Foreign Collusion, Naked Shorting (Counterfeiting) & Money Laundering — All Illicit Wealth
Robinhood Is In Talks With FINRA To Settle March 2020 Probe Into Options And Outages
Tyler Durden, Zero Hedge, 26 February 2021
At the center of the investigation was how Robinhood displays cash balances and buying power to its customers and the process that it undertakes to vet and approve traders for options trading. Continue reading “Article: Robinhood Is In Talks With FINRA To Settle March 2020 Probe Into Options And Outages”
Rule of Law Collapsed in USA – Martin Armstrong
Greg Hunter, 26 February 2021
Legendary financial and geopolitical cycle analyst Martin Armstrong says now that the stolen election is over, get ready for lawlessness to reign. We start with the Supreme Court that refused to hear the Trump case on Pennsylvania voting fraud. There are three more 2020 Election voter fraud cases pending at the nation’s highest court. Armstrong says, “I don’t think they are going to take any of them. Look, the rule of law has absolutely collapsed in the United States. It’s just a joke at this point. . . . You swear an oath to uphold the Constitution. It’s not whenever you feel like it. . . . This is not only a denial of due process but the civil rights of everybody in the country. They effectively said Pennsylvania changed the rules against the (state) legislature in the middle of an election, and we are not going to hear the case. So, they are effectively saying politicians can change the rules of an election at any time, and it doesn’t have to be constitutional. Refusing to take this case is a disaster because next election they can choose to do the same thing at any time.” Continue reading “Article: Rule of Law Collapsed in USA – Martin Armstrong”
SEC Suspends Trading In 15 Companies Due To “Questionable Trading And Social Media Activity”
TYLER DURDEN, 26 February 2021
Two weeks ago we said that the regulatory crackdown against WallStreetBets had begun when the SEC suspended trading in pennystock Spectra Science (SCIE). Well, today we got the clearest confirmation yet that the SEC will do everything in its power to make sure that are no more Melvin Capitals and will seek to put a resolute end to the reddit bull raids when it announced that it “suspended trading in the securities of 15 companies because of questionable trading and social media activity.”
Today’s order states that trading is being suspended because of “questions about recent increased activity and volatility in the trading of these issuers, as well as the influence of certain social media accounts on that trading activity.” In enforcing the suspension, the SEC referred to federal securities laws, according to which “the SEC can suspend trading in a stock for 10 days and generally prohibit a broker-dealer from soliciting investors to buy or sell the stock again until certain reporting requirements are met.”
Continue reading “Article: SEC Suspends Trading In 15 Companies Due To “Questionable Trading And Social Media Activity””
TYLER DURDEN, 26 February 2021
Investing legend Charlie Munger didn’t pull any punches when talking about Robinhood and the gamification that is driving new investments in the stock market over the last few years. In an exclusive interview with the Wall Street Journal, the 97 year old Vice Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway sounded off about the “wild speculation” created by the budding brokerage.
“I hate this luring of people into engaging in speculative orgies. [Robinhood] may call it investing, but that’s all bullshit,” Munger said on Thursday.
“It’s really just wild speculation, like casino gambling or racetrack betting. There’s a long history of destructive capitalism, these trading orgies whooped up by the people who profit from them.”
Continue reading “Article: War Of Words: Robinhood Responds To “Disappointing, Elitist” Charlie Munger Bemoaning “Speculative Orgies””
The Elon Musk Effect: The Timeless Power Of Disruption And Brand Authority
Ben Constanty, 25 February 2021
The odds are good that you have been impacted by the network effect, or when a product increases in value when more individuals begin adopting and using said product. A few examples include the telephone and the internet.
Company CEOs such as Elon Musk have recently expedited this process by using their personal brands to create a massive network effect in different industries. To get a better understanding, we need to dive in further. Continue reading “Article: The Elon Musk Effect: The Timeless Power Of Disruption And Brand Authority”
Banks Can Argue Funds Passed On UK Forex Rigging Losses
Christopher Crosby, 25 February 2021
Institutional investors suing some of the world’s largest banks for manipulating the foreign exchange market will have to prove their losses were not passed on to others after a London court ruled on Thursday that the issue has to be determined at trial.
Nigel Teare, sitting as a judge at the High Court, refused to knock down the legal defense raised by Barclays, CitiBank, HSBC and other lenders to fight claims for damages for allegedly manipulating benchmark rates in the forex market.. Continue reading “Article: Banks Can Argue Funds Passed On UK Forex Rigging Losses”
180 Life Sciences Corp. Announces Closing of $11.7 Million Private Placement
GLOBE NEWSWIRE, 25 February 2021
180 Life Sciences Corp. (NASDAQ: ATNF) (180 Life Sciences or the “Company”), a clinical-stage biotechnology company with its lead indication in Phase 2b/3, focused on the development of novel drugs that fulfill unmet needs in inflammatory diseases, fibrosis and pain, today announced the closing of its previously announced private placement of 2,564,000 shares of its common stock and accompanying warrants to purchase an aggregate of up to 2,564,000 shares of common stock at a combined purchase price of $4.55 per share and accompanying warrant. The warrants are exercisable immediately at an exercise price of $5.00 per share and expire five years from the date of issuance. Gross proceeds were approximately $11.7 million, before deducting placement agent fees and other offering expenses. The Company currently intends to use the net proceeds from this offering for general corporate purposes, working capital, and for the research and development of the Company’s programs that are not funded by grants.
The GameStop Mess Exposes the Naked Short Selling Scam
LUCY KOMISAR, 25 February 2021
At the House Financial Services Committee hearing last week on the GameStop debacle, there was an elephant in the room: naked short selling.
Short selling, effectively betting that a stock will go down, involves a trader selling shares he does not own, hoping to buy them back at a lower price to make money on the spread. The trader is supposed to locate (or have a “reasonable belief” he can locate) or borrow the shares in brokerage accounts, and then transfer them to the buyer within two days. This accounts for as much as 50 percent of daily trading. Continue reading “Article: The GameStop Mess Exposes the Naked Short Selling Scam”
Credit Suisse Virtual Financial Services Forum
State Street, 24 February 2021
Risk. Regulation. Complexity. To manage these challenges, and more, we’ve implemented a long-term strategy to support our stakeholders — employees, clients, communities and shareholders. Our strategy focuses on building on our strong core, achieving a digital enterprise, investing in opportunities and optimizing our capital. We maintain close relationships with analysts and investors to make sure they understand our goals, how we plan to get there and our progress along the way. Continue reading “Article: Credit Suisse Virtual Financial Services Forum”
Jason Fernando, 24 February 2021
What Is the LIBOR Scandal?
The LIBOR Scandal was a highly-publicized scheme in which bankers at several major financial institutions colluded with each other to manipulate the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR). The scandal sowed distrust in the financial industry and led to a wave of fines, lawsuits, and regulatory actions. Although the scandal came to light in 2012, there is evidence suggesting that the collusion in question had been ongoing since as early as 2003.
Many leading financial institutions were implicated in the scandal, including Deutsche Bank (DB), Barclays (BCS), Citigroup (C), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), and the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS).
As a result of the rate fixing scandal, questions around LIBOR’s validity as a credible benchmark rate have arisen and it is now being phased out. According to the Federal Reserve and regulators in the U.K., LIBOR will be phased out by June 30, 2023, and will be replaced by the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR). As part of this phase-out, LIBOR one-week and two-month USD LIBOR rates will no longer be published after December 31, 2021. Continue reading “Article: The LIBOR Scandal”
EU Watchdog Wants Zero-Commission Probe After GameStop
Irene Madongo, 24 February 2021
Commission-free trading should be scrutinized following the extreme volatility of stock in GameStop driven by a surge in trading using social media, according to the head of the European Union’s markets regulator.
Steven Maijoor, chairman of the European Securities and Markets Authority, took aim on Tuesday at a move toward allowing investors to trade stocks for free. He told the European Parliament’s economic affairs committee that low-cost or no-cost trading can create less transparency for investors. Continue reading “Article: EU Watchdog Wants Zero-Commission Probe After GameStop”
Form 8-K 180 Life Sciences Corp.
EDGAR AGENTS LLC, 24 February 2021
On February 19, 2021, 180 Life Sciences Corp. (the “Company”) entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement (the “Purchase Agreement”) with the purchasers identified on the signature pages thereto (the “Purchasers”) pursuant to which the Company agreed to sell to the Purchasers an aggregate of 2,564,000 shares (the “Shares”) of the common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, of the Company (“Common Stock”), and warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 2,564,000 shares of Common Stock (the “Warrants”), at a combined purchase price of $4.55 per Share and accompanying Warrant (the “Offering”). Aggregate gross proceeds from the Offering are expected to be approximately $11.7 million, prior to deducting placement agent fees and estimated offering expenses payable by the Company. Net proceeds to the Company from the Offering, after deducting the placement agent fees and estimated offering expenses payable by the Company, are expected to be approximately $10.8 million. The Offering closed on February 23, 2021. Continue reading “Article: Form 8-K 180 Life Sciences Corp.”
Recent Swap Manipulation Cases
Arent Fox, Les Jacobowitz, 24 February 2021
In recent years, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed two actions with facts so shocking the reader is forced to ask, ‘can this be how the industry really functions?’
The Complaints –
The most recent action was filed in February of 2021 in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York (SDNY) against a U.S. dollar swaps trader and managing director of a global investment bank for “engag[ing] in a scheme to deceive and to manipulate the price of U.S. dollar interest rate swap spreads…” 1 The facts of this case are very similar to those of a case filed a little more than a year ago – a bond issuance with a governmental issuer, and the pricing of a related swap through an interdealer broker firm. Both cases illustrate potential flagrant violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (“CEA”) and CFTC regulations.
‘Whistleblower Field’: Marc Cohodes announces $100,000 donation to rename Parker H. Petit Field
Brooklyn Valera, The Signal, 23 February 2021
The Signal has been reporting on Georgia State alumnus and top donor Parker H. Petit’s criminal activity and investigation since 2018.
Marc Cohodes, a notorious short-seller who helped shine a light on Georgia State alumnus and top donor Parker H. Petit’s criminal activity, is now calling to remove Petit’s name from Georgia State’s football field.
Comment: The Signal, evidently a student run publication that is both stupid and slutty — it can be bought — has defamed a good man — Parker H. Petit — and chosen to consort with a known piece of crap, Marc Cohodes. One can only hope that the President of Georgia State is endowed with intelligence and integrity and takes Cohodes’ offer of $100K for what it is — a bribe, below market price, and to be treated with scorn and disdain.
Public App Takes Aim At Robinhood With Already-Viral Michael Bolton Ad
Tyler Durden, ZeroHedge, 23 February 2021
On the same day that it hit the wires that Robinhood’s CEO said it was “necessary” for the company’s business operations to sell its order flow (as we have been detailing at painstaking length here on Zero Hedge for years before it became a mainstream media story) Continue reading “Article: Public App Takes Aim At Robinhood With Already-Viral Michael Bolton Ad”
THE DOLLAR HAS NO INTRINSIC VALUE : DO YOUR ASSETS?
