Foreclosures | Mortgages | Financing
A federal lawsuit filed against Wells Fargo & Co. alleges that the company did nothing when a mortgage processor reported sexual harassment by her boss.
The complaint was filed against the San Fransisco-based financial institution on Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina.
According to the suit, when the employee reported the harassment to her boss’ supervisor, she was told to ignore the inappropriate comments.
From:: Financing
The largest exchange-traded fund to track the biotechnology sector rallied on Thursday, moving in its biggest one-day percentage pop since June as it hit levels not seen since early 2016. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF jumped 2.3% to $331.62, and earlier rose as high as $333.30. That represented the highest level for the fund since the last trading day of 2015, according to FactSet data. The ETF has been a strong performer of late. Thursday is set to be its fourth straight daily increase; for the week it is up 6.6%, on pace for its biggest weekly gain since June. Among the fund’s biggest gainers, Biogen Inc. added 3.9% while BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. was up 2.2% and Gilead Sciences added 2.1%.
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From:: Stock Market News
The Securities and Exchange Commission charged an accountant and three others with trading on confidential market-moving news about Celator Pharmaceuticals Inc., a New Jersey-based pharmaceutical company where Evan R. Kita, a CPA, formerly worked. The SEC alleges that Kita tipped two of his friends with confidential information about clinical trial results for Celator’s cancer drug and its acquisition by Dublin-based Jazz Pharmaceuticals Plc almost three months later. Jazz Pharmaceuticals offered to pay a hefty premium in May 2016 to acquire Celator when its stock rose more than 400% in March 2016 after it announced positive results for its drug to treat leukemia. Daniel Perez and Richard Yu allegedly purchased Celator stock based on Kita’s tips before the two announcements and agreed to share their trading profits with him, according to the SEC. Yu passed Kita’s tips to his father, Chiang Yu, who also traded in advance of both announcements, the SEC says. The SEC’s investigation is continuing. The Department of Justice also filed criminal charges on Wednesday against the four men.
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From:: Stock Market News
The New York Department of Financial Services reminded financial institutions that the first compliance date of New York’s cybersecurity regulation was on Aug. 28. Financial institutions have had since the start of the year to implement the cybersecurity regulations that are intended to keep financial institutions and their customers safe. …read more
From:: Real Estate Wire
Wells Fargo & Co. has disclosed that the number of new accounts fraudulently created by bank employees is substantially higher than originally reported.
Last September, the San Francisco-based bank-holding company revealed that 2.1 million bank accounts had been created without the customers’ permission.
The scandal resulted in the termination of more than 5,000 employees, the ouster of its chief executive officer and the resignation of the three directors — including the chairman of the board.
From:: Financing
There was little change in monthly residential business at the Federal Housing Administration, though refinance activity is poised for an increase. But commercial real estate activity soared.
At the midpoint of this year, FHA insurance was in force on 8,552,967 residential loans for $1.2901 trillion, according to an analysis of data reported by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The total included $1.1455 trillion in single-family loans, $0.1436 trillion in home-equity conversion mortgages and $0.0010 trillion in Title I loans.
From:: Financing
Apple Inc. invited media members Thursday to its new campus and theater named after co-founder Steve Jobs for a Sept. 12 event that is expected to include the introduction of a highly anticipated new iPhone, according to multiple media reports. “Let’s meet at our place,” the invitation, shared on Twitter by multiple reporters, reads. “Please join us for the first ever event at the new Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino.” The Steve Jobs Theater is part of Apple’s new “Spaceship” campus that will be the new headquarters for the world’s most valuable company. At the event, Apple is expected to introduce new iPhones on the tenth anniversary of the introduction of the original iconic Apple smartphone. Most anticipation focuses on a new, super-premium version of the phone that is expected to cost $1,000. Apple is also rumored to be planning the launch of a cellular-connected smartwatch and a new Apple TV device. Apple stock has reached record highs as the event approaches, increasing 10.5% in the past month as the S&P 500 index fell 0.5%. Shares increased slightly after Thursday’s announcement, and were trading about 0.3% higher for the day.
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From:: Stock Market News
An internal investigation at Wells Fargo revealed that the bank’s fake account scandal is a much larger issue than anyone thought. Nearly a year ago, the bank was fined $185 million for 5,000 of the bank’s former employees opening as many as 2.1 million accounts without authorization in order to get sales bonuses. As it turns out, the number of potentially fake accounts was actually 3.5 million – 1.4 million more than first thought. Click the headline to read more. …read more
From:: Real Estate Wire
The State Department on Thursday said Russia will have to close its San Francisco consulate, as well as annexes in Washington, D.C. and New York, by Sept. 2. The State Department said it was responding to Russia’s decision to reduce the size of the U.S. mission in Russia, which was in response to U.S. sanctions imposed on Russia. Both countries will remain with three consulates each, the State Department said.
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From:: Stock Market News
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Thursday that aid for Hurricane Harvey relief could impact the timing of the need to raise the debt ceiling. Mnuchin said Sept. 29 remains the date by which Congress should raise the borrowing limit, but added that Treasury’s spending will be affected in September by an aid package. “There could be some impact of a couple of days,” he said.
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From:: Stock Market News