Restaurant Brands International, the third-largest fast-food chain restaurant group in the world, posted a quarterly loss in the fourth quarter of 2014. The rather large net loss of $514.2 million, attributable to shareholders, is particularly significant because it marks the first quarterly financial data available since the formation of the group through Burger King’s purchase of Canadian coffee and doughnut chain Tim Hortons. The loss can primarily be explained by “one-time costs related to the merger.”
Puerto Rico District Court Strikes Down Debt Restructuring Law
Puerto Rico’s recently enacted debt restructuring law was struck down. On February 6, 2015, Judge Francisco Besosa of the United States District Court in Puerto Rico ruled that the law was unconstitutional and enjoined its enforcement.
Payday Lenders’ Extortionate Practices Face Consumer Protection Crackdown
For many Americans who survive from one paycheck to the next, payday loans are one of the only forms of credit available. However, while providing emergency credit is a vital service, these loans often carry shockingly high interest rates that have drawn increased scrutiny from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. In order to finally address these predatory lending practices, the CFPB expects to hand down its first set of federal rules regulating this 46 billion dollar industry in the coming weeks.
Four Accused of Insider Trading in Silicon Valley Settle Case
The Securities and Exchange Commission has accused Christian B. Keller, an in-house financial specialist, and three others of running of an insider-trading scheme that turned out nearly $750,000 in illegal profits.
Shake Shack’s IPO: Eating the Burger and Keeping it Whole
In late January, Shake Shack, the upper tier hamburger chain, went public and “broke” Wall Street: not only was the company able to sell its shares at a price of $21 per share, twice as much as the price-per-share foreseen prior to the IPO, but it also maintained its strict “anti-activism” corporate governance regime without deterring its investors.
Justice Department Investigating Moody’s
After reaching a $1.38 billion settlement with Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P) for issuing favorable grades on mortgage deals leading to the 2008 economic crisis, the U.S. Department of Justice is now setting its sights on Moody’s.
Regulators Turn to Subprime Auto Lending
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced on January 30 that it reached a settlement with two companies engaged in subprime auto lending. The two car title lenders – First American Title Lending and Finance Select – were alleged to have misled borrowers in their advertisements by failing to disclose the actual terms and costs of loans.
HSBC Struggling to Overhaul its Anti Money-Laundering System
Despite spending hundreds of millions of dollars to overhaul its anti-money-laundering system, the message to HSBC from U.S. officials is clear: it’s still not enough.
Amazon’s Tax Scheme in Luxembourg
Amazon, a Seattle-based company, negotiated and struck a deal with Luxembourg in 2003 that effectively granted the company exemption from all tax payments in the entirety of Europe. The deal, still in force, limits Amazon’s tax liabilities only to Luxembourg.
Obama’s Corporate Tax Reform Proposal
President Obama recently announced his latest budget proposal. He suggested a one-time levy of 14% as a transition tax on the earnings American firms have accumulated abroad, a recurring tax on future foreign earnings of 19%, and finally, to lower the corporate tax rate to 28%.