Connect with us

News

Asia’s richest man considers legal action over short seller’s ‘baseless’ fraud claims | CNN Business

Published

on

Asia’s richest man considers legal action over short seller’s ‘baseless’ fraud claims | CNN Business


New Delhi
CNN
 — 

India’s Adani Group has denounced allegations of fraud made by Hindenburg Analysis as “baseless” and a “malicious mixture of selective misinformation,” and is contemplating authorized motion towards the US-based brief vendor.

Hindenburg Analysis revealed an investigation on billionaire Gautam Adani’s sprawling conglomerate on Tuesday, accusing it of “brazen inventory manipulation and accounting fraud scheme over the course of a long time.”

Hindenburg stated it has taken a brief place in corporations within the Adani Group “via U.S.-traded bonds and non-Indian-traded by-product devices.” Brief sellers purpose to make cash by betting that the inventory worth of the businesses they aim will fall.

Advertisement

Adani’s enterprise empire incorporates seven listed corporations — in sectors starting from ports to energy stations — and shares in most of them fell by between 3% and greater than 8% on Wednesday.

The plunge had an instantaneous influence on the billionaire’s internet price. In line with Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index, Adani misplaced practically $6 billion on Wednesday. He’s at present price $113 billion. Indian markets are closed Thursday.

In its investigation, which Hindenburg stated took two years to compile, the analysis agency questioned the “sky-high valuations” of Adani corporations and stated their “substantial debt” places your entire group “on a precarious monetary footing.”

The analysis agency concluded its report with 88 questions for the Adani Group. These vary from asking for particulars on Adani’s offshore entities, to why it has “such a convoluted, interlinked company construction.”

CNN has not verified the claims within the report, and India’s inventory market regulator didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.

Advertisement

Shares of Adani’s corporations have surged in the previous few years, making him Asia’s richest man.

In an announcement launched just a few hours after Hindenburg revealed its report, the Adani Group’s chief monetary officer Jugeshinder Singh stated that Hindenburg didn’t make “any try and contact us or confirm the factual matrix,” including that the allegations made by the brief vendor are “stale, baseless and discredited.”

The conglomerate has confronted scrutiny from Indian authorities previously. In 2021, shares in Adani’s corporations tumbled after The Financial Occasions newspaper stated that overseas funds that maintain stakes price billions of {dollars} had been frozen by the nation’s Nationwide Securities Depository. The Adani Group referred to as that report “blatantly faulty.”

Nate Anderson, who based Hindenburg Analysis, has made a reputation for himself previously few years by concentrating on corporations that he thinks are overvalued and have suspect financials. Anderson is finest identified for going after electrical truck firm Nikola in 2020, calling it an “intricate fraud,” and inflicting the agency’s inventory to plunge sharply. In 2022, Nikola’s founder was convicted by a US jury of fraud in a case alleging he lied to buyers in regards to the firm’s know-how.

However some have accused Hindenburg of attempting to push shares decrease with its analysis studies to be able to make a revenue.

Advertisement

Its report on the Adani Group comes at a delicate time. Later this week, Adani Enterprises, the conglomerate’s flagship firm, is aiming to boost 200 billion rupees ($2.5 billion) by issuing new shares.

Singh stated that the “timing of the report’s publication clearly betrays a brazen, mala fide intention to undermine the Adani Group’s fame with the principal goal of damaging the upcoming follow-on public providing.”

The conglomerate is additionally contemplating taking 5 new companies to the inventory market within the subsequent two to 5 years.

In one other assertion on Thursday, the Adani Group stated it’s “evaluating the related provisions underneath US and Indian legal guidelines for remedial and punitive motion towards Hindenburg Analysis.”

It added that it’s “deeply disturbed” by the influence Hindenburg’s report has had on the group, its shareholders and buyers, and by the “undesirable anguish induced to Indian residents.”

Advertisement

A school dropout and a self-made industrialist, Adani is the world’s fourth richest man, forward of Invoice Gates and Warren Buffet, in line with Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index. He’s additionally seen as a detailed ally of India’s present prime minister, Narendra Modi.

The 60-year-old tycoon based the Adani group over 30 years in the past. It now has established companies in industries starting from logistics to mining, and is aggressively rising in numerous sectors equivalent to media, knowledge facilities, airports, and cement.

However this isn’t the primary time analysts have expressed worry that the speedy growth of his enterprise comes with an enormous threat. Adani’s juggernaut has been fueled by a $30 billion borrowing binge, making his enterprise probably the most indebted within the nation.

Final 12 months, CreditSights, a analysis agency owned by Fitch Group, revealed a report about Adani Group titled “Deeply Overleveraged” by which it expressed robust considerations about its debt-funded development plans.

Adani Group responded to CreditSights with a 15-page report, saying that the “leverage ratios” of its corporations “proceed to be wholesome and are in keeping with the trade benchmarks within the respective sectors” and that they “have persistently de-levered” within the final 9 years.

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

News

Read the Trump Administration Letter About Harvard Contracts

Published

on

Read the Trump Administration Letter About Harvard Contracts

GSA

U.S. General Services Administration

May 27, 2025

Dear Agency Senior Procurement Executive:

Re: Review for Termination or Transition of Harvard University Contracts

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) is assisting all federal agencies in a review for termination or transition of their federal government contracts with Harvard University and affiliates. This review aligns with the Administration’s directive that all federal contracted services steadfastly uphold and advance agency strategic priorities.
As you know, being a counterparty with the federal government comes with the deep responsibility and commitment to abide by all federal laws and ensure the safeguarding of taxpayer money. As fiduciaries to the taxpayer, the government has a duty to ensure that procurement dollars are directed to vendors and contractors who promote and champion principles of nondiscrimination and the national interest.

As relevant here, GSA understands that Harvard continues to engage in race discrimination, including in its admissions process and in other areas of student life. The statistical evidence of Harvard’s racial discrimination in their admissions – as revealed in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard – is shocking, to say the least. For applicants in the top academic decile, admissions rates varied significantly by race. In this decile, admissions rates were: 56% for African Americans; 31% for Hispanics; 15% for Whites; 13% for Asians. The Supreme Court, in its decision on the case, rebuked Harvard’s long-standing policy and practice of discriminating on the basis of race. Harvard has shown no indication of reforming their admissions process – to the contrary, Harvard now has to offer a remedial math course, which has been described as “middle school math”, for incoming freshmen. These are the direct results of employing discriminatory factors, instead of merit, in admission decisions.

Since then, troubling revelations have come to light regarding Harvard and its affiliates’ potential discriminatory hiring practices and possible violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Harvard is suspected of engaging in a pattern or practice of disparate treatment in hiring, promotion, compensation, and other personnel related actions.

Additionally, discriminatory practices have been exposed at the Harvard Law Review, where internal documents that have been made public detail the pervasive and explicit racial discrimination in the publication’s article selection and editor appointment process.

GSA is also aware of recent events at Harvard University involving anti-Semitic action that suggest the institution has a disturbing lack of concern for the safety and wellbeing of Jewish students. Harvard’s ongoing inaction in the face of repeated and severe harassment and targeting of its students has at times grounded day-to-day campus operations to a halt, deprived Jewish students of learning and research opportunities to which they are entitled, and profoundly alarmed the general public.

Continue Reading

News

Japanese bonds rally on hopes of less supply

Published

on

Japanese bonds rally on hopes of less supply

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free

Japanese longer-dated bonds rallied on Tuesday after the government took the rare step of canvassing primary dealers and other market participants for their views on issuance, raising speculation it may scale back supply.

The move by the Japanese finance ministry appeared designed to restore calm to a bond market that has been racked by volatility in recent weeks, with borrowing costs rising to record highs last week.

The yield on the 30-year Japanese government bond, which hit 3.2 per cent last week, fell 0.18 percentage points to 2.85 per cent on Tuesday. The 10-year yield dropped 0.05 percentage points to 1.46 per cent. Yields move inversely to prices.

Advertisement

The questionnaire was sent to a wide range of primary brokers, according to two people familiar with the situation, and sought comments on the current market situation.

They said it appeared designed to confirm that demand for super long-dated bonds was structurally low, as a precursor to a potential government decision to pull back on issuance.

Japanese yields have risen precipitously in recent months. A weak bond auction this month added to fears over low demand for longer-dated sovereign debt.

Although last week’s jump in long-dated bonds came as part of a global sell-off, several factors have added to the selling pressure in Japan. 

The Bank of Japan last year began tapering the massive bond-buying programme it undertook as part of the country’s long battle against deflation. But as the central bank has scaled back purchases, there has not been a strong rise in demand from other traditional buyers, in particular Japanese life insurers.

Advertisement

The “buyers’ strike”, as some traders have described it, became clear last week when an auction of 20-year JGBs was met with the lowest level of demand in a decade. Concerns have also risen about Japan’s gross national debt, which stands at more than 200 per cent of GDP.

Analysts noted, though, that an unusually packed cluster of auctions in long-dated JGBs had also created a short-term supply glut.

MUFG analysts noted that the finance ministry’s decision to send the questionnaire “may well reflect increased concerns over yields following the poor 20-year auction last week and ahead of a 40-year bond auction tomorrow”.

US government bonds also rallied on Tuesday, with the 30-year Treasury yield down 0.06 percentage points to 4.98 per cent.

“The questionnaire looks like it is part of a strategy by the Japanese authorities to prepare the market for a temporary scaling back of super long JGB issuance,” said a person familiar with the questionnaire.

Advertisement

“In other countries you might just get a clear announcement from the government: Japan prefers to generate a consensus, and present itself as acting on the strength of broad-based market opinion,” the person added.

“Markets are taking some relief from the [finance ministry’s] implicit messaging that supply of the super long end could be trimmed,” said Benjamin Shatil, a senior economist at JPMorgan.

“But the sticking point here remains the demand side of the equation. With persistent inflation, tightening domestic liquidity, and a BoJ committed to normalisation, the longer-term outlook remains one of higher Japanese yields.”

The finance ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

News

Harvard's president speaks out against Trump. And, an analysis of DEI job losses

Published

on

Harvard's president speaks out against Trump. And, an analysis of DEI job losses

Good morning. You’re reading the Up First newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox, and listen to the Up First podcast for all the news you need to start your day.

Today’s top stories

In a video interview with Morning Edition‘s Steve Inskeep, Harvard President Alan Garber said institutions need to double down on their “commitment to the good of the nation” and be firm in what they stand for, which he believes is education and the pursuit of truth. The university sued once when the administration cut off billions of dollars of research grants and contracts. The latest suit came last week when the administration banned Harvard from hosting international students. A judge temporarily blocked the administration’s latest action, allowing foreign students the ability to stay for now.

Harvard University president Alan Garber (left) sits for an interview with NPR’s Steve Inskeep in Boston on May 26.

Jay Shaylor/NPR


hide caption

Advertisement

toggle caption

Jay Shaylor/NPR

  • 🎧 The Harvard lawsuit and Garber argue that the administration is going after something bigger than international students. Garber says he doesn’t fully know the administration’s motives. However, Garber says he knows some conservatives want to reshape higher education over issues like diversity, equity and inclusion. Garber says he wants to encourage free debate on campus and that having international students helps contribute to the university’s environment.
  • ➡️ Here’s a look, by the numbers, at the impact of international students at Harvard and across the U.S., including where most of them come from.

Corporate America is distancing itself from DEI. This move showcases a significant shift from five years ago, when the racial reckoning triggered by George Floyd’s murder sent companies racing to staff up. NPR reports on the extent of job losses in this field.

  • 🎧 More than 2,600 jobs in DEI have been eliminated in the last couple of years, NPR’s Maria Aspan reports on Up First. That is over 10% of the DEI jobs that existed at the start of 2023. Aspan talked with Candace Byrdsong Williams, who was laid off last summer and hasn’t been able to find a new job. Aspan says that though Williams is only one person, there are thousands of people who have been living through this very changing and politized job market.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a new group backed by the U.S. and Israel, is starting to bring limited quantities of food to Gaza, where hunger is widespread and extreme. However, the group is facing suspicion and growing criticism from the UN and other aid groups. Jake Wood, the executive director, resigned on Sunday, saying he could not abandon principles of humanity, impartiality and independence.

  • 🎧 Instead of distributing food to sites in Gaza where people are starving, the new group will operate in only four new zones with Israeli soldiers guarding the perimeters, NPR’s Daniel Estrin reports. The private contractors will give out boxes of food to families once a week. A private U.S. company run by a former CIA officer is involved in the group, which won’t say where its funding comes from.

Deep dive

An illustration of two young children in a desert camp seen in a silhouette of a man looking down layered with another silhouette of a different man and a woman looking at room with an open window.

ears after their son left the U.S. to join ISIS, a Minnesota couple learned they had two young grandsons trapped in a Syrian desert camp. They were determined to rescue them.

Dion MBD for NPR

Advertisement


hide caption

toggle caption

Dion MBD for NPR

Advertisement

Years after their son left the U.S. to join ISIS, a Minnesota couple learned they had two young grandsons trapped in a Syrian desert camp. They’re among an estimated 22 U.S. citizens still in the sprawling, primitive camps, including about 17 American children, according to the State Department. The two Minnesota boys were there until May 2024, when they were flown in a military cargo plane to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York to start a new life in the American Midwest. Read the full story here by NPR’s Sacha Pfeiffer.

Picture show

The view of the Andes from Cerro San Cristobal above Santiago, Chile.

The view of the Andes from Cerro San Cristobal above Santiago, Chile.

Brian Mann/NPR


hide caption

toggle caption

Advertisement

Brian Mann/NPR

Autumn has arrived in South America, and it’s perfect hiking conditions in Santiago, Chile, the capital, where steep hills rise above the city. At the center is Cerro San Cristóbal, with breathtaking views of wildflowers, pine forests and the Andes Mountains. NPR’s Brian Mann made the trek, where he ventured through forested hills of volcanic rock and groves of cactus. Check out photos from his journey and listen as he shares his experience from the trail here.

3 things to know before you go

Hummingbirds gather around a hummingbird feeder filled with sugar water, in a backyard in the San Fernando Valley section of the city of Los Angeles, July 17, 2014. Hummingbirds are among the smallest birds in the world with most species measuring between 7.513 cm (35 in). When hovering in mid-air the tiny avians flap their wings between 40 and 80 times per second. AFP PHOTO / Robyn Beck (Photo credit should read ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)

Hummingbirds gather around a hummingbird feeder filled with sugar water, in a backyard in the San Fernando Valley section of the city of Los Angeles, July 17, 2014.

Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images


hide caption

Advertisement

toggle caption

Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images

  1. A new study in Global Change Biology details the evolutionary change of Anna’s Hummingbirds in the western U.S., finding their beaks have grown longer and more tapered to get the most from common backyard feeders.
  2. In 2016, Tulika Prasad’s non-verbal, autistic son had an outburst at a grocery store. A stranger, also a parent of a child with autism, understood what was happening. The unsung hero helped her with her groceries and offered empathy instead of showing pity.
  3. Filmmaker Marcel Ophuls, who was known as one of the great documentarians of his era, died Saturday at age 97. He commanded his audience’s attention with four-hour-plus documentaries like The Sorrow and The Pity.

This newsletter was edited by Majd Al-Waheidi.

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending