German payment service provider Wirecard said Monday it has concluded that 1.9 billion euros ($2.1 billion) that were supposed to be held in two accounts probably don't exist, deepening troubles that last week prompted the resignation of its chief executive. Wirecard AG was once regarded as a star of the growing financial technology sector, but its shares have fallen sharply after the company became the subject of multiple Financial Times reports about accounting irregularities in its Asian operations. Wirecard disputed the reports, which started in February 2019, and said it was the victim of speculators....
(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock index futures fluctuated as investors weighed the latest infection count against prospects for stimulus measures.September contracts on the S&P 500 rose 0.1% as of 7:02 a.m. in London, after sliding as much as 1.1%. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were little changed and those on the Nasdaq 100 Index added 0.2%. Beijing reported only nine new infections, in a sign that a recent outbreak is coming under control, while South Korea saw the smallest daily increase in about a month. California’s new cases rose by a record and Florida infections jumped.“With respect to U.S. futures, we have seen dips reverse into gains thus far in the morning, though the moves have been kept mostly modest,” said Jingyi Pan, a market strategist at IG Asia. “While there remains a painful vacuum for fresh catalysts in the market, some of the attention had been tuned toward central...
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Many of the world’s leading investors are concerned that the recent gains in the U.S. stock market are overdone, given the uncertain economic outlook and the risks of a second wave of the Covid-19 virus. But American equities are in very good company.Investing in U.S. stocks is “simply playing with fire,” Jeremy Grantham, whose firm GMO oversees about $60 billion, told CNBC on Wednesday. Ray Dalio’s Bridgewater Associates warned last week that a decline in U.S. corporate profit margins could lead to a “lost decade” for equity investors. And in a June 18 note, Howard Marks of Oaktree Capital Management LP wrote, “The potential for further gains from things turning out better than expected or valuations continuing to expand doesn’t fully compensate for the risk of decline.” No wonder the world is increasingly talking about bubbles.The 40% rally in the benchmark S&P 500 index, since it reached a low for...
Jun.22 -- None of Wirecard AG’s missing $2.1 billion of cash entered the Philippine financial system, according to the nation’s central bank, after two of its major lenders denied holding funds for the German payments processor. Wirecard said the missing cash on its balance sheet probably doesn’t exist. Su Keenan reports on "Bloomberg Markets: Asia."...
(Bloomberg) -- Wirecard AG’s interim chief executive officer was supposed to be getting ready to run a new department called “Integrity, Legal and Compliance.” Now he faces a crucial week to convince investors that the payment company’s collapse isn’t terminal.James Freis took charge on Friday following the shock announcement that Markus Braun had resigned. Braun’s position became untenable following revelations that about 1.9 billion euros ($2.1 billion) -- or two-thirds of the company’s 2019 revenue -- had gone missing. The two Asian banks that were supposed to be holding the money denied any business relationship with Wirecard, plunging the company into further chaos.The company subsequently withdrew its fiscal 2019 and first-quarter 2020 financial results after saying those funds on its balance sheet probably don’t exist.Freis’ to-do list is extensive, but he has some relevant experience. He began his career as an attorney at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. After...
The battery event, which Musk has touted as being "one of the most of exciting days in Tesla's history", had previously been scheduled in May while the shareholder meeting was due to take place on July 7. The Battery Day event will include a tour of the company's cell production system, Musk tweeted, without elaborating. Two proxy advisors have urged Tesla investors to vote against re-electing Chairwoman Robyn Denholm to the company’s board, citing corporate governance and other concerns....
