Category: Business & Economy
Gucci registers brand in Russia
MOSCOW, February 19. /TASS/. Guccio Gucci, an Italian company, filed the Gucci trademark with the Russian Federal Intellectual Property Service, according to the authority’s data. The application was submitted on June 2, 2023, and the state registration was completed on February 18, 2025. The trademark holder is Guccio Gucci, based in Florence. The trademark was approved under the International Classification of Goods and Services and allows for the production and sale of branded dresses and bags, fabrics, women’s underwear, swimwear,…
YAPP USA Automotive Systems to Pay $14.2M to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations Relating to Paycheck Protection Program Loan
YAPP USA Automotive Systems Inc., a corporation with its principal place of business in Michigan, has agreed to pay $14,208,496 to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by submitting false claims to obtain a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan for which it was not eligible. Congress created the PPP in March 2020 to provide emergency financial assistance to Americans suffering from the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the PPP, eligible businesses could receive forgivable loans…
New India Cooperative Bank former GM in police custody for fraud allegations
On Sunday, Mumbai Police arrested Dharmesh Paun, private developer from Kandivali, in connection with the New India Cooperative Bank scam (NICB). According to the police, Paun allegedly received illicit funds from the bank’s General Manager and Account Head, Hitesh Mehta, who was also arrested Saturday. The scam was uncovered during an audit at the bank’s headquarters in Prabhadevi last Wednesday, when RBI officials discovered funds missing from the vault. Mehta, who has been with the bank since 1988, reportedly confessed…
Trade tariff turmoil pushes Canada to rethink US ties | DW News
Video: Trump’s tariff policies are straining US-Canada relations. After imposing and then suspending tariffs, Canadian leaders are reassessing their ties with the US. Some are now looking to the European Union as a potential alternative. Major publications, including The Toronto Star and The Economist, are openly questioning whether Canada could align more closely with Europe. European politicians are also weighing in. Could this mark a significant shift in global alliances?
Lawsuit accuses Amazon of secretly tracking consumers through cellphones
Amazon.com was sued on Wednesday by consumers who accused the retailing giant of secretly tracking their movements through their cellphones, and selling data it collects. According to a proposed class action in San Francisco federal court, Amazon obtained “backdoor access” to consumers’ phones by providing tens of thousands of app developers with code known as Amazon Ads SDK to be embedded in their apps. This allegedly enabled Amazon to collect an enormous amount of timestamped geolocation data about where consumers…
Is DeepSeek a DeekFake and does it matter?
The Chinese AI startup, DeepSeek, is in the news today due to its rapid rise and the impact that had on NVIDIA stock. Apparently, DeepSeek developed an AI model that has caused a stir. For one thing, it just became the top-downloaded free app in the Apple Store, surpassing ChatGPT. This led to a sharp decline in NVIDIA’s stock, as investors are supposedly concerned that DeepSeek’s AI model is more cost-efficient. More more cost-efficient means that it threatens NVIDIA’s dominance…
Denmark, US and Greenland to discuss Arctic security
OSLO – Denmark agreed on Jan 24 to discuss the Arctic region with Washington, Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said, after his first phone call with the secretary of state from the administration of President Donald Trump, who wants control of Greenland. Mr Rasmussen and Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a 20-minute conversation in a “good and constructive tone”, discussing Ukraine, European security and the situation in the Middle East, the Danish Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Mr…
US lawmakers find UAE provides weapons to Sudan RSF; UAE denies this
WASHINGTON – Two U.S. lawmakers will keep trying to block arms sales to the United Arab Emirates, having determined that the UAE is providing weapons to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan’s civil war, they said on Friday. A UAE official denied this. The Sudanese army and the RSF together led a coup in 2021 removing Sudan’s civilian leadership, but fell out less than two years later over plans to integrate their forces. The war that broke out…
TD’s chief compliance officer departs amid US anti-money laundering probe
TD Bank’s (TD.TO), opens new tab chief compliance officer has left the bank, according to a memo sent internally, at a time the Canadian lender faces U.S. regulators and the Justice Department in a probe related to its anti-money laundering program. Monica Kowal, who joined the bank in 2017, left the company this week, and will be replaced by Deputy Chief Compliance Officer Erin Morrow who will report to Chief Risk Officer Ajai Bambawale, according the memo sent in late June, seen by…
TD Bank global anti-money laundering officer stepping down
TD Bank (TD.TO), opens new tab said on Thursday Chief Global Anti-Money Laundering Officer Herbert Mazariegos is stepping down immediately, as the bank takes remediation actions after it was fined by U.S. regulators for compliance failures. Mazariegos joined TD in November 2023 from Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO), opens new tab, where he served as the chief anti-money laundering officer for over four years. He was hired as part of TD’s push to revamp its risk and compliance team. Mazariegos, hired while outgoing CEO…
Co-founder of French crypto firm Ledger freed after kidnapping, Paris prosecutors say
PARIS – A co-founder of French crypto company Ledger was released on Wednesday after being kidnapped from his home in France, the prosecutor’s office in Paris said. David Balland was kidnapped early on Tuesday morning at his home in central France and taken by car to another address where he was held captive, the prosecutors said in a statement on Thursday. The kidnappers demanded a “large ransom in cryptocurrency”, they said, without giving its size or saying whether it had…
Billionaire Michael Bloomberg to fund UN climate body after US withdrawal
Billionaire Michael Bloomberg announced on Jan 23 that his foundation will step in to fund the UN climate change body after US President Donald Trump declared the United States would withdraw from the Paris Agreement for the second time. Mr Bloomberg’s intervention aims to ensure the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) remains fully funded, despite the US halting its contributions. The US typically provides 22 per cent of the UNFCCC secretariat’s budget, with the body’s operating costs…
MicroStrategy Bought Another $1B in Bitcoin Last Week
MicroStrategy. “FORM 8-K MICROSTRATEGY INCORPORATED.” MicroStrategy, a business intelligence firm led by Michael Saylor, purchased an additional $1 billion worth of Bitcoin last week. This acquisition brings their total Bitcoin holdings to approximately 140,000 BTC, acquired at an average price of around $29,000 per coin. The company continues to view Bitcoin as a critical store of value and a hedge against inflation, strengthening its position as one of the largest corporate holders of the cryptocurrency. Selling Shares To Add To…
Walgreens Stock Tumbles on DOJ Lawsuit Over ‘Millions’ of Alleged Illegal Prescriptions
Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) shares sank Tuesday, the first day of trading since the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday announced a lawsuit accusing the pharmacy chain of dispensing “millions of unlawful prescriptions” that had no legitimate medical purpose. The suit alleges that Walgreens pressured its pharmacists to fill prescriptions quickly, leading to opioids and other medications being given out for prescriptions that had “clear red flags” indicating they were “highly likely to be unlawful.” The U.S. Department of Justice…
US military preparing to send additional 1,500 troops to border, official says
The U.S. military is set to deploy an additional 1,500 active-duty troops to the U.S.-Mexico border. This includes 500 Marines, Army helicopter crews, and intelligence analysts, augmenting the 2,200 active-duty troops and National Guard members already present. The decision follows President Donald Trump’s executive order declaring illegal immigration a national emergency and directing the Pentagon to achieve “complete operational control of the southern border.” The troops will provide logistical support, such as assisting in deportation efforts by transporting detained immigrants…
Brazil’s biggest farm state seeks to weaken environmental protections
SAO PAULO – A law passed by legislators in Brazil’s largest farm state Mato Grosso that changes the classification of endangered biomes inside state borders will likely weaken environmental protections there, according to climate activists. Under the new law, areas currently located in the Amazon biome could be converted into Cerrado areas based on the height of trees. That means that Mato Grosso properties sitting on the Amazon biome, which have to keep 80% of native vegetation as per Brazil’s…