As expected, big business is lining up to take on the Federal Trade Commission’s new ban on noncompete agreements. In a move cheered by labor interests across the United States, the FTC approved a measure last month prohibiting employers from using contracts to prevent their workers from moving to rival companies. It took roughly 24 hours for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to hit back with a lawsuit in federal court to strike down the regulation. Labor activists view noncompete agreements as tools to reduce competition for the services of workers, which in turn depress their wages and benefits ..read more

Lately, a significant number of publicly held companies have seen greener grass on the private equity side of the fence. Considering the rising number of regulatory complications and increasing costs associated with being a public company, the appeal of taking companies private may continue to be too great for some to pass up. Signs from high-profile companies in recent weeks have indicated the trend of will continue to grow. Upscale retailer Nordstrom announced on April 19 that its board had “authorized the exploration of possible avenues to enhance shareholder value.” The move came after the ..read more

Corporate ESG programs have endured a bumpy ride the last few years. As ESG has evolved from a trendy corporate buzzword to political lightning rod to key business initiative and fiduciary priority, regulators around the globe have codified rules for disclosing climate-related information, underscoring the need for companies’ boards of directors to maintain the proper expertise to ask the right questions about material ESG issues. It is at best an open question, though, whether corporations have enough know-how to help navigate through the rapidly changing ESG landscape. A new study relea ..read more

The long slog to implementing sustainability-related disclosure rules for companies in the United States reached something of a conclusion last month. While issuers are coming to terms with what the Securities and Exchange Commission now requires of them in terms of reporting for environmental, social and governance factors, the divide between disclosure rules in the U.S. and European Union is growing. The same could be said for companies’ frustrations over complying with differing standards of ESG disclosure. You could certainly make the case that big business scored some key lobbying wins du ..read more

Restraint has never been Donald Trump’s strong suit. The former President seemingly lashes out at any perceived slight within earshot, leading to countless public feuds with everyone from Pope Francis to C-list celebrities to the mainstream media. To the surprise of no one, the revelation of the distressing state of his latest venture, Trump Media & Technology Group, set the stage for the presumptive Republican Presidential nominee to go on the offensive. The latest quarterly report from the company indicated TMTG generated a $4 million in revenue last year. As a result, the company lost n ..read more

Is the Intelligize team clairvoyant? We’re obviously not, however, we must note that our recent M&A report states that oil and gas is an industry primed for consolidation. And then, as if on cue, oilfield services giant SLB on April 2 announces a $7.8 billion deal to buy ChampionX. Our report discusses five different factors that we suggest will influence the M&A market in 2024 and beyond. Among them, we discuss the oil and gas sector as particularly ripe for dealmaking, noting that “[s]ky-high profits have left the biggest names among oil companies rolling in cash to spend on acquisit ..read more

How much would your teenage children pay to stay on their favorite social media apps? One thousand dollars? Ten thousand? More? If you think their addiction is bad, console yourself with the example of the country’s largest financial institutions. Over the last few years, they have paid well over $1 billion in penalties for using unapproved communications platforms like iMessage, Signal, and other personal text and messaging apps. And yet, they apparently can’t stay off them. Most recently, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced settlements with U.S. Bank and Oppenheimer related to ..read more

So-called forum shopping is a time-tested strategy of zealous litigators. Looking for the legal equivalent of home-field advantage, they file lawsuits in jurisdictions where they feel they will find a sympathetic ear on the bench. The power of forum shopping was apparent in a 2022 judicial decision to strike down the FDA’s longstanding approval of the abortion drug mifepristone. Activists chose the venue of Amarillo, Texas, with the specific intent to get the case in front of Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk, an abortion opponent who handles almost all cases in the district. Rightwing interest group ..read more

As President Joe Biden approaches the end of his first term in office, vigorous enforcement of antitrust law has become a hallmark of his administration. In the most ambitious move yet, the Department of Justice is pursuing antitrust action against technology behemoth Apple for exerting what the government views as excessive control over the iPhone and its related products. Last week, DOJ joined more than 15 states and the District of Columbia in suing Apple for “broad-based, exclusionary conduct,” alleging the company has built an ecosystem of applications adjacent to the iPhone that prevent ..read more

You’ve heard of greenwashing and sports-washing. Let us introduce you to AI washing. In what is believed to be a first for the Securities and Exchange Commission, the agency recently settled charges against a pair of investment advisors for allegedly glamming up their expertise in artificial intelligence. Apparently, the SEC took exception to a claim by investment firm Global Predictions that it was the “first regulated AI financial advisor.” The firm also got dinged for touting “expert AI-driven forecasts,” which regulators weren’t buying. The SEC reprimanded Toronto-based firm Delphia (USA ..read more