Month: June 2019

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Article: Merrill Lynch fined by DOJ, CFTC for ‘spoofing’ in precious metals futures

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Merrill Lynch fined by DOJ, CFTC for ‘spoofing’ in precious metals futures

Francine McKenna, 25 June 2019

Merrill Lynch’s global commodities trading business agreed to pay $25 million and enter into a non-prosecution agreement with the Department of Justice on Tuesday to settle charges regarding a multi-year scheme by its precious metals traders to mislead the market for precious metals futures contracts traded on the Commodity Exchange Inc. Merrill Lynch admitted to the allegations that beginning by at least 2008 and continuing through 2014, its precious metals traders schemed to deceive other market participants by injecting materially false and misleading information into the precious metals futures market by placing fraudulent “spoof” orders for precious metals futures contracts that, at the time the traders placed thousands of fraudulent orders, they intended to cancel before execution. Continue reading “Article: Merrill Lynch fined by DOJ, CFTC for ‘spoofing’ in precious metals futures”

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Article: CFTC Orders Merrill Lynch Commodities, Inc. to Pay Approximately $25 Million for Spoofing, Manipulation, and Attempted Manipulation in Precious Metals Futures

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CFTC Orders Merrill Lynch Commodities, Inc. to Pay Approximately $25 Million for Spoofing, Manipulation, and Attempted Manipulation in Precious Metals Futures

CFTC , 25 June 2019

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today issued an Order filing and simultaneously settling charges against Merrill Lynch Commodities, Inc. (MLCI), a provisionally registered swap dealer, for spoofing, manipulation, and attempted manipulation over a six-year period with respect to certain precious metals futures contracts traded on the Commodity Exchange, Inc. (COMEX).

The CFTC Order imposes monetary sanctions totaling approximately $25 million, which includes a civil monetary penalty of $11.5 million dollars, over $2.3 million in restitution, and disgorgement of $11.1 million. The Order also requires MLCI to cooperate with the CFTC in matters related to this action and the underlying conduct, and to comply with certain obligations in connection with its corporate compliance program and reporting requirements. Continue reading “Article: CFTC Orders Merrill Lynch Commodities, Inc. to Pay Approximately $25 Million for Spoofing, Manipulation, and Attempted Manipulation in Precious Metals Futures”

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Article: U.S. judge tosses former SAC Capital trader’s insider trading guilty plea

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U.S. judge tosses former SAC Capital trader’s insider trading guilty plea

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A federal judge in Manhattan on Friday threw out the 2013 insider trading guilty plea of a former trader at SAC Capital Advisors LP, the hedge fund once run by billionaire Steven A. Cohen, saying recent changes in the law meant there were not enough facts to support the plea.

The trader, Richard Choo-Beng Lee, 62, had been a major cooperating witness and one of the first to plead guilty in former Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara’s insider trading crackdown, which began in 2009 and led to more than 80 guilty pleas and convictions.

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Fined: Crown Capital Securities, L.P. Fined by FINRA

Fined

Crown Capital Securities, L.P. Fined by FINRA

20 June 2019

An AWC was issued in which the firm was censured and fined $75,000. Without admitting or denying the findings, the firm consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that it failed to establish and maintain a supervisory system, including WSPs, for reviewing and monitoring mutual fund switches reasonably designed to achieve compliance with FINRA suitability requirements and failed to reasonably supervise short-term switches of Class A mutual fund shares conducted by two firm registered representatives.

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Fined: Citigroup Global Markets Inc. Fined by FINRA (June 2019)

Fined

Citigroup Global Markets Inc. Fined by FINRA (June 2019)

20 June 2019

An AWC was issued in which the firm was censured, fined $225,000 and ordered to pay $152,488.59, plus interest, in restitution to customers, which the firm has already paid. Without admitting or denying the findings, the firm consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that it failed to identify and apply sales charge discounts to certain eligible purchases of unit investment trusts (UITs). The findings stated that this resulted in customers paying excessive sales charges of $152,488.59.

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Fined: Edward D. Jones & Co., L.P. Fined by FINRA

Fined

Edward D. Jones & Co., L.P. Fined by FINRA

19 June 2019

An AWC was issued in which the firm was censured, fined $40,000, and ordered to certify in writing that it has reviewed its systems, policies and procedures, written or otherwise, governing its review, analysis and disclosure of alleged damages in customer complaints and that it has established and implemented systems, policies and procedures, written and otherwise, governing the review, analysis and disclosure of alleged damages in customer complaints that are reasonably designed to achieve compliance with applicable FINRA rules and by-laws.

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Article: ECB’s Draghi brushes off Trump charge of currency manipulation

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ECB’s Draghi brushes off Trump charge of currency manipulation

News Desk, 19 June 2019

June 19: European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi said Tuesday that the institution “doesn’t target the exchange rate”, shrugging off an allegation of currency manipulation from US President Donald Trump.

“We have our remit. We have our mandate. Our mandate is price stability” or inflation just below two percent, Draghi told a central banking conference in Sintra, Portugal.

“We are ready to use all the instruments that are necessary to fulfil this mandate, and we don’t target the exchange rate,” he added.

Draghi’s statement that weak economic growth and sluggish inflation could prompt the ECB to slash further rates already at historic lows had earlier sparked Trump’s ire.

“Mario Draghi just announced more stimulus could come, which immediately dropped the Euro against the Dollar, making it unfairly easier for them to compete against the USA,” Trump said on Twitter.

“They have been getting away with this for years, along with China and others,” he added.

Draghi said in a speech that “further cuts in policy interest rates… remain part of our tools” as the bank looks to juice growth and inflation.

Eurozone policymakers had already discussed potential rate cuts in early June, but Draghi’s latest remarks were the first to catch markets’ full attention.

That was in part because he said the central bank was ready to move “in the absence of improvement” rather than if economic conditions worsen, lowering the threshold for action.

But Trump later in the day continued to imply that the ECB was somehow looking to gain an advantage, rather than responding to economic conditions in the euro area.

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Article: Draghi brushes off Trump accusation of currency manipulation

Article - Media, Publications

Draghi brushes off Trump accusation of currency manipulation

EURACTIV, 19 June 2019

European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi said Tuesday (18 June) that the institution “doesn’t target the exchange rate”, shrugging off an allegation of currency manipulation from US President Donald Trump.

“We have our remit. We have our mandate. Our mandate is price stability” or inflation just below two percent, Draghi told a central banking conference in Sintra, Portugal.

“We are ready to use all the instruments that are necessary to fulfil this mandate, and we don’t target the exchange rate,” he added.

Draghi’s statement that weak economic growth and sluggish inflation could prompt the ECB to slash further rates already at historic lows had earlier sparked Trump’s ire.

“Mario Draghi just announced more stimulus could come, which immediately dropped the Euro against the Dollar, making it unfairly easier for them to compete against the USA,” Trump said on Twitter.

“They have been getting away with this for years, along with China and others,” he added.
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Article: Online Attackers Called Us ‘Canada’s Madoff,’ Lawsuit Alleges

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Online Attackers Called Us ‘Canada’s Madoff,’ Lawsuit Alleges

Amanda Cantrell

Institutional Investor, 18 June 2019

Secret Dropbox folders, a negative Twitter campaign, and an exclusive dinner for short-selling “conspirators” are all tactics alleged by Canadian private equity firm Catalyst Capital Group against rival firm West Face Capital and a slew of other defendants, according to the latest filing in a long-running legal campaign.

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Article: Merrill Lynch faces sanctions for extreme scalping role in Korea

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Merrill Lynch faces sanctions for extreme scalping role in Korea

Yoo Joon-ho, Lee Eun-joo

Pulse, 18 June 2019

U.S. brokerage Bank of America Merrill Lynch is facing possible disciplinary action from South Korea’s stock exchange authority for its alleged role in market-disrupting high-frequency trading on behalf of U.S. Citadel Securities.

Korea Exchange, the country’s stock exchange operator, said on Tuesday that it will convene a market monitoring committee on Wednesday to determine the level of punishment against Merrill Lynch. The action may include warnings, stern warnings and financial penalties.

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Release: SHAREHOLDER ALERT Pomerantz Law Firm Reminds Shareholders with Losses on their Investment in Momo Inc. of Class Action Lawsuit and Upcoming Deadline – MOMO

Release

SHAREHOLDER ALERT: Pomerantz Law Firm Reminds Shareholders with Losses on their Investment in Momo Inc. of Class Action Lawsuit and Upcoming Deadline – MOMO

17 June 2019

Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Momo Inc. (“Momo” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: MOMO) and certain of its officers. The class action, filed in United States District Court, for the Southern District of New York, and indexed under 19-cv-04433, is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons and entities who purchased or otherwise acquired Momo securities between April 21, 2015 and April 29, 2019, both dates inclusive (the “Class Period”), seeking to recover damages caused by Defendants’ violations of the federal securities laws and to pursue remedies under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, against the Company and certain of its top officials.

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Article: Europol highlights Russian money as biggest laundering threat

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Europol highlights Russian money as biggest laundering threat

John O’Donnell, 13 July 2019

Europe’s Baltic states are at risk from further Russian money laundering, a top European police official said after several big banks were hit by scandals centered on the region.

Pedro Felicio, who is responsible for fighting money laundering at European police agency Europol, told Reuters that “huge inflows of criminal money” are mainly coming into Europe from Russia and China.

Russian money is alleged to be at the heart of multi-billion dollar laundering rackets that engulfed Danske Bank, Denmark’s largest lender and Sweden’s Swedbank. Continue reading “Article: Europol highlights Russian money as biggest laundering threat”

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Article: Nymox Pharmaceutical: Assessing The Short And Long Ideas

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Nymox Pharmaceutical: Assessing The Short And Long Ideas

Avisol Capital Partners, 13 June 2019

Nymox Pharmaceutical (NYMX) has been accused of being an outright serial scam by well-known biopharma short expert Richard Pearson. This was from August 10, 2016, and he had this headline for his article – “Nymox: This Offshore ‘Biotech’ Promotion Will Go To Zero (Yes, Zero).” In that well-written article, he went on to claim how the company hid details of poor trial data from the public, while senior management continued to dump stock without timely SEC disclosure, how the company’s auditor, legal counsel, bankers are all “closely tied to regulatory violations, stock promotions and/or outright fraud,” and how the author filed an SEC complaint against the company after publishing the article.

That article took the stock down by almost 50%. However, it quickly recovered in the same month to soar back to above where it was before the fall. Couple more short articles followed over the years. Some people, I am sure, made money during that fall and rise.
Continue reading “Article: Nymox Pharmaceutical: Assessing The Short And Long Ideas”

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