Judge Declares Mistrial In Michael Avenatti’s Embezzlement Trial

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — A California judge declared a mistrial Tuesday in the embezzlement trial of attorney Michael Avenatti, who is charged with stealing millions in settlement money from his clients.

U.S. District Judge James V. Selna ruled on technical grounds that federal prosecutors failed to turn over relevant financial evidence to Avenatti.

Another hearing in the case was set for Sept. 2, and Selna scheduled a tentative new trial date for Oct. 12.

It was the second trial in recent months for the 50-year-old lawyer who once represented porn actress Stormy Daniels in her lawsuit against then-President Donald Trump.

Avenatti was sentenced in July to 2 1/2 years in prison in a $25 million extortion case in New York.

Federal prosecutors in Southern California have accused Avenatti of cheating five of his clients out of nearly $10 million by negotiating and collecting settlements on their behalf and funneling the payments to accounts he controlled while lying to them about what happened to the money.

Avenatti, who is suspended from practicing law in California but was representing himself at trial, had pleaded not guilty to 10 counts of wire fraud in connection with the allegations spanning from 2015 to 2019. He denied embezzling money and said his law firm was entitled to recoup expenses if settlements were reached.

The mistrial was first reported by the legal news service Law360.

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Gold Futures Settle Slightly Higher

Gold futures settled higher on Tuesday as the dollar stayed subdued with traders looking ahead to the annual Jackson Hole Symposium for clues about Fed’s policy moves.

The dollar moved in a very tight range amid improved risk appetite after U.S. authorities gave full approval for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID vaccine.

The dollar, which slipped to 92.81 in late morning trades, subsequently recovered to 92.92.

Gold futures for December ended up by $2.20 or 0.1% at $1,808.50 an ounce, closing about $1,800 for a second straight day, and the higest finish in nearly three weeks.

Silver futures for September closed higher by $0.238 at $23.894 an ounce, while Copper futures for September settled at $4.2580 per pound, up $0.0210 from the previous close.

On the economic front, the Commerce Department released a report this morning showing a rebound in U.S. new home sales in the month of July.

The report showed new home sales increased by 1.0 percent to an annual rate of 708,000 in July after slumping by 2.6 percent to an upwardly revised rate of 701,000 in June.

Economists had expected new home sales to jump by 3.6 percent to a rate of 700,000 from the 676,000 originally reported for the previous month.

Crude Oil Futures Settle Higher For 2nd Straight Day

Crude oil prices moved higher on Tuesday, extending gains to a second straight session, as concerns about outlook for energy demand eased a bit amid signs of falling coronavirus infections in China, India and some other countries.

The U.S. drug regulator’s decision to grant full approval to the Pfizer/BioNTech SE COVID-19 vaccine, and a subdued dollar too contributed to oil’s uptick.

Oil prices were also supported by a fire on an oil platform off Mexico on Sunday, which resulted in the shutdown of 125 wells in the field and likely reduce daily output of oil equivalents by 421,000 barrels.

West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October ended up by $1.90 or nearly 3% at $67.54 a barrel.

Brent crude futures were up 2.17 or 3.19% at $70.54 a barrel a little while ago.

The full FDA approval of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine is expected to boost economic recovery and fed demand for fuel.

Speaking from the White House, U.S. President Biden called the approval a key milestone in the nation’s fight against COVID. He stressed that inoculation saves lives and that those awaiting final FDA approval no longer have a reason to delay.

Traders now await weekly crude inventories data from the American Petroleum Institute (API) and U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). While the API’s report is due later today, the EIA is scheduled to release its inventory data Wednesday morning.

ScanSource Inc. Q4 adjusted earnings Beat Estimates

Below are the earnings highlights for ScanSource Inc. (SCSC):

-Earnings: $20.7 million in Q4 vs. -$108.9 million in the same period last year.
-EPS: $0.80 in Q4 vs. -$4.29 in the same period last year.
-Excluding items, ScanSource Inc. reported adjusted earnings of $24.5 million or $0.96 per share for the period.
-Analysts projected $0.57 per share
-Revenue: $852.7 million in Q4 vs. $636.5 million in the same period last year.

Zen Magnets Recalls 10 Mln Magnets Due To Risk Of Ingestion

Zen Magnets LLC has recalled about 10 million Zen Magnets and Neoballs Magnets, which were sold individually and in magnet sets, due to risk of ingestion.

According to the company, when two or more high-powered magnets are swallowed, either accidentally or intentionally, the ingested magnets can attract to each other, or to another metal object, and become lodged in the digestive system. This can result in perforations, twisting and/or blockage of the intestines, infection, blood poisoning, and death.

The company said it is aware of two children who ingested Zen Magnets and required surgery to remove the magnets and parts of their intestines and bowels. A 19-month-girl died after ingesting similar high-powered magnets.

The recall includes all Zen Magnets and Neoballs, which are high-powered 5 mm spherical magnets. They were sold online at Neoballs.com and ZenMagnets.com and certain Colorado retailers in January 2009 for between $12 and $264 per set, or individually for 6 to 10 cents per magnet.