China Lets Banks Roll Over Loans Backed by Pledges of Shares

“China will let banks roll over loans backed by shares and adjust their collateral requirements as the government tries to limit pressure for investors to sell stock and contain risks to the financial system from a market rout. The China Banking Regulatory Commission also wants lenders to support firms’ share buybacks by offering collateralized loans, the agency said in a statement on Thursday. One of the side-effects of the share market’s collapse from a June 12 peak was to diminish the value of shares pledged as collateral for loans from banks and brokerages. In China, a borrower pledging blue-chip shares can usually get a loan of as much as 50 percent of their value.” 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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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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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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To the Governor’s Desk: Oregon Right to Try Act would Help Protect Terminal Patients from Some FDA Restrictions

EUGENE, Ore. (July 6, 2015) – Last week, the Oregon state House gave final approval to a bill that would effectively nullify in practice some Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rules that prevent terminally ill patients from accessing experimental treatments. It is now headed to Gov. Kate Brown’s desk where it can be signed into…

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