Why It Matters Who Runs the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

On Monday morning, two people reported for work at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as if they were in charge. One was Leandra English, a senior bureau staffer whom Richard Cordray, the C.F.P.B.’s former director, appointed as his deputy shortly before leaving the post, last week. The other was Mick Mulvaney, the White House budget chief, whom the White House tapped to replace Cordray on an interim basis. The showdown has all the elements of a ripping Washington news story: conflict, strong characters, a looming court case, and a whiff of battles to come in the elections of 2018 and 2020. read more »

Siemens, Trimble, Moody's breached by Chinese hackers, U.S. charges

Three people affiliated with a Chinese cyber security firm hacked into the networks of Siemens AG, Trimble Inc and Moody’s Analytics to steal business secrets, U.S. prosecutors said on Monday. read more »

Wells Fargo did not correct insurance irregularities, federal regulator says

A federal regulator is considering taking formal enforcement action against Wells Fargo over irregularities in the company's auto insurance and mortgage divisions.

The bank received a harshly worded letter from one of its chief regulators, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, earlier in November, noting that the bank had willingly injured its auto insurance and mortgage customers, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. The letter said Wells Fargo failed to correct problems in a wide range of areas, not limited to those departments, sources familiar with the situation said. read more »

Former U.S. gov't contractor sentenced to 21 months in prison for kickback scheme

A former employee of a U.S. government contractor in Afghanistan who pleaded guilty to accepting kickbacks from a subcontractor in exchange for assistance in obtaining government contracts, was sentenced to 21 months in prison Tuesday.

In July, 56-year-old Nebraska McAlpine of Smyrna, Ga., admitted that he and an Afghan executive agreed to a deal that would give McAlpine cash in exchange for no-bid contracts. McAlpine pocketed more than $250,000 in the scheme. read more »

Judge partly allows Lance Armstrong doping defense at trial

The federal government is putting Lance Armstrong on trial next year for civil fraud and had hoped to prevent him from making his famous argument in court — the so-called "everyone was doing it" defense to explain his use of banned drugs to gain an edge in cycling.

The government told a federal judge earlier this year that such an argument would mislead the jury and that the former cyclist should not be allowed to “put the entire sport of cycling on trial.”

But on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper agreed with Armstrong in part, ruling that some evidence about widespread doping in cycling was relevant to his defense in the government’s $100 million case against him. read more »