Alternative News

Bank Calls Customer Over Detected Bitcoin Transactions

"Sean Percival today wrote about how he received a phone call from his bank, because 'they detected Bitcoin related transactions,' and they asked him if it was for personal use or business. And, no, it wasn't because of some concern about fraud. Percival clarified that it was just about Bitcoin, and said they wanted to know about 'a spike in activity' with merchants like Coinbase. He later confirmed that it was not even from the fraud department. Percival does not name the bank, other than to say that it's 'one of the biggies.' It will be interesting to see if this becomes a regular thing, and whether or not it'll become yet another path for government officials to try to track Bitcoin usage." Continue reading →

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Swedish bank freezes customer’s account after she sells 5 bitcoins

"Swedbank recently froze a customer’s account after it found out about her selling five bitcoins on a digital currency marketplace. Bröms Hopkins went on to say she was particularly frustrated that the bank didn’t try to contact her before freezing her account. 'Then a guy from the bank called me. He didn’t say it in so many words, but in between the lines he advised me against doing business in bitcoins because of its anonymity. After his call I felt a bit like a criminal,' she said. The bank reopened Bröms Hopkins’ account 15 days after they imposed the freeze." Continue reading →

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Mastercard Hates Bitcoins

"The new boss in charge of giving out a MasterCard licenses has no intention of allowing the brand or any bank that does private label cards to use Bitcoins. In fact, he nearly bragged to me about killing the BitInstant deal with a U.S. bank for the first planned $BTC card this year. Stephen Ruch, the heavyset MasterCard executive, is just a year into his job with the company, and while he monitors the Bitcoin space he told me he is still under the impression it’s one big Ponzi scheme. [..] His biggest fear was it would 'hurt the MasterCard' brand." Continue reading →

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Marc Faber: Bond Burglars to Bring Bears Out of Hibernation

"The probability that we have embarked on permanent asset purchases by the Fed is very high (until QE99 — or at least until the system breaks down, as just outlined). To Mr. Bernanke’s credit, and to be fair to him, I need to point out that his economic sophism is shared by most central bankers around the world. We can see that the global monetary base has exploded more than fourfold since 2003. These universally common monetary policies are, of course, applauded by fund managers, bankers and the investment community, all of which benefit (including myself) from rising asset prices." Continue reading →

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International Wire Fees going up from the new remittance transfer rule

"On October 28th, 2013 international wire fees are going up. This is due to the remittance transfer rule amendment to Regulation E from the Dodd-Frank Act. Ironically, as a ‘consumer protection’ amendment, these new stipulations are suppose to help protect and disclose more information to those that are sending money abroad. The issue is that it really does the opposite of that–it simply makes international wires more expensive at the cost of those who can afford it the least. JP Morgan Chase has announced that they will no longer be offer outbound international wire services in response to this new regulation." Continue reading →

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Janet Yellen: An Insane Choice for a Debt-Crazed Economy

"I have no idea if she is competent. Competence in an economist is hard to measure, like knowing whether your auto mechanic is really any good. As for vital attributes, the Times did get one right. 'She represents continuity,' the Times wrote. That pretty much says it all. Janet Yellen is establishment all the way. She won’t wobble the canoe. She’s not a Paul Volcker coming in to break things up. And that’s all you need to know about Yellen. She’s got the same playbook in her pocket as Bernanke. If anything, there are hints she’ll be even more aggressive in printing money than Bernanke." Continue reading →

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HSBC USA Joins Chase in Limiting International Money Transfers

"Yesterday, I reported that JPMorganChase will start to limit cash withdrawals and ban certain business customers from sending international wire transfers, from November 17 onward. Now, word comes via Simon Black that starting October 20th, HSBC USA's Premier clients will have to wait a minimum of five days before transferring funds to their OWN international accounts! This is not good. The cover story for these measures is to 'protect' banks and customers from theft. In reality, this is a major move toward limiting movement of capital overseas." Continue reading →

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Creeping Capital Controls At JPMorgan Chase?

"For whatever reason, JPM has decided that after November 17, 2013, it will halt the use of international wire transfers (saying it would "cancel any international wire transfers, including recurring ones"), but more importantly, limits the cash activity in associated business accounts to only $50,000 per statement cycle. "Cash activity is the combined total of cash deposits made at branches, night drops and ATMs and cash withdrawals made at branches and ATMs." Why? "These changes will help us more effectively manage the risks involved with these types of transactions." So... JPM is now engaged in the risk-management of ATM withdrawals?" Continue reading →

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Chase Bank Limits Cash Withdrawals, Bans International Wire Transfers

"Numerous business customers with Chase BusinessSelect Checking and Chase BusinessClassic accounts have received letters over the past week informing them that cash activity (both deposits and withdrawals) will be limited to a $50,000 total per statement cycle from November 17 onwards. The move to limit deposits and withdrawals while banning international wire transfers altogether is a bizarre policy and will cripple many small and medium-sized businesses with Chase accounts. Buying stock from abroad in any kind of quantity will now become impossible for many companies, while paying employees will also be a headache." Continue reading →

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