deal....more
1/13/2021
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Air Cargo ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Biden Administration ,
Big Tech ,
China ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Gig Economy ,
Grocery Stores ,
Libor ,
Netflix ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
Trump Administration ,
Visa Inc
Tuesday’s Senate Committee hearing with Fed Chair Powell and Treasury Secretary Mnuchin showed the growing rift between the two over their views of “challenges facing the United States economy in the months ahead.” ...more
12/2/2020
/ AirBnB ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Apple ,
BlackRock ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disney ,
Economic Downturn ,
Entrepreneurs ,
European Central Bank ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Hewlett-Packard ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Lame Duck Session ,
Microchip Technology ,
Recovery Plans ,
Salesforce ,
Slack ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Treasury
Former Fed Chair Janet Yellen is “poised to become the first female Treasury secretary and one of few people to ever have wielded economic power from the White House, the Federal Reserve and the president’s cabinet.” If...more
11/24/2020
/ Biden Administration ,
BlackRock ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
E-Commerce ,
Economic Downturn ,
Elon Musk ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Distress ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Foreign Relations ,
Fuel Efficiency ,
General Motors ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Janet Yellen ,
Macy's ,
National Emissions Standards ,
Retailers ,
Tesla ,
Trump Administration ,
Visa Inc
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
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
Breaking down Thursday’s GDP report, which—as expected—was gangbusters in isolation but in context shows U.S. economic output “3.5 percent below where it was in the last pre-pandemic quarter, equivalent to a severe recession...more
10/30/2020
/ Ability-to-Repay ,
Chrysler ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Economic Development ,
Exxon Mobil ,
Fiat ,
Financial Markets ,
GDP ,
Housing Market ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Layoffs ,
National Emissions Standards ,
Netflix ,
Real Estate Transactions ,
Stock Prices ,
Trump Administration ,
Unemployment
Wall Street had another come-to-Jesus day over the troubling recent Covid trends, as surging cases throughout the U.S. and across Europe drove markets to their worst performance since June....more
10/30/2020
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Apple ,
Boeing ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Economic Downturn ,
Facebook ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Markets ,
Google ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Infectious Diseases ,
iPhone ,
Layoffs ,
Oil Prices ,
PayPal ,
Qualcomm ,
Stock Prices ,
Tiffany and Company ,
Trump Administration ,
Twitter
A handful of tech’s biggest leaders—the CEOs of Facebook, Twitter, and Google, to be precise—descend upon the Hill today for a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on content monitoring and Section 230, the “slim and powerful...more
10/28/2020
/ Business Closures ,
Congressional Investigations & Hearings ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Growth ,
Facebook ,
Financial Stimulus ,
GDP ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Google ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Instant Messaging Apps ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Mobile Apps ,
Netherlands ,
Tiffany and Company ,
Trump Administration ,
Twitter ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
Uber ,
User-Generated Content ,
Visa Inc
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
The Google antitrust waiting game wrapped on Tuesday with the DOJ filing a federal D.C.-based lawsuit against the Alphabet unit, accusing the company “of using several exclusive business contacts and agreements to lock out...more
10/21/2020
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Apple ,
Bribery ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Exclusive Dealing Agreements ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Google ,
Guilty Pleas ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Mobile Apps ,
Oil & Gas ,
Popular ,
Relief Measures ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Trump Administration ,
Unregistered Securities
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
New Disney CEO Bob Chapek made one of his biggest moves yet since taking the reins, announcing a realignment “of its business divisions on Monday that placed the focus squarely on Disney+ and its other streaming services as...more
10/14/2020
/ AirBnB ,
Amazon ,
Apple ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disney ,
E-Commerce ,
Economic Downturn ,
Farms ,
Federal Aid ,
Financial Distress ,
Financial Markets ,
Holidays ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Internet Streaming ,
Movies ,
Presidential Elections ,
SoftBank ,
Stock Prices ,
Target Company ,
Trade Wars ,
Trump Administration ,
Wal-Mart
Yesterday’s jobless numbers were down a bit from a week earlier but still topped 800,000 for the 4th week in a row. “Claims remain above the pre-pandemic peak of 695,000 and are higher than in any previous recession for...more
10/9/2020
/ 1MDB ,
AT&T ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Downturn ,
Federal Bans ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Google ,
Infectious Diseases ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Layoffs ,
Lobbying ,
Malaysia ,
National Security ,
NLRB ,
Political Campaigns ,
Recovery Plans ,
Relief Measures ,
Restructuring ,
Sovereign Wealth Funds ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration ,
Unemployment ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Unions ,
Warner Brothers Entertainment ,
White Collar Crimes
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
Here’s a fun little exercise. Pull up a chart of Tuesday's market activity, and see if you can pinpoint the exact moment the White House announced to the world that it was pulling support for another Covid stimulus bill...more
10/8/2020
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Apple ,
Banks ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
EU ,
Facebook ,
Financial Stimulus ,
General Electric ,
Google ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Monopolization ,
Relief Measures ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Trade Deficit ,
Trump Administration ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Wells Notice
The SEC has sued “cybersecurity pioneer John McAfee” for “promoting the sale of cryptocurrencies without disclosing that he was being paid to do so.” McAfee allegedly recommended “at least seven initial coin offerings to his...more
10/6/2020
/ Breach of Contract ,
Celebrity Endorsements ,
China ,
Cisco ,
Coal Industry ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Economic Downturn ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Markets ,
FinTech ,
Foreign Policy ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
NBC ,
Patent Infringement ,
Recovery Plans ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stock Prices ,
Tax Evasion ,
Trump Administration ,
Unemployment ,
US Trade Policies ,
Warner Brothers Entertainment ,
Wildfires
Along with the topline numbers (661,000 jobs added in September and unemployment rate declined to 7.9%), Friday’s U.S Jobs Report delivered the rough news that 2.4 million Americans have now been out of work for 27 weeks or...more
10/5/2020
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Credit Suisse ,
Facebook ,
Federal Bans ,
Financial Markets ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Mobile Apps ,
Recessions ,
Tesla ,
TikTok ,
Trade Policy ,
Trump Administration ,
Unemployment ,
USTR ,
Vietnam
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
A federal judge has delivered another win for TikTok over the weekend, temporarily blocking a White House ban “on new downloads of the video-sharing network, which would have gone into effect at 11:59 p.m. in Washington.” The...more
9/29/2020
/ Airplane Accidents ,
Alphabet Company ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Boeing ,
Business Licenses ,
China ,
Commerzbank ,
Data Collection ,
Deutsche Bank ,
E-Commerce ,
eBay ,
Export Controls ,
Federal Reserve ,
Infrastructure ,
Interest Rates ,
Mobile Apps ,
National Security ,
Rare Earth Metals ,
Semiconductors ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Social Media ,
Spoofing ,
Tax Planning ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration ,
Uber ,
UK ,
Wire Fraud
New U.S. unemployment claims rose last week according to data released on Thursday, the latest sign that America’s recovery from the pandemic-induced recession is slowing—a “particularly worrisome” trend as cold-state...more
9/25/2020
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
BMW ,
Bonds ,
Capital Raising ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Data Mining ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Economic Downturn ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Stimulus ,
FinCEN ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Layoffs ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Money Laundering ,
Recessions ,
Retail Sales ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Special Purpose Entities ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration ,
Unemployment ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
White Collar Crimes
JPMorgan is preparing to finalize a deal with federal prosecutors and regulators in which the bank would pay nearly $1 billion to “settle civil and criminal charges that its traders rigged futures and securities markets”...more
9/24/2020
/ App Store ,
Apple ,
Big Data ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
E-Commerce ,
Electric Vehicles ,
EPIC ,
Facebook ,
Financial Markets ,
Food Supply ,
Futures ,
Global Warming ,
Google ,
Infectious Diseases ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Mars ,
Mobile Apps ,
Oracle ,
Race Discrimination ,
Race Relations ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations ,
Spoofing ,
Spotify ,
Stock Prices ,
TikTok ,
Tinder ,
Trump Administration ,
Twitter ,
Wal-Mart ,
Wall Street ,
Wells Fargo
The latest from Fed Chair Powell and Treasury Secretary Mnuchin’s first of several days on the Hill, including their take that the economy is improving but that continued fiscal support—from the Fed and from Congress—was...more
9/23/2020
/ Accounting Fraud ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
China ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Competition ,
Congressional Investigations & Hearings ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
E-Commerce ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Employee Definition ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Gig Economy ,
Google ,
Independent Contractors ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Layoffs ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Mobile Devices ,
Ralph Lauren ,
Retailers ,
Supply and Demand ,
Tesla ,
Trump Administration
Microsoft made a huge gaming move on Monday with its $7.5 billion acquisition of ZeniMax Media, the “parent company of gaming studios like Bethesda,” and maker of titles like “The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Doom, Quake and...more
9/22/2020
/ Antitrust Violations ,
BP ,
Chevron ,
Climate Change ,
Comcast ,
Congressional Investigations & Hearings ,
Digital Downloads ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Dow Jones ,
Due Process ,
Exxon Mobil ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Committee ,
Free Speech ,
Gaming ,
Google ,
Infrastructure ,
Internet Streaming ,
Microsoft ,
Mobile Apps ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
Oracle ,
Renewable Energy ,
Royal Dutch Petroleum ,
Stock Prices ,
Tiffany and Company ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration
The White House has given its crucial imprimatur to a deal for Oracle (and Walmart) to take a stake in Chinese video app TikTok, “an agreement that will delay the U.S. government’s threat to block the popular app in the...more
9/21/2020
/ BSA/AML ,
Business Continuity Plans ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Data Collection ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Electric Vehicles ,
EU ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Markets ,
Fraud ,
Infectious Diseases ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Mobile Apps ,
Money Laundering ,
Mortgages ,
National Security ,
Oracle ,
Remote Learning ,
Social Media ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration ,
Wal-Mart
The latest on the potential Oracle/TikTok deal includes news that the Treasury Department has added requirements addressing “how TikTok’s data and source code would be handled and secured” to any potential deal that the...more
9/18/2020
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Big Data ,
Blue Bell Creameries ,
BSA/AML ,
China ,
Data Collection ,
Data Management ,
E-Commerce ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Markets ,
Food Contamination ,
Google ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Listeria ,
MetLife ,
Mobile Apps ,
National Security ,
Social Media ,
Stock Prices ,
Telecommuting ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration ,
Unemployment ,
Wal-Mart