US probes Alibaba’s accounting practices

US probes Alibaba’s accounting practices

WASHINGTON

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba wowed investors when it went public in the U.S. in September 2014, and its profits have bucked Wall Street expectations amid the Chinese economy’s slowdown. Yet its unorthodox business structure has raised eyebrows, it’s been suspended from an anti-counterfeiting group, and now U.S. regulators are investigating its accounting practices.

Alibaba disclosed in a regulatory filing that the Securities and Exchange Commission has requested documents and information related to the way it adds together earnings from its various divisions, and how it reports transactions with other companies it has a stake in, among other things.

US stocks keep rising

NEW YORK

U.S. stocks climbed Wednesday as investors continued to recover some confidence in the health of the global economy. That sent oil prices higher and gave energy companies a boost, while materials companies also climbed higher.

In Europe, a round of new rescue loans for Greece was unfrozen, eliminating the risk the country will default on its debts in the next few months. A survey of business sentiment in Germany, the largest economy in Europe, rose more than expected. European stock indexes rose and the U.S. market followed them. Expecting stronger demand for fuel and materials used in industry and construction, investors bought stock in energy and mining and chemicals companies. U.S. stocks had jumped Tuesday after a strong report on home sales.

Puerto Rico clears hurdle in Congress

WASHINGTON

A bipartisan deal to help Puerto Rico manage its crippling finances cleared its first hurdle Wednesday with approval from a Republican-led House committee.

The bill to create a financial control board and restructure some of the U.S. territory’s $70 billion debt has support from House Republican and Democratic leaders, as well as the Obama administration.

Wildfires hurt Canadian economy

TORONTO

Canada’s central bank said Wednesday the Canadian economy will shrink in the second quarter because of Alberta’s devastating wildfires, which shut down its oil sands production.

The Bank of Canada, which kept its key interest rate on hold, said its preliminary assessment is that the destruction and halt to oil production will knock about 11/4 percentage points off real GDP growth in the second quarter. In April, the bank had forecast 1 percent growth in the quarter.

Citibank paying $425M in fines

WASHINGTON

Citibank will pay $425 million in fines to settle federal civil charges of attempting to manipulate key benchmarks used to set interest rates for investments in derivatives and U.S. Treasury bonds as well as a range of consumer loans.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced two settlements Wednesday with Citibank, part of the big Wall Street bank Citigroup Inc.

Associated Press