U.S. and Chinese trade negotiators are “laying the groundwork for a delay of a fresh round of tariffs set to kick in on Dec. 15” as the countries continue to work through how a Chinese promise to make huge ag purchases from...more
A drone attack on Saudi Aramco oilfields this weekend affected 5% of global production and sent “energy prices substantially higher” late Sunday and early today. Analysts don’t anticipate a “severe shock to energy markets and...more
In order to comply with European antitrust rulings against it earlier this year, Google announced that for the first time it will begin charging telephone handset manufacturers to install Gmail, Google Maps, and other popular...more
Markets are joining the American mid-Atlantic and East Coast in bracing for Hurricane Florence and the estimated $27 billion in damages it could bring with it....more
Anbang Insurance founder Wu Xiahoui’s fall from grace now includes an 18-year prison sentence for his conviction by a Shanghai court for using Anbang to “cheat investors out of more than $10 billion”....more
On March 6, 2018, New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced that the State of New York has reached a settlement with RBS Financial Products Inc. f/k/a Greenwich Capital Financial Products, Inc. (“RBS“) to...more
Financial Industry Developments - FHFA Announces $5.5 Billion Settlement With Royal Bank of Scotland - On July 12, 2017, the Federal Housing Finance Agency ("FHFA"), as conservator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,...more
We’ve got a number for that Wells Fargo settlement/fine, and it’s a doozy: $185 million for illegal banking practices (including secretly issuing credit cards without customer consent, signing up customers for online banking...more
On August 12, 2016, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. (“MassMutual”) and RBS jointly moved to dismiss MassMutual’s $235 million RMBS claim, stating that the parties had reached a confidential settlement agreement....more
It was House day for Chair Yellen on the Hill, and if you guessed that in this election year her final appearance before this Congress was more about her questioners scoring political points than it was anything related to...more
On April 25, 2016, the Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle (“FHLBS”) agreed to a $190 million settlement with Bank of America in connection with multiple lawsuits filed in 2010 stemming from the sale of hundreds of millions of...more
On April 11, Goldman Sachs agreed to pay roughly $5.1 billion in a settlement with federal and state officials regarding the marketing and sale of RMBS during the years leading up to the financial crisis. The settlement is...more
On March 29, Barclays Capital Inc. and Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. jointly moved pursuant to a confidential settlement agreement for dismissal of an action brought by MassMutual. MassMutual brought claims under...more
On February 11, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Attorney General of State of New York announced dual settlement agreements with Morgan Stanley providing for the payment of $3.2 billion. The settlements relate to Morgan...more
On January 29, Morgan Stanley and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation agreed to settle five suits encompassing state and federal claims alleging that Morgan Stanley made misrepresentations in offering residential...more
On February 2, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services settled claims brought by the Department of Justice, 19 states and the District of Columbia related to credit ratings it issued and maintained for RMBS and CDOs before the...more