Singapore Director Is Liable for $654 million After Ponzi Scheme
Lee Si Ye, a former Envy director and shareholder, is liable for the entire sum comprising S$593 million ($461 million), $192.2 million and 880,000 euros ($1 million), according to a court ruling published Tuesday. Ju Xiao, another former director and trading head, is liable for up to 40% of the total amount.
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15 minutes ago
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Retreats, coaching, and therapy: Inside the $1 billion cottage industry cashing in on the retail-trading phenomenon
A booming cottage industry has taken root amid the retail trader phenomenon. Courses, retreats, coaching, and other services are growing as day traders look for an edge in the market. Those in the industry say traders are bored, desperate to improve, or desire to go full-time. Somewhere in Bali, a group of investors — mostly men — file through the gates of a luxury villa, replete with tiki huts and couches by the poolside. This isn't just a vacation, they say. The goal, in part, is to make tons of money, Aaron Luce, the leader of the weeklong retreat for day traders, tells the camera. "This is a beautiful pool spot. We're all going to be chilling for the week when we make loads of money trading," Luce says in a YouTube video documenting the experience, which includes a montage of traders looking at candlestick charts and, intermittently, taking breaks and cannonballing into the pool. This kind of retreat is a relatively new phenomenon, offered to traders looking for an edge amid the explosion of interest in the stock market since the pandemic. In recent years, a cottage industry has taken root amid the hype for stock trading. Social media is rife with businesses offering courses, getaways, one-on-one coaching, and other services that claim to improve traders' performance and get them in the right mindset to turn a profit. And demand, evidently, is booming — in large part due to traders who are swinging to go full-time, desperate to improve, or, in some cases, are simply bored, sources in the space told Business Insider. The industry offering these kinds of services to day traders swelled to around $1.68 billion in 2024, and is on track to grow 11% each year to hit $3.92 billion in 2033, according to one estimate from Business Research Insights. A separate analysis from Dataintelo Consulting estimated that the market was valued at around $2.5 billion in 2023, and is on track to more than double to $5.8 billion by 2032. Google search interest in "Day trading courses" is up 10% over the past year, according to data from the Google Trends analytics tool Glimpse. Searches for "Trading retreat" and "Trading coach" are up 26% and 69% over the past year, respectively, while interest for "Trading therapist" has skyrocketed 263%. On Coursera, enrollment in online trading courses soared 213% in the five years leading up to 2024, according to data the online course provider shared with Business Insider. The online trading platform Webull also says it's seen the number of users on its learning platform grow 37% over the last 3 years. International Day Trading Academy, a trading school that offers courses and an eight-day trading retreat in Bali, says interest in the retreat has exploded three or fourfold in the past year, according to Kelly Lowry, the general manager. Andrew Menaker, a psychologist and a trading coach who frequently works with retail traders, says he's also noticed a big push among the retail crowd to get in the right mindset for trading. The number of people who have inquired about Menaker's coaching services has about doubled in the past year, he said, adding that the waitlist to nab an appointment with him can range from several weeks to several months. Menaker says some of his clients, who are willing to do just about anything to gain an edge, have said they spent upward of $10,000 on materials like indicators, charting packages, and online courses. Others have said they've spent money on things like cold plunges, heart biofeedback devices, brain wave devices, and even psychedelics. Menaker is skeptical of some of the businesses selling to day traders. The space has become flooded with hype and influencer marketing, he says, especially targeting new traders who are just learning the ropes. "It's really a buyer-beware environment," he said. A trader's elusive dream Making money day trading is hard. One 2020 study found that 97% of traders who persisted for more than 300 days ended up losing money, after accounting for fees. Just 1% were able to make a profit, and it was often minuscule. Still, many are willing to keep trying. Cameron Buchanan, the cofounder of International Day Trading Academy, told Business Insider he believes the heightened volatility is what's behind the boom in traders seeking these kinds of services. Big swings in the market are often ripe with opportunity to win (and lose) big, but navigating the intraday moves is not easy even for professional traders. More people are also lured by the prospect of becoming full-time traders, a once-niche ambition that now offers the possibility of financial freedom and the ability to work from anywhere with an internet connection. "People are sharing that life's stressful," Lowry said of some of the academy's clients. "People come out of retreats and say, 'I've made a decision that I'm going to do this now.'" Dr. Reid Daitzman, a Connecticut-based psychologist who frequently works with day traders, says he's seen a 50% increase in traders wanting to work with him over the past year. He believes that a good chunk of his clients are deeply involved in the stock market and seek to improve their trading, partly because they've already lost a large sum of money, but also because many are bored. "A lot of people just trade because they have too much time on their hands, literally, and they have nothing to do," he said, adding that some of his clients were recovering from substance addictions and picked up day trading in sobriety. Menaker, who consulted with traders on Wall Street prior to opening his own practice, believes the main way traders improve is by understanding themselves better. His work hinges on the idea that traders need to know their "inner market" — a nexus of hopes, dreams, fears, and memories that explain how traders respond to risk and opportunity. While he sees some value in trading education and some evidence-based tools, like HRV biofeedback, he believes most gadgets out there won't make a difference unless traders do the work to understand their own minds. "People will never really get what they need, which is, 'How do I respond when I'm under pressure and how can I change that to act more in my own best interest?' That's really what the courses should be emphasizing more, in my opinion," he said. Read the original article on Business Insider Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Rupee logs worst losing streak in 6 months on US tariff woes; RBI caps damage
By Dharamraj Dhutia MUMBAI (Reuters) - The Indian rupee ended lower for a fifth straight week, its biggest consecutive weekly drop in six months, as trade tensions between India and the United States escalated following President Donald Trump's call for new tariffs on Indian goods. The rupee closed marginally higher at 87.6550 against the U.S. dollar, from 87.7025 on Thursday. The currency opened at 87.5600 and reached an intraday high of 87.5350, supported by unwinding of long dollar positions in the NDF market. Dollar bids, primarily from oil importers, pushed the USD/INR higher after initial lows, traders said. For the week, the rupee eased 0.1%, following a 1.2% drop last week, and has depreciated nearly 3% over the past five weeks. Rising pressure on the rupee was driven by India's position among the hardest-hit countries in Trump's trade offensive, including a new 25% tariff on Indian goods. The move places India alongside Brazil, facing the steepest import duties, unsettling markets concerned about the impact on capital flows and investor sentiment towards Indian assets. Fears of a record low in the currency prompted the Reserve Bank of India to intervene almost daily, preventing a deeper slide, traders said. The RBI resumed intervention in the NDF market to manage rupee volatility, four bankers told Reuters. Market participants expect another drop in foreign exchange reserves that saw a decline of more than $9 billion in week ended August 1, indicating intervention in the spot market. Meanwhile, some remain hopeful that a resolution would be achieved in coming period. Looking at the recent history, there is a high probability that the U.S. lowers tariffs in coming weeks or months and this could lead to a relief rally in Indian markets, as and when it happens, said Nishit Master, portfolio manager at Axis Securities PMS. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
an hour ago
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How a CIA hit on al Qaeda ensnared a US citizen in Afghanistan
By Jonathan Landay WASHINGTON (Reuters) -As a crowd looked on, uniformed Taliban surrounded the Toyota Landcruiser in which Mahmood Habibi, a naturalized U.S. citizen, sat. Other Taliban smashed open the door of his Kabul apartment, emerging later with his laptop and papers. Blindfolded in the back seat, Habibi and his driver were driven off by gunmen sporting shoulder patches of the Taliban's feared secret police, the General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI), according to several witness statements in U.S. government possession seen by Reuters. Afghanistan's Taliban government denies it detained Habibi, 37, who was a former head of Afghanistan's civil aviation. While dividing his time between the United States and Kabul working for a private company, he became a U.S. citizen after the Taliban took power in 2021. The Taliban also says they have no knowledge of his whereabouts, three years after he disappeared. That is contradicted by the witness accounts and other evidence, including data monitored from Habibi's cellphone, described to Reuters by a U.S. official and a former U.S. official familiar with the matter. The Taliban denials present a conundrum for the FBI, which is leading the U.S. government effort to gain his release; and for the State Department, which describes Habibi's detention a major impediment to exploring increased engagement with Afghanistan, three years after his August 10, 2022 arrest. U.S. President Donald Trump has made freeing Americans held abroad a top priority and already has secured the release of dozens, including from Afghanistan, Russia and Venezuela. The case of Habibi - the only publicly identified American held in the country - has been harder to resolve. This story is the most comprehensive account to date of the circumstances of Habibi's capture and includes previously unreported details. Among them, interviews with the U.S. official and a former U.S. official with knowledge of the case reveal that the Taliban likely detained Habibi because the CIA had penetrated the company where he worked. The sources say the U.S. spy agency had accessed one of the company's security cameras, helping it pinpoint the al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in a Kabul guesthouse. Habibi's detention came 10 days after Zawahiri - the last of the top plotters of the September 11, 2001, attack on the United States - was dramatically assassinated by a U.S. drone strike on the guesthouse, ordered by Trump's predecessor, Joe Biden. At the time, U.S. officials briefed journalists that it was a CIA operation. The U.S. sources told Reuters that Habibi was unaware of the CIA plot and was wrongly detained after returning to Kabul from a work trip to Dubai after the assassination, oblivious of the danger he was in. The CIA, the Taliban, the White House and Habibi's employer, Virginia-based ARX Communications, did not respond to detailed requests for comment for this story. ARX has previously said neither it, nor its subsidiaries, were involved with the strike on Zawahiri. Reuters could not independently verify whether Habibi was or wasn't aware of the plot. In a statement to Reuters, a State Department spokesperson called for Habibi's immediate release. "We know the Taliban abducted Mahmood Habibi nearly three years ago," the spokesperson said. A co-worker detained with Habibi, then later released, saw him in GDI headquarters and heard him in an adjacent room being asked if he worked for the CIA or was involved in the strike on Zawahiri, according to one of the statements in U.S government possession, seen by Reuters. Then, in June and August of 2023, the U.S. government detected that his mobile phone had been switched on in GDI headquarters, the U.S. official and former official said. Reuters could not reach the witnesses who made statements, including the coworker, or verify the accuracy of their account of Habibi's detention. The U.S. official familiar with the matter said excerpts of the statements have been presented to the Taliban in response to their repeated denials of Habibi's detention. As Habibi and his family on Sunday mark the third anniversary of his arrest, the Trump administration has stepped up efforts to win his release, including offering a $5 million reward for information. But so far, he appears no closer to freedom, the U.S. sources said. "Our family has new hope that the Trump team will be successful," said Habibi's older brother, Ahmad. Ahmad said his brother would never have gone to Kabul four days after the Zawahiri assassination if the CIA had told ARX to warn him it was too dangerous to return. 'Nobody told him anything. Neither the company, neither the CIA nor anybody. So, he just went back,' Ahmad said. The U.S. government officially considers Habibi a hostage, said the U.S. official, because his arrest and location remain unconfirmed by the Taliban. The official and the former official spoke on condition of anonymity, citing the sensitivity of the case. In response to a request for comment, the FBI said that along with partners in other U.S. departments involved in hostage recovery, it remains "committed to bringing Habibi home to his family." The Taliban rejected an offer made last year to trade Habibi for alleged Osama bin Laden aide Mohammad Rahim al-Afghani, the last Afghan held in the Guantanamo Bay military prison. 'We've tried in terms of both carrots and sticks,' said the official, who requested anonymity to discuss the case. The Taliban "literally throw up a wall," said the official. CAMERA ON CELL TOWER As part of the operation against Zawahiri, the CIA penetrated the Asia Consultancy Group (ACG), a subsidiary of ARX, according to the current and former U.S. officials, who provided previously unreported details of how the spy agency was able to target the al Qaeda chief. Reuters presented these details to the CIA, ACG and ARX, requesting comment, but received no response. ACG, whose parent is headquartered in Herndon, Virginia, had a contract to erect cellphone towers around Kabul, the sources said. CCTV cameras were fitted to the towers to protect the structures, they said. One of the cameras, the sources said, was pointed at a house U.S. officials have linked to Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban's acting interior minister both at the time and now, in the heart of Kabul's diplomatic quarter, a short distance from the shuttered British and American embassies. The sources said the camera sent back video to the CIA confirming Zawahiri's presence in the residence. That confirmation helped the agency kill the Egyptian Islamist with two drone-fired Hellfire R9X missiles on July 31, 2022, as he emerged onto a balcony, they said. His wife and family survived the strike. While officials in the Biden administration at the time described the CIA's drone operation to kill Zawahiri with Hellfires, the details of the agency's operation on the ground, including the presence of the camera and its role in identifying Zawahiri have not been previously disclosed. ARREST On the day of his arrest, Mahmood Habibi was in his apartment in Kabul's Sherpur neighborhood packing to return to New Jersey, where he had a home, with the help of a sister, who was there with her two children, according to Ahmad. It was about noon when a phone call came from the ACG office saying it had just been raided by the Taliban, Ahmad said. Habibi told his sister that he had to leave without explaining why. He was arrested immediately after getting into his vehicle, Ahmad said. A few minutes later, somebody announcing that they were with GDI knocked on his apartment door, according to Ahmad and a witness statement. His sister declined to open it, telling those outside that she had to conform to the Taliban rule that an adult male relative had to be present. The Taliban broke open the door, entered the apartment and rifled through closets and drawers, demanding Habibi's laptop, according to Ahmad and the witness statement. A crowd had gathered outside after the Taliban arrived in five vehicles, blocked the street and surrounded Habibi's car, before driving him off, according to Ahmad and a separate witness statement. The GDI arrested 30 other ACG employees, according to a letter that ACG sent to Afghanistan's Ministry of Communications, seen by Reuters. Except for Habibi and one other, all were eventually released. In the letter, dated September 15, 2022, ACG asked that family members be allowed to visit him and three other staff who the GDI still held. The ministry appeared to confirm Habibi was a GDI prisoner in a reply two days later, seen by Reuters, saying that the intelligence directorate would decide on the petition when its investigation was completed. However, in a July 3, 2025 statement reported by Afghanistan's state news agency, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said that in response to requests from Habibi's family, the Taliban had investigated but no evidence has been found to suggest that he was detained by Afghanistan's security forces. Mujahid said the Taliban are a legitimate governing body that does not detain individuals without due process or hide them from public view. Mujahid did not respond to a Reuters request for comment. US CITIZEN Born to parents from the southern city of Kandahar, Habibi is one of eight siblings – three brothers and five sisters – who grew up in the Kabul neighborhood of Karte Parwan. His excellent English helped him secure a job with the U.N. civil aviation agency in Kabul in 2008. He worked for the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration's U.S. embassy office from 2011 to 2013. Tapped as deputy civil aviation minister, Habibi helped transition Afghanistan's air traffic system from U.S. control to the U.S.-backed Kabul government. Habibi became civil aviation minister in 2017. He held that post until 2019 while earning a civil aviation master's degree from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida, the university confirmed. In 2019, he resigned and then joined ARX to help oversee its Afghan subsidiary's contract to run air traffic control at Kabul's international airport. Habibi lived between the city and the United States, accumulating the last of the 30 months of U.S. residency he needed over a five-year period for U.S. citizenship in 2021, Ahmad said. He was in Kabul with his family during the chaotic departure of the last U.S. troops in August 2021, Ahmad said, as the Taliban consolidated its grip on the capital after 20 years of war. Habibi flew from Dubai to Kabul on August 4, 2022, after stopping in Qatar to check on his family and parents who were housed on a U.S. military base there waiting for final processing of U.S. immigration visas, said Ahmad. A week later Habibi was arrested. His wife, daughter and parents, who waited in Qatar until October for their visas before flying to the United States and settling in California, have not seen or heard from him since. Resolving Habibi's case would be the easiest way for the Taliban, who crave international recognition as Afghanistan's legitimate rulers, to explore improving ties with the U.S., the current U.S. official said. Since Habibi's detention, four other Americans have been arrested and released by the Taliban.
