Hong Kong police arrested 12 people for running alleged “ramp and dump” stock scams and over money laundering after raids on luxury homes and brokerages across the city. The joint operation with the Securities and Future Commission seized HK$900 million ($116 million) in assets and arrested 7 men and 5 women, the police announced at a press briefing on Friday. They are being held on market manipulation, money laundering and fraud charges. The alleged crimes involve so-called “ramp and dump” schemes, where a stock is bid up and then touted on social media before it’s sold, leaving other investors with … Continue reading Hong Kong arrests 12, seizes $116 million in broad stock scam

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd is considering two sites in Arizona and another one in New York in addition to Austin, Texas, for a new $17 billion chip plant, according to documents filed with Texas state officials. The tech giant is also seeking combined tax abatements of $1.48 billion over 20 years from Travis County in Texas and the city of Austin, it added in the documents dated Feb. 26, up from the $805.5 million previously mentioned. Samsung is in talks with the sites at Arizona and New York, with each offering property tax abatement and “significant grants and/or refundable tax … Continue reading Samsung considers four sites in U.S for $17 billion chip plant

A top Nike executive in the US has resigned from the company after 25 years after her son’s booming sneaker resale business became public, Ann Hebert, Nike’s general manager for North America, stepped down following the Bloomberg Businessweek article. It reported the son used a credit card in her name to purchase shoes for his business, which he resold for a profit. Nike defended Ms Hebert’s conduct, saying she had disclosed her son’s West Coast Streetwear firm in 2018. “There was no violation of company policy, privileged information or conflicts of interest, nor is there any commercial affiliation between WCS LLC … Continue reading Nike exec quits after son’s trainer resale firm revealed

Elon Musk has made an estimated $1 billion betting on Bitcion, but Bill Gates warns that anyone with less money than the electric carmaker should “probably watch out.” Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Both billionaires have a point, Musk appeared to ballyhoo Bitcoin following his investment and has playfully tweeted about Dogecoin, a cryptocurrency launched as a parody. Musk is making money on crypto, and his often light-hearted tweets suggest he’s laughing all the way to the bank. Gates appears to be concerned about individual investors who may be dazzled by Bitcoin’s recent rise. “Elon has tons of money and he’s very sophisticated, so … Continue reading Billionaire Bitcoin Battle: Elon Musk praises Crypto, Bill Gates warns investors to ‘Watch Out’

Chinese investment in Australia plummeted 61% in 2020, the lowest number in six years, the drop in investment comes amid a growing diplomatic rift between the two countries. The Australian National University’s Chinese Investment in Australia Database (CHIIA) recorded just over $780m (A$1bn ; £550m) in investment. Only 20 Chinese investments were recorded in 2020, well below the 2016 peak of 111, last year’s decline came on top of a 47% drop from 2019, when Chinese investment totalled $1.57bn. Dr Shiro Armstrong, director of the East Asian Bureau of Economic Research, where CHIIA is based, said the decline in Chinese … Continue reading Chinese investment in Australia plummets 61%

Apple has acquired about 100 companies over the last six years, the company’s chief executive Tim Cook has revealed. That works out at a company every three to four weeks, he told Apple’s annual meeting of shareholders on Tuesday. Apple recently delivered its largest quarter by revenue of all time, bringing in $111.4bn (£78.7bn) in the first-quarter of its fiscal year 2021. Mr Cook told the shareholders meeting that the acquisitions are mostly aimed at acquiring technology and talent. Apple’s largest acquisition in the last decade was its $3bn purchase of Beats Electronics, the headphone maker founded by rapper and … Continue reading Apple buys a company every three to four weeks

China has regained its position as India’s top trading partner despite a decaying relationship between the Asian neighbours. The two countries were involved in a bloody border conflict last year and saw India ban 220 Chinese tech apps, but that did not stop China leapfrogging the US in 2020 to become India’s biggest trade partner. Two-way trade between the long-standing economic and strategic Asian rivals stood at $77.7bn (£55.2bn) last year. Although this figure was lower than the previous year’s $85.5bn total, it was enough to make China India’s largest commercial partner, according to provisional data from Delhi’s commerce ministry. … Continue reading China regains slot as India’s top trade partner despite tensions

A man who became a key player in frenzied trading of GameStop shares last month has been hit with a class action lawsuit. Keith Gill, known as ‘Roaring Kitty’ on YouTube, allegedly duped retail investors into buying inflated stocks while hiding his sophisticated financial background. Mr Gill has downplayed his impact and rebutted claims he violated any laws. Separately, he will testify on Thursday to Congress about the “Reddit rally”. “The idea that I used social media to promote GameStop stock to unwitting investors is preposterous,” Mr Gill said in the prepared testimony. “I was abundantly clear that my channel … Continue reading GameStop Saga: Investor hit with lawsuit

German apparel company Adidas is preparing to offload its struggling Reebok brand, the firm announced Tuesday.  Adidas acquired Reebok in 2006 for roughly $3.8 billion in an attempt to better compete with Nike, but the brand has posted disappointing sales figures in recent years. Adidas said Tuesday that it has begun a formal process to divest from Reebok, pivoting to focus on its core brand.  “After careful consideration, we have come to the conclusion that Reebok and adidas will be able to significantly better realize their growth potential independently of each other,” Adidas CEO Kasper Rorsted said in a statement. … Continue reading Adidas is selling Reebok after defending the $3.8 billion purchase for years

Russia’s richest man Vladimir Potanin has set a new wealth record despite his mining giant Norilsk Nickel being slapped this month with a $2 billion fine over an Arctic fuel spill.Vladimir Potanin is said by Forbes to be worth over $30 billion Potanin’s fortune has crossed the $30 billion threshold, Forbes reported, in a new record for a Russian business owner.  Shares in the company, also known as Nornickel, have risen by some 40 percent over the past year as a result of a sharp increase in prices of non-ferrous metals such as nickel and palladium.  The Russian company is … Continue reading Russian magnate breaks wealth record despite pollution fine

German prosecutors reportedly are holding about 1,700 bitcoin confiscated from a bitcoin miner, but the man won’t give them his password to unlock the cryptocurrency.  “We asked him but he didn’t say,” Sebastian Murer, a prosecutor, told Reuters. “Perhaps he doesn’t know.” At time of writing, the stash was worth about $67.9 million.   The bitcoin miner, who was from Kempten, Bavaria, was not named in the report. He was sentenced to about two years in prison after installing bitcoin mining software on others’ computers, using them remotely to build a sum of bitcoin, according to Reuters. He reportedly kept his mined … Continue reading A bitcoin stash worth $68 million was seized by German police but the owner has refused to give up his password

Hongkong property developer, Wharf Holdings Ltd. teamed up with other Hong Kong property tycoons to win a premium land site in the luxurious Peak area for a record-breaking price. Buildings are seen from Victoria Peak in Hong Kong, China. The consortium includes a Wharf subsidiary, an entity owned by Sino Land Co.’s Chairman Robert Ng, C C Land Holdings Ltd.’s Cheung Chung Kiu, Chinese Estates Holdings Ltd.’s Chan Hoi Wan and her brother-in-law Thomas Lau. It won the residential land for HK$7.25 billion ($935 million), a government statement showed late Wednesday. The 54,541 square-foot (5,067 square-meter) site can produce a maximum of … Continue reading Hong Kong Sells Record-Breaking Land to Wharf, Tycoons