Friends Accused of Trading on Data for Edgar Face Widening Probe
Before they could board the early morning June 28 flight, federal agents arrested Justin Chen, 31, and Jun Zhen, 29. Prosecutors say they pocketed at least $1 million by taking information they learned from their job at a private company that formats materials before they are submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission 's Edgar filing system.
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Yahoo
29 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Got $1,000? 2 Cryptocurrencies to Buy and Hold for Decades
The crypto market is heating up again. Bitcoin remains the best "blue chip" token to buy. Ethereum should continue to lead the developer-oriented market. 10 stocks we like better than Bitcoin › Many cryptocurrencies skyrocketed during the buying frenzy for speculative investments in 2020 and 2021. That rally was fueled by near-zero interest rates, stimulus checks, social media buzz, and commission-free trading platforms. But in 2022 and 2023, many of those tokens crashed as interest rates rose and a new crypto winter began. Over the past year and a half, investors have gradually pivoted back toward cryptocurrencies as interest rates declined and President Donald Trump's crypto-friendly administration took the helm. So if you're still bullish on cryptocurrencies, it might be a great time to go shopping again. You shouldn't stake your life savings in cryptocurrencies, but it might be smart to set aside a modest $1,000 in a few tokens that could soar over the next few decades. I'd personally stick with the two largest cryptocurrencies -- Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) -- instead of the smaller and more speculative meme coins. Bitcoin, the world's most valuable cryptocurrency, still has plenty of upside potential for a few simple reasons. First, it's still mined with an energy-intensive proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism, which becomes more costly every four years with each "halving" that cuts its mining rewards in half. Its maximum supply is also capped at 21 million tokens. Nearly 19.9 million of those Bitcoins have already been mined, and the final token is expected to be mined in 2140. There isn't much room for long-term inflation in this model. Bitcoin's increasingly difficult mining process, scarcity, and deflationary nature make it more comparable to gold, silver, and other physical assets than many other cryptocurrencies. That makes it a potential hedge against inflation and the devaluation of fiat currencies. Bitcoin's first spot price exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which were approved in January 2024, made it easier for retail and institutional investors to invest in the coin without a crypto wallet. Big companies like MicroStrategy (NASDAQ: MSTR) continued to accumulate Bitcoin, the Trump administration recently established a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, and inflation-wracked countries like El Salvador and Central African Republic even adopted Bitcoin as a national currency for a while. All of those developments supported the notion that Bitcoin was becoming "digital gold." So even though Bitcoin might seem pricey right now at roughly $110,000, it could have even more upside potential. Standard Chartered's analysts expect its price to climb to $500,000 by 2028, while Ark Invest's Cathie Wood sees it flying as high as $1.5 million by 2030. You should take those bullish estimates with a grain of salt, but Bitcoin could remain the best "blue chip" cryptocurrency to buy and hold for the next few decades. Ether, the native token of the Ethereum blockchain, is the world's second most valuable cryptocurrency. It was originally a PoW token that was mined like Bitcoin, but it transitioned to the more energy-efficient proof-of-stake (PoS) mechanism in "The Merge" in 2022. As a PoS token, Ether can no longer be mined. Instead, its investors "stake" their tokens on the blockchain to earn interest-like rewards. Ethereum's PoS blockchain also supports smart contracts, which can be used to develop decentralized apps (dApps) and other crypto assets. Its declining or rising network activity can either make it inflationary or deflationary, respectively, and it currently has a circulating supply of roughly 120.7 million tokens. Ether is usually valued by the growth of its developer ecosystem and its transaction speeds instead of the scarcity of its tokens. Its core Level-1 blockchain is slower than PoS blockchains like Cardano, but it's assisted by faster Level-2 protocols that process the transactions off-chain before returning them to the Level-1 layer. Ether's first spot price ETFs were also approved last year, but they only held the tokens in cold storage without passing on the staking rewards (about 3% to 5% annually) to their investors. That made the ETFs less appealing than Ether itself, but the next batch of ETFs might add those rewards. Ethereum's next upgrade, "The Verge," will further improve its security features and lower its hardware requirements so it can run on smaller devices like smartphones. It's also expected to reduce its Layer-2 fees with "danksharding" upgrades to clear more space for fresh data. At about $2,600, Ethereum still trades well below its all-time highs. But Cathie Wood predicts it could climb as high as $166,000 by 2032, and big institutional investors like BlackRock are still accumulating the token. Therefore, this developer-oriented token could still be a great investment for the next few decades. Before you buy stock in Bitcoin, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Bitcoin 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 $699,558!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $976,677!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,060% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 180% 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 June 30, 2025 Leo Sun has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin and Ethereum. The Motley Fool recommends Standard Chartered Plc. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Got $1,000? 2 Cryptocurrencies to Buy and Hold for Decades was originally published by The Motley Fool
Yahoo
31 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Attorney granted more time to review information in fatal Mt. Morris shooting
Jul. 6—OREGON — The attorney for a Mt. Morris man accused of shooting and killing his stepson after an argument in their Mt. Morris apartment in April told an Ogle County judge on Wednesday, July 2, that he needs more time to examine information given to him by prosecutors. "The state has provided a substantial amount of discovery," Assistant Public Defender Eric Morrow told Judge Anthony Peska. "It's going to take me awhile to go through it." Derek Swanlund, 45, is charged with first-degree murder in connection with the April 21 death of Cameron Pasley, 25, also of Mt. Morris, in what police described as a "domestic" incident. Swanlund is facing three counts of first-degree murder and a misdemeanor charge of using a Smith & Wesson 9 mm handgun without having a Firearm Owner's Identification card. During an April hearing, prosecutors said the Mt. Morris Police Department responded first to the scene after receiving a 911 call at 4:59 p.m. from Pasley's mother, in which she said her husband had shot her son. When a Mt. Morris police officer arrived at the scene, she saw Swanlund walking away from the apartment complex while carrying a black and silver handgun in his right hand, according to police. Assistant State's Attorney Melissa Voss said a verbal argument inside the apartment evolved to "shoulder bumping" with Pasley, after which Swanlund shot Pasley. When more officers arrived at the scene, they discovered Pasley inside the apartment, bleeding from multiple gunshot wounds, Voss said. Pasley was pronounced dead at OSF Saint Katharine Medical Center in Dixon after being transported from the scene by Mt. Morris EMS. Pasley's mother told police she had entered a different room after arguing with Swanlund and after he "belly bumped" her into her son. She then heard Pasley say 'He shot me'," Voss told the court. Morrow said Swanlund had no criminal history other than one misdemeanor charge for which he received and completed court supervision. He said Swanlund had purchased the gun legally when he lived in North Carolina. In arguing for Swanlund to be released, Morrow said Swanlund had lived in Mt. Morris for 10 years, had been consistently employed while residing there, and cooperated with police when they arrived at the scene. "He was not aggressive in any way," Morrow said during the April detention hearing as he argued for Swanlund's release while his case proceeds through the court system. Morrow said conditions could be set by the court to enable Swanlund to be released from custody, such as having no contact with the victim's family, electronic monitoring, home detention, and being ordered to stay out of Mt. Morris. Voss disagreed, arguing Swanlund "was walking away with blood on his shoes" when he was apprehended. Peska denied Morrow's request to release Swanlund from custody, saying an argument "escalated to shoulder bumping and then escalated to retrieving a gun and shooting his stepson" multiple times. On Wednesday, Peska set the next court hearing for 1 p.m. Aug. 27, and remanded Swanlund to the Ogle County Jail. Pasley was a 2018 graduate of Oregon High School and a full-time custodian, previously the night custodian at the Blackhawk Center, where the school's physical education classes and competition basketball and volleyball games are held, and had recently moved to days.
Yahoo
33 minutes ago
- Yahoo
OPEC's New Supply Shock Locks In Oil Market's Return to Surplus
(Bloomberg) -- The latest oil supply shockwave unleashed by OPEC+ is set to swell a surplus later this year, pressuring prices for producers the world over while answering US President Donald Trump's calls for lower fuel costs. Foreign Buyers Swoop on Cape Town Homes, Pricing Out Locals Trump's Gilded Design Style May Be Gaudy. But Don't Call it 'Rococo.' Massachusetts to Follow NYC in Making Landlords Pay Broker Fees NYC Commutes Resume After Midtown Bus Terminal Crash Chaos What Gothenburg Got Out of Congestion Pricing OPEC and its allies have reason to believe the surge will find buyers, at least in the short-term, and price hikes by group leader Saudi Arabia following the decision symbolize that confidence. But even before Saturday's surprise move — taken after just 10 minutes on a video conference call — global oil markets already seemed to be on borrowed time before the arrival of a winter glut. 'For now, the oil market remains tight, suggesting it can absorb additional barrels,' said Giovanni Staunovo, an analyst at UBS AG in Zurich. 'But there are rising risks like ongoing trade tensions, implying that the market could look less tight over the coming 6-12 months, which would pose downside risks to prices.' On Saturday, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its partners blindsided energy traders by announcing that they would further speed up a revival in collective oil production next month. The move offers cheer for consumers and a win for Trump, who campaigned on a pledge to cut fuel costs. It also threatens pain for producers, from America's shale heartlands to OPEC's own members. Still, Riyadh seems undaunted. On Sunday, state-run Saudi Aramco hiked the premiums it charges for its flagship crude to customers in its key Asian market by more than traders had anticipated. Those don't look like the actions of a producer that's anxious about demand. OPEC+ officials said that summer demand was one reason for their optimism. US crude inventories are sliding in the key storage hub of Cushing, oil-pricing spreads don't suggest a surplus now, and America's stockpile of diesel has collapsed. Supply Trajectory Fuel demand also peaks in the northern hemisphere summer, giving the group a window to speed up its broader strategy of reclaiming the market share relinquished in recent years to rivals like US shale drillers. Saturday's decision nevertheless shifts the trajectory of global supply. While OPEC projects the extra barrels are needed to meet demand even through December, other forecasters are skeptical. Even before the additions were announced, the International Energy Agency, a Paris-based adviser to major economies, was predicting a surplus equal to about 1.5% of global consumption in the fourth quarter. Oil futures slumped 11% over the past two weeks in London, quickly shrugging off the Israel-Iran conflict and suggesting traders are not convinced extra barrels are vital. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. have been predicting a further slide towards $60 this year as Chinese consumption falters and Trump's trade tariffs cast a shadow across the global economy. Broad Support Eight of the alliance's key members decided during Saturday's video-conference to restore 548,000 barrels a day of halted output in August. It's a marked step-up from the 411,000-barrel hikes set for May, June and July, which were already triple the volume initially scheduled for those months. OPEC+ will consider another 548,000-barrel tranche for September at a meeting on Aug. 3, a step that would complete the reversal of a 2.2 million-barrel cutback — made back in 2023 — a year earlier than previously envisioned. The actual supply impact on oil markets will likely be smaller than advertised, as Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman pressures countries that previously exceeded their production quotas to forego their share of the hikes. Russia and Iraq are showing some signs of compensation, though Kazakhstan continues to cheat. 'The official return of barrels is one thing, but actual new supply versus the headline numbers is another,' said Doug King, chief executive officer of RCMA Capital LLP. 'Diesel premiums are showing the market undersupply. So unless we see physical weakness via visible inventory increases, I don't see a path lower for crude prices.' Officials also stress that the supply additions can be 'paused or reversed subject to evolving market conditions.' But unless they exercise that option, the extra barrels already rubber-stamped will almost inevitably deepen a slide in prices. That would likely mollify President Trump's repeated calls for cheaper fuel costs to staunch the cost-of-living crisis that hurt his predecessor. Trump also has to fend off inflation while lining up a raft of tariffs, and agitating the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates. Yet the rout will take a toll on America's oil industry, from corporate giants like Exxon Mobil Corp., to the shale explorers who widely backed Trump's bid to reclaim the White House. Shale executives said in a recent survey they expect to drill significantly fewer wells this year than planned at the start of 2025 as prices falter. And the pain may well ripple through OPEC+ itself. Saudi Arabia needs more than $90 a barrel to cover government spending, as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman embarks on a radical plan to transform the desert kingdom's economy, according to the International Monetary Fund. Riyadh is grappling with a soaring budget deficit, and has been forced to slash spending on some of the prince's flagship projects. If Riyadh tires of the financial strain, it could opt to pull supplies back off the market again. 'They do have the option of a volte-face,' said Neil Atkinson, an independent analyst and former head of the IEA's oil markets and industry division. But in the meantime, 'there's no alternative but to ensure market share and accept lower prices. You might as well accept the world for what it is, which is what they're doing.' --With assistance from Salma El Wardany, Fiona MacDonald and Nayla Razzouk. For Brazil's Criminals, Coffee Beans Are the Target SNAP Cuts in Big Tax Bill Will Hit a Lot of Trump Voters Too Sperm Freezing Is a New Hot Market for Startups Pistachios Are Everywhere Right Now, Not Just in Dubai Chocolate China's Homegrown Jewelry Superstar ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. 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