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Collapsed crypto exchange FTX said on Saturday it had seen “unauthorized transactions”, with analysts saying millions of dollars worth of assets had been withdrawn from the platform. Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic said that around $473 million worth of cryptoassets were “moved out of FTX wallets in suspicious circumstances early this morning,” but that it could not confirm that the tokens had been stolen. Why trading platform FTX’s near collapse is so much trouble for bitcoin, ether – and the entire industry FTX U.S. general counsel Ryne Miller said in a tweet shortly after 0700 GMT on Saturday that the firm had “expedited” the process of moving all digital assets to cold storage “to mitigate damage upon observing unauthorized transactions.” Cold storage refers to crypto wallets that are not connected to the internet to guard against hackers. Earlier on Saturday, Miller said in a tweet that he was “investigating abnormalities with wallet movements related to consolidation of FTX ...

Walmart WMT-N and Target TGT-N results this week are likely to show that major retailers are heading for a turbulent holiday season as rampant inflation has made everything from toothpaste to Christmas sweaters more expensive for shoppers. Wall Street is betting the retail bellwethers will predict a season of profit-squeezing promotions and discounts as they seek to reduce stocks of clothing and electronics that have built up with consumers cutting back on discretionary spending. “We have our expectations set really low, it’s a difficult environment,” said Bill Smead, chief investment officer of Smead Capital Management, which owns Target shares worth more than $200-million. Smead said recent warnings around demand from FedEx and Amazon did not bode well for retailers this season. The context U.S. consumer prices rose less than expected in October, but the fight against inflation is far from over with consumer sentiment still in the doldrums and unemployment rising. The economic slow...

Target Corp TGT-N forecast a surprise drop in holiday-quarter sales on Wednesday, blaming surging inflation and “dramatic changes” in consumer behaviour for a drop in demand for everything from toys to home furnishings. The big-box retailer’s shares, which rose 4 per cent on Tuesday following upbeat quarterly results from rival Walmart Inc, fell 14 per cent in premarket trading. The U.S. retailer, which also announced that third-quarter profit had halved, said it would launch a cost-cut plan to save $2-billion to $3-billion over three years. The company declined to disclose more specific details but said layoffs or a hiring freeze are not part of its current plans. A pullback in consumer spending has hit Target the hardest among major retailers as its product mix weighs more toward discretionary items such as clothing and home furnishing, prompting it to discount heavily to clear excess inventory. Even with those discounts and the inflation rate easing in October, Target executives s...

It’s been eight years since Canadian securities regulators instituted so-called comply-or-explain rules in an effort to increase the number of women in the nation’s corporate boardrooms and executive offices. So ask Kelly Schmitt what she thinks about the latest round of Canadian Securities Administrators data showing that in 2022, just 66 per cent of publicly traded companies in Alberta had one or more women in executive officer positions, and she doesn’t mince words. “That’s pathetic,” said Schmitt, CEO of Calgary-based tech firm Benevity. “And the ‘one or more’ sounds like having ‘one’ is enough. Is that really the bar we’re setting?” Since 2014, companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange have been required to either disclose, or explain why they can’t disclose, their progress in getting more women around their board table or into their company’s c-suites. Some progress has been made. The 2022 numbers, released by the CSA last month, show that 24 per cent of corporate board se...

Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes leaves the federal courthouse in San Jose, Calif., on Jan. 3. BRITTANY HOSEA-SMALL/Reuters A federal judge on Friday will decide whether disgraced Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes should serve a lengthy prison sentence for duping investors and endangering patients while peddling a bogus blood-testing technology. Holmes’ sentencing in the same San Jose, California, courtroom where she was convicted on four counts of investor fraud and conspiracy in January marks a climactic moment in a saga that has been dissected in an HBO documentary and an award-winning Hulu TV series about her meteoric rise and mortifying downfall. U.S. District Judge Edward Davila will take centre stage as he weighs the federal government’s recommendation to send Holmes, 38, to federal prison for 15 years. That’s less than the maximum sentence of 20 years she could face, but her legal team is asking for incarceration of no more than 18 months, preferably served in home confinement. ...

FTX spent some $2-billion on 'acquisitions for regulatory purposes,' the documents seen by Reuters from a Sept 19 meeting show. STEFANI REYNOLDS/AFP/Getty Images Before it collapsed this month, FTX stood apart from many rivals in the largely unsupervised crypto industry by boasting it was the “most regulated” exchange on the planet and inviting closer scrutiny from authorities. Now, company documents seen by Reuters reveal the strategy and tactics behind founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s regulatory agenda, including the previously unreported terms of a deal announced earlier this year with IEX Group, the U.S. stock trading platform featured in Michael Lewis’s book “Flash Boys” about fast, computer-driven trading. As part of that deal, Bankman-Fried bought a 10 per cent stake in IEX, with an option to buy it out completely in the next two and half years, according to a June 7 document. The partnership gave the 30-year-old executive the opportunity to lobby IEX’s regulator, the U.S. ...

Two Estonian citizens were arrested in Tallinn, Estonia, on an 18-count indictment for their alleged involvement in a $575-million cryptocurrency fraud and money laundering conspiracy, the U.S. Justice Department said on Monday. Sergei Potapenko and Ivan Turõgin, both 37, allegedly defrauded hundreds of thousands of victims through a multi-faceted scheme, wherein they induced them to enter fraudulent equipment rental contracts with the defendants’ cryptocurrency mining service called HashFlare, the department said in a statement. They also made victims invest in a virtual currency bank called Polybius Bank, which in reality was not a bank and never paid out the promised dividends, the Justice Department said. Victims paid more than $575-million to Potapenko and Turõgin’s companies and they both then used shell companies to launder the fraud proceeds and to purchase real estate and luxury cars, the department said. The indictment was returned by a grand jury in the Western District of...

Rogers wants to close the proposed takeover of Shaw by the end of the year, with a possible further extension to Jan. 31, 2023. Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press Quebecor Inc. QBR-B-T saw an opportunity for Videotron Ltd. to expand its footprint nationally when Rogers Communications Inc.’s RCI-B-T $26-billion proposed takeover of Shaw Communications Inc. SJR-B-T was announced in March, 2021. In cross examination during the hearing on the deal Monday, Quebecor CEO Pierre Karl Peladeau confirmed that his company, which owns Videotron, viewed the proposed merger as a chance to potentially enter the wireless market in Western Canada. Before cross examination began, Peladeau emphasized Videotron’s long-term interest in becoming a national wireless player, adding that if Videotron succeeds in buying Shaw-owned Freedom Mobile, it could achieve that. He also delved into Videotron’s success in Quebec and how it has differentiated itself from competitors over the years with a focus on lowerin...

Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez speaks in the House of Commons, in Ottawa, on Nov. 21. Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press Canada’s heritage minister says a bill meant to regulate online streaming won’t cover user-generated content, despite senators being told by industry members that this material will fall under the legislation. Pablo Rodriguez says that Bill C-11 is meant to rein in platforms and not users and will only carry obligations for companies and not creators. His comments on the legislation aimed at modernizing the Broadcasting Act were made before the standing committee on transport and communications and come after Sen. Michael MacDonald says the panel previously heard from experts concerned creators will be regulated through the bill. Sen. Pamela Wallin says she’s even heard from a creator who finds the legislation so confusing and unclear that she will move to the U.S. to escape it. Asked whether he would be open to amending the bill to make it more clear what the bill ...

Passengers board a train at Paddington Station, in London, on June 20. TOBY MELVILLE/Reuters Thousands of British railway workers will stage further strikes over the next two months in a long-running dispute over pay, the RMT union said on Tuesday, signalling travel disruption before and after the Christmas holiday period. Over 40,000 rail workers will go on strike on Dec. 13-14, 16-17, Jan. 3-4 and 6-7, the RMT said after talks with train operators and Network Rail – which owns and maintains train infrastructure – ended without a resolution. “This latest round of strikes will show how important our members are to the running of this country and will send a clear message that we want a good deal on job security, pay and conditions,” RMT general secretary Mick Lynch told reporters in London. “I’m not the grinch. I’m a trade union official and I’m determined to get a deal,” he added. Rail workers in Britain have staged several strikes this year, including the country’s biggest rail str...

German car maker Audi has halted all activities on Twitter until further notice, WirtschaftsWoche reported on Wednesday, citing company sources. Earlier this month, Volkswagen, which owns Audi together with the VW, Seat, Cupra, Lamborghini, Bentley, Ducati and Porsche brands, said it had recommended they pause paid advertising on Twitter until further notice following Elon Musk’s takeover of the social media platform. Audi was not immediately available for comment. The company has not tweeted since Nov. 1 after previously tweeting almost every day. Musk took ownership of Twitter in late October. https://www.tausiinsider.com/german-car-maker-audi-reportedly-halts-all-activities-on-twitter-until-further-notice/?feed_id=333081&_unique_id=6473af62c120e

Torstar Corp. says Neil Oliver will become the new chief executive of the Toronto Star newspaper’s parent company. Torstar spokesperson Bob Hepburn confirmed the appointment of the Metroland newspaper group president in an email to The Canadian Press. He adds that the company has “parted ways” with Marina Glogovac, who joined the Star as its president in June. Glogovac was previously the president and chief executive of fundraising company CanadaHelps, chief marketing officer at e-reader firm Kobo Inc. and chief executive officer of dating website Lavalife Corp. Her departure and Oliver’s appointment come after the company announced Star publisher Jordan Bitove had taken sole control of Torstar on Thursday, following a tense dispute between he and co-owner Paul Rivett. The two had been in mediation and then arbitration since September, when Rivett sought a court order to wind up the company, saying his business relationship with Bitove had sustained “irreparable” damage. https:/...

Suncor Energy Inc SU-T said on Tuesday it would retain the Petro-Canada gas station retail business. “After careful consideration, the Board has concluded that retaining and optimizing the company’s retail business will generate the highest long-term value for shareholders,” company’s board chair Mike Wilson said. More to come. Tickers mentioned in this story https://www.tausiinsider.com/suncor-to-retain-its-petro-canada-retail-business-after-review/?feed_id=332124&_unique_id=645b208ddf00c

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo speaks during the High-Level Economic Dialogue Second Annual Meeting in Mexico City on Sept. 12. RAQUEL CUNHA/The Associated Press U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said on Wednesday Washington must do more to counter China while insisting the world’s two largest economies should not isolate from each other. Raimondo cited U.S. strengths like American universities, billions of dollars in government funding for semiconductors and research, and strong allies around the world as assets when competing with China. “Despite all of these advantages – and they are many – competing effectively with China isn’t going to be easy. It’s going to take hard work and it’s going to take the work of everyone, not just the government,” Raimondo said at a speech at MIT. She said the United States is “not seeking the decoupling in any way of our economy from that of China’s.” She added that “cutting edge technology, that China wants to get its hands on to put ...

Russia, the world’s second largest oil exporter, will not sell oil that is subject to a Western price cap even if it has to cut production, President Vladimir Putin’s point man on energy said. The Group of Seven and Australia on Friday agreed a $60 per barrel price cap on Russian seaborne crude oil after European Union members overcame resistance from Poland. The move by the West to prohibit shipping, insurance and re-insurance companies from handling cargoes of Russian crude above the cap, is an attempt to punish Putin for the Ukraine conflict. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Sunday the move by the West was a gross interference which contradicted the rules of free trade and would destabilize global energy markets by triggering a shortage of supply. “We are working on mechanisms to prohibit the use of a price cap instrument, regardless of what level is set, because such interference could further destabilize the market,” said Novak, who is the Russian government...

Russia, the world’s second largest oil exporter, will not sell oil that is subject to a Western price cap even if it has to cut production, President Vladimir Putin’s point man on energy said. The Group of Seven and Australia on Friday agreed a $60 per barrel price cap on Russian seaborne crude oil after European Union members overcame resistance from Poland. The move by the West to prohibit shipping, insurance and re-insurance companies from handling cargoes of Russian crude above the cap, is an attempt to punish Putin for the Ukraine conflict. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Sunday the move by the West was a gross interference which contradicted the rules of free trade and would destabilize global energy markets by triggering a shortage of supply. “We are working on mechanisms to prohibit the use of a price cap instrument, regardless of what level is set, because such interference could further destabilize the market,” said Novak, who is the Russian government...

Drivers hoping for cheaper gas can fill up after the price at the pump across Canada dropped on Thursday to an average 143 cents per litre. A senior director of public affairs at CAA National said the national gas price average has dropped by about 30 cents since last month but the price has not fallen as low as the 136.5 cents average that was recorded on Dec. 9, 2021. Kristine D’Arbelles said gas prices are driven by a number of factors including seasonality, geopolitical conflicts, supply and demand and weather changes. She said gas prices are expected to remain relatively low in the next couple of weeks, when they may go up again due to higher demand closer to Christmas. “We’re actually heading into the holidays, so we might see a slight increase in demand and if we see an increase in demand, we tend to see an increase in prices,” she said. “If we do see an increase, it’ll be in the next couple of weeks and it will be very small.” D’Arbelles said drivers should take advantage of ...

Jean Marmoreo is a medical doctor and the co-author with Johanna Schneller of The Last Doctor: Lessons in Living from the Front Lines of Medical Assistance in Dying. A financial adviser once told me that the greatest risk to his industry is the so-called “disengaged spouse.” I’d never heard that phrase before. He meant a woman whose husband either dies or divorces, leaving her adrift, not without money, but with no idea how or where to manage it. His point was, 70 per cent of those women leave their existing financial adviser and take their money to someone they’re more comfortable with. Seventy per cent. That seemed high, though it rang true from talking with my women patients when I was a family doctor. Canadian women today control $2.2-trillion, which is bigger than Canada’s entire annual GDP, yet 7 in 10 have leaned so heavily on their husbands in terms of investing they know little about their combined finances. Their spouse’s death or divorce will cause them to overhaul everyth...

Twitter Inc. will relaunch a revamped version of its subscription service Twitter Blue on Monday at a higher price for Apple users, the company said in a tweet on Saturday. The revamped service will allow subscribers to edit tweets, upload 1080p videos and get a blue checkmark post account verification. Twitter did not explain why Apple users were being charged more than others on the web but there have been media reports that the company was looking for ways to offset fees charged in the Apple App Store. https://www.tausiinsider.com/twitter-to-relaunch-subscription-service-twitter-blue-on-monday/?feed_id=329202&_unique_id=642c9d443c529

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s Sovereignty Act risks turning Alberta into Quebec, an ailing economy, JASON FRANSON/CP Duane Bratt is a political science professor and chair of the department of economics, justice and policy studies at Mount Royal University in Calgary. Conservatives in Alberta have a love/hate relationship with Quebec. They hate the fact that Quebec opposes key pipeline projects yet receives billions of dollars in federal equalization payments every year – disproportionately from federal tax funds paid by Alberta taxpayers. They love that Quebec collects its own income taxes, has a provincial pension plan and a provincial police force. They love how Quebec uses the notwithstanding clause and appears to act with impunity against policies of the federal government that they do not like. The mantra from Alberta conservatives, whether former premier Jason Kenney or current Premier Danielle Smith, is that Alberta wants to be treated just like Quebec. And the recently p...