Hosted Payload S2.E1: Caroline Van Wie/Working Girl
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
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
May saw a huge jump in consumer activity to the tune of +17.7%, as Americans unleashed their pent-up demand. It was welcome news for markets and beyond, but “the underlying data presents a more complicated picture and shows...more
In his 2016 presidential campaign, Donald Trump frequently expressed populist themes, rhetorically criticizing “big business” and “special interests,” and signaled an activist antitrust agenda with his comment in October 2016...more
As pretty much expected, the Federal Reserve cut interest rates a quarter point again yesterday, its second cut since late July. Fed Chair Powell also indicated in remarks after the FOMC broke that a “‘more extensive’ series...more
Since the beginning of the Trump Administration, the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) has captured headlines for its aggressive public stance regarding merger enforcement. Actions attracting attention...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
Germany’s diesel emissions scandal bears a lot of resemblances to the Wells Fargo debacle here at home. It just can’t seem to quit itself. This week, we’ve learned that German authorities have opened a criminal inquiry into...more
Tariffs were a hot topic at this weekend’s G-7 meeting in Canada, and as we’ve seen over the past weeks, it was once again the US vs. the world....more
We continue our Hunter S. Thompson themed week in honor of Michael Cohen and his Essential Consulting LLC entity. Today we honor Thompson’s alter ego Uncle Duke. For those who might not know just who Uncle Duke might be, you...more
We continue our Hunter S. Thompson themed week in honor of Michael Cohen and his Essential Consulting LLC entity and his work which he sardonically named “Project Sunlight”. There may not be a finer example of full Gonzo...more
I hope you were able to check out the first ever Compliance Into The Weeds emergency podcast, where Matt Kelly and myself took a look at some of the initial information which came out about the payments to the president’s...more
Some inside baseball on how Sprint and T-Mobile are likely to try to convince suspicious regulators that their merger is a good thing. Hint: it has a lot to do with China and 5G....more
On April 4, 2018, Skadden hosted a webinar titled “Year Two of Trump Antitrust Merger Enforcement: What to Expect in 2018.” The Skadden panelists were antitrust/competition global head Steven C. Sunshine and...more
Fast Facts - There are signs that the six-year trend toward longer significant investigations may be slowing or reversing. - Significant U.S. merger investigations lasted an average of 9.7 months in Q1 2018, the second...more
The White House’s protectionist plan to impose roughly $60 billion in annual tariffs on Chinese imports went over like a lead balloon on Wall Street, sparking fears of a trade war, increased volatility, and unintended ripple...more
Antitrust merger enforcement historically has focused on horizontal mergers — consolidation of two firms that compete directly in the same space. This is especially true in the U.S., where antitrust authorities have...more
Busy January: Congress has left town with a long list of items that it will need to handle in January and throughout the first quarter of 2018. The continuing resolution that Congress just passed only funds the government...more
Shortly after the Justice Department’s challenge to AT&T’s acquisition of Time Warner was announced, a rumor floated that AT&T had offered to divest CNN to assuage the Division’s concerns. The gist of the rumor was that the...more
According to several news outlets, the Department of Justice has called on AT&T and Time Warner to sell DirectTV or Turner Broadcasting, which includes CNN, in order to gain approval of AT&T's $84.5 billion acquisition of...more
The bond market seems to have a pretty good guess of things to come, at least. The bond market lost more than $1 trillion in value last week, and 30-year US bond yields rose the most since January 2009—all in anticipation of...more
Now that the dust has settled on this turbulent campaign season, everyone is in the prediction game, especially when it comes to FCPA enforcement. It is easy to make predictions of significant change. It is easy to take...more