Tag: Market News (Page 1 of 61)

New Petition to Mandate Supplying Blue Sheets Pops Up

Market News Daily - New Petition to Mandate Supplying Blue Sheets Pops Up.
Market News Daily – New Petition to Mandate Supplying Blue Sheets Pops Up.

A new petition to mandate supplying blue sheets to public companies has popped up on social media in the wake of the MMTLP Scandal.

Investors who held shares of MMTLP stock on the record date of December 12 would receive a preferred dividend of Next Bridge Hydrocarbon on Wednesday, December the 14th.

However, MMTLP stock stopped trading on Thursday, December 8 after FINRA delisted the security without notice or warning.

A motion was filed in April at the Supreme Court of New York by Mark Basile on behalf of an MMTLP investor requesting FINRA for MMTLP blue sheets.

Electronic Blue Sheet (EBS) data files, which contain both trading and account holder information, provide regulatory agencies with the ability to analyze a firm’s trading activity.

Firms are expected to provide complete, accurate and timely Blue Sheet data in response to regulatory requests.

Incomplete, inaccurate and untimely Blue Sheet data compromises regulators’ ability to identify individuals engaging in insider trading schemes and other fraudulent activity. 

However, FINRA is protecting the bad actors behind the MMTLP scandal in the latest MMTLP court update.

The self-regulatory body is claiming immunity and is refusing to provide retail investors with the blue sheets that shed light on the trading activity and fraud that occurred in ticker symbol MMTLP prior to the U3 halt and delisting.

Petition: Mandate Supplying Electronic Blue Sheets to Public Companies Quarterly

Market News Daily - New Petition to Mandate Supplying Blue Sheets Pops Up.
Market News Daily – New Petition to Mandate Supplying Blue Sheets Pops Up.

Christopher Binns Jr. has started a new petition to mandate supplying electronic blue sheets to public companies quarterly where more than 1,600 people have already signed.

“As a police officer, I am writing to highlight a crucial matter that impacts the integrity and transparency of our financial markets.

As a dedicated law enforcement member, concerned investor, and advocate for fair market practices, I kindly request your support in implementing a crucial measure to enhance the transparency and accountability of securities trading.

This measure is designed to take a firm stance against various forms of stock market manipulation.

These illicit activities continue to not only harm publicly traded companies but also strip hard working people of their hard earned money, and their right to a free, transparent, and fair market.

The objective of this petition is to urge the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, the United States House Committee on Financial Services, and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) to mandate the quarterly supplying of Electronic Blue Sheets to publicly traded companies, and the transfer agents they use to administer their shares of stock.

By implementing this measure, we aim to provide companies with increased transparency and empower them to monitor trading activities that directly impact their stocks.

This will enable companies to identify potential threats, such as malicious short-selling or market manipulation, and take appropriate action to protect their businesses, and its shareholders,” the petition read.

You can sign the petition here.

Market News Published Daily

Market News Today - New Petition to Mandate Supplying Blue Sheets Pops Up.
Market News Today – New Petition to Mandate Supplying Blue Sheets Pops Up.

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People Have Taken Out $100 Billion from Big Banks

Market News Daily - People Have Taken Out $100 Billion from Big Banks.
Market News Daily – People Have Taken Out $100 Billion from Big Banks.

The latest study shows people have taken out nearly $100 billion from big banks such as JPMorgan, Bank of America, Citi, and Wells Fargo during the first quarter of 2023.

Financial Times reported that analysts project that depositors looking for high returns from money market funds and other alternatives withdrew nearly $100 billion from big banks.

Federal Reserve data showed that bank customers collectively pulled $98.4 billion from accounts.

Data show that the bulk of the money came from small banks.

Large institutions saw deposits increase by $67 billion, while smaller banks saw outflows of $120 billion.

The withdrawals brought total deposits down to just over $17.5 trillion and represented about 0.6% of the total.

Deposits have been on a steady decline over the past year or so, falling $582.4 billion since February 2022, according to seasonally adjusted Fed data, per CNBC.

“Banks have been flocking to emergency lending facilities set up after the failures of SVB and Signature.

Data released showed that institutions took a daily average of $116.1 billion of loans from the central bank’s discount window, the highest since the financial crisis, and have taken out $53.7 billion from the Bank Term Funding Program.”

Are Big Banks in Trouble?

Market News Daily - People Have Taken Out $100 Billion from Big Banks.
Market News Daily – People Have Taken Out $100 Billion from Big Banks.

This second quarter, banks are laying off thousands of employees globally.

The latest 1,000 bank employee layoff by JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) is creating panic in the banking industry.

About 1,000 First Republic (OTCMKTS:FRCB) employees have lost their job across all of First Republic’s businesses, per Financial Times.

This equates to about 15% of its roughly 7,000 employees.

“The cuts are a further blow to First Republic employees, who have already had a challenging two months.

Following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in March, customers of First Republic withdrew tens of billions of dollars of deposits and the lender was ultimately shuttered by US regulators and sold over a weekend to JPMorgan,” said FT.

Within the next 30 days, JP Morgan will notify First Republic employees of their job status, and not everyone will be offered a position with the bank.

For those who are offered a job, they may be given either a permanent role or limited-term employment ranging from three to 12 months.

Since the takeover, First Republic employees have been left in the dark about their future with the company.

Read: JPMorgan to Close 21 First Republic Branches Amidst Latest Layoff

Nearly 190 Banks at Risk of Failure

Today's Banking News and Updates.
Today’s Banking News and Updates.

A new study shows that nearly 190 banks are on the verge of collapsing.

Several reports throughout the year have highlighted a crisis amongst the banking system.

After the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in March and First Republic Bank in April, a study on the fragility of the U.S. banking system found that 183 more banks are at risk of failure even if only half their uninsured depositors—those with deposits greater than $250,000—decide to withdraw their funds, USA Today reported

“The recent declines in bank asset values very significantly increased the fragility of the U.S. banking system to uninsured depositor runs,” economists wrote in a recent paper published on the Social Science Research Network.

“So, our calculations suggest these banks are certainly at a potential risk of a run, absent other government intervention or recapitalization.” 

Regional banks are failing because the Federal Reserve’s aggressive interest rate hikes to clamp down on inflation have eroded the value of bank assets such as government bonds and mortgage-backed securities, reported USA Today.

“If a ‘confidence crisis’ can happen to First Republic, it can happen to any bank in this country,” says Jake Dollarhide, Chief Executive Officer of Longbow Asset Management.

A run on these banks could pose a risk to even insured depositors—those with $250,000 or less in the bank—as the FDIC’s deposit insurance fund starts incurring losses, the economists wrote. 

Read: NYC is Freezing New Bank Deposits at Capital One

Market News Published Daily

Market News Today - People Have Taken Out $100 Billion from Big Banks.
Market News Today – People Have Taken Out $100 Billion from Big Banks.

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Hedge Funds Lose New Record High of $11.57bn from Investors

Market News Daily - Hedge Funds Lose New Record High of $11.57bn from Investors.
Market News Daily – Hedge Funds Lose New Record High of $11.57bn from Investors.

A new report shows hedge funds have lost a new record high of $11.57bn from investors withdrawing their money for the month of April.

This is the sectors biggest month of outflow so far per HedgeWeek.

“While outflows were seen across the board, equity hedge funds saw the biggest redemptions with $8.94 billion of funds removed during the month.

Hedge funds focused on fixed-income and credit strategies, meanwhile, bucked the outflows trend during in April, with a combined $1.7 billion of inflows, boosting their flows so far this year by $5 billion.”

In the week ending May 26th 2023, the Nasdaq eVestment revealed that investors pulled $11.57 billion out of hedge funds in April.

“Probably the most interesting point about this April’s aggregate flow data is that it was another month where redemptions were not concentrated among few, but relatively spread across many,” the eVestment report said.

“Investor attention has been focused on the U.S. debt-ceiling talks in Congress, which could impact the need to raise the government’s borrowing limit.

This has added to market uncertainties and potentially influenced the decision to lighten equity investments,” said MW.

Similarly, we’ve begun to see massive bank withdrawals this year.

Depositors withdrew nearly $100 billion from big banks such as JPMorgan, Bank of America, Citi, and Wells Fargo during the first quarter of 2023.

Read: Citadel Draws Fresh Scrutiny from SEC in New Risky Bets

Recent Hedge Fund News

Market News Daily - Hedge Funds Lose New Record High of $11.57bn from Investors.
Market News Daily – Hedge Funds Lose New Record High of $11.57bn from Investors.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved a rule in May that will require big hedge funds to report losses in near real-time.

Bloomberg says this marks a significant shift for an industry that tends to prize its secrecy.

“It also promises to add to businesses’ administrative headaches.

Until now, funds have generally had to report positions in quarterly public filings.”

Large hedge funds will have no more than 72 hours, or “as soon as practicable,” to tell the agency about extraordinary investment losses and major margin events.

The rule is part of a campaign by SEC Chair Gary Gensler to scrutinize private investments funds, whose wagers — both winning and losing — can reverberate through financial markets.

The SEC says the stepped-up reporting by hedge funds that oversee at least $1.5 billion in assets will let Wall Street’s main regulator, as well as the Treasury Department and other agencies in Washington, get a handle on swift-moving events that may pose systemic risks.

“Private funds have evolved significantly in their business practices, complexity and investment strategies,” Gensler said.

“Private funds today are ever more interconnected with our broader capital market.”

Market News Published Daily

Market News Today - Hedge Funds Lose New Record High of $11.57bn from Investors.
Market News Today – Hedge Funds Lose New Record High of $11.57bn from Investors.

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New BBIG Updates Have Investors Centered on Lawsuit

Market News Daily - New BBIG Updates Have Investors Centered on Lawsuit.
Market News Daily – New BBIG Updates Have Investors Centered on Lawsuit.

New Vinco Ventures (NASDAQ:BBIG) updates have investors centered on more potential lawsuits.

The company announced it had pushed back its Form 10-Q filing, a common pattern investors have seen before.

“Vinco Ventures announced receipt of a staff determination on May 18, 2023 stating that the Company failed to meet its obligations under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5810(b) because it has not yet filed its Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2023.

The Company is required to file updated information with the Hearings Panel no later than May 25, 2023, regarding its scheduled plans to file this delinquent Form 10-Q.

The Company notes, in the April 14, 2023 determination letter, which it received from the Panel, its agreement to file its 10-Q by July 7, 2023 was referenced, and that the Company continues to remain confident that it will file its 10-Q by that date,” the press release read.

Vinco Ventures is focused on the development of digital media and content technologies.

Vinco Ventures’ consolidated subsidiary, ZVV Media Partners, LLC, a joint venture of Vinco Ventures and ZASH Global Media and Entertainment Corporation, has an 80% ownership interest in Lomotif Private Limited.

The company has a 100% ownership interest in AdRizer, LLC.

BBIG stock is currently down more than -75% this year-to-date.

BBIG Investors Fight BoD

Market News Daily - New BBIG Updates Have Investors Centered on Lawsuit.
Market News Daily – New BBIG Updates Have Investors Centered on Lawsuit.

In April, the BBIG community was able to raise more than $42K to fight the Board of Directors in court.

Investors have been calling the Board of Directors to step down on social media, claiming the BoD are not qualified to serve investors.

“That amendment to our articles of incorporation and addition of preferred shares without shareholders vote was illegal.

We are attempting to stop the reverse split and dilution that we believe was rammed through an illegal proxy and invalid shareholders meeting,” said Shad, an investor involved in the BBIG lawsuit.

However, Vinco Ventures announced a 1-for-20 reverse stock split in May which the company stock has already undergone.

“We wish to thank our investors for their continued support as we work to refocus Vinco’s operations.

The approval of the reverse split under the Company’s plan to maintain its Nasdaq listing, together with our ongoing refocusing efforts, better positions us to realize the great potential we see ahead,” stated James Robertson, Chief Executive Officer.

“Another missed deadline. This is why our lawsuit is so important. We can either HOPE the company delivers news and the stock price runs, or we can TAKE ACTION to recover our investment,” says one investor on social media.

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Share this article with the retail community to raise awareness.

Read: New Data Points Towards the Possibility of a BBIG Short Squeeze

Market News Published Daily

Market News Today - New BBIG Updates Have Investors Centered on Lawsuit.
Market News Today – New BBIG Updates Have Investors Centered on Lawsuit.

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AMC CEO Announces New Food and Beverage Sales Record

Market News Daily - AMC CEO Announces New Food and Beverage Sales Record.
Market News Daily – AMC CEO Announces New Food and Beverage Sales Record.

AMC Entertainment (NYSE:AMC) CEO Adam Aron has announced the company has broken a new food and beverage sales record.

“3-3-3! After a 3-year stretch where we needed more films, happily we are 3 weeks into a 3 month period with one huge movie after another.

Apparently our guests are coming to see movies hungry and thirsty. Food/Bev sales per patron in U.S. in May — the highest month EVER for AMC!“, said the CEO on Twitter.

AMC Entertainment beat Wall Street expectations during its 2023 Q1 announcement in early May.

“Our results for the first quarter of 2023 represent AMC’s strongest first quarter in four full years.

We kicked off 2023 by continuing on our positive glide path to recovery, with more than a 21% growth in total revenues and a $69 million improvement in Adjusted EBITDA compared to the previous year.

The first quarter of 2023 and fourth quarter of 2022 mark the first two consecutive quarters of EBITDA since March of 2020.

This progress is a testament to the ongoing recovery in the industrywide box office, as well as AMC’s enduring commitment to the excellence and innovation as our guests enjoy a superb movie-going experience at our theatres,” said AMC CEO Adam Aron.

“All told, the first quarter North American box office easily surpassed 2022 by some 29%, totaling more than $1.7 billion.

The recovery in the European box office was even stronger in getting to pre-pandemic norms than that in the U.S.

As I have said for years, when our studio partners showcase their magical storytelling, there is robust demand to be realized at AMC theatres both in the U.S. and abroad.

We believe the first quarter of 2023 is just the tip of the iceberg for what’s to come in the remainder of the year,” he continued.

Latest AMC Entertainment News

Market News Daily - AMC CEO Announces New Food and Beverage Sales Record.
Market News Daily – AMC CEO Announces New Food and Beverage Sales Record.

AMC Entertainment has embarked in a new partnership with the streaming platform Vudu.

Four years after AMC Theatres launched its on-demand streaming service, AMC Theatres On Demand, the company is now transferring its entire library of films over to Vudu, the Fandango-owned digital video on-demand service.

Vudu announced Thursday that it’s the official new streaming destination for AMC Theatres On Demand, giving users access to over 200,000 movies and TV shows, including the latest hit titles like “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” “John Wick: Chapter 4,” “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves,” “Avatar: The Way of Water” and more.

AMC Theatres On Demand users will no longer be able to watch, purchase or rent titles on the AMC Theatres On Demand apps or website.

Instead, users will have to create a Vudu account to purchase new titles as well as move over their existing AMC content library.

According to the AMC website, users have until August 31 to transfer their existing movie collection over to Vudu.

AMC Theatres On Demand users that are already on Vudu will also be able to link their accounts.

New Vudu customers get 15% off every purchase during the first month of using the service.

“Today marks a noteworthy partnership for both companies.

AMC is the largest theater chain in the U.S., with 600 theaters and approximately 200 million customers.

Vudu is among the most popular digital video on-demand services, with 60 million registered users,” says TechCrunch.

AMC stock is currently up more than +17% this year-to-date.

Read: 1 Million Investors Have Now Enrolled in AMC’s Investor Connect

Market News Published Daily

Market News Today - AMC CEO Announces New Food and Beverage Sales Record.
Market News Today – AMC CEO Announces New Food and Beverage Sales Record.

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SEC Dismisses 42 New Cases After Big Mistakes from Staff

Market News Daily - SEC Dismisses 42 New Cases After Big Mistakes from Staff.
Market News Daily – SEC Dismisses 42 New Cases After Big Mistakes from Staff.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dismissed 42 pending cases after big mistakes from staff “admitting enforcement breach larger than reported.”

The SEC announced Friday it had dismissed 42 pending enforcement cases after discovering enforcement staff had improper access to materials meant for commission officials ruling on those cases.

“We deeply regret that the agency’s internal systems lacked sufficient safeguards surrounding access to Adjudication memoranda, and we are continuing our work to ensure that, going forward, work product from the Adjudication staff is appropriately safeguarded,” the SEC said in a statement.

“We take this lapse in controls very seriously and are committed to both informing the public about the scope of this issue and preventing any similar lapses in the future,” the agency added.

Law360 was first to report on the SEC’s disclosure.

“The 42 cases were proceedings against individuals and companies being handled within the agency’s in-house courts.

Among the group was the agency’s case against Jeffrey Wada and David Middendorf, two individuals involved in the notorious KPMG cheating scandal,” said Compliance Week.

The SEC described the improper access as effectively an accident, as administrative staff in its enforcement arm worked to track and collect all relevant materials, but some databases were not appropriately safeguarded to wall off adjudication materials.

It added that in most cases, the problematic materials were not uploaded to enforcement staff until after a decision had been handed down, per Reuters.

The agency decided to dismiss all pending cases, primarily against individuals and smaller firms, who were impacted by the improper access.

The SEC also said it was agreeing to lift industry bans on 48 people who had petitioned the SEC for that relief whose cases were also involved in the mistake.

Other SEC News

Market News Daily - SEC Dismisses 42 New Cases After Big Mistakes from Staff.
Market News Daily – SEC Dismisses 42 New Cases After Big Mistakes from Staff.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is answering to denying a whistleblower award in a new court session.

An appeals court upheld the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s decision to deny a whistleblower award in a case involving short seller Carson Block, while at the same time broadly questioning how the agency decides who receives awards from its cash-for-tips program. 

Last year, the Justice Department targeted Muddy Waters for flooding the market with fake orders, also known as ‘spoofing’.

Founder of Muddy Waters, Carson Block was served with a search warrant by an FBI agent.

The ongoing investigation was one of the many probes targeting hedge funds for illegal short selling strategies at the time.

Claimant Jamie Doe filed a whistleblower award application with the SEC, claiming to be a principal author of a 2011 report published by equity research firm Muddy Waters that contained information of the alleged misconduct.

His application was denied by the agency even though the SEC order cited the report in its investigation and settlement and credited Doe as an author of the report.

The SEC said Doe failed to provide the information directly to the SEC as the staff found the public report themselves, disqualifying Doe as a whistleblower. 

The Third Circuit decision on Friday agreed with the SEC’s decision, saying the appellant failed to demonstrate the SEC acted arbitrarily in concluding his application failed to meet the whistleblower requirements.

The award was instead given to Kevin Barnes, the direct informant in the case.

Hedge Fund Planned Whistleblower Scheme

To complicate matters, Muddy Waters’ CEO planned this whistleblower event only to get sued by his accomplice in the end.

Kevin Barnes, a private investor, last year sued Carson Block in New York federal court, saying that the two men worked together in producing the research that ultimately led to the SEC award and that they agreed to share proceeds from legal or regulatory actions stemming from their research, The Wall Street Journal previously reported.

Barnes is seeking $7 million from Block.

Cason Block is suing Barnes for defamation claiming he has suffered damages of more than $75,000.

A magistrate judge in the Texas case suggested in March the case be dismissed, to which Block objected.

The New York case is pending.

“Mr. Barnes looks forward to continuing his meritorious claims against Mr. Block for breach of their partnership agreement in the ongoing Southern District of New York matter.

Mr. Barnes will not be dissuaded by spurious accusations in improper venues,” Evan Fried, an attorney at law firm Slarskey who is representing Barnes, said in an email. 

Read: Citadel Draws Fresh Scrutiny from SEC in New Risky Bets

Market News Published Daily

Market News Today - SEC Dismisses 42 New Cases After Big Mistakes from Staff.
Market News Today – SEC Dismisses 42 New Cases After Big Mistakes from Staff.

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FINRA to Protect Bad Actors in New MMTLP Court Update

Market News Daily - FINRA to Protect Bad Actors in New MMTLP Court Update.
Market News Daily – FINRA to Protect Bad Actors in New MMTLP Court Update.

FINRA plans to protect the bad actors behind the MMTLP scandal in the latest MMTLP court update.

The self-regulatory body is claiming immunity and is refusing to provide retail investors with the blue sheets that shed light on the trading activity and fraud that occurred in ticker symbol MMTLP prior to the U3 halt and delisting.

FINRA states that the petitioner’s request is ‘overbroad and unduly burdensome’, being one of the few claims to deny MMTLP investors the blue sheets.

They also state that blue sheet data may reveal the confidential trading approach of firms and their customers, and includes personal, financial, and identifying information for individual and other investors.

“Because Blue Sheet Data contains highly confidential information, FINRA does not make Blue Sheet data publicly available.

FINRA also restricts access to Blue Sheet Data collected by examination and investigations team.”

This is a massive red flag that leads the average investor to believe the self-regulatory agency must be overseen and be limited some power.

Essentially what this means is the market can have a collusion of bad actors with a common goal and never have to take accountability should a party or investigations team request to view their trading activity via Blue Sheet Data.

SEC Chairman Gary Gensler often speaks about the remarkable importance of blowing the whistle in cases like this.

FINRA is Granted Immunity in MMTLP Blue Sheet Data Request

Market News Daily - FINRA to Protect Bad Actors in New MMTLP Court Update.
Market News Daily – FINRA to Protect Bad Actors in New MMTLP Court Update.

According to the latest MMTLP court case documents, FINRA is granted absolute immunity from suit and all burdens of litigation, including discovery, “for claims arising out of its regulatory activities.”

“Because immunity precludes lawsuits against FINRA for conduct that arises from its regulatory activity, if the Petition is granted, this Court would establish precedent that would also expose FINRA — as well as other New York-based SROs like the NYSE and NASDAQ stock exchanges — to a potential deluge of pre-action disclosure requests made by disgruntled investors “fishing” for information to support potential securities lawsuits.

FINRA is making no effort to protect retail investors but rather to keep their client’s information and trading activity private.

FINRA is a legal black market where powerful institutions are able to cheat the average investor without taking accountability due to the agencies unlimited power and lack of oversight.

Transcripts surfaced in April revealing conversations between FINRA and the SEC relating to the MMTLP case last year.

“Looks like this MMAT/MMTLP matter has now hit my Fraud team’s radar screen (and seemingly a lot of other radar screens as well). I know you have spoken to Patti Casimates and our General Council’s office — but was wondering if it made sense for my Fraud team to have a conversation directly with you and your folks working on the matter so we are not duplicating efforts.

We are looking at the two issuers from a fraud/manipulation angle and, in fact, bluesheeting both MMAT and MMTLP as we speak,” said Sam Draddy to the SEC on December 5th, 2022 — just days prior the U3 halt and delisting of MMTLP.

Petition to Strip FINRA’s Absolute Immunity Status

Market News Daily - FINRA to Protect Bad Actors in New MMTLP Court Update.
Market News Daily – FINRA to Protect Bad Actors in New MMTLP Court Update.

Since the latest MMTLP court update, a petition to strip FINRA’s absolute immunity status has surfaced on social media.

“In light of FINRA’s inability to protect retail investors, as stated in their mission statement, and amidst of the concerns of illegal naked shorting, spoofing and market manipulation present in the stock market, I propose the SEC and Congress strip FINRA’s SRO status and its Absolute Immunity protection.

A regulatory body such as FINRA (or any public, private or self-regulated body for that matter) should not be able to shield itself from any form of litigation on the basis of absolute immunity.

The judicial system works only if everybody and every body has equal participation,” says the petitioner.

Nearly 1,000 people have signed the petition.

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Market News Published Daily

Market News Today - FINRA to Protect Bad Actors in New MMTLP Court Update.
Market News Today – FINRA to Protect Bad Actors in New MMTLP Court Update.

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CFPB Warns People May Lose Their Cash in Money Apps

Market News Daily - CFPB Warns People May Lose Their Cash in Money Apps.
Market News Daily – CFPB Warns People May Lose Their Cash in Money Apps.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) warns that people may lose their cash in money apps such as Venmo, PayPal, CashApp, or Zelle if their cash holder fails.

The agency advises users to routinely move money out of the apps and into an account at an insured financial institution, such as a traditional bank.

But the fact is that traditional banks have been running dry on liquidity and facing big competition from online banking-only businesses.

Online banking-only companies have offered higher yield savings accounts attracting more and more people.

For example, Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) is currently making it difficult for Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) customers to withdraw money from their savings account.

Apple’s savings account partnership with Goldman Sachs launched in April and now customers are reporting being unable to take their money out of the bank.

Nathan Thacker, who lives outside Atlanta, had been trying to transfer $1,700 from his Apple account to JPMorgan Chase since May 15.

Each time he called Goldman’s customer service department, he said he was told to give it a few more days, per WSJ.

The Apple savings account has attracted people searching for a high yield savings account.

It pays a 4.15% interest rate, but weary investors say banks are scouring for liquidity.

Are People’s Money Safe in Money Apps Such as PayPal and Venmo?

Market News Daily - CFPB Warns People May Lose Their Cash in Money Apps.
Market News Daily – CFPB Warns People May Lose Their Cash in Money Apps.

Money held in nonbank, peer-to-peer payment apps is not guaranteed for federal deposit insurance protection, which makes the funds more vulnerable, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau warned Thursday.

First Republic Bank, one of the key leaders in regional banks, collapsed early last month, triggering a mini banking crisis, with two more regional banks following suit, says Valuetainment.

The CFBP director told CNBC, ““Popular digital payment apps are increasingly used as substitutes for a traditional bank or credit union account but lack the same protections to ensure that funds are safe.”

More than three-quarters of U.S. adults have used a payment app, according to the Pew Research Center.

Millennials made up the bulk of users in 2022 at 94%.

CFPB said Thursday it will continue coordinating with state and federal regulators to monitor progress on automated funds sweeping into insured banking accounts.

Until then, app users must be proactive in moving money into an insured financial facility until a method is adopted, the agency said.

PayPal and Cash App did not respond to requests for comment, however, the Financial Technology Association, which represents Block, PayPal and dozens of other fintech companies, said P2P accounts are “safe and transparent” and prioritize consumer protection.

“Tens of millions of American consumers and small businesses rely on payment apps to better spend, manage, and send their money,” a FTA spokesperson told CNBC.

“These accounts are safe and transparent, with users receiving FDIC Insurance on their accounts depending on the products they use.”

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Market News Today - CFPB Warns People May Lose Their Cash in Money Apps.
Market News Today – CFPB Warns People May Lose Their Cash in Money Apps.

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Goldman Sachs Makes it Difficult for Customers to Withdraw Money

Market News Daily - Goldman Sachs Makes it Difficult for Customers to Withdraw Money.
Market News Daily – Goldman Sachs Makes it Difficult for Customers to Withdraw Money.

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) is making it difficult for Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) customers to withdraw money from their savings account.

Apple’s savings account partnership with Goldman Sachs launched in April and now customers are reporting being unable to take their money out of the bank.

Nathan Thacker, who lives outside Atlanta, had been trying to transfer $1,700 from his Apple account to JPMorgan Chase since May 15.

Each time he called Goldman’s customer service department, he said, he was told to give it a few more days, per WSJ.

But JPMorgan is also under scrutiny for freezing customer bank accounts in May.

Others said they also had trouble transferring money from their new Apple accounts.

Customer service representatives at Goldman, which holds the deposits, sometimes gave differing responses about what to do, they said.

Sometimes, their money appeared to have simply vanished, not showing up in their Apple account or in the account they were trying to move it to.

“The customer response to the new savings account for Apple Card users has been excellent and beyond our expectations,” the bank said in a statement.

“While the vast majority of customers see no delays in transferring their funds, in a limited number of cases, a user may experience a delayed transfer due to processes in place designed to help protect their accounts.”

Read: Goldman Sachs Gets Ready to Fire Hundreds of People

Goldman Sachs Apple Savings Account Case Study

Goldman Sachs Apple Customers News - Apple Customers Say It’s Hard to Get Money Out of Goldman Sachs Savings Accounts
Apple Customers Say It’s Hard to Get Money Out of Goldman Sachs Savings Accounts.

Min-Jae Lee, a lawyer, was curious to try out the Apple account and intrigued by its high interest rate.

She deposited $100,000 in April, but soon decided she would rather have her money elsewhere.

On May 1, she tried to transfer it out; it took more than three weeks for her to get it.

Lee said Goldman told her to contact JPMorgan Chase, where she was trying to move the money.

Then, on Goldman’s advice, she tried sending the money to her Vanguard account.

The $100,000 moved there before going back to Apple the same day, she said.

Goldman then called her, she said, and told her that the money could be transferred only to the account from where she had sent it.

She initiated a transfer to Ally on May 16.

A few days later, Goldman told her that her account was under a security review.

Her Apple account showed a zero balance, but the money wasn’t in her Ally account either before finally showing up there on May 25.

It is reasonable that a bank would delay a transfer to do enhanced due diligence, but the length of the delay in these cases is surprising, said Dennis Lormel, who worked on financial crimes for the U.S. government for three decades and now is a bank consultant.

The Apple savings account has attracted people searching for a high yield savings account.

It pays a 4.15% interest rate, but weary investors say banks are scouring for liquidity.

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Market News Today - Goldman Sachs Makes it Difficult for Customers to Withdraw Money.
Market News Today – Goldman Sachs Makes it Difficult for Customers to Withdraw Money.

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New Study Shows Nearly 190 Banks on Verge of Collapsing

Market News Daily - New Study Shows Nearly 190 Banks on Verge of Collapsing.
Market News Daily – New Study Shows Nearly 190 Banks on Verge of Collapsing.

A new study shows that nearly 190 banks are on the verge of collapsing.

Several reports throughout the year have highlighted a crisis amongst the banking system.

After the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in March and First Republic Bank in April, a study on the fragility of the U.S. banking system found that 183 more banks are at risk of failure even if only half their uninsured depositors—those with deposits greater than $250,000—decide to withdraw their funds, USA Today reported

“The recent declines in bank asset values very significantly increased the fragility of the U.S. banking system to uninsured depositor runs,” economists wrote in a recent paper published on the Social Science Research Network.

“So, our calculations suggest these banks are certainly at a potential risk of a run, absent other government intervention or recapitalization.” 

Regional banks are failing because the Federal Reserve’s aggressive interest rate hikes to clamp down on inflation have eroded the value of bank assets such as government bonds and mortgage-backed securities, reported USA Today.

“If a ‘confidence crisis’ can happen to First Republic, it can happen to any bank in this country,” says Jake Dollarhide, Chief Executive Officer of Longbow Asset Management.

A run on these banks could pose a risk to even insured depositors—those with $250,000 or less in the bank—as the FDIC’s deposit insurance fund starts incurring losses, the economists wrote. 

Liquidity in Banks is Running Dry

The report circling the banking sector suggests that liquidity in banks is running dry.

Below will be a few statements from the official report.

“The U.S. banking system’s market value of assets is $2.2 trillion lower than suggested by their book value of assets accounting for loan portfolios held to maturity.

Marked-to-market bank assets have declined by an average of 10% across all the banks, with the bottom 5th percentile experiencing a decline of 20%.

We show that a bank’s survival depends on the market beliefs about the share of uninsured depositors who will withdraw money following a decline in the market value of bank assets.

A case study of the recently failed Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) is illustrative. 10 percent of banks have larger unrecognized losses than those at SVB.

Nor was SVB the worst capitalized bank, with 10 percent of banks having lower capitalization than SVB.

On the other hand, SVB had a disproportional share of uninsured funding: only 1 percent of banks had higher uninsured leverage.

Combined, losses and uninsured leverage provide incentives for an SVB uninsured depositor run.

We compute similar incentives for the sample of all U.S. banks.

Even if only half of uninsured depositors decide to withdraw, almost 190 banks with assets of $300 billion are at a potential risk of impairment, meaning that the mark-to-market value of their remaining assets after these withdrawals will be insufficient to repay all insured deposits.”

Which Banks Are at Most Risk Right Now?

Market News Daily - New Study Shows Nearly 190 Banks on Verge of Collapsing.
Market News Daily – New Study Shows Nearly 190 Banks on Verge of Collapsing.

Banks that have the most risk right now are:

  • First Republic Bank
  • Huntington Bancshares
  • KeyCorp
  • Comerica
  • Truist Financial
  • Cullen/Frost Bankers
  • Zions Bancorporation

The “Top 5” also have a big risk factor, though many have deemed these banks as “too big to fail”.

  • Bank of America
  • Citigroup
  • JPMorgan Chase
  • Morgan Stanely
  • Wells Fargo

Is your money safe in banks?

“It’s not a problem unless your depositors decide it’s a problem and ask you for their money back, which is sort of what happened with Silicon Valley Bank,” said David Sacco, a finance professor at the University of New Haven. 

This is why banks at the moment are offering higher CD rates as well as higher yield savings accounts.

As long as majority of the population continues to keep their money in banks and aren’t resorting to withdraw large amounts of cash, there’s a possibility that the current banking crisis begins to die down.

Other Banking News

The nation’s largest bank JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) is facing a painful $1.5 billion fee that may also be felt by various other banks later this year.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s board of directors approved a proposal to raise the fees banks pay to have depositors’ money insured.

This comes after the government insured depositors’ money that exceeded the $250,000 insurance cap at Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank to stem the panic that ensued from their failures.

In total, that depleted $15.8 billion from the FDIC’s Depositor Insurance Fund (DIF).

Banks that are FDIC-insured pay fees to the fund in exchange for coverage in the event that they fail.

To recover the $15.8 billion, the FDIC is proposing levying higher fees on banks that have more than $5 billion in uninsured deposits.

The FDIC is focusing on these banks since they benefited the most from the FDIC’s unprecedented actions in the wake of the collapse of SVB and Signature Bank, according to CNN.

The proposed rule would charge banks 0.125% annually for two years on all their uninsured deposits as of the end of last year after deducting $5 billion.

JPMorgan Chase would pay around $1.5 billion in additional fees given the bank had around $1.2 trillion in uninsured deposits at the end of 2022, according to FDIC records.

Dr. Stephen Leeb, one of the world’s top money managers, says that JPMorgan’s gold derivate short positions are so numerous and large that they likely exceed the entirety of the bank’s assets on hand – “which is a very dangerous position in which to be.”

“Should the price of gold ever shoot up from its current price by, say, another $1,000 in the coming weeks or months due to an unexpected “black swan” event, banking giant JPMorgan Chase would more than likely find itself underwater due to the massive gold derivative short positions it currently holds,” says Planet Today.

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Market News Today – New Study Shows Nearly 190 Banks on Verge of Collapsing.

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