The Freedom Watch

Bank of America intern’s death puts banks’ working culture in spotlight

"Moritz Erhardt, 21, had won a place as a summer intern at the London city offices of the US bank and was nearing the end of his placement when he was found dead in the shower at his temporary accommodation in east London. Merrill Lynch did not comment on the length of Erhardt's working hours, and also declined to comment on whether interns – who are understood to be paid £45,000 pro rata – are routinely made to work longer than 12-hour days. A fellow intern at the bank described the aspiring student as a 'superstar', adding: 'He worked very hard and was very focused. We typically work 15 hours a day or more and you would not find a harder worker than him.'" Continue reading →

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Baby Boomers Put Retirement on the Back Burner

"Demographics continue to define conflict in the Middle East. Here’s Egypt’s population by age group. In Western history, we showed in Financial Reckoning Day, the French and Russian revolutions also corresponded with epochs during which large cohorts of young people marauded about the countryside with nothing to do. Even here in the U.S., a restless band of baby boomers wreaked havoc in the 1960s… at least until the draft was abolished. If, as Auguste Comte suggested, 'demography is destiny,' we continue to wonder today what will happen to the West when hordes of those baby boomers, now old, have nothing to do… and no savings?" Continue reading →

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Quicken Loans founder: Detroit bankruptcy a ‘step toward a better and brighter tomorrow’

"Dan Gilbert, whose affiliated companies own more than 30 buildings and 7.5 million square feet of real estate in downtown Detroit, said the city's apparent move toward bankruptcy is a 'first step toward a better and brighter tomorrow for our city.' His full statement is below. The Quicken Loans founder, a self-described optimist, has been investing in Detroit at an unrelenting clip for at least the past three years. Gilbert's umbrella company, Rock Ventures, which includes some 75 companies, now employs about 9,200 people in downtown Detroit, and has a total workforce of about 15,000 employees nationwide." Continue reading →

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Obama in crossfire as battle for control of the Fed heats up

"At stake is the chairmanship of an organization whose global influence has grown ever larger in recent years. The impact of the Fed’s policies can be seen everywhere. On top of its global role, the Fed has beefed up its activities as regulator in the US. Whoever gets the job will be taking over a position more powerful than the one Bernanke inherited when he was appointed in 2006. Obama said recently that the appointment 'is definitely one of the most important economic decisions I will make in the remainder of my presidency. The Federal Reserve chairman is not just one of the most important economic policymakers in America. He or she is one of the most important policymakers in the world.'" Continue reading →

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Thailand Bitcoin issues – Not exactly true

"There are reports that Thailand has advised against using Bitcoin. We read the article and in one instance, it stated that the Bank advised against using Bitcoin, then later stated it was banned. Some questions arose as to which is fact and which is made up as we could not figure out how a private company can create Thai law on something it has no clue about. We asked around and could not find any factual statement from a Government agency that what Bitcoin.co.th has said was true. Looking at the business model and the lack of useability of Bitcoin in Thailand, it soon appeared that some statements are not entirely true." Continue reading →

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Bitcoin’s complex and changing regulatory environment

"A compliant multi-state MSB needs all of the following: Maintaining a net worth greater than $1.5 Million; Securing millions of dollars in surety bond coverage to insure customer transactions in the event of insolvency; Completing a financial audit; Creating proper KYC, AML, and other compliance systems; Going through an independent compliance audit; Hiring a compliance officer with at least five years of experience; Extensive background checks and financial disclosures from officers and investors; Due diligence on every partner and intermediary that is involved in the flow of funds. After all these conditions are met, obtaining licenses can take as long as a year." Continue reading →

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The Charity That Just Gives Money To Poor People

"We talked to a man named Bernard Omondi who used the money — $1,000, paid in two installments — to buy a used motorcycle. He uses it as a taxi, charging his neighbors to ferry them around. Before he had the motorcycle, he says, he sometimes worked as a day laborer, but often couldn't find any work at all. We talked to several other people who started small businesses. One family bought a mill to grind corn for their neighbors; another started selling soap and cooking oil. All of the people who got money from GiveDirectly lived in mud-walled houses with grass roofs. Many of them spent part of the money on metal roofs to replace the old, grass roofs." Continue reading →

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Is FinCEN Leaking Your Personal Data?

"When citizens file their information with the federal government there is a law in place called the Privacy Act. This law is supposed to protect the information from disclosures. When I visited FinCEN I noticed an unusual link at the bottom labeled 'Google Privacy.' The page states 'This website utilizes Google Analytics to get aggregate metrics on website usage' and goes on to provide links to the Google privacy policy. Of course by the time you see the notice Google already has your info. If you were logged on to your personal account Google now knows you have an interest in Financial Crime networks. FinCEN provides 'opt-out' instructions but, guess what, it is too late." Continue reading →

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The wealth transfer effect of bitcoins

"Earlier this year, I wrote about a number of countries that would do well by adopting bitcoins, mostly because of either inflation or poor investment options in those countries. Those are still valid reasons for investing in BTC for citizens of those countries. But it now seems that in hindsight it would be a complete governmental collapse that would fuel increased interest in bitcoins. A loss of faith in a monetary system by a country’s citizens and stakeholders is likely more of a predictor of increased interest in bitcoin. So, what are the countries out there today that face big problems in terms of credit risk?" Continue reading →

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Firm says online gambling accounts for almost half of all Bitcoin transactions

"It's no secret that online gambling has been lucrative for a few pioneering companies. Even though it's been illegal in the US since 2006, companies have made relatively large sums serving customers who are either placing bets outside the US, through a VPN, or by simply sending a Bitcoin amount to a fixed address corresponding to a “game” which will return a player's money with various probabilities. One of the biggest Bitcoin gambling sites, SatoshiDice, stays on the up-and-up with US regulators by blocking IP addresses coming to its site from the US, but in January 2013 it reported ฿33,310 in profits in 2012, which at the time reflected $596,231 (although today it would reflect much more)." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFirm says online gambling accounts for almost half of all Bitcoin transactions