Wall street

Ryan Grim , the Washington, D.C., bureau chief for The Intercept, along with commercial mortgage-backed securities expert John Flynn, warn that widespread inflation on the value of commercial business when applying for loans could cause a repeat of the 2008 financial crisis spurred by the implosion of the housing market. In a Tuesday interview on Hill.TV’s “Rising,” Grim outlined his recent piece that included findings from Flynn and other researchers that some banks issuing loans have inflated the value of businesses, including Dollar General, in exchange for lower interest rates. Flynn said Tuesday that lenders are the ones overstating the income, and that businesses applying for loans may be unaware of the inflated incomes reported for their properties. Nevertheless, Grim pointed out that what is happening is “very similar” to what Wall Street saw in 2008 with the residential mortgage-backed securities based on loans for homes. “There’s almost nobody around … [Read more...] about Ryan Grim, Wall Street whistleblower warn of bad loans in commercial business market

The popular messaging app Discord has reportedly stopped discussions to sell to potential buyers as it continues to consider an initial public offering (IPO). Sources close to the matter told The Wall Street Journal that talks with tech giant Microsoft had ended without a deal being reached, though the possibility of rekindling them was left open. In March, it was reported that Microsoft was in talks to purchase Discord . The messaging app has more than 100 million monthly users and was valued at $7 billion last year. The company is widely popular with video gamers and streamers, though it is working to broaden its user base. ADVERTISEMENT The Journal noted that Microsoft is also seeking to broaden its user base and had explored the possibility of purchasing TikTok last year when the Trump administration was threatening to block access to the video app over security concerns. Sources told the Journal that Discord has been fielding offers from at … [Read more...] about Discord halts Microsoft talks: report

Republicans are sounding the alarm that divisive candidates running across the country could cost them key Senate and gubernatorial races next year. The party is concerned that disruptive contenders could hurt their chances of keeping Senate seats in Missouri, Alabama and Wisconsin and flipping the governor’s mansion in Virginia. Republicans are also nervously watching primaries for open Senate seats in North Carolina and Ohio and Democratic-held seats in Arizona and Georgia. Nearly a dozen GOP strategists and donors almost unanimously said former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens (R), who resigned in disgrace in 2018 and is running for Senate, carries the most baggage out of any midterm candidate. ADVERTISEMENT But there are also concerns over Alabama Rep. Mo Brooks Morris (Mo) Jackson Brooks The Hill's Morning Report - Presented by Facebook - All US adults can get vaccine; decision Friday on J&J vax Republicans fret over divisive candidates The Hill's 12:30 … [Read more...] about Republicans fret over divisive candidates

As March ended, the BBC’s Beijing correspondent, John Sudworth , left China following escalating harassment by the Communist Party there. Sudworth, a nine-year veteran of the BBC’s China desk, since 2018 has investigated the Communist Party’s genocide in Xinjiang, publishing multiple long-form pieces on the concentration and forced labor camps that China has built to persecute Muslim Uyghurs. The Chinese foreign ministry expressed shock at Sudworth’s departure, claiming that he had not informed the authorities of his intention to leave or explained his reasoning. Of course, the harassment continued up until Sudworth and his family boarded their flight for democratic, capitalist Taiwan — Chinese plainclothes police officers followed them through the departure hall , observing them up until they boarded their aircraft. Sudworth is not the first journalist to provoke the Chinese Communist Party’s ire. In March 2020 — not coincidentally, precisely as the COVID-19 pandemic … [Read more...] about The unappreciated power of Radio Free Asia: Telling the truth to China’s people

The parent company of the Daily Mail is suing Google over allegations that the Silicon Valley giant has illegally maintained a monopoly in the digital ad space that has hurt the newspaper’s ad-supported business model, according to a complaint filed Tuesday in Manhattan federal court. The newspaper hits Google over its market power in the digital ad space, and accuses the search giant of using its power to “punish publishers that do not submit to its practices.” “Google controls the ‘shelf space’ on publishers’ pages where ads appear, and it exploits that control to defeat competition for that ad space. Among other tactics, Google makes it difficult for publishers to compare prices among exchanges; reduces the number of exchanges that can submit bids; and uses bids offered by rival exchanges to set its own bids — a de facto bid rigging scheme,” the complaint states. ADVERTISEMENT A spokesperson for the publisher told The Wall Street Journal that the paper’s … [Read more...] about Daily Mail owner files antitrust suit against Google over digital ad market power