FAA finds new potential risk in Boeing 737 Max planes

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has discovered a new flaw in Boeing's 737 Max that could further delay its return to the skies. All 737 Max models were grounded after two crashes overseas that killed 346 people.

During flight tests in a Boeing 737 Max simulator in Seattle, FAA test pilots discovered a computer issue that could slow down a pilot's ability to quickly respond to a scenario like the ones seen in the two Max crashes.

The issue occurred when the pilots were evaluating failure scenarios where the nose of the plane was being pushed down. The test pilots felt it remained down longer than it should, leaving them concerned it would increase the chances of a crash.

Boeing is now working on a second software fix to address this issue — if that fails, the component would have to be replaced on all Max airplanes likely extending the global grounding. read more »

Fate of opioid litigation hinges on government 'police power'

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross is expected in July to decide whether to halt more than 160 active lawsuits brought by state attorneys general, cities and counties against opioid manufacturer Insys Therapeutics Inc. When it filed for Chapter 11 protection in Delaware earlier this month, Insys requested the cases be paused.

A bankruptcy filing would normally halt active litigation immediately, giving a company such as Insys time to reorganize and preserve money that would otherwise be spent fighting the cases.

But a longstanding exception in U.S. bankruptcy law can keep the lawsuits alive if they are enforcing government officials’ “police or regulatory power.” The exception holds that government actions seeking to enforce laws related to matters such as public health and safety are not automatically stopped by a company’s bankruptcy filing as other lawsuits are. read more »

Ex-UBS Official Guilty in Case of Burner Phones and Bubbly

A former UBS Group AG compliance officer and a friend were convicted of insider trading following an eight-week trial that featured accounts of champagne-fueled parties, burner phones and evidence stashed in a Chanel handbag.

A London jury found ex-UBS employee Fabiana Abdel-Malek, 36, and day trader Walid Choucair, 40, guilty of all five counts of insider trading, with the final verdict released Thursday. Abdel-Malek was accused by the Financial Conduct Authority of passing tips from confidential UBS databases to Choucair, who would use the data within minutes. read more »

U.S. Prosecutors Join Multinational Crackdown on Insider Trading

U.S. prosecutors are investigating an international network of traders suspected of infiltrating banks and companies to glean confidential information on megadeals, according to people familiar with the matter.

The probe by prosecutors at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York is focusing on a group of stock pickers in Europe and the Middle East who have made tens of millions of dollars trading ahead of media reports about takeover talks or merger announcements by companies, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter isn’t public. The investigation is part of a years-long multinational effort, with U.S., U.K. and French prosecutors operating on parallel tracks. read more »

SEC Charges New Defendant in $43 Million Tribal Bonds Scheme

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a Los Angeles man for his role in a fraudulent scheme to gain undisclosed control over two registered investment advisers so that he, his partner, and their associates could steal $43 million of client funds they purported to invest in Native American tribal bonds. read more »