Mainstream News

Holocaust survivor and US tax fugitive Marc Rich dies at 78 in Switzerland

"Billionaire Marc Rich, who invented oil trading and was pardoned of a life sentence by President Bill Clinton over the then-biggest tax evasion case in U.S. history and busting sanctions with Iran, died on Wednesday from a stroke in Switzerland at 78. Rich fled the Holocaust with his parents for America to become the most successful and controversial trader of his time and a fugitive from U.S. justice, enjoying decades of comfortable privacy at his sprawling Villa Rosa on Lake Lucerne. Belgian-born Rich, whose trading group eventually became the global commodities powerhouse Glencore Xstrata, died in hospital from a stroke, spokesman Christian Koenig said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHolocaust survivor and US tax fugitive Marc Rich dies at 78 in Switzerland

Barclays faces pressure from Somali cash transfer firms

"Barclays is the last major British bank to still provide such money transfer services in Somalia. The letter signed by more than 100 researchers and aid workers states that its plan to close its account with Dahabshiil - the largest money transfer business providing services to Somalia - on 10 July will cause a crisis for the families that rely on the transfers. Abdirashid Duale said Barclay's decision could see money transfers pushed underground into the hands of 'unregulated and illegal providers'. The group estimates that almost three quarters of Somalis who receive funds from overseas use it to pay for basic food, education and medical expenses." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBarclays faces pressure from Somali cash transfer firms

States Put Heat on Bitcoin

"State regulators are warning virtual-currency exchanges and other companies that deal with bitcoin that they could be closed down if their activities run afoul of state money-transmission laws. According to people familiar with the situation, banking regulators in California, New York and Virginia in recent weeks have issued letters telling the companies that they need to follow the state rules or prove that the rules don't apply to them. Similar actions are expected from other states in coming weeks and months, according to people familiar with the matter. States typically require companies to put up a bond that could run as high as several million dollars." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingStates Put Heat on Bitcoin

Der Spiegel: Public Must Fight against Prism and Tempora Surveillance

"The fact that the Americans and the British -- it is yet to be revealed who else participated -- have granted themselves this enormous power, without ever informing their own people, is a scandal of historic proportions. To the initiated, all the recent public debate about data retention, Internet privacy and the practices of Facebook and Google must have been downright amusing. The state, as it turns out, knew everything all along. The next weeks and months will show whether democratic societies across the world are strong enough to take a stand against the unlimited, totalitarian ambitions of Western secret services -- or not." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDer Spiegel: Public Must Fight against Prism and Tempora Surveillance

Privacy groups push back against Sheriff’s Department license plate database

"The massive storage of license plate and vehicle data by law enforcement agencies across Southern California is sparking a debate over the privacy rights of citizens in their cars. On average, a cruiser equipped with an ALPR camera can collect data on 10,000 cars in a single shift, according to industry reports. A lawsuit filed by two privacy rights groups says each of the 7 million registered cars in greater Los Angeles has had its license plate scanned an average of 22 times since the program launched. The curation of so much information on personal vehicles has raised the ire of privacy groups, which are beginning to push back against the data mining efforts." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPrivacy groups push back against Sheriff’s Department license plate database

NBC: ‘Bitcoin losing shine after hitting the spotlight’

"The old, informal methods of using Bitcoin are dying out: Of the two largest 'exchanges' where Bitcoins are bought and sold, one, Bitfloor, shut down in April following a major theft, and the other, Mt. Gox, is facing potential criminal charges after failing to properly disclose its financial practices to FinCEN, a U.S. regulatory body. FinCEN recently acknowledged 'decentralized virtual currencies' like Bitcoin as being real money, prompting scrutiny. New firms are learning from predecessors, working with regulators and established financial players from the get-go, and structuring themselves in order to handle large amounts of money without meltdowns." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNBC: ‘Bitcoin losing shine after hitting the spotlight’

Ontario slashes Samsung green energy deal by $3.7 billion

"The cuts will hit a controversial sole-source deal with a consortium led by South Korea-based Samsung Group that offered special financial incentives in a bid to attract investment in renewable energy. The province’s change of heart is partly a response to the backlash over that arrangement – which made electricity bills more expensive – as well as an acknowledgment that Samsung was having trouble holding up its end of the bargain. It is also the latest sign of turbulence in the green-energy industry after the global recession reduced the need for power and an uncertain economy made less costly conventional electricity more attractive than pricey renewables." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOntario slashes Samsung green energy deal by $3.7 billion

The Rush to Tap Myanmar’s Energy Promise

"Myanmar, also known as Burma, has largely been shunned by the West for most of five decades of military rule that ended last year. Now open for business and shedding sanctions, the cash economy badly needs a working banking system. The population of more than 60 million wants mobile phones, newer cars, and Coca-Colas. But no one sector is as critical to Myanmar’s growth prospects as energy. The country has 7.8 trillion cubic feet of proven natural gas reserves, worth about $75 billion at current U.K. benchmark prices. It now has 16 energy multinationals working on 17 onshore exploration blocks and 15 exploring or producing in 20 offshore blocks." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Rush to Tap Myanmar’s Energy Promise

Starbucks Pays $15.4 Million Corporation Tax, Closes Stores Amid British Backlash

"Starbucks Corp., (SBUX) the world’s biggest coffee chain, said it will pay 10 million pounds ($15.4 million) of U.K. corporation tax this year and in 2014 in response to criticism of its money-losing British business. The company has paid 5 million pounds already and will pay the same amount later this year after forgoing unspecified tax deductions, according to an e-mailed statement. Starbucks, based in Seattle, will also pay 10 million pounds of tax next year. Starbucks said it will close or relocate unprofitable stores, and rely more on franchised or licensed stores rather than company-owned locations to become profitable in the U.K." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingStarbucks Pays $15.4 Million Corporation Tax, Closes Stores Amid British Backlash

Glenn Greenwald: Snowden’s Files Are Out There if ‘Anything Happens’ to Him

"As the U.S. government presses Moscow to extradite former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, America’s most wanted leaker has a plan B. The former NSA systems administrator has already given encoded files containing an archive of the secrets he lifted from his old employer to several people. If anything happens to Snowden, the files will be unlocked. The fact that Snowden has made digital copies of the documents he accessed while working at the NSA poses a new challenge to the U.S. intelligence community that has scrambled in recent days to recover them and assess the full damage of the breach." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGlenn Greenwald: Snowden’s Files Are Out There if ‘Anything Happens’ to Him