Jho Low Mounted Secret Lobbying Campaign Over 1MDB Probe, U.S. Says
David Yaffe-Bellany, David Voreacos, and Patricia Hurtado, 11 June 2021
A Malaysian financier and a former member of hiphop trio the Fugees were accused in a new indictment of illegally lobbying the Trump administration to drop an investigation tied to the 1MDB global bribery scandal and remove a Chinese dissident from the U.S.
A federal grand jury on Thursday returned a superseding indictment against Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low, and Prakazrel “Pras” Michel, according to a Justice Department statement Friday. Continue reading “Article: Jho Low Mounted Secret Lobbying Campaign Over 1MDB Probe, U.S. Says”
Let the Apes Have Wall Street
JBS USA said it paid $11 million in ransom to criminals responsible for the cyberattack that disrupted meat processing across North America and Australia, the latest high profile example of large corporations falling prey to extortion.
vThe Covid-19 crisis came at the end of more than two decades that witnessed a significant transformation of financial markets with main catalysts such as financial innovation, technology adoption, and financial regulations. The 2020 stock market’s roller coaster (record price levels and volatility) exposed the financial system’s fragility. This year, the increased volatility in so-called ‘meme’ stocks – i.e., stocks whose trading volume increases not because of the company’s good performance, but because of hype on social media –, has highlighted several problems in financial markets. Although seemingly unimportant, the risk that these events could pose to the entire financial system opens the door for discussions on the implementation of new regulations (or the improvement of older ones). 
French automakers Renault, Citroen and Peugeot are the latest companies to be ensnared in the “dieselgate” scandal — a massive emissions cheating scheme that started at German car giant Volkswagen.
After weeks of drift and doubt, Wall Street was looking for a decisive signal on price growth to help put the reflation trade back on track. Instead it got another mixed message.
