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
Bloomberg is reporting that Walgreens Boots is weighing a potential deal “to take the company private in what could become the largest leveraged buyout in history.” PE firms like KKR are apparently in the mix to assist in the...more
AT&T announced yesterday that it’s resolved an ongoing battle with activist Paul Singer and his Elliott Management by agreeing to keep CEO Randall Stephenson on the job through “at least 2020,” with the chair and CEO roles to...more
Prorogate this, Boris. In an “unprecedented” ruling, the UK’s supreme court deemed the Prime Minister’s Brexit-driven suspension of Parliament “unlawful, void and of no effect” this morning and called on the body to reconvene...more
The Federal Reserve took the rare step yesterday of stepping “into financial markets . . . to keep interest rates from rising above its target, the first time the central bank has had to carry out this type of ‘market...more
One can prorogate all one wants, but raise the ire of British MPs, and a price will be paid, my friends. So goes the story for PM Boris Johnson, against whom British lawmakers “rose up” on Monday to “prevent him from taking...more
The DC Circuit Court of Appeals dealt the DOJ a blow yesterday with a ruling that “rejected the government’s claim that a lower court had applied antitrust laws incorrectly in allowing the merger” between AT&T and Time Warner...more
JPMorgan has agreed to pay $65 million to US authorities [in the form of the CFTC] to resolve allegations that its traders attempted to manipulate the benchmark rate known as ISDAfix....more
In what can only be described as a Lazarus-like return, the Ex-Im Bank is reportedly nearly back on its feet again. The White House has chosen Kimberly Reed to helm the agency after prior nominee Scott Garrett was rejected by...more
Snap’s awful Q3 be damned—Chinese tech giant Tencent has increased its stake in the company to more than 12% thanks to shares it purchased on the open market....more
Mylan will pay $465 million to federal authorities to resolve claims that it overcharged the Medicaid program by millions for its EpiPen products. Though large, the figure represents about a third of the estimated...more
With Fitch and DBRS [by most measures, the #3 and #4 rating agencies in a 3-player game] doling out AAA ratings for bonds backed by non-qualified mortgages that Moody’s has dubbed “risky.” Well worth keeping an eye on this...more