[michaelshawn]

Target: 40 million credit cards compromised - Dec. 18, 2013

This is a great article.

Notice how they don't mention the fact that iDevices were largely responsible for these security holes.

How do you know I devices were responsible for it?

Posted via CB10

[morlock_man]

Watch the video that comes with the article. It's all on how the software running on these iDevice mobile terminals rarely uses encryption and transmits credit card information in plaintext. Being able to root your device gives you access to this information while the device is being used as a mobile point-of-sale.

[aniym]

How do you know I devices were responsible for it?

Posted via CB10

Target - American company
American consumer - Sheep
Sheep - iPhone

Ergo, Target credit card hack -->iPhone

Morlock_man could not have been more clear!

[morlock_man]

Target - American company
American consumer - Sheep
Sheep - iPhone

Ergo, Target credit card hack -->iPhone

Morlock_man could not have been more clear!

The video with the article is pretty clear. iPhones, iPods and Ipads used as mobile points-of-sale were responsible for the hack.

(Suspected of being responsible for the hack?)

[JLagoon]

So far JLagoon has been bang on.

What's your chart at JL?

Van City Coffee ; WhitecapsFC ; PreMed Community ; Bristol Rovers Football Club

Hi Dusdal:

The SP movement was quite good with 14.9 million in volume earlier today. The action shows more buying pressure. This could also be some shorts covering--not a lot considering the amount of shorts last reported. I think, the majority of the shorts is still betting on a horrendous ER. Blackberry has been very quiet so far. Hopefully, the sequence of good news recently is not to get our hopes high, just like the June ER. Remember that massive haircut?

From the perspective of TA, the chart shows that the new trend, after breaking out of the wedge, has maintained its bullish look since 12/13 - 12/16. RSI is far from being overbought. Bollinger band is getting tighter. $6.50 is the first top limit. If we are not in ER time, closing above $6.29 or above $6.50 would be the next bullish move. Historically, a big move is followed. Let's hear how John Chen will handle this ER. He has done things quite swiftly with good moves so far. A little bit more notes on the chart.

On a different note, I rode out the PSDV drop, and am still holding--Thanks, Morgan.

Daily chart:


Daily chart from 12/16:
Attachment 230504

[cjcampbell]

The video with the article is pretty clear. iPhones, iPods and Ipads used as mobile points-of-sale were responsible for the hack.

(Suspected of being responsible for the hack?)

As much as I'd like to see the idevices blamed for the hack, I don't think that's the case. This was all Target stores nation wide. The hack, more than likely, happened at the interception point of all their pos terminals. The main hub. Now, in theory, they could have hacked the data stream from the central location and sent some sort of malware/virus to the all the pos terminals and compromised that way but I'll bet we never know.

[nquyen]

Sold all my shares today. Feeling pretty good knowing I can watch BlackBerry without having money tied to it anymore. Good luck guys.

[michaelshawn]

No leaks for the ER?

My beauty Z30

[bungaboy]

Not even the tip of the iceberg!

SAC Capital employee found guilty in NY case

Associated Press
December 19, 2013 1:48 AM GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A portfolio manager for one of the nation's largest hedge funds who was accused by the government of cheating to boost sagging results in 2007 was convicted on Wednesday of insider trading charges.

The verdict against Michael Steinberg in Manhattan federal court was announced only after he was checked by a nurse because he had slumped in his seat and appeared to faint when the jury first entered the courtroom.

U.S. District Judge Richard J. Sullivan, who set sentencing for April 25, told jurors Steinberg had a "bit of a dizzy spell" but that he had been checked by the nurse and Steinberg's brother, who's a doctor, and that everyone including the 41-year-old defendant agreed he was fit to receive the verdict. When the first of five guilty verdicts was read aloud, Steinberg's head dropped back and he looked up.

"Disappointing verdict, I know," the judge told Steinberg after jurors left the courtroom as he again offered medical assistance if the defendant required it. Steinberg did not.

The drama came amid a case that was the first to result from the government's focus on insider trading at SAC Capital Advisors.

The company, based in Stamford, Conn., was founded by billionaire businessman Steven A. Cohen, who hasn't been charged criminally but faces civil claims. This month it agreed to pay a record $1.8 billion to settle civil and criminal insider trading charges.

A spokesman for Steinberg's defense said lawyers wouldn't immediately comment on the verdict.

Lawyer Barry Berke has said an analyst who worked for Steinberg framed him to avoid going to prison himself. After the verdict was announced, Steinberg shook his head as he spoke with his lawyer and later embraced family members.

Prosecutors during the month long trial said Steinberg made illegal trades between 2007 and 2009 after receiving insider information from an analyst, Jon Horvath, of San Francisco. Horvath pleaded guilty last year to insider trading charges and agreed to testify against Steinberg as part of his plea deal.

[bungaboy]

Still a joke!

RBS Said to Join Chat-Room Crackdown Amid Manipulation Probes

Bloomberg
December 19, 2013 12:10 AM GMT

Dec. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc's markets division banned employees from using multidealer chat rooms, joining rivals in curbing the forums amid probes, according to a person with direct knowledge of the plan.

Permanent chat rooms with workers at other banks, bank entities or competitors are prohibited, as well as those with clients, brokers and securities firms, unless certain criteria are met, according to the person. RBS told the division's trading staff that internal chats should be limited to its own systems and used only for business purposes, said the person, asking not to be named because the move wasn't public.

The world's biggest banks are reining in chat rooms as regulators examine the messages for evidence traders manipulated currencies or benchmark rates. JPMorgan Chase & Co. will ban traders from using multidealer chat rooms, a person briefed on the matter said this week. Deutsche Bank AG said it will widen a prohibition on such exchanges to include its entire investment- bank unit and transaction-banking business next year.

Rebecca Nelson, a spokeswoman for RBS, declined to comment on the Edinburgh-based lender's plans. RBS, Frankfurt-based Deutsche Bank and Citigroup Inc. are among firms reviewing e- mails, instant messages and phone records of their foreign- exchange employees for evidence of potential manipulation, people with knowledge of those probes have said.

Trader's Messages

RBS handed over records of instant messages to U.K. regulators after concluding a former currency trader's communications with counterparts at other firms may have been inappropriate, two people with knowledge of the matter said in October. The messages related to the dealer's trading positions, those people said.

While visiting London that month, JPMorgan Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon, 57, told employees to watch what they write in e-mails and instant messages, people familiar with the matter said then.

Citigroup also banned the use of chat rooms to communicate with multiple traders at other banks, while still allowing their use to communicate on a one-to-one basis, according to a person familiar with the New York-based firm's decision.

[bungaboy]

As if you weren't disgusted already!

Merrill paying $131.8M to settle SEC charges

Associated Press
December 12, 2013 10:46 PM GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Merrill Lynch has agreed to pay $131.8 million to settle U.S. civil charges that it misled investors about risky mortgage bonds it sold ahead of the 2008 financial crisis.

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced the settlement Thursday. Merrill Lynch was accused using misleading materials to market the investments in 2006 and 2007. The materials gave investors a false impression that the collateral for the securities was chosen by an independent firm, the SEC said.

Merrill neither admitted nor denied the allegations. But it did agree to refrain from future violations of the securities laws. The SEC also censured Merrill, bringing the possibility of a stiffer sanction if the alleged violation is repeated.

When the housing bubble burst in 2007, millions of home borrowers defaulted on their loans and bundles of mortgages sold by big banks left investors with billions in losses.

Bank of America acquired Merrill at the height of the crisis in September 2008.

The SEC allegations against Merrill involved its marketing of pooled securities known as collateralized debt obligations. Wall Street banks sold CDOs at the height of the housing boom. They combine slices of debt with varying levels of risk.

The settlement was the latest in a series of federal actions against Wall Street banks as the government continues to resolve claims over their conduct five years after the crisis.

Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and other big banks have been accused of abuses in sales of securities linked to mortgages in the years leading up to the crisis. Together, they have paid hundreds of millions in penalties to settle civil charges brought by the SEC, which accused them of deceiving investors about the quality of the bonds they sold.

Last month JPMorgan, the biggest U.S. bank, agreed to pay $13 billion in a civil settlement with the Justice Department and state regulators over its sales of risky mortgage securities. It was the largest settlement ever between the Justice Department and a corporation.

Justice also has accused Bank of America of civil fraud in failing to inform investors of risks in its sale of $850 million in mortgage securities in 2008. The SEC filed a related lawsuit. Bank of America has disputed the allegations.

[Andrew4life]

I'm no expert, but I have a feeling we're being set up. If things go bad tomorrow I think all we're going to see is RED!!

I hope I'm wrong. But if I'm not, may Santa help us all.

[plane6065]

Sold all my shares today. Feeling pretty good knowing I can watch BlackBerry without having money tied to it anymore. Good luck guys.

I wish everyone BB shares luck. I held out so long that I could have died a fool, but realize life is much more than stupidity. I am good now. Wish all my blackberry friends all the best. The company has its place in the market but it totally need direction and new innovation (at least the hardware side).

[JLagoon]

I'm no expert, but I have a feeling we're being set up. If things go bad tomorrow I think all we're going to see is RED!!

I hope I'm wrong. But if I'm not, may Santa help us all.

This is one possibility that shorts are betting on. Still holding here.

[BBNation]

I agree. I have seen few times when shorts drive prices bit up, retails get suck in, crash it on ER day regardless how good or bad ER is. All they have to do is sell short millons of share. I am guessing they covered over 30 mil in last 2 weeks to create the biggest crash, may be last one for them. But it is BB who knows. no different than LOTTO, 6/49 in canada.

If all or 75% of shorts cover it the SP would be over 10$. They are just waiting for few big longs to leave so they can cover under $5.

[austriker]

Wonder if a long straddle would be good before seemingly super important ER

Posted via CB10

[Superfly_FR]

Target: 40 million credit cards compromised - Dec. 18, 2013

This is a great article.

Notice how they don't mention the fact that iDevices were largely responsible for these security holes.

No, not this time. Their back--end have been compromised. AFAIK, it's not - for once ! - web/mobile related.

[Superfly_FR]

will rty to double down if we go under $5. Would sit me around $7.5 avg ... But have to rush cash in bank and not sure I'll be able to before E.R ...
We'll see.
GL to all, keep faith !

[morlock_man]

No, not this time. Their back--end have been compromised. AFAIK, it's not - for once ! - web/mobile related.

Debatable. The video from the article suggests that some of the iDevice mobile point-of-sale platforms transmit financial data to their back-end without encryption.This would be the weak link, not the back-end itself.

While the software the for mobile pos is likely provided by another vendor, it's not unusual to hear of Apple devices transmitting user credentials in plaintext, so it's seems to be par for the course.

If this happened to BBRY devices, BBRY would have already declared bankruptcy. But when it happens with Apple it's just a wee little hiccup, nothing to worry about, nothing to see, move along.

40 million credits cards. FFS.

[bungaboy]

This is one possibility that shorts are betting on. Still holding here.

Same here!

[OMGitworks]

Good luck to all longs today, could be an exciting day.

[plasmid_boy]

Good luck to all longs today, could be an exciting day.

I am hoping for the best, but prepared for the worse.
It's like the first day after the storm, we get to see damages, what's salvageable, and the reconstruction plan/costs.

[bungaboy]

An exciting day for the Armchair CEOs.

[Corbu]

Pre-Market action almost inexistent... Good luck to all!

[morlock_man]

Tick tock...