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THE HEADLINES

Estimated Read Time: 3 minutes and 28 seconds

 

FROM PENTHOUSE TO JAILHOUSE

Wu Xiaohui, CEO of China’s Anbang Insurance Group was sentenced to 18 years in prison after pleading guilty to defrauding Chinese investors out of more than $10B. Mr. Wu skirted regulations and was able to raise money using falsified financial statements.

Earlier this year Anbang was seized by the Chinese government as part of a crackdown by Beijing on companies with too much debt linked to overseas assets.

In an attempt to assert China’s “economic might,” companies were purchasing hotels, and other high profile properties throughout the world with reckless abandon. This included Anbang’s $2B purchase of New York’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel.

Define white collar crime: Mr. Wu hid his share of ownership in Anbang through a “web of companies.”

Water Cooler Talking Point: “Of course in America, we just call this capitalism.”

 

WHERE THE HOOD AT?

Your teen-aged cousin’s favorite stock trading app closed just closed a $363M funding round lead by DST Global that brings its total valuation to $5.6B.

With 4M users, Robinhood leap frogs its biggest competitor and the home of everyone’s favorite insider-trading infant, E-Trade.

Things have been heating up for the no-fee trading platform after announcing earlier this year that they’d be getting into the cryptocurrency game.

Water Cooler Talking Point: “Move over avocado toast, there’s a new reason why millennials don’t have any money.”

 

CREDIT KARMA (IS A B*TCH)

Guys named Chad who ask “do you know who my father is?” have their eye on a new status symbol: Apple and Goldman Sachs’ joint credit card.

The card will be Apple Pay branded with the unscrupulous backing of Goldman Sachs’ consumer bank, Marcus.

With plans to launch next year, the card which will surely be The Points Guy’s most lucrative endorsement deal to date will help Apple further tap the service space (think: Apple Pay) and allow Goldman to penetrate the wallets of every day Americans.

Water Cooler Talking Point: “This dream team hasn’t announced the credit card’s reward program yet, so let’s give them a hand, shall we? 1) Unlimited sense of entitlement 2) An explanation of what happened to the iPhone 9.”

 

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IN OTHER NEWS

 

• Kodak aims to raise an additional $40M for its digital token, KodakOne. Thus far the film company has raised approximately $10M in total. Do they have to add to their prospectus that their most recent technological innovation was disposable cameras?
• Klout, the coolest influencer market service of 2012 is closing down for good. We can all agree that they were a bit judgmental.
• Burberry is suing Target, alleging that the retailer ripped off their signature checkered pattern.
• Eli Lilly and Co. is buying ARMO BioSciences for $1.6B. The pharma giant is expanding its immunotherapy drug portfolio.
• US indices were up yesterday:
  • DOW: +0.80%
  • S&P 500: +0.94%
  • NASDAQ: +0.89%