One may not know it by looking at banker bonuses last year, but 2018 was a banner year if only for bank shareholders and upper management: this is the year when the 6 biggest banks generated (well) over $100 billion in profit. They can thank Trump’s tax cuts, the Fed’s payment of interest on reserves, […]
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Ukrainian Hackers Broke Into the SEC’s EDGAR Database, Made $4.1 Million From Insider Trades…
On Tuesday, United States authorities charged numerous mostly Ukrainian hackers for a scheme to trade on press releases that had not yet been released. The Ukrainians breached the SEC’s EDGAR database to receive access to the nonpublic information. The scheme netted over $4 million for fraudsters from the U.S., Russia and Ukraine. Using 157 corporate earnings […]
Company Co-Founded by Nancy Pelosi’s Son Charged with Securities Fraud…
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged a company cofounded by Paul Pelosi Jr. with fraud on Wednesday after learning that two convicted criminals were running the business. Paul Pelosi Jr., the son of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.), was the president and chief operating officer of Natural Blue Resources Inc., an investment […]
Credit Suisse: China Has a Lot More to Lose Than the U.S. in Trade War…
The possibility that the United States and China are closer to resolving their trade dispute has stoked optimism among investors. But insufficient attention may be being paid to what happens if no deal is struck, according to John Woods, Credit Suisse’s chief investment officer for Asia-Pacific. No deal would be “profoundly negative”. It would be […]
BP Just Discovered a Billion Barrels of Oil in the Gulf of Mexico…
BP‘s investment in next-generation technology just paid off to the tune of a billion barrels of oil. The British energy company has discovered 1 billion barrels of crude at an existing oilfield in the Gulf of Mexico. BP also announced two new offshore oil discoveries and a major new investment in a nearby field. BP […]
The Next American Car Recession Has Already Started…
These should be boom times for Detroit. Unemployment is at a half-century low, gasoline is cheap and auto sales in the U.S. were near record levels last year. Yet American automakers are closing factories, cutting shifts and laying off thousands of workers. The industry is behaving like a recession has arrived. In one segment of the market, it has. Detroit is in the grips of […]
Ford Cancels a $1.6 Billion Mexico Plant and Adds 700 Jobs in Michigan…
Ford Motor Co (f) on Tuesday scrapped a planned Mexican car factory and added 700 jobs in Michigan following criticism by Donald Trump, as the U.S. president-elect turned his attention toward rival General Motors Co with the threat of a “big border tax” over compact cars made in Mexico. Ford CEO Mark Fields called the […]
Someone’s Finally Going to Jail Over the Panama Papers Leak: a Turkish Journalist Who Reported True Facts from Them…
A Turkish court has sentenced journalist Pelin Ünker to 13 months’ imprisonment for her participation in reporting the Panama Papers, a massive leak of documents from the tax-evasion enablers Mossack-Fonseca. Ünker published the true (and undisputed) facts about former Binali Yıldırım and his sons, whose ownership of Maltese companies was revealed in the leaks. Despite […]
The Stock Market Just Got Off to its Best Start in 13 Years…
Things are coming up roses in the stock market, lately. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 index and Nasdaq Composite Index are off to their best starts to a year since 2006 after a powerful series of gains. The Dow DJIA, +51% closed up 0.5% on Thursday, pushing its year-to-date gain to 2.89%, which […]
Bank of England Boss: China’s Renminbi Will Rival the Dollar as Global Reserve Currency…
The past year was full of events that inevitably split the global geopolitical space into two camps: those who still support using US currency as a universal financial tool, and those who are turning their back on the greenback. Global tensions caused by economic sanctions and trade conflicts triggered by Washington have forced targeted countries […]
U.S., China Eye Higher-Level Talks After Discussing Tech Transfer…
U.S. and Chinese officials are working on arrangements for higher-level trade talks after mid-level officials this week discussed U.S. demands on issues that would require structural change in China to address such as intellectual property theft, forced technology transfers and other non-tariff barriers. People familiar with the three days of talks in Beijing said hopes […]
Main Street’s Hiring Woes Show U.S. Labor Market’s Growing Muscle…
This is one of those occasions when less really is more. For the first time, a shrinking talent pool is the biggest concern of mid-size companies assessing the year ahead, according to the JPMorgan Chase Business Leaders Outlook released Monday. It outstripped even the perennial challenge of increasing sales and revenue, showing that a decade-long […]
The Economics of Cryptocurrency Pump and Dump Schemes…
The surge of interest in cryptocurrencies has been accompanied by a proliferation of fraud, largely in the form of pump and dump schemes. This column provides the first measure of the scope of such schemes across cryptocurrencies. The results suggest that the phenomenon is widespread and often quite profitable, and highlight the need for concerted […]
World Bank President Resigns, Paving the Way for a Trump Appointee…
Jim Yong Kim, the president of the World Bank, announced Monday he is resigning at the end of January. Kim’s unexpected departure — nearly three years before his term was set to expire — is likely to set off a fierce battle between President Donald Trump’s administration and countries who have complained about the influence […]
IRS to Issue Tax Refunds During Partial Government Shutdown…
Americans can expect to get tax refunds during the partial government shutdown after all, following a decision by the White House Office of Management and Budget. As part of the Treasury Department, the Internal Revenue Service has been shut for more than two weeks, and had said refunds could not be paid. President Donald Trump […]
10 Years After the Crisis, a Bank CEO Is Finally Heading to Trial for Fraud…
After flubbing two of its most high-profile prosecutions in recent memory, the UK’s Serious Fraud Office is preparing for the opening of one of its biggest cases in years: The prosecution of four senior Barclays executives over allegations of fraud and abuse dating back to the depths of the financial crisis. One of the enduring […]
China Offered to Bail Out Troubled Malaysian Fund in Return for Deals…
Senior Chinese leaders offered in 2016 to help bail out a Malaysian government fund at the center of a swelling, multibillion-dollar graft scandal, according to minutes from a series of previously undisclosed meetings reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. Chinese officials told visiting Malaysians that China would use its influence to try to get the […]
Google Shifted $23B to Tax Haven Bermuda in 2017…
Google moved 19.9 billion euros ($22.7 billion) through a Dutch shell company to Bermuda in 2017, as part of an arrangement that allows it to reduce its foreign tax bill, according to documents filed at the Dutch Chamber of Commerce. The amount channeled through Google Netherlands Holdings BV was around 4 billion euros more than […]
U.S., China Trade Talks To Start Next Week…
The United States and China will hold deputy-level trade discussions in Beijing for two days next week amid a trade war between the two countries that has rocked the international economy and thrown financial markets into disarray. Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Jeffery Gerrish will take a working team to the Chinese capital to carry out […]
Job Growth Surges by 312,000 in December…
Job creation ended 2018 on a powerful note, with nonfarm payrolls surging by 312,000 in December though the unemployment rate rose to 3.9 percent. The jobless rate, which was last higher in June, rose for the right reason as 419,000 new workers entered the workforce and the labor force participation rate increased to 63.1 percent. […]