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Just Wait Till You Have Dozens!"},{"summary":"This humble citrus fruit actually holds a lot of economic power.","publishDate":"2023-03-03","image":{"_type":"image","attribution":"Justin Sullivan/Getty Images","asset":{"uploadId":"d2iKz7X137Q0g8F26d0MQYrZ4mQ0EMB2","_type":"sanity.imageAsset","sha1hash":"0fd948b4e965d0c1c8aed67576c26c4ab76eade6","path":"images/8mioycse/v3/0fd948b4e965d0c1c8aed67576c26c4ab76eade6-3000x2020.jpg","creditLine":"ORANGE COVE, CA - JANUARY 17:  Damaged oranges sit on the ground in an orange grove January 17, 2007 in Orange Cove, California. California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency as an estimated 70% of California's citrus crops have been damaged by a severe cold snap that is bringing below freezing tempuratures to California's central valley. The cold is expected to continue through January 21.  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California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency as an estimated 70% of California's citrus crops have been damaged by a severe cold snap that is bringing below freezing tempuratures to California's central valley. The cold is expected to continue through January 21.  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At its peak, roughly 90% of all U.S. orange juice had its roots in the Sunshine State.","_key":"fbdfa49b16db0"}],"_type":"block"},{"markDefs":[],"children":[{"marks":["strong"],"text":"The scourge of citrus greening","_key":"d258ef7580a20","_type":"span"}],"_type":"block","style":"normal","_key":"b2a95b939e25"},{"children":[{"text":"For an industry that relies on futures contracts, prices can skyrocket if supply declines — and that’s what has been happening in recent years as a disease known as “citrus greening” kills off significant portions of Florida’s orange groves.","_key":"fef64d70e3970","_type":"span","marks":[]}],"_type":"block","style":"normal","_key":"1ff71b7c1c26","markDefs":[]},{"_type":"block","style":"normal","_key":"658dd51d8897","markDefs":[],"children":[{"_key":"d582d2e026710","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"Add in some deep freezes and a pair of hurricanes and the state recently experienced "},{"text":"its worse harvest in nearly a century","_key":"d582d2e026711","_type":"span","marks":["strong"]},{"_type":"span","marks":[],"text":".","_key":"d582d2e026712"}]},{"children":[{"_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"Using futures contracts allows farmers and manufacturers to protect themselves against volatility by locking in a future rate. 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All the time, they were allegedly planning to dump their own shares in the companies and make off with a healthy profit."}],"_type":"block","style":"normal"},{"_type":"block","style":"normal","_key":"208fd6168a33","markDefs":[],"children":[{"_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"In total, an indictment unsealed this week in Texas showed that the fraud totaled ","_key":"911f9e64c32d0"},{"_type":"span","marks":["strong"],"text":"a whopping $114 million","_key":"911f9e64c32d1"},{"_type":"span","marks":[],"text":" over the course of under two years.","_key":"911f9e64c32d2"}]},{"children":[{"text":"Through Twitter posts, podcast appearances, Discord conversations, and other online commentaries, the defendants are accused of swindling their most gullible fans.","_key":"357ae98e10310","_type":"span","marks":[]}],"_type":"block","style":"normal","_key":"84c9a78581b0","markDefs":[]},{"_key":"ea1f3f7437b1","markDefs":[],"children":[{"_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"In addition to pending federal counts, the Securities and Exchange Commission also handed down its own charges against the group.","_key":"8f0b7fbf41680"}],"_type":"block","style":"normal"},{"_key":"986434039815","markDefs":[],"children":[{"_type":"span","marks":["strong"],"text":"Damning communications","_key":"97f2653b6c7e0"}],"_type":"block","style":"normal"},{"_key":"4d300b0fcabb","markDefs":[],"children":[{"marks":[],"text":"According to the SEC complaint, members of the group were brazen in their discussion of the illegal ploy. When one suspect expressed some remorse about their behavior and said he wanted to “do it the right way,” an alleged co-conspirator shot back: “The f—king right way? ","_key":"80a17ce257bc0","_type":"span"},{"_key":"80a17ce257bc1","_type":"span","marks":["strong"],"text":"We’re robbing f—ing idiots of their money"},{"_key":"80a17ce257bc2","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":".”"}],"_type":"block","style":"normal"},{"children":[{"_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"Such rhetoric is not likely to bode well for them at trial.","_key":"da6edb4954210"}],"_type":"block","style":"normal","_key":"6f450728869b","markDefs":[]},{"children":[{"_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"Joseph Sansone of the SEC described the alleged scheme succinctly, asserting that they fed their followers “a steady diet of misinformation.\"","_key":"f2f41fd4699a0"}],"_type":"block","style":"normal","_key":"4a2eb677f0aa","markDefs":[]}],"author":{"_ref":"phCNL32Gn","_type":"reference"},"_id":"1ebcbe3c-11da-4f72-8957-affe2a2e84a0","id":"iaAnqL","publishDate":"2022-12-15","category":"investing"}]