Tag Archives: Regime Uncertainty

Owner of kite-surfing island for Silicon Valley executives faces $4.6 million fine

Posted on by

“A state water agency has proposed one of its largest fines ever — $4.6 million — against a Bay Area man for allegedly damaging an island by transforming it into a luxury sporting enclave for Silicon Valley executives.  After purchasing the island in 2011, Sweeney sought to revive a decades-old duck hunting club at the island. He launched a kite-surfing outfit with marketing materials that tout its seclusion and convenience for Silicon Valley and Bay Area executives. The San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission issued a cease-and-desist order on April 22, concluding that Sweeney and the club violated two state laws.”

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-bay-area-island-fine-20160518-snap-story.html

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet

Brazil’s latest WhatsApp ban pushes users to other encrypted messaging apps

Posted on by

“Even during the short time that Brazil’s ban on the Facebook-owned app was in effect, people still found other ways to access the type of encrypted messaging features that triggered the block in the first place.   Several rival apps that offer encrypted messaging services reported a surge in Brazilian sign-ups, which highlights how the growing ubiquity of private messaging apps makes it hard to stop people from using them.  U.S. legislation introduced by senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Richard Burr (R-N.C.) last month would require companies to help to unscramble encrypted communications for the government if passed.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2016/05/03/brazils-latest-whatsapp-ban-is-pushing-users-to-other-encrypted-messaging-apps/

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet

National Security Letters are now constitutional, judge rules

Posted on by

“A judge who in 2013 declared that National Security Letters (NSLs) were unconstitutional has now changed her mind in an unsealed ruling made public Thursday.  Federal investigators issue tens of thousands of NSLs each year to banks, ISPs, car dealers, insurance companies, doctors, and others. The letters, which demand personal information, don’t need a judge’s signature and come with a gag to the recipient that forbids the disclosure of the NSL to the public or the target. Information sought in one case included a target’s complete Web browsing history, the IP addresses of everyone a person has corresponded with, and records of all online purchases.”

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/04/in-a-reversal-judge-now-says-national-security-letters-are-constitutional/

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet

Dead, detained or missing: China’s businessmen and officials are disappearing

Posted on by

“The one-and-half-day disappearance of Shanghai tycoon Guo Guangchang, chairman of Fosun Group, who is sometimes referred to as China’s Warren Buffet, comes at a particularly disturbing time for the mainland’s richest business figures.  Earlier this month,  tycoon Xu Ming was reported dead of a heart attack while in jail, despite being reported as enjoying an ‘excellent health and mental condition‘ just two months before his imprisonment.  Xu Xiang, an aggressive private fund manager regarded as China’s George Soros, was arrested last month for alleged inside trading, while six of the top eight executives at CITIC Securities are being held for questioning over possible wrongdoing.”

http://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/1890470/dead-detained-or-missing-new-normal-chinas-business?page=all

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet

Gold Is Back in Fashion After a $15 Trillion Global Selloff

Posted on by

“The $15 trillion rout in global equity markets since May is reawakening the lure of gold for investors seeking safety.  Hedge funds more than doubled their net-long position in bullion last week, just three weeks after they were the most-bearish ever. Investor holdings of gold through exchange-traded products are expanding at the fastest pace in a year, and the value of the ETPs has jumped by $3 billion in 2016.  Fed Bank of Boston President Eric Rosengren said this month that the central bank’s projected path for more policy tightening is at risk, citing falling estimates for U.S. economic growth. Gold reached a five-year low in December as the dollar strengthened and U.S. inflation stayed stagnant.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-24/gold-is-back-in-fashion-after-15-trillion-global-equity-decline

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet

The SEC Pulled the Plug on Stop-Loss Orders – What You Can Do About It

Posted on by

“The policy, subject to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rule filings, goes into effect on Feb. 16, 2016, so there’s plenty of time to prepare. Besides, GTC orders usually expire in 90 days, anyway. And of course the brokerages will continue to offer these types of orders. They’ll simply trigger in-house and then be sent as limit or market orders for execution.  But it is a very big deal. Partly for its effect on investors – though I’m going to show you how to get around it – but even more so for what the NYSE and its regulator, the SEC, are telegraphing with this decision: That they’re essentially washing their hands of what’s about to happen.”

http://moneymorning.com/2015/12/04/the-truth-behind-the-nyses-decision-to-end-stop-orders/

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet

China stocks up after circuit breaker rule axed, yuan fixed higher

Posted on by

“Chinese markets have had a turbulent start to 2016, buffeted by the PBOC’s lower yuan fixings against the dollar, two days of stock exchange suspensions, weak factory and service sector surveys, and worries about looming share sales by major stakeholders once a ban on such sales expires. The circuit breaker came under fire for kicking in too soon with its initial pause in trading, and then encouraging a rush to sell before a second trigger halted the day’s trade permanently. Sources told Reuters that China’s foreign exchange regulator has ordered banks in some trading hubs, including Shenzhen, to limit clients’ dollar purchases this month, the latest attempt to stem capital outflows.”

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-markets-idUSKBN0UM02K20160108

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet

Shanghai Fund Manager Dumps All Holdings in ‘Insane’ Market

Posted on by

“‘This is insane,’ Chen Gang, chief investment officer at Shanghai Heqi Tongyi Asset  Management Co., said in an interview on Thursday. ‘We were forced to liquidate all our holdings this morning,’ said Chen, whose firm manages about 300 million yuan ($45.5 million).  Many private funds and hedge funds in China have agreements with investors spelling out mandatory liquidation levels if their holdings drop below a certain value. The CSRC capped the size of stakes that major investors are allowed to sell at 1 percent of a company’s shares for three months effective Jan. 9, the regulator said in a statement on Thursday. The restriction replaces an existing six-month ban that is due to expire Friday.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-07/shanghai-fund-manager-dumps-all-holdings-as-market-goes-insane–ij3q4f91

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet

China halts stock market again after CSI 300 plunges more than 7%

Posted on by

“China’s stocks were suspended from all trade on Thursday after the CSI300 tumbled more than 7 percent in early trade, triggering the market’s circuit breaker for a second time this week.  That drop-kicked stock markets across Asia, which were already wallowing after a weaker open amid concerns over China’s swooning currency and economic slowdown as well as falling oil prices.  China’s securities regulator also issued new rules to restrict the percentage of shares major shareholders in listed companies can sell every three months, in an attempt to stabilize markets. Shareholders are not allowed to sell more than 1 percent of a company’s share in that period.”

http://www.cnbc.com/2016/01/06/china-slowdown-low-oil-prices-and-north-korea-h-bomb-weigh-on-asian-stock-markets.html

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet

HK property developers push HK$1.3 billion in home loans to buyers

Posted on by

“Facing fierce competition amid a tightening of mortgage policies, a growing number of developers have been skirting bank regulations by providing home loans of up to 95 per cent of the purchase price through wholly owned financial institutions to lure buyers. They began offering mortgage loans after the maximum loan-to-value (LTV) ratio for bank mortgages for self-use residential properties with a value below HK$7 million was lowered from 70 per cent to 60 per cent in February last year. That meant home buyers needed to make a 40 per cent initial down payment, up from 30 per cent, when purchasing an apartment.”

http://www.scmp.com/property/hong-kong-china/article/1897925/developers-saddled-hk13-billion-mortgage-receivables

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet