Phil Mattera

The FTC Bucks the MAGA Anti-Regulatory Crusade The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is in limbo. The Environmental Protection Agency has been turned into a fossil fuel cheerleader. The Securities and Exchange Commission has drastically scaled ...

Unlike the rest of the Trump Administration, the Federal Trade Commission has continued to go after corporate abuses. dirtdiggersdigest.org/archives/7895

The latest update to Violation Tracker Global includes a $3 billion fine against Google by the EU for anti-competitive ad practices and a $30 million fine against VW in Brazil for allowing slave-like labor conditions at a cattle ranch it used to own. violationtrackerglobal.goodjobsfirst.org

Dr. Trump’s Dubious Medical Advice Among the many unusual things Donald Trump has done in recent days is to make us feel some sympathy for a major drug company. Kenvue Inc., producer of Tylenol, had to stand by and watch as Trump used ...

There may or may not be a link between Tylenol and autism, but a reliable answer won't come from the White House. dirtdiggersdigest.org/archives/7889

Another Anti-Woke Charade For the vast majority of the U.S. population not involved in shareholder activism, Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. and Glass Lewis & Co. are far from household names. Yet these two firms domin...

Texas is obsessed with stamping out what remains of DEI and ESG in the corporate world. dirtdiggersdigest.org/archives/7885

Tough Talk on Deceptive Drug Ads With the announcement of a crackdown on deceptive advertising by pharmaceutical companies, RFK Jr. is once again showing that he may not be a complete crackpot. At his apparent direction, the Food and...

The Trump-JFK Jr. move against deceptive drug ads sounds good, but it is unclear it will amount to anything. dirtdiggersdigest.org/archives/7880

Serving One Special Interest Presidential administrations usually lean in one of two directions: they tend to be more pro-business or more pro-labor. Some will emphasize deregulation, free trade, and corporate tax breaks. Others ...

Trump Administration policies are not consistently pro-business or pro-worker, but they always work to the benefit of the Trump family. dirtdiggersdigest.org/archives/7875

The latest update to Violation Tracker Global includes a $330 million settlement by JPMorgan relating to the 1MDB corruption scandal in Malaysia and a $4 million fine paid by Armani in Italy for misleading statements about its social responsibility practices. violationtrackerglobal.goodjobsfirst.org

What’s Behind Rising Beef Prices? Those who enjoy a breakfast of steak and eggs are feeling better about half of their plate. Egg prices have come down sharply in the past year. But now beef prices are the problem, soaring well beyond...

Along with drought in western states and Trump's politically motivated tariffs against Brazil, corporate collusion among the big meat processors has contributed to soaring beef prices. dirtdiggersdigest.org/archives/7869

Private Litigation to the Rescue It used to be the case that federal prosecutors and regulators were the first to bring action against a corporate abuse, and plaintiff’s lawyers followed that with a class action lawsuit designed to o...

As the Trump Administration continues to weaken federal regulatory enforcement, class action lawsuits grow in importance as a way to address corporate abuses. dirtdiggersdigest.org/archives/7866

Debunking Debanking There are plenty of reasons to be critical of the big banks. They hit customers with illegitimate fees. They misuse personal information. They pay meager interest on savings accounts. They do too litt...

Trump's attack on the big banks is actually part of an effort to weaken rules on doing business with sleazy clients. dirtdiggersdigest.org/archives/7861

21st Century Robber Barons It’s a case of life imitating art imitating life. The announcement that Union Pacific is seeking to acquire Norfolk Southern to create the first coast-to-coast rail network sounds very much like the d...

Union Pacific's move to take over Norfolk Southern is a throwback to the monopolistic practices of the 19th century railroad industry. dirtdiggersdigest.org/archives/7857

The latest update to Violation Tracker Global includes a fine equal to $50 million on Barclays for anti-money laundering deficiencies in the UK and a $47 million penalty against e-commerce giant SHEIN in France for promoting misleading discounts on its site. violationtrackerglobal.goodjobsfirst.org

The Attack on Independent Business Regulation Donald Trump has a great fondness for the policies of the late 19th Century, praising that period’s focus on tariffs and its lack of a federal income tax. Yet there is another practice from that time ...

The Supreme Court has once again given a green light to the Trump Administration's effort to undermine the independent regulatory agencies. dirtdiggersdigest.org/archives/7853

The Real Healthcare Fraud If you had to choose a single phrase to describe the Trump Administration’s policy positions, you might very well go with “false claims.” That includes false claims about the degree of criminality amo...

Federal prosecutors quietly target fraud by healthcare providers while Republican politicians loudly make baseless claims about recipient abuse to justify the assault on Medicaid. dirtdiggersdigest.org/archives/7848

The FCC Betrays Its Diversity Legacy The Federal Communications Commission has scored another victory in the campaign to use its regulatory powers to promote the MAGA goal of stamping out all vestiges of diversity, equity, and inclusion ...

T-Mobile's abandonment of its DEI program represents another victory for the FCC in its MAGA-inspired campaign to undo half a century of efforts to promote diversity in the communications industry. dirtdiggersdigest.org/archives/7842

Delivering Corporate Misconduct When we go online to order dinner, we are getting a lot more delivered than a bowl of Pad Thai. As they bring in billions of dollars in revenue, leading app-based services such as DoorDash and Grubhub...

For a young industry, the food delivery business has accumulated a remarkable amount of regulatory penalties. dirtdiggersdigest.org/archives/7837

The latest update to Violation Tracker Global includes an EU
EUR329 million penalty against Delivery Hero and Glovo for anti-competitive practices including a non-poaching agreement and a EUR45 million fine imposed on Vodafone in Germany for security flaws.
violationtrackerglobal.goodjobsfirst.org

The Other Face of EU Business Regulation There is a common assumption in some circles that Europe is a regulatory nightmare for business. Resentment toward Brussels bureaucrats was a prime motivating factor for Brexit, and today U.S. high te...

Using data from Violation Tracker Global, my colleagues and I have produced a report contradicting the notion that the EU over-regulates big business. dirtdiggersdigest.org/archives/7833

A Company’s MAGA-Style Attack on a Regulatory Agency Normally, when a company reaches a settlement with a regulatory agency, that is the end of the matter. Gemini Trust, a cryptocurrency exchange, has another idea. In January, Gemini agreed to pay a ...

A cryptocurrency company that previously settled a dispute with the CFTC has now filed a pugnacious complaint against the agency. It may be a sign of things to come as rogue corporations are emboldened by Trump's anti-regulatory rhetoric. dirtdiggersdigest.org/archives/7827

The MAGA Makeover of the FCPA The Trump Administration jumped at the opportunity to lash out at anti-deportation protesters, but for corporate criminals it continues to take a much more lenient position. In the latest in a series ...

Trump’s Justice Department is both weakening use of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act against domestic corporations and weaponizing it against foreign companies to promote America First policies. dirtdiggersdigest.org/archives/7825

Removing the Wrong Shackles Over the past decade, Wells Fargo has been a poster child for corporate greed and misconduct. In 2016 the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau revealed that the bank had been ordering its employees to...

The Federal Reserve is lifting a novel restriction placed on Wells Fargo for the bogus accounts scandal, but has the bank really changed its ways? dirtdiggersdigest.org/archives/7819

The latest update to Violation Tracker Global includes a US$600 million fine by Ireland on TikTok for improper data transfer. Dior resolved an investigation of exploitative labor conditions at its suppliers by creating a $2 million fund to benefit workers. violationtrackerglobal.goodjobsfirst.org

Menacing the Judiciary It is not unusual for presidents to complain when court decisions go against them. But Donald Trump has expressed his displeasure with a degree of nastiness that is unprecedented. In a Memorial Day so...

Trump's attacks on judges may be designed to promote not only his public policies but also his private business interests. dirtdiggersdigest.org/archives/7810

Weaponizing Regulation Donald Trump has long presented himself as a foe of regulation, and since taking office for the second time he has gone to great lengths to eliminate existing rules, prevent the adoption of new ones, ...

The Trump Administration is starting to use regulation not to address corporate misconduct but instead as a way to punish its perceived enemies in the business world. dirtdiggersdigest.org/archives/7807

The Other Corporate Restraints Donald Trump thinks that young girls should get by with fewer dolls, but there is apparently no limit to the number of regulatory gifts he is offering Corporate America. Long-standing rules are being ...

As federal regulation of Big Business wanes, state prosecutors and class action lawyers are trying to fill the gap. dirtdiggersdigest.org/archives/7801

More Consolidation Is Not What The Oil Industry Needs Reports have circulated in recent days that UK petroleum giant Shell is considering a bid to take over its rival BP. Shell’s management is not offering confirmation, but investors and analysts are co...

A possible merger of Shell and BP would bring together two oil giants that have been mired in controversies for many years. dirtdiggersdigest.org/archives/7797

Identifying the Climate Culprits A new article in a prestigious scientific journal puts a price tag on the damage fossil fuel companies have done to the earth’s climate through their greenhouse gas emissions. Christopher Callahan and...

A new analysis puts a price tag on the damage fossil fuel companies have done to the earth’s climate through their greenhouse gas emissions. dirtdiggersdigest.org/archives/7792

The latest update to Violation Tracker Global includes US$800 million in EU fines on Apple and Meta for violations of the Digital Markets Act as well as a US$99 million penalty brought in Brazil against Japan’s Toyo Engineering for bribery and fraud. violationtrackerglobal.goodjobsfirst.org

Antitrust Uncertainty Tariffs are not the only area of Trump’s economic policy causing confusion in the business world. Corporate executives, investment bankers, and others are struggling to make sense of the administratio...

dirtdiggersdigest.org/archives/7788

Enforcement Inaction The Trump Administration has declared war on business regulation, both overtly and covertly. Most visible has been the barrage of executive orders that cripple or eliminate rules without going through...

Along with its effort to eliminate regulations, much of the Trump Administration is scaling back enforcement of those rules still in effect. dirtdiggersdigest.org/archives/7784