FCC Chair Ajit Pai gave his agency’s stamp of approval to the pending $26 billion T-Mobile/Sprint merger on Monday, helping move the deal towards completion based on pledges from the companies to develop “a robust 5G network...more
This issue of Skadden’s semiannual Cross-Border Investigations Update takes a close look at recent cases, regulatory activity and other key developments, including DOJ guidance on the use of corporate monitors in criminal...more
A recap of Friday’s GDP numbers, which featured both a strong 3.5% growth rate and early signs that “the growth could cool in coming months”...more
The Federal Reserve bank released the minutes from its September meeting yesterday. Among other things, we learned that the Fed Governors moved largely in lockstep on September’s rate hike, even as the crew was less unanimous...more
The FBI and OCC have each launched inquiries into pricing practices within American Express’s forex unit with an aim to determine “whether the foreign-exchange international payments department misrepresented pricing to...more
Here’s all you need to know from the Fed minutes released yesterday, including next month’s rate increase, an apparent plan to continue rate hikes at their gradual pace (unless White House trade policies “scramble their...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
The world’s keeping a wary eye on Turkey’s economic well-being, especially given the precipitous drop in the value of the country’s currency (which has pushed up prices for consumers and corporations) and President Erdogan’s...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
Notwithstanding Lloyd’s assurances that the rumors of his demise are premature, Goldman has cleared the path forward for David Solomon (aka, one of its current co-Presidents, aka, DJ D-Sol) to assume the CEO position when Mr....more
More trouble for Wells Fargo, this time involving its Forex operation, which an internal investigation revealed was plagued by routine overcharging of customers and other questionable practices by bankers engaged in a battle...more
The Peltz/P&G drama continues, with the company suggesting that Trian has lost its bid for a Board seat and the fund arguing that it disagrees with the company’s counting of the ballots....more
Uber’s Board of Directors has officially voted to realign the power balance at the company, reducing the clout of ousted CEO Travis Kalanick, and setting the stage for a stock sale to SoftBank. Oh yeah, and prepping for that...more
Hoping to reverse recent years of struggles, J. Crew is bidding farewell to CEO Mickey Drexler (though he’ll stay on as chairman) in favor of West Elm’s James Brett....more
The City of Cincinnati is suing Harbour Portfolio Advisors—“one of the nation’s largest sellers of foreclosed homes”—for skipping out on housing code violations and for targeting buyers with “predatory and unconscionable”...more
SoftBank’s been burning up the deal scene in recent months (Fortress, anyone?), and it keeps right on rolling by helping orchestrate the merger of satellite operator and investee OneWeb with Intelsat in a bid to increase...more
The emissions cheating scandal that recently cost VW $4.3 billion and a mess of criminal indictments isn’t, it seems, confined to the Germans. We heard months ago about a similar probe into Mitsubishi, and yesterday we...more
The Fed’s anticipating faster growth in the coming year and rate increases to go with it. That and a whole lot of uncertainty about the incoming administration are the big takeaways from the Fed’s December meeting minutes....more
As most expected, the Fed held rates steady yesterday. Though its divided FOMC and Chair Yellen’s comments about an improving economy seem to portend a rate hike before the end of the year....more
And after all the sturm und drang surrounding the Hershey Trust and the Mondelez buyout offer over these past few months . . . it’s over. Mondelez announced yesterday that it’s no longer seeking to acquire the Hershey...more
We heard last week about Unilever’s $1 billion acquisition of start-up Dollar Shave Club. With a few days to reflect, the Deal Professor suggests that this relatively innocuous deal should make “every other company . . . very...more
It appears that Alaska Airlines has won in the pursuit of Virgin America’s operations, beating out rival JetBlue for the former Richard Branson venture. Alaska announced this morning that “had agreed to acquire Virgin America...more
Regulatory Developments - SEC Proposes New Derivatives Rules for Registered Investment Companies and Business Development Companies - On Dec. 11, the SEC proposed new Rule 18f-4 under the Investment Company Act,...more
NY state regulators have tagged Barclays with an extra $150 million in fines for its role in a Forex-manipulation scandal that’s already cost the bank $2.4 billion – NYTimes and Law360... As expected, the minutes from...more
Alleged Flash Crasher's Formal Indictment Provides More Details Regarding His Purported Spoofing - The US Department of Justice filed a formal indictment against Navinder Singh Sarao in a US federal court in Chicago on...more