DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

SummaryLaw Firms FTX founder allegedly misappropriated customer funds for European acquisitionFTX failed to find a buyer for the company in bankruptcy saleNEW YORK, July 13 (Reuters) - Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX sued insiders at FTX Europe AG late Wednesday, seeking to recover $323 million that FTX had invested in an ill-fated expansion into European crypto markets. After FTX filed for bankruptcy in November, it sought to sell FTX Europe, only to conclude that no buyer would offer meaningful value for the company, according to FTX. FTX acquired Digital Assets for nearly $400 million in three transactions in 2020 and 2021, hoping to obtain regulatory approvals and expand into European markets. FTX filed for bankruptcy protection in November, saying it was unable to completely repay customers who had deposited funds on its exchange. Prosecutors have charged Bankman-Fried, 31, with stealing billions of dollars in FTX customer funds to cover losses at its affiliated hedge fund Alameda Research.

Persons: FTX, Sam Bankman, Patrick Gruhn, Robin Matzke, Brandon Williams, Cosima Capital, Williams, Fried, Gruhn, Steven Holley, Stephen Ehrenberg, Brian Glueckstein, Christopher Dunne of Sullivan, Cromwell, Read, Clinton, Dietrich Knauth Organizations: FTX, AG, DA AG, Assets, Matzke, Gruhn, Prosecutors, Alameda Research, Trading, Bankruptcy, District of, Cromwell LLP, Thomson Locations: Zurich, Switzerland, Europe, Delaware, Matzke, Oregon, Alameda, U.S, District of Delaware

☆ 2 New Hampshire journalists’ homes were vandalized in retaliation for an article, officials say. 3 men now face federal charges
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-18 | by ( Melissa Alonso Nouran Salahieh | Melissa Alonso | Nouran Salahieh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Three men face federal charges for allegedly vandalizing homes associated with two New Hampshire journalists, authorities said, in suspected acts of retaliation for a published article. The alleged vandalism came after a New Hampshire Public Radio journalist published an article in March 2022 detailing allegations of sexual and other misconduct by a former New Hampshire businessperson, officials said. WBUR public radio in Boston reported the vandalism attacks targeted the homes of New Hampshire Public Radio journalist Lauren Chooljian, her parents and her editor, Dan Barrick. CNN has reached out to Chooljian, Barrick and New Hampshire Public Radio for further comment. Cockerline and Waselchuck were arrested Friday, while Saniatan remains at large, the US Attorney’s Office said Friday.

Persons: –, Lauren Chooljian, Dan Barrick, “, ’, ”, – Tucker Cockerline, Michael Waselchuck, Keenan Saniatan, Cockerline, Waselchuck, Joshua S, Levy, Christopher DiMenna, Scott Lauer, Tucker Cockerline Organizations: CNN, New, Office, New Hampshire Public Radio, Barrick, US, US Attorney’s, Department, Justice, United, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division Locations: New Hampshire, Boston, New, Chooljian, Hampstead, Melrose , Massachusetts, Hampshire

☆ Reviving Congress Would Revive Democracy
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-10 | by ( Christopher Demuth | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Wonder Land: The country is drifting right and opposition conservatives better not miss the turn. Images: AP/AFP/Getty Images/Zuma Press Composite: Mark KellyLast month’s debt-ceiling deal was a small assertion of the prerogatives of Congress—an institution that in recent decades has shirked its duties and diminished its own power. The representative legislature is a British-American innovation from the 17th and 18th centuries that proved a mighty engine of nationhood. It has become so thoroughly associated with legitimate government that even dictatorships such as China and Russia operate faux legislatures.

Persons: Mark Kelly Last Organizations: Getty Locations: British, China, Russia

☆ Liberal Prosecutors Are Revisiting Police Killings but Charging Few Officers So Far
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Eliza Fawcett | Tim Arango | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The special prosecutor, Lawrence Middleton, had secured convictions in a 1993 federal trial against Los Angeles Police Department officers for beating Rodney King. (“Both officers’ use of deadly force was reasonable under the circumstances,” Ms. Lacey wrote in a 2019 memo.) The re-examinations themselves take time, and liberal prosecutors may yet file criminal charges against more officers in past cases. The police had responded to a call that Mr. Gonzalez, 26, was acting strangely in a park and talking to himself. The officer, Hector Jimenez, was cleared in each case and remains with the Oakland Police Department.

Persons: Lawrence Middleton, Rodney King, Christopher Deandre Mitchell, ” Ms, Lacey, Irving, “, Ed Obayashi, Mario Gonzalez, Gonzalez, Obayashi, Price, Mr, Ms, Price’s, Moppin, Hector Jimenez Organizations: Los Angeles Police Department, Attorney’s Office, Oakland Police Department Locations: Maine, California, Alameda, Alameda County

☆ Wall Street wants to see if AMD can rebound in 2 key businesses. But analysts disagree on how to play the stock
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Wall Street is focused on the potential for a bounce back within Advanced Micro Devices ' struggling personal computer and data center businesses. Arya's price target of $95 reflects the potential for an upside of 5.7% over Tuesday's close. Meanwhile, Citi's Christopher Danely said data center growth estimates for the second half seem aggressive. "We believe there could be more downside to AMD's data center business as AMD's data center revenue has only corrected 22% from its peak in 3Q22 while Intel's data center business has corrected 42%." Moore said the data center business was down 22% quarter over quarter, while PCs dropped 18% quarter over quarter and 65% year over year.

☆ What Walmart’s pullback from Chicago says about Corporate America’s limits
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

New York CNN —A line of Chicago mayors heavily courted Walmart over the last two decades, brushing aside community protests. Chains like Dollar General and Family Dollar are expanding in low-income areas, but they don’t sell fresh groceries. Walmart is closing neighborhood markets around the country, and three of the four stores closing in Chicago fall into that category. In Chicago, Walmart is closing in both low-income and high-income areas, a sign that it’s struggling across the city. But it’s the stores in low-income areas that will feel the loss most.

☆ Wall Street is looking at the positive side of Samsung’s 96% profit drop, production cuts. Here's why
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Samsung's plan to cut memory chip production signals a potentially sooner-than-expected recovery for the broader memory chip market, according to Wall Street. Investors seemed to laud the news, sending shares of Micron Technology and Western Digital up about 8% each on Monday. Citi analyst Christopher Danely called the news a "huge positive" for the dynamic random access memory, or DRAM, industry. But while the cuts from Samsung should help ease some pricing pressures, caveats persist, with Morgan Stanley's Joseph Moore expecting a "fairly muted" upturn from the production cuts and slow margin recovery even in 2024. "Investors are much more excited than industry contacts around this, given obvious green shoots implied from production cuts," he wrote.

☆ Citi sees chip stocks hitting 'new lows.' Here are its top picks to ride out the storm
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Weizhen Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Although chip stocks have broadly rebounded this year , Citi warns that they could be about to hit new lows as companies trim guidance. Given this "defensive stance," the analyst said Analog Devices remains its top pick in this environment, describing it as the "most defensive name." Citi also named a few semiconductor stocks to consider once the dark times are over. Analog Devices, Micron, ON Semi and GlobalFoundries are all buy-rated by the bank. The bank gives Analog Devices, ON Semi, and GlobalFoundries each around 22% upside potential.

☆ Covid shrunk the restaurant industry. That’s not changing anytime soon
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( Danielle Wiener-Bronner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

In 2020, Covid restrictions ground the nation’s bustling restaurant industry to a halt. Last year, there were about 631,000 restaurants in the United States, according to data from Technomic, a restaurant research firm. Meanwhile, restaurant operators are seeing their own costs, like rent and ingredients, rise, and say it’s hard to hire staff. With conditions so tough, some restaurant owners are advising newcomers to steer clear of the industry altogether. Daniel Jacobs, a chef and restaurant owner, has seen his own network of restaurants shrink over the past few years.

Kannon Shanmugam of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison represented PayPal, while CFPB senior counsel Christopher Deal represented the regulator. The CFPB created its Prepaid Rule to offer consumers legal protections on prepaid accounts similar to those on products such as checking accounts, including the ability to challenge payment errors, unauthorized transactions and fraud. Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan and Circuit Judge Cornelia Pillard joined Rao's decision. The appeals court returned the case to Leon to consider PayPal's other challenges to the Prepaid Rule, including constitutional and administrative law claims. Circuit Court of Appeals, No.

☆ The US Navy backed the hunt for Titanic in part because the explorer who found it argued it would 'drive the Soviets crazy,' book reveals
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( Ryan Pickrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

The hunt for the Titanic was cover for a secret Navy mission to investigate two submarine wrecks. It was also part of a psychological warfare game the US was playing with the Soviets, Ballard revealed in a 2021 book. But his most recognizable discovery was the British passenger ship Titanic that sank in the North Atlantic on April 15, 1912, ending more than 1,500 lives. "I wanted to do a bang-up job for the Navy, but I was also constantly thinking about how to find Titanic," Ballard wrote. "There it was, one of 29 boilers that had created steam for Titanic's engines," Ballard wrote in his book.

☆ Ohio teacher told principal using students' preferred pronouns violated her religion. She was forced to resign, lawsuit says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( Minyvonne Burke | Minyvonne Burke Is A Senior Breaking News Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

A former Ohio middle school teacher said she was forced to resign after she told her boss that she would not address students by their preferred pronouns because it violates her religious beliefs. The teacher, Vivian Geraghty, is now suing Jackson Memorial Middle School's principal, the Board of Education, and two district employees. The lawsuit notes that the school had adopted a policy that required teachers to use the preferred pronouns of students. Geraghty told Carter that she would not use the students' preferred pronouns, the suit says she was later called into a separate meeting with Carter and Monica Myers, a district employee. Geraghty again said she would not use the students' preferred pronouns and was sent back to her classroom.

Perry was chatting with his mother at 10:06 p.m. EST Nov. 13 as they approached campus, his parents, Happy and Sean Perry said. Minutes after hanging up, social media lit up with word of an active shooter on the Charlottesville campus, his parents said. “He said they were on the way back almost to campus and his phone was going dead," his mother told NBC News. Former Virginia football player Christopher Darnell Jones Jr. has been arrested and charged in the deadly shooting. "If we don't do something about it, it will continue," Sean Perry said.

☆ DC United owner Jason Levien accused by MLS team's former top lawyer of dodging millions in taxes
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Jack Newsham | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Jason Levien is CEO of DC United and owns part of Swansea City and the Brisbane Bullets. Levien denied wrongdoing and said he filed New York taxes. The lawsuit was brought by Christopher Deubert, who until last year was the top lawyer for Levien's DC United soccer club. In a statement shared with Insider, Jon Bouker, a lawyer for Levien, said his client paid all the taxes he owed and filed taxes in New York, contrary to Deubert's claims. December 14, 2022: This story has been updated to include comments from Levien's lawyer and a person close to Levien.

☆ Meet the small hedge fund that thinks it can oust Larry Fink from BlackRock
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Rebecca Ungarino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The fund has a tiny stake in BlackRock and is calling for the firm to replace Larry Fink as CEO. On one side stands a small, relatively unknown activist hedge fund with a tiny stake in a giant company. 1, the young hedge fund run by a longtime activist investor, and ExxonMobil. Joining a wave of heavy scrutiny of BlackRock and Fink over ESG, Bluebell accused BlackRock of a hypocritical posture toward sustainable investing, according to the letter, which was viewed by Insider. Bloomberg News ran the headline: "Tiny Activist Bluebell Quickly Becomes CEOs' Worst Nightmare."

☆ Australia 'Teacher's Pet' podcast subject gets 24-year sentence for 1982 murder
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Alasdair Pal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The cold case against Christopher Dawson was reopened after the 2018 podcast put pressure on the police to revisit their investigation. A 2003 inquest had recommended charging Dawson with his wife Lynette's murder but prosecutors declined, citing a lack of evidence. "Our system of justice and our democracy is based upon the presumption of innocence," he told media on Friday. "We respect and thank Judge Harrison for his sentence, and hope Chris Dawson lives a long life in order to serve that sentence," he told media. Dawson, now 74, claimed his wife had left him - a defence that Harrison said was fanciful.

☆ Natural vs. artificial Christmas tree: Which option is better for climate?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Rachel Ramirez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Christopher Dilts/Bloomber/Getty ImagesIt’s easy to imagine that reusing an artificial tree year after year is the more sustainable option. The American Christmas Tree Association, a nonprofit that represents artificial tree manufacturers, commissioned WAP Sustainability Consulting for a study in 2018 that found the environmental impact of an artificial tree is better than a real tree if you use the fake tree for at least five years. “Planting, fertilizing and watering were taken into account for real trees, which have an approximate field cultivation period of seven to eight years.”What are the benefits of real trees? Nathan Howard/Getty ImagesOn average, it takes seven years to fully grow a Christmas tree, according to the National Christmas Tree Association. About 15,000 farms grow Christmas trees in the US alone, employing over 100,000 people either full or part-time in the industry, according to the National Christmas Tree Association.

☆ Corporate America is bracing for a rise in activist investing. Meet the 13 lawyers on speed-dial when companies and investors fight for boardroom control.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Law firms including Olshan Frome Wolosky LLP and Schulte Roth & Zabel are go-tos for activist investors looking to change how companies do business. Kai Liekefett, who co-chairs Sidley's shareholder activism practice, last year successfully defended cloud company Box Inc. in a proxy fight by Starboard. Liekefett has also defended clients against major activist investors including Carl Icahn and Trian Partners. He has advised clients against major activist investors including Trian, Carl Icahn, Starboard Value and the billionaire Paul Singer. Lawrence Elbaum and Patrick Gadson, Vinson & ElkinsPatrick Gadson (L) and Lawrence Elbaum (R), co-heads of Vinson & Elkins' shareholder activism group.

☆ UVa football player wounded in shooting that left 3 teammates dead gets out of hospital
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

RICHMOND, Va. — A University of Virginia football player who was seriously wounded in a shooting that killed three of his teammates has been released from the hospital. Brenda Hollins, the mother of running back Mike Hollins, tweeted early Monday: “Mike has been discharged!!! Joe Gipson, a spokesman for the Louisiana law firm where Brenda Hollins works, said Mike Hollins was released from the University of Virginia Medical Center on Sunday. Gipson said Mike Hollins will be staying with his family at an offsite location near the hospital for the next few weeks for follow-up medical appointments. A prosecutor said in court last week that a witness told police the gunman targeted specific victims, shooting one as he slept.

☆ America’s Right Confronts the 21st Century
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( Christopher Demuth | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Political conservatism has general characteristics, notably prudence, practicality and respect for settled traditions and institutions. But conservatives bring these dispositions to bear in a variety of times and places. American conservatism isn’t in thrall to the status quo. We have always been a nation of bustling aspiration and earnest self-criticism, perpetually seeking to remake the status quo. Conservatives have been as striving and critical as their neighbors, discontented with the circumstances at hand and impatient to set things right.

☆ Student Accused of Fatally Shooting Three University of Virginia Football Players Denied Bond
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Joseph De Avila | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The suspect was not present at Albemarle General District Court, and instead appeared by video link from a jail. A judge ordered that the University of Virginia student accused of fatally shooting three football players on campus and injuring two other students be held without bond in his first court appearance. Christopher Darnell Jones Jr . wasn’t in Albemarle General District Court in Virginia Wednesday and appeared by video link from a regional jail. He has been charged with three counts of second-degree murder and three counts of using a handgun in commission of a felony. He also faces two counts of malicious wounding with two additional firearm charges.

☆ UVa student charged in deaths of 3 football players shot one victim in his sleep, prosecutor says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Antonio Planas | Marlene Lenthang | Antonio Planas Is A Breaking News Reporter For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Prosecutor James Hingeley from the Albemarle County Commonwealth's Attorney’s Office described facts in the case, noting all five individuals were shot. He said Jones shot victim Devin Chandler while he was sleeping, according to a witness, and he slid onto the floor. The witness reported that Jones was aiming at “certain people” and “not randomly shooting,” Hingeley said. At the time of his arrest in Chesterfield County, Jones had outstanding warrants for hit-and-run and reckless driving out of Petersburg, Virginia, Hingeley said. The University of Virginia canceled its final home football game of the season Wednesday in the wake of the shooting.

The school had been "reviewing a potential hazing issue" when the Office of Student Affairs "heard from a student that Mr. Jones made a comment to him about possessing a gun," the university said in a statement Tuesday. "The reporting party did not see Mr. Jones in possession of a gun," the statement said. As the probe moved forward, it was learned that "Mr. Jones previously had been convicted of a misdemeanor for a concealed weapons violation in 2021," the school said. But officials said they realized only after Sunday’s shooting that the report of his conviction was never relayed to the University Judiciary Committee. Jones had a difficult upbringing at home and was bullied at school, Logan said.

☆ Father of UVa shooting suspect says son told him people were 'picking on him,' seemed 'paranoid'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Marlene Lenthang | Marlene Lenthang Is A Breaking News Reporter For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

His father, Christopher Darnell Jones Sr, told NBC affiliate WBBT of Richmond, Virginia, “I can’t believe it was him. I don’t know what happened between then and now to cause this to happen,” he continued. He said some people were picking on him or whatever, he didn’t know how to handle it. She said that she didn't have contact with him after the shooting and didn't know what might have contributed to it. Now the father wants to speak face-to-face with his son and figure out what let up to the shooting.

☆ UVa comes together in grief after campus shooting that killed 3 football players
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Antonio Planas | Antonio Planas Is A Breaking News Reporter For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — The University of Virginia community came together in grief Monday night as students, staff members, educators and others struggled to understand the shooting that left three football players dead and the campus heartbroken. Matthew Krinn, 19, a sophomore from Chevy Chase, Maryland, said that although he has grown up aware of campus shootings, he never thought he would be directly affected. At Monday night's vigil, students placed bouquets and candles on the steps of Old Cabell Hall, where some football players openly shed tears for their fallen teammates. He said he’s also rethinking the way he talks about school shootings, noting that he used to joke with his Taiwanese friends, saying he may need a bulletproof vest. is a strong community.

Search resuls for: "Christopher D"

25 mentions found