Carl Icahn Comes Under Fire!

Legendary corporate raider and activist Carl Icahn found himself on the wrong side of a familiar battle this week when the short selling investment firm Hindenburg Research took aim at Icahn’s publicly traded holding company, alleging in a new report that Icahn Enterprises L.P. (IEP) is overstating the value of its private asset portfolio, and that its publicly traded stock units–85% of which Icahn owns–are “significantly overvalued.” Icahn’s fortune fell over 35%, from $18.3 billion on Monday afternoon to $12 billion as of Tuesday’s market close. 

Icahn Enterprises units tumbled 20% on Tuesday, shaving $3 billion in market value off Icahn’s fortune. Forbes then trimmed Icahn’s estimated net worth by another $3.6 billion, after it was revealed that Icahn had pledged over half of his IEP shares as collateral against unknown personal debts. 

Hindenburg is a short selling activist hedge fund run by Nate Anderson who is most famous for having released a video of Nikola’s electric truck prototype being towed up a hill in order to be pushed down to make a promotional video showing that the technology was fully operational. He claims that Icahn Enterprises has a Ponzi-like economic structure.

Why First Republic Bank Was Seized and Sold to JPMorgan Chase

First Republic Bank was seized by the FDIC early Monday and a deal was struck to sell the bulk of its operations to JPMorgan Chase, a move that regulators hope will stabilize the industry and cut down on customer panic. This comes after First Republic lost $100 billion in deposits following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.

The Billion Dollar Scam

From the BBC World Service. Investigative reporter Simona Weinglass leads a #BBCEye investigation into a criminal network, believed to have scammed more than a billion dollars from victims across the globe. The organisation sponsored a top-tier football club to promote its online trading platform, promising investors the chance of astonishing returns. But what lies behind the claims? The search – from a mansion in London, to a forest in Scandinavia and a call centre in Georgia – reveals a web of deceit. We hear from victims, undercover agents and police, in a bid to track down who’s in charge.

Bonds, Explained Through SVB’s Collapse

Buying U.S. government bonds is among the safest investments you can make. In fact, people often put their college funds and retirement savings into bonds. In the midst of recession fears, bonds are often referred to as “risk-free” because there are only two ways you can lose money: 

• The government defaults, which is almost certainly not going to happen, or 
• You sell the bonds early at a loss, which contributed to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank 

This might make you wonder how safe bonds really are, so WSJ explains why they’re still a good investment.

How to stop AI going rogue

Artificial intelligence is improving so fast that no one knows what it might be capable of. It brings huge opportunities, but also huge risks. Arjun Ramani, The Economist's global business and economics correspondent, explains what could go wrong.

Finfluencers! How Good is Popular Personal Financial Advice?

The term “Finfluencer” refers to a person who by virtue of their popular or cultural status has an outsize impact on investor decisions through social media influence. According to Sue Guan of Santa Clara University, a variety of finfluencers exist in today’s markets, ranging from simple celebrities that draw people's attention like Kim Kardashian to corporate personalities like Elon Musk or Ryan Cohen to ordinary investors who develop followings on YouTube, TikTok, and other social media platforms. In today's video we examine how the advice of well-known personal finance influencers like Dave Ramsey and Robert Kiyosaki compares to the advice of academics.

Why the World Should Care About Credit Suisse’s Downfall

Switzerland’s secret bank accounts and political neutrality turned the small Alpine nation into a financial giant. Now the demise of Credit Suisse, one of its two big banks, has shaken global finance and created a megabank in UBS that comes with new and potentially bigger risks. 

Bloomberg journalists trace the history of Swiss banking and how the ramifications of the Credit Suisse crisis extend far beyond the country’s borders.