In the past, it was noticed that through bulk SMSes, investors were induced to invest in or purchase the stocks of certain listed companies. The picture was mixed overseas. Hong Kongās Hang Seng Index fell 1.6%, under pressure from U.S. regulatory scrutiny on New York-listed Chinese companies. Stocks were more buoyant in Europe, where Frankfurtās DAX surged 1.4%. Markets continued to grapple with the economic and corporate earnings implications relating to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. āWe have a ton of uncertainty right now,ā said Stephanie Link, chief investment strategist and portfolio manager at Hightower Advisors. āWeāre dealing with a war, weāre dealing with inflation. We donāt know what it means to earnings.ā At the start of 2018, the company attempted to launch an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) which would enable it to enable payments (and earn the cash that comes from doing so). The initial signals were promising, especially given Telegramās user base is already fairly crypto-savvy. It raised an initial tranche of cash ā worth more than a billion dollars ā to help develop the coin before opening sales to the public. Unfortunately, third-party sales of coins bought in those initial fundraising rounds raised the ire of the SEC, which brought the hammer down on the whole operation. In 2020, officials ordered Telegram to pay a fine of $18.5 million and hand back much of the cash that it had raised. The SC urges the public to refer to the SCās I nvestor Alert List before investing. The list contains details of unauthorised websites, investment products, companies and individuals. Members of the public who suspect that they have been approached by unauthorised firms or individuals offering schemes that promise unrealistic returns
from us