Senators Call For Investigation Into Packer Market Manipulation
wnax, 21 May 2021
Senators Mike Rounds of South Dakota and Tina Smith of Minnesota are asking Attorney General Merrick Garland to examine whether the control large meatpackers have over the beef processing market violates U.S. antitrust laws and principles of fair competition. They wrote a letter to the AG this week and are inviting all members of Congress to join them. This isn’t the first investigation on this issue, but Rounds says both producers and consumers are at the center of this examination.
Two similar DOJ investigations are still underway with no results. However, Senator Rounds says they have evidence those are moving forward and are calling for action from the AG’s office if there is proof of wrongdoing. He thinks there is a better chance of getting some action under this AG and administration. Continue reading “Article: Senators Call For Investigation Into Packer Market Manipulation”
I fully expect U.S. stocks to decline sharply over the coming months and potentially years as the extreme level of valuation and bullish sentiment cannot be maintained indefinitely. I have written about the risks of major losses in the S&P 500 and other indices a number of times over recent months and I remain fully convinced that we are on the precipice of a market crash and/or a long-term bear market. See ‘VTI: Rising Inflation May Burst This 3-Sigma Bubble’ for my most recent article on U.S. stocks, or ‘SPX: Don’t Be Suckered In By ‘Low’ Forward P/E Ratios’ for my take on the S&P 500 in particular. That said, I do not think being long the ProShares Short S&P 500 ETF (NYSEARCA:SH) is a good way to take advantage of the upcoming equity weakness.
The United States Treasury Department released a statement on Thursday announcing their plans to crack down on tax evasion using cryptocurrency. The Treasury Department plans to raise an additional $700 billion through the new tax compliance measures. 
It was tax season 1999. I was a federal economic-crimes prosecutor in Miami, and this was the time of year my colleagues and I brought cases to deter would-be tax cheats. My target was a tax-return preparer operating out of Liberty City’s “Pork & Beans” projects, made famous in the movie Moonlight. This tax preparer had been manufacturing false W-2s and Social Security numbers so that her clients would receive an earned-income tax credit to which they weren’t entitled—amounting to more than $100,000 in bogus refunds. She eventually pleaded guilty and spent nearly three years in prison, which at the time I considered a broadly just result. She had committed a real crime against the United States. 
The Federal Government yesterday appealed to countries that are the main destination for illicit financial flows (IFFs) to freeze, seize and repatriate such funds. Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning Mrs. Zainab Ahmed made the appeal during a virtual International Conference on Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) and Asset Recovery.
In March, the government published its review of all the threats facing this country, and how it would respond to them, from hostile autocracies and cybercrime to terrorism and trade. Running through the pages of this huge and complex document, like lead through a pencil, is one consistent vulnerability: dark money.
The Serious Fraud Office will start a criminal probe into Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance just as the beleaguered British prosecutor faces intense criticism for its inability to secure a high-profile conviction.
This time last year, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) had US stock holdings of $94 billion. The portfolio of Switzerland’s central bank has grown by $56 billion since, reporting ownership of $150 billion worth of US listed stocks as at Q1 2021.
Tycoon Sanjeev Gupta’s commodities empire is being investigated by Britain’s Serious Fraud Office in a probe that encompasses the conglomerate’s links to collapsed lender Greensill Capital, the SFO said on Friday.
New contenders are emerging in the race to get rid of the London interbank offered rate by year-end.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s whistleblower program is in turmoil over a potential payout exceeding $100 million to a former Deutsche Bank AG executive—one so large it would deplete the agency’s whistleblower funds and has led it to seek congressional action.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the DTCC Data Repository (U.S.) application to operate as a registered security-based swap data repository (SBSDR).