Author: Vitaliy Dadalyan

JPMorgan Finds More Than 500 Workers Got U.S. Virus Relief Funds

(Bloomberg) -- More than 500 JPMorgan Chase & Co. employees got assistance from taxpayers aimed at helping businesses through the pandemic -- and dozens of them shouldn’t have, according to people with knowledge of the firm’s internal investigation.The discovery that so many people at the largest and most profitable U.S. bank had tapped the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program raised suspicions inside the company and set off a hasty probe, the full extent of which hasn’t been previously reported. Bloomberg broke the news earlier this month that at least some staff had abused the program.After noticing hundreds of employees had received government funds in their accounts, the bank began scrutinizing director-level employees and workers who received certain amounts, according to people with knowledge of the confidential review who spoke on condition they not be named. Of almost two dozen in that first group, the bank found five -- none of them...

3 FAANG Stocks That Score a ‘Perfect 10’

In the first week of September, the markets saw a sudden drop from peak values. That fall was most pronounced in the NASDAQ index, which dropped from 1,200 points – some 10% – in just 5 trading sessions. Since then, however, the situation has stabilized. Stocks have bounced up and down, but the NASDAQ has generally held steady at or near 11,000 for the past three weeks.The holding pattern is likely more important than the slide. It’s lasted longer, and appears to represent a classic market correction. The NASDAQ’s 5-month run to its September 2 all-time high left it somewhat overvalued, and it’s now fallen back to a more sustainable level. This is borne out by a look at three major components of the index, members of tech’s ‘FAANG’ club.The FAANG stocks are Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Google (Alphabet). They are the 800-pound gorillas of the tech world, companies of...

Top U.S. oil refiner Marathon Petroleum to lay off 12% of workforce

The workforce reduction plan is a result of indefinite idling of its Martinez, California and Gallup, New Mexico refineries, the company said in the filing https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/1510295/000151029520000098/mpcform8-k9292020.htm. Refiners and oil producers have been cutting staff, slashing spending and reducing production to cope with the slump in crude prices and a global glut of fuel. On Wednesday, Royal Dutch Shell said it would dismiss up to 9,000 workers, or 10% of its staff, while oil majors, Chevron Corp and Exxon Mobil Corp , are in the process of restructuring their businesses to halt losses....

Palantir's Crystal Ball Can't Guarantee a Bright Future

(Bloomberg Opinion) -- In a hot market for new technology stocks, it was Palantir Technologies Inc.’s turn in the spotlight on Wednesday. The debut wasn’t a complete show-stopper, and that’s fine — not everything can, or should, be a market darling. The data-mining company, co-founded by billionaire and Donald Trump supporter Peter Thiel, went public through a direct listing and started trading at $10, above the New York Stock Exchange’s $7.25 reference price. A $10 price equates to a market value of about $22 billion on a fully diluted basis, which, while respectable, isn’t much higher than its last private fund-raising round in 2015 at $20 billion. Palantir traded as high as $11.42 on Wednesday before drifting back under $10 to close at $9.50.Investors have been clamoring for new tech listings despite high stock valuations and the potential dampening effect of a second-wave virus outbreak. According to Renaissance Capital, the U.S. IPO market is on track to have its most active third quarter since the dot-com...