Historically, hotel taxes have been easy to pass, but now that the money is shifting to Airbnb, cities have become increasingly concerned about funding. Cities have been fighting Airbnb by imposing licensing restrictions, stricter zoning ordinances, creating maximum allotted stays, and increasing taxes.
Fox News, Harassment Payouts, and Federal Investigators
On July 6, 2016, Gretchen Carlson, former host of an afternoon program on Fox News, filed a lawsuit in the Superior Court of New Jersey. Ms. Carlson described Roger Ailes, chairman of Fox News, as a sexual harasser who ogled her and suggested a sexual relationship in order to advance her career in the network. The lawsuit claims that when she turned him down, Mr. Ailes responded by cutting her salary, curtailing her on-air appearances, and even declining to renew her contract. In response to the allegations, Fox News’ parent company, 21st Century Fox promised an internal review of Ms. Carlson’s charges while Mr. Ailes strongly denounced the allegations as “defamatory.” Ultimately, Mr. Ailes would go on to resign.
Facebook’s Virtual Reality Ambitions Could be Threatened by Court Order
Video game publisher ZeniMax Media Inc. recently asked a federal judge to issue an order that would prevent Facebook, Inc. from using important software code that ZeniMax claims to own. Facebook subsidiary Oculus currently distributes the disputed code to outside companies that develop games for its Rift VR headset. If the Dallas judge decides to issue the order, Oculus’ ambitious entry into the emerging virtual reality industry could be seriously hindered, legal experts say. Intellectual property lawyers predict that ZeniMax has a good chance of getting the order, so Facebook must now decide whether to potentially pay a large settlement or fight the order to maintain their position in the industry.
Sterling Jewelers Suit Casts Light on Wider Policies Hurting Women
On February 26, statements from over 69,000 former female employees of Sterling Jewelers were released as part of an ongoing class action suit. The class action against Sterling Jewelers, the parent company of jewelers such as Kay Jewelers, Jared, and others, involves pay discrimination against women. In their statements, the women seeking collective action against Sterling Jewelers detail their encounters with various types of harassment while at the company, ranging from pay discrimination to lewd behavior by male bosses, and including disparate treatment when they’ve tried to report inappropriate behavior.
Next Fight for Anthem and Cigna: The Breakup Fee
While health insurance plans are generally a conversation topic exclusive to those on Capitol Hill, a proposed $48 billion merger between Anthem and Cigna has brought the controversial topic to the Supreme Court. The deals between the two health insurance companies, as well as a few others, stemmed from the need to adapt to potential changes in the market prompted by the Affordable Care Act.
Uber Vows to Stop Using Greyball Tool to Thwart Authorities
In a recent line of scandals for the ride-hailing giant, Uber is feeling the heat for its use of a secret program, which operated to deceive law enforcement and identify undesirable riders.
London Stock Exchange-Deutsche Börse Merger Faces Continued Uncertainty
If the $31 billion merger of Deutsche Börse and the London Stock Exchange (LSE) collapses, this will be their third failed attempt since 2000. However, if the deal goes through, LSE-Deutsche Börse would be the world’s biggest exchange operator by revenue and second-largest exchange operator by market value.
Samsung Vice Chairman Indicted for Bribery and Embezzlement
On February 28, 2017, Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong and four other senior executives of Samsung were indicted on corruption charges following a 90-day investigation by a special prosecutor.
President Trump to Repeal Dodd-Frank
President Trump Scales Back Dodd-Frank
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, better known as the Dodd-Frank Act (the “Act”), is a financial reform package passed during the Obama administration as a response to the financial crisis of 2008. The Act, signed into law in 2010, re-designed Wall Street and the American financial industry. Banks and other financial institutions were forced to undergo a series of new regulatory exams and cut back on their lucrative, but illiquid, private equity and hedge fund investments. The Act created new governmental agencies and strategies to oversee mid-sized banks all the way up to multi-billion-dollar firms. Now, seven years after its enactment, President Donald Trump has pledged to significantly reduce and repeal the Act.
Snap’s IPO and Lack of Shareholders’ Rights
Snap Inc. (“Snap”) recently filed its IPO with the SEC. The intended IPO of the parent company of the messaging app Snapchat has already been heavily debated and various commentators have criticized Snap’s intended governance structure.