Compliance Perspectives: Volkswagen's Transformation
Daily Compliance News: March 3, 2020, the Devil’s Advocate edition
Compliance into the Weeds-Episode 62, Sentencing of VW Employee Oliver Schmidt
Day 20: What Does Innovation in Compliance Look Like?
Auditing giant Ernst & Young will pay $100 million to U.S. authorities as part of a deal to resolve claims that “some of its auditors had cheated on ethics exams—and that the firm had done nothing to stop the practice.” That...more
Rhode Island Federal Court Dismisses Securities Class Action Against CVS Arising From Statements Made After Omnicare Acquisition; SEC Division of Corporation Finance Suggests Companies Issue Additional Disclosures When...more
Federal authorities are prepping to “reprimand Citigroup Inc. for failing to improve its risk-management systems—an expansive set of technology and procedures designed to detect problematic transactions, risky trades and...more
It is not uncommon for various government agencies and offices to investigate the same company, particularly following a major scandal. We have grown accustomed to seeing simultaneous investigations by the U.S. Department of...more
We Work’s largest investor, SoftBank, is reportedly sketching out plans in which it would drop billions of additional money on the company in return for giving Masa Son control of WeWork “and further sidelin[ing] its founder...more
Prorogate this, Boris. In an “unprecedented” ruling, the UK’s supreme court deemed the Prime Minister’s Brexit-driven suspension of Parliament “unlawful, void and of no effect” this morning and called on the body to reconvene...more
A volatile August on Wall Street has insiders asking whether we should be taking our cues from 1998 or 2007. With that in mind, our financial term of the week is “countercyclical capital buffer,” a wonkish special for you...more
Lots more details on what turned out to be something of a bloodbath for Deutsche Bank employees around the world, with the bank starting to make good yesterday on its plans to cut nearly 18,000 employees worldwide – NYTimes...more
Well, that was short lived. FiatChrysler broke news late yesterday that it’s withdrawing its offer to merge with France’s Renault, mere weeks after the companies bowled over the auto world with the proposal. Fiat blamed the...more
True, the economic headwinds weren’t its fault, but boy—not a banner debut for Uber after years of speculation and waiting....more
The recent SEC enforcement action against Volkswagen AG and its former CEO illustrates the securities law consequences of operational wrongdoing. As described by the SEC, from at least 2007 through 2015, Volkswagen sold...more
Just days after Facebook announced its shift to more private communications, the company’s chief product officer (and longtime Zuck inner-circler) Chris Cox and WhatsApp head Chris Daniels are both heading out the door,...more
The Fed will wrap up its Open Markets Committee meeting today, and the recent dive on Wall Street has rather suddenly brought a bit of drama to what was a long-promised rate hike. Here’s a bit of background on what it’s been...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
OMB official Kathleen Kraninger is likely to face serious questions as she takes to the Hill today to begin confirmation hearings for her surprise nomination to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Why? Her lack of...more
After more than 110 years as one of its mainstays, General Electric is out of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. It will be replaced by drugstore retailer Walgreens Boots Alliance....more
This case stems from alleged misstatement made by Volkswagen Group of America Finance (“VWGoAF”) in an Offering Memorandum governing the issuance of three sets of bonds. The bonds were offered in private placements with...more
The notoriously close-to-the-vest Amazon revealed for the first time yesterday in a letter to shareholders that its popular Prime program boasts more than 100 million paid members globally....more
More than 3 years after admitting to cheating on diesel emissions tests, Volkswagen appears poised to oust CEO Matthias Muller—likely in favor of former BMW exec Herbert Diess....more
Breakingviews on what the White House’s intervention into Broadcom’s [dropped] bid for Qualcomm could mean for the US-based chip maker. [Hint, it involves China, and it’s not great for the big Q]....more
ECB Chief Mario Draghi’s having none of the US Treasury Secretary’s recent weak-dollar talk, accusing the US official, in not so many words, of “violating agreements among nations against starting currency wars”....more
A nearly $5 billion deal between French energy company Total and the oil and gas arm of Danish shipping giant Maersk is making waves this morning. Total will also assume a few tankers-full of Maersk Oil’s debt....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
When Regulatory Failings Turn Criminal: Car Edition Redux - Why it matters: To paraphrase the famous quote from the film “All About Eve”: Fasten your seatbelts, it’s going to be a bumpy car ride. In the first part of...more
Just when we thought 2016 was over and we could all breathe a sigh of relief, DOJ and the SEC have continued to run with a string of new enforcement actions. To all of those prognosticators, paparazzi, commentators, chicken...more