Category: government corruption

ilicon Valley Bank’s parent company and two senior executives are facing a class-action lawsuit in the United States, where shareholders have accused the financial institution of failing to disclose the risks that anticipated interest rate hikes would have on its business.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in the Northern District of California on Monday, is seeking unspecified damages from SVB Financial Group and its Chief Financial Officer Daniel Beck, as well as the bank’s Chief Executive Officer Greg Becker.

The bank collapsed and its assets were seized by the US government late last week after a mass withdrawal of funds by customers.

For President Xi Jinping, the Iran-Saudi deal is part of a grander political vision, and a nuts-and-bolts example of how he hopes to achieve it.

The vision is that China will ultimately displace the United States as the world’s leading power. The means to achieve it? Leveraging China’s economic clout to expand its financial, diplomatic, and military footprints worldwide.

The Mideast deal also underscores a key pillar of that approach. In explicit contrast to the United States, China is assuring its partners that “internal” issues – such as human rights – are irrelevant to its outreach and alliances.

The agency cited concerns over the lenders’ reliance on uninsured deposit funding and unrealized losses in their asset portfolios. “The review for downgrade reflects the extremely volatile funding conditions for some US banks exposed to the risk of uninsured deposit outflows,” it stated. Moody’s also slashed the debt ratings of collapsed New York-based Signature Bank deep into junk territory, withdrawing future ratings for the insolvent lender. The downgrades come while US bank stocks have continued to plummet despite the government’s measures to support lenders and prevent more bank runs. First Republic Bank has led the sell-off, with its share price nosediving more than 60% on Monday, forcing a brief halt in trading due to volatility. Western Alliance Bancorp lost over 47% while Zions Bancorp declined by about 26%. Dallas-based Comerica dropped 28% and UMB lost more than 15%.

LONDON — Defense spending is getting a £5 billion ($6 billion) boost from the British government, but most of the cash has been earmarked for nuclear programs and rebuilding depleted weapons stocks rather than addressing wider capability gaps in the armed forces.

The funding figures, released Sunday night, will be contained in a refresh of the 2021 integrated defense and security review due to be published later today.

News of the increase came as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak headed off to San Diego, California, for a meeting Mar. 13 with U.S. President Joe Biden and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to announce details of the AUKUS nuclear submarine pact agreed by the three nations.

Economists see Lehman Brothers-style crisis as unlikely despite jitters following collapse of California-based lender.

The International Criminal Court is expected to seek the arrest of Russian officials for forcibly deporting children from Ukraine and targeting civilian infrastructure, a source said on Monday, in what would be the first international war crimes cases arising from Moscow’s invasion.

The source said the arrest warrants could include the crime of genocide, and were expected to arrive in the “short term” if the court prosecutor’s request was approved by a pre-trial judge at the Hague-based court. It was unclear which Russian officials the prosecutor might seek warrants against.

The office of the prosecutor at the ICC declined to comment.

Russia’s defense ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Moscow would be certain to reject any arrest warrants against any of its officials. But an international war crimes prosecution could deepen Moscow’s diplomatic isolation and make it difficult for those accused to travel abroad.
The source said the arrest warrants could include the crime of genocide, and were expected to arrive in the “short term” if the court prosecutor’s request was approved by a pre-trial judge at the Hague-based court. It was unclear which Russian officials the prosecutor might seek warrants against.

“The day 72 million Japanese go hungry.” That’s the prospect Josei Seven (March 16) unfolds. For shock value? Yes and no. Certainly it’s shocking. But it’s not cheap…

An analysis by Global Affairs Canada argues that Saudi Arabia is the “principal guarantor” of affordable oil for Western countries, as well as an important market for Canadian companies, The Breach reported on Monday, citing the seven-page document. Canadian weapons are crucial to maintaining Riyadh as an “integral and valued security partner,” the report claimed.  The analysis stands in contrast…

According to Andrew Adams, the group has focused on identifying those who are helping Russians to avoid sanctions and export controls. “I think it can be quite effective to be sanctioning facilitators,” Adams said, calling them “professional sanctions evasion brokers.” A recent report from the Treasury Department showed that more than $58 billion worth of sanctioned Russian assets have been blocked or frozen worldwide so far. Adams pointed out that KleptoCapture aims to sell the frozen yachts and other property of sanctioned Russians, despite the legal difficulties, and use the proceeds for the benefit of Ukraine. He noted, however, that this would be done in accordance with the law.

The pharmaceutical giant says it will pay $229 in cash for each share of Seagen.

Russia on Monday began the closed-door trial of jailed opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza, who faces up to two decades in prison on treason charges for comments critical of the Kremlin. His trial is the latest in a string of cases against opposition voices in Russia in a crackdown that has intensified since President Vladimir Putin deployed troops in Ukraine last…

Panel says the UN, the Syrian government and others are responsible for delays in getting emergency aid to Syrians.

Did China interfere in Canada’s elections? We don’t know. But journalists must not rely on friendly leaks for the truth.

Hundreds of thousands of people have rallied in cities across Israel for a 10th consecutive week, protesting against plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government to curb the Supreme Court’s powers.

Organisers said a record 500,000 people attended Saturday’s rallies, making them the “biggest in Israeli history”.

Media in Israel put the turnout at 250,000 to 300,000 people.

The demonstrations come as Netanyahu’s government prepares to press on with its legislative agenda next week, shunning calls for a pause to allow for negotiations on the divisive judicial reforms.

France faced a seventh day of demonstrations on Saturday against President Emmanuel Macron’s unpopular pension reform plans amid ongoing rolling strikes which have affected refineries, public transport and garbage collections. A coalition of French unions, maintaining a show of unity since the protest movement was launched at the end of January, hopes to keep up to pressure on the government to withdraw the reform, whose key measure is a two-year extension of the retirement age to 64. According to interior ministry figures, up to 1 million people are expected to take part in over 200 marches throughout the country. Demonstrations started at 10 a.m in the streets of major cities including Toulouse and Nice. A march in Paris is scheduled to start at 2 p.m.

The ban will be imposed next week and reevaluated after six months, De Croo said in a statement. Government employees will be allowed to use the app on their personal devices, but not on any devices “whose purchase, subscription or use are partly or fully paid for by the federal government.” Citing reports by the Belgian State Security Service and Centre for Cybersecurity, De Croo claimed that TikTok collects large amounts of user data, manipulates the information users are exposed to, and cooperates with Chinese spy agencies. “We must not be naive,” De Croo said. “TikTok is a Chinese company that today is obliged to cooperate with the Chinese intelligence services.”