Latest news with #USSecuritiesandExchangeCommission
Business Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Times
US regulator drops lawsuit against Binance
[WASHINGTON] The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Thursday dropped its civil lawsuit against the cryptocurrency exchange Binance and its majority shareholder, Changpeng Zhao. 'In the exercise of its discretion and as a matter of policy, the Commission deems it appropriate to dismiss this litigation,' the agency said in a court filing. The SEC added that dropping the lawsuit 'does not necessarily reflect its position in any other litigation or proceeding.' Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, is accused in several countries of allowing criminal organisations to launder funds through its platform. Zhao, the company's co-founder and former CEO, pleaded guilty in late 2023 to violating anti-money-laundering requirements in the United States, serving a four-month prison sentence for it in 2024. As part of the company's US$4.3 billion settlement with US authorities, Zhao agreed to resign from his position at Binance while remaining a majority shareholder. US President Donald Trump's pro-crypto SEC chair Paul Atkins has dropped other cases against major cryptocurrency platforms like Coinbase and Kraken initiated under the administration of former president Joe Biden. AFP
New Straits Times
2 days ago
- Business
- New Straits Times
US regulator drops lawsuit against Binance
WASHINGTON: The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Thursday dropped its civil lawsuit against the cryptocurrency exchange Binance and its majority shareholder, Changpeng Zhao. "In the exercise of its discretion and as a matter of policy, the Commission deems it appropriate to dismiss this litigation," the agency said in a court filing. The SEC added that dropping the lawsuit "does not necessarily reflect its position in any other litigation or proceeding." Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, is accused in several countries of allowing criminal organizations to launder funds through its platform. Zhao, the company's co-founder and former CEO, pleaded guilty in late 2023 to violating anti-money-laundering requirements in the United States, serving a four-month prison sentence for it in 2024. As part of the company's US$4.3 billion settlement with US authorities, Zhao agreed to resign from his position at Binance while remaining a majority shareholder. US President Donald Trump's pro-crypto SEC chair Paul Atkins has dropped other cases against major cryptocurrency platforms like Coinbase and Kraken initiated under the administration of former president Joe Biden.--AFP
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
General Mills initiates 'transformation' programme with embedded costs
General Mills has revealed a 'global transformation' programme that will incur costs of around $130m as the US food major seeks to boost productivity. In a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday (27 May), the Blue Buffalo pet food and Cheerios cereals brand owner said the 'multi-year' plan was approved by management on 20 May. It is 'intended to drive increased productivity by enhancing end-to-end business processes, enabled by targeted organisational actions'. Although light on detail, the initiative comes on the back of a poor set of results reported in March for the third quarter of General Mills' current 2025 fiscal year. And the company suggested yesterday the transformation programme will be accompanied by job cuts. Sales for the period dropped 5% in organic terms, a performance the company admitted fell short of 'expectations', with volumes down four percentage points. At the same time, General Mills downgraded its full-year guidance for a flat-to-higher print confirmed at the second-quarter stage in December. The Pillsbury cookies maker now expects organic sales to be down 1.5% to 2%. General Mills said yesterday that of the expected $130m in total charges, about $70m will be booked in the fourth quarter of 2025, 'primarily reflecting severance expenses'. The Old El Paso Mexican brand owner explained in the filing: 'The company anticipates that the series of actions related to the transformation initiative will be substantially completed by the end of fiscal 2028 and will result in total charges of approximately $130 million, of which approximately $120 million will be cash.' General Mills did not reveal any further details but implied in yesterday's filings that the initiative could have more in-depth implications. 'The estimate of costs that the company expects to record, and the timing thereof, are subject to a number of assumptions and actual results may differ from current expectations,' the publicly listed business added. 'The company may also record other charges or cash expenditures not currently contemplated due to events that may occur as a result of, or associated with, the transformation initiative.' Discussing the third-quarter results in March, chairman and CEO Jeff Harmening made a pledge to reinvest $100m from targeted savings in the 2026 financial year. 'We're reviewing new cost-efficiency initiatives that are anticipated to generate at least $100 million in additional savings in fiscal '26, with further savings expected in fiscal '27 and beyond,' Harmening explained. 'Our number one priority is to accelerate our organic sales growth by delivering remarkable consumer experiences across our leading food brands, resulting in stronger volume and improved market share performance.' General Mills is on target to generate 5% in cost-of-goods sold savings in the current year through the company's Holistic Margin Management (HMM) programme and expects to repeat that in fiscal 2026, equating to more than $600m in 'gross productivity savings', Harmening said in March. "General Mills initiates 'transformation' programme with embedded costs" was originally created and published by Just Food, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Wall Street's Rush to Launch Vanguard-Style Funds Draws Warnings
(Bloomberg) — Exchange-traded funds have amassed trillions of dollars by offering investors greater tax efficiency, liquidity and lower costs than mutual funds. Now, a looming regulatory shift is poised to bring the two vehicles closer together — and threatens to complicate the very features that fueled the ETF boom. NY Wins Order Against US Funding Freeze in Congestion Fight The US Securities and Exchange Commission is expected to approve applications for dual-share-class structures, perhaps as soon as this summer, allowing managers to add an ETF sleeve to an existing mutual fund. More than 50 firms, including BlackRock Inc. and State Street Corp., are waiting for the regulator's greenlight to deploy the hybrid structure — made possible after Vanguard Group Inc.'s exclusive patent expired two years ago. The two-in-one blueprint is a tantalizing prospect for asset managers looking to break into the ETF market at scale, without having to launch a new strategy from scratch. It also offers a lifeline to firms battered by years of mutual-fund outflows, as investors fled for more tax-efficient alternatives. The hybrid structure famously helped Vanguard save its clients billions in taxes over two decades. Yet replicating that playbook may prove harder than it looks. Some Wall Street experts caution the shake-up could erode key benefits of the wrapper, especially if hybrid funds face significant withdrawals during market stress. 'I've been in the ETF business for 20 years — we have spent it talking about how great they are at managing capital gains, and I don't think folks have an appreciation for how more ETFs could potentially end up paying capital gains distributions,' said Brandon Clark, director of ETF business at Federated Hermes, who previously led the ETF capital markets team at Vanguard. At the heart of the concern is a tax dynamic that ETFs were built to avoid. These funds rarely pay capital-gains tax distributions, thanks to their in-kind redemption process, which allows the issuer to swap securities with authorized participants rather than sell them outright. By contrast, mutual funds redeem in cash, meaning managers may need to sell securities to meet outflows. If those sales generate capital gains, they may distribute them to investors. In a hybrid vehicle, those taxable gains risk getting passed onto ETF shareholders, too. 'For mutual funds drawing inflows or net zero flows, there should be no issues, but for ones with outflows, there's a potential risk for the ETF holders,' said Bloomberg Intelligence senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, in a note. About two-thirds of ETF issuers surveyed by consulting firm Cerulli Associates flagged this spillover issue. There's precedent. In 2009, a Vanguard fund distributed a 14% capital gain across both share classes, after a large mutual-fund withdrawal, Bloomberg data show. Though rare, the episode underscores the fiscal complications in the event a fund experiences outsized outflows within a shared portfolio. 'The investors that stand to benefit most immediately are the ones that already own the fund, as it can only improve the fund's tax efficiency,' said Ben Johnson, head of client solutions at Morningstar Inc. Wirehouses like UBS Group Inc., which list funds for financial advisers, are studying how this would impact which funds they will offer on their platforms. An ETF share class could 'run the risk of receiving tax distributions they otherwise wouldn't have,' said Mustafa Osman, who runs due diligence on funds before they are added to the platform as head of ETF and mutual fund strategy and analytics at UBS. The SEC refers to this issue as 'cross-subsidization' and has directed applicants to detail how they'll mitigate it. In response, firms like Dimensional Fund Advisors have amended their applications to detail a governance structure where the fund works with its independent board to determine if the dual structure is beneficial to both shareholders, while monitoring risks like cross-subsidization before and after launch. Among issues that would be considered: cash levels, unrealized gains and losses, and turnover. Even standalone ETFs are paying out more capital gains more frequently these days, as more products track derivatives or assets that have risen markedly in value. In 2024, roughly 5% of passive ETFs paid out capital gains, the most since 2021, and 12% of active ones did, the highest since 2022, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Those figures are much larger for mutual funds, of course, with more than 50% paying them out last year. Another complication lies in how the structure would impact the economics of ETF listings on big-name platforms. Cerulli estimates wirehouses and broker-dealer platforms could lose as much as $30 billion in revenue if mutual fund assets shift to ETF share classes in droves. To stem the loss of revenue, intermediaries could begin to introduce revenue-sharing agreements with ETF issuers, which may ultimately raise costs for investors. 'This trend of trying to recapture some of that revenue that's been slowly melting from the mutual funds has been in place for ETFs for the last few years,' said Ben Slavin, global head of ETFs at BNY. Beyond fees and tax advantages, ETFs famously offer more liquidity than mutual funds — a selling point that may be undermined in some instances, if the two models are combined. According to Cerulli, ETFs that struggle to scale could see wider bid-ask spreads, with costs ultimately passed onto investors. All told, this is uncharted territory. Vanguard's success relied on stable flows, deep relationships with market makers and highly liquid portfolios. Large firms may be able to follow suit smoothly, but smaller managers holding less liquid assets could find the road ahead trickier. 'It's not evident that authorized participants are ready for a plethora of smaller ETFs as a share class exposures, especially outside the most liquid underlying markets,' Cerulli researchers wrote in a report. Mark Zuckerberg Loves MAGA Now. Will MAGA Ever Love Him Back? Millions of Americans Are Obsessed With This Japanese Barbecue Sauce Why Apple Still Hasn't Cracked AI Inside the First Stargate AI Data Center How Coach Handbags Became a Gen Z Status Symbol ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Slide Insurance files for IPO with US SEC
Slide Insurance, a Florida-based insurer specialising in coastal property and casualty (P&C) insurance, has filed for an initial public offering (IPO) with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The company applied to list its common stock on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the symbol SLDE. The company, launched in 2021, is a technology-enabled insurer focusing on underwriting single-family and condominium policies in coastal states along the Atlantic seaboard. The company's business model includes acquiring policies through block acquisitions and renewals, as well as generating new business through independent agents and a direct-to-consumer channel. This approach allows Slide Insurance to sell its products directly to consumers, bypassing other intermediaries, the company said in the filing. The IPO is intended to raise capital that will enable Slide to underwrite additional policies, support the company's growth and meet general corporate needs. Barclays Capital and Morgan Stanley are the representatives of the underwriters and joint book-running managers for the offering. Davis Polk & Wardwell has been providing legal counsel for the issuance of the shares of common stock. The underwriters are represented by Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. In the first quarter of 2025 (Q1 2025), Slide Insurance reported net income of $92.5m, an increase from $54.7m in the same quarter of the previous year. The company's total revenue for the quarter rose to $281.5m, up from $199.1m in Q1 2024. Gross premiums written reached $278.2m in Q1 2025, compared with $244.6m in the prior year. "Slide Insurance files for IPO with US SEC " was originally created and published by Life Insurance International, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. 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
