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China Bans Margin Calls; Limits Pension Funds To Buying Stocks Only

"What do you do when two policy rate cuts, $19 billion in committed support from a hastily contrived broker consortium, and a promise of central bank funding for the expansion of margin lending all fail to quell extreme volatility in a collapsing equity market? Well, you can simply ban selling, which is apparently the next step for China. According to Caijing, the country's national social security fund is now forbidden from selling (but is welcome to buy). The pension selling ban comes just days after China moved to curtail margin calls in a similary ridiculous attempt to stop the bleeding by simply making selling against the rules." Continue reading →

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China’s brokers pledge to buy stocks to prop shaky markets

"China’s top securities brokerages said on Saturday that they would collectively buy at least 120 billion yuan ($19.3 billion) of shares in a bid to stabilize the country’s stock markets after a slump of nearly 30% since mid-June. The pledge follows near-daily official policy moves over the past week, including an interest rate cut and a relaxation of margin lending rules, that have so far failed to arrest the sell-off, which some market watchers fear could turn into a full-blown crash. While brokerages were likely to focus on stronger, blue-chip companies, Hao said there would be little interest in saving small and wildly overvalued 'growth' firms. Such companies are favored by ordinary investors." Continue reading →

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Nullification in Effect: Oregon Governor Signs Law to Further Implement Marijuana Legalization

SALEM, Ore. (July 8, 2015) – On July 1, marijuana officially became legal in Oregon, effectively nullifying federal prohibition in practice in the Beaver State. And even as the new law went into effect, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown signed another bill into law that will take Oregon’s effort to nullify in practice the federal the war on…

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Virginia Law Placing Permanent Restrictions On Drones Now In Effect

RICHMOND, Va. (July 8, 2015) – A Virginia law that permanently restricts the use of drones by state and local law enforcement went into effect last week. The new law not only establishes important privacy protections at the state level, it will also thwart the federal surveillance state. Virginia was the first state in the…

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MSCI backs itself into corner on China share inclusion into global index

"MSCI’s decision to defer including Chinese shares in its emerging market benchmark share indexes for a second time may have trapped the index provider into making promises it can’t keep, both to Beijing and to its investor constituents. MSCI’s clients want Beijing to open its capital accounts so they can reliably move their money in and out of China’s markets, but the economy is facing its slowest growth in decades, which has led to capital flowing out of the country. For China, inclusion in the index could over time bring an estimated $400-billion into its stock markets and would help in its drive to internationalize the yuan currency." Continue reading →

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To the Governor’s Desk: New Hampshire Bill Banning Warrantless Location Tracking Passes

CONCORD, N.H. (July 7, 2015) – A bill that would prohibit law enforcement from obtaining location data from electronic devices without a warrant in most cases cleared the state legislature and now heads to the governor’s desk. The legislation would not only protect privacy in New Hampshire, but also takes an important first step in…

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Bitcoin Payment Service Helps Greek Businesses Avoid Capital Controls

"With the banking system locked down, capital controls prevent Greek citizens from accessing cash and this disrupts the economy. The Irish company Spartan Route has come to the rescue of Greek businesses with an innovative service proposal: They will invoice their Greek clients’ foreign customers in euro, collect the payment, and send bitcoin back to Greece. Their proposal to Greek businesses is simple and crystal clear: 1. Invoice Spartan Route for your exports, 2. Deliver your goods as normal to your customer through your current supply chains; 3. Spartan Route pays you with bitcoin; 4. Spartan Route invoices your customer for euro." Continue reading →

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Obamacare’s Tangled Web

In “Pimento,” the ninth episode of Better Call Saul, AMC’s new series about an unethical trial lawyer, Chuck McGill heatedly accuses his shyster brother Jimmy of not being “a real lawyer.” Chuck then exclaims: “The law is sacred!” Americans who cling to that “quaint” idea, or who just care about the integrity of The Law,…

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Greek bank official dismisses ‘haircut’ report as “baseless”

"Greek leaders have repeatedly dismissed the possibility they will have to 'bail-in' depositors to prevent the collapse of the banking system. But citing bankers and businesspeople with knowledge of the measures, the Financial Times reported: 'The plans, which call for a 'haircut' of at least 30 percent on deposits above 8,000 euros, sketch out an increasingly likely scenario for at least one bank.' The report quoted a source as saying: 'It (the haircut) would take place in the context of an overall restructuring of the bank sector once Greece is back in a bailout programme.' The head of Greece's Bank Association dismissed the report as 'completely baseless'." Continue reading →

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Maine Senate Kills Bill Turning off Resources to NSA Spying

AUGUSTA, Maine (July 7, 2015) Late last month, the Maine House approved a bill to turn off support and resources to the NSA in the Pine Tree State, only to have it rejected by the state Senate. Sen. Eric Brakey (R-Androscoggin) introduced LD531 on Feb. 26. The Maine Fourth Amendment Protection Act would have banned…

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