Monthly Archives: December 2013

It’s Hard to Summon Sympathy for Big Banks

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“It may not be easy to be sympathetic to the big banks, but it is easy to understand their surprise and frustration. They have gone from being viewed as national champions — proof of a country’s standing in the world — to being seen as a potential source of national disaster. Iceland and Ireland went broke because they had to, or chose to, bail out their irresponsible banks.  Eric H. Holder Jr., the attorney general, did not help when he said last spring that the Justice Department had to keep in mind that filing criminal charges against a large bank could ‘have a negative impact on the national economy, perhaps even the world economy.’ He quickly backtracked, but the perception was reinforced.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/13/business/little-sympathy-for-big-banks.html?pagewanted=all

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The Bitcoin Ideology

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“In a 500-word essay that accompanied the code, Nakamoto suggested that the motive for creating bitcoin was anger at the financial crisis: ‘The root problem with conventional currencies is all the trust that’s required to make it work. The central bank must be trusted not to debase the currency, but the history of fiat currencies is full of breaches of that trust.’   You know you’re talking to a true bitcoin believer if you hear the word ‘disruption.’ But that’s how bitcoin is seen within the broader movement: as an unruly tool with potentially transformative effects on entrenched businesses like retail payment and asset management.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/15/sunday-review/the-bitcoin-ideology.html?_r=0&pagewanted=all

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Bitcoin: Open source money whose time has come

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“The Internet is creating a society where each of us can play the roles previously reserved for corporations and moguls, if we choose — all without needing an intermediary. We can start businesses, trade goods, conduct relationships, publish, editorialize, and conduct politics, all without needing an intermediary to empower us — a phenomenon I call ‘the meshed society.’ A currency we can use as we engage in those activities is a natural complement and vehicle. As the meshed society matures, our need for digital money is inevitable.”

http://images.infoworld.com/print/232599

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How the Paper Money Experiment Will End

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“We are now in a situation that looks like a dead end for the paper money system. After the last cycle, governments have bailed out malinvestments in the private sector and boosted their public welfare spending. Deficits and debts skyrocketed. Central banks printed money to buy public debts (or accept them as collateral in loans to the banking system) in unprecedented amounts. Will money printing be a constant with interest rates close to zero until people lose their confidence in the paper currencies? Can the paper money system be maintained or will we necessarily get a hyperinflation sooner or later?  There are at least seven possibilities.”

http://www.mises.org/daily/6609/How-the-Paper-Money-Experiment-Will-End

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New Barbados currency ‘more secure’ [May 2013]

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“Producers of fake Barbados money should not be smiling all the way to the bank anytime soon.  On the heels of what it said was ‘an increase in counterfeit activity in 2012’, the Central Bank of Barbados has unveiled the island’s first new banknotes in 40 years.  Central Bank of Barbados officials and representatives from British-based currency printer De La Rue officially introduced the new notes this morning at the Grande Salle, Tom Adams Financial Centre, saying they carried advanced security features within a modern design that was in the making for the last three years.”

http://www.barbadostoday.bb/2013/05/02/new-currency-more-secure/

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Barbados PM: Central bank ‘indulgence’ a threat to economic stability

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“Former Barbados prime minister Owen Arthur said that the Central Bank had printed BDS$370 million to purchase Government Treasury Bills, which had caused the country’s foreign exchange reserves to plunge.  ‘The printing of money on this scale to accommodate government’s fiscal deficit is the chief factor that has triggered the dramatic plunge downward in the country’s foreign exchange reserves.  If this plunge downward is not immediately checked, the economic affairs of Barbados will enter a new and very dangerous territory,’ he warned, reminding of the economic and social problems of Guyana and Jamaica as a result of excessive increases in money supply and inflation.”

http://www.caribbean360.com/index.php/news/barbados_news/1086499.html

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Barbados Debt Higher Than Cyprus Prompts Firing of 3,000

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“Barbados will fire 3,000 public sector workers by March and freeze wages as the eastern Caribbean island’s debt burden soars and the International Monetary Fund says ‘urgent adjustments’ are needed.  Barbados’s ratio of debt to gross domestic product reached 94 percent in September, the IMF said today, more than the 93 percent that forced Cyprus to seek a European Union-brokered bailout in March. Finance Minister Chris Sinckler told lawmakers yesterday that the government risks ‘further hemorrhaging’ of its reserves and the local currency’s peg to the dollar if nothing is done.  Barbados’s financial struggles are mirrored across much of the Caribbean, which has seen eight debt defaults since 2003.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-12-13/barbados-debt-higher-than-cyprus-prompts-firing-of-3-000.html

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Cyprus central bank: Bitcoin use dangerous

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“The Central Bank (CBC) has said use of virtual currency bitcoin is extremely dangerous, the Cyprus News Agency (CNA) said on Tuesday.  ‘Using any virtual money is extremely dangerous because they are not monitored by any authority, thus operating without control,’ CNA said, quoting the CBC.  In a written response later on Tuesday, Danny Brewster the CEO of Neo & Bee, the largest business in the world that is building infrastructure around the Bitcoin technology, said he had been trying for the past two weeks to reach and arrange a meeting with the CBC so that it could operate under the appropriate regulatory framework.”

http://cyprus-mail.com/2013/12/10/bitcoin-use-dangerous-cbc-says/

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Visa, MasterCard $5.7 Billion Swipe Fee Accord Approved

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“Visa Inc. (V) and MasterCard Inc. (MA) won approval for a $5.7 billion settlement that ended years of litigation with U.S. merchants over allegations that credit-card swipe fees are improperly fixed.  U.S. District Judge John Gleeson said that he was satisfied with the settlement, which was estimated to be the largest-ever U.S. antitrust accord.  ‘For the first time, merchants will be empowered to expose hidden bank fees to their customers, educate them about those fees and use that information to influence their customers’ choices of payment methods,’ Gleeson wrote in his ruling today in federal court in Brooklyn, New York.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-12-13/visa-mastercard-swipe-fee-accord-approved-by-u-s-judge.html

Visa Inc. (V) and MasterCard Inc. (MA) won approval for a $5.7 billion settlement that ended years of litigation with U.S. merchants over allegations that credit-card swipe fees are improperly fixed.

U.S. District Judge John Gleeson said that he was satisfied with the settlement, which was estimated to be the largest-ever U.S. antitrust accord.

“For the first time, merchants will be empowered to expose hidden bank fees to their customers, educate them about those fees and use that information to influence their customers’ choices of payment methods,” Gleeson wrote in his ruling today in federal court in Brooklyn, New York.

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CEO of Russian Sberbank ‘Endorses Virtual Currencies’

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“Online reports suggest that Sberbank CEO Herman Gref was bullish on virtual currencies during a discussion with journalists in Moscow this week. If there is demand for a virtual currency, the bank could move in that direction, he said.   Gref is also said to have singled out Yandex Money as a first step in the direction of a virtual currency. While not itself classified as money, Yandex is an Internet payment system popular in Russia, and is supported as a payment mechanism by organisations including Skype.  Any endorsement of virtual currency by Sberbank would be a significant boost for its prospects in Russia and elsewhere.”

http://www.coindesk.com/ceo-russian-sberbank-endorses-virtual-currencies/

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