In 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.
Read MoreGovernments worldwide are struggling to keep up with how to regulate new decentralized online currencies as blockchain platforms become more prominent across financial networks. (David Tweed, Bloomberg). But even though an increasing number of investors utilize cryptocurrencies, many are still confused about how to treat virtual currency for tax purposes. (Kelly Phillips, Forbes). Recently, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the government department of the United Kingdom responsible for the collection of taxes, opened a contract to procure software to help identify when cryptocurrency is used to avoid paying taxes. (David Canellis, TNW).
Read MoreThe US and China are the two largest economies in the world and over the past year they have imposed billions of dollars’ worth of tariffs on each other’s goods. So far, the US has imposed tariffs on more than $360 billion of Chinese goods forcing the Chinese to retaliate with tariffs on more than $110 billion of US products. (BBC). This post provides an overview of the most recent activities in the trade war between the U.S. and China, and an analysis of any implications these new tariffs have for the US, Chinese, and Global Economy.
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