JPMorgan's attempt to gain 100% control of its Chinese securities company will most likely be successful as China recently agreed to open its economy to more foreign investment. In January of this year, the United States and China signed a trade agreement ("the "Trade Agreement"), which eased a trade war between the two countries. (Jacob Pramuk, CNBC) The Trade Deal requires China to abide by certain commitments, which include opening its foreign market. (Bloomberg News) China is expected to eliminate its foreign equity limits, which will allow US-owned services to participate in the securities market as full owners of firms as opposed to partial owners. Id. JPMorgan's history in China – and China's willingness to open its economy – makes JPMorgan’s plan to fully own its venture a strong possibility.
Read MoreOn December 18, 2019, Barstool Sports, Inc. (“Barstool”) reached an informal settlement with the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) that calls for the deletion of tweets and removal of other anti-union material created by the company. (Settlement Agreement, Case 31-CA-246638). This settlement comes just four months after Barstool’s co-founder David Portnoy (“Portnoy”) drew criticism for posting anti-union tweets on behalf of the company.
Read MoreIn U.S. v. Collins, 409 F.Supp.3d 228 (S.D.N.Y. 2019), former United States Representative Chris Collins (“Collins”), a New York Republican, plead guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud and lying to federal investigators. The court sentenced him to 26 months in prison after hearing arguments from both Collins and the government, and receiving dozens of letters from Collins’s former constituents overwhelmingly urging a harsh sentence. Collins, who resigned from the House of Representatives (“The House”) in the wake of his indictment, became the first sitting member of The House to be charged with insider trading.
Read MoreAfter a three-year campaign by Shari Redstone, Chairwoman of the two companies and daughter of media mogul and billionaire Sumner Redstone, Viacom and CBS merged to become ViacomCBS, Inc. on December 4, 2019 in an all-stock transaction worth nearly $12 billion. (Meg James, Los Angeles Times). The newly merged company was listed on the Nasdaq on December 5, 2019 under the tickers “VIACA” as the Class A stock and “VIAC” as the Class B stock. (Staff, Business Wire). CBS and Viacom are two mass media companies that create and distribute content across a variety of platforms in almost every field of media and entertainment. Id. In previous years, the two companies have merged twice with their most recent merge occurring in 1999, lasting until 2006 where Sumner Redstone split the merged entity. (Jonathan Barr, Forbes). This history makes the two media giants no strangers to federal regulatory authorities, and the merger follows the lead of other major players in the entertainment industry (“Big Media”).
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In the booming era of blockchain, Facebook’s Libra Association markets itself as an “independent, not-for-profit, membership organization, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland” aiming to increase access to the global financial system and services. (Libra.org). In a world where 1.7 billion adults don’t have adequate access to the global financial system, Libra’s cryptocurrency claims it has the answer. (Id.) Through distributed network governance, open internet access, and cryptography security, cryptocurrencies aim to increase accessibility to financial services. (Id.) Yet, the volatility and value fluctuation of existing cryptocurrencies has hindered their adoption by the mainstream market. (Id.)
Read MoreBlackRock Inc. (“BlackRock”), one of the three largest asset management firms in the United States, announced in January that sustainability will be a significant consideration in future investment decisions. The firm’s announcement is a drastic change in its investment policy that has been met with mixed support from activist groups. While there is mixed sentiment about the sincerity of BlackRock’s announcement, the firm may be laying the foundation for other investment management groups to mimic as they implement strategies for minimizing the risks of climate change in their clients’ portfolios.
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