“As global bond yields break ever higher, it appears The Bank of Japan is realizing it is losing control of its yield curve and today unleashed a double-whammy to stifle the bond bears… Whammy 1 – BoJ offers to buy unlimited 10Y notes at 11bps. Result – a 0.5bps drop in the JGB yield!!”
“Until Wells Fargo addresses shortcomings in areas including internal oversight, it can’t take any action that would boost total assets beyond their level at the end of 2017, without the Fed’s permission. The bank said after-tax profit in 2018 would be reduced by $300 million to $400 million and its stock slumped in late trading Friday.”
“It’s like someone figured out how to monetize the awful Flash ads everyone used to hate for eating CPU cycles. A true win-win! And now it’s even hitting YouTube. TrendMicro has released an updated report, showing a sharp rise in ads served by Google’s DoubleClick service being infested with mining software. Like other attacks, this one uses a Javascript miner to mine Monero via Coinhive.”
“Dozens of entrepreneurs, made newly wealthy by blockchain and cryptocurrencies, are heading en masse to Puerto Rico this winter. They are selling their homes and cars in California and establishing residency on the Caribbean island in hopes of avoiding what they see as onerous state and federal taxes on their growing fortunes, some of which now reach into the billions of dollars. They want to build a crypto utopia, a new city where the money is virtual and the contracts are all public, to show the rest of the world what a crypto future could look like. Blockchain, a digital ledger that forms the basis of virtual currencies, has the potential to reinvent society — and the Puertopians want to prove it.”
The same week that Congress reauthorized and expanded NSA spying, the Michigan House passed HB4430 by a vote of 107-1, a bill to ban “material support or resources” for warrantless federal surveillance programs. (learn more here). The bill is now in the Senate Judiciary committee where it needs to pass to move forward. Please take the following…
BOSTON, Mass. (Feb. 2, 2018) – Last week, a Massachusetts committee held a hearing on three bills that would put strict limitations on the use of automated license plate reader systems (ALPRs) by the state. Passage into law would also place significant roadblocks in the way of a federal program using states to help track the…
ATLANTA, Ga. (Feb. 2, 2018) – A bill filed in the Georgia Senate would legalize marijuana, setting the foundation to nullify federal cannabis prohibition in effect in the state. Senate Bill 344 (SB344) was introduced by Sen. Curt Thompson (D-Norcross) with five co-sponsors on Jan. 23. The legislation would allow adults 21 or older to…
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (Feb 2, 2018) – Yesterday, a Missouri House committee overwhelmingly passed a bill that would ban the use of “stingrays” to track the location of phones and sweep up electronic communications without a warrant in most situations. Passage of the law would not only protect privacy in Missouri, it will also hinder one…