Latest news with #Zelle
Los Angeles Times
3 days ago
- Los Angeles Times
Police warn illicit drugs are labeled with emojis on social media. Here's a breakdown of those drug emojis
Law enforcement officials warn that social media sites are increasingly being used as storefronts for illicit drug sales, and emojis — those cute tiny symbols and characters — are being used as codes names for drugs that are available for purchase. An investigation into a case in Lompoc prompted authorities to break down the meaning of the emojis to help the public decode the illicit transactions. The drug case involved several students from Cabrillo High School in Lompoc, in the northeastern Santa Barbara County, who fell ill after ingesting edible cannabis products in February, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office, which issued a warning about online drug sales this week. The sheriff's office did not specify how many students were involved in the incident or what kind of cannabis products the students ate. Detectives from the sheriff's Cannabis Compliance Team and the school's resource deputy launched an investigation into the incident and determined that a 15-year-old student was provided edible cannabis products by an adult, Flor Yudith Zamora, 21, of Lompoc. The 15-year-old brought the cannabis products to the high school where the teen shared it with other students. Upon further investigation, detectives found that Zamora was using an Instagram account called ' to sell cannabis products, psilocybin (also known as 'shrooms'), nicotine products, codeine (an opiate) and alcohol to underaged children, according to authorities. In payments transactions and messages about the products, detectives found that emojis were used to identify the drugs that were being sold. The emojis were used in the discussions about payments sent to Zamora using Zelle and Cash App, services that allow peer-to-peer payments. In 2021, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration had investigated more than 80 cases involving drug trafficking on internet apps, including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X and YouTube. Available drugs were advertised on these apps in stories that disappeared within 24 hours and in posts that were removed after a certain amount of time, according to the federal agency. In a published report, the agency found that once contact was made by commenting on a post or directly messaging the social media account, the conversation was then moved to encrypted messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Signal and Telegram. Once a deal was made, drug sellers requested payment using peer-to-peer transaction services such as Venmo, Zelle, Cash App and Remitly. Officials from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office are asking parents to review their children's social media accounts for suspicious activity or unfamiliar contacts. 'Talk to them about the dangers of illegal drug activity and the risks of engaging with unknown individuals online,' the sheriff's office said in a statement. Anyone with information that could be helpful in this case is encouraged to contact the sheriff's Cannabis Compliance Team at (805) 681-4150 or by email at cannabistips@ Anonymous tips can be made by calling the office's tip line at (805) 681-4171 or online at
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Citigroup vs. Bank of America: Which Stock Has More Upside Potential?
When it comes to banking giants, Bank of America BAC and Citigroup C are often talked about. Both operate across consumer, corporate and investment banking sectors, and are currently navigating similar macroeconomic challenges. The performances of BAC and C are highly influenced by the Federal Reserve's monetary policy. As the central bank lowered rates last year, both banks benefited from that as funding costs came down. Now, with the central bank adopting a cautious approach toward rate cuts because of the Trump administration's tariff plans, Bank of America and Citigroup are likely to gain as rates are expected to remain higher for longer. Let us closely examine other factors at play for BAC and C to determine which stock currently presents the better investment opportunity. Bank of America's aggressive branch expansion across the United States as part of a broader strategy to solidify customer relationships and tap into new markets will drive net interest income (NII) growth over time. The company continues to align its banking centers according to customer needs. The bank has embarked on an ambitious expansion plan to open financial centers in new and existing markets. By 2027, it plans to expand its financial center network and open more than 150 centers. Given such expansion efforts, BAC's expenses are likely to remain elevated in the near term. The company expects non-interest expenses to rise 2-3% in 2025. Further, BAC has been renovating and updating its existing financial centers across the country for clients to engage with financial specialists. These initiatives, along with the success of the person-to-person money transfer system Zelle and the digital financial assistant Erica, will enable the company to improve digital offerings and cross-sell several products, including mortgages, auto loans and credit cards. Bank of America is seeing an upside in NII in 2025, driven by decent loan demand, higher-for-longer interest rates and robust deposit balance. The company expects 2025 NII to rise 6-7%. Citigroup has been emphasizing leaner, streamlined operations to reduce expenses. The transformation process included an organizational restructuring, as well as the elimination of 20,000 jobs by 2025. Further, the company has been focusing on growth in its core businesses by streamlining its overseas operations. In April 2021, it announced the plan to exit the consumer banking business in 14 markets across Asia and EMEA. In sync with this, this week, Citigroup, through its subsidiary Citibank Europe Plc, announced that Citi Handlowy agreed to sell its consumer banking business in Poland. The company has successfully exited from consumer banking businesses in nine countries, including Australia, Bahrain, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. As part of its strategy, Citigroup continued to make progress with the wind-downs of its Korea consumer banking operations and its overall operations in Russia, as well as the preparation for a planned initial public offering of its consumer banking and small business, and middle-market banking operations in Mexico. These moves by Citigroup are likely to free up capital to invest in higher-return segments like wealth management and investment banking. Also, a reduction in functional roles, along with the bank's consumer banking divesture effort, will help it reduce expenses. For 2025, management expects expenses to be below $53.4 billion. In 2024, the company's expenses were $53.9 billion. Citigroup is expected to witness an improvement in NII in 2025, given decent loan demand and higher deposit balances. The company projects NII (ex-Markets) to rise 2-3% year over year in 2025. In the past year, C and BAC shares have risen 25.5% and 16.9%, respectively, compared with the industry's growth of 31.1%. Though both underperformed the industry average, C performed better than BAC. Price Performance Image Source: Zacks Investment Research In terms of valuation, Citigroup is currently trading at a 12-month forward price-to-earnings (P/E) of 9.28X, higher than its five-year median of 8.45X. The BAC stock, in contrast, is currently trading at a 12-month forward P/E of 11.27X, which is lower than its five-year median of 11.59X. Price-to-Earnings F12M Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Both are trading at a discount compared with the industry average of 13.64X. However, BAC is more expensive than the C stock. Additionally, Bank of America and Citigroup are required to undergo annual stress tests conducted by the Fed before they can announce their capital distribution plans. Following the stress test, they hiked their dividends last year. Citigroup hiked its quarterly dividend by 6% to 56 cents per share. It has a dividend yield of 2.99%. Similarly, BAC increased its quarterly dividend by 8% to 26 cents per share. It has a dividend yield of 2.36%. Based on dividend yield, C has an edge over BAC. Dividend Yield Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Both companies have a share repurchase plan. In July 2024, Bank of America authorized a $25-billion stock repurchase program, effective Aug. 1, 2024. As of March 31, 2025, almost $14.4 billion worth of buyback authorization remained available. Similarly, on Jan. 13, 2025, Citigroup's board of directors approved a $20-billion common stock repurchase program with no expiration date. As of March 31, 2025, it had nearly $18 billion of stocks available under the plan. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BAC's 2025 and 2026 sales implies year-over-year increases of 5.9% and 5.6%, respectively. Likewise, the consensus estimate for 2025 and 2026 earnings indicates 12.2% and 15.3% growth, respectively. Bank of America's earnings estimates for 2025 have been revised upward, while for 2026, estimates have moved lower over the past 30 days. BAC Estimate Revision Trend Image Source: Zacks Investment Research The Zacks Consensus Estimate for C's 2025 and 2026 sales reflects year-over-year growth of 3.2% and 3%, respectively. Likewise, the consensus estimate for 2025 and 2026 earnings indicates a rise of 23% and 25.9%, respectively. Its earnings estimates for 2025 and 2026 have been revised upward over the past month. C Estimate Revision Trend Image Source: Zacks Investment Research BAC is focusing on aggressive branch network expansion across the United States, and significant technology investments to enhance customer experience and cross-selling opportunities. While this long-term strategy aims to deepen customer relationships and drive NII growth, it involves substantial upfront costs. In contrast, Citigroup is executing a highly disciplined and focused restructuring strategy. The exit from underperforming consumer markets is freeing up resources to redeploy into higher-margin businesses. This streamlining not only enhances operational efficiency but also helps the company to reduce costs. BAC anticipates higher NII growth in 2025, driven by a stable interest rate environment and sustained loan growth. However, its expenses are also expected to increase. Moreover, BAC's earnings estimates have seen some downward revisions for 2026. Alternatively, C projects decent NII growth this year but expects expenses to be below the 2024 level, leading to a projected earnings growth significantly outpacing BAC. Also, upward earnings estimate revisions indicate growing analyst confidence. Hence, Citigroup's sharper focus on cost reductions, bullish analyst sentiments compared with BAC, cheaper valuation and better stock performance position it as the more compelling investment opportunity. C and BAC currently carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Bank of America Corporation (BAC) : Free Stock Analysis Report Citigroup Inc. (C) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Is Meta Platforms' Business in Trouble?
A recent report from "The Wall Street Journal" uncovered lax policies around Meta Platforms' ad business. Meta's growth rate slowed down in recent quarters. A further decline could make the stock due for a sell-off. The company is also in the midst of an antitrust case, which could see it losing Instagram and/or WhatsApp. 10 stocks we like better than Meta Platforms › Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META), the social media giant that owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, has been a growth beast in recent years. Its revenue is growing at a fast pace, and the stock is soaring. Since the start of 2023, the stock price is up 431%. But past performance, as they say, is no guarantee of future performance. Could there be trouble ahead for the company? A recent report from The Wall Street Journal discussed some significant shortcomings in Meta's business, which it says could make Meta vulnerable to regulatory pressures in the future. Here's what you need to know if you're thinking about buying Meta Platforms' stock today. According to the Journal's May 15 report, documents revealed that Meta Platforms "accounted for nearly half of all reported scams on Zelle for JPMorgan Chase [account holders] between the summers of 2023 and 2024." And regulators in Britain and Australia were also seeing similar patterns. However, those still weren't the most mind-boggling numbers from the reporting. Incredibly, an estimated 70% of new advertisers on the platform, the report said, were found to be promoting scams or selling illegal or low-quality products. And in some cases, it could take 32 strikes before an account might get banned from the platform. Meta has developed a reputation for having problems related to misinformation circulating on its platforms for years, but these new reports arguably take things to a new level. My concern is that a lot of the company's revenue growth may be due to having lax policies, and that makes its platforms hubs for scammers. According to The Wall Street Journal, a spokesperson from Meta said the company is working the fix the issues being raised and has issued warnings to users to be wary, but it has also argued in court cases about whether it should be held liable that it has no legal responsibility to make fixes. While the company talks about improving its practices, the report's findings don't suggest it's doing nearly enough. In 2023, when shares of Meta were picking up steam, its growth rate was accelerating and was on a much more positive trajectory than in 2022, when companies were scaling back on ad spend. But if that strong growth was due to having loose rules around ads, that poses big question marks about what its growth rate might really be if it were to take a much tougher stance. Meta's growth rate has already begun to slow down in recent quarters, and the risk is that more of a slowdown may be inevitable. Regardless of whether it tightens up its policies or not, adverse macroeconomic conditions could weigh on its operations. Chinese retailers are already looking to cut back on ad spending this year due to tariffs, and that could impact Meta's advertising business to the tune of $7 billion, according to an estimate from MoffettNathanson. If the company does put tougher policies in place, or is forced to do so through greater government oversight, that could make a bad situation even worse for Meta. Meta Platforms' stock looks relatively cheap based on current estimates, trading at 24 times its trailing earnings, but that multiple could look far different if the company has to take a tougher stance on policing its ads. It also faces the risk of a possible breakup due to antitrust issues, where it may need to sell off Instagram and/or WhatsApp, two of its more popular social media applications, especially when it comes to younger audiences. Year to date, the stock is up around 9.3%, but it is down about 13% from its 52-week high. Between a slowing growth rate, a possible breakup of its business, and a questionable business model, there are a flurry of reasons to avoid the tech stock right now. While Meta has been doing well in recent years, this is a stock I'd stay away from as I have serious doubts about its long-term growth potential. Before you buy stock in Meta Platforms, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Meta Platforms wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $639,271!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $804,688!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 957% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 167% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of May 19, 2025 JPMorgan Chase is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. David Jagielski has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends JPMorgan Chase and Meta Platforms. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Is Meta Platforms' Business in Trouble? was originally published by The Motley Fool
Business Times
25-05-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Tether focuses elsewhere while US seeks to regulate stablecoins
[CHICAGO] While Congress is considering bills that would help integrate stablecoins more into mainstream finance, the largest issuer of the digital tokens says it will continue to focus on serving markets besides the US. On Monday (May 19), an industry-backed regulatory bill known as the Genius Act made its way through the Senate. The House Financial Services Committee has approved its own stablecoin measure, but it has yet to pass the chamber. 'It is important for us to see how the Genius Act is distinguishing between foreign issuers and domestic issuers,' Paolo Ardoino, chief executive officer of Tether Holdings, said on Friday. 'For us, the main interest will remain outside of the US.' El-Salvador-based Tether's USDT stablecoin accounts for more than 60 per cent of the stablecoin market, with 420 million users across emerging markets. The company, which has had several clashes with state and federal authorities over the years, has been increasingly involved in the US amid a friendlier regulatory environment under President Donald Trump's pro-crypto administration. Ardoino made his first visit to the US in March and stopped off in Washington while Trump held his inaugural digital-asset summit. 'We are looking at the Genius Act in a way that will allow us to be compliant,' Ardoino said. 'We can be compliant while still having a strong focus on foreign markets.' BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up The stablecoin bills in the House and Senate require the tokens – usually pegged to the US dollar or another currency – to be fully backed by cash and 'safe assets' such as short-term Treasuries and make issuers subject to the Bank Secrecy Act and to anti-money-laundering regulations. In addition, both bills would allow regulators to sign off on foreign issuers such as Tether if they're subject to 'comparable' rules overseas. However, the question remains on how strictly the law will deal with those that don't comply. 'Stablecoins are surely important in the United States, but it's true that in the United States you have tons of ways to pay each other with Zelle, PayPal, debit cards, credit cards, cash, you name it,' Ardoino said. While Tether does not currently service US customers, most of the private company's reserve is comprised of assets that would be compliant with the proposed US legislation. The firm also backs its token with assets that would not be allowed, such as Bitcoin and secured loans. Because of its size, Tether would be regulated at the federal level if it chose to apply for a US license under such rules. In 2021, Tether settled with US authorities over allegations that it lied about its reserves. Today, those reserves are managed by Cantor Fitzgerald & Co, which was until recently led by Trump's Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick. Ardoino has said the company may issue a new stablecoin that will adhere to the requirements, making it more attractive to institutional investors. The more supportive regulatory environment in the US has also pushed Tether to progress towards delivering an audit of its reserves by a Big Four accounting firm, which Ardoino also said that Tether was still in discussions with. Currently, Tether releases quarterly attestations which are signed off by BDO Italia. 'They are going through a phase of adjustment, but a full audit is our priority,' Ardoino said. Stablecoins have become crucial to the functioning of crypto markets, with about US$243 billion of them in circulation in May 2025. On Friday, The Wall Street Journal reported that a consortium of major banks, including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, are exploring whether to jointly issue a stablecoin. 'We are not worried about the competitors coming from big banks, because they will look at the Western world,' Ardoino said. 'Our customer base are the three billion people unbanked that are not touching the banking system.' BLOOMBERG
The Star
23-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
U.S. big banks explore venturing into crypto world: report
NEW YORK, May 23 (Xinhua) -- The United States' biggest banks are exploring whether to team up to issue a joint stablecoin, a step intended to fend off escalating competition from the cryptocurrency industry, The Wall Street Journal has reported. The conversations have so far involved companies co-owned by JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo and other large commercial banks, according to the report. Those include Early Warning Services, the operator of the peer-to-peer payment system Zelle, and the Clearing House, the real-time payment network. "The bank consortium discussions are in early, conceptual stages and could change," noted the report. Any final decision would depend on the fate of legislative actions around stablecoins and other factors, such as whether the banks find there would be enough demand for them. Banks have been bracing for the possibility that stablecoins could become widely adopted under U.S. President Donald Trump and siphon away the deposits and transactions they handle, particularly if big tech companies or retailers get in on the action. The banking industry is in catch-up mode in the crypto space after a regulatory crackdown two years ago, it added.
