SeaWorld Agrees to Pay $5 Million in ‘Blackfish Effect’ Case

When the 2013 film “Blackfish” highlighted the story of Tilikum, a captive orca that killed a trainer, it spurred widespread anger over the confinement of the whales by companies like SeaWorld.

There were months of news articles. Angry musicians refused to perform for SeaWorld’s parks. Attendance dipped.

It was all part of what regulators are calling “the Blackfish effect” — a spiraling crisis that threatened SeaWorld’s reputation, according to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Privately, SeaWorld officials were deeply concerned. But in public, for months after the documentary was released, the company denied or played down “the Blackfish effect,” regulators said. The law requires publicly traded companies to inform investors of circumstances that could materially affect their business. read more »

Ex-Malaysian PM Najib arrested, to face charges in 1MDB case – officials

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak will face charges of abusing his position and graft related to money allegedly siphoned off from state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad, the country’s anti-corruption agency said on Wednesday.

Najib was arrested on Wednesday afternoon and will be taken to court on Thursday, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission said in a statement (MACC). read more »

Ex-Goldman Analyst Pleads Guilty to Trading Tips for NFL Tickets

A former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. analyst pleaded guilty to leaking nonpublic information about pending mergers to a National Football League linebacker in return for cash and tickets to Philadelphia Eagles games.

Damilare Sonoiki, who worked for Goldman until 2015 and was a writer on the television show “Black-ish” the following year, entered his plea at a hearing Wednesday in federal court in Philadelphia, according to court records.

Prosecutors accused him last month of passing information to his friend Mychal Kendricks during a monthslong scheme starting in 2014 that earned the football player about $1.2 million. Kendricks now plays for the Seattle Seahawks.  read more »