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Silicon Valley Bank had $209 billion in assets at the end of last year, while Signature Bank had some $110 billion. The failure of Silicon Valley Bank is a direct result of an absurd 2018 bank deregulation bill signed by (Republican former President) Donald Trump that I strongly opposed," Senator Bernie Sanders said in a statement. he added, saying awareness of the bank's recent growth and business model should have led Fed officials to anticipate trouble. In an op-ed for the New York Times, Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren placed some of the blame at the feet of bank regulators, whom she accused of "letting financial institutions load up on risk." "There won't be legislation getting through Congress, and so regulators will be making the big decisions," he said.

☆ Survivors of deadly raid in east Congo return to torched village
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( Erikas Mwisi Kambale | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUKONDI, Democratic Republic of Congo March 11 (Reuters) - Residents of Mukondi village in eastern Congo inspected the burnt-out remains of their homes on Friday and told how they fled for their lives as rebels cut the throats of people around them. Members the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) struck Mukondi and a neighbouring village overnight on Wednesday, torching buildings and killing at least 39 people and wounding many more, according to the local authorities. "They killed with machetes and lit homes on fire," local chief Kasereka Deogratias said near the blackened wreckage of a building in Mukondi. The attackers said, "Don't bother talking because you're no more useful than the people we've just killed here," Kiviko explained. The violence has destabilised swathes of eastern Congo, driving over 5.5 million people from their homes in what has become the largest internal displacement crisis in Africa, according to the U.N. refugee agency.

LME SPECIAL COMMITTEEA day earlier, on March 7, when LME benchmark nickel prices had soared 66% to nearly $50,000 a tonne, the LME's Special Committee had met, Jane Street's document said. The Committee, which has emergency powers, "concluded that the nickel market remained orderly, since there were geopolitical and macroeconomic reasons for the price increases". The next day, however, when nickel prices skyrocketed, the committee did not meet, the document said. Jane Street executed nickel trades from 1:37 a.m. on March 8 and was due total proceeds on those trades of $32.7 million, it said in the document. The LME is also facing fresh lawsuits from ten hedge funds and asset managers for cancelling nickel trades.

☆ Software firm Blackbaud to pay $3 mln for misleading disclosures on ransomware attack -SEC
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, March 9 (Reuters) - Software company Blackbaud Inc (BLKB.O) has agreed to pay $3 million to settle charges it made misleading disclosures about a 2020 ransomware attack that impacted over 13,000 customers, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on Thursday. In July 2020, the South Carolina-based provider of donor data management software disclosed a ransomware attacker and said the attacker had not accessed bank account information or Social Security numbers of donors, the SEC said. In August 2020, the SEC said, Blackbaud filed a quarterly report with the agency that omitted material information about the scope of the attack. Representatives for Blackbaud, which did not admit or deny the SEC's findings, did not respond immediately to a request for comment. The regulator has pushed public companies and registered entities to make more timely and specific disclosures about cyber attacks.

☆ US Justice Dept warns of steeper penalties for firms that fall foul of messaging policies
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Chris Prentice | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MIAMI, March 3 (Reuters) - Companies may face steeper penalties for misconduct if they lack policies around employees' use of personal cell phones and messaging apps, a top U.S. Justice Department official said on Friday. The agency will evaluate how companies have crafted policies around the use of such platforms and how they have directed employees on those policies. Use of such platforms, including ephemeral messaging apps, can complicate government investigations into wrongdoing if companies do not retain the records. That is an issue that prosecutors will address as they investigate wrongdoing, Polite told Reuters in an interview. "They will be required to report back to us on an annual basis about both the design and implementation of those policies," Polite said.

☆ US Justice Dept to take on corporate policies for personal devices, messaging apps
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Chris Prentice | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MIAMI, March 3 (Reuters) - A top U.S. Justice Department official on Friday will announce details of the agency's plans to scrutinize companies' policies around employee use of personal devices and messaging apps when investigating potential misconduct. Those probes have led to hefty penalties for firms including JPMorgan Chase & Co , Barclays (BARC.L), Bank of America (BAC.N) and Morgan Stanley (MS.N). The agency has more recently opened similar probes into other firms including BlackRock Inc. Polite will also discuss details of a new Justice Department policy aimed at getting companies to tie compensation and bonuses to compliance. He and other officials have been rolling out a series of new policies aimed at tackling corporate crime and encouraging companies to be more proactive in reporting misconduct to the government.

☆ A new generation of airships is taking to the skies
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Rebecca Cairns | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

It’s an airship, and French aeronautics company Flying Whales hopes its hybrid-electric, helium-lift vessel will change the shape of sustainable transport. Flying Whales' airships, pictured here in a render, could access remote locations without roads, railways or airports. That’s why most companies, including Flying Whales and LTA Research, are using helium, which is non-flammable. Prentice is also the founder and president of BASI, a Manitoba-based company specializing in airships adapted for cold climates. Flying Whales expects to test its first airship at the end of 2025, with commercial operations beginning in 2027 once the airship is certified.

Persons: ”, Romain Schlack, Sergey Brin, It’s, Barry Prentice, Prentice, “, Schlack Organizations: CNN, Flying Whales, ” Airship, Research, Google, LTA Research, Moffett, American Chemical Society, Asper School of Business, University of Manitoba, Prentice ., FAA, European Aviation Safety Agency, Libre de Bruxelles, Prentice, Companies, Akron Airdock, Vehicles, Air Vehicles Locations: San Francisco, California, Manitoba, Prentice . California, Belgium, Laruscade, Bordeaux, France, Ohio, San Francisco Bay, England, Quebec, Asia, Canada

In a statement, U.S. Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Polite called the charges a "groundbreaking" effort to prevent the misuse of so-called 10b5-1 trading plans. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission also announced civil insider trading charges against Peizer in a parallel action. Executives can use trading plans under rule 10b5-1 as a defense against insider trading charges by planning to sell shares in advance at predetermined times. In a recent case, the SEC in September charged Cheetah Mobile Inc's (0C9y.F) CEO and its former president with insider trading in connection with a trading plan. The SEC in December voted to make changes to the insider trading programs to address concerns over abuse.

Law firms Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP FollowNEW YORK, Feb 28 (Reuters) - The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has hired a former New York prosecutor with expertise in cryptocurrency and cyber crimes to lead its enforcement unit, the agency said in a statement on Tuesday. CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam in the statement described McGinley as a "leader in combatting modern financial fraud". "His background as a prosecutor with unique experience in commodities, crypto, and cyber-crimes and frauds makes him an ideal person to lead the CFTC’s enforcement team," Behnam said. McGinley, whose appointment is effective immediately, replaces the CFTC's acting director of enforcement and veteran CFTC official Gretchen Lowe. Reporting by Chris Prentice Editing by Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Nineteen athletes wounded after blasts at race in Cameroon
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( Amindeh Blaise Atabong | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

YAOUNDE, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Nineteen athletes were being treated for blast injuries on Saturday after multiple small explosions during a running race in part of western Cameroon where English-speaking separatists are fighting government forces, a local doctor said. There was no immediate comment from authorities in the town of Buea in South-West Region, where 529 athletes were running up the highest mountain in West and Central Africa as they competed in the Mount Cameroon Race of Hope. "Our primary target was the Cameroon elite forces ... that were providing security for the athletes. Another video showed a different explosion going off near a pack of runners elsewhere on the route. Participants in the race included athletes from East, Central and Northern Africa and France.

ABIDJAN/OUAGADOUGOU, Feb 20 (Reuters) - France's defence minister pledged on Monday to boost military support to Ivory Coast, as Paris adjusts its strategy in West Africa after neighbouring Burkina Faso ordered French troops to leave and vowed to curb a worsening Islamist insurgency solo. The two jihadist groups have taken over swathes of land and displaced millions of people in Burkina, Mali and Niger. Burkina Faso has denied an allegation that Russian mercenaries are in the country, but its prime minister in December said it would welcome Russia's help in its fight against the insurgents. OTHER PARTNERSThe countries' rejection of French military help could allow other states in the region to put themselves forward as more reliable partners to Western powers. "Ivory Coast and Benin have the will to fight against terrorism," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

☆ Body of Ghana soccer player Atsu arrives home in Accra
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] The body of late Ghanaian soccer player, Christian Atsu Twasam, 31, who died in the earthquake in Turkey, arrives at the Kotoka International Airport in Accra, Ghana. REUTERS/Francis KokorokoACCRA, Feb 20 (Reuters) - The body of Ghana winger Christian Atsu was flown home to Accra on Sunday evening, the day after he was found dead under a collapsed building in southern Turkey. Atsu had been missing since the Feb. 6 earthquake following the collapse of an apartment building in Hatay. "We hoped against hope, every day that passed, we prayed and prayed. "We would like to express our deepest condolences to his wife and children, the family, loved ones and the football community," the Ghana Football Association said on Saturday.

☆ Burkina Faso marks official end of French military operations on its soil
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( Thiam Ndiaga | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Head of Burkina Faso's army Colonel Adam Nere receives a flag from French Lieutenant-Colonel Louis Lecacheur during a military handover ceremony to officially mark the end of French military operations on Burkinabe soil, at the base of Kamboincin, Burkina Faso February 18, 2023. Burkina Faso's General Staff of the Armed Forces/Handout via REUTERSOUAGADOUGOU, Feb 19 (Reuters) - France and Burkina Faso have officially marked the end of French military operations in the West African nation, the Burkinabe armed forces said on Sunday, after a flag-lowering ceremony at the French special forces' camp a day earlier. In a statement, the General Staff of the Burkinabe Armed Forces said it had participated with the leadership of France's Sabre special forces in "a solemn flag-lowering ceremony marking the official end of the Task Force's operations on Burkinabe soil". The French armed forces ministry did not respond to a request for comment. The departure of the some 400 French special forces from Burkina Faso follows a sharp deterioration in relations that included Ouagadougou asking France to recall its ambassador.

Prime Trust made $650 million in wire transfer deposits into the Binance.US account during the quarter, the bank records show. The Binance global exchange, Binance CEO Zhao and Prime Trust did not respond to detailed questions about the transfers. Among the dealers on Binance.US was Merit Peak, according to company messages, the trading firm managed by CEO Zhao. From January to March 2021, the account records show that Merit Peak received 89 transfers from the Binance.US SEN account totalling $404 million. These transfers often immediately followed a deposit into the Binance.US account by Prime Trust, the crypto custodian firm for Binance.US client funds.

☆ Ghana says domestic debt swap closed with over 80% participation
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Christian Akorlie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ACCRA, Feb 14 (Reuters) - The Ghanaian finance ministry said its domestic debt exchange programme (DDEP) had closed on Tuesday with more than 80% participation of eligible bonds, taking it a step closer to securing a $3 billion International Monetary Fund bailout. Ghana is fighting its way out of a generational economic crisis by hiking interest rates at record speed, cutting spending, and restructuring debt to secure IMF funds. "Attention will now turn to the eurobonds, where restructuring talks are at a much earlier stage, and which could be even more complicated," Culverhouse said. Ghana became early this year the fourth nation to apply to the common framework platform, an initiative of Group of 20 major economies launched in 2020 to streamline debt restructuring efforts for poorer countries. Its bilateral lenders are discussing the formation of an official creditor committee, a first step needed to engage in debt relief talks, sources told Reuters on Monday.

☆ Five killed in gun attack on Cameroon farm workers
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Amindeh Blaise Atabong | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

YAOUNDE, Feb 10 (Reuters) - At least five banana plantation workers were killed and several wounded on Friday in Cameroon’s Southwest region that is riven by separatist violence, a union leader said. The unidentified assailants shot at a truck carrying employees of Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC) - the country's largest state-owned agro-industrial firm whose workers have previously been targeted by Anglophone armed separatists fighting for an independent state. The ambush took place at around 5:30 p.m. local time near the town of Tiko after the labourers finished their work, said Gabriel Mbene Vefonge, president of the Cameroon Agricultural and Allied Workers Trade Union (CAAWOTU). They killed three other workers who were sitting in front before shooting sporadically," Vefonge told Reuters by phone, confirming that five were killed in total. Since then, thousands have been killed in the central African state, and rebels and government troops have taken turns to commit grievous atrocities.

☆ One peacekeeper killed in Congo after U.N. chopper comes under fire
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo Feb 5 (Reuters) - One U.N. peacekeeper from South Africa was killed in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Sunday when a helicopter operated by the peacekeeping force came under fire while in mid-air, the U.N. mission in Congo and South Africa's military said. The helicopter came under fire after taking off from the city of Beni in the early afternoon. The U.N. peacekeeping mission of around 18,200 personnel has been deployed in eastern Congo since taking over from a previous U.N. operation in 2010. Eight peacekeepers were killed last year when their helicopter crashed in a part of North Kivu province, where the Congolese army was fighting a rebel group known as the M23. Reporting by Fiston Mahamba, Erikas Mwisi Kambale, Sonia Rolley Editing by Alessandra Prentice and Lisa ShumakerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Mali says Russia's Lavrov to visit to strengthen defence ties
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BAMAKO, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will pay a two-day visit to Mali this week, the Malian foreign ministry said on Sunday, describing the visit as a reflection of a shared wish to strengthen defence and security ties. "This high-level visit is in line with the political choice made by the Transitional Government to expand and diversify strategic partnerships," the Malian ministry said in a statement. Last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin told Mali that Moscow was committed to strengthening cooperation to help root out the militants. Mali has previously said Russian forces in the country are not mercenaries but trainers helping local troops with equipment bought from Russia. Lavrov is currently in Baghdad for talks on improving bilateral ties and energy cooperation.

[1/2] The Activision booth is shown at the E3 2017 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, California, U.S. June 13, 2017. REUTERS/ Mike Blake/File PhotoWASHINGTON/NEW YORK, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Activision Blizzard Inc (ATVI.O) has agreed to pay $35 million to settle U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charges that it failed to have systems in place to properly handle employee complaints and violated whistleblower protection rules, the regulator said on Friday. The SEC said the company knew employee retention issues were "a particularly important risk in its business" but did not have adequate measures in place to manage workplace misconduct complaints between 2018 and 2021. Representatives for Activision Blizzard, which did not admit or deny the SEC's charges, said in a statement they were "pleased to have amicably resolved this matter" and had "enhanced" their workplace reporting and contract language. Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O), which makes Xbox, had made a $69 billion bid to acquire Activision Blizzard, but the Federal Trade Commission asked a judge in December to block the transaction.

☆ U.S. securities regulator probes investment advisers over crypto custody -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Chris Prentice | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NEW YORK, Jan 26 (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is probing registered investment advisers over whether they are meeting rules around custody of client crypto assets, three sources with knowledge of the inquiry told Reuters. SEC enforcement staff are asking investment advisers for details around what the firms did to assess custody for platforms including FTX, one of the sources said. By law, investment advisers cannot have custody of client funds or securities if they do not meet certain requirements to protect the assets. "This is an obvious compliance issue for investment advisers. Under Democratic leadership, the SEC has made crypto a priority area for enforcement, nearly doubling the size of its crypto team last year.

☆ With eyes on FTX bankruptcy, U.S. regulator seeks more due diligence authority
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Chris Prentice | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, Jan 26 (Reuters) - A top official with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is pressing lawmakers to give regulators authority to dig into the books of any firm seeking to acquire significant interest in any registered market player. Without this, unregistered firms can buy their way into U.S.-regulated markets without meaningfully opening their books to regulators, she said. The Commission needs Congress to give the agency authority to conduct due diligence to protect customers and maintain market stability, she said. Questions have mounted over due diligence in crypto following a string of bankruptcies and the announcement in December of U.S. charges against FTX's founder and former head Sam Bankman-Fried for allegedly committing fraud. Reuters has previously reported details of FTX's strategy of "acquisitions for regulatory purposes", including Ledger X, which gave the company three CFTC licenses in one swoop.

☆ U.S. securities regulator awards whistleblowers more than $28 million
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NEW YORK, Jan 24 (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday said it has awarded a whistleblower payout of more than $28 million to joint tipsters who shared "critical information" for one of the agency's enforcement actions. The whistleblowers, who were not identified, provided information that prompted the opening of an SEC investigation and ultimately to a successful action, the agency said. The SEC did not disclose which enforcement action was involved. The SEC has paid more than $1.3 billion in over 300 awards to individuals for their information through fiscal 2022, the agency said in November. Its largest-ever payout of $114 million went to a single tipster in October 2020.

☆ Rwanda shoots at Congolese military jet over alleged airspace violation
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A video shared widely on Congolese social media showed a projectile shooting towards an airborne military plane, before exploding in the air near the plane, which continued to fly. Congo denied Rwanda's accusation that the jet had been in Rwandan airspace - the latest dispute between the two countries whose relationship has been strained by a rebel insurgency. Earlier the Rwandan government said Rwandan forces had fired at the jet after it violated Rwandan airspace in Rubavu - the same area as previous alleged violations, "prompting the government to take defensive measures." Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi said last week that the rebels had not fully withdrawn from those areas. In December, Rwanda said another fighter jet from Congo had briefly violated its air space.

☆ Life's no longer rosy at Senegal's Pink Lake after floods
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Ngouda Dione | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/6] A general view of the submerged tourism businesses at the Pink Lake (Lac Rose), officially known as Lake Retba, after extreme floods washed away salt mounts and contaminated the lake and turned its famous waters from pink to green, in Niaga, near Dakar, Senegal, January 17, 2023. REUTERS/ Zohra BensemraNIAGA, Senegal, Jan 24 (Reuters) - On the shore of Senegal's Pink Lake, salt farmer Pape Sira Ba has raked in what he fears may be his last harvest. Nearby, the new wide channel spewed brownish-green water into the lake whose shore was dotted with dead fish. The flooding destroyed 7,000 tonnes of salt worth around 420 million CFA francs ($696,000), according to the Lake Retba salt extractors association. "The over-salinisation of the water also allowed visitors to float on top of the lake like in the Dead Sea.

☆ Bloomberg to pay $5 mln to settle SEC charges related to fixed-income valuations
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Chris Prentice | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Bloomberg failed to disclose to customers of its BVAL service that its daily price valuations for fixed-income securities could be based on a single data input from at least 2016 to October 2022, the SEC said in a statement. Bloomberg did not admit or deny the SEC's charges and a spokesperson for the company declined to comment. While it found no evidence Bloomberg listed any erroneous prices, the agency said there were instances when its valuations were not derived in accordance with its stated methodologies. For a "very small fraction of total reported valuations", Bloomberg determined prices of certain fixed income securities based on "uncorroborated single broker quotes", the SEC's order said. The SEC "will hold service providers, such as Bloomberg, accountable for misrepresentations that impact investors," said Osman Nawaz, chief of the SEC enforcement division's complex financial products unit.

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