Month: April 2021

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Article: Flourishing Financially: Corporate Finance In Switzerland

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Flourishing Financially: Corporate Finance In Switzerland

RHEA WESSEL, 02 April 2021

Switzerland is reasserting its reputation as a stable and resilient economy in times of turbulence. While markets elsewhere are concerned about overleveraged companies and ballooning public debt, credit and capital markets in Switzerland appear to be quietly ticking along with the reliability of a proverbial Swiss watch.

It is not for nothing that the country and its currency are considered among the safest of havens. After the Alpine republic and its internationally oriented companies weathered the 2008 global financial crisis, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) tackled the relentless appreciation of the Swiss franc by massively intervening in the currency market, opening Switzerland to accusations of currency manipulation.

But it worked. The SNB’s efforts stemmed the franc’s rise, protecting Swiss companies’ competitiveness and creating favorable funding conditions in the country. Corporate bond spreads hardly budged throughout the financial crisis, a stark contrast to the adverse environment CFOs faced in the eurozone and the US. Continue reading “Article: Flourishing Financially: Corporate Finance In Switzerland”

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Article: ‘Voltswagen’ April Fools Stunt Could Backfire Spectacularly

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‘Voltswagen’ April Fools Stunt Could Backfire Spectacularly

TooFab Staff, 02 April 2021

Volkswagen said the name change was a joke — but not everybody is laughing.

Volkswagen broke a few April Fools rules with its name change prank this week; namely it not even being April Fools Day, and continuously insisting it wasn’t a prank when called out.

But it may have broken even more serious rules after the stunt caused share prices to soar… leading some business experts to predict an investigation into possible stock market manipulation.

The controversy began on Monday (note: that’s March 29, a good deal short of April 1) when the company “accidentally” leaked an incomplete press release, revealing its intention to change its name to Voltswagen to mark its move towards electric vehicles. Continue reading “Article: ‘Voltswagen’ April Fools Stunt Could Backfire Spectacularly”

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Article: Morgan Stanley backs Bitcoin for 12 mutual funds

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Morgan Stanley backs Bitcoin for 12 mutual funds

EXPLICA .CO, 02 April 2021

US investment bank Morgan Stanley has filed an update to its prospectus related to bitcoin (BTC) with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institution applied for 12 of its funds to have exposure with the first cryptocurrency.

According to the bank, the funds would have indirect exposure to bitcoin in two ways: through cash-settled futures and through the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), one of the world’s largest trusts focused on digital assets.

On the type of futures that funds can invest in, Morgan Stanley noted: “The only bitcoin futures that a fund can invest in are cash-settled bitcoin futures that are traded on listed futures exchanges. CFTC ‘.

In the document, the bank explains that the Selected funds will be able to invest up to 25% of their assets in bitcoin. The institution also stressed that this type of operation implies a risk of illiquidity since bitcoin futures are not traded so “intensely” because they are relatively new. Continue reading “Article: Morgan Stanley backs Bitcoin for 12 mutual funds”

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Article: High Profile Crypto Execs Dodge Bitcoin Cash ‘Hijack’ Lawsuit

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High Profile Crypto Execs Dodge Bitcoin Cash ‘Hijack’ Lawsuit

Andrew Asmakov, 02 April 2021

A federal court in Florida has dismissed an antitrust suit filed against Bitcoin.com founder Roger Ver and several other prominent figures in the crypto industry, accused of market manipulation during a contentious split of the Bitcoin Cash network in November 2018, Law360 reported.

Other defendants in the case included Kraken CEO Jesse Powell, former CEO of Bitmain Technologies Jihan Wu, as well as Bitcoin Cash developers Shammah Chancellor and Jason Cox.

First filed by United American Corp (UAC) in December 2018 and amended in March 2020, the lawsuit claimed that the defendants colluded to manipulate the cryptocurrency market to favor Bitcoin Cash as some participants on the network were engaged in creating a competing clone called Bitcoin SV. Continue reading “Article: High Profile Crypto Execs Dodge Bitcoin Cash ‘Hijack’ Lawsuit”

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Article: Ex-Nike manager admits wire fraud, money laundering

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Ex-Nike manager admits wire fraud, money laundering

KOIN 6 News Staff, 02 April 2021

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Facing 60 years in prison and $3 million in fines, a former marketing manager at Nike pleaded guilty Friday to federal charges of wire fraud, false statement on a loan application and money laundering.

Errol Amorin Andam of Beaverton worked as a manager in Nike’s North American Retail Brand Marketing division, where he was in charge of designing, building and managing “pop-up” retail venues at major sports competitions and other special events around the country. Continue reading “Article: Ex-Nike manager admits wire fraud, money laundering”

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Article: Another Wirecard? Invoices Backing Greensill-Issued Bonds Never Existed, Administrator Finds

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Another Wirecard? Invoices Backing Greensill-Issued Bonds Never Existed, Administrator Finds

TYLER DURDEN, 02 April 2021

As the collapse of Greensill Capital threatens to ensnare former PM David Cameron in a humiliating public probe, the Financial Times on Thursday reported some disturbing new details that appear to suggest Greensill wasn’t merely reckless, but potentially guilty of a Wirecard-style fraud.

According to the FT, Greensil’s administrator – who is responsible for winding down whatever assets remain and managing creditors’ claims -“has failed to verify invoices underpinning loans to Sanjeev Gupta, after companies listed on the documents denied that they had ever done business with the metals magnate.”

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Article: Amazon, Stock Compensation & Equity Valuation

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Amazon, Stock Compensation & Equity Valuation

TYLER DURDEN, 01 April 2021

Bloomberg News recently published an article, Amazon Fights Union Drive With Fact-Free Bombast, discussing Amazon’s alleged use of misinformation to prevent employees from unionizing. In the same manner Kailash recused itself from having a “bull” or “bear” thesis on Bitcoin, we will recuse ourselves from any discussion of unions. What we would like to draw our readers’ attention to however is the method by which Amazon pays many senior executives. In the Bloomberg article it noted that the former head of Amazon’s logistics business was awarded stock compensation worth $160 million dollars. Continue reading “Article: Amazon, Stock Compensation & Equity Valuation”

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Article: Software company sues IBM, Red Hat, claims they ‘conspired’ to ‘crush’ competitors

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Software company sues IBM, Red Hat, claims they ‘conspired’ to ‘crush’ competitors

Lauren Ohnesorge, 01 April 2021

A software firm is suing Red Hat and its parent company, IBM, claiming they “conspired to illegally corner a market and crush competition.”

In a copyright infringement and antitrust lawsuit filed Wednesday in a district court in the Virgin Islands, software firm Xinuous claims IBM “stole” its intellectual property “and used that stolen property to build and sell a product to compete with Xinuous itself.” Continue reading “Article: Software company sues IBM, Red Hat, claims they ‘conspired’ to ‘crush’ competitors”

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Article: Suez Canal blockage: Captain of Ever Given not aiding probe; calamity’s cost tops $1B

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Suez Canal blockage: Captain of Ever Given not aiding probe; calamity’s cost tops $1B

John Bacon, 01 April 2021

The cost of blocking shipping for almost a week through one of the most crucial waterways on earth apparently comes in at right around $1 billion.

And that’s just the bill Egypt could soon be trying to collect. It does not include damages for the owners of more than 400 boats delayed by the calamity on the Suez Canal, nor compensation that could be sought by companies whose materials or products were on those boats. Continue reading “Article: Suez Canal blockage: Captain of Ever Given not aiding probe; calamity’s cost tops $1B”

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Article: U.S. trade chief voices concern to Vietnam over currency practices

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U.S. trade chief voices concern to Vietnam over currency practices

Eric Beech, 01 April 2021

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, in a call on Thursday with Vietnam’s minister of industry and trade, highlighted U.S. concerns about Vietnam’s currency practices, a USTR statement said.

Tai and the Vietnamese minister Tran Tuan Anh also “discussed U.S. concerns on illegal timber practices, digital trade and agriculture,” the statement said.

Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade in a statement on Friday said Vietnam and the United States “will continue to actively cooperate to comprehensively address the concerns to maintain a stable trade relation.” Continue reading “Article: U.S. trade chief voices concern to Vietnam over currency practices”

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Article: Hong Kong Hit by Dozens of Trading Halts After Earnings Deadline

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Hong Kong Hit by Dozens of Trading Halts After Earnings Deadline

Bloomberg News, 01 April 2021

Trading in more than 50 Hong Kong-listed companies was suspended on Thursday, after a number of firms failed to report earnings ahead of the March 31 deadline.

GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Ltd. and China Huarong Asset Management Co. were among the firms that announced a trading halt. GCL-Poly said additional time is required to complete its audit procedures while Huarong said it will delay delivering its earnings as it seeks to complete a transaction. While it’s not uncommon for some companies in Hong Kong to have to suspend trading on April 1, the number this year compares with at least 9 last year and 25 in 2019. Continue reading “Article: Hong Kong Hit by Dozens of Trading Halts After Earnings Deadline”

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Article: Five ways Biden could crack down on dirty money and financial secrecy

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Five ways Biden could crack down on dirty money and financial secrecy

Brenda Medina, 01 April 2021

Early rhetoric from the Biden administration has encouraged anti-corruption advocates that the new president’s tenure in the White House may mark a turning point in the fight against dirty money and tax haven abuse — two overlapping problems made worse by a veil of secrecy that shields vast sums of money from tax collectors and law enforcement authorities.

“We will crack down on tax havens and illicit financing that contribute to income inequality, fund terrorism, and generate pernicious foreign influence,” the administration’s Interim National Security Strategic Guidance, released last month, says, identifying the fight against global corruption as a top security priority. The strategy mirrors promises Joe Biden made during his candidacy.

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Article: Turkey fines firms over short selling irregularities

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Turkey fines firms over short selling irregularities

Reuters, 01 April 2021

Turkey fined 10 securities firms for up to 7.8 million lira ($1 million) in relation to irregularities in short-selling transactions, the country’s Capital Markets Board said in its weekly bulletin on Thursday.

Fines of various amounts were imposed on firms including Merrill Lynch International, JP Morgan Securities, Goldman Sachs International, Credit Suisse Securities Europe and Barclays Capital Securities, the statement said.

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THE DOLLAR HAS NO INTRINSIC VALUE : DO YOUR ASSETS?