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☆ A T. rex skeleton sold at auction for more than $5 million. It's been named Trinity and will reside in Europe's oldest skyscraper.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Nearly 300 T. rex bones dug up from three US sites were assembled into a single skeleton dubbed "Trinity." It was the first time such a T. rex skeleton was put up for auction in Europe. Including the "buyer's premium" and fees, the sale came to 5.5 million Swiss francs (about $6.1 million), Koller said. The Koller auction house in Zurich identified the new owner as The Phoebus Foundation, which is backed by the engineering and logistics conglomerate Katoen Natie-Indaver. The auction house said the skull was particularly rare and also remarkably well-preserved.

☆ Taylor Swift sidestepped FTX lawsuit by asking a simple question—investors can use the same strategy to avoid potential scams
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Cheyenne Devon | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

When it comes to making business decisions, Taylor Swift does her due diligence all too well. Before inking the deal, Swift asked FTX representatives a simple question: "Can you tell me that these are not unregistered securities?" Adam Moskowitz, one of the attorneys leading a class-action lawsuit against FTX's celebrity endorsers, said during an episode of "The Scoop" podcast. The lawsuit claims that FTX's high-profile promoters didn't properly research FTX before participating in the "offer and sale of unregistered securities in the form of yield-bearing accounts ('YBAs')." Swift was one of only a few celebrities to question the exchange, Moskowitz says on the podcast.

☆ Warren Buffett's former deputy slams crypto and meme stocks, heralds AI's 'iPhone moment,' and flags big risks to commercial real estate. Here are the 6 best quotes from her annual letter.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Theron Mohamed | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Warren Buffett's ex-deputy blasts meme stocks and cryptos and welcomes a more sensible market. Tracy Britt Cool advises investors to be careful and touts ChatGPT as groundbreaking. Here are the six best quotes from Britt Cool and her Kanbrick cofounder in their annual letter. Tracy Britt Cool and her Kanbrick cofounder, Brian Humphrey, also jabbed at meme stocks and cryptocurrencies, and hailed artificial intelligence as a game-changing technology. (Britt Cool and Humphrey singled out commercial real estate, heavily indebted companies with floating-rate loans, and the mushrooming federal debt as areas of concern.)"

☆ Taylor Swift didn't sign $100 million FTX sponsorship because she was the only one to ask about unregistered securities, lawyer says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Taylor Swift pulled out of a $100 million sponsorship deal with Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX. The lawyer suing other celebrities for promoting FTX says she was the only one to ask about unregistered securities. Taylor Swift managed to avoid signing a $100 million sponsorship deal with FTX because she was reportedly the only celebrity to question the crypto exchange, according to the lawyer handling a class-action lawsuit against several FTX promoters. "The one person I found that did that was Taylor Swift," Moskowitz told The Scoop's Frank Chaparro. "In our discovery, Taylor Swift actually asked them: 'Can you tell me that these are not unregistered securities?'"

☆ Fed Governor Bowman casts doubt on the need for a U.S. digital dollar
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Jeff Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman expressed skepticism over the possibility of a digital U.S. dollar, noting Tuesday the multiple risks such a system could impose. For the past few years, Fed officials have been studying whether to join a handful of other central banks to implement its own type of cryptocurrency. However, she said an interest-bearing Fed digital dollar could provide harmful competition for banks, limiting their ability to lend. Like other Fed officials, Bowman said the looming implementation of the FedNow payments system also will address many of the needs cited by central bank digital currency promoters. Perhaps the CBDC's biggest Fed advocate has since left the central bank: Former Governor Lael Brainard is now director of the National Economic Council.

☆ How Gay Men Saved Us From Monkeypox - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( Ina Park | Dan Savage | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

We know gay sex has been unfairly blamed for everything from natural disasters to the fall of Rome. But in their efforts to avoid stigmatizing the community, health authorities and the media failed to effectively warn gay and bi men. Ignorant of the threat as the virus spread, gay and bi men couldn’t take steps to protect themselves and their partners. Gay party promoters canceled long-planned events and individual gay men temporarily deleted hookup apps from their phones and reduced their sexual contacts. They acknowledged the realities of gay sexuality and its breadth of expression, using the actual language gay men use when discussing sex with each other.

☆ I'm a celebrity photographer. I captured the true nightlife-energy of famous people and refused to sell photos to paparazzi.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( Costa B. Pappas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Mark Hunter is a celebrity photographer who started uploading nightlife-photos to his blog in 2003. My approach to nightlife photography was very forward thinking. After every party I'd post the photos on my blog. I've learned nightlife photography is all about your reputation, working hard, and networkingI feel like I'm just as in demand now, if not more than I was back in the day. Becoming a nightlife photographer is going to be challenging because there's no formula like at a corporate job.

☆ Catholic leader accuses Ron DeSantis — who has positioned himself as a defender of the Christian faith — and Florida Republicans of seeking to criminalize 'empathy' with new anti-immigrant crackdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski says a Republican immigration bill would criminalize "empathy." Wenski accused Florida Republicans of trying to "demonize" vulnerable people. In a statement issued Thursday, Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski echoed that criticism, accusing Florida Republicans of playing state-level politics with a federal issue. It is not the first time that DeSantis and Florida's Republicans have run afoul of the Catholic Church. In February, the Florida Catholic Conference, which represents the state's bishops, told Insider that it opposes a DeSantis-led push to expand the death penalty.

☆ Exclusive: India's LIC plans investment exposure caps post Adani share rout
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Nikunj Ohri | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

After the Adani group lost over $100 billion in valuation post scathing allegations by U.S.-based Hindenburg Research, state-run LIC was criticized for having over $4 billion exposure to companies from the group. "LIC is looking to have 'boundary conditions' on its investments that would limit its exposure to scrips," said the source. The caps, once approved by the LIC board, would further limit the insurer's exposure. The move is aimed at strengthening investment strategies, and fence LIC from public criticism of its investment decisions or exposure to entities like the Adani group, the second source said. LIC had invested 301.2 billion rupees in shares of Adani group companies, and has a debt exposure of 61.82 billion rupees.

Lindsay Lohan attends/performs during a photocall for "Speed The Plow" at Playhouse Theatre on September 30, 2014 in London, England. The Securities and Exchange Commission has unveiled fraud and unregistered securities charges against crypto founder and Grenadian diplomat Justin Sun, alongside separate violations against the celebrity backers of his Tronix and BitTorrent crypto assets, which included Jake Paul, Lindsay Lohan and Soulja Boy. The unregistered offer and sale charges, on the other hand, are similar to charges the SEC has unveiled against other crypto offerings and exchanges, including Genesis, Gemini and Do Kwon's Terraform Labs. “This case demonstrates again the high risk investors face when crypto asset securities are offered and sold without proper disclosure,” said SEC Chair Gary Gensler. Tron and his backers' alleged behavior was part of an "age-old playbook to mislead and harm investors," SEC enforcement chief Gurbir Grewal said in a statement.

☆ Fox bosses ‘shut down’ fact checking with 2020 conspiracies, Dominion lawyer says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Marshall Cohen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Dominion is suing Fox News over the right-wing channel’s airing of false claims of election fraud around the 2020 presidential election. Fox News argued that Dominion should instead rely on the “lengthy depositions” that these witnesses already gave. It claims Dominion hasn’t shown anything strong enough to overcome the high bar that the First Amendment provides, protecting good-faith journalists from speech-chilling defamation lawsuits. Dominion lawyer Rodney Smolla said its high-stakes defamation case against Fox News will protect the public discourse and hold accountable people who deliberately lied about the 2020 election. “They endorsed,” Murdoch said, referring to Fox hosts Sean Hannity, Jeanine Pirro, Maria Bartiromo, and former host Lou Dobbs.

☆ File Raiffeisen’s sanctions-bypass idea in the bin
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, March 16 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Raiffeisen Bank International thinks it may have found a clever way to repatriate a small part of its Russian assets. Hence the idea to swap its stranded roubles against the frozen euros accumulated by Sberbank, the Kremlin-owned bank forced to unwind its operations by the war in Ukraine. Up to 400 million euros of its assets are now sitting idle in a frozen fund. Promoters of the idea, now being tested with regulators, reckon this might conform with sanctions because the swap would not involve sending hard currency to Russia. In reality, it would allow Russia’s largest bank to recover its frozen money, opening a massive loophole in the sanctions regime.

☆ India's Adani prepays $2.15 billion share-backed loans
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 12 (Reuters) - Adani Group said it had completed full prepayment of margin-linked share-backed financing worth $2.15 billion as part of its debt prepayment plan, before its deadline of March 31. Adani Group last year acquired Holcim AG's (HOLN.S) cement businesses in India – Ambuja Cements and ACC Ltd – for $10.5 billion, its largest-ever acquisition. Hindenburg's report alleged stock manipulation and improper use of tax havens, and flagged "substantial" debt levels, which the group has denied. Gautam Adani and his family have prepaid all borrowings backed by his conglomerate Adani Group's shares, senior executives told investors at a meeting in London, Bloomberg News reported last week. Reporting by Baranjot Kaur and Jahnavi Nidumolu in Bengaluru; Editing by David HolmesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Indian shares set for muted start as Powell reiterates hawkish message
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BENGALURU, March 9 (Reuters) - Indian shares are set for a muted open on Thursday, on concerns of a prolonged high-interest rate regime after U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reiterated his hawkish stance on the second day of congressional testimony. Indian shares extended gains for a third session in a row on Wednesday, in contrast to global peers. Indian equities are likely to remain rangebound ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy decision on March 22, two analysts said. ** Adani Enterprises (ADEL.NS), Adani Power (ADAN.NS), Adani Wilmar (ADAW.NS): NSE places three group firms under short-term additional surveillance measures from March 1. ($1 = 81.9910 Indian rupees)Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; editing by Eileen SorengOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ India's Adani Group pre-pays over $900 mln worth share-backed financing
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The billionaire Gautam Adani-led Adani Group has been looking to ease concerns about its credit profile after a U.S.-based short seller noted high debt and alleged improper use of offshore tax havens and stock manipulation, which Adani denied. Promoters of the group's flagship firm, Adani Enterprises (ADEL.NS) will release 31 million shares, or a 4% stake, while Adani Ports' (APSE.NS) promoters will release 155 million shares, or an 11.8% stake, the group said in a statement. Promoters of Adani Green Energy (ADNA.NS) and Adani Transmission (ADAI.NS) will release 1.2% and 4.5% stakes in the respective companies. In a similar move, the group in February pre-paid $1.11 billion. With Tuesday's repayment, the group has so far repaid around $2.02 billion of share-backed financing, it said.

☆ India's Adani Group pre-pays over $900 million worth share-backed financing
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BENGALURU, March 7 (Reuters) - Embattled Indian conglomerate Adani Group said it prepaid share-backed financing of 73.74 billion rupees ($901.16 million), as it looks to allay fears over leverage and debt since a U.S. short seller's critical report sparked a stock rout. Promoters of the group's flagship firm, Adani Enterprises (ADEL.NS), will release 31 million shares, or a 4% stake, while Adani Ports' (APSE.NS) promoters will release 155 million shares, or an 11.8% stake, the group said in a statement on Tuesday. Promoters of Adani Green Energy (ADNA.NS) and Adani Transmission (ADAI.NS) will release 1.2% and 4.5% stakes in the respective companies. With Tuesday's repayment, the group has so far repaid around $2.02 billion of share-backed financing, it said. GQG's founder Rajiv Jain will meet clients and investors in Australia this week to explain its investment in the Adani group, the company said in a separate statement on Tuesday.

☆ Marianne Williamson opens long shot 2024 challenge to Biden
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Biden, 80, is the oldest president in U.S. history and would be 86 at the end of a second term. Biden's political advisers say they aren't worried about the Democratic primary and say Biden is anxious to defeat Donald Trump again in the general election. Williamson insists her 2024 campaign is about far more than just making a statement. A Texas native who now lives in Beverly Hills, California, Williamson is the author of more than a dozen books. She ran an unsuccessful independent congressional campaign in California in 2014 and supported Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders' 2016 progressive challenge of eventual Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

☆ Another Stock Market Crash Coming, Wall Street's Top Investors Warn
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Linette Lopez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

This elation has lulled Wall Street into a false sense of security, according to the investing world's elite who I've spoken with over the past few weeks. It's like all the good little boys and girls on Wall Street asked for a rally for Christmas and got it. He added that nonprofessional retail investors' strong return to the market indicated an unsustainable rally. Anytime Wall Street has forgotten that over the past year, it has gotten punished. And that means Wall Street will eventually have to open its eyes, take its fingers out of its ears, and watch this bear-market rally fall apart.

☆ Boies, co-counsel move to grab control of all private FTX cases
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Alison Frankel | Thomson Reuters | Alison Frankel Has Covered High-Stakes Commercial Litigation As A Columnist For Reuters Since A Dartmouth College Graduate | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, that the judge overseeing their Miami cases, U.S. District Judge Michael Moore, has already proven in their brand ambassador cases that he can steer FTX cases quickly and efficiently. Not everyone pursuing claims on behalf of FTX customers agrees with Boies and Moskowitz. (To be clear, these private cases are different from cases that could be brought by a court-appointed receiver or trustee in FTX’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy.) If the cases go to California, the California slate is a likelier candidate. It will be a few months before any ruling on the Boies and Moskowitz consolidation petition.

☆ Adani says it will repay over $1 billion in debt ahead of schedule in a bid to halt stock-market rout
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Embattled Indian conglomerate Adani Group is paying back $1.1 billion in debt ahead of schedule. It's scrambling to halt a stocks rout that's wiped out over $110 billion in market value over the past fortnight. The selloff came after US short-seller Hindenburg Research accused the group of market manipulation and fraud. The borrowings were backed by Adani Ports, Adani Green Energy, and Adani Transmission – three of the group's companies that have seen their share prices plummet over the past fortnight. Adani said it had paid off its debt ahead of schedule "in light of recent market volatility and in continuation of the promoters' commitment to reduce the overall promoter leverage backed by Adani Listed Company shares."

☆ Adani Plans $1.1 Billion Loan Repayment After Share Collateral Plummets
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Dave Sebastian | Weilun Soon | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The ports-to-energy conglomerate controlled by Indian billionaire Gautam Adani said its founders will prepay a $1.1 billion loan that was backed by shares of some of its companies, a move to shore up investor confidence after a rout in its stock prices over the past two weeks. The Adani Group said Monday that its so-called promoters—a term used to describe controlling shareholders—have posted amounts to pay off the loan ahead of its maturity in September 2024. The loan was backed by shares in several Adani companies, all of which have fallen dramatically since U.S. short seller Hindenburg Research published a scathing report on the Adani Group on Jan. 24.

☆ Adani Group Plans $1.1 Billion Loan Repayment After Share Collateral Plummets
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Dave Sebastian | Weilun Soon | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ Adani crisis: Billionaire scrambles to reassure creditors as market rout enters third week
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Diksha Madhok | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The loans were backed by shares in Adani Ports, Adani Green Energy and Adani Transmission, which have collapsed in value. While the Adani Group has vehemently denied the allegation made by Hindenburg Resarch as “baseless” and “malicious,” investors remain unconvinced. Adani companies will be reporting quarterly results this week. Moody’s said Friday that the plunge in the shares of Adani companies was likely to reduce the group’s ability to raise capital. Another agency, S&P, cut the outlook for its ratings on two companies, Adani Ports and Adani Electricity, to negative from stable, citing the risk of higher funding costs or reduced access to capital.

☆ Former heavyweight champion Joshua to return to ring in April
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Boxing - Oleksandr Usyk v Anthony Joshua - WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight world title - King Abdullah Sports City Arena, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - August 20, 2022 Anthony Joshua after losing his fight against Oleksandr Usyk Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge/File PhotoLONDON, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Britain's former twice world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua will make his ring return in London on April 1 against American Jermaine Franklin, promoters Matchroom and DAZN said on Monday. The fight at the 02 Arena will be the first time in nearly seven years that Joshua, 33, has fought without a world title at stake. The Briton has not fought since his second straight loss to Ukraine's WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO champion Oleksandr Usyk in a title rematch in Saudi Arabia last August. "Mentally and physically I feel ready," said Joshua, who has a new trainer in Derrick James for the fight against a 29-year-old opponent. Franklin, who has a 21-1 record with 14 knockouts and whose first defeat was on points to Britain's Dillian Whyte at Wembley Arena last November, said Joshua had "had his time".

☆ Mutual funds have low exposure to Adani companies
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 1 (Reuters) - Mutual funds have low exposure to listed Adani Group companies, whose shares have dropped since publication of a report into the group by Hindenburg Research on Jan. 24. Mutual funds from India and elsewhere hold just 3.4% of Adani Enterprises (ADEL.NS), 2.8% of Adani Total Gas (ADAG.NS) and 3.6% of Adani Green Energy (ADNA.NS). Adani Enterprises and Adani Port (APSE.NS) are constituents of the Nifty 50, so they are automatically in portfolios of some exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and index funds. But active funds have very little exposure to Adani stocks and are largely unscathed by their fall. Among active funds, the Kotak Balanced Advantage fund , which has positions in Adani Enterprises and Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, has shed just 0.5%.

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