Odd Couple Co-Sponsor Latest Bill to Ban Congress from Trading Stocks

AOC, Matt Gaetz team to push bill banning Congress members from owning, trading stocks

Finally, the far left and far right have found something they can agree on.

Socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and firebrand Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) are co-sponsoring a bill to restrict members of Congress from owning or trading stocks.

H.R. 3003, also sponsored by moderate Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) and progressive Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), would prohibit congressional spouses and other dependents from owning or trading stock as well.

“The fact that Members of the Progressive Caucus, the Freedom Caucus, and the Bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, reflecting the entirety of the political spectrum, can find common ground on key issues like this should send a powerful message to America,” Fitzpatrick said in a joint statement with the other lawmakers.

SEC Alleges Son and Father-in-Law Touted Faith to Target Church Members in $20 Million Offering Fraud

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Brett M. Bartlett, his father-in-law Scott A. Miller, and their companies for fraudulent securities offerings that raised at least $20.5 million, some of which Bartlett and Miller misused for personal expenses.

According to the SEC’s complaint, from at least June 2018 to May 2020, Bartlett and Miller raised funds from more than 1,000 investors nationwide by selling promissory notes, stock, and fraudulent gold contracts through their companies, Dynasty Toys Inc., The 7M eGroup Corp., Concept Management Company LLC, and Dynasty Inc. As the complaint alleges, when soliciting investors, many of them from a large church in central Illinois, Bartlett frequently invoked his Christian faith and attributed his alleged success to divine intervention to win investor trust. The complaint further alleges that, to stave off demand for cash payouts from their unsuccessful business ventures, Bartlett and Miller misled investors, made more than $11 million in Ponzi-like payments, and sent to investors $21 million in bad checks that bounced due to insufficient funds. In addition, Bartlett and Miller misappropriated more than $1.2 million for personal use, including vacations, entertainment, and payments for a luxury rental home.

Carl Icahn Net Worth: Wealth Falls $10B on Hindenburg Short-Seller Report

Corporate activist Carl Icahn’s fortune tumbled more than $10 billion Tuesday after short-seller Hindenburg Research accused him of using a “ponzi-like” economic structure at his investment company.

Icahn Enterprises L.P., his publicly traded limited partnership that operates as a holding company, fell by 20% — the most on record — erasing $3.1 billion from his fortune. Hindenburg also detailed the investor’s margin loan collateralized by his stake in the company, which was not previously accounted for by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. That lopped off another $7.3 billion from the net worth calculation.

SEC to vote on boosting disclosures by private funds, hedge funds

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will decide on Wednesday whether to adopt new rules for advisors to hedge funds and private equity funds aimed at increasing transparency, competition, and efficiency in the $25-trillion marketplace.

The SEC will vote on a proposal to update so-called Form PF, which was put in place following the financial crisis of 2008-2009 to monitor risks in the private fund sector, to boost the quality of disclosures by large funds about their investment strategies and leverage.

DeSantis signs sweeping anti-ESG legislation in Florida

Florida governor Ron DeSantis signed into law on Tuesday a bill barring state officials from investing public money to promote environmental, social and governance goals, and prohibiting ESG bond sales.

The bill is one of the furthest-reaching efforts yet by U.S. Republicans against sustainable investing efforts, and a clear political message from DeSantis, a likely presidential candidate.

Morgan Stanley in Talks to Resolve US Block Trading Probes

Morgan Stanley said it’s in talks with US prosecutors and regulators to resolve a probe into its block trading practices.

“The firm is currently engaged in discussions regarding potential resolution of the investigations by the enforcement division of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York into various aspects of the firm’s blocks business,” the bank said Tuesday in a regulatory filing.

The firm has previously said inquiries focus on whether employees shared or used information regarding impending block transactions in violation of securities regulations….

UK to Ban Cold Calls Selling Crypto to Clamp Down on Fraud

The UK is to set to ban cold calls that sell financial products including insurance and cryptocurrencies in an effort to crack down on fraud, which costs the country around £7 billion ($8.7 billion) a year.

Announcing its new fraud strategy, the UK pledged 400 new jobs to update its approach to intelligence-led policing. The government will work with telecoms regulator Ofcom to use new technology to undermine phone number “spoofing,” so fraudsters cannot impersonate legitimate UK phone numbers.

Crypto Is Still a Mess. A Crackdown Would Do It Good – Bloomberg

Distant as that brighter future might seem, regulators should at least allow for it, as the European Union has sought to do with new rules on crypto markets. To that end, the US should create legal space for the issuance and trading of instruments — such as Bitcoin and Ether — that don’t fall into categories such as securities or derivatives. Requirements for (among other things) disclosure, safety, soundness, governance and protection of customer assets could come from Congress — or from an industry-funded overseer along the lines of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.