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Amagi Metals to Lose Bank Account Over Accepting Bitcoin

“Precious metals purveyor Amagi Metals announced on Friday that as of mid-August, their current bank account with San Francisco headquartered Bank of the West would be closed. In the latest case of banking aversion to bitcoin, Amagi Metals stated that the basis for the account closure is the fact that Amagi Metals accepts bitcoin as a payment method, which Bank of the West views as a risk. While it is the prerogative of a bank to choose not to do business any entity based on a risk assessment, a decision to cut off a customer based on the fact that they accept a specific method of payment is unusual.” Continue reading →

The Gold Roller Coaster

“Gold is not a stock. It does not behave as a stock, and its rewards are not delivered in the manner of stocks. In watching the ups and downs of gold, this is the most important fact to remember. To be sure, some investors treat gold in the same way as a stock – trying to guess its fluctuations – selling after a rise and buying following a correction. However, gold is not like a stock, in that it does not pay dividends. It does not rise and fall based upon the performance of any company. And it is relatively finite. There can be no stock splits. Gold’s true value is not as a trading commodity, but as a means to preserve wealth.” Continue reading →

Prices Fuel Outrage in Brazil; ’46 New Tax Rules Per Day’

“Brazil’s street protests grew out of a popular campaign against bus fare increases. Renting an apartment in coveted areas of Rio has become more expensive than in Oslo, the capital of oil-rich Norway. Soaring prices for basic foods like tomatoes prompted parodies of President Dilma Rousseff and her economic advisers. Inflation stands at about 6.4 percent, with many in the middle class complaining that they are bearing the brunt of price increases. Companies grapple with 88 federal, state and municipal taxes, a number of which are charged directly to consumers. The Brazilian authorities issue an estimated 46 new tax rules every day.” Continue reading →

China launches longest-ever manned space mission

“China Tuesday began its longest manned space mission with the launch of the Shenzhou-10 rocket, state television showed, as the country steps up an ambitious exploration programme symbolising its growing power. The crew are due to spend 15 days in orbit. Beijing sees the multi-billion-dollar space programme as a marker of its rising global stature and mounting technical expertise, as well as the ruling Communist Party’s success in turning around the fortunes of the once poverty-stricken nation. China’s programme is highly ambitious and includes plans to land a man on the moon and build a station orbiting earth by 2020.” Continue reading →

Bribery keeps Chinese public hospitals running

“China is an appealing market for pharmaceutical firms and medical-equipment makers, with spending in the industry expected to nearly triple to $1 trillion by 2020 from $357 billion in 2011, according to consulting firm McKinsey. The corruption stems largely from doctors’ low base salaries, which are set in line with a pay scale for government workers. Hospitals can pay bonuses but, given public hospitals are strapped for cash, compensation is usually low, say doctors and industry experts. A doctor fresh out of medical school in Beijing earns about 3,000 yuan ($490) a month including bonuses — roughly the same as a taxi driver.” Continue reading →

Chinese airline passengers face worst travel delays

“Air passengers in China experience the world’s most disrupted travel plans, according to a report which names two of the country’s major airports and its leading airlines among the most delayed. Beijing International Airport is the world’s most delayed airport, with just 18.3 percent of commercial passenger flights leaving on schedule, the report claims. Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport reported the second worst departure record with 23.5 percent leaving on time, according to the study by FlightStats, a US-based air travel information service. About 42 percent of flights from Beijing and 40 percent of flights from Shanghai suffered delays of 45 minutes or longer.” Continue reading →

Chinese man kills two ‘one-child’ policy officials

“A knife-wielding man stormed an office enforcing China’s one-child policy on Tuesday, stabbing two officials to death and injuring four people after a row over his offspring, state media said. Bureau staff had earlier refused to give the man, surnamed He, the papers he needed to obtain a residency permit for his fourth child, the official Xinhua news agency said, as he had not paid a ‘social compensation fee’ for having it in violation of the family planning policy. Outrage spread online last year after a woman who had been forced to undergo an abortion seven months into her pregnancy was pictured alongside the bloody foetus.” Continue reading →

Pennsylvania county to issue same-sex marriage licenses despite ban

“Officials in Montgomery County have agreed to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, though the state has a ban on same-sex marriage. The county’s register of wills, D. Bruce Hanes, said he wants to come down ‘on the right side of history and the law.’ A lesbian couple contacted him last week to apply for a marriage license. The two women later changed their minds after talking to the American Civil Liberties Union. They feared their license would be invalidated. But Hanes is still prepared to issue same-sex marriage licenses.” Continue reading →