Crypto Mogul Sam Bankman-Fried’s ‘Epic’ Legal Battle

Ross Gerber, the head of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management, and a large Tesla shareholder, has been pleading publicly with Mr. Musk to quit Twitter and return to Tesla full time. Mr. Musk himself blames the economy and the Fed’s policy of raising interest rates for Tesla’s share slump. Mr. Musk also said on Thursday that his personal Twitter account is “critical” to the performance of Tesla’s share price and was adamant that he wasn’t neglecting his responsibilities at the car company.

Investors this morning seem to be cheering his pronouncement. At 6:30 a.m. Eastern, Tesla was nearly 1.4 percent higher in premarket trading. Musk also said the company might buy back shares once the economy stabilizes.

Elsewhere in Mr. Musk news:

• Twitter’s top advertisers are reportedly still staying away from the platform, depriving the company of a vital revenue stream.

• Twitter rolled out a new feature on Thursday: View Count.

Not the most wonderful time of the year for bankers

Business at Wall Street banks is down, and looking worse for next year. Companies are pulling back from deal-making, lending, and initial public offerings amid rising interest rates and fears of a recession. Investment banking revenue in the United States is expected to have fallen by more than half, to nearly $35 billion as of mid-December. And that will take a toll on banker bonuses, The Times reports.

The bonus pool at top banks has shrunk sharply. At Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and Barclays, it is expected to be 30 percent to 50 percent less than last year. “This is going to be a more difficult compensation season at Jefferies, just like it will be for every firm in our industry,” the bank’s chief executive, Richard Handler, and president, Brian Friedman, wrote in a memo to employees.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/23/business/dealbook/sbf-ftx-epic-fraud-lawsuit.html