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☆ Burt Bacharach, legendary composer of pop songs, dies at 94
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

Bacharach was both an innovator and throwback, and his career seemed to run parallel to the rock era. He was an eight-time Grammy winner, a prize-winning Broadway composer for "Promises, Promises" and a three-time Oscar winner. Fellow songwriter Sammy Cahn liked to joke that the smiling, wavy-haired Bacharach was the first composer he ever knew who didn't look like a dentist. Bacharach was essentially a pop composer, but his songs became hits for country artists (Marty Robbins), rhythm and blues performers (Chuck Jackson), soul (Franklin, Luther Vandross) and synth-pop (Naked Eyes). He's everybody's composer ... Burt Bacharach!"

☆ U.S. composer Burt Bacharach dies at age 94
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Bill Trott | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Bacharach and David had 30 Top-40 hits in the '60s alone. I'd hear his melodies and I'd hear lyrics. I'd hear rhymes, I'd hear thoughts and I'd hear it almost immediately." Bacharach and David scored the Neil Simon Broadway musical "Promises, Promises," which won them two Tonys and a Grammy. While star performers made his songs hits, Bacharach said he also enjoyed performing himself and making a personal connection with smaller audiences.

[1/4] Former FTX Chief Executive Sam Bankman-Fried, who faces fraud charges over the collapse of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange, departs from his court hearing at a federal court in New York City's Manhattan, U.S. January 3, 2023. REUTERS/David Dee Delgado/Feb 8 (Reuters) - Failed crypto firm FTX received court approval on Wednesday to issue subpoenas to its founder Sam Bankman-Fried and members of his family as part of the company's investigation into "misappropriated and stolen" funds. FTX said in court papers filed Wednesday that most of the subpoena targets had begun cooperating with its investigation. FTX said that it is still in discussions with Ellison and that Sam Bankman-Fried "remains non-responsive." Mind the Gap has previously said that Sam Bankman-Fried did not make any direct contributions to the organization but did donate to some of its recommended programs.

The U.S. Department of Justice's bankruptcy watchdog has urged U.S. Bankruptcy Judge John Dorsey, who is overseeing FTX's Chapter 11, to appoint an independent examiner to investigate allegations of "fraud, dishonesty, incompetence, misconduct, and mismanagement" that are "too important to be left to an internal investigation." FTX says an examiner would merely duplicate work already being done by FTX, its creditors, and law enforcement agencies. FTX's founder Sam Bankman-Fried, who has been accused of stealing billions of dollars from FTX customers to pay debts incurred by his Alameda Research hedge fund, has pleaded not guilty to fraud charges. FTX's official creditors committee has sided with FTX, saying the proposed investigation is redundant. State securities regulators in Texas, Vermont and Wisconsin supported the Justice Department's bid, saying a neutral report would benefit creditors and customers.

☆ U.S. military members suing 3M seek dismissal of subsidiary's bankruptcy
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Dietrich Knauth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Feb 3 (Reuters) - Current and former U.S. military members suing 3M over allegedly defective military earplugs have asked a U.S. judge to dismiss 3M subsidiary Aearo Technologies' bankruptcy, accusing the company of using bankruptcy to shield itself from litigation, which has grown into the largest mass tort in U.S. history. 3M Co (MMM.N) faces more than 230,000 lawsuits accusing it of selling defective earplugs that caused hearing loss for U.S. military members. The company has sought to settle those lawsuits through Aearo's bankruptcy. Now the servicemembers suing want Graham to go a step further and end Aearo's bankruptcy entirely. The committee representing the servicemembers in bankruptcy court said in Thursday's filing that the LTL decision "knocks the props out from under these cases and requires their dismissal."

☆ Boeing delivers last 747, saying goodbye to 'Queen of the Skies'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Valerie Insinna | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"It's the airplane that redefined the industry and redefined air travel," said Guy Norris, co-author of "Boeing 747: Design and Development Since 1969." British billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson, who was inspired to start an airline with a single Boeing 747 after getting stuck on a delayed flight, earlier on Tuesday called it a "wonderful beast" as he bid farewell. When Boeing confirmed in July 2020 that it would end 747 production, it was already only producing at a rate of half an aircraft a month. Smith said all 747 program workers were transferred to other jobs or voluntarily retired. Boeing will remain tied to the 747 through the aftermarket business and the Air Force One replacement program, which Boeing won in 2018.

New Jersey-based Celsius filed for U.S. bankruptcy in July last year, after freezing customer withdrawals from its platform. She was tasked with investigating accusations by Celsius customers that the company operated as a Ponzi scheme and also with reporting on its handling of cryptocurrency deposits. Celsius gathered crypto deposits from retail customers and invested them in the equivalent of the wholesale crypto market. It raised some of the initial capital to fund its business by creating and selling its own crypto token, called "CEL". "The business model Celsius advertised and sold to its customers was not the business that Celsius actually operated," the report said.

☆ FTX sues Voyager Digital to claw back $446 million in 2022 loan payments
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Dietrich Knauth | Industry Insight | Upcoming Sec Climate Disclosure Rules Bring Urgency To Esg Data Strategy Planning | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, Jan 30(Reuters) - Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX sued crypto lender Voyager Digital on Monday, seeking to claw back $445.8 million in loan repayments that FTX made before collapsing into bankruptcy in November 2022. FTX and Voyager both filed for bankruptcy amid a 2022 collapse in cryptocurrency markets, but Voyager’s bankruptcy preceded FTX’s filing by four months. After Voyager filed in July, it demanded repayment of all outstanding loans to FTX and its affiliate hedge fund Alameda Research. FTX said in a court filing that on Alameda’s behalf, it paid Voyager $248.8 million in September and $193.9 million in October. In its Monday court filing, FTX acknowledged the allegations that Alameda raided FTX customer assets to cover its risky borrowing and lending.

Jan 30 (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Monday shot down Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ.N) attempt to offload tens of thousands of lawsuits over its talc products into bankruptcy court. The appeals court ruling revives those lawsuits. Monday's decision by the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia dismissed the bankruptcy filed by the J&J subsidiary in 2021. The appeals court decision could force companies considering the strategy to more carefully consider its risks, two legal experts said. The Texas two-step has garnered criticism from Democratic lawmakers in Washington, and inspired proposed legislation that would severely restrict the practice.

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☆ Celsius bankruptcy examiner expected to report on Ponzi allegations
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Dietrich Knauth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Jan 30 (Reuters) - A court-ordered examiner is expected to release a report on Monday addressing whether bankrupt crypto firm Celsius Network operated as a Ponzi scheme, which could add to the pressure on founder Alex Mashinsky, who is already facing fraud allegations. Hoboken, New Jersey-based Celsius filed for Chapter 11 protection from creditors last July in Manhattan after freezing customer withdrawals from its platform. After appointing Pillay to the job, Glenn expanded her role by asking her to address persistent customer complaints about Mashinsky's conduct. Crypto exchange FTX, which went bankrupt in November, has resisted calls for an examiner in its own Chapter 11 case, citing the cost of overlapping investigations. Pillay and her team have sought to be paid $1.86 million for work performed in October and $1.69 million for November, according to court filings.

FTX said in a court filing in Wilmington, Delaware, late on Wednesday that the DOJ's proposed review would only add cost and delay to its bankruptcy case. As part of its own investigation, FTX asked U.S. Bankruptcy Judge John Dorsey, who is overseeing its Chapter 11 proceedings, to help it secure documents from Bankman-Fried, members of his family and other insiders with information about FTX transactions that used "misappropriated and stolen" funds. FTX is also seeking information about political donations by Mind the Gap, a political action committee founded by Barbara Fried, and Guarding Against Pandemics, an advocacy organization founded by Sam Bankman-Fried and his brother, Gabriel Bankman-Fried. The U.S. Department of Justice's bankruptcy watchdog has called for an independent investigation into its collapse, a request that received backing from a bipartisan group of U.S. senators. Sam Bankman-Fried, who has been accused of stealing billions of dollars from FTX customers to pay debts incurred by his crypto-focused hedge fund, has pleaded not guilty to fraud charges.

☆ Bankrupt crypto lender Genesis optimistic it can resolve creditor disputes
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Dietrich Knauth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Sean O'Neal, the lawyer, spoke at a hearing in Manhattan bankruptcy court to consider "first-day" motions for Genesis Global Capital, the crypto lending business owned by Barry Silbert's venture capital firm Digital Currency Group. The filing followed the bankruptcies since last July of crypto lenders BlockFi, Celsius Network and Voyager Digital. Brian Rosen, a lawyer for creditors holding $1.5 billion of claims, said "we are getting closer" to an accord. On Jan. 12, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged Genesis and Gemini with illegally selling unregistered securities through their Gemini Earn lending product. Cameron Winklevoss has also called for Silbert's removal as DCG chief, and threatened litigation against DCG if Genesis' bankruptcy did not result in " a fair offer to creditors."

☆ Feds seized nearly $700 million from FTX founder Bankman-Fried
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( Dietrich Knauth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 20 (Reuters) - Federal prosecutors have seized nearly $700 million in assets from FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried in January, largely in the form of Robinhood stock, according to a Friday court filing. Bankman-Fried, who has been accused of stealing billions of dollars from FTX customers to pay debts incurred by his crypto-focused hedge fund, has pleaded not guilty to fraud charges. The ownership of the seized Robinhood shares, valued at about $525 million, has been the subject of disputes between Bankman-Fried, FTX, and bankrupt crypto lender BlockFi. The DOJ seized more than $7 million from other Silvergate accounts associated with Bankman-Fried and FTX. The DOJ previously seized nearly $50 million from an FTX Digital Markets account at Moonstone Bank, a small bank in Washington state.

☆ Factbox: Crypto's string of bankruptcies
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

GENESIS GLOBAL CAPITALOne of the largest crypto lenders, Genesis froze customer redemptions in November after major exchange FTX stunned the financial world with its bankruptcy. Genesis Global Holdco, the parent group of Genesis Global Capital, also filed for bankruptcy protection, along with another lending unit, Genesis Asia Pacific. FTXThe Bahamas-based exchange shocked the crypto world by going bankrupt in November after suffering withdrawals of about $6 billion in just 72 hours and rival crypto exchange Binance ditched a possible rescue. CELSIUS NETWORKA crypto lender brought down by the collapse of terraUSD and luna, Celsius began its U.S. bankruptcy case on July 14. The U.S. affiliate of major crypto exchange Binance said in December it intends to buy Voyager's crypto lending platform in a deal valued at about $1 billion.

Former top FTX attorney Daniel Friedberg also opposed Sullivan & Cromwell's hiring, saying Thursday that the law firm had conflicts of interest stemming from its connections to Miller. Sullivan & Cromwell has told the court it should not be disqualified simply because it performed some pre-bankruptcy work for FTX. A Sullivan & Cromwell spokesperson has said the firm had a "limited and largely transactional" relationship with FTX prior to the bankruptcy and never served as primary outside counsel to any FTX entity. Serving as primary bankruptcy counsel to FTX would likely allow Sullivan & Cromwell to reap hundreds of millions of dollars in fees, legal experts have said. FTX has sought bankruptcy court permission to pay top Sullivan & Cromwell attorneys more than $2,000 per hour.

☆ FTX says $415 million in crypto was hacked
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Dietrich Knauth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] The logo of FTX is seen at the entrance of the FTX Arena in Miami, Florida, U.S., November 12, 2022. REUTERS/Marco BelloJan 17 (Reuters) - Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX said in a report to creditors on Tuesday that about $415 million in cryptocurrency had been stolen as a result of hacks. Some $323 million in crypto had been hacked from FTX's international exchange and $90 million had been hacked from its U.S. exchange since it filed for bankruptcy on Nov. 11, CEO John Ray said in a separate statement on Tuesday. FTX told a bankruptcy judge in Delaware last week that it had recovered over $5 billion in crypto, cash and liquid securities, nine weeks after declaring bankruptcy. The crypto assets recovered to date include $685 million in Solana, $529 million in FTX's proprietary FTT token and $268 million in bitcoin, based on crypto prices on Nov. 11, 2022.

[1/4] The logo of FTX is seen at the entrance of the FTX Arena in Miami, Florida, U.S., November 12, 2022. Companies facing wide-ranging investigations often hire pool counsel for employees. The use of pool counsel suggests that federal prosecutors in Manhattan probing FTX's collapse may be interested in questioning a deep roster of employees. The use of pool counsel enables a single legal team to gain expertise in the case, making it more efficient than having each employee retain individual lawyers, Krissoff said. The arrangement does not mean Covington is representing FTX, which has turned to Sullivan & Cromwell, another law firm.

☆ Voyager gets initial approval for $1 bln Binance deal amid national security concerns
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Dietrich Knauth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Jan 10 (Reuters) - Bankrupt crypto lender Voyager Digital received initial court approval on Tuesday for a proposed $1 billion sale of its assets to Binance.US, and said it will seek to expedite a U.S. national security review of the deal. He said Voyager intends to address any issues that would lead CFIUS to oppose the transaction. The Binance transaction includes a $20 million cash payment and an agreement to transfer Voyager's customers to Binance.US's crypto exchange, Sussberg said. Voyager estimates the sale will allow customers to recover 51% of the value of their deposits at the time of Voyager's bankruptcy filing. In addition to CFIUS, Voyager's proposed sale was also opposed by the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission and state securities regulators.

The U.S. Commodities Futures Trading Commission has estimated missing customer funds at more than $8 billion. The affiliates -- LedgerX, Embed, FTX Japan and FTX Europe -- are relatively independent from the broader FTX group, and each has its own segregated customer accounts and separate management teams, according to FTX court filings. In part to preserve the value of its businesses, FTX also sought Dorsey's approval to keep secret 9 million FTX customer names. Dorsey allowed the names to remain under wraps for only three months, not six months as FTX wanted. In addition to customer funds lost, the collapse of the company has also likely wiped out equity investors.

☆ Voyager seeks to expedite national security review of Binance deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Dietrich Knauth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 10 (Reuters) - Bankrupt crypto lender Voyager Digital is working to expedite a U.S. national security review that could delay or block its proposed $1 billion sale of its assets to Binance.US, its attorneys said on Tuesday. He said Voyager intends to address any risk that CFIUS would oppose the transaction. The Binance transaction includes a $20 million cash payment and an agreement to transfer Voyager's customers to Binance.US's crypto exchange, Sussberg said. If CFIUS blocks the transaction, Voyager will be forced to repay customers with the crypto it has on hand, resulting in a lower payout for Voyager users, Sussberg said. Binance.US, based in Palo Alto, California, has said that its separate American exchange is "fully independent" of the main Binance platform.

☆ BlockFi says it repaid investor $15 mln to settle over crypto crash
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Dietrich Knauth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Jan 9 (Reuters) - Executives of bankrupt crypto lender BlockFi Inc have repaid an investor $15 million to settle a threatened lawsuit over the company's cratering equity value in summer 2022, the company's attorneys said Monday in bankruptcy court. The BlockFi investor threatened to sue, alleging that BlockFi and its executives should have been more transparent about contagion risks in the cryptocurrency market, according to Sussberg. BlockFi believed the investor's claims were "specious," but it reached a confidential settlement on Aug. 23 under which BlockFi executives repaid $15 million to the investor, Sussberg said. That loan gave FTX an option to buy BlockFi for $240 million, essentially setting a maximum value for existing equity. As the company's value plummeted, BlockFi laid off 20% of its employees.

Jan 6 (Reuters) - FTX's U.S.-based bankruptcy team have agreed to coordinate with liquidators winding down the crypto exchange's operations in the Bahamas, resolving a dispute that threatened the recovery of what could be billions of dollars in lost funds. FTX’s U.S. bankruptcy team has been at odds with Bahamian officials since November, when competing bankruptcies were filed in the two countries. The Securities Commission of the Bahamas began liquidation proceedings on Nov. 10 against FTX Digital Markets Ltd., the company's Bahamas-based unit. The next day a U.S. Chapter 11 proceeding was filed in Delaware, which included more than 100 FTX entities including FTX Trading and crypto hedge fund Alameda Research. Bahamian regulators have seized FTX assets, which officials said was meant to safeguard assets that will ultimately be returned to creditors of FTX Digital Markets.

☆ U.S. judge says Celsius Network owns most customer crypto deposits
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Dietrich Knauth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Jan 4 (Reuters) - A U.S. bankruptcy judge ruled on Wednesday that Celsius Network owns most of the cryptocurrency that customers deposited into its online platform, meaning most Celsius customers will be last in line for repayment in the crypto lender's bankruptcy. The ruling means that most Celsius customers will be lower priority than customers who held non-interest bearing accounts and other secured creditors. Celsius' terms of service made clear that the crypto lender took ownership of customer deposits into its interest-bearing Earn accounts, according to Glenn. That means that Earn customers will be treated as unsecured creditors in Celsius' bankruptcy, and they will be last in line for repayment after Celsius repays higher-priority debts. The ruling authorizes Celsius to sell approximately $18 million stablecoins that had been held in customers' Earn accounts.

[1/3] The logo of Robinhood Markets, Inc. is seen at a pop-up event on Wall Street after the company's IPO in New York City, U.S., July 29, 2021. The Department of Justice did not believe the 56 million shares of Robinhood, worth about $465 million, were property of a bankruptcy estate, U.S. attorney Seth Shapiro told U.S. Bankruptcy Judge John Dorsey, who is overseeing the FTX bankruptcy. Bankrupt crypto firm BlockFi, FTX and liquidators in Antigua have all laid claim to the Robinhood stock, along with Bankman-Fried. He said the Robinhood shares were subject to litigation and it was an "open question" about who owns them. BlockFi is suing Emergent in a bid to seize the Robinhood stock, which was pledged by Alameda as collateral to guarantee repayment of a loan made by BlockFi.

[1/3] The logo of Robinhood Markets, Inc. is seen at a pop-up event on Wall Street after the company's IPO in New York City, U.S., July 29, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew KellyJan 4 (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors are in the process of seizing shares of Robinhood Markets Inc (HOOD.O) tied to Sam Bankman-Fried, who has been charged with fraud in the collapse of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange, a U.S. attorney told a judge on Wednesday. He said the Robinhood shares were subject to litigation and it was an "open question" about who owns them. The Robinhood stock, worth about $465 million at Wednesday's late afternoon price of $8.30 per share, is also being claimed by BlockFi Inc, another bankrupt crypto firm. BlockFi is suing Emergent in a bid to seize the Robinhood stock, which was pledged by Alameda as collateral to guarantee repayment of a loan made by BlockFi.

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