Bloomberg (June 7)
“The Securities and Exchange Commission has fired a major new salvo in Chair Gary Gensler’s war on crypto, declaring illegal two of the world’s largest digital-token trading platforms, Binance and Coinbase. It’s a welcome development: In myriad ways, the two enterprises exemplify what financial intermediaries shouldn’t do. What’s needed now is an actual rulebook.”
Tags: Binance, Chair, Coinbase, Digital-token trading platforms, Financial intermediaries. Rulebook, Gensler, Illegal, SEC, War on crypto
Wall Street Journal (July 2)
“China’s decision to impose its national-security law on Hong Kong is a seismic event that goes well beyond the sad fate of its 7.5 million people. The illegal takeover shows that Beijing’s Communist rulers are willing to violate their international commitments with impunity as they spread their authoritarian model.”
Tags: Beijing, China, Commitments, Communist, Fate, Hong Kong, Illegal, Impunity, National-security law, Rulers, Seismic, Takeover, Violate
Chicago Tribune (October 30)
“The caravan of several thousand people coming north through Mexico has stirred all sorts of fears here at home…. But the actual grounds for fear are sparse.” Some won’t complete the journey. Many will apply for asylum. Only a small percentage will eventually make it into the U.S., either legally or illegally. Furthermore, “a body of evidence indicates that immigrants in general are less likely to commit crimes than native-born Americans.”
Hidustan Times (August 30)
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts to weed out black money through a ban on high-value currency notes haven’t yielded the desired results.” The Government estimated approximately one-third of the 15.4 trillion rupees in circulation on Nov. 8, 2016 “wouldn’t be returned to banks because it was stashed illegally to avoid tax.” In reality, 99.3% of the invalidated banknotes were returned. Only “107 billion rupees hasn’t yet been received by the Reserve Bank of India after the cash ban.”
Tags: Ban, Banknotes, Black money, Cash, Currency, Desired results, Government, Illegal, India, Modi, Rupee, Stashed, Tax
The Economist (September 17)
“Investors outside China have about $1trn invested in firms that use” variable interest entities (VIEs). These include Alibaba and Tencent. Yet, it remains “unclear if VIEs are even legal in China,” exposing investors to two risks. “First, the VIEs could be ruled illegal, potentially forcing the firms to wind up or sell vital licences and intellectual property in China. The second danger is that VIE owners seek to grab the profits or assets held within. If they refuse to co-operate, die, or fall out of political favour, it is far from clear that firms can enforce VIE contracts in Chinese courts.”
Tags: Alibaba, Assets, China, Contracts, Courts, Illegal, Investors, IP, Profits, Risks, Tencent, VIEs
The Economist (June 14)
In China, golf is “a barometer of change.” Banned under Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping allowed a few golf courses for foreign investors. Then, with rising affluence, “more locals wanted to try the sport. Suddenly more golf courses were being built in China than anywhere else, despite the fact that their construction was technically illegal.”
Tags: Affluence, Barometer, Change, China, Construction, Deng Xiaoping, Golf, Golf courses, Illegal, Investors, Mao Zedong, Sport
