More than a bit of drama in the auto world yesterday, with General Motors suing rival Fiat Chrysler, accusing it of “bribing United Auto Workers officials to gain competitive advantages in contract negotiations.” The UAW’s president resigned within hours of GM’s filing – NYTimes and WSJ and Bloomberg and MarketWatch and Law360
The latest from the Fed’s minutes suggest that central bank officials have no plans to cut interest rates again “unless economic data begins to show cracks,” despite continued White House pressure to go lower – NYTimes and WSJ and Bloomberg and MarketWatch
CNBC is reporting that brokerage industry giant Charles Schwab is in negotiations to buy rival TD Ameritrade for $26 billion—a deal that would create a nearly $80 billion behemoth and that could be announced as soon as later today – CNBC and FoxBusiness and Bloomberg
Amazon, whose tentacles now reach beyond the retail world and into industries far beyond, appears to have found another way to spread the cult of Bezos far and wide: exporting chief execs – WSJ
Google has reportedly hired IRI Consultants, a well-known anti-union consulting firm, to advise the company “as it deals with widespread worker unrest, including accusations that it has retaliated against organizers of a global walkout and cracked down on dissent inside the company” – NYTimes
A SDNY jury has convicted former JPMorgan forex trader Akshay Aiyer of “scheming to fix currency prices to boost his earnings,” finding him guilty of conspiring to “restrain trade in violation of the Sherman Act” – Law360
The White House has hinted that despite delays in reaching a trade pact with China, it may be willing to offer Apple exemptions on coming rounds of China tariffs – WSJ and Marketplace
Those delays are starting to give markets the heebie jeebies – MarketWatch
Insurance giant Aon is acquiring CoverWallet, an online insurance platform startup that focuses on quotes and policies for small and midsize businesses without requiring them to speak to an agent—all part of a move by Aon into the small-business insurance market and its estimated $100 billion in annual premiums – WSJ
PayPal announced on Wednesday that it agreed to buy shopping and rewards platform Honey Science Corp. for roughly $4 billion in an effort to increase “sales and customer engagement” for its merchants- MarketWatch
Some interesting thoughts on what the current hyper-polarized environment has to do with a resurgence in popularity of 80s icons like Dolly Parton and Mr. Rogers – WSJ