India bans e-cigarettes as global backlash at vaping gathers pace

India banned the sale of electronic cigarettes on Wednesday and warned of an “epidemic” among young people, in the latest and potentially biggest move globally against vaping over growing health concerns.

The ban cuts off a huge future market from e-cigarette makers at a time when the number of people smoking worldwide is declining. It could dash the expansion plans of companies such as Juul Labs and Philip Morris International in the country.

“These novel products come with attractive appearances and multiple flavours and their use has increased exponentially and acquired epidemic proportions in developed countries, especially among youth and children,” India’s health ministry said. read more »

Novartis halts distribution of its Zantac versions amid probe into impurities

Novartis AG’s Sandoz unit said on Wednesday it was halting distribution of its versions of the drug commonly known as Zantac in all its markets, including the United States and Canada, after contaminants were found in the heartburn drug.

The Swiss drugmaker’s steps follow an investigation by U.S. and European regulators into the presence of the impurity, N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), in the drug, ranitidine, and a distribution halt in Canada announced late Tuesday. read more »

What Really Brought Down the Boeing 737 Max?

Malfunctions caused two deadly crashes. But an industry that puts unprepared pilots in the cockpit is just as guilty

On Oct. 29, 2018, Lion Air Flight 610 taxied toward the runway at the main airport in Jakarta, Indonesia, carrying 189 people bound for Bangka Island, a short flight away. The airplane was the latest version of the Boeing 737, a gleaming new 737 Max that was delivered merely three months before. The captain was a 31-year-old Indian named Bhavye Suneja, who did his initial flight training at a small and now-defunct school in San Carlos, Calif., and opted for an entry-level job with Lion Air in 2011. Lion Air is an aggressive airline that dominates the rapidly expanding Indonesian market in low-cost air travel and is one of Boeing’s largest customers worldwide. It is known for hiring inexperienced pilots — most of them recent graduates of its own academy — and for paying them little and working them hard. read more »

Raymond James Agrees to Pay $15 Million for Improperly Charging Retail Investors

The Securities and Exchange Commission today instituted a settled order against three Raymond James entities for improperly charging advisory fees on inactive retail client accounts and charging excess commissions for brokerage customer investments in certain unit investment trusts (UITs).

The SEC order finds that Raymond James & Associates, Inc., and Raymond James Financial Services Advisors, Inc., failed to consistently perform promised ongoing reviews of advisory accounts that had no trading activity for at least one year.  According to the order, because they did not conduct the reviews properly, they failed to determine whether the client’s fee-based advisory account was suitable.  The order further finds that the entities also misapplied the wrong pricing data to certain UIT positions held by advisory clients, causing them to overpay fees. read more »

CFTC Charges Former Head of International Binary Options Scheme with $10 Million Fraud

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed a civil enforcement action in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, charging Jared J. Davis of Ohio with fraud relating to a global binary options business he created and operated.

The complaint charges that from at least July 2012 through at least June 2016, Davis fraudulently solicited and accepted at least $10 million from customers in the United States and elsewhere to trade off-exchange binary options on commodities and foreign currencies (forex), among other things.  As alleged in the complaint, Davis executed his unlawful scheme through internet marketing campaigns, various websites, and call centers using trade names such as Option Mint, Option King, and Option Queen.  The complaint further charges that Davis defrauded customers by making misrepresentations and omissions of material facts, including misrepresenting and failing to disclose that he effectively took the opposing position on each trade and therefore made money when customers lost money on trades. read more »