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March 17 (Reuters) - Multi-billion dollar lifelines for troubled U.S. and European banks shored up investor confidence on Friday and bolstered sentiment in battered stocks, although concerns now centre on whether a global financial crisis has been fully averted. The package came less than a day after Swiss bank Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) clinched an emergency central bank loan of up to $54 billion to shore up its liquidity, which went some way to calming panic about a global banking crisis. "I don't think we are in the crux of a global financial crisis, balance sheets are much better than they were in 2008, banks are better regulated," said Karen Jorritsma, head of Australian equities, RBC Capital Market. Within days, the market turmoil had ensnared Credit Suisse, forcing it to borrow from Switzerland's central bank. Policymakers have tried to emphasise that the current turmoil is different to the global financial crisis 15 years ago as banks are better capitalised and funds more easily available.

☆ Japan says closely coordinating with BOJ, overseas authorities on banking issues
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Tetsushi Kajimoto | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Japanese policymakers have so far stuck to the view that the possibility of another financial crisis is low. On Friday, Suzuki said he was closely watching financial markets in and outside of Japan and for any impact from problems in the banking sector in the West on the Japanese economy. Japan has multilateral currency swap arrangements with Southeast Asian economies to prepare for crises like the 1997/98 Asian currency crisis. However, a bilateral currency swap arrangement with South Korea expired several years ago. "Nothing has been decided on financial track issues such as bilateral currency swap," Suzuki added.

A round of financing on Sunday raised through JPMorgan had given First Republic access to $70 billion in funds. First Republic Bank's stock closed up 10% on news of the rescue but its shares fell 18% in after-market trading, after the bank said it would suspend its dividend. [1/2] A person walks past a First Republic Bank branch in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S., March 13, 2023. It said it would exercise an option to borrow up to 50 billion Swiss francs ($54 billion) from the Swiss National Bank, which confirmed it would provide liquidity to the bank against sufficient collateral. Since March 8, before last week's collapse of SVB, European banks have lost around $165 billion in market value, Refinitiv data shows.

☆ ‘People are shocked and disgusted’: Fox News staffers say they are in the dark amid election lies scandal
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

But this is unprecedented.”That was echoed to me over the last 48 hours by several other employees at Fox News. “I haven’t seen anything [communicated],” another Fox News staffer told me. And in lieu of the network’s management providing status updates to its employees about the looming trial in Dominion’s lawsuit, staffers are intensely curious about where things stand. In fact, some Fox News staffers have even reached out to me, looking for information on the case and asking for insight into their own network. It is a point that I have been making for some time — and it’s one that a second senior Fox staffer encouraged me to continue driving home.

☆ Fox News election fraud revelations could take down the network’s embattled chief
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

New York CNN —Who will Rupert Murdoch exile from the Fox kingdom? The stunning levels of misconduct exposed in recent weeks raise questions about the future of Suzanne Scott, the embattled chief executive of Fox News. “They’re leading a trail of crumbs that lead back to her office,” added David Folkenflik, the NPR media correspondent and Murdoch biographer. In each case, Murdoch made the decision to sever ties with top personnel. “They should be reprimanded, maybe got rid of.”As Folkenflik noted, “If you’re Rupert, you can’t fire Rupert.

☆ Wells Fargo lays off mortgage bankers days after rewarding some with California retreat
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Hugh Son | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Wells Fargo laid off hundreds of mortgage bankers this week as part of a sweeping round of cuts triggered by the bank's recent strategic shift, CNBC has learned. Under CEO Charlie Scharf, Wells Fargo is pulling back from parts of the U.S. mortgage market, an arena it once dominated. The shift comes after sharply higher interest rates led to a collapse in loan volumes, forcing Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and other players to cut thousands of mortgage positions in the past year. Those cut this week at Wells Fargo included mortgage bankers and home loan consultants, a workforce spread around the country who are compensated mostly on sales volume, according to the people, who declined to be identified speaking about personnel matters. The company cut bankers who operated in areas outside of its branch footprint and who therefore didn't fit in the new strategy of catering to existing customers, the people said.

☆ DirecTV blasts Newsmax for pushing ‘inaccurate and misleading’ attacks after the right-wing network was dropped
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —All niceties have been thrown out the window as DirecTV finds itself ensnared in an ugly carriage dispute with Newsmax. The satellite carrier, which refuses to buckle to pressure and pay millions of dollars to broadcast the network’s low-rated programming, unleashed on the right-wing talk channel on Tuesday. At the center of the dispute: Newsmax has demanded DirecTV pay millions in carriage fees to continue including the channel in its lineup. They’ve accused DirecTV — which just added another right-wing talk channel to its lineup — of censoring conservative voices. Newsmax, led by Chris Ruddy, who is well-connected in GOP circles, has in recent weeks used its platform and political power to pressure DirecTV into paying up.

☆ Crypto Lender Genesis Files for Bankruptcy, Ensnared by FTX Collapse
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Vicky Ge Huang | Caitlin Ostroff | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Genesis’s undoing is another example of how the November collapse of crypto exchange giant FTX has rippled through the industry. Cryptocurrency lender Genesis Global Holdco LLC and two of its lending subsidiaries filed for bankruptcy protection late Thursday night in New York, the latest domino to fall after the failure of exchange giant FTX. The bankruptcy marks the end of an era in which the lending of crypto assets fueled trades by both individual and institutional investors chasing high yields. A big drop in crypto prices that began in late 2021 has demolished many companies that depended on that business model. Crypto lenders Celsius Network LLC and Voyager Digital Ltd. filed for bankruptcy in July.

☆ The most-popular big tech default email programs are old and vulnerable
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( Elizabeth Macbride | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +13 min

All over the world, organizations of all sizes, including small businesses, scrambled to upload patches and to figure out if they'd been infiltrated. Each time big software companies have changed default settings or made blanket changes with cybersecurity in mind, he points out, cybercrime fell measurably. Some of its donors are big technology companies. "Microsoft takes email security very seriously," said Girish Chander, head of Microsoft Defender for Office, in a statement to CNBC. Updating email software default settings.

[1/3] Donna Heinel (L), former associate athletic director at the University of Southern California (USC) facing charges in a nationwide college admissions cheating scheme, leaves the federal courthouse in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., March 25, 2019. Donna Heinel, the school's former senior associate athletic director, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston for helping get about two dozen students admitted as fake athletic recruits in exchange for money. Prosecutors said Heinel also personally pocketed $160,000 after she and Singer entered into "sham" consulting agreement. She has agreed to forfeit that money, though defense lawyer Nina Marino said, adding Heinel did not view it as a bribe at the time. Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Aurora EllisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Rick Singer, Ringleader of College-Admissions Cheating Scheme, Sentenced to 3½ Years in Prison
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Melissa Korn | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

BOSTON—William “Rick” Singer, the mastermind behind a nationwide college-admissions cheating scheme that ensnared top universities, business executives and Hollywood celebrities, was sentenced Wednesday to 42 months in prison. He will also have to pay nearly $20 million in restitution and forfeitures of ill-gotten gains.

☆ Rick Singer, Mastermind of College-Admissions Cheating Scandal, Faces Sentencing
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Melissa Korn | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

William ‘Rick’ Singer was the head of a scheme that prosecutors say brought in $25 million and corrupted an admissions process that was intended to be based on merit. BOSTON—William “Rick” Singer, the mastermind behind a nationwide college-admissions cheating scheme that ensnared top universities, business executives and Hollywood celebrities, is scheduled to be sentenced in federal court here Wednesday. Mr. Singer pleaded guilty in March 2019 to four felonies, admitting to running a complex operation that arranged for parents to fraudulently boost their teens’ ACT and SAT scores and to bribe college coaches to flag the clients as recruited athletes, all but guaranteeing their admission to schools including Georgetown University and the University of Southern California. Payments were often funneled through Mr. Singer’s sham charity, allowing parents to take tax write-offs for the bribes.

William Rick Singer, the mastermind of a nationwide college admissions cheating scheme, will be sentenced in a federal courtroom in Boston Wednesday. His sentencing is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.Singer, 62, had pleaded guilty in March 2019 to charges including racketeering conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy in connection with the scandal, dubbed Operation Varsity Blues. The operation involved bribes, cheating on entrance exams, and fraudulently getting unqualified applicants into schools as elite recruited athletes. The cheating scheme ensnared Hollywood with actors Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman charged in the case. “For most of my life, if not all of it, I have thrived on winning at all costs,” he wrote.

☆ The ultimate insider's guide to the dramatic downfall of Sam Bankman-Fried, Caroline Ellison, and FTX
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Sam Bankman-Fried is facing criminal charges and is expected to enter a plea on Jan. 3. Read Insider's coverage of Bankman-Fried:FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried gets by on 4 hours' sleep and multitasks on 6 screens. Now hit with 7 criminal charges, Ellison has pleaded guilty and expressed contrition before the New York federal court presiding over the criminal cases involving Bankman-Fried. Sam Bankman-Fried is in jail, but legal watchers are wondering: Where's ex-girlfriend Caroline Ellison? Sam Bankman-Fried hit with 8 criminal charges, including fraud and conspiracy for allegedly 'misappropriating' FTX customer fundsThe SEC has charged Sam Bankman-Fried and accused him of 'orchestrating a massive, years-long fraud'The criminal charges against Sam Bankman-Fried carry big penalties and jail time if proven, legal experts sayRead the CFTC complaint against FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried and his associates Caroline Ellison and Gary WangThe charges against Caroline Ellison, SBF, and FTX cofounder Gary Wang — in 60 seconds

☆ The IRS Grants a Harassment Reprieve
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-24 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The Internal Revenue Service isn’t usually a bearer of good news, but on Friday it brought holiday cheer by granting a one-year reprieve from a burdensome reporting mandate that could have ensnared any American who made extra cash selling used goods on eBay . It would have been better if Congress had repealed the mandate. Third-party payment processors such as eBay, Amazon and PayPal previously had to send 1099-Ks only to taxpayers with at least 200 transactions and $20,000 of revenue. Democrats lowered the threshold to $600 in their March 2021 American Rescue Plan Act to catch Americans they claim are cheating on their taxes.

☆ Tesla under investigation by NHTSA for two more crashes that may have involved Autopilot or FSD
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Lora Kolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Tesla offers a standard driver assistance package called Autopilot in all its new cars today. Another recent crash added to NHTSA's list involved a 2020 Tesla Model 3, the company's entry-level sedan. According to data obtained from NHTSA by CNBC, the agency is looking into at least 41 crashes involving Tesla vehicles where automated features such as automatic emergency braking, or more extensive driver assistance system features included in Autopilot, FSD, and FSD Beta were involved. The California DMV has accused Tesla of engaging in false advertising around its driver assistance systems. Amid tough economic conditions, Tesla has recently offered steep discounts on its cars in the US, Canada, Mexico and China.

☆ Hope Hicks was once one of Trump's closest confidantes. Less than 2 years later, she testified that her former boss told her that no one would care about his legacy if he lost the 2020 election.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Rebecca Harrington | Ellen Cranley | Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Hope Hicks, 34, was one of President Donald Trump's most trusted advisers. Hicks resigned from the White House on January 12, 2021, but told people it was a planned departure. She was one of the few White House aides who told Trump he lost the 2020 election. Before testifying in the investigation launched against her former boss' involvement in the Capitol riots, Hicks was the youngest White House communications director in history. She later rejoined the Trump White House as a counselor to the president, reporting to senior adviser and Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

Since the early days of the invasion, Mr. Putin has conceded, privately, that the war has not gone as planned. “I think he is sincerely willing” to compromise with Russia, Mr. Putin said of Mr. Zelensky in 2019. To join in Mr. Putin’s war, he has recruited prisoners, trashed the Russian military and competed with it for weapons. To join in Mr. Putin’s war, he has recruited prisoners, trashed the Russian military and competed with it for weapons. “I think this war is Putin’s grave.” Yevgeny Nuzhin, 55, a Russian prisoner of war held by Ukraine, in October.

☆ Strong midterm turnout in Georgia sparks new debate about a controversial election law
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Fredreka Schouten | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —The strong turnout in Georgia’s runoff election that cemented Democrats’ control of the US Senate is sparking fresh debate about the impact of the state’s controversial 2021 election law and could trigger a new round of election rule changes next year in the Republican-led state legislature. “There’s no truth to voter suppression,” Raffensperger said in an interview this week with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, a day after Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock secured reelection in the first federal election cycle since Georgia voting law took effect. State election officials had opposed casting ballots on that date, saying Georgia law prohibited voting on a Saturday if there is a state holiday on the Thursday or Friday before. In the CNN interview earlier this week, Raffensperger suggested that the Republican-controlled General Assembly might revisit some of the state’s election rules, including potentially lowering to 45% the threshold needed to win a general election outright. “There will be a push for this in the upcoming legislative session,” said Daniel Baggerman, president of Better Ballot Georgia, a group advocating for the instant runoff.

In the 2005 Nicolas Cage movie “Lord of War,” the character loosely based on Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout evades his American law enforcement pursuers, apparently saved by the CIA. Now he is on his way back to Russia after a high-profile prisoner exchange that saw WNBA star Brittney Griner free early Thursday. Under federal sentencing rules, Bout could have been released from prison in five years. Bout, a former Soviet military officer who became rich as an arms dealer, has always maintained his innocence. His U.S. lawyer, Steve Zissou, says the whole operation was unfair, because Bout had been retired and living in Moscow.

Closing arguments are beginning Thursday in the tax fraud trial of the Trump Organization, which is accused of a sweeping, 15-year scheme to compensate top executives of former President Donald Trump’s company off the books. After lawyers wrap up up arguments, the 12-person jury is set to begin deliberations Monday. Although he said Trump and his sons knew of the perks he received because they would sign the checks, they were unaware of any fraud. Former CFO Allen Weisselberg leaves the courtroom during a trial at the New York Supreme Court in New York on Nov. 17. The New York attorney general’s office is also suing the company, Trump and his oldest children last month, alleging they had overstated the company’s financial assets by billions of dollars.

☆ Former Florida tax official and ex-Gaetz associate Joel Greenberg sentenced to 11 years in prison
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Sonam Sheth | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A federal judge sentenced former Florida tax official Joel Greenberg to 11 years in prison. Greenberg was a longtime associate of Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz before he struck a plea deal last year. Before striking a plea deal, Greenberg was a close associate of Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz. Greenberg's plea deal said he conducted 150 financial transactions totaling $70,000 between December 2016 and December 2018 to pay women for "commercial sex acts." "Those who told lies about Congressman Matt Gaetz are going to prison, and Congressman Matt Gaetz is going back to Congress to continue fighting for America," a spokesperson for Gaetz's office previously told Insider.

☆ Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen named in lawsuit against FTX
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Genesis said it was working with advisers “to explore all possible options,” adding that it would release a plan for the lending business next week. “We’re working tirelessly to identify the best solutions for the lending business, including among other things, sourcing new liquidity,” the company said. The suspension comes as the entire crypto industry is on edge following the unraveling of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX exchange and Alameda Research hedge fund, both of which filed for bankruptcy late last week. On Wednesday an FTX investor sued Bankman-Fried as well as several celebrities who have endorsed the platform, including Tom Brady, Gisele Bundchen and Steph Curry. “The deceptive FTX platform maintained by the FTX entities was truly a house of cards,” the proposed class-action lawsuit states.

☆ Former Yale Soccer Coach Sentenced to Prison in College Admissions Cheating Case
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Melissa Korn | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Former Yale University women’s soccer coach Rudolph Meredith admitted to taking bribes in exchange for facilitating teens’ admission to Yale as soccer players. Former Yale University soccer coach Rudolph Meredith was sentenced in a Boston federal court to five months in prison for his involvement in the sprawling college-admissions cheating scandal that also ensnared executives and Hollywood stars, a harsher sentence than even the prosecutors had recommended. Mr. Meredith took $860,000 in bribes from corrupt college counselor William “Rick” Singer , and agreed to a $450,000 payment directly from at least one parent, in exchange for facilitating teens’ admission to Yale as soccer players.

☆ Insurance Broker Arthur J. Gallagher Subpoenaed by Justice Department’s Foreign Bribery Unit
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Dylan Tokar | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +3 min

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. said it received a subpoena from the Justice Department’s foreign bribery unit, making it the latest company to become ensnared in a sprawling investigation into corruption at state-owned companies in Ecuador. The information request, which the company said it received in its third quarter, was from the Justice Department’s Foreign Corrupt Practices Act unit, Arthur J. Gallagher said. Prosecutors from that unit have asked Arthur J. Gallagher for information related to its insurance business with public entities in Ecuador, the company said in its Nov. 2 report. The law is enforced by the Justice Department and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. A spokesperson for Arthur J. Gallagher didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

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