The first trial linked to the Varsity Blues scandal is officially underway, with defense lawyers heavily emphasizing how the parents accused of fraud and bribery conspiracy were victims in a scheme perpetrated by a con man, according to their opening statements on Monday. Two fathers, both successful businessmen, are on trial this month over their alleged participation in a widespread criminal scheme to fraudulently secure college admissions for their children. Gamal Abdelaziz, a former casino… Source link

The federal judge overseeing the criminal fraud trial of former Theranos CEO and Silicon Valley biotech entrepreneur Elizabeth Holmes on Monday denied a request by her co-defendant Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani for guaranteed access to the high-profile proceedings. “Mr. Balwani hereby moves this Court to reserve two seats for members of his defense team at Ms. Holmes’ trial in order to maintain a level playing field between the defense and prosecution leading up to Mr. Balwani’s trial,”… Source link

As a result of worsening supply chain disruption in Vietnam, BTIG has downgraded Nike’s (NKE) rating from Buy to Neutral. “We believe the risk of significant cancellations beginning this holiday and running through at least next spring has risen materially for NKE as it is now facing at least two months of virtually no unit production at its Vietnamese factories which accounted for 51% of footwear and 30% of apparel units,” said BTIG senior analyst Camilo Lyon, in a recent note. Over the… Source link

The threat of higher taxes in 2022 and their impact on the bottom lines of companies — and potentially the stock market — has returned to center stage after a summertime slumber.  But by and large, investors don’t appear to either care or don’t realize the risks to companies associated with higher taxes.  “The market appears to be only partially pricing an increased tax rate in 2022,” said Goldman Sachs chief U.S. equities strategist David Kostin in a research note on Monday. “Prediction… Source link

Crypto investors got a fresh injection of volatility on Monday, after Litecoin (LTC-USD) spiked — then quickly tanked — after news of a partnership with Walmart (WMT) was exposed as a hoax. Litecoin rallied as high at 25% in under half an hour, after a fake announcement circulated early Monday that stated the U.S. retail giant would allow customers to pay in the digital currency. It spurred LTC up from $174 to a session high of $232 — before it came back to earth once Walmart knocked… Source link

Count Rick Rieder, BlackRock’s chief investment officer of global fixed income, as a believer in cryptocurrencies.  “I think it could have some real upside. My sense is there are more buyers than sellers. It’s an asset class that I think is durable,” Rieder said on Yahoo Finance Live.  Rieder revealed he owns “small pieces” of crypto in several of his bigger portfolios, and compares the positions to owning stakes in venture capital firms.  “Quite frankly, I am glad I do [own crypto]. This… Source link

As you’re all well aware, given the current financial, political, and social environment, there’s never been a more interesting, and dare I say, important time to be a financial journalist. As the market leader in digital business news and data, Yahoo Finance attracts droves of readers who come for our trusted content and best-in-class reporting. And as the marketplace continues to evolve, we’re looking to continue growing in areas like crypto, fintech, and personal finance. To that end,… Source link

Amazon (AMZN) is facing expanded antitrust claims in an amended lawsuit originally brought against the e-commerce giant in May by the Attorney General for the District of Columbia. The original suit, filed in May, accused Amazon of illegally abusing its monopoly power and violating the District of Columbia Antitrust Act by forbidding third-party sellers from offering cheaper rates for their products on competing websites. In the amended suit, Washington, DC Attorney General Karl Racine adds… Source link

BWH Hotel Group announced Monday that President and CEO David Kong will be retiring at the end of the year. His successor will be announced at the company’s Annual Convention on Oct. 7. The longest serving CEO of any major hotel company, Kong transformed Best Western over his 17-year tenure, growing the company from one brand to 18, covering nearly every segment of the industry, with 4,500 hotels in 100 countries. He leaves as the hospitality sector faces a rocky recovery from the COVID-19… Source link

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) signaled a big change in policing cryptocurrencies last week, as one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world revealed it was blocked from launching a new crypto lending product. As Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong explained, the SEC took issue with the company’s plans to pay interest to customers so they could earn up to 4% on their crypto assets. The particular crypto asset Coinbase was preparing to offer 4% on was the least volatile asset… Source link