Article: China tells Alibaba to sell off media assets in tech crackdown

Article - Media, Publications

China tells Alibaba to sell off media assets in tech crackdown

Mark Sweney and Helen Davidson, 16 March 2021

Beijing has ordered e-commerce company Alibaba to sell off media assets including Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post (SCMP) as the Chinese government looks to crack down on the growing public influence held by the country’s sprawling tech conglomerates.

Alibaba has become the lightning rod in the crackdown on big tech after founder Jack Ma, one of China’s most popular, outspoken and wealthiest entrepreneurs, delivered a blunt speech last year criticising national regulators that reportedly infuriated the president, Xi Jinping.

Following the comments, Chinese regulators blocked the $34bn stock market flotation of Alibaba online payments subsidiary Ant Group, which would have been the biggest share offering in history, and Ma disappeared from the public eye for three months. Last week, it emerged that regulators are reportedly preparing to hit Alibaba with a record fine in excess of $975m over anti-competitive practices.

China’s protectionist business regime, which shuts out foreign companies including Google and Netflix, has enabled a group of homegrown conglomerates to flourish as the country looks to build the next wave of global tech champions to challenge Silicon Valley.

Beijing has struggled to maintain control over their activities and wider influence with Alibaba’s media empire expanding to buy SCMP, Hong Kong’s premier English-language newspaper, in 2016 and holding stakes in social network Weibo, video streaming service Youku and Yicai Media Group, one of the country’s most influential news outlets.

“What is interesting here is that the Chinese Communist party has done a good job of cultivating huge tech giants, national champions,” said Jamie MacEwan, a senior media analyst at Enders Analysis. “But there has always been a split under the surface between those who want to encourage the great tech leap forward and a growing unease among those worried about these huge companies and the big public figures at the head of them, like Ma, outgrowing the patronage of the [Chinese communist] party.”

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Subject: Warren Davidson

Subject of Interest

Warren Davidson (R-OH) is a committee member of the 116th Congress U.S. House Committee on Financial Services. Warren Earl Davidson is an American Republican politician from the state of Ohio. He is the member of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio’s 8th congressional district. After his military service, he led his family’s business in the Ohio manufacturing industry, which he ran until entering public service. He was appointed to the 2020 United States Military Academy Board of Visitors. He graduated from the United States Military Academy (BS), and University of Notre Dame (MBA). 

Biography

U.S. House Banking Committee on Financial Services

Fined: D.A. Davidson & Co Fined by FINRA

Fined

D.A. Davidson & Co Fined by FINRA

An AWC was issued in which the firm was censured, fined $85,000 and required to provide to FINRA a plan for reviewing the securities detailed in the AWC to identify and then provide notice to the issuers of inaccuracies in the issue price certificates. Without admitting or denying the findings, the firm consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that in connection with municipal offerings, it provided inaccurate or misleading statements in its issue price certificates related to the percentage of each maturity that was sold, or was reasonably expect to be sold, to the public.

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Article: Overstock Falls to Support as Former CEO Cashes Out 4.7M Shares

Article - Media, Publications

Overstock Falls to Support as Former CEO Cashes Out 4.7M Shares

JUSTIN KUEPPER, 19 September 2019

Overstock.com, Inc. (OSTK) shares fell to key support levels after former CEO Patrick Byrne disclosed the sale of 4.7 million shares in a Form 4 SEC filing earlier this week. While large insider sales are typically a bearish signal, Byrne noted in a letter that the sale was due to insurance, controversy, and hedging rather than a lack of confidence in the company. Continue reading “Article: Overstock Falls to Support as Former CEO Cashes Out 4.7M Shares”

Article: Byrne caring and generous

Article - Media, Publications

Byrne caring and generous

Deseret News, 29 May 2006

I read Lee Davidson’s annual article on the top political contributors in Utah. What should be written is a companion piece on how much money to charity and research these men and women give annually. The amount surpasses political donations by millions.

Mr. Davidson goes in great detail about Dr. Patrick Byrne of Overstock.com. The people of Utah should know about another side of Dr. Byrne’s generosity. Patrick gave $100,000 to the Boys & Girls Clubs of South Valley this year without us asking. Nor did he seek any acclaim or recognition. He did it because he cares about kids and the potential of every child. Continue reading “Article: Byrne caring and generous”

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