Author: Press Room

The writer is president of financial reform advocacy group Better Markets This year looks to be both busy and consequential for the development of better protection for investors and markets in the US. The ongoing crypto carnage is the latest reminder of how important that is.In 2022, we saw the best of US financial regulators in tackling that task along with some of the worst. The Securities and Exchange Commission returned to its core mission — to “protect investors; maintain fair, orderly and efficient markets; and facilitate capital formation”. This was despite sustained pressure from entrenched incumbent firms on Wall Street…

Digital currencies will have a “very important place” in finance, according to veteran banker Bob Diamond, even as last year’s market carnage thwarted his plan to take stablecoin group Circle public.The former Barclays chief executive told the Financial Times that “there’s going to be a lot of good things” that survive last year’s crypto crash.His comments come only weeks after he abandoned attempts to list Circle, which runs the world’s second-largest stablecoin, at a $9bn valuation in New York owing to poor investor demand.Diamond has been one of the most prominent traditional financiers in crypto. His private equity group Atlas…

Vale has received multiple bids for a stake in its base metals business after talks with parties from carmakers to sovereign wealth funds, its chief executive said, as he predicted the division could become “even bigger” than the Brazilian mining group itself. Eduardo Bartolomeo said “non-binding offers” had been made for the slice of up to 10 per cent of the unit, which produces materials vital for the energy transition and is being carved out as a standalone entity separate from Vale’s main iron ore operations.He told the Financial Times the partner could be an automotive manufacturer, industrial group, state…

The private jet use that surged in the coronavirus pandemic is showing no signs of abating, even as passengers return by the millions to commercial airlines and inflation raises the cost of a charter. Global flights on business aircraft rose by 10 per cent in 2022 from the previous year and were 14 per cent higher than before the pandemic in 2019, according to aviation data company WingX. Richard Koe, WingX chief executive, said demand for private jets has been “record-breaking” for the past two years.Bookings for private flights began to accelerate in 2020 as the wealthy and business travellers…

TikTok is offering cheaper advertising rates than rival social media platforms as the fast-growing video app moves to grab a larger share of the digital ads market amid a slowdown in online spending. Advertisers, industry bodies and brands have told the Financial Times an increasing amount of ad spend has moved from platforms such as Twitter and Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, over to TikTok owing to lower costs and better levels of engagement.TikTok, owned by China’s ByteDance, has shaken up the social media industry in recent years as it has rapidly grown to more than 1bn users worldwide.…

Two scoops to start: First, CVC-owned US public relations firm Teneo is set to deepen its footprint in the UK financial communications market on Tuesday with the purchase of smaller rival Tulchan. And second, US activist investor Jeff Ubben has taken a $500mn stake in Bayer, the German conglomerate still reeling from litigation over its weedkiller Roundup and years of shareholder discontent. Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani,  Saudi Arabia’s crown prince Mohammed bin Salman and the UAE’s  Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed al-Nahyan © Twitter Our colleagues Andrew England and Simeon Kerr took a closer look at IHC,…

Nakobe Dean likely stood on the SoFi Stadium field and had massive flashbacks to this time a year ago when the confetti was showering over him after winning the 2022 College Football Playoff National Championship Game over Alabama. This time, though, the Philadelphia Eagles linebacker was supporting his former teammates, who set a new record for the most points ever scored in a national championship in their 65-7 blowout victory.Winning back-to-back titles in college football is a rare feat, which is why Dean believes the Bulldogs are the new dynasty in the game.  “I’d like to think so,” he told Fox…

Morales has criticised the removal of former President Pedro Castillo, who tried to dissolve Peru’s Congress last month.Peru has barred Bolivia’s socialist former President Evo Morales from entering its territory, a decision that Morales later derided as an attack meant to distract from Peru’s human rights violations. Peru’s government announced the decision to ban Morales, along with eight other unidentified Bolivians, in a statement on Monday. The move follows weeks of deadly protests in Peru targeting President Dina Boluarte, the successor and former vice president to Pedro Castillo, who was removed from office last month. An attempt in December by…

Climate Council Director of Advocacy Dr Jennifer Rayner says the Ozone layer in Antarctica beginning to heal is a “really fantastic lesson” for climate action.“That was a set of actions that took place over a long period of time by countries acting together that fundamentally changed how they did things in order to fix a really serious environmental problem,” Ms Rayner told Sky News Australia. “What that should say to us is that if we take action now … then we can also tackle harmful climate change – it’s a really positive lesson for us all.” Source: Sky News

Star free agent Carlos Correa is back in serious talks with the Twins after Correa and the Mets have been struggling for nearly three weeks to complete a deal. As of late Monday night it appeared the Twins’ talks with Correa were gaining steam. The way things were going, the Twins appeared to have a decent chance to retain the star shortstop they — along with most everyone else — had thought was surely gone to the Mets.  The Twins have been on the periphery the past two-plus weeks waiting to see if there was an opening after Correa’s old…