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☆ Here are Friday's biggest analyst calls: Apple, Coinbase, Western Alliance, Playboy, SolarEdge & more
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Morgan Stanley reiterates Apple as overweight Morgan Stanley said Apple is "delivering under pressure" after its earnings report on Thursday. Guggenheim upgrades Portillo's to buy from neutral Guggenheim said it sees multiple expansion for the restaurant chain. Goldman Sachs downgrades Atlassian to neutral from buy Goldman said the company's "cloud transition [is] likely taking longer than expected." UBS upgrades Shopify to neutral from sell UBS said in its upgrade of Shopify that it sees revenue upside. Jefferies initiates Playboy Group as buy Jefferies said it sees "significant upside" for the adult themed global media and lifestyle company.

☆ King Charles' brother Prince Andrew still casts a cloud over monarchy
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Angus Macswan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Summary Rapid fall from grace over links to EpsteinBarred from wearing uniformStill eighth in the line of succession to throneLONDON, May 5 (Reuters) - As the British monarchy celebrates King Charles' coronation this Saturday with pomp and pageantry, a cloud still hangs over his younger brother Prince Andrew. Andrew had reputedly been the late Queen Elizabeth's favourite son, but the scandal was too much for her. But royal observers think a return to favour is highly unlikely, not least as Charles has spoken of having a slimmed-down monarchy with fewer working royals. According to British media, the king also wants his brother to move out of the mansion he has occupied for years in the royal estate in Windsor and reside in a smaller home. Additional reporting by Humza Jilani Editing by Estelle Shirbon, Andrew Heavens and Frances KerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ 'Focused on the job': France's Le Maire defends writing of steamy novel
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Dominique Vidalon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PARIS, May 3 (Reuters) - French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said he was fully focused on creating growth and fighting inflation after coming under fire for penning a steamy novel that was published hours before France's credit rating was downgraded by an agency. "I am 100% focused on the job," Le Maire told Franceinfo radio. It is a graphic account of Oskar having sex with a character named Julia that has exposed Le Maire to mocking and criticism. The French edition of the Huffington Post headlined a story "Bruno Le Maire has written about an anus and no one was ready for this." "These are 10 lines out of a 480 pages book," Le Maire shot back when pushed on his writings during the Franceinfo interview.

☆ Bebe Buell, Rock ’n’ Roll Muse, Sings Her Own Song
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( George Gurley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Bebe Buell was back in town. The neighborhood was familiar to Ms. Buell. Soon after she arrived in New York from Camp Lejeune, N.C., in 1972, she became a regular at Max’s Kansas City, the famed night spot just a few blocks away. At the time she was an 18-year-old model signed to the Eileen Ford Agency who lived at the St. Mary’s Residence on the Upper East Side. She went from It Girl of Manhattan to Miss November in Playboy magazine.

Since Mr. Trump was indicted, his poll numbers have risen. The poll he mentioned Thursday predicted that he would receive 62 percent of the vote in the Republican primary. But the investigations could cause Mr. Trump real harm. No matter the outcome, any direct connection between Mr. Trump’s legal fate in the rape case and his political fortunes is tenuous. In the courtroom, which Mr. Trump has avoided, Ms. Carroll’s team argued that his words were not to be dismissed, even years after they became public.

☆ Who Is E. Jean Carroll, the Writer Accusing Donald Trump of Rape?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Lola Fadulu | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

E. Jean Carroll is a writer and a former columnist for Elle magazine who doled out sex, career and other advice for more than 20 years. The author, 79, grew up as Betty Jean Carroll in Indiana. She attended Indiana University, where she was crowned Miss Indiana University in 1963. Ms. Carroll had long thought of herself as a writer; she once told USA Today that she sent pitches to magazines when she was 12 years old. Ms. Carroll also wrote for Rolling Stone and Playboy, where she was the first female contributing editor.

☆ Spain to exhume fascist movement founder's body from Madrid mausoleum
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Charlie Devereux | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Juan MedinaMADRID, April 24 (Reuters) - Spain on Monday will dig up the body of Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera, founder of the fascist Falange movement that supported the Francoist regime, and remove it from a mausoleum carved into a mountainside near Madrid. Last year, the Valley of the Fallen was renamed Valley of Cuelgamuros - the original name of the site - under Spain's new Democratic Memory law. "It's another step in the resignification of the valley," Presidency Minister Felix Bolanos told reporters in Barcelona on Friday. The son of dictator Miguel Primo de Rivera, who governed Spain from 1923-1930, Jose Antonio was shot by firing squad in November 1936 by left-wing Republican forces in Alicante. Franco, a conservative general, and Primo de Rivera, a flamboyant playboy, had little love for each other, according to Francos's biographer Paul Preston.

☆ US-born princess evicted from Rome villa famed for Caravaggio fresco
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Remo Casilli/File PhotoROME, April 20 (Reuters) - A U.S.-born princess was evicted on Thursday from a Roman villa featuring the only known fresco by Italian baroque artist Caravaggio, and denounced her ousting as a travesty of justice. "I am being brutally evicted from a home which I have lovingly taken care of for the past 20 years," Princess Rita Jenrette Boncompagni Ludovisi said on Twitter shortly before leaving her home along with her four small dogs. Princess Boncompagni Ludovisi, 73, told Reuters in January that the tours were organised to raise money for maintenance. A former actress, Playboy model and ex-wife of a U.S. congressman, Boncompagni Ludovisi married the late Prince Nicolo Boncompagni Ludovisi, scion of one of Europe's most aristocratic families, in 2009. In his will, he gave his wife the right to stay in the Rome villa for the rest of her life.

☆ U.S. princess evicted from Rome villa famed for Caravaggio fresco
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

☆ Princess Rita Jenrette Boncompagni evicted from villa with original Caravaggio in Rome
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Barbie Latza Nadeau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Rome CNN —Princess Rita Jenrette Boncompagni Ludovisi – formerly Rita Carpenter, the former wife of Republican US Rep. John Jenrette – has been evicted from the home she once shared with the late Prince Nicolo Boncompagni, after an inheritance dispute with his children. Princess Rita confirmed her eviction from the historic Casino dell’Aurora in central Rome to CNN on Wednesday. Princess Rita Boncompagni Ludovisi poses for a photograph outside Villa Aurora in Rome, Italy, November 16, 2021. A statue of Pan by Michelangelo is seen outside Villa Aurora. Princess Rita told reporters at the Casino dell’Aurora as she left on Thursday that she is writing a new book about her latest ordeal.

New York CNN —A federal judge on Wednesday denied a request by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office for a temporary restraining order to stop a House Judiciary Committee subpoena of former prosecutor Mark Pomerantz. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil said Pomerantz must appear for a deposition as the House panel investigates Bragg’s recent indictment of former President Donald Trump. Bragg’s office says it will appeal. During the hearing, an attorney for Bragg’s office argued – unsuccessfully – that Pomerantz ignored cautions from the DA before publishing the book, so the district attorney’s office should not be penalized. The clash between federal and state powers began in March when Jordan asked Bragg’s office for documents and communications after news organizations reported that Bragg’s office was moving closer to seeking to indict Trump.

☆ PHOTO: Melania Trump Appears Relaxed by Husband's Side Post-Indictment
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Melania Trump was photographed appearing relaxed by Donald Trump's side at Mar-a-Lago. Melania recently hit back at media reports that made "assumptions" about her life and opinions. In a photo posted to Instagram by a Mar-a-Lago visitor on Friday, the former first lady appears relaxed, smiling and resting her hand on her husband's arm. Melania recently hit back at media reports that made "assumptions" about her opinions and marriage. Several women, including Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal, have claimed to have had affairs with Trump during his relationship with Melania, which he has denied.

☆ An obscure, 150-year-old morality law has resurfaced in the legal battle over abortion medication
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Grace Eliza Goodwin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A federal appeals court discussed an obscure, 150-year-old morality law in its decision on abortion medication mifepristone. A challenge to the legality of sending abortion medications via mail referenced the Comstock Act of 1873. A law professor called the legislation an outdated "zombie law" that was now in danger of being "selectively enforced." The Comstock Act was named after Anthony Comstock, a moral crusader in 19th-century America, according to Middle Tennessee State University's First Amendment Encyclopedia. A 'zombie law' that should've been repealedMurray says invoking this "zombie law" is "rolling back modernity."

☆ How Playboy cut ties with Hugh Hefner to create a post-MeToo brand
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Daisy Mcmanaman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The Conversation —Hugh Hefner launched Playboy Magazine 70 years ago this year. Hefner went on to build the Playboy brand off the backs of the countless women featured in its pages, whose beauty and performance of heightened feminine sexuality have entertained its readers for generations. The show focused on the lives of Hefner’s three girlfriends, Madison, Marquardt and Kendra Wilkinson. In a post-#MeToo era, the women of Playboy are speaking up and taking over. Top Image: Hugh Hefner with Playboy “bunnies” in London in 1966.

Persons: Hugh Hefner, Marilyn Monroe, Hefner, Harvey Weinstein, Sondra Theodore, Holly Madison, Pamela Anderson, Playboy's, Theo Wargo, Caroline “ Tula ”, “, ”, Mrs Robinson, —, Bridget Marquardt, Madison, Marquardt, Kendra Wilkinson, Wilkinson, Jeffrey Mayer, WireImage Organizations: CNN, Playboy, New York Armory, milf, “ Entertainment, Daily Herald Locations: New York City, Caroline “ Tula ” Cossey, West Indies, Madison, London

☆ Kim Jong Un digitally erased an actor he doesn't like from the re-run of a popular North Korean TV show
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

North Korea has wiped all record of an out-of-favor actor from a popular TV show, per NK News. The actor was digitally replaced with another actor in the re-run of the series, per the outlet. Choe Ung Chol, an actor known for his good looks, has been digitally replaced with actor Pak Jong Taek in the show "The Taehongdang Party Secretary." The series was otherwise completely unchanged, per Prof. Tatiana Gabroussenko, a North Korea specialist writing for the outlet. Jang, once considered the most powerful person in North Korea beyond Kim himself, was denounced as "despicable human scum."

☆ Stormy Daniels says Trump should not go to prison in hush money case
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Katharine Jackson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 6 (Reuters) - Stormy Daniels, the adult film star at the center of the criminal case against Donald Trump, said she does not think the former president should go to prison if convicted of concealing hush money payments he made to her. Prosecutors in Manhattan accused Trump, the first sitting or former U.S. president to face criminal charges, of trying to conceal a violation of election laws during his successful 2016 campaign. Trump, the front-runner in the race for the Republican nomination in 2024, denies having an affair with Daniels but has acknowledged the payment. Daniels told Morgan that if the case goes to trial, she would like to testify. Reporting by Katharine Jackson; Editing by Andy Sullivan and Daniel WallisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Republican House chairman subpoenas former prosecutor Pomerantz in Trump probe
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, April 6 (Reuters) - Jim Jordan, the Republican chair of the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, on Thursday issued a subpoena to Mark Pomerantz, a former prosecutor who led the Manhattan district attorney's investigation of Donald Trump. Bragg told reporters Tuesday the charges were part of the office's history of "vigorously enforcing white collar crime." Pomerantz, who left the office early last year, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. He previously led a sprawling probe into Trump's business practices but he resigned shortly after Bragg, a Democrat, took office in 2022 and declined to pursue an indictment of Trump based on that probe. "Pomerantz's public statements about the investigation strongly suggest that Bragg's prosecution of President Trump is politically motivated," Jordan said in a statement on Thursday.

☆ Melania Trump lives in 'an ivory tower of denial' and is not humiliated by her husband's affairs, her former aide says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Melania Trump is aware of her husband's affairs and is not humiliated by them, her former aide said. Stephanie Winston Wolkoff told Page Six her former friend lives in "an ivory tower of denial." Melania won't leave Trump and privately says that people are just jealous, Wolkoff said. She failed to appear both by her husband's side, despite Trump singling out several family members for praise. "Melania lives in an ivory tower of denial," Wolkoff told Page Six."

☆ Trump, newly charged, urges defunding US Justice Department and FBI
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Rami Ayyub | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

But Trump faces two Justice Department criminal investigations led by Special Counsel Jack Smith, who was appointed by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland. "REPUBLICANS IN CONGRESS SHOULD DEFUND THE DOJ AND FBI UNTIL THEY COME TO THEIR SENSES," Trump wrote on his social media platform. The FBI, part of the Justice Department, is the U.S. domestic intelligence and security agency. Trump backed spending increases for the Justice Department while serving as president from 2017 to 2021. The Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment.

☆ Trump, facing criminal charges, calls for defunding the FBI
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Rami Ayyub | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"REPUBLICANS IN CONGRESS SHOULD DEFUND THE DOJ AND FBI UNTIL THEY COME TO THEIR SENSES," Trump wrote on his social media platform. Trump, who served as president from 2017 to 2021, backed spending increases for the Justice Department and FBI while in office. Trump faces two Justice Department criminal investigations led by a special counsel appointed by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland. Trump himself appointed the current FBI director, Christopher Wray, after firing the agency's previous chief, James Comey, in 2017. Prosecutors said the payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal constituted an attempt to conceal a violation of election law.

Prosecutor Chris Conroy said: "The defendant Donald J. Trump falsified New York business records in order to conceal an illegal conspiracy to undermine the integrity of the 2016 presidential election and other violations of election laws." SOCIAL MEDIA POSTSProsecutors during the arraignment said Trump made a series of social media posts, including one threatening "death and destruction" if he was charged. "They can't beat us at the ballot box so they try to beat us through the law," Trump said. The false records included invoices from Cohen, entries in a ledger for Trump maintained by the Trump Organization, and check stubs, according to the indictment. "Under New York state law, it is a felony to falsify business records with intent to defraud and intent to conceal another crime.

☆ Trump wanted to avoid Stormy Daniels hush money payment by delaying it past election, DA alleges
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

But Trump directed Cohen to delay making that payment to Daniels "as long as possible," according to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Bragg's allegation that Trump tried to delay the payment to Daniels also challenges an argument made last month by Trump's current attorney Joe Tacopina. He said the hush money payment to Daniels was "not directly related to the campaign." In a single report from USA Today in 2016, hundreds of people accused Trump of withholding payment for services they provided. Bragg on Tuesday also detailed Trump's alleged involvement in efforts to suppress ex-Playboy model Karen McDougal's claim that she had an affair with Trump years ago.

☆ Explainer: Who is Karen McDougal, the Playboy model in the Trump case?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, April 4 (Reuters) - The criminal case against former President Donald Trump, unveiled on Tuesday, rests not just on his high-profile alleged affair with porn star Stormy Daniels but also on a separate liaison with Playboy model Karen McDougal. A 52-year-old former model and actress from Indiana, McDougal was a Playboy magazine Playmate of the Year in the late 1990s. They said Trump, his lawyer Michael Cohen and AMI former chief executive David Pecker, a longtime friend of Trump, agreed that Trump would reimburse AMI. McDougal later sued AMI and reached an agreement that allowed her to discuss her relationship with Trump. ONE OF TWOThe transaction is one of two involving alleged affairs that are at the heart of the criminal case against Trump.

☆ Trump faces more legal threats beyond a hush money case. Here's the status of those probes
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

Cohen has since become a vocal critic of his former boss and testified before the grand jury hearing evidence in Bragg's probe. The grand jury was impaneled in January 2022 to hear evidence in Fulton County DA Willis' probe. Portions of that final report, which were released in February, show the grand jury determined that at least one witness may have lied under oath. New York civil caseTrump is also embroiled in a state-level civil fraud case filed by James, the New York attorney general. (L-R) Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr., and Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump attend the ground breaking of the Trump International Hotel at the Old Post Office Building in Washington July 23, 2014.

☆ Trump's indictment doesn't just depend on Michael Cohen, involves more than one paid-off woman, and allegedly happened when he was president
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Madison Hall | John L. Dorman | Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

State attorneys and former prosecutors worried that Trump's indictment would solely revolve around Michael Cohen as a witness. But Trump's indictment depends on more than Cohen — the NY DA alleges Trump paid off another woman, too. Mark Bederow, a former prosecutor, previously told Insider that resting an indictment of this caliber solely on Cohen would be disastrous. "You wouldn't rely on Michael Cohen to tell you the time of day unless you corroborated it with a clock. Like Daniels, prosecutors allege that Trump, Pecker, and Cohen teamed up to silence former Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal in June 2016.

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