The Haney Group
1. The SEC probes JPMorgan amid allegations that it hired Chinese princelings. The U.S. Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has begun an investigation into whether JPMorgan Chase hired the children of senior Chinese officials to help secure business in a now-defunct program called “Sons and Daughters.” The scrutiny began in Hong Kong and now has spread through the bank’s Asia offices; the bank has flagged more than 200 hires for review. JPMorgan has not yet been accused of any illegal acts, but they might have violated the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which forbids granting personal favors to government officials in exchange for business. One example included the son of Tang Shuangning, chairman of a state-run financial conglomerate, who was hired and retained even after other employees questioned his financial expertise.
2. Chinese government begins massive campaign against online “rumormongering.” The Chinese government wants citizens to adhere to the “seven base lines” of proper internet conduct and curb “rumormongering” online. After the Beijing Internet Conference last week, the government released “seven base lines“ for proper Internet conduct. State-run media has released a flurry of op-eds and run prime-time TV spots about the issue [links in Chinese]. Multiple people have been arrested for spreading rumors through microblogging accounts, and yesterday, twenty-seven people were arrested for operating 312 microblogging accounts with millions of followers [Chinese]. Xinhua also released an op-ed saying that government officials should not be exempt from anti-rumormongering laws, giving four examples of recent rumors spread by officials.