Sudden Outbreak of Common Sense

Iran to be hooked up to global banks in weeks; U.S. investors still banned

"A nuclear deal between world powers and Iran led to the removal of the curbs on Tehran's banking, insurance and shipping sectors last weekend, as well as restrictions on oil exports. But for Iran to resume business with the global banking world - for the first time since 2012 - its banks need to be linked to overseas lenders on SWIFT. The system is used to transmit payments and letters of credit. Many international sanctions relating to Iran's nuclear program were lifted but most involving U.S. measures remain in place. Non-U.S. banks may trade with Iran without fear of punishment in the United States but U.S. banks may not do so, directly or indirectly." Continue reading →

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Australian inquiry says digital currencies are real money

"An Australian government inquiry will recommend treating digital currencies as money, simplifying tax for people who trade with them while forcing bitcoin exchanges to monitor customers for potential money laundering and terrorism financing activities. The Senate committee recommendations underscore governments' growing acceptance of the role of so-called 'cryptocurrencies' around the world. If implemented, the changes would align Australia with the United Kingdom and Spain by having people pay sales tax just once if they buy something with bitcoin, while leaving other nations like Sweden to fret over its true legal status. The changes would also match Australia with Canada and Singapore." Continue reading →

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The Ex-Im Bank Is Dead (For Now)

"After 81 years of funneling taxpayer dollars to favored companies, projects, and geopolitical outcomes under the guise of advancing some vague conception of the 'U.S. economic interest,' the Export-Import Bank of the United States will end its financing operations at midnight tonight. Proponents of the Bank have been regrouping and strategizing to move legislation to reauthorize the Bank at the soonest possible chance. In fact the White House is hosting a conference call for the purpose of advancing that outcome. The battle may be over but the war continues." Continue reading →

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Swiss court rules handing over bank employee info to US illegal

"A Swiss court has ruled that Credit Suisse's decision to provide US tax authorities with information on an employee was illegal, according to the ruling made public Monday. In April 2012, the Swiss government gave 11 Swiss banks the go-ahead to accommodate a US tax evasion probe and hand over the names of thousands of their employees and consultants working with American clients. Fearful of harsh US penalties and prosecution, the banks then met Washington's demands, handing over personal information about numerous staff members, and reportedly also making personal documents, emails and details of telephone calls available." Continue reading →

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The Feds Step Up Utility Growth

"Federal regulators’ recent move to change the criteria used to calculate regulated utilities’ allowed returns may be a small victory for income investors. Over the past few years, regulators pared utility profits in response to ultra-low Treasury rates. But investors and energy executives have long argued that these historically low rates are a market distortion created by Federal Reserve stimulus and, therefore, do not accurately reflect utilities’ actual operating environment. The order in late June by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the agency that regulates the transmission and wholesale sale of electricity in interstate commerce, finally acknowledged this reality." Continue reading →

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Congressman Calls To Ban U.S. Dollar After Senator’s Bitcoin Ban Idea

"Congressman Jared Polis is calling on the Treasury to ban physical dollars in response to Senator Manchin’s plea to ban Bitcoin. 'The exchange of dollar bills, including high denomination bills, is currently unregulated and has allowed users to participate in illicit activity, while also being highly subject to forgery, theft, and loss,' wrote Polis in a statement. To be sure, the Congressman is being cheeky. 'This is just a satirical version of Senator Manchin’s letter, meant to draw attention to the fact that BitCoins are not any more susceptible to the problems that the Senator points out than dollars,' said Spokesperson Scott Overland." Continue reading →

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FinCEN: Bitcoin Miners Need Not Register as Money Transmitters

"According to the letter, miners are still free to purchase goods or trade with exchanges with the bitcoins they produce whether operating as individuals or businesses. The news should come as a relief for smaller-scale mining operations. Jerry Brito, senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center, indicated that FinCEN wrotein a private letter last July that all miners would have to register as MSBs, and uncertainty had remained since then. This could have put many individuals out of the mining business with its range of compliance regulations, such as having an auditor on staff. The exact wording of the letter still leaves some room for interpretation, though." Continue reading →

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Nobel Winner: “No Reason To Fear Deflation”

"'Historically, there is no reason to fear deflation,' Nobel Laureate Thomas Sargent explains to Germany's Wiwo.de, 'we all benefit from lower prices.' That central banks pursue an inflation rate of around 2%, Sargent blasts, is because they consider it their job to 'make bad debt good debt,' adding that inflation is 'a major redistribution machine - reducing the real debt burden for the benefit of creditors and devaluing the assets of the creditors.' A return to a gold standard,he concludes, to prevent governments and central banks from limitless money-printing 'would not be foolish.'" Continue reading →

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Australian Bank Publishes Report ‘Bitcoin to replace AUD?’

"The National Australia Bank (NAB), one of Australia’s ‘Big Four’ banking groups, published a three-page research paper on 19th December titled 'Bitcoin to replace AUD?' (Australian dollars). Despite the provocative title, the paper does not suggest replacing the national currency with bitcoin, nor say it could happen in the near future. Rather, it is an explanation of bitcoin and a comparison of the nature of digital currencies with existing sovereign currencies, and how they fit into the current international financial system. Bitcoin could well become a widely accepted medium of exchange, the paper said, but it would take many more years to achieve mainstream acceptance." Continue reading →

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Singapore government decides not to interfere with Bitcoin

"The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the country’s central bank, has decided not to intervene on whether businesses can accept Bitcoin as a means of transacting goods and services. 'Whether or not businesses accept Bitcoins in exchange for their goods and services is a commercial decision in which MAS does not intervene,' it told Singapore-based Bitcoin trading platform Coin Republic in an email. Singapore is one of the world’s top finanacial hubs that is increasingly seen as a challenger to Switzerland’s private baking dominance. The last time MAS issued a statement on Bitcoin was in September, when it warned speculators about the risks of trading the cryptocurrency." Continue reading →

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