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☆ Exclusive: At least $1 billion of client funds missing at FTX
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( Angus Berwick | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The exchange's founder Sam Bankman-Fried secretly transferred $10 billion of customer funds from FTX to Bankman-Fried's trading company Alameda Research, the people told Reuters. While it is known that FTX moved customer funds to Alameda, the missing funds are reported here for the first time. Asked about the missing funds, Bankman-Fried responded: "???" Bankman-Fried showed several spreadsheets to the heads of the company's regulatory and legal teams that revealed FTX had moved around $10 billion in client funds from FTX to Alameda, the two people said. The documents showed that between $1 billion and $2 billion of these funds were not accounted for among Alameda's assets, the sources said.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried's sudden turn from white knight to washout
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( Hannah Lang | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

But as traders rushed to withdraw funds from FTX, Bankman-Fried was in denial and told investors he was convinced the business would be rescued, according to a source familiar with the situation. Bankman-Fried also quickly became one of the largest Democratic donors in the United States, contributing $5.2 million to President Joe Biden's 2020 campaign. He amassed a fortune, estimated as high as $26.5 billion by Forbes a year ago, by taking advantage of the price differences in bitcoin in Asia and the United States. Bankman-Fried eventually started crypto trading firm Alameda Research in 2017 and founded FTX a year later. "I thought we would fail," Bankman-Fried said at a June conference weeks before FTX and Alameda extended lifelines to two struggling crypto platforms.

☆ At least $1 billion of client funds missing at failed crypto firm FTX, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

At least $1 billion of customer funds have vanished from collapsed crypto exchange FTX, according to two people familiar with the matter. The exchange’s founder Sam Bankman-Fried secretly transferred $10 billion of customer funds from FTX to Bankman-Fried’s trading company Alameda Research, the people told Reuters. While it is known that FTX moved customer funds to Alameda, the missing funds are reported here for the first time. Asked about the missing funds, Bankman-Fried responded: “?? The documents showed that between $1 billion and $2 billion of these funds were not accounted for among Alameda’s assets, the sources said.

☆ EXCLUSIVE At least $1 billion of client funds missing at failed crypto firm FTX – sources
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( Angus Berwick | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The exchange's founder Sam Bankman-Fried secretly transferred $10 billion of customer funds from FTX to Bankman-Fried's trading company Alameda Research, the people told Reuters. While it is known that FTX moved customer funds to Alameda, the missing funds are reported here for the first time. Asked about the missing funds, Bankman-Fried responded: "???" The documents showed that between $1 billion and $2 billion of these funds were not accounted for among Alameda's assets, the sources said. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating FTX.com's handling of customer funds, as well its crypto-lending activities, a source with knowledge of the inquiry told Reuters on Wednesday.

☆ One year after Nasdaq peak, growth stocks have tumbled and crypto has broken — where to from here?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( Michael Santoli | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

The Nasdaq record came just ten days after Bitcoin's apex near $67,000, a moment when total cryptocurrency market value topped $2.8 trillion. Those numbers today are under $17,000 for Bitcoin and the crypto market cap is around $800 billion, down 70%-plus. Just days after the November 2021 Nasdaq high, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell abruptly and publicly shifted his rhetoric on inflation and monetary policy, endorsing a much faster removal of stimulus than previously indicated. In the 18 months leading to the March 2000 Nasdaq peak, the index more than tripled. One year after the March 2000 Nasdaq peak, with the index down some 60%, the Nasdaq 100 still had a forward price/earnings ratio above 50.

☆ Chaos unchecked: A comprehensive timeline of Elon Musk's Twitter verification saga - for now
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( Bethany Biron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Elon Musk's revamped Twitter Blue launch has hit some major snags in the past week. The shenanigans surrounding the blue check (and subsequent gray check) has heads spinning among average Twitter users, major advertisers and big-name celebrities. Here's a look at everything that's happened with Twitter Blue in the past week and the murky state of verification on the platform. Musk's new verification model was designed to become part of Twitter's existing Twitter Blue feature, a $4.99 monthly subscription offering premium services. He also said that Twitter is adding a "parody subscript," because "tricking people is not ok."It is unclear when and how Twitter Blue may be reinstated.

☆ The future of FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried is now in the hands of these 3 lawyers who have worked for Enron, Michael Milken, and Elon Musk
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Jack Newsham | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

A senior Paul Weiss lawyer has been hired to defend FTX founder and ex-CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. FTX said on Twitter that a sprawling group of companies founded by Bankman-Fried, known as SBF, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware. The new CEO of FTX is John J. Ray III, a lawyer-turned-executive with a colorful past leading troubled companies, most notably Enron. The firm Paul Weiss and its lawyer Martin Flumenbaum, who represented the junk-bonds king Michael Milken, are representing Bankman-Fried personally. John J. Ray IIIRay joined FTX as CEO just in time to sign its bankruptcy filing.

☆ FTX files for bankruptcy and Sam Bankman-Fried steps down as CEO after crypto exchange fails to secure bailout
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

FTX announced it was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy along with Alameda Research and affiliated companies. Sam Bankman-Fried resigned from his role as CEO of FTX, though he will remain to assist an orderly transition. The bankruptcy includes Alameda Research and 130 additional affiliated companies, which together are called "FTX Group." FTX appointed John J. Ray III as the new CEO of FTX Group. "The FTX Group has valuable assets that can only be effectively administered in an organized, joint process.

☆ Stephen King slams Elon Musk again, saying he preferred Twitter before the billionaire took over: 'Less controversy, more fun.'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Stephen King has continued his feud with Elon Musk, saying he preferred Twitter in "pre-Musk days." King said the platform was "more fun" and had "less controversy" before the takeover. The novelist has been sparring with Musk on social media over some of his changes to the platform. The novelist and billionaire have been sparring on social media since Musk's Twitter takeover. King also took to the platform to compare Musk with a fictional character who cons his friends.

☆ Crypto: What's next as FTX collapse triggers 'Lehman moment'?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Julia Horowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

And can the beaten-down crypto industry bounce back? What’s clear is that the fallout from the FTX crisis injects significant volatility into the crypto ecosystem. “Thank God!”Can the crypto industry survive? “In the short term, this is going to be really, really bad for the crypto industry,” said Jog of Sei Labs. Fok said he expects the FTX collapse will push institutional investors away from the crypto space just as they had been warming up to it.

☆ Doja Cat posted a 5-second audio clip of her sighing on Twitter over people's decisions to pay $8 a month for Twitter verification
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Britney Toh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Doja Cat posted an audio clip of her sighing over Twitter users paying $8 a month for verification. "I don't wanna be christmas forever Elon Musk please help I've made a mistake," Doja tweeted on November 10, along with a string of expletives. Doja joins a legion of celebrities who have recently parodied and mocked the new Twitter badges. On Sunday evening, Twitter suspended comedian Kathy Griffin's account after she pretended to be Elon Musk on the platform. A week prior, after buying Twitter, Musk had declared that "comedy is now legal on Twitter."

☆ Morning Bid: Bank man fried
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"We are in the best of hands," FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried said on Twitter, after announcing a bailout that has not quite soothed market jitters. Bitcoin was falling in Asia on Wednesday, so was FTX's collapsing token and Binance's token had the wobbles. As Spectra Markets' Brent Donnelly and others have previously noted, naming rights are a reasonable signal of irrational exuberance. FTX's 19-year deal for naming rights at the Miami Heat basketball team's home arena looks to face a similar fate, as does its sponsorship of the Mercedes F1 team. China's factory gate prices dropped for the first time since December 2020, and consumer inflation moderated, underlining faltering domestic demand.

☆ Elon Musk has resorted to crowdsourcing ideas to make Twitter more profitable as annual billion-dollar debt payments loom
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Samantha Delouya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk appears to be crowdsourcing business ideas for Twitter from users on the platform. Musk is trying to make Twitter profitable as the company also faces billions in interest on Musk's deal debt. One thing is clear: Musk is looking for a way to make Twitter some money — quickly. This conversation is similar to many that Musk has had on Twitter recently, seemingly hashing out ideas for Twitter's future on the platform itself. Some Twitter users' ideas might potentially make Twitter some money in the near term, though.

☆ Musk says Twitter will charge $8/month for blue check mark
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

loadingA blue check mark next to a person's user name on the social media platform means Twitter has confirmed that the account belongs to the person or company claiming it. Musk on Tuesday said subscribers with blue check marks would get priority in replies, mentions and search and would be able to post longer videos and audios. Musk's comments follow media reports that he was looking at the process of profile verification and how the blue check marks were given. More than 80% of Twitter users who took part in a recent poll said they would not pay for the checkmark. Twitter already has a subscription service called Twitter Blue, which was launched in June last year and offers access to features such as an option to edit tweets.

☆ Elon Musk idea to charge for Twitter verification draws critics
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Eli M. Rosenberg | Eli Rosenberg Is An Investigative Tech Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

Critics of Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover say any plan to charge users for identity verification could make information on the site less trustworthy and more vulnerable to manipulation — devaluing the company. The idea of a monthly fee for the blue verification checkmark by users' names was reported Sunday by Casey Newton’s tech-focused newsletter Platformer. Musk hasn't confirmed a charge will be added but on Sunday tweeted, “The whole verification process is being revamped right now,” on his own verified account. Jeff Jarvis, a prolific Twitter user and journalism professor who studies how information travels in the digital age, worries such a plan could backfire. “Twitter has had many, many people working on issues like user interface design and innovation, testing it with user groups, and people who specialize in working with VITs — very important Twitter users,” she said.

☆ Musk says Twitter will charge $8 for blue tick
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Blue for $8/month," Musk said in a tweet, adding that the price will be adjusted by "country proportionate to purchasing power parity". Musk's comments follow media reports that the Tesla boss was looking at the process of profile verification and how the blue ticks were given out. Twitter use to hand out blue ticks to note-worthy profiles based on its own criteria. Twitter already has a subscription service called Twitter Blue, which was launched in June last year and offers access to features such as an option to edit tweets. Amid speculations that Twitter may soon start charging verified users a monthly fee of $20 for blue ticks, bestselling author Stephen King tweeted: "If that gets instituted, I'm gone like Enron."

☆ Musk suggests charging $8 a month for Twitter verification after criticism for $19.99 plan
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Jennifer Korn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN Business —After facing criticism for his plan to charge Twitter users $19.99 a month to get or keep a verified account, Elon Musk has a counteroffer: maybe $8? Under Musk, Twitter is working to update its existing subscription product known as “Twitter Blue,” which currently costs $4.99 a month, to include the verification feature, CNN previously reported. The news quickly prompted outrage and disbelief among some longtime Twitter users, including author Stephen King, who has nearly seven million followers on the platform. Musk acquired Twitter for $44 billion, an amount that he admitted is “obviously overpaying” for the company. On Sunday, Musk tweeted: “The whole verification process is being revamped right now.”Even before the deal was completed, Musk suggested the possibility of tying verification to a paid subscription service.

☆ Elon Musk tells Stephen King that Twitter needs to pay the bills somehow after the novelist said he'd quit the site if he was charged $20 for verification
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Kate Duffy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk said Twitter has bills to pay after Stephen King threatened to leave the site over a $20 verification fee. Musk suggested to King that verified Twitter users could be charged $8 a month. The billionaire made a suggestion to King that the Twitter verification fee could be $8 a month. A few Twitter users challenged King on his tweet, saying he was wealthy enough to afford a $20 verification fee. Musk's comments to King followed the widely reported claims that a fee for verified Twitter users could soon come into place.

☆ Andersen Global CEO Discusses Legacy of Defunct Audit Giant, Overseas Expansion and EY’s Planned Split
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Mark Maurer | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +8 min

Back then, Arthur Andersen was convicted by a Houston jury of obstructing the government’s investigation into Enron. Mr. Vorsatz—who worked at Arthur Andersen from 1979 to 2002, including as a partner—and several other former partners bought the rights to the name in 2014. WSJ: Andersen Global, unlike Arthur Andersen, has no audit business. Arthur Andersen had a training facility in St. Charles, Ill. WSJ: Do you consider it ironic that Arthur Andersen became the biggest firm and ultimately folded?

☆ Stephen King says he'll quit Twitter if Elon Musk makes him pay $20 a month to be verified: 'they should pay me'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Travis Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk is reportedly considering making people pay $20 per month to stay verified on Twitter. Author Stephen King tweeted that he'll quit the site if that idea is implemented. King tweeted on Monday that he would leave Twitter if the plan is implemented. "$20 a month to keep my blue check? Musk's first few days as Twitter owner have been messy, beyond public figures saying they would leave the site.

"It was early on in my research that I realized that passive index investing has the higher likelihood of success." He told Insider that he currently has 95% of his portfolio invested in Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund, Vanguard Total International Index Fund, and Vanguard Bond Index Fund. "The stock portion is split between international and total stock market index funds," Brandon said. "I've learned a lot over the years that I really like trying to time the market," Brandon said. As it turns out, Brandon said he "doesn't know better than anyone else, because I would've been better off keeping it in Vanguard total index fund."

☆ Jonathan Weil — Reporter at The Wall Street Journal
▼ + stars: | 2000-09-20 | by ( Jonathan Weil | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Jonathan WeilJonathan Weil rejoined The Wall Street Journal in October 2022 as a reporter, covering finance. He previously was an analyst at the investment firms CPMG Inc. and Kynikos Associates, a columnist for Bloomberg News, and a managing director at proxy adviser Glass Lewis & Co.Jonathan started with the Journal in 1997 as a reporter for its Texas regional edition and moved to New York in 2000, where he covered the accounting beat for five years. He won Best in Business Journalism awards from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers in 2009 and 2010. He began his career at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in Little Rock. He is a graduate of the University of Colorado at Boulder and Southern Methodist University School of Law.

Persons: Jonathan Weil Jonathan Weil, Glass Lewis, Jonathan, ” Jonathan Organizations: Wall Street, CPMG Inc, Kynikos Associates, Bloomberg News, Texas, Columbia Journalism, New Yorker, New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants, Business, Society of American Business, Arkansas Democrat, Gazette, University of Colorado, Southern Methodist University School of Law Locations: New York, Little Rock, Boulder

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