adplus-dvertising
Connect with us

Investment

Investment watchdogs warn of COVID-19 fraud schemes, ask Canadians to report them – The Chronicle Journal

Published

 on


TORONTO – Canada’s stock market regulators warned investors on Thursday to be wary of companies that claim to have products or services that will prevent, detect or cure the coronavirus infection.

There’s currently no vaccine or any natural health product that is authorized to treat or protect against COVID-19, Health Canada says. Any claims to the contrary are suspicious, the regulators said.

“When investing in any company, carefully research the investment and keep in mind that fraudsters often exploit the latest crisis,” the regulators’ national group said in a statement Thursday.

The statement was issued by the Canadian Securities Administrators, on behalf of government stock market and investment regulators across the country.

The CSA said a common investment fraud is the “pump and dump” scheme.

In that type of scam, a fraud artist creates or buys a shell company and circulates positive, false information to pump up the value of its stock — which the scammer then sells or dumps before investors catch on and the price falls.

“If you believe that you or someone you know has been offered a fraudulent opportunity related to the coronavirus, please contact your provincial or territorial securities regulator,” the CSA said.

The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre — which also has warned about financial scams — has also detected various attempts to sell decontamination services, face masks, or private tests for COVID-19.

Since March 5, the CAFC — which works with the RCMP, Ontario provincial police and the federal Competition Bureau — has received 29 reports linked to COVID-19.

Among those, was an incident in which the victim attempted to purchase a COVID test online. The victim hasn’t received the product even though the company claims it’s been delivered.

“Only hospitals can perform the tests,” according to the CAFC website. “No other tests are genuine or guaranteed to provide accurate results.”

The anti-fraud centre said it also had reports that suspects have claimed to be with Red Cross offering free masks — so long as the consumer paid the shipping fee.

“The CAFC has yet to see any victims associated to this pitch so it’s unknown what kind of charges are placed on the victim’s credit card, CAFC spokesman Jeff Thomson said in an email.

Pitches like the free mask scam may seem to make sense.

For example, a Red Cross Canada does sell masks through its online store and it does sometimes do fund raising, but a spokeswoman said it doesn’t have a COVID-related campaign in Canada.

A visit to the redcross.ca shows a “scam alert” at the top that provides details of how the fraud works.

Several anti-fraud experts say to watch out for messages that incite panic and fear, request personal information or money, or come unsolicited by email, social media, phone calls or at the door.

The CSA said in its warning on Thursday that it’s aware of instances where Canadians are targeted by scam artists using fear around the current economic conditions.

“Investors contacted by anyone with warnings about their investments or finances should never give out any personal information,” the CSA advised.

It also advised investors who want to pursue the topic to initiate a call to the investment adviser or bank separately, after independently verifying the phone number is legitimate.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 19, 2020.

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

728x90x4

Source link

Continue Reading

Investment

Tesla shares soar more than 14% as Trump win is seen boosting Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company

Published

 on

 

NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of Tesla soared Wednesday as investors bet that the electric vehicle maker and its CEO Elon Musk will benefit from Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

Tesla stands to make significant gains under a Trump administration with the threat of diminished subsidies for alternative energy and electric vehicles doing the most harm to smaller competitors. Trump’s plans for extensive tariffs on Chinese imports make it less likely that Chinese EVs will be sold in bulk in the U.S. anytime soon.

“Tesla has the scale and scope that is unmatched,” said Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, in a note to investors. “This dynamic could give Musk and Tesla a clear competitive advantage in a non-EV subsidy environment, coupled by likely higher China tariffs that would continue to push away cheaper Chinese EV players.”

Tesla shares jumped 14.8% Wednesday while shares of rival electric vehicle makers tumbled. Nio, based in Shanghai, fell 5.3%. Shares of electric truck maker Rivian dropped 8.3% and Lucid Group fell 5.3%.

Tesla dominates sales of electric vehicles in the U.S, with 48.9% in market share through the middle of 2024, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Subsidies for clean energy are part of the Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2022. It included tax credits for manufacturing, along with tax credits for consumers of electric vehicles.

Musk was one of Trump’s biggest donors, spending at least $119 million mobilizing Trump’s supporters to back the Republican nominee. He also pledged to give away $1 million a day to voters signing a petition for his political action committee.

In some ways, it has been a rocky year for Tesla, with sales and profit declining through the first half of the year. Profit did rise 17.3% in the third quarter.

The U.S. opened an investigation into the company’s “Full Self-Driving” system after reports of crashes in low-visibility conditions, including one that killed a pedestrian. The investigation covers roughly 2.4 million Teslas from the 2016 through 2024 model years.

And investors sent company shares tumbling last month after Tesla unveiled its long-awaited robotaxi at a Hollywood studio Thursday night, seeing not much progress at Tesla on autonomous vehicles while other companies have been making notable progress.

Tesla began selling the software, which is called “Full Self-Driving,” nine years ago. But there are doubts about its reliability.

The stock is now showing a 16.1% gain for the year after rising the past two days.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Source link

Continue Reading

Investment

S&P/TSX composite up more than 100 points, U.S. stock markets mixed

Published

 on

 

TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 100 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in base metal and utility stocks, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 103.40 points at 24,542.48.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 192.31 points at 42,932.73. The S&P 500 index was up 7.14 points at 5,822.40, while the Nasdaq composite was down 9.03 points at 18,306.56.

The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.44 cents US on Tuesday.

The November crude oil contract was down 71 cents at US$69.87 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down eight cents at US$2.42 per mmBTU.

The December gold contract was up US$7.20 at US$2,686.10 an ounce and the December copper contract was up a penny at US$4.35 a pound.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Source link

Continue Reading

Economy

S&P/TSX up more than 200 points, U.S. markets also higher

Published

 on

 

TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 200 points in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets were also headed higher.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 205.86 points at 24,508.12.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 336.62 points at 42,790.74. The S&P 500 index was up 34.19 points at 5,814.24, while the Nasdaq composite was up 60.27 points at 18.342.32.

The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.71 cents US on Thursday.

The November crude oil contract was down 15 cents at US$75.70 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down two cents at US$2.65 per mmBTU.

The December gold contract was down US$29.60 at US$2,668.90 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents at US$4.47 a pound.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 11, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Source link

Continue Reading

Trending