On Friday, the SEC announced settled charges against Kraft Heinz Company, its Chief Operating Officer and Chief Procurement Officer for “engaging in a long-running expense management scheme that resulted in the restatement of...more
A World Trade Organization panel on Tuesday declared that the U.S.’s 2018 tariffs on China “violated international trade rules,” siding with China and its allegations that the White House’s trade war broke, among other...more
Two weeks ago, a federal court of appeals sided with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ruling that a district court could not require the testimony of three commissioners and various staff to assess whether the agency...more
The White House is reportedly extending the temporary license for some US businesses to work with Huawei, a move that would likely help smooth the way for trade negotiators between the US and China to see their way back to...more
GE—still in streamlining mode—agreed yesterday to sell its biopharma business to Danaher (current CEO Larry’s Culp’s former company, btw) for a reported $21.4 billion in the form of $21 billion in cash and $400 million in...more
With a high-level White House meeting on Friday, the US and China have extended trade talks, even as a “final deal remains elusive” (aka, nothing at all is in writing yet). It also appears that the purported progress is...more
Kraft Heinz dropped a double-whammy on investors on Thursday, announcing a $15 billion charge against its Kraft and Oscar Mayer brands and revealing news of an SEC subpoena related to the company’s accounting practices....more
We learned about KraftHeinz’s offer to merge with Unilever only after it had been rejected. And now it appears to be off the table completely—all $143 billion of it....more
Acting SEC Chair Michael Piwowar has reportedly scaled back some of the agency’s enforcement staff’s use of delegated authority by funneling all subpoena issuance and probe initiation through the SEC’s director of...more
The first FCPA enforcement action for 2017 landed with very little fanfare. The SEC reached a settlement with Mondelez International for $13 million. The facts surround the hiring of an agent in India and the failure of...more
In almost every Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement action, there are nuggets to be gleaned for any Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) or compliance practitioner. All one has to do is look for them. Back in 2012,...more
Kraft Foods Seeks to Appeal Trial Court Ruling on CFTC Manipulation Theories: Kraft Foods Group, Inc. and Mondelez Global LLC requested permission from the federal court hearing the enforcement action by the Commodity Futures...more
Open market manipulation cases present difficult issues regarding what constitutes market manipulation. Regulators, such as the SEC, CFTC and FERC, tend to focus on the element of intent. Defendants frequently argue that the...more
NYDFS Issues BitLicense Framework for Regulating Virtual Currency Firms - The New York State Department of Financial Services issued final regulations requiring a so-called “BitLicense” and establishing minimum...more
IOSCO Seeks Views on Business Continuity and Recovery Planning by Trading Venues and Intermediaries; NYS Warns on Third-Party Service Providers - The International Organization of Securities Commissions issued two...more
Manipulation Is Not Hedging Says CFTC in Federal Court Lawsuit Against Kraft Foods Group and Mondelez Global - The Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed a lawsuit against Kraft Foods Group, Inc. and Mondelez...more
The Second Circuit rejected a petition for rehearing by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Newman case. There the Court reversed and dismissed the insider trading actions against two traders based on the failure of the court...more