IMF Chief Suggests IMFCoin Cryptocurrency as Possibility

"IMF Director Christine Lagarde hinted at the development of a digital currency, similar to the bitcoin, for the organization's special drawing rights (SDR) mechanism to replace existing reserve currencies. The international finance organization has already begun exploring the possibility with an External Advisory Group discussion last December. Referring to a possible future situation along these lines, Lagarde said that the prospect of a digital currency as a replacement for reserve currencies that are part of the SDR was not 'a far-fetched hypothetical.'"

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The head of the IMF says bitcoin is ‘too expensive for me at the moment’

"Bitcoin is too expensive for one of the most powerful women in finance. Christine Lagarde, the head of the International Monetary Fund, on Friday told CNBC's Sara Eisen that bitcoin is 'too expensive for me at the moment' when asked if she would ever buy into the red-hot digital currency. Lagarde last month gave a soft defense of the cryptocurrency during a speech in London. She said cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin could 'give existing currencies and monetary policy a run for their money.'"

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IMF Head Foresees the End of Banking, Triumph of Cryptocurrency

"In a remarkably frank talk at a Bank of England conference, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund has speculated that Bitcoin and cryptocurrency have as much of a future as the Internet itself. It could displace central banks, conventional banking, and challenge the monopoly of national monies. Christine Lagarde–a Paris native who has held her position at the IMF since 2011–says the only substantial problems with existing cryptocurrency are fixable over time."

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Theresa May government to create ‘new internet’ to control what is said online

"Theresa May is planning to introduce huge regulations on the way the internet works, allowing the government to decide what is said online. The government intends to introduce huge restrictions on what people can post, share and publish online. The plans will allow Britain to become 'the global leader in the regulation of the use of personal data and the internet', the manifesto claims. It comes just soon after the Investigatory Powers Act came into law. That legislation allowed the government to force internet companies to keep records on their customers' browsing histories, as well as giving ministers the power to break apps like WhatsApp so that messages can be read." Continue reading

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AmEx Must Share Dutch Account Info With IRS

"In its latest John Doe summons, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is requiring American Express to send account information of Dutch residents with credit or debit cards linked to bank accounts outside the Netherlands to U.S. tax authorities. The IRS had requested the information in cooperation with the Dutch government as part of an investigation to determine whether Dutch citizens living outside the Netherlands are complying with tax laws." Continue reading

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Japan secretly funneled hundreds of millions to the NSA, breaking its own laws

"The Intercept publishes a previously-unseen set of Snowden docs detailing more than $500,000,000 worth of secret payments by the Japanese government to the NSA, in exchange for access to the NSA's specialized surveillance capabilities, in likely contravention of Japanese privacy law (the secrecy of the program means that the legality was never debated, so no one is sure whether it broke the law)." Continue reading

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Ban $100 bills to tackle crime: Ex-bank chief

"He argued that high-denomination notes in high-value currencies were little used other than for crime, with people in most parts of the world favoring cash for small payments and electronic alternatives like credit cards or Paypal for bigger ones. As such, Sands called for the elimination of the 500 euro note, £50 bill and 1,000 Swiss franc bill and the $100 note. Depending on the country, tax evasion robs the public sector of anywhere between 6 percent and 70 percent of what authorities reckon they should collect, Sands added. He said that global financial crime flows amounted to $2 trillion per year, with corruption accounting for another $1 trillion." Continue reading

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World Bank tells Saudis to prop up currency amid global devaluation war

"Saudi Arabia should use its massive foreign exchange reserves to defend the riyal, amid fears the world is descending into a new phase of global currency wars, the World Bank has said. The kingdom’s shaky currency peg with the dollar has come under record pressure this week as the price of oil has plummeted to near 12-year lows. Central bank reserves have dropped from a peak of $735bn to around $635bn this year - a pace of spending which will exhaust the kingdom’s fiscal buffers within five years The monarchy has vowed to stick by the exchange regime and is instead planning to strengthen its coffers through the unprecedented flotation of its state-owned oil giant, Aramco." Continue reading

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IMF Approves Reserve-Currency Status for China’s Yuan

"The IMF will add the yuan to its basket of reserve currencies, an international stamp of approval of the strides China has made integrating into a global economic system dominated for decades by the U.S., Europe and Japan. It’s the first change in the SDR’s currency composition since 1999, when the euro replaced the deutsche mark and French franc. It’s also a milestone in a decades-long ascent toward international credibility for the yuan, which was created after World War II and for years could be used only domestically in the Communist-controlled nation. The IMF reviews the composition of the basket every five years and rejected the yuan during the last review, in 2010." Continue reading

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