Back at it, and not quiet when I was gone. Let’s get caught up . . .
OxyContin-maker Purdue Pharma and its owners, the Sackler family, reached a deal this week with the state of Oklahoma in which they will pay “$270 million to avoid going to a state court trial over the company’s role in the opioid addiction epidemic that has killed more than 200,000 Americans over the past two decades.” The agreement suggests that Purdue and the Sacklers have moved into a new phase—largely focused on resolution—in dealing with the more-than 1,600 opioid-related lawsuits they currently face – NYTimes and WSJ and Law360
Boeing’s 373 Max 8 saga continues, and with it has come serious questions about the FAA’s delegation of regulatory responsibilities to the very industry players over whom the agency is meant to be keeping watch – NYTimes
The US International Trade Commission did some baby-splitting for Apple and Qualcomm yesterday, issuing victories for each company in two separate decisions as part of “their yearslong feud over patent licensing” – WSJ and Bloomberg
US and China trade talks are again officially underway, with senior officials meeting in Beijing this week before heading to D.C. next week (and with a long and often difficult history between the countries in mind) – Bloomberg and NYTimes
A UK jury convicted Ex-Barclays swaps trader Carlo Palombo (but acquitted junior trader Sisse Bohart) on charges of “manipulating a key European interest rate reference for financial gain” in their London-based retrial – Law360
Already plenty of thoughts from all sides on the White House’s controversial expected nominee for a seat on the Federal Reserve, Stephen Moore – NYTimes
The SEC has bestowed $50 million in awards on two JPMorgan whistleblowers for their role in assisting the agency in what turned into a $307 million settlement between the bank and regulators over charges “it failed to disclose conflicts of interest to its wealth management customers” – WSJ and Law360
Uber is acquiring its top Middle-East Rival, Careem, as part of a $3.1 billion deal meant to help Uber shore up what’s been a losing proposition in that part of the world ahead of its coming IPO – NYTimes
Speaking of ride-hailing companies, Lyft is expected to list its shares above the targeted $62-68 range when it goes public on Friday – WSJ
The latest from PM May’s Brexit nightmare (including the precise moment when the nightmare officially becomes Parliament’s to own) – Bloomberg
First there was GDPR. Now, a new European online copyright law is set to disrupt the internet and the tech companies that control so much of it by requiring “technology platforms to sign licensing agreements with musicians, authors, and news publishers in order to post their work online.” The law is meant to take aim at Google and Facebook, but the possibility of unintended consequences is very, very high – NYTimes and MarketWatch and Law360
The City of Baltimore is accusing 10 major banks, including Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and JPMorgan of conspiring “to inflate the interest rates on city-issued bonds,” claiming that the collusion cost municipal issuers “billions of dollars” in overcharges – Law360
Mickey D’s is turning to AI in a big way (via its $300 million Dynamic Yield acquisition) as part of a new effort to boost sales – Marketplace and Mashable
A bit of behind-the-scenes action at one of the most famous ceilings in all of history – WSJ
