Western Union agreed on Thursday to forfeit $586m after admitting that it violated US anti-money laundering laws by ignoring evidence that thousands of its agents were involved in sending illicit cash to criminals, including human traffickers in China and bookies in Costa Rica, the US Department of Justice announced. From 2004 to 2012, Western Union, a global money services business based in Englewood, Colorado, “processed hundreds of […]
Submitted by Peter Schiff via Euro Pacific Capital, There is much we don’t know about how the Trump presidency will play out. Will the Wall get built? Who will pay for it? Will it have at least some fencing? Will repeal and replace happen at exactly the same time? Will Trump throw a ceremonial switch? Will there be a Trump National Golf Course in Sochi? It’s anyone’s […]
5936 25 by Shannon K. O’Neil January 18, 2017 A dye factory worker suns fabric after washing them in Narayanganj near Dhaka, Bangladesh, December 25, 2016 (Reuters/Mohammad Ponir Hossain). In late December, tens of thousands of Bangladeshi garment workers went on strike, shutting down over fifty factories making fast-fashion clothes for international brands including Gap, H&M, and Zara. What started as a walkout in support of 121 […]
President-elect Donald Trump is keeping his trademark lawyers busy. The incoming commander-in-chief has filed his first trademark application since he was elected president. Mr. Trump’s trademark holding company is seeking to secure rights over the term “KEEP CONNECTING.” It’s for a class of goods that encompasses communications and hotel services, according to a Jan. 12 filing to the federal […] (via WSJ)
The Bank of England’s corporate bond buying plan has moved much faster than investors expected with the central bank surpassing half of its total target just five months after the programme was launched. Started in September as part of the central bank’s plan to cushion the economy from any fallout from the Brexit vote, the programme has seen the BoE buy £5.2bn of corporate bonds, according to […]
Brussels is seeking to defuse a regulatory time-bomb facing Europe’s pensions as the retirement industry warns that EU derivatives reforms scheduled for 2018 could cost savers billions. The European Commission is preparing legislation to amend regulations that are seen hurting pensions funds by forcing them to put aside higher amounts of money to satisfy derivatives rules. Trades such as swaps and other derivatives require support in the […]
51 year-old Florida resident, Dominic Puopolo, who was arrested by Miami Beach police Tuesday for allegedly threatening President-elect Donald Trump online is, according to The Daily Mail, is a member of a prominent northeast family close to Bill and Hillary Clinton. Puopolo reportedly admitted to posting a video to Twitter, under his handle @JesusChrist1701, saying: “Yes, I will be at the review stand at the inauguration and […]
The star player in America’s biggest sporting event risks being benched: guacamole. Every year before the Super Bowl, demand soars for the avocado-based dip that has become a staple for viewing parties for the National Football League championship game, which has emerged as the second-largest day for food consumption in the US after Thanksgiving. This year’s supply was threatened by a spike in avocado prices late last […]
SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK This past November, Nasdaq Inc (NDAQ.O) hired a helicopter to film Manhattan’s skyline using Snapchat’s new video-camera sunglasses and sent the aerial footage to its social media followers. The New York Stock Exchange – its arch-rival – on the same day tweeted a video shot from the floor of its exchange, showing that it too was using the social media giant’s gadget. The scramble […]
Men’s Fashion Weeks are now in full flow and this week saw Milan parade in all its finery. Here are some of the highlights. newslide Prada has gone back to “reality” with its latest collection, which is built around leather and corduroy. A step back from Prada’s signature clashing prints and overt intellectual references, this display of hipster trousers with patch pockets and sweaters with fuzzy patches […]
If this week’s speech by Theresa May on her Brexit plans was designed to reassure the City of London and stop banks from shifting jobs out of the UK, early indications are that it appears to have failed. The prime minister is scheduled to address business leaders at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos Thursday morning, but in the meantime a flurry of senior financiers popped […]
WASHINGTON U.S. President-elect Donald Trump will name former Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue as his nominee for secretary of agriculture on Thursday, a senior transition official said on Wednesday. Perdue, 70, served on Trump’s agricultural advisory committee during his presidential campaign. His nomination, which must be confirmed by the Republican-led Senate, will complete Trump’s proposed cabinet just before he is sworn in as president on Friday. By nominating […]
Thursday 02.10 GMT Overview Asian equities regained upward momentum after comments from Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen gave wings to a broad recovery for the dollar, weakening regional currencies. Hot topic The dollar index, which measures the US currency against a basket of peers, was up 0.4 per cent after the Fed chair warned that if the US waited too long to continue raising rates, it risked […]
BEIJING China and the United States can resolve any trade disputes through talks, the government said on Thursday, as a Chinese newspaper warned U.S. business could be targets for retaliation in any trade war ushered in by President-elect Donald Trump. Trump, who is sworn into office on Friday, has criticized China’s trade practices and threatened to impose punitive tariffs on Chinese imports. Billionaire investor Wilbur Ross, Trump’s […]
Blockchain has moved on from its Bitcoin past and is being touted as an effective and inexpensive way to safeguard data, with one Singapore-based vendor launching its first blockchain-based authentication tool. Because it provides a shared replicated “immutable” ledger, blockchain can facilitate a “single source of truth” and a secure, tamper-proof system of record, according to Alan Lim, Asean practice lead for IBM Blockchain and Bluemix Garage. […]
LG Electronics has sent out invites for its flagship phone the G6, set to be unveiled a day before the Mobile World Congress next month. The South Korean tech giant will hold an unveiling event on February 26 in Barcelona, a day before the mobile tradeshow kicks off there. The invitation shows fireworks above a lake at night with the moniker “See More, Play More”. The card […]
New Zealand is pressing to finalise a stalled free trade deal with the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) that includes two of the Middle East’s largest economies, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Trade Minister Todd McClay visited the UAE and Kuwait this week in an effort to promote the deal with the GCC, his country’s sixth largest trading partner. The GCC comprises Saudi Arabia, the […]
The sole Republican commissioner at the main US derivatives regulator has thrown his hat in the ring to be appointed the next chairman, even as he embraced aspects of financial reforms that Donald Trump’s team wants dismantled. Christopher Giancarlo, of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, is set to assume the job of acting chairman after Mr Trump’s presidential inauguration on Friday, replacing Tim Massad, the sitting Democratic […]
You, the long-suffering Knicks fan, applauded the team’s acquisition of Carmelo Anthony in 2011. You rejoiced over the reset Dolan orchestrated three years later when he landed 11 Rings Jackson to clean up the mess, to change the culture. Continue reading the main story Now you have pretty much had it with Melo the Martyr and Invisi-Phil. You would probably vote to move on from both, but […]
US financial stocks have come under pressure since the start the year, denting a sharp rise that began after the election, in the latest sign that the Trump trade has begun to run out of steam. The S&P 500 financial sector has fallen 1.1 per cent since the end of 2016, bucking the broader index that has risen by 1.4 per cent. While the financial index was […]
Senior British ministers struck a combative note on Brexit negotiations a day after Theresa May’s speech on the UK’s objectives, with Boris Johnson likening François Hollande to a world war two prison guard. The foreign secretary was responding to comments by an adviser to the French president that Britain could not have a better deal outside the EU than it currently enjoys. “If Mr Hollande wants to […]
New stock trading allegations are set to cast a shadow over Tom Price’s confirmation hearing as health secretary on Wednesday, as Senate Democrats prepare to do battle over Donald Trump’s latest cabinet picks. On Wednesday Senate Democrats and Republicans will question Mr Price, a sitting Republican congressman, over his fitness for the health role and his plans for repealing and replacing Obamacare — a key policy agenda […]
China’s currency was softer after its central bank fixed the renminbi’s trading band at its strongest level in two months in the wake of the dollar’s Tuesday fall against a host of major currencies. The onshore renminbi gained 0.8 per cent against the dollar at the close of trading yesterday as President-elect Donald Trump questioned the value of the dollar, but had weakened 0.3 per cent in […]
The Free Software Foundation (FSF) has declared that Flash is no longer a priority, as the foundation will instead emphasise the need for a free mobile operating system, cloud replacement, Siri-like personal assistant, and Skype replacement. In its updated High Priority Free Software Projects list, the FSF said users need a free software intelligent assistant replacement to maintain control of their data. “Apple’s Siri, Google Now, Cortana, […]
