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Article: Hong Kong to test linking China’s digital yuan with domestic payments

Article - Media

Hong Kong to test linking China’s digital yuan with domestic payments

Reuters, 08 June 2021

Hong Kong is to test connecting China’s digital yuan with its domestic payments network, officials said on Tuesday, the second stage of trials of China’s digital currency in the financial hub.

China’s e-CNY is one of the most advanced central bank digital currency (CBDC) projects among major economies. Chinese officials say the project will be initially domestically focused, but cross-border trials are also under way in Hong Kong. Continue reading “Article: Hong Kong to test linking China’s digital yuan with domestic payments”

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Article: Austrac Accuses Australian Casinos of Money-Laundering

Article - Media

Austrac Accuses Australian Casinos of Money-Laundering

Niji Narayan, 08 June 2021

The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (Austrac), a state-run financial intelligence organization, has leveled allegations against many of the major land-based casinos in the country.

Crown Resorts, Star Entertainment and SkyCity Entertainment Group are among those who have received notices. Austrac has also reportedly contacted National Bank of Australia (NAB) regarding the matter. Continue reading “Article: Austrac Accuses Australian Casinos of Money-Laundering”

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Article: Bitcoin’s reputation as a government-free zone is in question after the US snatches $2.3 million from hackers

Article - Media

Bitcoin’s reputation as a government-free zone is in question after the US snatches $2.3 million from hackers

Harry Robertson, 08 June 2021

Bitcoin’s fans have long argued that its decentralized design makes it a currency free from government control and manipulation. But on Monday, the US Justice Department said it had reached into a bitcoin “wallet” and swiped back $2.3 million that Colonial Pipeline had paid to hackers after a ransomware attack in May.

Analysts said the dramatic move raised questions about just how free from state oversight bitcoin really is.
“The rapid move by US agents in tracing and tracking the ransom paid, then retrieving it after gaining access to a private key to unlock the bitcoin wallet, is a blow to crypto fans who have lauded its untraceable nature,” said Susannah Streeter, senior investment analyst at broker Hargreaves Lansdown. Continue reading “Article: Bitcoin’s reputation as a government-free zone is in question after the US snatches $2.3 million from hackers”

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Article: Mining Companies Call Themselves Green in Push for Investor Cash

Article - Media

Mining Companies Call Themselves Green in Push for Investor Cash

Scott Patterson, 08 June 2021

Mining companies are trying to tap into the flood of cash targeting green investments by touting their production of materials that go into wind turbines, power lines and batteries.

They are playing down the environmental impact of their operations and, for many of them, their big businesses mining coal.

The International Energy Agency said in a May report that while coal mining will decrease dramatically in the coming years, “the mining of minerals needed for clean energy transitions increases very rapidly” in a global economy focused on bringing down carbon emissions. Continue reading “Article: Mining Companies Call Themselves Green in Push for Investor Cash”

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Article: “Get Shorty” – FINRA Requests Comment on Proposed Significant Changes to Short Position and Stock Loan Reporting

Article - Media

“Get Shorty” – FINRA Requests Comment on Proposed Significant Changes to Short Position and Stock Loan Reporting

Sidley Austin LLP, 07 June 2021

On June 4, 2021, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) published Regulatory Notice 21-19 (the Notice), which requests comment on certain significant proposed changes to short position and stock loan reporting. Currently, FINRA Rule 4560 generally requires clearing firms/prime brokers that are FINRA members to report to FINRA twice per month aggregate settled short positions in firm and customer accounts, subject to certain exceptions. The short interest data collected by FINRA includes the reporting firm’s current aggregate settled short positions for each security and any short position changes at the firm since the prior reporting period. FINRA has requested comment on proposals that would, among other things, (i) increase the frequency of short interest reporting from twice per month to weekly or even daily; (ii) require clearing firms to report synthetic short exposure (e.g., long puts/short calls) in firm and customer accounts; (iii) require clearing firms to report loan obligations resulting from arranged financing and enhanced lending programs; (iv) require clearing firms to report to FINRA for regulatory purposes a report of daily allocations of fail to deliver positions under Rule 204(d) of Regulation SHO; and (v) consider requiring FINRA member firms to report to FINRA (for regulatory purposes but with an eye toward eventual public dissemination) certain information on stock loans.

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Article: Meme Stocks Mania: What Is ‘Naked Shorting’ and Why Is It Trending on Twitter?

Article - Media

Meme Stocks Mania: What Is ‘Naked Shorting’ and Why Is It Trending on Twitter?

William White, 07 June 2021

Naked shorting is trending on Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) today and it looks like there’s no end in sight to the meme stock mania as users react to the news that kicked this all off.

All of the excitement around naked shorting started after CNBC host Melissa Lee mentioned that the practice was taking place with shares of AMC Entertainment (NYSE:AMC) stock. The host said the following while discussing the matter.

“There’s a lot of people, a lot of short sellers out there borrowing stock they didn’t have.” Continue reading “Article: Meme Stocks Mania: What Is ‘Naked Shorting’ and Why Is It Trending on Twitter?”

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Article: AMC stock jumps nearly 15% as retail-fueled rally stretches to another week

Article - Media

AMC stock jumps nearly 15% as retail-fueled rally stretches to another week

Yun Li, 07 June 2021

AMC Entertainment, the meme stock that amazed Wall Street recently, rallied double digits on Monday as speculative trading activity in the struggling movie theater gained steam.

Shares of AMC jumped as much as 25% Monday, following an 80% rally in the previous week. AMC has dethroned GameStop to become the star on the infamous WallStreetBets forum on Reddit, with retail traders encouraging each other to pile into the shares and call options. AMC Shares closed 14.8% higher at $55 on Monday. Continue reading “Article: AMC stock jumps nearly 15% as retail-fueled rally stretches to another week”

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Article: The corruption of the SEC, over decades and till today

Article - Media, Video

The corruption of the SEC, over decades and till today
Lucy Komisar, 06 June 2021

The Securities and Exchange Commission, set up after the 1929 stock market crash, has been a corrupt operation captured by the stock brokers and Wall Street actors it was supposed to regulate. Here is the history, told in a video I did for Superstonk.
Continue reading “Article: The corruption of the SEC, over decades and till today”

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Article: Wirecard: German Parliament slams Scholz and Merkel

Article - Media

Wirecard: German Parliament slams Scholz and Merkel

Reuters, 07 June 2021

A committee of lawmakers in the Bundestag has published its inquiry into the Wirecard fraud affair. The damaging report comes months before Germany’s general election.

The public inquiry into the Wirecard scandal published its concluding report on Monday, criticizing Germany’s Finance Minister Olaf Scholz and Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The parliamentary committee consisting of opposition lawmakers ended a monthslong investigation into the scandal with the publication of a 675-page draft report. Continue reading “Article: Wirecard: German Parliament slams Scholz and Merkel”

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Article: Romance Scammers Charged with Laundering $3.5 Million Stolen from Victims

Article - Media

Romance Scammers Charged with Laundering $3.5 Million Stolen from Victims

JULETT PINEDA SLEINAN, 05 June 2021

U.S. prosecutors have charged six people for conspiring to launder US$3.5 million in proceeds derived from romance scams, a profitable fraud scheme on the rise that defrauded hundreds of millions of dollars from American victims last year.

Authorities said the scammers preyed on vulnerable people by using online aliases on multiple dating sites and convinced victims to transfer funds to bank accounts controlled by the gang, a complaint unsealed by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York last week revealed.

Under the aliases ‘Diego Francisco’, ‘Richard Francisco’ and ‘Tom Francisco’, the scammers used photos of male models to engage in conversations with the victims and ask them for money. Continue reading “Article: Romance Scammers Charged with Laundering $3.5 Million Stolen from Victims”