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☆ In Combative Hearing, New York School Chief Turns Tables on Republicans
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Troy Closson | Sarah Mervosh | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

At a two-hour House hearing on antisemitism in public schools on Wednesday, the New York City schools chief, David C. Banks, made one thing very clear: He was ready to fight. In an unyielding and fiery tone, Mr. Banks challenged lawmakers and questioned their versions of events. As the leader of the nation’s largest school system, Mr. Banks also acknowledged — often — that hate speech and harassment are a major problem for the district. He told members of an education subcommittee in the House that officials have disciplined about a dozen staff members and school leaders, and suspended at least 30 students. But Mr. Banks also seemed unafraid of wading into a sustained back-and-forth with lawmakers that many witnesses generally seek to avoid when testifying before Congress.

Persons: David C, Banks, unapologetically, — Organizations: New, New York City, Republicans, Harvard, University of Pennsylvania, Columbia Locations: New York

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailMajor banks team up to test network for tokenized money and U.S. Treasurys: 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, Alma Angotti, partner and global legislative and regulatory risk leader at the consulting firm Guidehouse, weighs in on recent actions by the SEC, including the Wells Notice sent to Robinhood over its crypto operations.

Persons: explainers, Alma Angotti, Wells Organizations: CNBC Crypto, CNBC, SEC

☆ Top minds at Milken unveil what they're seeing under the surface of the US economy as the national debt burden rises to nauseating levels
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( James Faris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

For the 27th straight year, some of the brightest minds from across the business world descended on Beverly Hills in early May to attend the Milken Institute Global Conference. But while speculation stole headlines, Milken speakers spent much of their time fixated on the state of the US economy. But despite continued concerns about stagflation, Milken speakers overwhelmingly expressed confidence about economic growth at a May 6 session called "Global Markets at Inflection." "The economy is still extremely strong, consumers are still doing really well, businesses are still doing really well," Scharf said. Though far from perfect, the US is still the best place to investDespite the $34.7 trillion anvil hanging over the economy, Milken speakers widely agreed that the US is still the best place to invest and operate a company.

Persons: Elon Musk, he's, Milken, Wells, Franklin Templeton, Gerard Baker, Andre Esteves, Jenny Johnson, Charlie Scharf, Scharf, we've, it's, you've, hasn't, Sam, Joshua Friedman, Anne Walsh, Friedman, Esteves, they've, Johnson, " Scharf, Wells Fargo Organizations: Milken Institute Global, SpaceX, Business, Milken, The, Consumers, Starbucks, Canyon Partners, Investors, Guggenheim Investments, Milken Institute Global Conference, US Locations: Beverly Hills, Wells Fargo, Brazil, McDonald's, Washington

☆ Bill Hwang, Whose Firm Archegos Collapsed in 2021, Is About to Go on Trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Matthew Goldstein | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Three years ago, a multibillion-dollar investment firm called Archegos Capital Management blew up with little warning, causing big losses for some Wall Street banks and leading to federal criminal charges against the firm’s founder, Bill Hwang. On Wednesday, Mr. Hwang, 60, who was charged with 11 counts of securities fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy, racketeering and market manipulation, is set to go on trial in Manhattan federal court. Federal prosecutors are seeking to secure a conviction in a major stock market manipulation case in which Mr. Hwang, whose legal name is Sung Kook Hwang, was one of the big financial losers. Archegos had managed money mainly for Mr. Hwang, his family and some of his employees, and much of his family’s wealth was wiped out when the firm collapsed in March 2021. Also on trial with Mr. Hwang is Patrick Halligan, the former chief financial officer of Archegos.

Persons: Bill Hwang, Hwang, Sung Kook Hwang, Archegos, Patrick Halligan Organizations: Archegos Capital Management, Authorities Locations: Manhattan, Wall

☆ Inside the Growing Alarm Over Blackstone's BREIT Real-Estate Fund
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Bethany Mclean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +23 min

Investors in Blackstone's real-estate fund asked for their money back in droves — more than $15 billion to date. Unless the real-estate market comes roaring back, analysts warn, BREIT could end up shrinking to a fraction of its current size, leaving the fund's investors holding the bag. Only 3% of BREIT's holdings are in office buildings, which have been ground zero for commercial real estate pain. Advertisement"Not all real estate is created equal," BREIT boasted in a recent letter to stockholders, "and where you invest matters." "Commercial real estate is a slow burn," Brian Moynihan, the CEO of Bank of America, recently observed.

Persons: Blackstone, —, BREIT, REITs, Steve Schwarzman, Jeenah, Nate Koppikar, Craig McCann, BREIT's, Chilton, McCann, McCann, Horacio Villalobos, That's, Donald Trump, Robert Chang, Schwarzman, Michael Blackshire, Phil Bak, Stephen Schwarzman, Shannon Stapleton, Brian Moynihan, it's, It's Organizations: BREIT, Orso Partners, Securities Exchange Commission, Blackstone, SEC, Chilton Capital Management, SLCG Economics Consulting, Publicly, University of California, Regents, Armada Investors, Reuters, Bank of America Locations: BREIT, Lisbon, Fideres

☆ Inquiry Finds a Toxic Culture at the F.D.I.C., and Takes Aim at Its Leader
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Emily Flitter | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A report on workplace culture at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation released on Tuesday revealed a broad, yearslong pattern of sexual harassment, discrimination and abuse of mostly women and members of minority groups by senior officials. The findings are likely to lead to another potentially bruising round of questions for the agency’s chair, Martin Gruenberg, who is scheduled to testify in Congress later this month. It described “fiefdoms” in regional offices, where senior managers protected other longtime employees from potential consequences stemming from more junior employees’ claims of mistreatment. Examples of the behavior, including senior examiners texting junior women pictures of their genitalia or taking them to brothels, were first reported by The Wall Street Journal in November. Tuesday’s report was the result of an independent investigation by Cleary Gottlieb, which was hired by a special committee created by the agency’s board after The Journal’s report.

Persons: Martin Gruenberg, ”, “, Cleary Gottlieb, ’, Tuesday’s Organizations: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Wall Street

☆ UBS makes first profit since Credit Suisse rescue
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

London CNN —UBS has reported its first quarterly profit since buying ailing rival Credit Suisse, marking a sharp turnaround from six months of losses that immediately followed the closure of the rescue deal. It also realized cost savings of $1 billion, adding to cost cuts of some $4 billion last year. On Tuesday, Ermotti said UBS was “on track” to achieve “significant integration milestones” this year, including the merger of the two banks’ operations in Switzerland in the third quarter. UBS has raised serious concerns about the proposals and on Tuesday Ermotti reiterated the bank’s view that it wasn’t lack of capital that left Credit Suisse needing to be rescued. He said UBS was already adding almost $20 billion to its capital buffers as a result of the takeover of Credit Suisse, in part because of the bank’s increased market share and balance sheet size.

Persons: Sergio Ermotti, Johann Scholtz, ”, Ermotti, Karin Keller, Suter Organizations: London CNN, UBS, Credit Suisse, Morningstar, Credit, bank’s Locations: Swiss, Zurich, Switzerland

☆ Spanish bank Sabadell rejects $12.9 billion BBVA merger proposal
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Sabadell's board rejected a merger proposal by larger rival BBVA for a 12 billion euro ($12.93 billion) all-share merger, the Spanish lender said on Monday. Last week, BBVA had offered an exchange ratio of one newly issued BBVA share for every 4.83 Sabadell shares, a premium of 30% over April 29 closing prices. Since the indicative offer was announced by BBVA, Sabadell have risen 8.8% while shares in BBVA have fallen 9.7%. Taking into account Monday's closing share price, the premium would just be equivalent to 7.8%, valuing Sabadell at around 11 billion euros. The combined entity would also overtake Caixabank as the biggest domestic lender in Spain with over 625 billion euros in assets in the country, compared with Caixabank's just over 574 billion euros.

Persons: Sabadell's, Carlos Torres, Caixabank, Caixabank's Organizations: BBVA, Banco Sabadell, Sabadell, Santander Locations: Spanish, Madrid, Spain, Sabadell

☆ The alleged architect of a multibillion-dollar fraud that shook Wall Street heads to trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

New York CNN —In the spring of 2021, you might have heard about a small investment firm with an odd name, Archegos, that imploded practically overnight and left big Wall Street banks sweating over billions of dollars in losses. Put simply, prosecutors say Hwang had used financial instruments called “total return swaps” to gain exposure to the stocks without actually owning them. Over the course of a year, prosecutors say, Hwang grew his $1.5 billion portfolio into a $35 billion portfolio. Why the case mattersWhite-collar crime on Wall Street may seem like a distant problem for most Americans, and that may be true. And sometimes, as in the financial crisis of 2008, it was a bit of Wall Street tinkering in derivatives contracts that blew up in banks’ faces and collapsed the housing market.

Persons: CNN Business ’, Bill Hwang, Hwang, Matt Egan, Banks, Archegos, ” Hwang, Hwang didn’t, ”, isn’t, Dennis Kelleher Organizations: CNN Business, New York CNN, Archegos, Management, Viacom, Discovery, Warner Bros, CNN, Term Capital Management, Credit Suisse, Employees, Bloomberg, Tiger Asia Management Locations: New York, Korean, York City, ’

☆ These bond funds offering yields upward of 5% could take off as Fed policy becomes uncertain
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Darla Mercado | Cfp | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

That shakiness around when the cuts are coming, as well as the expectation that rates could remain higher for longer creates an opportunity for active managers. Rick Rieder, BlackRock's global chief investment officer of fixed income, told CNBC in a phone interview. Indeed, core bond funds were among the winners in the 2008 crisis. For starters, they should think about the role they want a given bond fund to play within their portfolio: Is it to offset equity risk or to boost returns? "You're not investing in bond funds to shoot the lights out and build your wealth pile," said Morningstar's Jacobson.

Persons: Rick Rieder, Rieder, Eric Jacobson, Morningstar, John Croke ,, Morningstar's Jacobson, Jaime Quinones, they're, Quinones Organizations: Federal Reserve, Barclays, Bank of America, Citigroup, CNBC, Bloomberg, SEC, Morningstar, Vanguard, Stockade Wealth Management, Mutual Locations: Marlboro , N.J

☆ Wall Street bonuses to rise this year as deals return, says report
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Bonuses are poised to recover on Wall Street this year, fueled by strong equity market gains and recovery in investment banking, according to financial services compensation firm Johnson Associates. As initial public offerings come back, bonuses for equity underwriters are expected to rise 10% to 20% this year. "We are seeing almost all segments on Wall Street raising compensation", said the firm's founder Alan Johnson. Higher trading volumes are expected to increase bonuses for bond traders between 10% and 20%, and 5% to 15% higher for equity traders. Executives working at wealth management will probably have 5% to 10% higher compensation, whereas asset management and hedge fund employees are expected to receive 5% higher bonuses.

Persons: Johnson, Alan Johnson Organizations: Johnson Associates, Investment Locations: U.S

☆ Australia’s Qantas to pay $79 million to settle ‘ghost flights’ case
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-06 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Sydney — Qantas Airways has agreed to pay 120 million Australian dollars ($79 million) to settle a lawsuit over the sale of thousands of tickets on already canceled flights, in an attempt to end a reputational crisis that has engulfed the airline. The fine is the biggest ever for an Australian airline and among the largest globally in the sector, although some Australian banks and casino operators have faced higher penalties. “We recognize Qantas let down customers and fell short of our own standards,” CEO Vanessa Hudson said in a statement. It had said the airline sometimes sold tickets to flights weeks after they were canceled. The ACCC’s Cass-Gottlieb noted that the settlement included a promise from Qantas not to repeat the conduct.

Persons: Vanessa Hudson, ”, Hudson’s, Alan Joyce, Hudson, Gina Cass, Gottlieb, ACCC’s Cass Organizations: Sydney, Qantas Airways, Qantas, Australian Competition, Consumer Commission, Federal Court, ACCC Locations: Hudson

☆ 3 reasons why bitcoin can still reach $150,000 by 2025, according to Bernstein
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-06 | by ( Filip De Mott | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Bitcoin will still reach $150,000 by 2025, Bernstein reaffirmed in a new note. ETF and spot bitcoin demand has remained strong, analysts wrote. "Investors ask us if anything has changed on our $150K Bitcoin price view and if the post-halving price correction has affected our conviction. Second, rule updates from the Financial Accounting Standards Board pertaining to crypto are driving corporate interest in bitcoin, Bernstein said. Advertisement"Overall, healthy Bitcoin demand and continued discipline in the Bitcoin mining cycle, allowing the Bitcoin party to last longer this time.

Persons: Bitcoin, Bernstein, —, Gautam Chhugani, Mahika Sapra, Block, Chhugani, Bernstein isn't, bitcoin Organizations: Service, ETF, Financial, outflows, Chartered, ~$ Locations: outflows, bitcoin

☆ The US crackdown on Russian trade is working as Putin struggles to fund his war
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-06 | by ( Filip De Mott | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Trade with Russia has slumped in the first quarter amid tightening US sanctions, the Financial Times said. After a December executive order bolstered its sanctioning power, the department has amplified warnings against foreign lenders that facilitate trade with Russia. At the same time, the US' crackdown has proliferated trade in the Russian ruble, as other currencies increasingly fall out of favor. That's as foreigners are still free to buy rubles on the Moscow Exchange when settling payments with Russian parties. AdvertisementStill, the ruble faces restricted convertibility, making it difficult to reach trade volumes once possible under the dollar.

Persons: —, Vladimir Potanin, That's Organizations: Financial Times, Companies, Service, US Treasury Department, United Arab Locations: Russia, China, Turkey, Ankara, United Arab Emirates, Austria, Russian, Iran, Tehran, Moscow, UAE, dirhams

☆ Buy stocks in May because inflation is set to plunge through the rest of 2024, Fundstrat's Tom Lee says
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-06 | by ( Jennifer Sor | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

That's because inflation is set to fall "dramatically" through the rest of the year, Lee predicted. AdvertisementInvestors should be buying stocks this month, as inflation is bound for a steep decline for the rest of the year, according to Fundstrat's head of research Tom Lee. Real-time price declines will eventually catch up with the official inflation report. High rates risk tipping the economy into a recession and sparking market volatility, as investors, banks, and consumers grapple with a higher cost of borrowing. It is quite high, and as you know, it's putting a lot of pressure on regional banking ... the cost of money is quite high," Lee said.

Persons: Tom Lee, Lee, —, That's, it'll Organizations: Service, CNBC

☆ From 25 years in prison to just four months: Inside the final verdict on a crypto billionaire CEO archrivalry
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-05 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +18 min

Combination showing Former FTX CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried (L) and Zhao Changpeng (R), founder and chief executive officer of Binance. A month earlier, on the opposite coast in downtown Manhattan, FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried received a 25-year prison sentence for his crimes. At the beginning of his trial, SBF sported a fresh haircut and wore suits, but by its end, his curls were wild again. Cryptocurrency exchange Binance founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao speaks at a Binance fifth anniversary event in Paris, France, July 8, 2022. watch nowMoney makes all the differenceUnlike SBF, CZ didn't have his wealth wiped out by bankruptcy of the crypto company he founded.

Persons: Sam Bankman, Zhao Changpeng, Mike Segar, Benjamin Girette, Changpeng Zhao, FTX's Sam Bankman, Fried, Zhao, Binance's Zhao, FTX's, Toyotas, Braden Perry, Perry, Manfred, SBF, Michael Lewis, Lewis, Sam didn't, Amr Alfiky, Sam, Caroline Ellison, —, Zhao's, Yi He, Binance, David Ryder, Yang, Rachel Zhao, Yesha Yadav, Yadav, Mark Bini, Lewis Kaplan, Bankman, Kaplan, perjured, Neama Rahmani, Rahmani, Tre Lovell, Zhao hasn't, Lovell, weren't, FTX Organizations: Reuters, Bloomberg, Getty, Department of Justice, CFTC, Stanford University's, Bankman, CZ, Staff, Reuters Prosecutors, Alameda Research, Vanderbilt University, Wall Street, CNBC, FTX, Emergency Economic, Justice Department, DOJ Locations: Seattle, Manhattan, California, Hong Kong, Bahamas, Palo Alto, U.S, New York City, Alameda, Seattle , Washington, Paris, France, Angeles, Binance, Dubai, Delaware

☆ Torino Superga disaster: How an air crash instantly wiped out one of soccer’s great teams
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-04 | by ( Matias Grez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

A local boy born in the northern Italian city of Turin and the captain of Torino’s youth team, Motto seemed destined to represent his boyhood club. Umberto Motto as a youth team player for Torino. Other Italian teams loaned – and even gave – players to Torino, Pennino says. The federation accepted a proposal from Torino that it would play its youth team, the champions of Italy at the time, against the youth teams of its four remaining opponents. Torino’s youth players beat Genoa 4-0 in an atmosphere Motto has never forgotten.

Persons: Umberto Motto, ’, hadn’t, Umberto, Mario Lanati, “ Umberto, ” Lanati, Torino’s, Roberto Pennino, Torino, Pennino, “, –, ” Giulio Andreotti, Feruccio Novo, ” Pennino, Roberto Pennino ‘, Lanati, Novo, ”, Forza, It’s Organizations: CNN, Torino FC, Stadio, Torino, Italian, Benfica, Aeritalia, ‘ Grande Torino, didn’t, –, Roberto Pennino ‘ Forza, Novo, Genoa –, ”, Genoa, Palermo, Sampdoria, Fiorentina, Monumental Locations: Italian, Turin, Lisbon, Portugal, ’, Torino, Italy

☆ Kenya floods: Anger mounts as people left homeless and searching for loved ones swept away in floods
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-04 | by ( Larry Madowo | Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Mai Mahiu, Kenya CNN —When Julia Wanjiku put her son Isaac to bed last Sunday after a day celebrating his third birthday, she didn’t realize she was also saying goodbye. She was among the survivors gathering at Ngeya Girls High School in Mai Mahiu on Tuesday. A damaged car buried in mud in an area heavily affected by torrential rains and flash floods in the village of Kamuchiri, near Mai Mahiu, on April 29. Luis Tato/AFP via Getty ImagesPeople removing mud and water from their house in Mai Mahiu, Kenya, on April 29. Rescuers carry the body of a young man recovered in the debris following flooding, in Mai Mahiu, Kenya.

Persons: Mai Mahiu, Kenya CNN —, Julia Wanjiku, Isaac, Wanjiku, — Isaac, “, ” Wanjiku, Isaac’s, Mai Mahui, It’s, Luis Tato, El, William Ruto, Kithure Kindiki, Isaac Mwaura, ” Ruto, Mark Laichena, ”, Simon Maina, Mwaura, Nyagoah Tut, James Wakibia, Joyce Kimutai, herder, Makau, “ I’m, ” Larry Madowo, Laura Paddison, CNN’s Louis Mian, Allison Chinchar, Mary Gilbert Organizations: Kenya CNN, CNN, Girls High School, Getty, Getty Images, “, Kenyan, Space Agency European Space Agency, European Space Agency, Isaac Mwaura ., Communities, United Arab Emirates, Rights Watch, Kenya Meteorological Department, Human Rights Watch, Rescuers, Imperial College London’s Grantham Institute Locations: Kenya, Mai, Kenya’s, Nairobi, Mai Mahiu, Kamuchiri, AFP, Getty Images Kenya, Garissa, Tanzania, Tana, Mathare, New York, El, Nyagoah Tut Pur, Africa, East Africa, London

☆ I'm pregnant at 47. It's not how I once pictured things, but it was the right path for me.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-04 | by ( Heather Grossmann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

That was eight years ago and followed an egg-freezing debacle that made it blindingly clear my path to parenthood would be circuitous, at best. @#$" — assumedly a stand-in for an expletive and, as it turned out, a very accurate foreshadowing of what was to come. Being pregnant at my age has proven a challenge, in more ways than oneNow, at 47, I am eight months pregnant and nearly downright blissful. AdvertisementLast summer, following two surgeries (one nearly killed me) for uterine fibroids, I was finally ready to go. The truth is, there was no other path to parenthood for me.

Persons: — Organizations: Service, Central, Business

☆ US food insecurity: The rising cost of living makes it hard for people with jobs to feed their families
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-04 | by ( Tami Luhby | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —The mix of local residents visiting the Enfield Food Shelf in Connecticut has changed a lot in the last few years. It now seems that one unexpected expense tips people’s finances.”Between 300 and 400 households visit the Enfield Food Shelf in Connecticut each week. Khamphay Khen shops at the Enfield Food Shelf to help feed his family of six. The Enfield Food Shelf serves between 300 and 400 households a week. “Even though there are a lot of jobs available, and the unemployment rate is low, we’re seeing food insecurity increasing,” said East.

Persons: Kathleen Souvigney, Souvigney, ”, “, Jason Jakubowski, Khamphay, he’s, Khen, Honda, it’s, Enfield, Chloe East Organizations: CNN, Enfield Food, Survey, Connecticut Foodshare, Enfield Food Shelf, Urban Institute, The Hamilton, Brookings Institution Locations: Connecticut, Enfield, America

☆ Talent war between family offices and Wall Street drives up salaries
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Robert Frank | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

"There's a real war for talent within family offices," said William Sinclair, U.S. head of J.P. Morgan Private Bank's Family Office Practice. According to the report, which surveyed 190 family offices with average assets of $1.4 billion, family offices that manage less than $500 million spend an average of $1.5 million a year for operating costs. Family offices between $500 million and $1 billion spend an average of $2.7 million, and those above $1 billion average $6.1 million. The biggest cost is staffing, which has become more expensive as family offices have tripled in number over the past five years. "If you look back 15 years ago, family offices were where people went to retire and have work-life balance," he said.

Persons: Robert Frank, William Sinclair, Morgan, We've, Trish Botoff, Botoff, Carlyle, Paul Westall, Westall, that's Organizations: Morgan Private Bank Global, Botoff Consulting, KKR, Blackstone, Agreus Locations: U.S

☆ Credit Agricole's first-quarter earnings jump as investment banking beats rivals
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Credit Agricole , France's second-biggest listed bank, posted a forecast-beating 55% jump in first-quarter net profit on Friday, helped by corporate and investment banking sales that outperformed rivals. Net profit in the January to March period rose to 1.9 billion euros ($2.04 billion), above the 1.48 billion-euro average of 19 analyst estimates compiled by the company. Sales climbed 11% to 6.81 billion euros, topping analyst expectations of 6.47 billion euros. The cost of risk, or money put aside for bad loans, was 400 million euros, 105 million euros less than expected. Targets include annual underlying net income of more than 6 billion euros and a return on tangible equity of more than 12%.

Persons: Amundi Organizations: Credit Agricole, BNP Paribas, Societe Generale, Agricole Locations: France's, France

☆ The US could give homeowners a $980 billion stimulus at no additional cost, 'Oracle of Wall Street' says
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Filip De Mott | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. That's if Freddie Mac secures approval from its regulator to operate in the market for secondary mortgages, also commonly known as home equity loans. If greenlighted, the scheme would be equivalent to a huge stimulus injection, but without a cent added to the national deficit, the "Oracle of Wall Street" explained. As Freddie Mac is a massive provider of mortgage market liquidity, the move could encourage more banks to extend this financing to customers. The proposal noted that options are limited for homeowners who want to tap their equity, meaning that few are benefiting from the housing market's appreciation.

Persons: —, Meredith Whitney, Whitney, Freddie Mac, Freddie Mac's, Freddie, Fannie Mae, Ginnie Mae Organizations: Service, Business

☆ 'Trader justice': Ex-SocGen trader fired for risky bets claims he was made a 'scapegoat'
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Karen Gilchrist | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A former Societe Generale trader who was fired for unauthorized risky bets has lambasted the French bank for making him a "scapegoat" and failing to take its share of responsibility for missing the trades. A SocGen spokesperson declined to comment on the post, but provided a statement on the pair's dismissal. Kataria said the trades were auto-booked and a "daily email was sent to the entire group mentioning the trades have been reconciled." "It's very easy for other people to say that we were not aware of the trades done by me," he wrote. "Trading Industry is so big but there are no rules or regulations which fight for trader justice," he said.

Persons: Kavish Kataria, Kataria, SocGen, Kevin Ng, Jerome Kerviel Organizations: Societe Generale, Hong, Financial Times, LinkedIn Locations: Hong Kong, Paris

☆ Interest rates are staying high—how to make them work in your favor
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Gabriel Cortés | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

If you were hoping interest rates might come down this spring, you're likely going to have to wait a little bit longer. After more than a decade of near-zero interest rates, savers are now in an environment where they're being rewarded for keeping deposits in the bank. And with interest rates staying at their decades-long high for longer, savers have an extended window to take advantage of everything banks are offering. "We did a study recently and found that very few people are earning even 4% on their savings," Rossman says. Now is a great time to shop around for the most favorable terms and lock in those interest rates while they're here, Rossman says.

Persons: That's, Ted Rossman, Rossman Organizations: U.S . Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Locations: U.S

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