Monthly Archives: August 2014

Sultan of Brunei angers gay activists with bid for top New York hotels

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“The controversial Sultan of Brunei is the leading bidder to buy New York’s Plaza Hotel and London’s Grosvenor House, angering gay rights activists who say he is a homophobe whose policies call for the stoning death of homosexuals.  The $2.2 billion sale, which is still being negotiated, would also include downtown Manhattan’s Dream Hotel.  Selling the luxury hotels is Indian tycoon Subrata Roy, who remains jailed in India and is hoping to use the proceeds from the deal to cover his $1.6 billion bond, the Times of London reported.  If the sale is finalized, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah would join two other investors who already own the property, according to the the New York Post.”

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2726852/Homophobic-Sultan-Brunei-bidder-buy-Plaza-Grosvenor-House-hotels-angering-activists-anti-gay-policies.html

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Scenes From 21st-Century China

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“The People’s Republic of China, the most populous country, and the second-largest economy, in the world, is a vast, dynamic nation that continues to grow and evolve. In this, the latest entry in a semi-regular series on China, a homemade 3-ton tank, a man inflating tires with his nose, a massive teapot-shaped building, nearsightedness-prevention devices, a replica Sphinx, and much more. This collection offers only a small view of people and places across the country over the past few months.”

http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2014/07/scenes-from-21st-century-china/100782/

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Russia launches China UnionPay credit card

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“Forget Visa and MasterCard. After the two American credit system payment companies froze accounts without notice in March, Russia has been looking for an alternative in China UnionPay.  China UnionPay plans to have 2 million cards in Russia in the next three years.  Instead of seeing the small Visa and MasterCard logo on credits cards, ATMs, and retail outlets, Russians will start to see the three words ‘China. Union. Pay.’  China UnionPay first emerged in 2002 on the domestic Chinese market as an alternative to Visa and MasterCard, but quickly expanded internationally, and now is already number one in terms of quantity of cards in the world.”

http://rt.com/business/180696-china-russia-union-pay/

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‘How China’s official bank card is used to smuggle money’

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“Growing numbers of Chinese are using the country’s state-backed bankcards to illegally spirit billions of dollars abroad, a Reuters examination has found.  This underground money is flowing across the border into the gambling hub of Macau, a former Portuguese colony that like Hong Kong is an autonomous region of China. And the conduit for the cash is the Chinese government-supported payment card network, China UnionPay.  Hundreds of neon-lit jewellery, watch and pawn shops are doing a brisk business giving mainland Chinese customers cash by allowing them to use UnionPay cards to make fake purchases – a way of evading China’s strict currency-export controls.”

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/12/us-china-unionpay-special-report-idUSBREA2B00820140312

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Deputizing America

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“By its indictment of FedEx, the feds are telling all other delivery firms that they are now forcibly deputized to do the DEA’s job in the War on Drugs. If they don’t play along, they need to show up in court.  Banking regulators have been playing a similar game. Under a campaign known as Operation Choke Point, they have been telling banks that if they don’t investigate their customers for ‘high-risk’ activity, they will be subject to subpoenas and everything that implies. As a result, banks have simply been cutting off links to customers on the simple basis of what business they are in.   If New York’s Department of Financial Services has its way, bitcoin businesses operating in the state will be deputized, too.”

http://www.fee.org/the_freeman/detail/deputizing-america

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Where Do Your Air Fare Taxes and Fees Really Go?

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“In July, when a hike in the security fee takes effect, the typical $300 domestic airline ticket will include $63 in ticket taxes and other government levies. That’s effectively 26 percent of the base fare of $237.40. You not only get dinged by the 7.5 percent federal ticket tax, but a ‘flight segment tax,’ an airport passenger charge and the aforementioned security fee. In its budget, the White House is proposing even more tax hikes on your ticket. And for international travel it’s even more confusing, with a mess of charges like ‘user fees’ for Customs and immigration.  That means flying is getting close to sin tax territory— with punitive levies partly aimed at discouraging consumption.”

http://www.cntraveler.com/stories/2014-05-15/where-your-air-fare-taxes-and-fees-really-go

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New FAA ruling effectively bans ridesharing for planes

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“A recent FAA ruling has left Uber of air travel-hopeful AirPooler and other startups like it in a legal bind. The agency yesterday stated that private pilots who don’t hold a special government-issued certificate are banned from publicly offering seats on their planes for a fee.  The ruling is meant to keep consumers safe from flying with unseasoned pilots, but it also makes it more expensive for pilots to fly while also making it harder for planesharing companies to do business.  The ruling is meant to clarify a 1963 proposal that allows for pilots to privately ask passengers to split travel expenses like the cost of fuel. Up until now, pilots could seek out passengers for trips.”

http://www.theverge.com/2014/8/16/6009055/new-faa-ruling-effectively-bans-ridesharing-for-planes

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Missouri Sends National Guard Troops Into Ferguson

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“In the days since a black teenager was shot to death by a white police officer here on Aug. 9, an array of state and local law enforcement authorities have swerved from one approach to another: taking to the streets in military-style vehicles and riot gear; then turning over power to a State Highway Patrol official who permitted the protests and marched along; then calling again for a curfew.  Early Monday morning, after a new spate of violence, Gov. Jay Nixon said he was bringing in the National Guard.  Scores of people marched peacefully, carrying signs and chanting. Officers herded some into a parking lot, where the police said protest was permitted.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/19/us/ferguson-missouri-protests.html?_r=0

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India Sets Norms to Open $20 Billion REIT Market

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“India approved the setting up and listing of real estate investment trusts as the nation seeks to unlock a $20 billion market.  The trusts, or REITs, will have to own assets worth at least 5 billion rupees ($82 million). Investors must put in a minimum 200,000 rupees. Final notifications would be issued soon to make the new rules for REITs effective.  The introduction of REITs will provide a new source of funding for cash-strapped developers that are struggling to reduce debt amid one of the highest interest rates in Asia and economic growth near the lowest in a decade. The products will give investors the ability to participate in the country’s property market without investing directly.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-08-10/india-sets-norms-to-open-20-billion-reit-market.html

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Natural Gas Opportunities for MLP Investors

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“The gains in US production were primarily a function of the pairing of hydraulic fracturing with horizontal drilling, which turned a huge volume of natural gas resources into natural gas reserves for the first time. To understand why there is a rush to build LNG export terminals in the US, note that the shale gas boom has depressed natural gas prices in the US. This has helped create enormous price differentials with LNG prices in Europe and Southeast Asia.  In 2013 Japan was the fifth largest natural gas consumer in the world despite paying over $12 per million BTUs more than the spot price in the US. This has created a big incentive to ship US natural gas to markets in northeast Asia and Europe.”

http://www.investingdaily.com/20804/natural-gas-opportunities-for-mlp-investors-2/?cigx=d.kac,stid.55116,sid.818868,lid.7,mid.46730

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