Finance & Tax Heath Tarbert, a top Treasury Department official, is slated to be nominated by the White House to head the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, according to a person familiar with the matter. Tarbert, who was sworn in last year as assistant Treasury secretary for international markets, is expected to be named soon to succeed Chris Giancarlo as chairman of the U.S. derivatives regulator in 2019, the person said. Giancarlo’s term ends in April 2019, and his departure from the agency was expected.Story Continued Below The Treasury Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Senate voted 87-8 in September 2017 to confirm Tarbert to his Treasury post, a level of bipartisan support that suggests he'll have little trouble getting through the CFTC confirmation process. The CFTC regulates derivatives, such as oil and corn futures. But after the 2008 financial crisis, it was also tasked with overseeing derivatives traded over-the-counter, a … [Read more...] about Treasury official tapped to head Commodity Futures Trading Commission amid Brexit tension
U s commodity futures trading commission
Bitcoin Price: Crypto Crash Blamed on U.S. Probe, South Korea Exchange Hack
Tech & Science Bitcoin Cryptocurrency Ethereum The crypto markets took a hit on Sunday as the price of bitcoin dropped to its lowest value in two months—from around $7,280 to under $6,700, according to Coindesk statistics. EOS, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Ripple and Litecoin all suffered minor losses of between 5 and 10 percent this weekend based on metrics from CryptoCompare, another website that tracks the pricing of the major digital coins. Charles Hayter, the founder of the platform, told Newsweek that two reasons for the recent stumble included a recent crypto-exchange hack in South Korea and an article published Friday by the Wall Street Journal which detailed an ongoing market manipulation probe in the U.S. Crypto-exchanges, Hayter said, are currently “caught between a rock and a hard place” thanks to jurisdictional issues and legal disputes, but he characterized Sunday’s price drop as “relatively minor.” At the time of writing, the … [Read more...] about Bitcoin Price: Crypto Crash Blamed on U.S. Probe, South Korea Exchange Hack
France’s Societe Generale hit with $1.3B in U.S. fines
WASHINGTON - One of France's largest banks, Societe Generale, is pleading guilty in the U.S. and paying a total of $1.3 billion in penalties, including a $585 million fine for bribing Libyan officials to win government investments. The bank is also paying $750 million to settle U.S. charges of manipulating a key global interest rate. The actions were announced by the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Under an agreement with the Justice Department, Societe Generale will avoid criminal prosecution on charges of manipulating the London interbank offered rate, or LIBOR, and will pay a $275 million fine. The bank is paying a $475 million civil penalty in a separate settlement with the CFTC. "Together with approximately $475 million in regulatory penalties and disgorgement that Société Générale has agreed to pay to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in connection with the LIBOR scheme, the total penalties to be paid … [Read more...] about France’s Societe Generale hit with $1.3B in U.S. fines
The Morning Ledger: Beijing Ready to Respond if U.S. Curbs Chinese Investments
By Tatyana Shumsky Tatyana Shumsky The Wall Street Journal BiographyTatyana Shumsky @MissShumsky [email protected] Apr 26, 2018 5:14 am ET 0 COMMENTS Sign up for the Morning Ledger, emailed to you each weekday morning. Follow us on Twitter: @CFOJournal. All CFO Journal-produced content can be accessed without a subscription. China’s Commerce Ministry said reduced investment from Chinese companies could affect U.S. employment and economic growth. Reuters Good morning. U.S. finance chiefs hoping to get funding from their Chinese counterparts may have a harder time going forward. The U.S. threat of investment restrictions is already dampening the enthusiasm of Chinese businesses, with some canceling or slowing plans to invest in the American market, China’s Commerce Ministry said, reports The Wall Street Journal. Ministry spokesman Gao Feng said Beijing is prepared to respond if the U.S. goes ahead with the plan. “We are … [Read more...] about The Morning Ledger: Beijing Ready to Respond if U.S. Curbs Chinese Investments
U.S. rig decline, Iranian risks support oil
Mahmoud Habboush, Bloomberg Published 7:57 am, Monday, April 2, 2018 Photo: Eric Gay, STF / AP Image 1of/1 CaptionClose Image 1 of 1 A drilling rig is seen in 2012 near Kennedy, Texas. A drilling rig is seen in 2012 near Kennedy, Texas. Photo: Eric Gay, STF / AP U.S. rig decline, Iranian risks support oil 1 / 1 Back to Gallery Oil's rally above $65 a barrel is being propelled by a sign that American explorers have curtailed drilling activity as well as speculation that the U.S. could reimpose sanctions on OPEC producer Iran. Futures were trading just under $65 a barrel in New York after capping a third straight quarterly gain, the longest winning streak since 2011. U.S. drillers idled seven working rigs last week, easing concerns over surging shale production. Meanwhile, analysts from Mitsubishi UFJ Financial … [Read more...] about U.S. rig decline, Iranian risks support oil