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☆ FDIC watchdog planning 'special inquiry' on agency leadership, sexual harassment
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( Douglas Gillison | Companies Need To Integrate Climate Reporting Across Functions To Comply With California S New Law | Henry Engler | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A "new evaluation project" will also review FDIC reform efforts since a 2020 investigation found its handling of sexual harassment complaints was deficient, according to Caitlin Savino, spokesperson for the FDIC Office of Inspector General. Previously, FDIC officials said the agency had satisfied recommendations from that investigation. Gruenberg has expressed personal alarm at the accounts and vowed to address the matter as a top agency priority. Republican lawmakers on the House Financial Services Committee have announced the start of a "rigorous" congressional probe into the matter. Reporting by Douglas Gillison; editing by Franklin Paul, Jonathan Oatis and David GregorioOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Sheila Bair, Jason Reed, Caitlin Savino, Martin Gruenberg, Gruenberg, Douglas Gillison, Franklin Paul, Jonathan Oatis, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, REUTERS, Companies United, U.S . Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, Republican, Financial Services, Thomson Locations: Washington, Companies United States, America

☆ India markets regulator to oversee online platforms offering fraction real estate assets
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-25 | by ( Jayshree P Upadhyay | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A man walks past the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) headquarters in Mumbai, India, April 19, 2023. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas Acquire Licensing RightsMUMBAI, Nov 25 (Reuters) - The board of India's markets regulator on Saturday said it will regulate online platforms offering fractional ownership of real estate assets, and such platforms will be registered under a framework for small and medium real estate investment trusts. In a statement after its quarterly board meeting, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) also said that fresh investments by alternative investment funds would be stored electronically from Sept. 2024. But Buch said the rise in equity derivatives trading did not pose any systemic concerns. Concerns regarding SEBI's plan to allow same-day settlement of equity market trades to help retail investors were "exaggerated”, Buch said.

Persons: Francis Mascarenhas, Madhabi Puri Buch, Buch, SEBI, Jayshree, Krishn Kaushik, Alexandra Hudson, Christina Fincher Organizations: Securities and Exchange Board of India, REUTERS, Rights, National Stock Exchange, Thomson Locations: Mumbai, India, Rights MUMBAI

☆ Japan's Mizuho applies to set up securities company in China
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Mizuho Financial Group logo is seen at the company's headquarters in Tokyo, Japan August 20, 2018. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBEIJING/TOKYO, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Japan's Mizuho Financial Group (8411.T) has sought to establish a securities company in China, becoming the latest foreign firm to make inroads into China's onshore securities market with a fully-owned entity. The China Securities Regulatory Commission has received the application from the securities arm of the third-largest Japanese banking group, according to a filing record issued on Wednesday from the regulator's website. The application comes as Mizuho is hoping to tap China's lucrative capital markets fee pool, the largest after the United States and Europe. Citigroup (C.N) and Standard Chartered (STAN.L) are also in the process of establishing securities units in China after Beijing allowed wholly-owned foreign securities companies in 2019.

Persons: Toru Hanai, Mizuho, Makiko Yamazaki, Jacqueline Wong, Mrigank Dhaniwala, Kim Coghill Organizations: Mizuho Financial, REUTERS, Rights, Mizuho Financial Group, China Securities Regulatory Commission, Citigroup, Standard Chartered, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Hong Kong, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, Rights BEIJING, TOKYO, China, Mizuho, United States, Europe, Beijing, Hong

☆ Australia regulator targets 'carbon neutral' claims in greenwashing crackdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Office buildings are seen amidst the easing of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions in the Central Business District of Sydney, Australia, June 3, 2020. ASIC has filed three lawsuits alleging unfounded environmental claims by two pension funds and a personal finance platform, and named so-called greenwashing as one of its priority enforcement areas for 2024. she added.,The regulator would hold investment distribution platforms accountable for the products they sell. So far, the regulator had issued interim orders to stop the distribution of some 80 investment products which it considered inappropriate. "For a number of those stop orders, the issuers of the products did step back, they've corrected ... and they've reissued it," she said.

Persons: Loren Elliott, Sarah Court, they've, Byron Kaye, Ayushman, Subhranshu Sahu, Miral Organizations: Central Business District of, REUTERS, Australian Securities and Investments Commission, Thomson Locations: Central Business District of Sydney, Australia, Melbourne, Sydney

☆ US SEC sues Kraken crypto exchange over failure to register
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( Jonathan Stempel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Kraken cryptocurrency exchange logo is seen in this illustration taken July 28, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNov 20 (Reuters) - Kraken, one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, was sued on Monday by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which accused it of illegally operating as a securities exchange without first registering with the regulator. In June, the SEC filed similar lawsuits against Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, and Coinbase, the largest in the United States. Monday's lawsuit seeks a civil fine, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, and a halt to acting as a crypto exchange without registering. The case is SEC v Payward Inc et al, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Gary Gensler's, Kraken, Gurbir Grewal, Binance, Jonathan Stempel, Chris Prentice, David Gregorio, Stephen Coates Organizations: REUTERS, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, Binance, Payward Inc, Payward Ventures Inc, Blockchain, Digital Currency Group, Hummingbird Ventures, Tribe Capital, Payward, Court, Northern District of, Thomson Locations: San Francisco federal, United States, San Francisco, U.S, Northern District, Northern District of California, New York

☆ Toyota to pay $60 mln for lending abuses, tarnishing credit reports, US regulator says
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( Jonathan Stempel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/David 'Dee' Delgado/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies Toyota Motor Corp FollowNov 20 (Reuters) - Toyota (7203.T) will pay $60 million to settle a U.S. regulator's charges it illegally prevented car buyers from canceling unwanted product bundles that increased their monthly loan payments, and tarnished buyers' credit reports. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on Monday said Toyota Motor Credit, the automaker's U.S.-based lending arm, will pay a $12 million civil fine and $48 million to car buyers harmed since 2016. Toyota Motor Credit, based in Plano, Texas, provides financing for people who buy vehicles at Toyota dealerships, with nearly 5 million customer accounts as of Oct. 2022. Toyota Motor Credit was also accused of falsely telling credit reporting agencies that borrowers had missed payments, and failing to promptly correct negative information for more than 27,500 borrowers. Under a consent order, and without admitting or denying liability, Toyota Motor Credit agreed to make it easy to cancel unwanted product bundles.

Persons: David, Dee, Delgado, Jonathan Stempel, Chizu Nomiyama, Bill Berkrot Organizations: New York, REUTERS, Rights, Toyota Motor, Toyota, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Monday, Motor Credit, Toyota Motor Credit, Thomson Locations: Manhattan , New York City, U.S, Plano , Texas, Monday's, New York

☆ UK proposes changes to antitrust assessment after Microsoft-Activision case
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( Paul Sandle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

CMA panel chair Martin Coleman said under the proposals, the merging parties would have an opportunity to make representations after seeing the full version of the case against in an interim report. "Throughout the process it will be open to merger parties to discuss remedies with the group at an early stage if they so wish." By introducing a number of prompts for merging parties to consider without prejudice," she said. She said that the agency's strong preference for structural remedies remained and added that changes would only succeed if merging parties engaged in good faith. Reporting by Paul Sandle and Muvija M, writing by Sarah Young, editing by William JamesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Martin Coleman, Sarah Cardell, We've, Paul Sandle, Sarah Young, William James Our Organizations: Microsoft, Activision, Markets Authority, European Union, CMA, Thomson Locations: Britain

Adani has denied wrongdoing, saying that Indian authorities assessed its coal shipments before releasing them from ports. India's Supreme Court is also overseeing the market regulator's probe of Hindenburg's allegations. If India's Supreme Court allows the agency's latest request, it would then need to seek an order from Singapore's Court of Appeal to release the material. The Singapore court declined requests from Reuters last month to inspect related case documents, saying in written responses that the files were sealed. The stance adopted by Adani's companies in Singapore "created impediments" and the investigation "remains stalled", the revenue agency told India's Supreme Court in 2021 filings.

Persons: Adani, Hindenburg, Gautam Adani, Narendra Modi's, Modi, Lucien Wong, Adani's, Arpan Chaturvedi, Aditya Kalra, Sudarshan Varadhan, David Crawshaw Organizations: Adani Group, Revenue Intelligence, Adani, Adani Enterprises, Reuters, India's, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Home Affairs, Hindenburg Research, Investigators, Singapore Attorney, Thomson Locations: India, DELHI, Singapore, Adani, Gujarat, Indonesia, SINGAPORE, Singapore's, Mumbai, New Delhi

[1/3] The company logo of Chinese developer Country Garden is pictured at the Shanghai Country Garden Center in Shanghai, China August 9, 2023. Beijing needs to pull "multiple levers" at the same time to address the "vulnerabilities" in the financial system, local government financing, as well as consumer sentiment, said Edward Al-Hussainy, head of emerging market fixed income research at Columbia Threadneedle, which owns Country Garden bonds. China property sector slumpShoring up confidence is the biggest challenge facing Beijing and is key to getting homebuyers spending again, which analysts says isn't likely to happen soon given an uncertain economic outlook. Reuters reported last week that Chinese authorities have asked domestic financial behemoth Ping An Insurance Group to take a controlling stake in Country Garden. "You need to fix the macro environment first; if you don't earn enough how do you buy a property?," said Xu, whose firm holds China property dollar bonds.

Persons: Aly, Edward Al, isn't, Morgan Stanley, Ping, Ping An, Elliot Hentov, Steven Xu, Xu, Raymond Cheng, Goldman Sachs, Clare Jim, Davide Barbuscia, Karin Strohecker, Summer Zhen, Rae Wee, Sumeet Chatterjee Organizations: Shanghai Country Garden, REUTERS, HONG KONG, Columbia, Reuters, HK, Economic Work Conference, Reuters Graphics, HIT, Insurance Group, State Street Global Advisors, Country, Harmonia, Bloomberg, China, CIBM Securities, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, HONG, Beijing, outflows, Hong Kong, New York, London, Singapore

REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNov 15 (Reuters) - The U.S. health regulator's staff on Wednesday flagged concerns that data on Merck's (MRK.N) chronic cough drug might not be enough to prove the treatment's meaningful benefit, documents released ahead of a meeting of independent experts showed. The concerns were raised after the company had submitted additional efficacy data to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which declined to approve the drug in January last year. A panel of expert advisers to the FDA is set to meet on Friday to discuss the efficacy of Merck's drug gefapixant. Staff assessment of the data submitted by Merck showed a small reduction in cough frequency and side effects such as loss of taste in patients who were administered the drug. The European Union and Japan have approved Merck's drug for the condition and it is sold under the brand name Lyfnua.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Mara Goldstein, Christy Santhosh, Shinjini Ganguli, Anil D'Silva, Shailesh, Shounak Organizations: Merck, Co, REUTERS, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, FDA, Staff, European Union, Thomson Locations: Rahway , New Jersey, U.S, United States, Japan, Bengaluru

Regulators have so far not mandated any minimum net worth or investor qualifications for those trading stock options, and the stock markets almost always rise each year - both recipes for higher risk-taking and complacency. The "stark" increase in daily options trading turnover raises issues of investor protection, said Ajay Tyagi, former SEBI chief. The platform has seen an uptick in futures and options trading activity, Zerodha said in response to Reuters queries. Siddharth Joshi, a 36-year old from Surat in western India, said he lost 200,000 rupees trading options on Adani Enterprises (ADEL.NS) shares in January. "In options trading, I know my loss is capped but there is an opportunity to make maximum profit," he said.

Persons: Francis Mascarenhas, Mihir Vora, SEBI, Ashish Chauhan, Ajay Tyagi, Kailash, Bhavesh Shah, Shah, Zerodha, Siddharth Joshi, he's, Ira Dugal, Vidya Ranganathan, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: Bombay Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Rights, Securities, Exchange Board of India, Trust Mutual Fund, National Stock Exchange of India Ltd, BSE Ltd, Reuters, Axis Mutual Fund, National Stock Exchange, Adani Enterprises, Thomson Locations: Mumbai, India, Rights MUMBAI, South Korea, Bhavesh, Ahmedabad, Surat

☆ South Korea Finance Chief Defends Short-Sell Ban Ahead of Elections
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

By Cynthia Kim and Jihoon LeeSEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's finance minister defended the government's ban on short-selling of stocks, an announcement that comes ahead of general elections next year and has drawn criticism from market players who say the move could hurt the country's global credibility. The financial regulator on Sunday reimposed a full ban on short-selling until the end of June 2024 to create a "level playing field" for retail and institutional investors. "The move completely thwarted Korea's plans to convince MSCI that it deserves a spot in the developed market status. The number of retail stock trading accounts has roughly doubled since 2017 to about 14 million, with about one in every five Koreans having an account. South Korea's Financial Supervisory Service in October said it would likely fine two Hong Kong-based investment banks it determined had engaged in naked short-selling transactions worth 40 billion won ($29.58 million) and 16 billion won respectively.

Persons: Cynthia Kim, Jihoon Lee SEOUL, Choo, Korea's, we're, Cho Jun, kee, Jihoon Lee, Tom Hogue, Navaratnam Organizations: MSCI Inc, SK Securities, Financial, Service, Credit Suisse Locations: Philippines, Korea, South Korea, Portugal, Hong Kong

☆ UK secures commitments from Amazon and Meta over retail platforms
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] The logo of Amazon is seen at the Viva Technology conference at Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris, France, June 15, 2023. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Britain's competition watchdog said on Friday it had accepted commitments from tech companies Meta (META.O) and Amazon (AMZN.O) to help protect fair competition on their retail platforms. The commitments from the U.S. tech giants mark the end of the Competition & Markets Authority's (CMA) investigation into Amazon Marketplace and Meta's use of advertising data. Amazon has committed to not use rival sellers' marketplace data to gain an unfair advantage, ensuring that third-party marketplace sellers can compete on a level-playing field, the CMA said. CMA in July had said that Amazon's offer to change the way it treats third-party sellers using its Marketplace platform addresses competition concerns in its preliminary view.

Persons: Gonzalo Fuentes, Meta, Kylie MacLellan, Farouq Suleiman, Radhika Anilkumar, William James, David Evans Organizations: Viva Technology, Porte de, REUTERS, Competition, Amazon Marketplace, CMA, Facebook, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, U.S, London, Bengaluru

☆ FDA panel says Vertex/CRISPR to assess safety risks of gene therapy in follow-up study
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A sign hangs in front of the world headquarters of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., October 23, 2019. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsOct 31 (Reuters) - A panel of advisers to the U.S. health regulator said on Tuesday Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX.O) and CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP.BN) could assess potential safety risks of their sickle cell disease gene therapy after approval. If the therapy is approved, Vertex has proposed a 15-year follow up of patients to evaluate the safety outcomes of the therapy. Patients who were treated with the therapy were free from severe vaso-occlusive crisis for 12 months from the infusion of exa-cel. "It was made pretty clear that any theoretical off-target editing concerns do not outweigh the benefits of drug approval," said Salim Syed, analyst at Mizuho.

Persons: Brian Snyder, Scot Wolfe, Salim Syed, Sriparna Roy, Krishna Chandra Organizations: Vertex Pharmaceuticals, REUTERS, CRISPR Therapeutics, Staff, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, UMass Chan Medical, Analysts, FDA, Mizuho, Thomson Locations: Boston , Massachusetts, U.S, Bengaluru

☆ Qantas to fight regulator over cancelled flights tickets sale case
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Qantas aircraft are seen on the tarmac at Melbourne International Airport in Melbourne, Australia, November 6, 2018. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsOct 30 (Reuters) - Qantas Airways Ltd (QAN.AX) on Monday said it will defend itself against Australia's competition regulator's accusations that the flagship carrier sold tickets to thousands of flights after they were after they were cancelled. Qantas said the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's (ACCC) case, which accuses it of selling the tickets for flights for more than 48 hours after they were cancelled, does not constitute "fee for no service". "This is consistent with our obligations under consumer law and is what we did during the period the ACCC examined," Qantas said. Reporting by Sameer Manekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Grant McCoolOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Phil Noble, Sameer Manekar, Grant McCool Organizations: Qantas, Melbourne International Airport, REUTERS, Qantas Airways Ltd, Australian Competition, Consumer Commission's, Australian Stock Exchange, Thomson Locations: Melbourne, Australia, Bengaluru

☆ Jamie Dimon's stock-moving trades show why investors should track CEOs' buying and selling
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-28 | by ( Kevin Stankiewicz | In Kevinstankiewicz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +24 min

While executive stock sales — such as Dimon's planned transactions next year — are not universally red flags, they can get complicated. Insider stock sales Executive stock trades are usually disclosed through SEC filings known as Form 4 documents and accessible through the regulator's EDGAR database — the electronic data gathering, analysis, and retrieval system. Rule 10b5-1 trading plans came into the fold just over two decades ago to reconcile these two discordant facts. Adopting Rule 10b5-1 trading plans gives public-company executives a way to protect against allegations of illegal insider trading in the future. Compared with a tiny stock sale executed through a predetermined plan, executive stock buys generally send a much stronger signal: The executive wants to make money, too.

Persons: Jamie Dimon, Dimon, Jim Cramer, Jim, Eliezer Fich, Dimon's, EDGAR, Chester Spatt, Spatt, —, Susan Li, Drexel's, Wharton, Drexel's Fich, Fich, I'm, Nancy Quan's, Quan, Marc Benioff, Carnegie Mellon's Spatt, Benioff, Howard Schultz, Schultz's, Schultz, Carnegie Mellon's, Nikesh Arora, Arora, Charles Scharf, Wells, Sehwa Kim, Kim, Foot, Mary Dillon, Locker, Dillon, Foot Locker, Jim Cramer's, Al Drago Organizations: JPMorgan Chase, JPMorgan, Dow Jones Industrial, Wall, Dimon, Pfizer, Capitol, Drexel University, Club, Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, Carnegie Mellon's Tepper School of Business, CNBC, Stanford University, University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, Stanford, Cola, Salesforce, Carnegie, Starbucks, Palo Alto Networks, Alto Networks, Broadcom, Federal Reserve, Washington Service, Columbia Business School, JPMorgan Chase &, Bloomberg, Getty Locations: U.S, Coke, Salesforce, FL

☆ US probes GM's Cruise robocars over pedestrian close calls
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-27 | by ( Greg Bensinger | Thomson Reuters | Greg Bensinger Joined Reuters As A Technology Correspondent In Focusing On The World'S Largest Technology Companies. He Was Previously A Member Of The New York Times Editorial Board | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

NHTSA previously made public another Oct. 20 letter in which it raised concerns over several hard-braking incidents by Cruise vehicles that resulted in collisions. Safety officials cited two videos where Cruise vehicles came close to pedestrians in crosswalks and appeared to nearly strike them. Cruise had been operating an Uber-like service with unmanned vehicles, primarily in San Francisco, but the company halted that service this week. As of Friday, Waymo vehicles continued driverless passenger operations in San Francisco, its main hub. Reporting by Greg Bensinger in San Francisco Additional reporting by David Shepardson in Washington Editing by Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Heather Somerville, Cruise, Greg Bensinger, David Shepardson, Matthew Lewis Organizations: General Motors Corp, REUTERS, FRANCISCO, General Motors, National, Traffic Safety Administration, NHTSA, Cruise, California Department of Motor Vehicles, Teamsters, Thomson Locations: San Francisco, California, U.S, crosswalks, Arizona, Texas, Washington

☆ China rushes to swap Western tech with domestic options as U.S. cracks down
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +10 min

China spent 1.4 trillion yuan ($191 billion) replacing foreign hardware and software in 2022, marking a year-on-year increase of 16.2%, according to IT research firm First New Voice. Two firms awarded the Harbin tenders were subsidiaries of China Electronics Corporation and China Electronics Technology Group Corporation - both heavily targeted by U.S. sanctions. The U.S. Department of Commerce, China Electronics Corporation and China Electronics Technology Group Corporation did not return requests for comment. Despite heavy spending on domestic substitution, however, foreign firms are still dominant suppliers for banking and telecoms database management. Non-Chinese companies held 90% of market share for banking database systems at the end of 2022, according to EqualOcean, a tech consultancy.

Persons: Tyrone Siu, Kendra Schaefer, Mo Jianlei, Eric Zheng, Brenda Goh, Katerina Ang Organizations: REUTERS, Companies Beijing, Reuters, New, Trivium China, Liberation Army, Tech, Chinese Academy of Sciences, BMC, U.S, Cyberspace Security, China Telecommunications Corporation, Qualcomm, U.S . Treasury, Google, Apple, China Electronics Corporation, China Electronics Technology Group Corporation, Microsoft, Adobe, China Tobacco, Microsoft Windows, Chinese Academy of Engineering, European Union Chamber of Commerce, of Commerce, Shanghai, U.S . Department of Commerce, HUAWEI, Huawei, IDC, Financial, Lenovo, HK, Beijing, Thomson Locations: Dongguan, Guangdong province, China, BEIJING, Washington, State, Beijing, Gansu province, Harbin, Xiamen, U.S, American, Shanghai

☆ UK extends deadline on in-depth probe into Adobe's $20 bln deal for Figma
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Figurines are seen in front of displayed Adobe logo in this illustration taken June 13, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsOct 25 (Reuters) - Britain's competition regulator, on Wednesday, extended by eight weeks the deadline to complete its in-depth probe into Photoshop owner Adobe Inc's (ADBE.O) $20 billion buyout of cloud-based designer platform Figma, to February 2024. The CMA now has until Feb. 25 to conclude its investigation, compared to the earlier deadline of Dec. 27. In September 2022, Adobe announced a cash-and-stock deal for Figma, the biggest buyout of a privately owned software startup. Reporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Savio D'SouzaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Eva Mathews, Sherry Jacob, Phillips, Savio D'Souza Organizations: REUTERS, Adobe, Markets Authority, CMA, Figma, Zoom Video Communications, Airbnb Inc, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ Coinbase is 'confident' a U.S. bitcoin ETF will be approved after SEC's court defeat
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Coinbase is confident that a U.S. bitcoin exchange-traded fund will be approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the company's chief legal officer, Paul Grewal, told CNBC. The SEC was recently dealt a major court setback when a judge ruled that the regulator had no basis to deny digital asset management Grayscale's bid to turn its huge GBTC bitcoin fund into an ETF. The SEC last week declined to appeal that ruling by a key deadline, likely paving the way for a bitcoin-related ETF to be approved in the coming months. "I think that the the firms that have stepped forward with robust proposals to our for these products and services are among some of the biggest blue-chips in financial services," Grewal added. But, Grewal said, it's likely now that the regulator will approve a bitcoin ETF soon, highlighting the regulator's failure in court to block Grayscale from converting its GBTC bitcoin fund into an ETF.

Persons: Coinbase, Paul Grewal, Grewal, CNBC's Arjun Kharpal, it's Organizations: U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, CNBC, SEC Locations: U.S

The seal of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is seen at their headquarters in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 12, 2021. In its December 2020 lawsuit, the SEC accused Ripple of illegally raising more than $1.3 billion in an unregistered securities offering by selling XRP. U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres in Manhattan granted Ripple a partial win in the case in July, finding that sales of XRP on public exchanges were not unregistered securities offerings. The SEC's claims against Garlinghouse and Larsen over their role in those sales were to be tried before a jury. Torres' July ruling against the SEC was a rare setback in the regulator's long-runnning crackdown on the industry.

Persons: Andrew Kelly, Brad Garlinghouse, Chris Larsen, Ripple, Analisa Torres, Torres, Garlinghouse, Larsen, Sam Bankman, Gary Gensler, Gensler, Jody Godoy, David Gregorio Our Organizations: U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, Washington , D.C, REUTERS, Ripple Labs, SEC, District, Binance, Industry, Thomson Locations: Washington ,, New York, . U.S, Manhattan, America, U.S

While bad loans in India's banking sector are at a decade-low, estimated at 3.6% of assets by March 2024 by the central bank, Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das said this month the central bank was monitoring some categories of personal loans, without elaborating. What's worrying the regulator is a surge in tiny personal loans, particularly loans of up to 10,000 rupees ($120) taken for three to four months, often for "lifestyle" spending, according to a person familiar with the central bank's thinking. Four people discussed the central bank's concerns with Reuters but declined to be identified as they are not authorised to speak to the media. Ismail Sayyed, a 30-year old cab driver from Mumbai, took his first personal loan of 5,000 rupees this year. Central bank officials "have been ringing the bell", said an official at a large bank that has seen sharp growth in personal loans.

Persons: Francis Mascarenhas, Shaktikanta Das, CRIF, Ismail Sayyed, Kadam, Rajeev Jain, Ira Dugal, Sonali Paul Organizations: Reserve Bank of India, REUTERS, Reuters, Bajaj Finance, UBS, Thomson Locations: Mumbai, India

☆ Microsoft's $69 billion Activision Blizzard takeover approved by UK, clearing way for deal to close
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The Competition and Markets Authority said it had cleared the deal for Microsoft to buy Activision but without cloud gaming rights. Microsoft offered a spate of concessions, which centered around divesting the cloud rights of Activision games to French game publisher Ubisoft Entertainment. The U.K.'s regulatory U-turnRegulators globally were concerned that the takeover would reduce competition in the gaming market, in particular around cloud gaming. Meanwhile, in the U.S., the Federal Trade Commission was fighting a legal battle with Microsoft in an effort to get the Activision takeover scrapped. "As cloud gaming grows, this intervention will ensure people get more competitive prices, better services and more choice.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, we've, Sarah Cardell, Cardell Organizations: Activision, Markets Authority, Microsoft, CMA, Ubisoft Entertainment, Ubisoft, Netflix, Reuters, Authorities, European Union, EU, Federal Trade Commission, Activision PC Locations: U.S, Europe, U.K

Signage is seen at the Federal Trade Commission headquarters in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 29, 2020. In the United States, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has also fought the deal, and has an argument scheduled before an appeals court on Dec. 6. The agency said on Friday that it remained focused on that appeal. "The FTC continues to believe this deal is a threat to competition." Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Susan FentonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Andrew Kelly, Victoria Graham, Diane Bartz, Susan Fenton Organizations: Federal Trade Commission, Washington , D.C, REUTERS, Rights, U.S . Federal Trade Commission, Activision, Ubisoft, Ubisoft Entertainment, Microsoft, Thomson Locations: Washington ,, Britain, United States

Plus, it will be “productive for the gaming industry as a whole and healthy for competition in the gaming market,” he said. In the meantime, the U.K. regulator was the last major obstacle to the transaction going through. British regulators had initially blocked the transaction over concerns Microsoft could withhold Activision titles from the cloud gaming market. One factor was the EU’s approval, granted after Microsoft promised to automatically license Activision titles royalty-free to cloud gaming platforms. But the CMA's flip-flopping makes the U.K. regulator look “weak and indecisive,” he said.

Persons: Activision Blizzard, Candy, Overwatch —, Brad Smith, Bobby Kotick, Joshua Chapman, ”, Sarah Cardell, Max von Thun, ” von Thun, Matt O’Brien Organizations: —, Activision, Markets, Microsoft, Xbox, Union, Sony, U.S . Federal Trade Commission, FTC, Ubisoft Entertainment, U.K, PlayStation, European Commission, Open Markets, CMA, AP Locations: Konvoy, U.K, Europe, Providence , Rhode Island

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