FINRA, the securities industry’s self-regulator, issued a sizeable $70 million fine against Robinhood Financial on Wednesday—the largest in the history of the body—as part of a settlement deal over an alleged “series of failures that the agency said hurt Robinhood’s customers.” The online stock-trading app has “already paid tens of millions of dollars in fines . . . for misleading customers about its business” - NYTimes and WSJ and Bloomberg and Law360
Amazon filed a 25-page petition with the FTC this week demanding that new chair Lina Khan “recuse herself from any antitrust investigation into the e-commerce giant” based on her past criticism “as a scholar and writer and because she had worked on the staff of a congressional investigation of the company” - NYTimes and WSJ and Bloomberg and TechCrunch
On the heels of last week’s SCOTUS ruling against the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the NCAA has agreed to “allow college athletes across the country to capitalize off their fame for the first time” by opening the doors for them to “strike endorsement deals, profit off their social media accounts, sell autographs and otherwise make money from their names, images and likenesses.” - NYTimes and MarketWatch and Bloomberg and WSJ
Private Equity giant TPG—one of the last that remains a closely held partnership—is exploring options to go public via traditional offering or SPAC merger as part of a deal that “could value the California-and-Texas firm at about $10 billion” - WSJ
Didi’s solid opening day on the public markets meant good news for Tiger Global and its “early wager” on the Chinese ride-hailing company - Bloomberg and MarketWatch and Law360
Activist group Elliott Management is pushing pharma giant GlaxoSmithKline to “replace members of its board and launch a process to decide whether Chief Executive Emma Walmsley should continue to lead” the company based on what Elliott sees as underperforming stock and management that “lack[s] credibility” - WSJ
Car-rental company Hertz is officially on the other side of the bankruptcy process, a “remarkable turnaround for a business that was bloated with debt and struggling to survive just 13 months ago.” See, while the pandemic dried up demand and forced Hertz into a reckoning with its debt, it also set off the “economic and travel rebound in recent months” that has made the leaner Hertz an incredibly attractive proposition for investors. Knighthead and Centares, for example, poured nearly $6 billion into the company - NYTimes and WSJ and MarketWatch
The ongoing global microchip shortage has forced Ford Motor to “extend production cuts into July” in a good chunk of its North American locations - NYTimes and WSJ
Restaurant operator Ampex Brands that specializes in franchise operations is acquired bakery chain Au Bon Pain from JAB Holding Co. and will preserve the brand, “which Panera was phasing out as it converted some locations to Panera’s brand and closed others” - WSJ
The Italian isles of Capri and Procida are awaiting a coming influx of travelers after a year of lockdown, and while I won’t be one of them, I’m happily soaking up the scene as laid out in text and photos by the Times - NYTimes
With that virtual escape in mind, we’re heading into our mid-summer hiatus. Have a wonderful 4th of July holiday. Stay safe out there, and get vaxxed.
MDR
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