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Showing posts from December, 2022

South Korean crypto fraud executives jailed

The latest court action puts seven V Global executives behind bars, including the 22-year-old CEO. Six executives involved in the $1.5 billion (2 trillion won) V Global crypto exchange fraud received up to eight years in prison. Three were not detained so they could fight certain charges in court. V Global recruited 50,000 investors between July 2020 and April 2021 by promising 300% returns and referral bonuses. According to a translation of Dec. 26 reports from South Korean media, Mr. Yang and Mr. Oh got eight and three years for defrauding investors. Unnamed executives received 3-year sentences and 5-year probation. Three of the six haven't been detained because they claim innocence and can defend themselves in court. "The defendants only trusted VGlobal's management team, evaded responsibility, and once the investigation began, they destroyed evidence and interfered with it," the judge said. The judge gave the defendants leniency because the amount of fraud and num

Nifty loses 18150 points, while the Sensei falls 250 points, on Covid-19 worries; ITC and Axis Bank top decliners.

Today's Share Market News | Sensex, Nifty, and Share Prices LIVE: The main Indian indices opened with gains on the back of favorable global cues. While the BSE Sensex increased more than 200 points to 61,299.90, the NSE Nifty 50 was up 0.5% to 18,290.00.  The Bank Nifty was solidly in the green, trading around 42,800. Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel, Sun Pharma, State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, and Kotak led the majority of Sensex stocks in the upward direction. NTPC, Maruti Suzuki, IndusInd Bank, and L&T were the worst performers on the index.  In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices each gained 0.42 % in line with the benchmark indices. IT, Real Estate, Metals, and PSBs topped the rally by sector. Reliance Industries shares climbed 0.5% after Reliance Retail's acquisition of a 100% stake in METRO Cash & Carry India for Rs 2,850 crore. Live Updates on the Share Market Today | Sensex, Nifty, BSE, NSE, Share Prices, Stock Market News December 22nd, Thursday

Wells Fargo settles with the CFPB for $3.7 billion for consumer abuses.

Wells Fargo and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau reached a $3.7 billion settlement involving customer abuses related to checking accounts, mortgages, and auto loans, with some of the misconduct occurring as recently as this year. The business was sentenced to pay a record-breaking $1.7 billion civil penalty and more than $2 billion to 16 million customers, according to a statement from the CFPB. The San Francisco-based bank stated in a separate statement that many of the settlement's "necessary activities" have already been accomplished. "The bank's illegal behavior caused billions of dollars in financial harm to its customers, and thousands of customers lost their automobiles and homes," the agency said in a press release. The bank improperly charged fees and interest on auto and mortgage loans, wrongfully seized consumers' vehicles, and misapplied payments to auto and mortgage debts. The breadth of malfeasance outlined by the CFPB demonstrates

60 billion pound financing package for English authorities

Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, has today (19 December 2022) agreed a nearly £60 billion package for councils in England for the next fiscal year, ensuring that councils can continue to provide essential frontline services. The settlement means councils throughout England will receive an additional £5 billion, a 9% increase over last year's settlement, as the government continues to support councils and public services despite mounting financial pressures. The agreement for the following year contains a one-time Funding Guarantee that ensures every council in England will get at least a 3% increase in core spending power before any local decisions are made regarding council tax. Alongside this, the government confirmed today a new £100 million scheme for councils to safeguard the most vulnerable households from council tax hikes, fulfilling the campaign pledge to protect local taxpayers from excessive increases. Social care is also a priority, with the govern

The sanctions system prohibits trust services for Russia.

Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation administers the British system (OFSI). The government imposes these measures to achieve certain foreign policy or national security goals. Recent years have witnessed a lot of modifications to the regime, which is supported by various pieces of law. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has already produced recommendations to help businesses understand their responsibilities. The government has enacted amendments prohibiting the provision of trust services to individuals with ties to Russia (unless the services were supplied immediately prior to the regulations taking effect) or to a designated person. On 16 December 2022, the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) (Amendment) (No. 17) Regulations entered into force. Paul Philip, chief executive officer of the SRA, stated, "Strengthening the financial sanctions framework is a crucial component of the government's response to the war in Europe, and law firms play a crucial role. The penalt

China is anticipated to contribute to the global economic recovery in 2023.

As a result of the robustness and potential of its economy, economists anticipate that China will continue to be a dependable and significant driver of global economic growth in 2023. China has maintained the overall stability of its economy despite multiple challenges this year by effectively coordinating COVID-19 policy with economic and social development, and by introducing a series of stimulus packages to support enterprises, stabilize consumer prices, and boost global investor confidence. The annual Central Economic Work Conference, which was held in Beijing from Thursday to Friday, projected that China's economic performance in 2023 will have a general rebound and improvement. The Central Economic Work Conference, which elaborated on the fiscal and monetary, industrial, research and technology, and social policies for 2023, made economic stability a major priority and urged sustained progress while ensuring economic stability for the following year. According to a meeting ca

In 2023, the pace of economic growth in Malaysia is expected to slow.

Economists said on Thursday that the Malaysian economy will slow down in 2023 because of tough conditions outside the country and slower domestic demand. In a report, Maybank Investment Bank Research said that it expects Malaysia's full-year growth to slow down to 4% in 2023, down from 8% in 2022. This is mostly because domestic demand will have slowed down. The research firm thinks that private consumption will grow more slowly next year as people spend the money they have been saving since the economy fully reopened. This will be made worse by the effects of high inflation and high interest rates on the cost of living and real disposable income. It also predicts that the growth of public consumption will slow down, which is in line with the fact that the government will spend less on operating costs in Budget 2023. It also said that because the world economy is expected to grow more slowly, exports and imports of goods and services will fall. The growth of Malaysia's gross do

Post and rail workers walk out as strikes build

Rail workers will go on strike for a second day, along with Royal Mail employees and driving examiners. On a day when snow, ice, and fog restricted road and air travel, rail services were operating at around one-fifth of capacity due to a strike by rail workers. On Wednesday, around fifty percent of rail lines will be closed, with no service in the majority of Scotland and Wales. This week is also anticipated to mark the first-ever nationwide strike by nurses. In addition, on Friday, rail workers, bus drivers, baggage handlers, highway employees, and driving examiners will strike. Later in the week, the emergency Cobra committee of the government will conduct its second meeting of the week to examine how to minimize the impact of the wave of industrial action. Industrial action by 115,000 members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) coincides with Royal Mail's busiest season, when people and businesses send Christmas cards and gifts. Some parcel companies assert that the Royal

Al-Falih: Saudi riyal remains stable amid global changes

RIYADH — Khalid Al-Falih, the Minister of Investment, talked about how stable Saudi Arabia's monetary policy and currency are. "All currencies around the world went up and down, except for the Saudi riyal, which stayed stable because of the Kingdom's smart economic policy. "The debt rate in the world economy as a whole is going up, even in the leading countries, while the debt rate in the Kingdom is going down to 25%," he said on Sunday at the Saudi Budget Forum 2023 in Riyadh. Al-Falih said that Saudi Arabia's budget was "historic," especially given the problems the world is facing. The minister said that the Kingdom has the fastest growing economy in the world. He told those who say that the rise in oil prices is the only reason the Saudi economy is growing that the non-oil economy grew at a rate of 6%. Al-Falih praised the stability of the Kingdom in terms of laws, policies, and the way the private sector was given more power. He pointed out that

Indonesia's financial regulations are slated for a significant revision. Here's how it may appear

After two years of failed attempts and market resistance, Indonesia is poised to approve substantial reforms to its financial sector legislation as early as this week. The new bill aims to broaden the central bank's mandate and bolster its authority to purchase government assets in times of crisis, as it has done for the past three years to bolster Southeast Asia's largest economy. By the end of 2022, the central bank will have purchased 1.144 quadrillion rupiah ($73 billion) in debt instruments. In addition, the measure tries to align legislation with the fast growing fields of financial technology and cryptocurrency. The plan is scheduled to be put to a vote this week, after the finance panel approved it on December 8. Here's what you should know about the reform of the banking sector: Why is Indonesia revising its financial legislation? Existing regulations are convoluted and frequently inconsistent or overlapping. Given the current development in fintech and the central

The U.S. economy and S&P 500 face a difficult landing if the Federal Reserve does not do this.

The largest reason for optimism that a recession caused by the Federal Reserve can be avoided next year has just been edited away. The upward adjustments to hourly pay in September and October, followed by an even greater increase in November, pushed wage growth well beyond the range consistent with the Fed's inflation objective of 2%. In actuality, there is a growing consensus that the only way for the U.S. economy to avoid a harsh landing and a worse decline for the S&P 500 is for the Fed to lift its inflation objective. Prior to halting its rate hikes, the Federal Reserve may be willing to do so, but would require additional cooling. Joe Brusuelas, chief economist at RSM, told IBD that the 2% inflation target "is a lot more elastic than the Fed is letting on, because I don't think there's any constituency out there for the bloodletting that would be necessary" to achieve it. According to Brusuelas, the Fed would need to increase unemployment to 6.7% in orde

Focus of the Fed on the Labor Market

In his presentation on Wednesday (November 30) at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC, Federal Reserve (Fed) president Jerome Powell signaled a lesser increase in the US basic interest rate at the December 14 FOMC meeting.  After four consecutive meetings with rises of 75 basis points, expectations increasingly concentrate on a raise of only 50 basis points this time. From nearly zero in March, the basic rate would end the year between 4.25 and 4.5% per annum. Powell emphasized, however, that inflation in the United States remains elevated. In the 12 months leading up to October, he estimated that inflation in personal consumer spending was 6% per year. In order to reduce annual inflation to 2%, interest rates must rise to restrictive levels.  He stated that the Fed has extra ground to cover, suggesting that there will be an additional increase in interest rates in 2023. He stated that the objective of monetary tightening is to limit demand growth relative to aggregate supply,

European markets are subdued as global economic anxiety dominates sentiment.

By midmorning, the pan-European Stoxx 600 was down 0.2%, with telecoms down 1.2% and oil and gas companies up 0.5%. Next week, the Federal Reserve is likely to increase interest rates by 50 basis points. Despite the fact that this would be a lesser rise than recent rate hikes, investors are growing increasingly concerned about the central bank's ability to prevent a recession in 2019 in its effort to combat inflation. U.S. stock futures were marginally lower on Thursday morning, following the S&P 500's fifth consecutive day of losses, as Wall Street considered the likelihood of a market decline. Overnight, sentiment increased in the Asia-Pacific region. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong increased by more than 3 percent on Thursday after a local news site claimed that the city is exploring additional softening of Covid regulations, including as dropping its outside mask rule and eliminating required testing for arrivals. In the meantime, the bulk of other markets in the regio

President Xi Jinping of China is currently on a state visit to Saudi Arabia.

This week, the leader of China, Xi Jinping, is in Saudi Arabia to participate in two regional summits as part of ongoing efforts to jumpstart economic growth that has been hampered by stringent anti-COVID-19 policies. The Chinese Foreign Ministry announced on Wednesday that President Xi will travel to Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, where he will participate in the first China-Arab States Summit and meet with the heads of state of the six nations that make up the Gulf Cooperation Council. On Saturday, he will return home from his official visit to Saudi Arabia. Attendance by President Xi at the China-Arab States Summit is being hailed as the "largest and highest-level diplomatic event between China and the Arab world since the founding of the People's Republic of China" and "will become an epoch-making milestone in the history of China-Arab relations," a spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry told reporters at a daily briefing on Wednesday. Xi's particip

After the demise of FTX, Goldman Sachs apparently intends to acquire cryptocurrency companies.

Mathew McDermott, a Goldman Sachs executive, stated that his firm is already conducting due diligence on a number of cryptocurrency companies. As the current FTX crisis impacts crypto company valuations, the financial services firm Goldman Sachs intends to invest millions to purchase or invest in crypto companies while their prices are low. Mathew McDermott, an executive at Goldman Sachs, reportedly stated in an interview with the mainstream media outlet Reuters that large banks see opportunities in the market as a result of the FTX crash highlighting the need for additional regulation within the business. The CEO noted that the company is now observing chances that are "more reasonably priced" and is conducting due diligence on a number of crypto startups. McDermott stated in his analysis of the FTX catastrophe that the market's attitude experienced setbacks. Nonetheless, the traditional finance executive emphasized that although FTX has become the "poster child&quo

When Is the Best Time of Day to Invest in Cryptocurrencies?

Keep in mind that the bitcoin market operates around the clock, seven days a week, unlike the regular stock market. Bitcoin may be purchased around the clock, across the world, by anybody with access to the internet. A recent study indicated that the best days to purchase Bitcoin are Sundays and Mondays, when the price of the cryptocurrency is at its lowest. With trading volumes decreasing across the board on Sunday evenings, now is the time to buy Bitcoin. The CME Group, a major US derivatives exchange, closes down on weekends. Institutional investors account for a sizable portion of Bitcoin's daily volume, which exceeds $500 million. What Time Is Best To Invest In Cryptocurrency? It can be challenging to time your trades to a specific time of day in the cryptocurrency market because of the 24-hour nature of the market and the fact that it continues to trade even into the early morning hours (regardless of your time zone). The statistics from a few months, though, do reveal some b

Strike, a Bitcoin Exchange, Raise $80M in Series B Funding

  Bitcoin payment processor Strike has raised an additional $20 million in Series B funding, bringing the total to $80 million. A statement issued on Tuesday indicated that Ten31, a VC firm that focuses on Bitcoin companies, was the driving force behind the funding round. There were, however, additional financial contributions from Wyoming's University and Washington University in St. Louis. Stike will use the funds to strengthen its existing relationships with area businesses. The Lightning Network, which is used by Strike, is designed to speed up Bitcoin transactions, making it more practical for use in everyday transactions like buying goods online. Strike's CEO and founder Jack Mallers was quoted as saying in a statement, "any organization that is in the business of transferring money is interested in superior payments" and "we're in talks with many of them." "Any organization that is in the business of transferring money is interested in superi

Can Cryptocurrency Be Sold Short? (Details To Be Made Public In 2023)

What if you believe the price of cryptocurrency will decrease? Is there still a way to profit from it? Is it possible to profit from this market without owning any cryptocurrency? This is not as far-fetched as it may sound. Let us explain the concept of "short selling" to you. "Shorting" is the common term for this practice. You can profit from this strategy if you believe an asset's value will decline in the future. Understanding the difference between a crypto currency and token is something that many people have had to educate themselves on recently. Come on, let's shed some light on this! Simply put, what is the definition of "shorting"? Let's define "short" before we dive into how to do it with crypto. Traditional trading is based on the principle of "buy low, sell high." Simply said, shorting is the inverse of this strategy, where one buys at a high price and sells at a low price. When you anticipate a price drop, you

What Role Does SEBI Play in the Forex Trading Industry in India?

  Let's get straight to the point: engaging in currency trading is perfectly legal in India. Indian traders have access to a variety of online forex trading services provided by forex brokers. However, it is essential to keep in mind that the trading of foreign currencies in India is subject to a number of restrictions and legislation. The Reserve Bank of India (often abbreviated as RBI) is India's primary governing body for the foreign exchange market. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has implemented stringent rules and guidelines for foreign exchange trading. For example, residents of India are prohibited from trading foreign exchange on margin. It is also essential to take note of the fact that forex brokers in India are not permitted to provide leveraged forex trading to their customers. Leverage is a feature that gives traders the ability to trade with more money than they really have in their accounts at any given time. As a result, foreign exchange brokers in India are on