Law

Holding: U.S. fraud prosecutors miss more than hit

9 Aug 2018

A likely skewering of Trump campaign chief Paul Manafort won’t erase flubs against ex-Jefferies and Cantor traders or sharp drops in white-collar cases. Watchdogs were rightly scolded for pursuing too few financial-crisis miscreants. They haven’t yet learned their lesson.

Trumponomics flirts with more debt and inequality

31 Jul 2018

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin wants to cut capital-gains tax bills by accounting for inflation. It’s sensible to assess the true value of costs and profit. But it’d mostly benefit the wealthy and add to what may be a $1.1 trln deficit in 2019. It also smacks of self-interest.

Holding: M&A lawsuit cures could turn toxic

24 Jul 2018

Delaware’s efforts to cut frivolous U.S. deal litigation have pushed cases from state to federal courts, a new study shows. There, too, marginal suits that benefit only lawyers should be discouraged, but cracking down runs the risk of letting dodgy transactions off the hook.

UK seeks awkward balance between M&A and security

24 Jul 2018

New plans to screen foreign purchases of British companies echo moves by countries such as France and are fairly sensible. However, they also increase politicians’ scope to meddle. That won’t make it any easier for the government to tout its open-market credentials post-Brexit.

Danske tries to cauterize money-laundering wound

18 Jul 2018

Giving away gross profit from suspicious Estonian transactions could cost the Copenhagen-based lender up to $234 mln, or 8 pct of forecast earnings for 2018. The pledge may draw the sting of punishment from Danish authorities. But the bigger financial threat comes from the U.S.

Europe airlines show strike pain is for passengers

18 Jul 2018

EasyJet expects a 45 pct rise in pre-tax profit in 2018 thanks to more passengers and charges on checked bags. The limited damage that French air controllers’ strikes inflicted on the company and its peers reveals such disruptions are more a problem for customers than carriers.

AT&T throws bone to antitrust watchdogs

13 Jul 2018

The U.S. Justice Dept faces high hurdles in appealing a harsh ruling that cleared the $85 bln purchase of Time Warner. But since the deal closed, AT&T is raising some customer prices. The hikes came after the DOJ lost its case, but could still sway the court of public opinion.

Viewsroom: Trump’s Supreme Court pick

12 Jul 2018

The U.S. president has chosen a friend of big business in Brett Kavanaugh. But he faces bigger questions from Senate democrats about executive power. Plus: Commodity giant Glencore faces mounting risks in Washington, and what’s behind the Chinese yuan’s downward slide.

Holding: Brett Kavanaugh means business on speech

12 Jul 2018

Donald Trump’s Supreme Court pick would allow public companies to cut back on disclosure, internet service providers to discriminate against certain content and cable firms to block rivals’ programming. It’s a First Amendment message investors and consumers won’t want to hear.

U.S. salvo at Glencore has unintended consequences

12 Jul 2018

A request for details on anti-corruption practices wiped more than $6 bln off the commodities giant's value in a week, raising questions over its future. Yet action is not without a sting for Washington too - if it leaves China even more dominant in resource-rich trouble spots.

Trump’s court pick a deregulatory gift to business

9 Jul 2018

Brett Kavanaugh, the president's Supreme Court nominee, has ruled against the consumer protection agency and net neutrality. His staunch conservatism ensures Democratic resistance. But if Republican numbers prevail, he can tilt the judicial balance to the right for a generation.

Weed wafts gently into investors’ portfolios

6 Jul 2018

Investors are warming to the devil’s lettuce. The action is mostly in Canada, which has over $25 bln of listed cannabis stocks, and rising volumes of M&A. But the U.S. is positioned to provide the metaphorical pickaxes, and big consumer brands will be watching for legal changes.

Glencore’s Washington risks are starting to add up

3 Jul 2018

The resources giant’s shares fell 12 pct after the U.S. asked for details of anti-corruption compliance in Nigeria, Congo and Venezuela. Glencore’s geographies mean this is always a danger. But a June settlement with U.S-sanctioned Dan Gertler won’t have endeared it to Uncle Sam.

Tech backlash grows in Silicon Valley’s back yard

2 Jul 2018

California will force internet companies like Google to give consumers more control over their information and stop it being sold to third parties. The law is narrow but the Golden State is often a litmus test for legislation that takes hold nationwide.

Cox: If GE can break up, so can the United States

28 Jun 2018

Over a century the industrial conglomerate became too unwieldy to manage, unaccountable to stakeholders and financially undisciplined. Sound familiar? What works for corporate America could be applied to the government of a divided country showing similar symptoms of distress.

Pro-business Supreme Court has dangerous downside

27 Jun 2018

Donald Trump gets to name a second top justice after Anthony Kennedy said he will retire. That favors companies, but may go against their interest on issues they care about, like immigration. The painful and divisive process of getting Senate approval could cause lasting damage.

Holding: Wall Street may soon feel the SEC’s pain

27 Jun 2018

Bankers might like a Supreme Court smackdown of the watchdog’s in-house judges. But that, and a lesser-known ruling last week, portend trouble. Both could weaken the regulator and push more cases into federal court. As BofA and Citi can attest, that’s a mixed blessing at best.

Softer U.S. China plan is no comfort for investors

27 Jun 2018

President Donald Trump rationally chose to use national-security deal reviews to restrict Chinese investment. It’s a win for his Treasury secretary over trade hardliners. But the review body is opaque, mixed messages have confused markets, and Trump still wants auto tariffs.

Facebook D.C. probe could open a can of worms

26 Jun 2018

Congress wants to hold the social-media platform accountable for Russian election meddling and other concerns. That could affect a key protection for internet firms, which have broad legal immunity for posted content. Reducing it would expose them to a rash of costly lawsuits.

High Times’ creative financing is far out

20 Jun 2018

The marijuana magazine is using a novel crowdfunding method to sell discounted shares before it goes public. Legalization efforts could generate buzz and draw crowds to the company’s events. But the publishing industry remains tough, and investors’ money could go up in smoke.