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The Morning Risk Report: U.N. General Assembly to Convene Remotely, With World Watching Trump, Rouhani
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The 75th session of the U.N. General Assembly will feature few of the sideline meetings that have made the annual gathering a signature event for diplomats. PHOTO: TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
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Good morning. President Trump and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani will square off this week at the United Nations General Assembly, as Washington threatens still more sanctions to escalate its already formidable pressure on Tehran.
Mr. Trump, who will appear before the assembly by teleconference Tuesday, will speak just a day after the White House plans to unveil new sanctions aimed at deterring arms sales to Iran and pressuring Tehran to agree to a new deal on far tougher terms than those set by the 2015 Iran nuclear accord, from which the administration withdrew two years ago.
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Following a failed bid last month in the U.N. Security Council to extend an embargo on Tehran’s import and delivery of conventional weapons, Mr. Trump declared a “snapback” of U.N. sanctions imposed before the 2015 Iran nuclear accord. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the sanctions snapback Saturday, saying the U.S. was reimposing restrictions that applied to Iran prior to the deal, including a ban on uranium enrichment, ballistic-missile testing and the transfer of any nuclear technology to Tehran. Mr. Trump’s move has been rejected by allies and adversaries alike, who contend the Trump administration forfeited its right to reinstate the sanctions with its 2018 withdrawal from the pact. Britain, France and Germany reiterated that view in a letter to the Security Council president on Friday.
The Trump administration is also using the snapback to threaten a range of new sanctions to deter China and Russia from selling weapons to Tehran after the arms embargo in the Iran accord expires Oct. 18. Mr. Trump is expected sign an executive order today authorizing the new measures, which will include broad sanctions on the provision of goods that could be used in Iran’s conventional weapons and ballistic missile programs. The administration will also announce sanctions on two dozen individuals and entities involved with Iran’s nuclear, missile and conventional arms programs, an administration official said.
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From Risk & Compliance Journal
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Treasury Plugs Gap in Anti-Money-Laundering Regulations
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The Treasury Department moved to plug a longstanding gap in U.S. anti-money-laundering regulation and has begun a discussion over potential new rules aimed at allowing banks to allocate their compliance resources more effectively. The developments are part of a flurry of activity from the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network in recent months, which appear to be a response to longstanding complaints from the industry, lawyers say.
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Swedbank AB said that Sweden’s financial supervisory authority is investigating the bank for suspected breaches of market-abuse regulations spanning a five month period ending in February 2019.
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In a statement, the bank said the investigation relates to the disclosure of insider information and the obligation to establish an insider list in connection with the disclosure of suspected money laundering within the company.
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HSBC said “all of the information provided by the ICIJ is historical.” PHOTO: TYRONE SIU/REUTERS
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Shares in HSBC Holdings hit a 25-year low after news articles detailed suspicious activity reports filed by it and other major banks to U.S. authorities, putting fresh pressure on a stock that has already dropped sharply this year.
BuzzFeed News, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, and partner media organizations published reports Sunday citing documents leaked to BuzzFeed that included more than 2,100 reports filed by financial institutions with the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
Shares in Standard Chartered, which like HSBC is also listed in both London and Hong Kong, also fell. It was also cited in the FinCEN reports.
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A federal grand jury indicted six people on charges of bribing Amazon employees to gain advantages for third-party sellers on the e-retailer’s online storefront, where its practices have drawn increased regulatory scrutiny.
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The indictment gives a window into some of the behind-the-scenes tactics that have been used to manipulate Amazon’s marketplace for third-party sellers and undermine trust in the accuracy and quality of its listings. Amazon has struggled to contain the sale of faulty products on its site, including listings for thousands of products that had been deemed unsafe by federal agencies, The Wall Street Journal reported last year.
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The Federal Reserve issued new guidance to banks in an effort to improve access to new business loans through its $600 billion Main Street Lending Program. The central bank said it agreed with bank regulators at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to clarify that federal examiners will provide more flexibility in evaluating loans originated under the program.
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Islamic State remains flush with cash despite setbacks in the past year, holding financial reserves and a range of revenue streams that U.S. and Western security officials warn could pay for a dangerous resurgence.
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Citadel Securities, Quantlab Loom Over Trial Probing Whether Human Traders Tricked Machines
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TikTok has about 100 million monthly users in the U.S. PHOTO: MIKE BLAKE/REUTERS
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An emerging deal to make China’s popular TikTok app a U.S.-based company stands to reshape the social-media landscape, even as questions persisted Sunday over security concerns and ownership of the new company. The deal—approved in concept by President Trump this weekend, but pending final approval by the companies involved—would create an online power that could challenge Facebook’s dominance in social media and become a template for partnerships with other Chinese-owned apps.
The Commerce Department said it would delay for one week a ban on U.S. downloads and updates for the TikTok app that was set to take effect at 11:59 p.m. Sunday while the new deal for TikTok is finalized by the companies and investors involved in the deal.
A federal judge in California, meanwhile, temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s executive order curbing Americans’ use of WeChat, upholding a motion from users of the popular Chinese-owned messaging and e-commerce app.
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Trevor Milton said he had asked to step down so the focus was on the business, not him.
PHOTO: MASSIMO PINCA/REUTERS
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Nikola Executive Chairman Trevor Milton is stepping down from the electric-truck startup with immediate effect in the wake of allegations from a short seller that he and the company had made false statements to investors. The company said Mr. Milton would be replaced by Stephen Girsky, a former General Motors executive who already sits on the truck company’s board.
Nikola has come under scrutiny since short seller Hindenburg Research released a report earlier this month accusing the company and Mr. Milton of making exaggerated claims about the readiness of Nikola’s technology and how much of it is proprietary.
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Former McDonald’s Chief Executive Steve Easterbrook said in a court filing that he complied with all the terms of his separation agreement with the fast-food company and it shouldn’t be allowed to claw back his multimillion-dollar severance package.
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Few companies outside the health-care industry require their staff to be vaccinated against the flu. PHOTO: SARAH BLESENER FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
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Few companies outside the health-care industry require their staff to be vaccinated against the flu or other communicable diseases as a condition of employment. But the threat posed by the highly contagious and deadly coronavirus is likely to persuade more companies to consider mandatory vaccine policies, particularly in hospitality and other industries that interact closely with the public.
Legally, there is little preventing private employers from imposing vaccinations on their own, legal experts say. The only significant legal limitations are federal and state laws prohibiting discrimination in the workplace. “It’s going to be a tough call for a lot of employers,” says Carrie Hoffman, a Dallas-based employment lawyer at Foley & Lardner LLP.
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The Federal Aviation Administration disagreed with the thrust of an audit issued by the Transportation Department’s inspector general on Friday. PHOTO: ERIC BARADAT/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
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U.S. air-safety regulators have used decades-old data to establish emergency evacuation standards for airliners, according to a government watchdog report emphasizing that changes in cabin layouts and passenger behavior demand further analysis. The audit, issued by the Transportation Department’s inspector general, concludes that the Federal Aviation Administration “has not established a systematic process to collect and evaluate data from accidents and demonstrations” to properly identify risks.
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revised its guidance for Covid-19 testing on Friday, walking back a controversial recommendation from last month that close contacts of patients don’t necessarily need to be tested if they don’t have symptoms. The U.S. reported 39,844 new coronavirus cases Sunday and was closing in on 200,000 deaths, amid fears that the country was heading for a new wave of infections.
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