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☆ Elder financial fraud is a $3 billion-a-year problem. This bill in Congress aims to help prevent it
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Sarah O'Brien | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Seb_ra | Istock | Getty ImagesA bill that's pending in the Senate aims to battle a persistent danger to older adults and other vulnerable individuals: financial exploitation. The bill would "provide folks on the front line with the tools necessary to help prevent exploitation," Jennings said. Called the Financial Exploitation Prevention Act of 2023 and sponsored by Rep. Ann Wagner, R-Mo., the bill cleared the House last month in a unanimous bipartisan vote. watch nowA nearly identical version of the bill that cleared the House in 2021 ended up languishing in the Senate. Older adults with cognitive challenges are the most vulnerable to exploitation and may have up to twice as much stolen than those without those issues.

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailBitcoin reclaims $22,000, and Senate Banking Committee holds hearing on crypto crash: CNBC Crypto WorldCNBC Crypto World features the latest news and daily trading updates from the digital currency markets and provides viewers with a look at what's ahead with high-profile interviews, explainers, and unique stories from the ever-changing crypto industry. On today's show, Matt Hougan, the CIO of Bitwise, explains why he believes crypto prices will rally in 2023.

☆ Fed Governor Christopher Waller warns that interest rates could go higher than expectations
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Jeff Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller on Wednesday talked tough on inflation, warning that the fight is not over and could result in higher interest rates than markets are anticipating. Consequently, he said the Fed needs to maintain its current plan of action, which has seen eight interest rate hikes since March 2022. "And, it might be a long fight, with interest rates higher for longer than some are currently expecting. But Waller said he sees inflation still too high while he expects just moderate economic growth this year. He did note that wage data is "moving in the right direction," but not enough for the Fed to lower rates.

"While we disagree with the allegations in this case, we are pleased to have resolved this legacy issue," a Wells Fargo spokesperson said in a statement. Wells Fargo disclosed in July 2017 that hundreds of thousands of customers had been unnecessarily charged for "collateral protection insurance," which covers auto lenders when borrowers are uninsured. The bank also concealed auto insurance issues from the U.S. Senate Banking Committee in November 2016, the investors alleged. Wells Fargo settled an auto borrower class action in 2019 for $386 million without admitting wrongdoing. In 2018, Wells Fargo agreed to pay $1 billion to U.S. regulators to settle probes of its auto insurance and mortgage practices.

☆ ABA Passes Resolution Opposing Suspicious-Transaction Reporting Rule for Lawyers
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Dylan Tokar | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

The association also is considering changes to its professional conduct rules around the vetting of clients. The ABA’s rules for professional conduct are typically used as a basis for the rules enforced by state courts, which serve as primary regulators of the legal trade. Under current rules, lawyers have an ethical obligation to keep confidential all information relating to the representation of their clients. Requiring lawyers to report suspicious transactions by their clients also could undermine attorney-client privilege, the group argued in their resolution. Those committees are expected to file a resolution at the annual meeting of the ABA’s policy arm later this year.

The central bank lifted its main funds rate by 25 bps to its highest since 2007 as it continued its fight against inflation. Yet the S&P 500 (.SPX) hit a five-month high, as traders focused resolutely on the idea that the world's most influential central bank would change course soon. Government bond markets meanwhile continued to price in rate cuts by year-end as the economic cycle turns. Over in Europe, the European Central Bank delivered a hefty 50 bps hike on Thursday and promised more of the same for March and beyond. "In terms of the impact of (central bank) hawkishness on markets," he added, "this has significantly softened."

☆ Sen. Kyrsten Sinema pulls in cash from Wall Street, real estate titans as she mulls reelection bid
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Brian Schwartz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Real estate and private equity leaders, who have long helped to fill Sinema's campaign coffers, contributed to a healthy cash haul for the senator in the final months of last year. At the lunch, Sinema discussed the incoming Congress and how the tight margins in both chambers could create gridlock, according to attendees. Sinema's campaign had already seen more than $2 million from the securities and investment industry since the 2018 election cycle. The Sinema campaign saw dozens of contributions totaling over $145,000 from people who work at Apollo Global Management, another giant private equity firm, since October. Suzanne Clark, CEO of the massive pro-business lobbying group U.S. Chamber of Commerce, also donated $1,000 to Sinema's campaign on Dec. 31, the new FEC filing shows.

A cyber criminal took hundreds of thousands of dollars from Sen. Jerry Moran's campaign coffers last year, according to a form filed with the Federal Election Commission by the Kansas Republican's campaign. In the filing, the treasurer at Moran For Kansas said post-election reporting revealed the senator's campaign was the victim of a “third-party cyber-criminal” that included a pair of fraudulent transactions. “Cybercriminals targeted the accounting firm employed by Moran For Kansas and money was wired to fraudulent bank accounts,” Moran for Kansas spokesperson Tom Brandt told NBC News. The campaign also consulted with the FEC on how to transparently report the unauthorized expenditures.”The campaign told the FEC in the December filing that $168,184 of the lost funds had been recovered. He also sits on a Senate Commerce subcommittee that deals with data security, along with other committees.

☆ Fed Governor Waller backs quarter-point interest rate hike at next meeting
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Jeff Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said Friday he favors a quarter percentage point interest rate increase at the next meeting, as he waits for more evidence that inflation is heading in the right direction. Other officials, such as Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker, have pointed to a 0.25 percentage point increase at the Jan. 31-Feb. 1 FOMC meeting, but Waller is the highest-ranking member to be that explicit. While the market and the Fed appear to be on the same page with where rates go in the short term, there is divergence further out. Waller said the divergence is largely about perception for where inflation is going to go. "The market has a a very optimistic view that inflation is just going to melt away.

Jan 20 (Reuters) - As an investment banker, Barry Silbert worked on some of the highest-profile corporate failures. Now, as founder of venture capital firm Digital Currency Group, parent of troubled crypto firm Genesis, he is grappling with problems closer to home. Unlike other prominent crypto moguls, Silbert kept a relatively low profile, eschewing the regular tweets favored by his peers. Nasdaq bought SecondMarket in 2015 for an undisclosed amount and Silbert relaunched SecondMarket’s crypto trading division as Genesis Trading the same year, incorporating it into his growing crypto empire. In an open letter posted to Twitter on Jan. 10, Gemini's Cameron Winklevoss demanded the DCG board remove Silbert as CEO and install a new leader.

☆ Premarket stocks: The Federal Reserve is testing how climate change could hurt big banks
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

New York CNN —The largest six banks in the United States have been given until July to show the Federal Reserve what effects disastrous climate change scenarios could have on their bottom lines. The Federal Reserve first announced the pilot program in September, noting that Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo would participate. In its announcement the Federal Reserve stressed that the exercise “is exploratory in nature and does not have capital consequences.” It also said that it would not publish individual banks’ results. San Francisco Federal Reserve President Mary Daly told CNN in October Thursday that this was a learning and exploratory exercise for the Federal Reserve. The other side: Critics of the pilot program have argued that the Federal Reserve was overstepping its boundaries and that they might soon begin to enforce financial penalties.

☆ Private-equity firms are coming around to the idea of using more data in the investment process. It's still an uphill battle.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Take Blackstone, which recently expanded a data tool it originally built for its real-estate business to be used across its PE portfolio. As recently as just a few years ago, PE firms were just starting to warm to the idea of building out data-science teams. But that tech has been a hard sell for PE firms as well, until recently. Many PE firms are just now waking up to the possibilities of the public cloud. To be fair to PE firms, figuring out how to incorporate data analysis into the investing process is no easy task.

☆ 'Shark Tank' host and FTX investor Kevin O'Leary defends Sam Bankman-Fried for demise of his cryptocurrency exchange
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( Bethany Biron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Kevin O'Leary said he previously made $15 million as a brand ambassador for FTX. The "Shark Tank" host testified to the Senate Banking Committee earlier this week about his involvement with the company. O'Leary is among several celebrity defendants listed in a class-action lawsuit from FTX investors. "[New FTX CEO] John Ray doesn't have them yet. In the same interview, O'Leary also defended himself against comments from Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, who called the "Shark Tank" television host a "liar."

☆ Shark Tank investor Kevin O'Leary hits back against Binance CEO calling him a 'liar'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Jennifer Sor | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary said Changpeng Zhao was wrong to call him a "liar" in a recent interview to CNBC. The Binance CEO previously deflected O'Leary's claims that Binance intentionally put FTX out of business, calling them "nonsense." But O'Leary says he didn't perjure himself in front of Senate and doubled down on his claims. O'Leary testified in front of the Senate Banking Committee on the fallout of FTX, the now-defunct crypto exchange for which O'Leary was a paid spokesperson. "You ask anybody why was Sam Bankman-Fried or the whole company FTX forced into bankruptcy?

☆ A student-loan company's 'abysmal servicing' for public servants requires a federal investigation, a Democratic lawmaker says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Sen. Bob Menendez urged the CFPB to investigate student-loan company MOHELA. MOHELA manages accounts for public servants, and it has been criticized for bad customer service. Borrowers have reported hours-long wait times and delays processing PSLF paperwork. On Thursday, New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez criticized student-loan company MOHELA during a Senate Banking committee hearing on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and called for the agency to investigate its practices. "I cannot overstate the negative economic impacts caused by MOHELA's abysmal servicing for public service employees."

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried's story keeps getting wilder and weirder as details emerge from his past and more people speak out.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The more details that emerge, the more I feel like this is going to make a great Michael Lewis book (and movie) one day. Among the highlights from his testimony include his assertion that the crypto market is "the largest Ponzi scheme in history." In other news:Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell speaks at a news conference following a Federal Open Market Committee meeting, Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2022, in Washington. A top FTX exec blew the whistle on Sam Bankman-Fried's moves just two days before the crypto exchange collapsed. Morgan Stanley's Mike Wilson said the stock market could fall further in 2023.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren is introducing legislation Wednesday aimed at cracking down on money laundering in cryptocurrency. The Senate Banking Committee, which includes Warren, is holding a hearing Wednesday on the FTX debacle and aftermath. The bill would designate providers of digital asset wallets as money service businesses, bringing them under the authorities of the Bank Secrecy Act, which fights money laundering in the financial system. Further, it would prohibit financial institutions from dealing with services that blend the cryptocurrencies of users together, obscuring their origins. Warren has been an outspoken critic of FTX prior to Bankman-Fried’s indictment.

Lawmakers are generally in agreement that crypto firms should have greater regulation, but there are divergent views on how the industry should be regulated. U.S. prosecutors on Tuesday charged FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried with money laundering and fraud, among other violations. "It is time for Congress to make the crypto industry follow the same money-laundering rules as everyone else," U.S. She and Republican Senator Roger Marshall from Kansas earlier announced legislation aimed at closing money laundering loopholes in the crypto industry. Without U.S. regulation, the value of crypto investments could disappear, said hearing witness and American University law professor Hilary Allen.

☆ 'O.C.' star and crypto critic Ben McKenzie tells lawmakers that the crypto market is the 'largest Ponzi scheme in history'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Carla Mozée | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The crypto market is the "largest Ponzi scheme in history," actor-turned-crypto critic Ben McKenzie said Wednesday. McKenzie, who co-wrote a book about crypto, testified to the Senate Banking committee about the fall of FTX. McKenzie was referring to financier Madoff who in 2009 was convicted of running a decades-long Ponzi scheme that conned his investors out of $65 billion and which collapsed during the 2008 financial crisis. In my opinion, the cryptocurrency industry represents the largest Ponzi scheme in history," said McKenzie, who co-wrote "Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud". "They have been lied to, in ways both big and small, by a once-seemingly mighty crypto industry whose entire existence in fact depends on misinformation, hype, and yes, fraud."

☆ Jim Cramer's top 10 things to watch in the market Wednesday: Fed day, crypto hearings, Nvidia boost
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Jim Cramer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Deutsche Bank raises its price target on Club holding Nvidia (NVDA) to $170 per share from $150; keeps hold rating. Deutsche Bank initiates coverage of Club holding Danaher (DHR) with a buy rating and a $310-per-share price target. Goldman Sachs cuts its price target on Tesla (TSLA) to $235 per share from $305, but keeps a buy rating. Wells Fargo raises its price target on Goldman Sachs (GS) to $400 per share from $380; keeps an overweight (buy) rating. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade.

☆ FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is in a heap of trouble, says Sen. Pat Toomey
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailFTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is in a heap of trouble, says Sen. Pat ToomeySen. Pat Toomey, the lead Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, joins CNBC's 'Squawk Box' to discuss the Senate's hearing on the fallout of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried's arrest, and more.

The Senate Banking Committee on Wednesday is holding a second day of hearings this week on the downfall of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, examining how the company's implosion could impact the nascent industry. Old school, old school." Bankman-Fried was charged by federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York for a wide variety of crimes including wire fraud, securities fraud and violating campaign finance regulations. Though Ray and Bankman-Fried won't be part of the Senate Banking hearing on Wednesday, four cryptocurrency experts will be testifying instead, including Kevin O'Leary, a longtime paid FTX spokesman. "In my opinion, it is the largest Ponzi scheme in history by an order of magnitude."

Attorneys Office for the Southern District of New York charged the disgraced crypto executive with eight criminal counts: conspiracy to commit wire fraud and securities fraud, individual charges of securities fraud and wire fraud, money laundering and conspiracy to avoid campaign finance regulations. "This is really just old fashioned embezzlement. Old school, old school." The Senate Banking Committee had also asked Bankman-Fried to testify at a Wednesday hearing that he previously refused to attend. Ryan Salame, the co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets, donated another $23 million, with the majority of his contributions heading toward Republicans.

Companies Ledgerx LLC FollowDec 12 (Reuters) - Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder and former CEO of now-bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, said on Monday he would testify remotely at Tuesday's U.S. House Financial Services Committee hearing to examine the collapse of the company. Tuesday's hearing will be the first time Bankman-Fried appears publicly before U.S. lawmakers. In a Twitter Spaces event on Monday with Twitter account Unusual Whales, Bankman-Fried said he would be "calling in" to the hearing from the Bahamas. A spokesperson for Bankman-Fried confirmed that he would not be testifying at the hearing in person. The Senate Banking Committee will also hold a hearing on FTX's collapse on Wednesday, Dec. 14, in which Bankman-Fried says he is not scheduled to appear.

☆ It’s not the most wonderful time of the year for markets. Here’s why
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Paul R. La Monica | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —The holidays are meant to be the most wonderful time of the year. But for investors, this week just might be the most stressful time of the year. Then there’s the anticipated central bank meeting. “Most central banks will be reluctant to cut rates in 2023 given the need to cool wage growth.”It has all given the equity and fixed markets a jolt. Maybe investors will be able to relax and take a deep breath before the Fed announcement and press conference later that day.

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