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(The Center Square) – Eleven states, led by Texas, have sued the three largest institutional investors in the world for allegedly conspiring to buy coal company stocks to control the market, reduce competition and violate federal and state antitrust laws. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas Tyler Division and demands a trial by jury. It names as defendants BlackRock, Inc., State Street Corporation, and Vanguard Group, Inc., which combined manage more than $26 trillion in assets. The companies were sued for “acquiring substantial stockholdings in every significant publicly held coal producer in the United States” in order to gain “power to control the policies of the coal companies,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said. According to the 109-page brief , defendants own 30.43% of Peabody Energy, 34.19% of Arch Resources, 10.85% of NACCO Industries, 28.97% of CONSOL Energy, 29.7% of Alpha Metallurgical Resources, 24.94% of Vistra Energy, 8.3% of Hallador Energy, 31.62% of Warrior Met Coal and 32.87% of Black Hills Corporation. Under the Biden administration, in the past four years, “America’s coal producers have been responding not to the price signals of the free market, but to the commands of Larry Fink, BlackRock’s chairman and CEO, and his fellow asset managers,” the brief states. “As demand for the electricity Americans need to heat their homes and power their businesses has gone up, the supply of the coal used to generate that electricity has been artificially depressed – and the price has skyrocketed. Defendants have reaped the rewards of higher returns, higher fees, and higher profits, while American consumers have paid the price in higher utility bills and higher costs.” Consumer costs went up because the companies “weaponized” their shares to push through a so-called green energy agenda, including reducing coal output by more than half by 2030, the lawsuit alleges. In response, publicly traded coal producers reduced output and energy prices skyrocketed. The companies advanced their policies primarily through two programs, the Climate Action 100 and Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative, signaling “their mutual intent to reduce the output of thermal coal, which predictably increased the cost of electricity for Americans” nationwide, Paxton said. The firms also allegedly deceived thousands of investors “who elected to invest in non-ESG funds to maximize their profits,” Paxton said. “Yet these funds pursued ESG strategies notwithstanding the defendants’ representations to the contrary.” While they allegedly directly restrained competition among the companies whose shares they acquired, “their war on competition has consequences for the entire industry,” the brief states. “Texas will not tolerate the illegal weaponization of the financial industry in service of a destructive, politicized ‘environmental’ agenda. BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street formed a cartel to rig the coal market, artificially reduce the energy supply, and raise prices,” Paxton said. “Their conspiracy has harmed American energy production and hurt consumers. This is a stunning violation of state and federal law.” The lawsuit alleges the companies’ actions violated the Clayton Act, which prohibits any acquisition of stock where “the effect of such acquisition may be substantially to lessen competition;” and the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890, 15 U.S.C. § 1 in a conspiracy to restrain trade. It also alleges the companies violated state antitrust laws of Texas, Montana and West Virginia; Blackrock also allegedly violated the Texas Business and Commerce Code by committing “false, deceptive, or misleading acts.” It asks the court to rule that the companies violated the federal and state statutes, provide injunctive and equitable relief and prohibit them from engaging in such acts. It requests that civil fines be paid, including requiring Blackrock to pay $10,000 per violation. Joining Paxton in the lawsuit are the attorneys general of Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, West Virginia and Wyoming. The Buzbee Law Firm and Cooper & Kirk are serving as outside counsel. The companies have yet to issue a statement on the lawsuit. The lawsuit follows one filed by 25 states led by Texas against the Biden administration asking the court to halt a federal ESG policy that could negatively impact the retirement savings of 152 million Americans. It also comes after Texas has listed hundreds of companies and publicly traded investment funds, including Blackrock, on its divestment list for advancing ESG and anti-oil and natural gas policies.
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No. 16 Iowa State falls short in Big 12 title game again, this time with CFP at stake(The Center Square) – Eleven states, led by Texas, have sued the three largest institutional investors in the world for allegedly conspiring to buy coal company stocks to control the market, reduce competition and violate federal and state antitrust laws. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas Tyler Division and demands a trial by jury. It names as defendants BlackRock, Inc., State Street Corporation, and Vanguard Group, Inc., which combined manage more than $26 trillion in assets. The companies were sued for “acquiring substantial stockholdings in every significant publicly held coal producer in the United States” in order to gain “power to control the policies of the coal companies,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said. According to the 109-page brief , defendants own 30.43% of Peabody Energy, 34.19% of Arch Resources, 10.85% of NACCO Industries, 28.97% of CONSOL Energy, 29.7% of Alpha Metallurgical Resources, 24.94% of Vistra Energy, 8.3% of Hallador Energy, 31.62% of Warrior Met Coal and 32.87% of Black Hills Corporation. Under the Biden administration, in the past four years, “America’s coal producers have been responding not to the price signals of the free market, but to the commands of Larry Fink, BlackRock’s chairman and CEO, and his fellow asset managers,” the brief states. “As demand for the electricity Americans need to heat their homes and power their businesses has gone up, the supply of the coal used to generate that electricity has been artificially depressed – and the price has skyrocketed. Defendants have reaped the rewards of higher returns, higher fees, and higher profits, while American consumers have paid the price in higher utility bills and higher costs.” Consumer costs went up because the companies “weaponized” their shares to push through a so-called green energy agenda, including reducing coal output by more than half by 2030, the lawsuit alleges. In response, publicly traded coal producers reduced output and energy prices skyrocketed. The companies advanced their policies primarily through two programs, the Climate Action 100 and Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative, signaling “their mutual intent to reduce the output of thermal coal, which predictably increased the cost of electricity for Americans” nationwide, Paxton said. The firms also allegedly deceived thousands of investors “who elected to invest in non-ESG funds to maximize their profits,” Paxton said. “Yet these funds pursued ESG strategies notwithstanding the defendants’ representations to the contrary.” While they allegedly directly restrained competition among the companies whose shares they acquired, “their war on competition has consequences for the entire industry,” the brief states. “Texas will not tolerate the illegal weaponization of the financial industry in service of a destructive, politicized ‘environmental’ agenda. BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street formed a cartel to rig the coal market, artificially reduce the energy supply, and raise prices,” Paxton said. “Their conspiracy has harmed American energy production and hurt consumers. This is a stunning violation of state and federal law.” The lawsuit alleges the companies’ actions violated the Clayton Act, which prohibits any acquisition of stock where “the effect of such acquisition may be substantially to lessen competition;” and the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890, 15 U.S.C. § 1 in a conspiracy to restrain trade. It also alleges the companies violated state antitrust laws of Texas, Montana and West Virginia; Blackrock also allegedly violated the Texas Business and Commerce Code by committing “false, deceptive, or misleading acts.” It asks the court to rule that the companies violated the federal and state statutes, provide injunctive and equitable relief and prohibit them from engaging in such acts. It requests that civil fines be paid, including requiring Blackrock to pay $10,000 per violation. Joining Paxton in the lawsuit are the attorneys general of Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, West Virginia and Wyoming. The Buzbee Law Firm and Cooper & Kirk are serving as outside counsel. The companies have yet to issue a statement on the lawsuit. The lawsuit follows one filed by 25 states led by Texas against the Biden administration asking the court to halt a federal ESG policy that could negatively impact the retirement savings of 152 million Americans. It also comes after Texas has listed hundreds of companies and publicly traded investment funds, including Blackrock, on its divestment list for advancing ESG and anti-oil and natural gas policies.(The Center Square) – Eleven states, led by Texas, have sued the three largest institutional investors in the world for allegedly conspiring to buy coal company stocks to control the market, reduce competition and violate federal and state antitrust laws. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas Tyler Division and demands a trial by jury. It names as defendants BlackRock, Inc., State Street Corporation, and Vanguard Group, Inc., which combined manage more than $26 trillion in assets. The companies were sued for “acquiring substantial stockholdings in every significant publicly held coal producer in the United States” in order to gain “power to control the policies of the coal companies,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said. According to the 109-page brief , defendants own 30.43% of Peabody Energy, 34.19% of Arch Resources, 10.85% of NACCO Industries, 28.97% of CONSOL Energy, 29.7% of Alpha Metallurgical Resources, 24.94% of Vistra Energy, 8.3% of Hallador Energy, 31.62% of Warrior Met Coal and 32.87% of Black Hills Corporation. Under the Biden administration, in the past four years, “America’s coal producers have been responding not to the price signals of the free market, but to the commands of Larry Fink, BlackRock’s chairman and CEO, and his fellow asset managers,” the brief states. “As demand for the electricity Americans need to heat their homes and power their businesses has gone up, the supply of the coal used to generate that electricity has been artificially depressed – and the price has skyrocketed. Defendants have reaped the rewards of higher returns, higher fees, and higher profits, while American consumers have paid the price in higher utility bills and higher costs.” Consumer costs went up because the companies “weaponized” their shares to push through a so-called green energy agenda, including reducing coal output by more than half by 2030, the lawsuit alleges. In response, publicly traded coal producers reduced output and energy prices skyrocketed. The companies advanced their policies primarily through two programs, the Climate Action 100 and Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative, signaling “their mutual intent to reduce the output of thermal coal, which predictably increased the cost of electricity for Americans” nationwide, Paxton said. The firms also allegedly deceived thousands of investors “who elected to invest in non-ESG funds to maximize their profits,” Paxton said. “Yet these funds pursued ESG strategies notwithstanding the defendants’ representations to the contrary.” While they allegedly directly restrained competition among the companies whose shares they acquired, “their war on competition has consequences for the entire industry,” the brief states. “Texas will not tolerate the illegal weaponization of the financial industry in service of a destructive, politicized ‘environmental’ agenda. BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street formed a cartel to rig the coal market, artificially reduce the energy supply, and raise prices,” Paxton said. “Their conspiracy has harmed American energy production and hurt consumers. This is a stunning violation of state and federal law.” The lawsuit alleges the companies’ actions violated the Clayton Act, which prohibits any acquisition of stock where “the effect of such acquisition may be substantially to lessen competition;” and the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890, 15 U.S.C. § 1 in a conspiracy to restrain trade. It also alleges the companies violated state antitrust laws of Texas, Montana and West Virginia; Blackrock also allegedly violated the Texas Business and Commerce Code by committing “false, deceptive, or misleading acts.” It asks the court to rule that the companies violated the federal and state statutes, provide injunctive and equitable relief and prohibit them from engaging in such acts. It requests that civil fines be paid, including requiring Blackrock to pay $10,000 per violation. Joining Paxton in the lawsuit are the attorneys general of Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, West Virginia and Wyoming. The Buzbee Law Firm and Cooper & Kirk are serving as outside counsel. The companies have yet to issue a statement on the lawsuit. The lawsuit follows one filed by 25 states led by Texas against the Biden administration asking the court to halt a federal ESG policy that could negatively impact the retirement savings of 152 million Americans. It also comes after Texas has listed hundreds of companies and publicly traded investment funds, including Blackrock, on its divestment list for advancing ESG and anti-oil and natural gas policies.
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(Bloomberg) — When Texas’s largest state pension funds and endowments moved to curb China investments in recent years, they still kept money with big names like Two Sigma Investments LP, Hillhouse Investment, PAG and HongShan Capital Group. Now a new order for state entities to divest all of their China investments calls into question the ability of those firms to hold on to existing cash or raise fresh capital from the Lone Star State. Governor Greg Abbott on Nov. 21 wrote to state agencies, barring them from making new investments in China and decreeing exits from any existing ones “at the first available opportunity.” The fresh order capped years of moves by some of the state’s largest public-sector investors to reduce their China holdings in the face of growing geopolitical rivalry along with the Asian nation’s regulatory uncertainty, slowing economy and slumping markets. The immediate impact on the likes of Hillhouse and Two Sigma may be modest, given that the allocations make up a small portion of the tens of billions of dollars they manage, and that, for the former, much of the money is tied up in relatively illiquid private assets. But there is a risk that other states may follow Texas as US-China tensions are expected to heat up when President-elect Donald Trump returns to power. The nearly $210 billion Teacher Retirement System of Texas, or TRS, and the $78 billion University of Texas/Texas A&M Investment Management Co. — better known as Utimco — are among investment giants in the state that remain exposed to China. The Employees Retirement System of Texas, whose trust fund hit $40 billion, also disclosed allocations to asset managers with China exposure, such as Asia-based alternative assets investor PAG. TRS received the governor’s letter and is reviewing its China investments, a spokesman said in an email, adding its exposure to China is estimated at less than 1% of its assets. A new TRS investment policy statement adopted on Sept. 23 excluded Hong Kong and China from benchmarks used for public equity investments. Its investment committee earlier this year discussed “zero percent allocation” to China, “due to the political environment shifting.” The organization effectively halved the target allocation to Chinese stocks in September 2022, when it decided to reduce the country’s outsized weight in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index by switching to an equal mix of the original benchmark and a version without China. An investment report available to Bloomberg News showed TRS had a touch under $211 million parked in the Two Sigma China Core Equity Fund at the end of June. It had another $282 million invested with Green Court Capital Management Ltd. Those two investments are absent from the latest report for the end of September. Hillhouse, which managed nearly $500 million of public markets investments for the pension fund at the end of 2020, dropped off TRS’s list of external managers in the latest annual report for the year ended Aug. 31. TRS also had investments in funds of Hony Capital and Orchid Asia Group, two China-focused private equity firms. Changes in the market value of holdings would have reflected the amount of committed capital called down by the funds for investments, cash distributions and market value changes in their underlying investments. Hillhouse, GGV Capital, Two Sigma and HongShan Capital Group, the renamed former China arm of Sequoia Capital, also feature prominently among managers with significant China investments that Utimco parceled out money to. Representatives for EQT, Green Court, Hillhouse, PAG, Two Sigma and Utimco declined to comment. Employees Retirement System of Texas and TPG couldn’t immediately comment. Coreview, HongShan, Hony Capital and Orchid Asia didn’t immediately respond to emailed requests for comment. Neither did Granite Asia, the entity that now runs GGV’s Asia operations. Most of the funds have broader geographical coverage, and it’s not clear how much of the amounts are actually invested in China. PAG funds that Texas investors have allocated money to have minimal exposure to China, said a person with knowledge of the matter. Geopolitical tensions have been mounting. President Joe Biden in August 2023 issued a long-anticipated executive order imposing screening for US investments in Chinese companies in some sectors. In October 2023, a US congressional committee sent Sequoia a letter asking for information about its China investment, calling out several as “problematic” for security or human-rights reasons. Earlier that year, the Select Committee sent GGV Capital, GSR Ventures, Qualcomm Ventures and Walden International similar letters asking about various investments in China and Chinese investors in their funds. Abbott joined his counterparts in South Dakota, Iowa and Mississippi in writing to Vanguard Group in May 2023, urging the investment firm to create an emerging markets fund that excludes China. The Republican governor signed an executive order last month banning business travel by state employees to countries designated as “foreign adversaries,” including China. It required advance notification of planned personal trips to such destinations and post-trip debriefings. That would curb the ability of Texas public sector investors from conducting on-site meetings with managers in mainland China and Hong Kong. Abbott’s Nov. 21 order cited threats to the financial security of the state from the Chinese Communist Party and called for all investments of state money in China to be “evaluated and immediately addressed.” The order didn’t specify whether and how he expected private markets investments — such as private equity, venture capital and real estate — to be liquidated. A press officer wasn’t able to provide additional information. Even public market investments may take more than a year to exit, depending on lockup and redemption terms. The state investors may have money with other global or emerging markets or Asia regional funds that make part of their investments in China. It’s not clear how that will be treated. While public market funds allow redemptions, investors usually can only fully exit private equity and venture capital investments at the end of the funds’ lives or by transferring their stakes in the secondary market. Hillhouse has been expanding investments outside China. Founded in 2005 by Yale University endowment alumnus Zhang Lei with a mandate to trade public equities globally, Hillhouse has grown assets to more than $100 billion, diversifying into venture capital, private equity and, in recent years, real assets and private credit. Its investments away from China have included Asia warehouse operator GLP Pte, Royal Philips NV’s domestic-appliance unit and Swiss athletic shoe brand On. It has started a tender offer for Japanese real estate company Samty Holdings Ltd. Led by Neil Shen, HongShan is opening a London office to help scout for deals in Europe, as it ramps up efforts outside China. The company already has nearly 10 portfolio investments in Europe, including Monzo Bank Ltd., a London-based digital bank; new energy firm GEO; designer brand Ami Paris, and healthcare business Barinthus Biotherapeutics Plc. Its overseas investments are mostly in Asia, including Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia. Seeing growing obstacles to raise money from US public pension funds and endowments, asset managers with significant China exposure have been turning to private-sector investors such as family offices as well as allocators outside the US, most notably the Middle East.It goes from bad to worse for ( ) shares. Prior to today, the ASX mining stock was down 60% since the start of the year. In early trade, the graphite producer's shares have sunk a further 32% to a multi-year low of 18 cents. Why are Syrah shares being sold off again? Investors have been rushing to the exits today after the company released an on its Balama project in Mozambique. As some readers may be aware, there has been major civil unrest in the East African country this year. So much so, ( ) was forced to for its Mozal Aluminium operation earlier this week. The civil unrest has been driven by the results of Mozambique's general election, with the ruling Frelimo party extending its majority across both Provincial and National levels of government. These results are being contested by opposition parties, citing allegations of electoral fraud and irregularities. Nationwide protests associated with the electoral process is causing widespread disruptions throughout Mozambique, including at several mining operations. What's happening at Syrah? Unfortunately for this ASX mining stock, it has also been caught up in the civil unrest, with protests around historical farmland resettlement grievances getting larger. This has led to its subsidiary Twigg Exploration and Mining declaring a force majeure event for the Balama Graphite Operation under the terms of its Mining Agreement with the Mozambique Government. Commenting on the situation the company said: With conditions continuing to deteriorate across Mozambique and further National Government opposition protest actions recently announced, Syrah is unable to undertake a production campaign at Balama in the December 2024 quarter that is required to replenish finished product inventory, and for customer sales. Consequently, force majeure is declared under the Mining Agreement. Syrah advised that it remains committed to achieving a positive resolution of the protest and addressing all legitimate resettlement concerns. However, it acknowledges that "resolution of the Balama protest will take time due to broader unrest and disruptions across Mozambique and the new Mozambique Government not being formed until January 2025." Big consequences While the failure to replenish inventory for customer sales is bad, it gets much worse for Syrah. It notes that these events have triggered events of default in its loans with the US government. It said: The impacts and duration of the protest actions have triggered events of default in the Company's loans with United States International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and United States Department of Energy (DOE). Syrah is engaging with DFC and DOE regarding these events of default. These certainly are difficult times for Syrah and its shares. Once again, this highlights the dangers of mining (and investing) outside tier-1 jurisdictions.
11 states sue three largest institutional investors for anticompetitive trade practicesGiants will try to snap a 7-game losing streak when they host the SaintsOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Jamiya Neal's 19 points helped Creighton defeat UNLV 83-65 on Saturday night. Neal had nine rebounds, nine assists, and four blocks for the Bluejays (7-3). Steven Ashworth added 17 points plus seven assists. Isaac Traudt had 15 points and shot 5 for 8, including 5 for 7 from beyond the arc. The Rebels (4-4) were led in scoring by Jailen Bedford, who finished with 20 points and three steals. Dedan Thomas Jr. added 18 points for UNLV. Julian Rishwain finished with 10 points and two steals. Creighton took the lead with 18:48 left in the first half and did not give it up. The score was 39-27 at halftime, with Neal racking up 10 points. Creighton extended its lead to 49-27 during the second half, fueled by a 10-0 scoring run. Ashworth scored a team-high 10 points in the second half as his team closed out the win. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .
CLEVELAND (AP) — Shortly after doing a face-down snow angel, firing a few celebratory snowballs and singing “Jingle Bells” on his way to the media room, Jameis Winston ended his postgame news conference with a simple question. “Am I a Brown yet?” he asked. He is now. And who knows? Maybe for a lot longer than expected. Winston entered Cleveland football folklore on Thursday night by leading the Browns to a 24-19 win over the division rival Pittsburgh Steelers, who had their five-game winning streak stopped. Winston's performance at Huntington Bank Field, which transformed into the world's largest snow globe, not only made him an instantaneous hero in the eyes of Browns fans but added another wrinkle to the team's ever-changing, never-ending quarterback conundrum. In his fourth start since Deshaun Watson's season-ending Achilles tendon injury, Winston made enough big plays to help the Browns (3-8) get a victory that should quiet conjecture about coach Kevin Stefanski's job. Some wins mean more than others. In Cleveland, beating the Steelers is as big as it gets. But beyond any instant gratification, Winston has given the Browns more to consider as they move forward. Watson's future with Cleveland is highly uncertain since it will still be months before the team has a grip on whether he's even an option in 2025, his fourth year since signing a $230 million, fully guaranteed contract that has proven calamitous. It's also possible the Browns will cut ties with Watson. They signed Winston to a one-year contract to be Watson's backup. But the unexpected events of 2024 have changed plans and led to the possibility that the 30-year-old Winston could become Cleveland's full-time QB or a bridge to their next young one. So much is unclear. What's not is that Winston, who leaped into the end zone on fourth-and-2 for a TD to put the Browns ahead 18-6 in the fourth quarter, is a difference maker. With his larger-than-life personality and the joy he shows whether practicing or throwing three touchdown passes, he has lifted the Browns. A man of faith, he's made his teammates believe. Winston has done what Watson couldn't: made the Browns better. “A very, very authentic person,” Stefanski said Friday on a Zoom call. “He’s the same guy every single day. He's the same guy at 5 a.m. as he at 5 p.m. He brings great energy to everything he does, and I think his teammates appreciate that about him.” Winston, who is 2-2 as a starter with wins over the Steelers and Baltimore Ravens, has a knack for inspiring through fiery, preacher-like pregame speeches. But what has impressed the Browns is his ability to stay calm in the storm. “He doesn’t get rattled,” said Myles Garrett, who had three sacks against the Steelers . “He’s just tuned in and focused as anyone I’ve seen at that position. Turn the page. There was a turnover, came back to the sideline, ‘Love you. I’m sorry. We’re going to get it back.’ He was already on to the next one, ‘How can we complete the mission?’ “I have a lot of respect for him. First was from afar and now seeing it on the field in front of me, it’s a blessing to have someone who plays a game with such a passion and want-to. You can’t ask for a better teammate when they take those things to heart and they want to play for you like we’re actually brothers and that’s what we have to attain. That brotherhood.” Winston has done something else Watson couldn't: move the offense. The Browns scored more than 20 points for just the second time this season, and like Joe Flacco a year ago, Winston has shown that Stefanski's system works with a quarterback patient enough to let plays develop and unafraid to take shots downfield. The conditions certainly were a factor, but the Browns were a miserable 1 of 10 on third down, a season-long trend. However, Cleveland converted all four fourth-down tries, including a fourth-and-3 pass from Winston to Jerry Jeudy with 2:36 left that helped set up Nick Chubb's go-ahead TD run. RT Jack Conklin. Garrett outplayed Steelers star T.J. Watt in their rivalry within the rivalry partly because Conklin did a nice job containing Pittsburgh's edge rusher, who was held without a sack and had one tackle for loss. Conklin has made a remarkable comeback since undergoing reconstructive knee surgery last year. Owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam. Their desire to build a dome is well intended, but an indoor game could never come close to matching the surreal setting of Thursday night, when snow swirled throughout the stadium and covered nearly all the yard lines and hash marks. “It was beautiful,” Winston said. WR Cedric Tillman is in the concussion protocol. He had two catches before taking a big hit on the final play of the third quarter. 9 — Consecutive home wins for the Browns in Thursday night games. Three of those have come against Pittsburgh. An extended break before visiting the Denver Broncos on Dec. 2. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
It goes from bad to worse for ( ) shares. Prior to today, the ASX mining stock was down 60% since the start of the year. In early trade, the graphite producer's shares have sunk a further 32% to a multi-year low of 18 cents. Why are Syrah shares being sold off again? Investors have been rushing to the exits today after the company released an on its Balama project in Mozambique. As some readers may be aware, there has been major civil unrest in the East African country this year. So much so, ( ) was forced to for its Mozal Aluminium operation earlier this week. The civil unrest has been driven by the results of Mozambique's general election, with the ruling Frelimo party extending its majority across both Provincial and National levels of government. These results are being contested by opposition parties, citing allegations of electoral fraud and irregularities. Nationwide protests associated with the electoral process is causing widespread disruptions throughout Mozambique, including at several mining operations. What's happening at Syrah? Unfortunately for this ASX mining stock, it has also been caught up in the civil unrest, with protests around historical farmland resettlement grievances getting larger. This has led to its subsidiary Twigg Exploration and Mining declaring a force majeure event for the Balama Graphite Operation under the terms of its Mining Agreement with the Mozambique Government. Commenting on the situation the company said: With conditions continuing to deteriorate across Mozambique and further National Government opposition protest actions recently announced, Syrah is unable to undertake a production campaign at Balama in the December 2024 quarter that is required to replenish finished product inventory, and for customer sales. Consequently, force majeure is declared under the Mining Agreement. Syrah advised that it remains committed to achieving a positive resolution of the protest and addressing all legitimate resettlement concerns. However, it acknowledges that "resolution of the Balama protest will take time due to broader unrest and disruptions across Mozambique and the new Mozambique Government not being formed until January 2025." Big consequences While the failure to replenish inventory for customer sales is bad, it gets much worse for Syrah. It notes that these events have triggered events of default in its loans with the US government. It said: The impacts and duration of the protest actions have triggered events of default in the Company's loans with United States International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and United States Department of Energy (DOE). Syrah is engaging with DFC and DOE regarding these events of default. These certainly are difficult times for Syrah and its shares. Once again, this highlights the dangers of mining (and investing) outside tier-1 jurisdictions.Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP Securities Litigation Partner James (Josh) Wilson Encourages Investors Who Suffered Losses Exceeding $75,000 In iLearningEngines To Contact Him Directly To Discuss Their Options If you suffered losses exceeding $75,000 in iLearningEngines between April 22, 2024 and August 28, 2024 and would like to discuss your legal rights, call Faruqi & Faruqi partner Josh Wilson directly at 877-247-4292 or 212-983-9330 (Ext. 1310) . [You may also click here for additional information] NEW YORK , Nov. 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP , a leading national securities law firm, is investigating potential claims against iLearningEngines, Inc. ("iLearningEngines" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: AILE) and reminds investors of the December 6, 2024 deadline to seek the role of lead plaintiff in a federal securities class action that has been filed against the Company. Faruqi & Faruqi is a leading national securities law firm with offices in New York , Pennsylvania , California and Georgia . The firm has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors since its founding in 1995. See www.faruqilaw.com . As detailed below, the complaint alleges that the Company and its executives violated federal securities laws by making false and/or misleading statements and/or failing to disclose that (1) the Company's "Technology Partner" was an undisclosed related party; (2) that the Company used its undisclosed related party Technology Partner to report "largely fake" revenue and expenses; (3) that, as a result of the foregoing, the Company significantly overstated its revenue; and (4) that, as a result of the foregoing, Defendants' positive statements about the Company's business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis. On August 29, 2024 , before the market opened, Hindenburg Research published a report titled "iLearningEngines: An Artificial Intelligence SPAC With Artificial Partners and Artificial Revenue." In its report, Hindenburg Research alleged that nearly all of the Company's revenue and expenses in 2022 and 2023 were run through an undisclosed related party, which the Company refers to as their "Technology Partner." Hindenburg Research further alleged that iLearningEngines uses its undisclosed related party relationship to report revenue and expenses that are "largely fake." Among other things, Hindenburg Research alleged the Company used its undisclosed related party relationship with this Technology Partner to falsely report $138 million in revenue from the Indian market in 2022, when in reality, total revenue was, in fact, approximately $853,471.00 , or 99.4% less than what iLearningEngines claimed in revenue in the country that period. On this news, the Company's share price fell $1.70 or 53.3%, to close at $1.49 on August 29, 2024 , on unusually heavy trading volume. The court-appointed lead plaintiff is the investor with the largest financial interest in the relief sought by the class who is adequate and typical of class members who directs and oversees the litigation on behalf of the putative class. Any member of the putative class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member. Your ability to share in any recovery is not affected by the decision to serve as a lead plaintiff or not. Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP also encourages anyone with information regarding iLearningEngines' conduct to contact the firm, including whistleblowers, former employees, shareholders and others. To learn more about the iLearningEngines class action, go to www.faruqilaw.com/AILE or call Faruqi & Faruqi partner Josh Wilson directly at 877-247-4292 or 212-983-9330 (Ext. 1310) . Follow us for updates on LinkedIn , on X , or on Facebook . Attorney Advertising. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP ( www.faruqilaw.com ). Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future matter. We welcome the opportunity to discuss your particular case. All communications will be treated in a confidential manner. View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/deadline-alert-faruqi--faruqi-llp-investigates-claims-on-behalf-of-investors-of-ilearningengines-302317695.html SOURCE Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP