money

US regulator: Bitcoin exchanges must comply with money-laundering laws

"The federal agency charged with enforcing the nation's laws against money laundering has issued new guidelines suggesting that several parties in the Bitcoin economy qualify as Money Services Businesses under US law. Money Services Businesses (MSBs) must register with the federal government, collect information about their customers, and take steps to combat money laundering by their customers. The new guidelines do not mention Bitcoin by name, but there's little doubt which 'de-centralized virtual currency' the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) had in mind when it drafted the new guidelines." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUS regulator: Bitcoin exchanges must comply with money-laundering laws

When Governments Take Your Money, Bitcoin Looks Really Good

"The tiny island of Cyprus became the center of the financial universe over the weekend, after its leaders, facing financial collapse and pressure from EU authorities, announced a plan that would let the government withdraw money directly from citizens' savings accounts in order to fund a massive bailout. That's the sound of Pandora's Box being opened. European officials are now proposing directly picking the pockets of their citizens by going straight for their banking deposits, a move that Reuters says has 'potentially severe consequences for the rest of the troubled euro zone.' Incidentally, it's also turning furious (and fearful) Europeans to Bitcoin." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhen Governments Take Your Money, Bitcoin Looks Really Good

How German fears of underwriting Russian oligarchs pushed Cyprus to crisis

"German politicians and many of their European colleagues suspect Cyprus to be a tax haven and a money-laundering site for Russian oligarchs. Of the 68 billion euros stored in Cypriot bank accounts, around 20 billion ($26 billion) belong to Russian account holders. A report compiled last year by the German secret service, the Bundesnachrichtendienst, claims to have found evidence that Cypriot banks or Russian bank branches based in Cyprus are used to launder illegal money. Germany’s ruling coalition of conservatives and liberals is facing general elections in September, and politicians fear accusations they are sacrificing German tax money to bail out Russian billionaires." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHow German fears of underwriting Russian oligarchs pushed Cyprus to crisis

A Fiscal Lesson in Cyprus for Americans

"Would the U.S. government ever do these sorts of things? Well, don’t forget that President Roosevelt did it during the Great Depression when he nationalized gold and made it a felony offense to own it, notwithstanding the fact that it had been the official constitutional money of the United States since the founding of the nation. FDR ordered Americans to deliver their gold to the federal government, which paid them off in cheapened, devalued, irredeemable notes. It was a confiscation of wealth no different in principle from that that was done by the Argentine government and that is now being conducted by the Cyprus government." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingA Fiscal Lesson in Cyprus for Americans

The Deeper Meanings of Cyprus

"This is not just the perfection of neocolonialism but of neofeudalism as well. The peripheral nations of the E.U. are effectively neocolonial debtors of the core (quasi-Imperial) banks, and the taxpayers of the core nations (now reduced to Germany and The Netherlands) are now feudal serfs whose labor is devoted to making good on any bank loans to the periphery that go bad. Though we can term the E.U. a plutocracy or oligarchy, the neofeudal structure compels us to distinguish a class of those holding wealth and political power that is not limited to national border: this is an Aristocracy." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Deeper Meanings of Cyprus

Believe a Politician and You Will Lose Your Money

"The president of Cyprus assured voters that he would never, ever tax their bank accounts. Now he says the government must do this. Any voter who heard this assurance should have gone to his bank immediately and withdrawn half of his money. Then he should have sent another 40% to a German bank. The other 10% he might have left in his bank to meet existing expenses. Anyone who left all of his money in the bank was a fool. He trusted the head of the country." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBelieve a Politician and You Will Lose Your Money

The EU Robs the Bank In Cyprus – Coming to the USA Too?

"The Cyprus case illustrates that raiding savings deposits, which were once thought of as off limits, is an option that is very much on the table for desperate Western governments. They didn't ask. They just took, without permission, with no warning, and amid secret discussions. By hook or by crook, desperate governments will grab anything within their reach when they want to. They are not constrained by the laws that apply to the average citizen, or any sort of ethical considerations. They are only limited by 'what they can get away with.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe EU Robs the Bank In Cyprus – Coming to the USA Too?

Euro Minister Doesn’t Rule Out Taxes on Bank Deposits Beyond Cyprus

"Anxious depositors drained cash from automated teller machines in Cyprus over the weekend, hours after European officials in Brussels required that part of a new €10 billion bailout be paid for directly from the bank accounts of ordinary savers. The decision — a first in the three-year-old European financial crisis — raised questions about whether bank runs could be set off elsewhere in the euro zone. Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the president of the group of euro area ministers, declined Saturday to rule out taxes on depositors in countries beyond Cyprus, although he said such a measure was not currently being considered." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEuro Minister Doesn’t Rule Out Taxes on Bank Deposits Beyond Cyprus

What to Keep in Mind about the Tax on Cyprus Bank Deposits

"Those who lent money to Cyprus’s banks by buying their debt rather than by depositing money at the banks, will suffer no losses at all. Those who lent money to the insolvent Cypriot government, will be paid off at 100 cents on the euro. In other words, the banksters are protected. Only depositors with banks will suffer losses in this International Monetary Fund engineered plan. It's as blatant example of who the IMF really works for. This is not the liquidation of a bad system. It is an attempt to protect the crony system and the banksters who are part of it. It is a tax on the 'little people' who keep their funds in the form of deposits, rather than bonds." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhat to Keep in Mind about the Tax on Cyprus Bank Deposits

Official Inflation Measure Shows Strongest Climb in More Than Three Years

"U.S. consumer prices rose 0.7% in February for the largest gain since June 2009. Gasoline prices rose 9.1%, also making the largest jump since June 2009. The indexes for electricity, natural gas, and fuel oil also increased, leading to a 5.4 percent rise in the energy index. Among major grocery store food group indexes, the fruits and vegetables index rose 1.4 percent, with both the fresh fruits and fresh vegetables indexes increasing 1.8 percent. The index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs also rose in February, increasing 0.5 percent." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOfficial Inflation Measure Shows Strongest Climb in More Than Three Years