Category: Article – Media

Posted on

Article: Taiwan Regulators Steps Up Scrutiny of Clubhouse App

Article - Media, Publications

Taiwan Regulators Steps Up Scrutiny of Clubhouse App

Ranamita Chakraborty, Regulation Asia, 23 March 2021

The social media app restricts voice recording without the consent of every speaker in a chat room, which may create a loophole for stock manipulators.

Taiwan’s FSC (Financial Supervisory Commission) is reportedly looking into ways to monitor suspected stock market manipulation on Clubhouse, an exclusive invitation-only social networking app based on audio-chat. Continue reading “Article: Taiwan Regulators Steps Up Scrutiny of Clubhouse App”

Posted on

Article: GameStop hearing targets stock lending, social media

Article - Media, Publications

GameStop hearing targets stock lending, social media

Michael Shaw, 23 March 2021

Two issues emerged from a congressional hearing on the volatile trading of GameStop Corp. shares: Lawmakers and regulators need a greater understanding of how technology helped foster the frenzy, and regulators need systems to understand such events — and possibly to manage them.

House Financial Services members and witnesses spent most of their time at the hearing last week focusing on the role of short-selling in the GameStop trading frenzy in January. They specifically looked at the source of securities used to take short positions, and they looked at how a bunch of retail investors seemingly were able to outmaneuver the professionals. Continue reading “Article: GameStop hearing targets stock lending, social media”

Posted on

Article: Form 8-K American Acquisition Opportunity Inc.

Article - Media, Publications

Form 8-K American Acquisition Opportunity Inc.

EDGAR AGENTS LLC, 23 March 2021

On March 22, 2021, American Acquisition Opportunity Inc. (the “Registrant”) consummated its initial public offering (the “IPO”) of 10,000,000 units (the “Units”), each Unit consisting of one share of common stock of the Registrant, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Common Stock”) and one-half of one redeemable warrant (“Warrant”), each whole Warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one share of Common Stock for $11.50 per share. The Units were sold at a price of $10.00 per Unit, generating aggregate gross proceeds to the Registrant of $100,000,000.

In connection with the IPO, the Registrant entered into the following agreements, forms of which were previously filed as exhibits to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-252751) related to the IPO, originally filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) on February 5, 2021 (as amended, the “Registration Statement”): Continue reading “Article: Form 8-K American Acquisition Opportunity Inc.”

Posted on

Article: American Acquisition Opportunity Inc – Units (1 Ord Class A & 1/2 War) (AMAOU)

Article - Media, Publications

American Acquisition Opportunity Inc – Units (1 Ord Class A & 1/2 War) (AMAOU)

Seeking Alpha, 23 March 2021

An Underwriting Agreement, dated March 17, 2021 by and between the Registrant and Kingswood Capital Markets, division of Benchmark Securities, Inc., a copy of which is attached as Exhibit 1.1 hereto and incorporated herein by reference.

A Warrant Agreement, dated March 17, 2021, by and between the Registrant and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC as warrant agent, a copy of which is attached as Exhibit 4.1 hereto and incorporated herein by reference. Continue reading “Article: American Acquisition Opportunity Inc – Units (1 Ord Class A & 1/2 War) (AMAOU)”

Posted on

Article: CBA, ANZ to Settle 2016 Lawsuit Involving BBSW Manipulation

Article - Media, Publications

CBA, ANZ to Settle 2016 Lawsuit Involving BBSW Manipulation

Editors, Regulation Asia, 23 March 2021

The case was initially launched by two US hedge funds and a US-based derivatives trader, alleging they suffered losses due to bank manipulation of the BBSW.

CBA (Commonwealth Bank of Australia) and ANZ Bank have separately issued statements saying they have reached an agreement to settle a class action brought against them in the US in 2016 involving the trading of certain BBSW-based products. Continue reading “Article: CBA, ANZ to Settle 2016 Lawsuit Involving BBSW Manipulation”

Posted on

Article: Bionano Genomics Announces Financial Results for the Three and Twelve Months Ended December 31, 2020 and Highlights Recent Corporate Updates

Article - Media, Publications

Bionano Genomics Announces Financial Results for the Three and Twelve Months Ended December 31, 2020 and Highlights Recent Corporate Updates

GLOBE NEWSWIRE, 23 March 2021

Bionano Genomics, Inc. (Nasdaq: BNGO) today reported financial results and business achievements for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2020 and highlighted recent corporate updates.

“2020 was an important momentum-building year for Bionano and one that allowed us to showcase many of our strengths. Despite 2020’s challenges, we executed well on our commercial offerings for Saphyr® by expanding the number of systems in the field and the number of samples analyzed in our data services lab. We believe this progress helped create the awareness needed to develop the market for structural variation analysis and optical genome mapping, or OGM, furthering our goal of disrupting the genomics industry,” said Erik Holmlin, PhD, CEO of Bionano. “2021 is shaping up to be a transformational year for the company. Continue reading “Article: Bionano Genomics Announces Financial Results for the Three and Twelve Months Ended December 31, 2020 and Highlights Recent Corporate Updates”

Posted on

Article: Alliance Man Sentenced for Federal Financial Crime Convictions

Article - Media, Publications

Alliance Man Sentenced for Federal Financial Crime Convictions

News Release, 23 March 2021

Acting United States Attorney Jan Sharp announced that Randall W. Hillman, 70, of Alliance, was sentenced Tuesday in Lincoln, Nebraska, by Senior United States District Judge Richard G. Kopf for possession of device making equipment and using or trafficking in an unauthorized access device. Hillman was sentenced to 3 years’ probation, $5,500 in fines, $36,566 in restitution, and a $200 special assessment. There is no parole in the federal system. Continue reading “Article: Alliance Man Sentenced for Federal Financial Crime Convictions”

Posted on

Article: Former Glencore trader charged in global oil price manipulation scam

Article - Media, Publications

Former Glencore trader charged in global oil price manipulation scam

THOMAS BIESHEUVEL AND JAVIER BLAS, 23 March 2021

(Bloomberg) –A former Glencore Plc trader was charged by U.S. authorities with conspiracy to manipulate a key oil price benchmark, the latest sign that prosecutors around the world are stepping up their scrutiny of the notoriously opaque commodity trading industry.

U.S. prosecutors alleged that Emilio Heredia, a former Glencore employee, directed buy and sell orders that would push fuel oil prices up and down. That allowed the companies he worked for to profit from the price swings, between 2012 and 2016, according to a filing at a U.S. District Court in San Francisco on March 15.

The investigation is the latest legal setback for Glencore, already embroiled in a wide-ranging probe by the U.S. Department of Justice on allegations of bribery and money laundering. The UK, Swiss and Brazilian authorities are also investigating the commodity trader. Continue reading “Article: Former Glencore trader charged in global oil price manipulation scam”

Posted on

Article: The Legal and Economic Implications from Recent UK Spoofing Cases

Article - Media, Publications

The Legal and Economic Implications from Recent UK Spoofing Cases.

Yan Cao, Marlene Haas, Greg Leonard, 23 March 2021

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”)[1] has in recent years intensified its efforts in securities and commodities markets to detect and pursue the type of disruptive trading behaviour called “spoofing.” This emphasis coincides with a similarly increasing focus by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) and the US Department of Justice (“DOJ”) on spoofing cases in the US. Spoofing may take different forms, but usually involves the placing of non-bona fide orders, often of large quantity, on one side of the market while trying to execute a bona fide order on the other side of the market. Once the bona fide order has been executed, the trader cancels the non-bona fide orders quickly. To date, more than 40 enforcement actions targeting spoofing have been filed against individuals and companies by US regulators and more than 5 have been filed by UK regulators. In February 2019, Julia Hoggett, the FCA’s Director of Market Oversight, delivered a speech about the FCA’s commitment to tackling market abuse, calling compliance with such rules “critical to the integrity and health of our financial markets.” Continue reading “Article: The Legal and Economic Implications from Recent UK Spoofing Cases”

Posted on

Article: Market Manipulation: Alberta Securities Commission clamps down on pump and dump scheme

Article - Media, Publications

Market Manipulation: Alberta Securities Commission clamps down on pump and dump scheme

Lawrence E. Ritchie, Tristram Mallett, Devon Luca, 23 March 2021

The Alberta Securities Commission (the “ASC”) recently issued its reasons in Re Kilimanjaro Capital Ltd., 2021 ABASC 14 (the “Decision”). The ASC concluded the control person of Kilimanjaro Capital Ltd. (“Kilimanjaro”), Ashmit Patel, engaged in, among other things, market manipulating conduct intended artificially to inflate Kilimanjaro’s share price so that he could profit.

The Decision highlights the extensive cross-border cooperation between the United States Security and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and Canadian Securities Administrators (“CSAs”). The Decision also strengthens the existing legal framework relating to misleading promotional materials. As we have written previously, regulators are grappling with how to regulate an evolving market in which information posted on social media can significantly influence market valuations. The Decision lays useful groundwork that can be used to regulate legitimate trading practices used for improper purposes.

Read Full Article

Posted on

Article: Melvin Capital Is Facing Nine Lawsuits Related to the GameStop Frenzy

Article - Media, Publications

Melvin Capital Is Facing Nine Lawsuits Related to the GameStop Frenzy

Michelle Celarier, Institutional Investor, 22 March 2021

Gabriel Plotkin’s Melvin Capital, the hedge fund at the center of the GameStop trading frenzy in January, is a defendant in nine lawsuits by retail investors alleging a conspiracy to limit trading that caused them to lose money.

The hedge fund revealed the existence of the lawsuits in its annual ADV filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Melvin was famously short GameStop and lost more than 50 percent during January following a short squeeze orchestrated by a Reddit forum called WallStreetBets, whose members included retail investors in GameStop. As the stock soared, various online brokerages catering to those investors, including Robinhood, restricted buying shares of GameStop, among other stocks heavily shorted by Melvin.

Posted on

Article: North Korean appears in U.S. court on sanctions-evasion money-laundering charges

Article - Media, Publications

North Korean appears in U.S. court on sanctions-evasion money-laundering charges

David Brunnstrom and Mark Hosenball, 22 March 2021

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A North Korean businessman accused by the United States of laundering money to circumvent U.S. and U.N. sanctions intended to curb his country’s nuclear weapons program appeared in a U.S. court on Monday after extradition from Malaysia.

The U.S. Justice Department said Mun Chol Myong, who it said was affiliated with North Korea’s primary intelligence organization, the Reconnaissance General Bureau, was the first North Korean ever extradited to the United States.

It said Mun appeared in federal court in Washington, where he was indicted in May 2019 on six counts of money laundering, including conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Mun was arrested in Malaysia in 2019 after the United States accused him of laundering funds through front companies and issuing fraudulent documents to support illicit shipments to North Korea. He denied the allegations, saying they were politically motivated.

Read Full Article

Posted on

Article: Meme stocks loom large in the CSA’s short-selling review

Article - Media, Publications

Meme stocks loom large in the CSA’s short-selling review

James Langton, 22 March 2021

When a group of retail traders used Reddit to gleefully gang up on a handful of hedge funds in January, giving birth to the concept of “meme” stocks, they cranked up an already simmering debate about proper public discourse related to trading. In Canada, a consultation regarding activist short-sellers is the focus of that debate.

Late last year, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) published a consultation paper on the role and regulation of activist short-sellers — traders who publicly air their negative views on the stocks they’re shorting.

Defenders of the practice maintain that vocal short-sellers are the only thing standing between unrelenting upside hype and ordinary investors — i.e., their skepticism and scrutiny help expose corporate fraud and misconduct, aiding naive regulators and investors alike. Continue reading “Article: Meme stocks loom large in the CSA’s short-selling review”

Posted on

Article: Credit Suisse Faces Additional Charges over FX Market Rigging

Article - Media, Publications

Credit Suisse Faces Additional Charges over FX Market Rigging

Arnab Shome, 22 March 2021

The European Commission has slapped an extra antitrust charge sheet against Credit Suisse for its involvement in the manipulation of foreign exchange (forex) markets, according to a Bloomberg report.

The Swiss lender confirmed the fresh charges in addition to the earlier charges, which were introduced in July 2018 for sharing crucial market-related information in chatrooms. However, the bank denied all allegations against it.

Looking Forward to Meeting You at iFX EXPO Dubai May 2021 – Making It Happen!

“Credit Suisse continues to believe that it did not engage in any systemic conduct in the FX markets which violated the European Union’s competition rules, and is contesting the EC’s case,” the bank said in a statement.

The EU regulator’s original allegations named several major banks for their part in manipulating the currency benchmarks. Though most of the lenders settled with the regulator, Credit Suisse remains adamant pushing its innocence.

Read Full Article

Posted on

Article: Hargreaves Lansdown faces legal action over Woodford fund

Article - Media, Publications

Hargreaves Lansdown faces legal action over Woodford fund

Pedro Gonçalves,  22 March 2021

RGL Management has formally launched legal action against Hargreaves Lansdown, which continued to recommend Woodford Equity Income to its clients right up until its suspension in June 2019, even though its analysts raised concerns in 2017.

RGL Management has taken legal action against both Hargreaves Lansdown Asset Management and Link Fund Solutions, the fund’s authorised corporate director, as it was first reported by This Is Money and The Times.

The claims will centre around losses sustained directly as a result of the collapse of WEIF and also for “loss of opportunity” losses, suffered through missing out on alternative investments that, in contrast to WEIF, would have generated positive returns. Continue reading “Article: Hargreaves Lansdown faces legal action over Woodford fund”

THE DOLLAR HAS NO INTRINSIC VALUE : DO YOUR ASSETS?