Author: Colin Henderson

Progress in era of productivity
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Binance Australia’s derivatives license cancelled by ASIC

Colin Henderson

https://www.coindesk.com/business/2023/04/06/binance-australias-derivatives-license-cancelled-by-regulator/ The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has cancelled Binance Australia’s derivatives license, according to a press release on Thursday. The move comes following a request from Binance on April 5. Binance Australia, an arm of the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume, will close all of its customers’ open derivatives positions by April 21. The platform had just 104 users as of yesterday, noted Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao in a tweet. Binance’s spot crypto exchange in Australia will continue to operate, he added. In a statement, Binance Australia said that it was “winding down” its derivatives product … Continue reading Binance Australia’s derivatives license cancelled by ASIC

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CBC report examples of Interac transfer being cancelled after autodeposit

Colin Henderson

Issue A particular benefit centred on the attributes of non recourse. Recently some have complained of cancelled payments despite the funds being in their bank account. Introduction E-Transfer (previously Certapay) was introduced in Canada in 2002. Fraud checks were implemented behind the scenes by the sending institution, manual at first and increasingly automated. The automation in most larger institutions has been integrated with their overall customer fraud reviews resulting in immediate payment in most cases. It is generally understood fraud checks precede payments. The caveat sits with the usual small print warnings that apply to most transactions whereby banks reserve … Continue reading CBC report examples of Interac transfer being cancelled after autodeposit

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Jamie Dimon’s annual Letter to Shareholders 2022 – part 2, final

Colin Henderson

— Here are my notes and thoughts on the banking turmoil section of the JP Morgan letter. The piece of the letter that addresses the Banking crisis is thoughtful and carefully worded. It jumps off the page that Dimon sees a desperate need for agreement between regulators and banks as to role of banks, what we see as their role and finally the need to include shadow banking which form a larger than life part of the financial system. Rana Foroohar of FT wrote on this just yesterday. When the pandemic hit (2020), non-banks such as hedge funds and open-ended … Continue reading Jamie Dimon’s annual Letter to Shareholders 2022 – part 2, final

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“The rich world’s housing crunch is far from over”

Colin Henderson

Finance & economics | Pain to come The rich world’s housing crunch is far from over | The Economist World housing analysis – The Economist Markets can be split into three camps: early adjusters, bullet-dodgers and slow movers At times during the long boom that followed the global financial crisis of 2007-09, it seemed as if house prices would never stop rising. Sales surged as a cocktail of ultra-low interest rates and supply shortages boosted competition for properties. Things are very different today. In countries across the rich world, from America to New Zealand, sales have cratered over the past … Continue reading “The rich world’s housing crunch is far from over”

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Jamie Dimon’s annual Letter to Shareholders 2022 – my first impression

Colin Henderson

Annual Report 2022 | JPMorgan Chase & Co The letter contains a section on BANKING TURMOIL AND REGULATORY GOALS. My impression: More to come. Meantime here is JP Morgan introduction to this discussion extracted from the letter and the source. Following is extracted from JP Morgan letter. BANKING TURMOIL AND REGULATORY GOALS The recent failures of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) in the United States and Credit Suisse in Europe, and the related stress in the banking system, underscore that simply satisfying regulatory requirements is not sufficient. Risks are abundant, and managing those risks requires constant and vigilant scrutiny as the … Continue reading Jamie Dimon’s annual Letter to Shareholders 2022 – my first impression

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Business Outlook Turns Negative in Canada Amid Higher Rates

Colin Henderson

Inflation expectations fall in BoC surveys but remain too high Bloomberg report Canadian economy is properly responding to the interest rate increases. The tight labour market is expected to improve with impact of coming aggressive immigration increase policies. Snippets from Bloomberg article: The central bank’s business outlook indicator fell to -1.1 in the first quarter, from 0.1 previously. Firms expect slower sales growth for the fifth straight survey, due to higher interest rates, high inflation and concern about a recession. The data suggest the Bank of Canada’s aggressive rate increases over the past year are working to drag down inflation … Continue reading Business Outlook Turns Negative in Canada Amid Higher Rates

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Two Office Landlords Defaulting May Be Just the Beginning

Colin Henderson

With at least $92 billion of office mortgages maturing this year, landlords are under increasing pressure. Bloomberg With the prevalence of Work from Home this had to come. Fixed rents and floating interest. Plus rents dropping. A Pacific Investment Management Co. office landlord that defaulted on $1.7 billion of mortgage notes sent shockwaves through a troubled part of the real estate market.  For years, property owners have been grappling with the rise of remote work — a problem so large that one brokerage estimates roughly 330 million square feet (31 million square meters) of office space will become vacant by the end of the … Continue reading Two Office Landlords Defaulting May Be Just the Beginning

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Pinduoduo – One of China’s most popular apps has the ability to spy on its users, say experts – CNN

Colin Henderson

– presence of malware is on the Pinduoduo app that exploited vulnerabilities in Android operating systems. It is one of China’s most popular shopping apps, selling clothing, groceries and just about everything else under the sun to more than 750 million users a month. But according to cybersecurity researchers, it can also bypass users’ cell phone security to monitor activities on other apps, check notifications, read private messages and change settings. And once installed, it’s tough to remove. While many apps collect vast troves of user data, sometimes without explicit consent, experts say e-commerce giant Pinduoduo has taken violations of … Continue reading Pinduoduo – One of China’s most popular apps has the ability to spy on its users, say experts – CNN

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German Police Raid DDoS dark web offering for cybercriminals

Colin Henderson

Reporting by KrebsOnSecurity Authorities in Germany this week seized Internet servers that powered FlyHosting, a dark web offering that catered to cybercriminals operating DDoS-for-hire services, KrebsOnSecurity has learned. FlyHosting first advertised on cybercrime forums in November 2022, saying it was a Germany-based hosting firm that was open for business to anyone looking for a reliable place to host malware, botnet controllers, or DDoS-for-hire infrastructure. A seizure notice left on the FlyHosting domains. A statement released today by the German Federal Criminal Police Office says they served eight search warrants on March 30, and identified five individuals aged 16-24 suspected of … Continue reading German Police Raid DDoS dark web offering for cybercriminals

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Bloomberg report the latest statistics on exodus of liquid cash into Money Market Funds.

Colin Henderson

This post is intended to discuss root causes of the funds shift to Money Market Funds and the impact on the banking system risk. The storyline here is following the SVB and Banking cries began, there is reduced faith in smaller Banks for deposits and better rates available in Money Market Funds. Money Markey funds offered by large institutions and are offsetting the drop in deposits sitting with smaller banks. This is a systemic shift driven by risk appetite and rates offered. But it leaves open the question of how Money Market Funds (MMF) are investing their money to generate … Continue reading Bloomberg report the latest statistics on exodus of liquid cash into Money Market Funds.