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☆ Bahamas regulator holds FTX assets pending delivery to customers, creditors
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 29 (Reuters) - The Securities Commission of the Bahamas said on Thursday that it is holding FTX assets worth $3.5 billion based on market pricing at the time of transfer on a temporary basis to deliver them to customers and creditors who own them. FTX's Bahamas unit's digital assets were transferred to digital wallets under the exclusive control of the commission in November soon after the company and its hedge fund Alameda Research and dozens of affiliates filed for U.S. bankruptcy. "All transferred assets were and remain under the sole control of the commission," Rolle said. The authorities in the Bahamas, where the company had its headquarters, appointed liquidators to wind down FTX's international trading business soon after the company announced bankruptcy. Reporting by Urvi Dugar and Akanksha Khushi in Bengaluru; Editing by Leslie AdlerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Bahamian regulator says it seized $3.5 billion of FTX crypto assets for 'safekeeping'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The Securities Commission of The Bahamas says it seized $3.5 billion worth of cryptocurrency from collapsed crypto exchange FTX. In a media release late Thursday, the watchdog confirmed the total sum taken from FTX's Bahamian subsidiary, FTX Digital Markets, and added that the funds were moved into its own digital wallets "for safekeeping." The regulator had previously confirmed it was holding some of FTX's digital assets but did not specify the amount. The transfer took place on Nov. 12, the day after FTX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. The regulator said it took the funds after receiving information from Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX's disgraced co-founder, concerning cyberattacks on the systems of FTX's Bahamian unit.

☆ Google to appeal India antitrust ruling on Android
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BENGALURU, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Alphabet's Google (GOOGL.O) said on Friday it will appeal the Indian antitrust watchdog's ruling that ordered the tech giant to change its approach to its Android platform and imposed a fine of $162 million for anti-competitive practices. Reuters had earlier reported that the CCI ruling worried Google as it sought wider-ranging remedial measures. "Android has greatly benefitted Indian users, developers, and OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), and powered India's digital transformation. Google plans to appeal that decision as well, where it faces a record $4.1 billion fine. The U.S. tech giant, Android has created more choice for everyone and such agreements help keep the operating system free.

Dec 22 (Reuters) - FTX founder and former Chief Executive Sam Bankman-Fried, who faces U.S. fraud charges over the collapse of FTX, ran his crypto empire with a number of associates. GARY WANGGary Wang co-founded FTX and Alameda Research with Bankman-Fried, and served as FTX's chief technology officer. He and Bankman-Fried met at a math camp in high school and became college roommates, Bankman-Fried wrote in a now-unavailable FTX blog. Wang worked as a software engineer at Google before co-founding FTX and Alameda, according to an archived webpage for the FTX Future Fund, the company's charitable effort. NISHAD SINGHNishad Singh was a best friend of Bankman-Fried's brother in high school, Bankman-Fried wrote in the deleted blog post.

☆ India panel recommends digital competition act to rein in Big Tech
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUMBAI, Dec 22 (Reuters) - An Indian parliamentary panel on Thursday recommended the government enact a digital competition act to regulate anti-competitive business practices by Big Tech companies on its platforms. Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google and Apple (AAPL.O) have in the past faced scrutiny from the country's competition watchdog, the Competition Commission of India (CCI), over alleged abuse of the application market. Companies including Facebook (META.O), Twitter and Google (GOOGL.O) have for years been concerned with many regulations India has proposed for the technology sector, with companies complaining about excessive compliance burdens. Amazon, Google, Meta, Twitter and Apple did not immediately respond to request for comment. A specialised digital markets unit should be established within the competition watchdog, the panel said, adding that competitive behaviour of big tech companies needs to be monitored in advance and not after markets become monopolised.

CARACAS, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Venezuelan opposition parties are seeking to remove Juan Guaido as head of Citgo, the country's most important asset abroad, and block his interim government from extending its mandate by another year, spokespeople from the country's main opposition parties said on Wednesday. But opposition political parties propose instead to replace Guaido with a commission of five parliament-appointed members to govern Citgo's assets, and block the one-year extension. Parties looking to replace Guaido have proposed delegating the functions of the interim government to the new commission. Three of Venezuela's largest opposition parties support the motion, Marquina said, while the fourth - which Guaido belongs to - supports the interim government. Guaido's failure to extend his leadership may spell trouble for the boards controlling those assets, whose legitimacy rests on the recognition of Guaido as Venezuela's interim leader.

[1/2] Facebook Chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks during the annual Munich Security Conference in Germany, February 15, 2020. REUTERS/Andreas GebertCompanies Meta Platforms Inc FollowSAN JOSE/WASHINGTON, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms (META.O) boss Mark Zuckerberg said the company is focused on building communications apps and developer platforms, speaking on Tuesday at a high-profile trial over the future of its budding metaverse business. Wearing a blue suit, a white mask, and glasses, Zuckerberg appeared in federal court in San Jose, California, to defend Meta's acquisition of virtual reality app developer Within. The FTC sued the Facebook and Instagram owner in July to stop the deal, saying its "campaign to conquer VR (virtual reality)" began in 2014 when it acquired Oculus, a VR headset manufacturer. It has accused Meta of trying to buy its way to dominance in the metaverse.

☆ India antitrust agency raids some steel firms for alleged price collusion-sources
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( Aditya Kalra | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MUMBAI, Dec 17 (Reuters) - India's antitrust watchdog is raiding offices of small-scale steel companies for alleged price collusion of steel products used in construction, two sources with direct knowledge told Reuters. Among those raided were Rungta Steel and Shyam Steel, the sources said, as officials from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) conducted searches in states of West Bengal, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Indian capital New Delhi on Saturday. In all around eight to nine offices of steel companies were searched, though names of other firms raided were not immediately clear. The CCI does not disclose any details publicly of its raid operations or cases related to alleged price collusion. Shyam Steel is a 30 billion Indian rupees ($362.73 million) group which manufactures several steel products.

☆ Don't blame the Bahamas for FTX's implosion, foreign minister says as the disgraced company's lawyers hurl accusations of complicity
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Jennifer Sor | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

FTX lawyers want to deny liquidators access to company records, claiming the Bahamian government could use it to swipe money away from FTX. But it isn't the fault of the Bahamas that FTX is embroiled in its financial troubles, according to foreign minister Fred Mitchell. Court-appointed liquidators for FTX's Bahamas-based business asked for key records within the crypto exchange, including access to company accounts and data. The Securities Commission of the Bahamas has disputed those claims, and Bahamas foreign minister Fred Mitchell denounced the accusations in a voice recording distributed via WhatsApp on Friday. Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested on multiple charges this week, including fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy after the collapse of his crypto exchange shed light on glaring accounting scandals.

☆ A former Disney Imagineer started out carving iconic theme-park signs from wood. Now he's a craftsman making custom works of art for Disney fans that cost $50,000 and take 350 hours.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Zoe Rosenberg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

A recent commission of a "Beauty and the Beast"-themed mantel face measuring 6 feet by 14 inches took Kinman, by his estimate, around 350 hours from August to November. 2022 — 'Beauty and the Beast' mantel face (private collection)Kinman's 'Beauty and the Beast' mantel face was for a private collection in Oregon. The other side of the mantel face depicts the characters Mrs. Potts and Chip. Here he's carving a door out of mahogany. He's also excited about a carving he's been commissioned to do of Scrooge McDuck sitting in his money room.

Days before FTX’s bankruptcy filing last month, co-CEO Ryan Salame told Bahamian authorities that founder Sam Bankman-Fried may have committed fraud by sending customer money from the crypto exchange to his other firm, Alameda Research. According to a filing on Wednesday tied to FTX’s bankruptcy proceedings, Salame disclosed “possible mishandling of clients’ assets” by Bankman-Fried. FTX declared bankruptcy on Nov. 11. The indictment, unsealed on Tuesday, charged Bankman-Fried with eight criminal counts related to fraud, money laundering and improper use of customer funds. Like Bankman-Fried, Salame was a significant political donor, donating $20 million to Republican causes.

☆ ‘Call Me Miss Cleo’ Review: How to Sell a Scam
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( John Anderson | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

You don’t Venmo money to Nigerian princes. You don’t answer phone calls with an 876 Jamaica area code. You don’t give your Social Security number to anyone who claims your car warranty is running out. Miss Cleo was the public face of the company. But according to this HBO doc, not one of the culprits.

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (2nd L) is led away handcuffed by officers of the Royal Bahamas Police Force in Nassau, Bahamas on December 13, 2022. Days before FTX's bankruptcy filing last month, co-CEO Ryan Salame told Bahamian authorities that founder Sam Bankman-Fried may have committed fraud by sending customer money from the crypto exchange to his other firm, Alameda Research. According to a filing on Wednesday tied to FTX's bankruptcy proceedings, Salame disclosed "possible mishandling of clients' assets" by Bankman-Fried. FTX declared bankruptcy on Nov. 11. Like Bankman-Fried, Salame was a significant political donor, donating $20 million to Republican causes.

FTX attorney James Bromley told Dorsey that the Bahamian government has previously obtained information from FTX Digital Market's liquidators and used it to siphon digital assets away from FTX. The Securities Commission of the Bahamas (SCB) has previously disputed FTX's "misstatements" about the Bahamian government's response to FTX's collapse. Chris Shore, an attorney for the Bahamas-based liquidators, told Dorsey that the liquidators were not working at the direction of the Bahamian government. Dorsey began the hearing by asking whether FTX and the Bahamas liquidators could reach a compromise on data sharing before Bromley shot that suggestion down. "Unlike the Chapter 11 process, there is no transparency in the process in the Bahamas," Ray said.

☆ Serbs in Kosovo block roads, clash with police as ethnic tensions worsen
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Fatos Bytyci | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

In recent weeks Serbs in northern Kosovo, a hotbed of Serb nationalism, have met attempts by Pristina which they see as anti-Serb with violent resistance. Barricades must be removed immediately by groups of Kosovo Serbs. For a second day on Sunday, trucks and other heavy-duty vehicles blocked several main roads in northern Kosovo that lead to two border crossings with Serbia. After Saturday's incidents, Goran Rakic, the head of the Serbian List party, which is supported by Belgrade, called on Serbs in northern Kosovo to show restraint and cooperate with NATO peacekeepers and EULEX. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 with the backing of the West, following a 1998-1999 war in which NATO intervened to protect Albanian-majority Kosovo.

☆ Kosovo president delays local elections in volatile north
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PRISTINA, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Kosovo's president on Saturday announced that local elections in majority Serb areas in the north would be delayed until April, a move aimed at defusing ethnic tensions that have intensified in recent months. Elections had been scheduled for Dec. 18 but Serbs said they would boycott the polls. Police in Pristina said Pantic was arrested for allegedly attacking election commission offices, police officers and election officials on Tuesday. Earlier, Kosovo police arrested another Serb, on suspicion of taking part in an armed attack on a police patrol. Reporting by Fatos Bytyci in Pristina, Ognen Teofilovski in North Mitrovica and Aleksandar Vasovic in Belgrade; editing by Ros RussellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Kosovo police exchange fire with local Serbs blocking roads
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/4] Kosovo Serbs block the road near the village of Rudine, North Mitrovica, Kosovo December 10, 2022. REUTERS/Ognen TeofilovskiMITROVICA, Kosovo, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Kosovo Serbs and country’s police exchanged gunfire on Saturday after a flareup of tensions in the volatile northern part of the country. Earlier in the day Serbs from Kosovo's north blocked main roads in the region to protest against the arrest of a former member of the Kosovo police who quit his post last month along with other ethnic Serbs. With a crisis mounting in the majority Serb north, Kosovo's president Vjosa Osmani on Saturday announced that local elections in that area would be delayed until April 23. "Serbia has instructed its illegal structures to set up barricades in the north Kosovo.

☆ Bahamas attorneys file emergency motion in FTX case for access to databases with client information
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Rohan Goswami | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Attorneys in the Bahamas filed an emergency motion on Friday asking a Delaware bankruptcy judge to compel U.S. leaders of failed crypto firm FTX to give them access to databases as part of the proceedings. The emergency motion claims that despite "many attempts to obtain access," FTX employees and counsel have stymied Bahamian regulators in their effort to get critical financial information located in Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud Portal databases. They're seeking data on FTX international customers that is stored on AWS servers, including "wallet addresses, customer balances, deposit and withdrawal records, trades, and accounting data." FTX filed for bankruptcy protection last month after a liquidity crunch at the crypto exchange, which was intermingling assets with sister hedge fund Alameda Research. FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, who had an estimated net worth of $16 billion before the collapse, will appear before U.S. lawmakers next week.

☆ Broadcom faces EU antitrust probe into $61 bln VMware deal - sources
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, Dec 9 (Reuters) - U.S. chipmaker Broadcom (AVGO.O) is set to face a setback in its $61 billion bid for cloud computing company VMware (VMW.N) with EU antitrust regulators poised to open a full-scale investigation into the deal, people familiar with the matter said. The company had a so-called state of play meeting with European Commission officials earlier this week, the people said. The EU competition enforcer, which is scheduled to finish its initial scrutiny of the deal on Dec. 20, declined to comment. Broadcom said it anticipates that the time-line for the review process would be extended in other key regions due to the size of deal. "Having said that, we're still confident that this transaction will close and be completed in our fiscal 2023," the company said.

Bankman-Fried could face a host of potential charges – civil and criminal – as well as private lawsuits from millions of FTX creditors, legal experts told CNBC. There are three different, possibly simultaneous legal threats that Bankman-Fried faces in the United States alone, Levin told CNBC. He told CNBC, "prosecutors would have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Bankman-Fried or his associates committed criminal fraud." (Carter was not an FTX investor, and told CNBC that his fund passed on early FTX rounds.) "People should not jump to the conclusion that something is not happening just because it has not been publicly disclosed," Levin told CNBC.

☆ Japan cautious on capital gains tax; must stick to increasing defence
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TOKYO, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Japan should avoid rushing into raising capital gains tax as doing so could send a wrong message to markets when Japan is encouraging financial investment, a senior government official said on Sunday. "Strengthening taxation could send a wrong signal that runs counter to our aim of expanding investment," Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiji Kihara said in a programme on broadcaster FNN, referring to capital gains tax. The tax has been contentious since Prime Minister Fumio Kishida swept to power last year pledging to review what is seen an unfair tax that favours the rich earning hefty financial investment income. In Japan, differences between the income tax and capital gains tax rates causes what is known as the wall of 100 million yen, at which the effective tax rate on financial investment income starts to decline. "We must do what we should do regardless of whether there are funding sources or not," Kihara said.

CNN —A top Iranian official has said that the nation’s mandatory hijab law is being reviewed, as state media played down the same official’s claim that the country’s much-feared morality police force had been “abolished” amid ongoing protests. Montazeri was also quoted as saying on Saturday that Iran’s morality police had been “abolished,” but Iranian state media strongly pushed back on those comments, saying the interior ministry oversees the force, not the judiciary. The wearing of a hijab in public is currently mandatory for women in Iran under strict Islamic law that is enforced by the country’s so-called morality police. Her death on September 16 touched a nerve in the Islamic Republic, with prominent public figures coming out in support of the movement, including top Iranian actor Taraneh Alidoosti. “But no official of the Islamic Republic of Iran has said that the Guidance Patrol has been shut,” Al-Alam said Sunday afternoon.

☆ EU rules would stop practices seen at crypto exchange FTX, says European Commission
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

LONDON, Nov 30 (Reuters) - The "questionable practices" at now collapsed crypto exchange FTX would not have been allowed to happen under European Union rules now being finalised, a senior European Commission official said on Wednesday. "All these failures are very serious. We don't see them as failures of blockchain or crypto assets per se," added Alexandra Jour-Schroeder, deputy director general at the Commission's financial services unit told a hearing in the European Parliament. Reporting by Huw Jones; editing by David EvansOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Some European officials are accusing the US of profiting from the Ukraine war, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-27 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Some European officials have accused the US of profiting from the war in Ukraine, Politico reported. A White House official said high prices were caused only by "Putin's energy war against Europe." Officials told the publication that the Biden administration was making a "fortune" from Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, while European countries were left to suffer. Officials, including French president Emmanuel Macron, have called US climate legislation, and ensuing gas prices, "not friendly." "The Inflation Reduction Act has changed everything," one EU diplomat told Politico.

☆ How influencers use Amazon to earn money, from affiliate links to livestreaming
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-26 | by ( Amanda Perelli | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Amazon Live: A livestreaming platform where creators earn a commission from every sale. Anyone who is a part of the Amazon Influencers Program can join by downloading the Amazon Live Creator app. Read more:Why Amazon Live has struggled to win over content creatorsThe main problem influencers said they have had with Amazon Live has been driving traffic to the platform. Amazon doesn't have a portal where users can see all of the Amazon influencers that they follow, unlike TikTok or YouTube. Read more:How influencers are earning money on Amazon by reviewing productsTo make money reviewing products on Amazon, creators must upload at least three videos to their individual profile page.

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