According to The New York Times, the Securities and Exchange Commission ended its investigation into former Senator Richard Burr, three years after he sold more than $1.6 million in stocks following Covid-19 briefings. Questions: Source: Kelly, K. S.E.C. Inquiry Into Former Senator’s Stock Sales Is Closed Without Charges. The New York Times, Jan. 6 (Retrievable… Read more »
Posts Tagged: COVID-19
Lufthansa to Pay Back Bailout
Deutsche Lufthansa AG plans to raise 2.14 billion euros ($2.5 billion) through a heavily discounted share sale as it strives to repay a German government coronavirus bailout. Questions: How will the airline group raise the money to repay this bailout? What does Lufthansa avoid with full repayment? What are the expectation of the airline for… Read more »
The Coronavirus Testing Procurement Audit
According to the Washington Post, according to a Maryland state audit, procurement regulations where not followed when the Maryland administration bought 500,000 COVID-19 tests from a South Korean company last year and the first batch of tests that later had to be replaced for an additional $2.5 million was not authorized by the U.S. Food… Read more »
Theaters making a BIG comeback
According to the Washington Post, Mooky Greidinger, the chief executive of Cineworld, believes that really bright days are ahead of the movie theater industry. Questions What is the theatrical window and how does it impact the U.S. movie theater industry? What is delaying the quick comeback of movie theaters in Europe? How is Cineworld and… Read more »
Ransomware Update
According to Techrepublic.com, cybercriminals have attacked hospitals and other healthcare organizations with double-extortion ransomware attacks during the COVID pandemic. Questions: What is a double-extortion ransomware attack and how many different ransomware variants are now using the double-extortion plot? Why are cybercriminals focusing on hospitals and other healthcare organizations with these even bolder types of attacks?… Read more »
More about the “Make Amazon Pay” coalition
According to the New York Times, Amazon surpasses all largest private employers in adding the number of workers in a single year. Despite this, the costs to workers is not covered by the online giant. Questions: Why does the article claim that health benefits and a 401(k) is not enough to compensate employees? Why was… Read more »
Is the Power of Boredom Reshaping our Economy?
According to the New York Times, due to the pandemic, tedium is reshaping what people buy and how productive they are. Questions: What are some of the economic consequences of the pandemic that are noted in the article? The author of this article describes the pandemic as producing a collective sense of ennui. Define the… Read more »
Account Takeovers Increase in the Finance Industry
According to statistics of events detected by Kaspersky Fraud Prevention, the share of account takeovers in the finance industry have increased from 34% in 2019 to 54% in 2020. Questions: What are the two most common schemes to get access to a bank account? How often are legitimate remote administration tools misused to gain access… Read more »
Not a Very Magical Kingdom
According to the Washington Post, COVID-19 continued to hammer Disney in the final months of 2020, with the company’s revenue dropping 22 percent over the holiday period and a much smaller profit than usual. Questions Was the revenue better or worse for October to December 2021 than analysts predicted and by how much? What was Disney’s… Read more »
Tax Policy: Not boring anymore
According to the New York Times, tax policy used to be fairly boring and predictable. But in the past decade, it has become dynamic in a way that tax advisers don’t like: It changes with the political party in power. Questions: According to the article, changes for tax advisers with the political party in power… Read more »