Matt Taibbi: Let the Apes Have Wall Street

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Let the Apes Have Wall Street
Matt Taibbi, 10 June 2021
The much-publicized war over “meme stocks” drags a longstanding Wall Street ripoff out of the shadows, to hilarious results

On CNBC’s Fast Money last week, anchor Melissa Lee appeared to mention the unmentionable. She was talking with Tim Seymour, CEO of Seymour Asset Management, who made offhand mention of the hedge funds shorting now-infamous stocks like AMC and GameStop. “Look, there are a lot of short sellers out there who have been borrowing stock they didn’t have,” Seymour said.

“Naked shorts, yeah,” said Lee.

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Article: Husband of Amazon employee sentenced to prison for insider trading in Amazon stock

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Husband of Amazon employee sentenced to prison for insider trading in Amazon stock

SDepartment of Justice, 10 June 2021

Seattle – A 37-year-old Bothell, Washington man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 26 months in prison for securities fraud due to his insider trading activity, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. Viky Bohra pleaded guilty in November 2020, admitting that between 2016 and 2018, he used Amazon inside information he obtained from his wife, an Amazon finance employee, to place trades in Amazon stock–making a profit of $1,428,264. At the sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge James L. Robart noted that Bohra had turned his wife and father into criminals and added “I firmly believe white collar crime deserves equal treatment to what we call street crime.”

“This defendant and his wife were earning hundreds of thousands of dollars in salary and bonuses from their jobs in tech – but he was not content with that – greedily scheming to illegally profit by trading Amazon stock,” said U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. “This case should stand as a warning to those who try to game the markets with insider trading: there is a heavy price to pay with a felony conviction and prison sentence.”

According to records filed in the case, Bohra’s wife had access to confidential information regarding Amazon revenue and expenses. Because of that work, Bohra and his wife were subject to blackout periods during which no Amazon stock could be traded. Bohra’s wife was advised of insider trading policies making it clear the responsibility to safeguard confidential financial information. Despite those warnings, Bohra obtained his wife’s confidential information and traded in Amazon stock and options in accounts tied to him and his father. Trades occurred during blackout periods and, from 2016 to 2018, relied in part on information from his wife to make successful trades in advance of Amazon earnings announcements.

“Mr. Bohra knew exactly what he was doing and was driven solely by greed,” said Donald M. Voiret, FBI Special Agent in Charge of the Seattle Field Office. “With his nearly unlimited access and knowledge of securities trading, he undermined public trust in our financial markets.”

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Article: Former NYSE Trader on GameStop Earnings and Naked Shorts

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Former NYSE Trader on GameStop Earnings and Naked Shorts

thestreet, 10 June 2021

Momentum stocks, which have been dubbed “meme stocks” by mainstream media and Wall Street, have taken the stock market by storm in the last six months.

Earlier this week, stocks such as GameStop (GME) – Get Report and AMC (AMC) – Get Report were seeing positive momentum. Even stocks like Clover (CLOV) – Get Report and Wendy’s (WEN) – Get Report joined them.

However, GameStop’s momentum turned negative in Thursday intraday trading following the company’s earnings report late Wednesday. Continue reading “Article: Former NYSE Trader on GameStop Earnings and Naked Shorts”

Article: Nigeria: Top Govt Officials Involved in Illicit Financial Flows, EFCC Alleges

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Nigeria: Top Govt Officials Involved in Illicit Financial Flows, EFCC Alleges

Kasim Sumaina, 10 June 2021

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has accused Nigerian leaders and top government officials of aiding the Illicit Financial Flows (IFF) activities in the country.

The EFCC also revealed that corrupt government officials and their private sector collaborators used fronts and ownership structures that do not provide sufficient information about the true identities of the natural persons behind the title to hide illicit money and transferred same to safe havens abroad.

The Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Abduralsheed Bawa, disclosed this during a one-day conference that was organised by the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CSLAC) on IFF on Corruption in Arbitration in Abuja Continue reading “Article: Nigeria: Top Govt Officials Involved in Illicit Financial Flows, EFCC Alleges”

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Article: JBS Paid Hackers $11 Million After Hack Crippled Meat Plants

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JBS Paid Hackers $11 Million After Hack Crippled Meat Plants

Fabiana Batista and Michael Hirtzer, 10 June 2021

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.

“This was a very difficult decision to make for our company and for me personally,” JBS USA Chief Executive Officer Andre Nogueira said in a statement. “However, we felt this decision had to be made to prevent any potential risk for our customers.”

The ransom payment was made in Bitcoin, according to a spokesperson for JBS Brazil. Continue reading “Article: JBS Paid Hackers $11 Million After Hack Crippled Meat Plants”

Article: Financial Regulation After GameStop: The Game Will Go On!

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Financial Regulation After GameStop: The Game Will Go On!

Ariadna Dumitrescu, 10 June 2021

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). Continue reading “Article: Financial Regulation After GameStop: The Game Will Go On!”

Article: ‘Dieselgate’ Fraud: Timeline Of A Scandal

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‘Dieselgate’ Fraud: Timeline Of A Scandal

AFP News, 10 June 2021

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.

Here is a timeline:

In 2014, US researchers at the University of West Virginia discover that certain VW diesel cars emit up to 40 times the permissible levels of harmful nitrogen oxide when tested on the road. Continue reading “Article: ‘Dieselgate’ Fraud: Timeline Of A Scandal”

Article: Wall Street Faces All the Same Reflation Doubts After CPI Beat

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Wall Street Faces All the Same Reflation Doubts After CPI Beat

Sam Potter and Anchalee Worrachate, 10 June 2021

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.

Prices paid by U.S. consumers rose in May at the fastest pace since 2008, yet the details of data released Thursday supported the Federal Reserve’s view that the jump will prove transitory.

As investors digested the numbers, an initial increase in Treasury yields lasted little more than an hour, and by lunch they were extending recent declines. Tech stocks led the equity advance, with the Nasdaq 100 outperforming as more economically sensitive sectors lagged. Continue reading “Article: Wall Street Faces All the Same Reflation Doubts After CPI Beat”

Article: [News Focus] Legal risks persist at Samsung as Lee’s trial continues

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[News Focus] Legal risks persist at Samsung as Lee’s trial continues

Song Su-hyun, 10 June 2021

Samsung Group’s de facto chief Lee Jae-yong attended a court hearing on Thursday as part of an ongoing trial on alleged irregularities surrounding his ascension to the helm of the South Korean tech conglomerate.

As always, the tycoon, who is serving a 2 1/2-year jail term over a previous bribery conviction, didn’t utter a single word throughout the full-day session held at the Seoul Central District Court, as his attorneys fought hard to fend off additional convictions. The charges brought against him include stock market manipulation, accounting fraud and breach of trust. Continue reading “Article: [News Focus] Legal risks persist at Samsung as Lee’s trial continues”