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☆ House Speaker Mike Johnson campaigned with disgraced reality TV Star Josh Duggar, one of several accused sex offenders connected to his 'mentor' Tony Perkins
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-18 | by ( Jacqueline Sweet | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Speaker Mike Johnson campaigned with now-disgraced reality TV star Josh Duggar years ago in Louisiana. Johnson called Duggar, now in prison for child pornography, a "friend" when the two campaigned for now-U.S. According to the Washington Post, "Perkins goes way back with the Duggar family." According to the Washington Post, Perkins was close to Duggar's father Jim Bob Duggar , who served in the Arkansas House of Representatives from 1999 to 2003. Calls and emails to Perkins and Duggar family lawyers were not immediately returned.

Persons: Mike Johnson, Josh Duggar, Johnson, Tony Perkins, Bill Cassidy, —, Duggar, Perkins, Mike Huckabee, Rick Santorum, Ted Cruz, Bobby Jindal, Sen, Santorum, Raj Shah, Shah, Josh, Duggar's, Jim Bob Duggar, InTouch, Jim Bob, Paul, Pressler's, Pressler, Wesley Goodman, Perkins acolyte, Goodman, Donald Trump, Paul Pressler Organizations: Family Research, Service, Louisiana Republican, Business, Washington Post, GOP, Pennsylvania Republican, Washington , D.C, FRC, InTouch, Paul Pressler School of Law, Louisiana College, Pressler, Southern Baptist Convention, Council for National Policy, The Washington Spectator Locations: Louisiana, U.S, Washington ,, Shreveport, Arkansas, Ohio

☆ KPMG hit with record fine for 'textbook failure' in Carillion audits
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said the number, range, and seriousness of the deficiencies in the audits of Carillion were exceptional, resulting in the watchdog's highest ever fine. On occasions, KPMG audit partner Peter Meehan told his team to record his review of working papers without having done a review, the FRC said. Meehan, no longer with KPMG, was fined 350,000 pounds after a discount to reflect his cooperation and admission of failures. It would have been 30 million pounds, but was discounted due to admissions and co-operation by the auditor. KPMG was fined 14.4 million pounds last year after providing false and misleading information to the FRC during spot checks on audits of Carillion and outsourcing firm Regenersis.

Persons: Reinhard Krause, Carillion, Richard Moriarty, Moriarty, Peter Meehan, Meehan, Jon Holt, Holt, Huw Jones, Sharon Singleton, Mark Potter Organizations: KPMG, Canary, REUTERS, BHS, Council, FRC, PwC, Deloitte, EY, Thomson Locations: London, Britain

☆ Why stock investors are suddenly so scared
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

That means that if China’s economy slows down, global economic growth slows down. “When global economic growth slows down, that tends to be negative US equities. But a string of strong economic data has challenged those notions. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues to stoke fears of rising commodity prices, global economic instability and uncertainty around security. It’s been chock full of economic data and big corporate reports.

Persons: That’s, Lehman, ”, Alex Etra, Bond, Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase, hasn’t, Banks, Michael Burry, Fitch, It’s Organizations: New, New York CNN, Nasdaq, Dow, CNN, country’s National Bureau of Statistics, Apple, Intel, Starbucks, Nike, Federal, Federal Reserve, Atlanta Fed, JPMorgan, CNBC, First Republic Bank, Huntington Bank, PacWest, Western Alliance, Bank Locations: New York, China, Ukraine, Beijing, stoke, Huntington

☆ What do ‘Big Short’ Michael Burry and Warren Buffett know that we don’t?
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Michael Burry, the “Big Short” investor who became famous for correctly predicting the epic collapse of the housing market in 2008, also made a gigantic bet last quarter on a Wall Street crash. Bank of America released its August global fund manager survey on Tuesday and found that money managers are feeling the least pessimistic about markets since February 2022. So what do Buffett and Burry know that the rest of us don’t? Russia and Ukraine: Global inflation is finally coming down, but heightened geopolitical tensions threaten to raise food and oil prices across the globe. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues to stoke fears of increased commodity prices, global economic instability and uncertainty around security.

Persons: Warren, Berkshire Hathaway, That’s, Michael Burry, Buffett, Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase, hasn’t, Fitch, ”, Gregory Daco, Catherine Thorbecke, Catherine Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, New York CNN, Nasdaq, Federal Reserve, Securities, Exchange, Scion Asset Management, Bank of America, Traders, National Bureau of Statistics, JPMorgan, CNBC, Bank, First Republic Bank, Huntington Bank, PacWest, Western Alliance, Commerce Department Locations: New York, China, Ukraine, Russia, stoke, Huntington, Lahaina , Hawaii, Lahaina, Las Vegas, Maui

☆ Michael Burry, of ‘Big Short’ fame, just bet $1.6 billion on a stock market crash
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Michael Burry, the “Big Short” investor who became famous for correctly predicting the epic collapse of the housing market in 2008, has bet more than $1.6 billion on a Wall Street crash. Burry is making his bearish bets against the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100, according to Security Exchange Commission filings released Monday. Burry is using more than 90% of his portfolio to bet on a market downturn, according to the filings. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 have both notched big gains so far this year. While one big payoff doesn’t guarantee future returns, Burry does have a strong investment record.

Persons: New York CNN — Michael Burry, Burry, bearish, “, ”, Michael Lewis, Christian Bale, JPMorgan Chase, Michael Burry’s, Scion’s Organizations: New, New York CNN, Nasdaq, Security Exchange, Scion Asset Management, First Republic Bank, Huntington Bank, Western Alliance, JPMorgan, JD.com, Scion, Expedia, MGM Resorts, MGM, CVS, CNN, Warner Bros ., Traders Locations: New York, China, Huntington

☆ PwC and KPMG fined over Eddie Stobart Logistics audit
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, June 29 (Reuters) - Britain's accounting watchdog said on Thursday it had fined PwC and KPMG, two of the world's top four auditors, for "serious" failings in their auditing of Eddie Stobart Logistics (ESL) company in 2017 and 2018. PwC was fined 1.9 million pounds ($2.4 million), reduced from 3.5 million pounds due to exceptional cooperation and admissions, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said in a statement. PwC admitted failings related to property transactions entered into by ESL, audit procedures, and property lease accruals, the watchdog said. The FRC also fined PwC audit partner Philip Storer 51,187 pounds. The FRC said it had fined KPMG 877,500 pounds, reduced from 1.35 million pounds due to admissions.

Persons: PwC, Eddie Stobart, Philip Storer, Cath Burnet, Burnet, Nicola Quayle, Huw Jones, John Stonestreet, Mark Potter Organizations: KPMG, Eddie Stobart Logistics, Financial, Council, ESL, FRC, Thomson

☆ Fact Check-Did Biden break Flag Code during White House Pride event? Experts weigh in
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A Reuters photo of the flag display with the Progress Pride flag hanging between two U.S. flags can be seen (here). The Progress Pride flag is a reimagined version of the traditional Pride Flag, with added stripes (white, pink, light blue, black and brown) to represent the Trans community as well as minority or marginalized communities (here), (here). Other critics were less specific, saying the Progress Pride flag was displayed as more prominent overall. Consulted by Reuters Fact Check, vexillologists (flag experts) offered different perspectives on whether the White House display was a violation of the Flag Code. The U.S. flag on top of the White House can be seen in photos from the Pride celebration (here), (here), (here).

Persons: Joe Biden, Charles Spain, observer’s, Peter Keim, ”, Keim, “, Scot Guenter, Guenter, Read Organizations: White, Congressional Research Service, Reuters, Flag Research Center, U.S, ”, FRC, Facebook, Flag Foundation, San Jose State University, American Vexillological Association, NAVA, “, U.S . Locations: U.S, ” Spain, ”, American

☆ JPMorgan investors to scrutinize First Republic takeover
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Nupur Anand | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Analysts will seek more details about the deal and JPMorgan's plans to integrate First Republic's business into the largest U.S. bank. FIRST REPUBLICJPMorgan has agreed to undertake $173 billion of the failed bank's loans, $30 billion of securities and $92 billion of deposits after First Republic was shuttered down by authorities. Dimon had said that he expects blowback from the FRC deal earlier this month in an interview on Bloomberg TV. loadingAn acquisition of this scale will raise question on integration, execution risks, employee retention among others, analysts believe. JPMorgan has made 19 acquisitions since 2020 but the last major purchase of this scale by the lender was in 2008 of Bear Stearns.

☆ Why bank stocks are so unstable
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

New York CNN —The financial sector has been churning in rough water since the shocking collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in March. Bank insiders see this and have been buying up shares of regional lenders, according to a report by Timothy Coffey, an analyst at Janney Montgomery Scott. The Oracle of Omaha said he remains cautious about holding bank stocks and that he has reduced his own exposure to the sector. The S&P 500 financial sector, however, is down more than 12% over the same period. Economists were hoping that this year would bring better news, but instead 2023 brought the collapse of three US regional banks and a subsequent lending squeeze.

JPMorgan made a bold call on Friday, upgrading three regional banks despite a renewed rout in the sector this week that the investment bank says is partly due to short sellers. "To this end, we believe a sell-off in regional banks has become a catalyst itself to cause further fear and selling pressure." The SPDR S & P Regional Banking ETF , down 15% through Thursday this week, was up 4% in premarket trading Friday. The banks that JPMorgan upgraded have been hit even harder than the broader sector. The regional bank stocks have fallen despite the fact that the companies reported lower deposit outflows than First Republic.

☆ Largest banks doing big deals not ideal, FRC an exception - Powell
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NEW YORK, May 3 (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said it was probably good policy that the largest banks are not doing big acquisitions, but said that JPMorgan Chase & Co's (JPM.N) acquisition of First Republic Bank (FRC.N) was an exception. Regulators have to follow the law of going with the least-cost bid, Powell said. The Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point and signaled it may pause further increases. Powell said that the resolution of First Republic was "an important step to drawing a line" under a period of severe stress in the banking system. Powell added that the speed of the run on SVB needed to be reflected in supervision and regulation.

☆ Analysts warn regional banks stocks are in a 'negative feedback loop' and detached from fundamentals
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Jesse Pound | In Jesse-Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The latest drop for regional bank shares is causing some Wall Street analysts to back away from their recommendations on the stocks, even if they still believe in the underlying fundamentals for the companies. Other regional banks also sold off, including a 19% drop for Western Alliance. The deposit update was not enough to reassure all Wall Street analysts about the health of regional banks, and there is concern that the drops in the stocks could reignite deposit flight. Meanwhile, RBC Capital Markets' analyst Jon Arfstrom stuck with his outperform rating on PacWest, but said only investors with strong stomachs should stick around. Western Alliance Another bank stock that has taken heavy loses in recent weeks is Western Alliance .

NEW YORK, May 2 (Reuters) - The cost of insuring against further losses in regional U.S. bank stocks stood near a one-month high in options markets on Wednesday, even as shares of lenders saw a reprieve from their recent sell-off. Skew on the SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF - a gauge of relative demand for puts versus calls - remained elevated, hovering near the highest level since the COVID-19 market slump, data from OptionMetrics showed. The SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF rose about 1.9% to 39.64 in afternoon trade, though it is down 33% on the year and fell on Monday and Tuesday. "The fact that you didn't see the follow-through from some of these other regional banks, with what would appear to be such great news, really didn't inspire a lot of confidence in some of these regional banks," said Seth Hickle, a derivatives portfolio manager at Innovative Portfolios, referring to JPMorgan’s rescue of First Republic. "The problem with regionals are going to be rising interest rates,” said Matt Amberson, principal at options analytics firm ORATS.

☆ Regional bank stocks edge higher after two-day slump
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Medha Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PacWest Bancorp (PACW.O) shares rose 6.5% in early afternoon trading after tumbling 28% to close at their lowest level on record on Tuesday. Western Alliance Bank (WAL.N) advanced 4.2%, while Comerica (CMA.N) and Valley National Bankcorp (VLY.O) added nearly 1% and more than 2%, respectively. The KBW Regional Banking Index (.KRX) rose 2% after closing at its lowest level since December 2020 on Tuesday. The plunge in regional bank stocks came after U.S. regulators seized First Republic Bank and sold off its assets to JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) for $10.6 billion. The bank selloff indicates investor unease over their outlook following the First Republic deal, Brown Brothers Harriman analysts wrote in a note.

☆ Here are Wednesday's biggest analyst calls: Apple, Chewy, Disney, Wells Fargo, AMD, Coinbase & more
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Bank of America upgrades Pearson to buy from underperform Bank of America said the selloff in the British education company is overdone. Bank of America upgrades Cogent to buy from underperform Bank of America upgraded the internet services provider and says it sees "new sales growth." Bernstein upgrades Marriott to outperform from market perform Bernstein said the hotel giant has the "highest quality" earnings stream. " Evercore ISI reiterates Wells Fargo as outperform Evercore said it's sticking with the larger banks as regional concerns continue. Berenberg upgrades HSBC to buy from hold Berenberg said in its upgrade of the UK bank that it's "structurally attractive."

☆ BNP only partly earns title of Europe’s JPMorgan
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, May 3 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Bank investors and analysts often like to say that BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA) is the closest Europe has to a JPMorgan (JPM.N), the goliath of U.S. banking that just bought First Republic Bank (FRC.N). Compare that with Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE), whose deposits fell by 4.7% over the same period. JPMorgan will earn a 19% return on tangible equity this year, using Visible Alpha consensus data, which is good even for a U.S. bank. There’s no shame in losing to a bigger stateside rival on returns, but BNP also risks falling behind regional peers. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ US regional lenders notch modest gains after two-day slump
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Medha Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PacWest Bancorp (PACW.O) shares gained 2.1% in early trading after tumbling 28% to close at their lowest level on record on Tuesday. The KBW Regional Banking Index (.KRX) rose 1% after closing at its lowest level since December 2020. Evercore ISI analysts lowered their 2023 earnings outlook for regional lenders. The brokerage now estimates a nearly 1%decline from a year earlier, compared to an already lowered expectations of a 4% growth, blaming it on intensifying funding cost pressures amid declining regional bank deposits. Meanwhile, short sellers have pocketed $1.2 billion in paper profits betting against regional lenders in the first two days of May, with Truist Financial Corp (TFC.N) and PacWest generating the highest gains, analytics firm Ortex said.

☆ S&P cuts First Republic's credit rating, says default a 'virtual certainty'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 2 (Reuters) - S&P Global on Tuesday slashed First Republic Bank's (FRC.N) credit rating deeper into junk territory after California banking regulators seized the U.S. lender and sold its assets. S&P cut its rating to 'CC' from 'B+' and said it expects default to be a "virtual certainty". Since JPMorgan assumed the substantial majority of First Republic's assets, it is most likely that the lender would default on any other senior financial obligations given what would be an insufficient remaining asset base, S&P said. S&P also lowered credit ratings on First Republic's subordinated debt and preferred stock to 'D' from 'B-.' Reporting by Jyoti Narayan in Bengaluru; Editing by Dhanya Ann ThoppilOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Though stocks remain near their 2023 highs, some investors now believe those factors will soon start taking a greater toll, limiting further upside. The market may be "back in the soup on the banking crisis," said Chuck Carlson, chief executive officer at Horizon Investment Services. Many investors don’t expect that calm to continue, as a battle over raising the $34 trillion U.S. debt ceiling looms. In the six rate-hiking cycles since 1984, the S&P 500 has posted an average three-month return of 8% following the peak funds rate, Goldman Sachs strategists wrote. However, the S&P 500 is already trading well above its valuation at the end of any cycle except the one ending in 2000, when the S&P 500 declined despite a Fed pause, the bank said.

☆ Morning Bid: Bank reverb frames Fed decision
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

While there was some minor repricing of Fed probabilities in the futures market, the latest bout of bank stock nerves is unlikely to change the Fed's course on its own. A White House economist on Tuesday said Fed rate hikes were having a negative impact on the banking sector. Signs of some loosening of a very tight labor market may also encourage the Fed that its rate hiking job is done after this week. Private sector job readings for April are due later today along with service sector surveys for the month. With the Fed in view alongside the debt ceiling crunch and bank stock retreat, longer-term Treasury bonds rallied.

The June hike is now off the table completely, and traders now see a 15% chance of the Fed not raising at all this week or in June. This is significant for the June 14 policy decision because the Fed also releases its new Summary of Economic Projections that day. The deposit flight may have stopped but Fed officials will be acutely aware of the negative feedback loop on the economy, given the deep-rooted linkages between small banks and businesses. The March survey of small businesses by the National Federation of Independent Business showed multiple signs of weakness, and even more attention than usual will fall on the next Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey. Will the Fed be raising rates on June 14 if this is still a live issue?

However, with inflation running well over the central bank's 2% target and a still-strong labor market, chances of rate cuts seem less likely. With Monday's manufacturing data giving the Fed enough room for more near-term tightening, all eyes will be on jobs and factory orders data after the opening bell. ET, Dow e-minis were down 79 points, or 0.23%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 7.5 points, or 0.18%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 6 points, or 0.05%. Educational services company Chegg (CHGG.N) tanked 45.6% on a downbeat second-quarter revenue forecast on increasing competition from ChatGPT. Icahn Enterprises LP (IEP.O) dropped 11% after U.S. short seller Hindenburg Research said it has a short position in activist investor Carl Icahn-controlled energy-to-pharma conglomerate.

☆ Stocks ease; Aussie dollar soars after surprise hike
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Amanda Cooper | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"No one is going to want to do too much before we get to that FOMC decision. "One of the things that sticks out to me is that they're still saying they might need to increase interest rates," said Commonwealth Bank of Australia strategist Joe Capurso. "So as well as the increase today, that's supporting the Aussie dollar," he said. The U.S. dollar was steady against a basket of major currencies , while the euro eased 0.1% to $1.097. But markets are still anxious about what may be the next crisis, even if the initial response has been positive.

HSBC posted a pretax profit of $12.9 billion for the quarter ended March, versus $4.2 billion a year earlier. HSBC said the planned $10 billion sale, originally slated to be completed by the end of this year, will now only likely go through in the first quarter of 2024. HSBC reported deposits fell 0.6% to $1.6 trillion, excluding those it acquired by bailing out the UK arm of failed U.S. lender Silicon Valley Bank and the reclassification of French retail deposits. Despite the surging profit, HSBC did not raise its key performance target of a return on tangible equity of at least 12% from this year onwards, which analysts were anticipating. Reporting by Selena Li ing Kong Kong and Lawrence White in London; Editing by Muralikumar AnantharamanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The resumption of bilateral financial discussions comes ahead of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's planned visit to South Korea on Sunday and Monday for talks with President Yoon Suk Yeol. Japan and South Korea will resume regular finance dialogue, likely to be held annually, at "an appropriate timing," Suzuki told reporters after the bilateral meeting. Washington has pressed both countries to resolve these disputes to better counter rising threats from China and North Korea and other regional challenges. Under Yoon, South Korea has resumed trilateral military drills and agreed to more intelligence sharing on issues like tracking ballistic missile launches from North Korea. China's finance minister and central bank head were not present at a trilateral meeting, with their deputies attending instead.

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