The Deal Professor weighs in on Yahoo’s announcement last week of the hack of roughly 500 million of its customers’ data and the specter of the MAC (material adverse change) that Verizon may choose to invoke to dance away...more
9/26/2016
/ Acquisitions ,
Bank Accounts ,
Banking Sector ,
Cross-Selling ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Distressed Debt ,
Google ,
Hackers ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Insurance Industry ,
Material Adverse Effects ,
Mergers ,
Mortgage Loan Originators ,
Mortgages ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Salesforce ,
Search Engines ,
Snapchat ,
Social Media ,
Stress Tests ,
Takeover Bids ,
Twitter ,
Verizon ,
Wells Fargo ,
Yahoo!
Well, see, Yahoo just doesn’t have enough on its plate these days. So why not the revelation that hackers stole data on 500 million users in 2014? The hack—thought to be a state-sponsored affair—is likely the biggest data...more
9/23/2016
/ Anbang ,
Apple ,
Bank Accounts ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Corporate Culture ,
Cross-Selling ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Data Breach ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Financial Markets ,
Hackers ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Insider Trading ,
Marriott ,
Search Engines ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Tesla ,
Tone At The Top ,
Wall Street ,
Wells Fargo ,
Yahoo!
As most expected, the Fed held rates steady yesterday. Though its divided FOMC and Chair Yellen’s comments about an improving economy seem to portend a rate hike before the end of the year....more
9/22/2016
/ Anthem Blue Cross ,
Banks ,
CIGNA ,
Energy Sector ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Foreclosure ,
Forex ,
Insider Trading ,
Interest Rates ,
Market Manipulation ,
Mortgages ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
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 hits just keep on coming for Wells Fargo, who now is facing questions about its failure to prime the market for news of its $185 million SEC settlement earlier this month. The main concern with that tack is that Wells...more
9/20/2016
/ Bank Accounts ,
Banks ,
Elon Musk ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Government Investigations ,
Mergers ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement ,
Tesla ,
Unjust Enrichment ,
Wells Fargo
Gretchen Morgenson and Fair Game have had a few days to reflect on the Bayer/Monsanto deal, and with that little bit of hindsight (and a lot of history), she’s not too sure that Bayer’s stockholders are going to be thrilled...more
9/19/2016
/ Agribusiness ,
Bank Accounts ,
Banks ,
Bayer ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Fees ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
High Frequency Trading ,
Job Creation ,
Mergers ,
Monsanto ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prepaid Payment Products ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
RMBS ,
Unemployment ,
Wells Fargo
The DOJ has reportedly proposed an eye-popping $14 billion settlement with Deutsche Bank to resolve MBS-related probes, though insiders caution that this is likely an outsized opening bid and that the ultimate settlement will...more
The Committee on Capital Markets Regulation—a nonprofit that represents execs from many of the US’s largest banks—will release a paper today arguing that the Fed illegally sidestepped the APA by adopting “central parts of its...more
9/15/2016
/ Agribusiness ,
Algorithmic Trading ,
Bank Accounts ,
Banks ,
Bayer ,
Bonds ,
Capital Markets ,
Dark Pool ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Financial Institutions ,
General Motors ,
Mergers ,
Monsanto ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stress Tests ,
Transparency ,
Wells Fargo
Following news of Starboard Value’s plan to shake things up at Perrigo, we have this take from Breakingviews, which suggests that fending off a hostile takeover (as Perrigo did from Mylan) tends to “make fertile turf for an...more
9/14/2016
/ Activist Investors ,
Bank Accounts ,
Bayer ,
Class Action ,
Fees ,
Financial Institutions ,
Foreign Currency ,
Hostile Takeover ,
Loans ,
Mergers ,
Monsanto ,
Mortgages ,
Oil & Gas ,
PNC ,
UK ,
Wells Fargo
In a closely watched and dissected speech yesterday, Federal Reserve governor Lael Brainard told the crowd gathered at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs that she favored “prudence” in raising rates despite recent signs of...more
9/13/2016
/ Agricultural Sector ,
Bank Accounts ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Financial Markets ,
Hedge Funds ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Mergers ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Stocks ,
Wells Fargo
We’ve got a number for that Wells Fargo settlement/fine, and it’s a doozy: $185 million for illegal banking practices (including secretly issuing credit cards without customer consent, signing up customers for online banking...more
9/9/2016
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Commodities ,
Cybersecurity ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Discovery ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Fraud ,
Healthcare ,
Junk Bonds ,
Private Equity ,
RMBS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Wells Fargo
In a move anticipated over the past year or so, Caliber Home Loans—with PE Lone Star Funds’ backing—is making more loans to “borrowers with spotty credit histories.” A euphemism for subprime, by the way. That targeting has...more
9/8/2016
/ Apple ,
Barclays ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Cross-Selling ,
Cybersecurity ,
Dark Pool ,
EU ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinTech ,
Hackers ,
Interest Rates ,
iPhone ,
Misrepresentation ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Mortgages ,
Real Estate Market ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Shareholders ,
Subprime Loans ,
UK ,
Wells Fargo
Canada’s signaled an interest in joining the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank—often seen as China’s answer to the World Bank. The bid is controversial at home for new PM Justin Trudeau, but it reflects the...more
9/1/2016
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Canada ,
China ,
Commerzbank ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Elon Musk ,
Financial Crisis ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Reporting ,
Lehman Brothers ,
Mergers ,
Puerto Rico ,
Student Loans ,
Tesla ,
UK ,
Wells Fargo
A pair of whistleblowers is seeking discovery-related sanctions against Wells Fargo for allegedly concealing “crucial evidence” for their False Claims Act claims over fees added to government-backed mortgages....more
7/28/2016
/ Banking Sector ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Deutsche Bank ,
EU ,
Facebook ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Financial Crimes ,
FOMC ,
Fraud ,
Lloyds Banking Group ,
Member State ,
Mortgages ,
Profits ,
Referendums ,
RMBS ,
UK Brexit ,
Wells Fargo ,
Whistleblowers
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
Manhattan USA Preet Bharara’s back in front of the cameras and back on the insider-trading horse with the announcement yesterday of criminal charges against well-known sports bettor Billy Walters and former investment banker...more
5/20/2016
/ Apple ,
Banks ,
Bipartisan Agreement ,
Blockchain ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Financial Institutions ,
Form 10-Q ,
Gambling ,
General Mills ,
Hackers ,
Illegal Tipping ,
Insider Trading ,
Merger Agreements ,
Monsanto ,
Puerto Rico ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Sovereign Debt ,
Valeant ,
Venture Capital ,
Wells Fargo ,
Yahoo!
Solid economic data helped propel US stocks yesterday, with the Dow posting an impressive 350-point gain – WSJ and Bloomberg...
Honeywell has again dropped its merger overtures to United Technologies, a move UT...more
Japan’s Sharp Corp.—a 103-year-old company that’s progressed from mechanical pencils (“Ever-SHARP”) to calculators to LCD TVs—has surprised many by agreeing to a $6.24 billion takeover offer from Taiwan’s Foxconn (best known...more
The Supreme Court just added a “Part IV” to the Times’ series on the impact of arbitration clauses on average consumers – NYTimes...
Dealbook’s White Collar Watch column asks what makes a misstatement material in a...more