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EXPAT: People
Are Already Calling Me, Trying To Figure Out How They Can Leave Cyprus - (www.businessinsider.com) Officials are doing everything they can to
prevent capital from fleeing Cyprus after the country's banking sector melted
down. George Iordanou, a Cypriot PhD Candidate at the University of
Warwick whose bank protest photos we ran
earlier this week, says the country already has a much larger
problem on its hands: people themselves are already planning to leave. He
told us via email that two of the most popular private schools are already
struggling to fill spots, though it was not immediately clear when the schools,
Grammar and Pascal, began accepting applications. In any event, he writes,
brain drain seems imminent: Many people are planning to leave the country. I
live in the UK and I have gotten various calls from people asking for my help -
whether it is easy to get a job, a house and so on. My response was that they
shouldn't come to the UK without a job since the cost of living is substantial
and their chances of getting a job are not very favourable.
Cyprus to limit cash, credit-card use abroad: report - (www.reuters.com) Cyprus is to impose a ban on cashing cheques and limit the amount of
cash that can be taken out of the country under a series of measures to avert a
run on its s crippled banks, a Greek newspaper
reported on Wednesday. The Kathimerini newspaper, citing a government decree,
said the measures would remain in force for seven days after the banks re-open
on Thursday. Cypriots who want to transfer money overseas will have to prove
that the transactions meet strict rules laid out by the government. To allow
trade to continue, Cypriot businesses can pay for imports if they provide
authorities with the necessary documentation. The use of credit and debit cards
overseas is restricted, and individuals travelling abroad can take a maximum of
3,000 euros on each trip.
JPMorgan Chase Faces Full-Court Press of Federal Investigations
- (www.nytimes.com) As the nation’s strongest bank, JPMorgan Chase used to
be known for carrying special sway with regulators. Now it increasingly finds
itself in the cross hairs of federal authorities. At least two board members
are worried about the mounting problems, and some top executives fear that the
bank’s relationships in Washington have frayed as JPMorgan becomes a focus of
federal investigations. In a previously undisclosed case, prosecutors are
examining whether JPMorgan failed to fully alert authorities to suspicions
about Bernard L. Madoff, according to several people
with direct knowledge of the matter.
Spanish deficit, retail figures deepen economic gloom - (www.reuters.com) Spain revised
up its public deficit for 2012 on Wednesday, piling pressure on the government
to scale down its budget ambitions for 2013 as data suggested economic recovery
was a distant prospect. Treasury Secretary Marta Fernandez Curras said the
fiscal gap was 6.98 percent last year rather than the 6.7 percent announced
previously - and excluding the billions of euros Spain borrowed to recapitalize
its ailing banks. Spain moved away
from center stage in the euro zone debt crisis at the end of 2012, with renewed
appetite for the country's debt among investors backstopped by a European
Central Bank bond-buying promise.
Sneaky
financial deregulation via the House Agriculture Committee - (www.salon.com) Imagine you’re
a finance lobbyist and want to move deregulation and other industry-friendly
policies through Congress. While you might think the House Financial Services
Committee would be the logical place to do it — since it has jurisdiction
over financial issues, naturally — what if there were a sneaky way
to maneuver it through a far less scrutinized committee, so most people
would have no idea what you were doing? This is the story of how the
world’s largest banks came to love the House Agriculture Committee. In
Washington, we often witness politicians forgetting the lessons of a year or
five years or 10 years ago. It takes some special obliviousness to forget the
lessons of Friday. Five days ago, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., delivered a
critical report and held an explosive hearing detailing
the “London Whale” trades, made by a JPMorgan Chase satellite office in London.
As you may have read, these trades turned sour and led to a $6.2 billion loss
for the bank in a matter of weeks. More important, JPMorgan misled regulators
about the nature of the trades, altered its internal processes to take on more
risk, and then hid the losses by
improperly mismarking the value on its balance sheet, pretending the shortfall
was inconsequential to avoid oversight and present a positive financial picture
to investors.
Blunt Dutchman casts doubt on Europe's bank promise - (www.reuters.com)
Cyprus locked in tough talks as deadline looms - (www.google.com/hostednews/ap)
Cyprus seeks 11th-hour deal to avert collapse - (www.reuters.com)Cyprus locked in tough talks as deadline looms - (www.google.com/hostednews/ap)
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