This Week in FCPA-Episode 58, the Declination Edition
Weekly Brief: Lawyers Advised To Accept New Reality
Though expected after its earlier move to cut its revenue forecast, Apple’s official quarterly profits reporting yesterday still disappointed, as the company posted its “first holiday-quarter drop in both revenue and profit...more
Uber’s throwing in the towel on Otto, its self-driving truck unit that was at the center of an IP-theft scandal with Waymo and will shift its focus to autonomous cars....more
Chalk up a major win for Carl Icahn. Icahn has forced Xerox’s CEO, Board Chair, and 5 other board members out of their jobs as part of a push by activist investors. The shake-up will jeopardize the company’s $6.1 billion...more
Breakingviews is raising an eyebrow at the news from yesterday about Broadcom’s unsolicited $105 billion offer for Qualcomm [the largest-ever proposed tech deal], especially in light of the “mountain of debt” Broadcom would...more
Meanwhile, some banking officials—including a BOE representative speaking in NYC yesterday—contend that the legal expenses related to financial misconduct enforcement actions and litigation (roughly $275 billion for global...more
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
Two Broker-Dealers to Pay US $154 Million to the State of NY and the SEC to Resolve Allegations of Wrongdoing by Their Dark Pools: Barclays Capital Inc. and Credit Suisse Securities settled allegations by the Securities and...more
The Commission filed another group of settled actions under its initiative regarding municipal bond underwriters. This time a group of fourteen actions were filed. Each centered largely on claims that the underwriter failed...more
In what would be the largest acquisition of a foreign corporation ever, state-owned ChemChina is nearing a deal to purchase Switzerland’s Syngenta (besting US-based Monsanto’s overtures to do the same). The deal could help...more
The SEC and the New York Attorney General announced settlements with Barclays Capital Inc. and Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC centered on the operation of dark pool trading venues. In the Matter of Barclays Capital Inc.,...more
News has emerged from China that online finance company Ezubao, a purported peer-to-peer lender, was running a Ponzi scheme that “bilked investors out of more than $7.6 billion, spent lavishly on gifts and salaries and buried...more
Despite an annual growth figure (2.4%) that matched 2014, 2015’s anemic Q4 economic figures (a mere .7% growth) is adding yet more fuel to the fire of those concerned about the ability of the US economy to withstand global...more
Chinese economic data has already been wreaking havoc on markets in 2016. So I shudder to think about the impact of the recently announced investigation by China’s anticorruption commission into the head of the country’s...more
A high-profile class action against Barclays over so-called high-frequency trading is heading into a key phase this month, with the court set to decide plaintiffs’ motion for class certification—a pivotal moment in the case’s...more
Last week, SDNY Judge Jesse Furman issued a 51 page decision in In Re: Barclays Liquidity Cross and High Frequency Trading Litigation dismissing all of the cases consolidated under the MDL. In these cases, investor...more
Charles Schwab Fined US $2 Million by FINRA for Net Capital Deficiencies: Charles Schwab & Co. agreed to pay US $2 million to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority to resolve allegations that it had net capital...more
Judge Furman of the SDNY Dismisses Claims Against Major Exchanges and Barclays, Holding That Facilitating HFT Does Not Constitute Actionable Market Manipulation - Judge Jesse Furman of the United States District Court...more
Last week, the New York Supreme Court denied Barclays’ motion to dismiss the New York Attorney General’s fraud claim against the bank, finding that the NYAG may proceed with its claim under New York’s Martin Act based on...more
Last spring popular author Michael Lewis described the world of high-frequency stock trades and dark pools in his book, Flash Boys. Between then and now, the New York Attorney General (“NYAG”), a group of public investors,...more
The New York Attorney General’s insider trading 2.0 investigation is apparently expanding. Initially the investigation concerned the limits of insider trading, pushing the issue into questions more akin to fairness and a...more