White House to crack down on shell companies in US

WASHINGTON, United States - The United States announced measures Thursday to crack down on the use of shell companies inside this country that can be used for tax evasion and money laundering.

The White House said it would close loopholes that allow foreigners to open anonymous US-incorporated companies, and advance legislation requiring banks, brokers and other financial institutions to know and keep records on who actually owns accounts.

New laws will also be proposed requiring companies themselves to know and report their true owners.

The move comes amid a rising tide of government support around the world for fighting tax evasion and other financial crimes that is enabled by the lack of transparency in the banking system.

It also follows shortly after the embarrassing Panama Papers leak of thousands of documents from a Panama law firm showed just how common it is for wealthy people and criminals to hide and move money through anonymous shell companies and little-regulated tax havens.

Powerful officials, including the leaders of Russia, Iceland, Britain and Argentina, were linked by the Panama Papers to offshore tax havens.

The White House said in a statement that the new steps add to international efforts at greater transparency in the global financial system, "so that criminals and tax cheats cannot hide their activities using anonymous shell companies and other legal entities."

"These efforts are critical to preventing criminals from using the global financial system to launder proceeds from corruption or other illegal activities, finance criminal activity or even terrorism, evade international sanctions regimes, or evade taxes."

The Panama Papers, the White House added, "underscore the importance of the efforts the United States has taken domestically, and the efforts we have undertaken with our international partners, to address these shared challenges."

The Panama Papers release focused attention on the fact that a number of US states permit the creation of companies and trusts where the identities of the beneficial owners are unknown, and that foreigners have been using them to bring possibly tainted money into the United States.

The White House also said it would press Congress to pass legislation that would reciprocate the US requirement that banks in foreign countries provide the US Treasury information on any American-owned accounts.

That would then require US banks to provide information to foreign countries on their nationals with US accounts.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

How Bitcoin revolutionised our lives

Life goes really fast. Sometimes it passes by so quickly that we cannot actually even feel how fast we are progressing. Take a moment and think how the world has changed within just the last decade. We are 3D printing replacements for vital human organs, sending rockets to space that come back in one piece and progressing in generally every possible direction.

FInancial services are not an exception too. Even though this industry has always been known as one of the most conservative, bitcoin and other factors are making the shift happen. Let’s take a look at how BTC has impacted the whole development of the financial systems and why these influence is truly a revolutionary one.

New money can exist

It has been a while since a new currency has appeared on the market. Usually new currencies were issued by recently developed countries. In other cases, a newer currency was just substituting a previous one. Yet it was nearly impossible to see new money appearing without a backup of any government. The bitcoin proved an idea that the world can accommodate a few more currencies.

Blockchain technologies

In IT and financial sectors the bitcoin as a currency wasn’t crucial. However, the technology of bitcoin, currently known as blockchain, is something that has completely changed the attitudes. Currently leading banks and other financial institutions are integrating blockchain technology to their core systems. Even if bitcoin depreciates and becomes nearly worthless, it will still represent a magnificent driver of the technological progress.

Enhanced anonymity

In times of NSA, it is often possible for people to pay more and more attention to their privacy, especially online. This is where bitcoin comes very handy. You can generally use bitcoin to pay for nearly anything you can imagine. Fast food, web-design or even bitcoin gambling, its usage does not know any limits. However it does keep your identity private. For example, if you top up your online casino account using your credit card, be sure that your bank knows about your gambling interests and will, most probably, make lending conditions not so favorable for you.

Conversely, when you are engaging in bitcoin gambling, you can be sure that it is impossible to connect your wallet with your identity, unless you have chosen to do so.

Summary

There are many aspects which bitcoin has revolutionized in our lives. It became a trading asset with billions of transactional volume daily, a typical currency that was used to settle online and then, offline, transactions. The usage of BTC ranges from paying for donuts at a local bakery to buying chips to experience a secure bitcoin gambling. Whether you own some bitcoin or not, rest assured that this currency is here to stay.

source: 20smoney.com

From saving to investing: 5 tips for OFWs

MANILA - Most overseas Filipino workers (OFW) leave their homeland and loved ones to work abroad in pursuit of financial prosperity. If you are now working abroad, it is not enough to simply save up your money. Instead, you should invest these savings so that your money can grow faster.

For OFWs, the need to invest smartly is particularly urgent since your opportunity to raise funds is linked to the length of your contract. Once your contract of work is over, it is possible that you would find yourself without having a source of income, until you find a contract again. For this reason, you need to come up with the right investment choices that match your circumstances and make your money work harder for you.

Essentially, OFWs should be guided by the same investment principles as Filipinos who are working and based at home, save for a few considerations to reflect your circumstances, in particular not being in the country.

Here’s a simple five-step guide to help you in making your investment decisions:

1. Consider liquid and professionally managed investments.

Shop for investment products that are easy to purchase and dispose off even if you are not in the Philippines. The nice thing with today’s technology is you can scan online, start by looking at the individual websites of financial institutions. Your choices include the following:

· Mutual funds – These are pooled funds invested in different types of assets to match your desired time frame and level of risk. Some may have the potential for high gains but will also come with higher risk. These are available to retail investors for a beginning account of as low as P5,000.

· Unitary investment trust funds – These are also pooled funds invested in various assets to match your risk profile and investment horizon. These are available to retail investors for a beginning account of as low as P5,000.

· Insurance-linked investments – This is an insurance product combined with an investment fund, fulfilling your need for protection and capital gains. Your monthly payment would depend on the amount of coverage you purchased, as well as the type of asset you chose to invest in.

· Equities – These shares represent shareholdings in a company. You profit from the trading of these shares in the stock market. Online brokerages can facilitate your trades, with some of them requiring an opening balance beginning at P10,000.

· Bonds – These represent debt taken by either the Philippine government or companies. They usually have a fixed return and are therefore safer. They may be purchased through most banks for as low as P5,000.

2. Keep your papers in order.

Ensure that you have proper documentation to open and maintain these accounts, either while you are visiting the Philippines, or from abroad. Download their online forms, then mail a clear copy of your required IDs. Before sending these documents over, it may be helpful to personally contact the financial institution through their emails so that they can review your signed forms and requirements before you send these. This will save you a lot of time and effort.

3. Use safe and direct channels for sending money.

Find a secure and cost-effective way to put money into your investment from where you are. Online banking services, which are now available to those with accounts in local banks, are among the safest channels you can use. You can also use bank-to-bank transfers. If you wish to go through remittance channels, consider companies with long track records and recommended for customer service if something should go wrong. Unsafe ways of sending money are physically through people, no matter how much you trust them; through other people’s bank accounts; or by sending the money in the mail.

4. Make your payments or remittances regularly.

If you send money to the Philippines, it would be good to do so following a schedule, so that you and your loved ones back home can plan your cash flows better. Have the discipline to send money on schedule so that your loved ones can make payments on time, letting you avoid penalties in the process. Luckily, major financial institutions all allow you to make payments or transfers online. You may want to check out https://remittanceprices.worldbank.org/en to know how much it costs to send money from one part of the world to another.

5. Ensure the legality and integrity of your planned investment.

OFWs are often the target of investment scams. Check out the site of the Commission of Filipinos http://www.cfo.gov.ph/ to read the latest news and updates on legitimate and illegitimate business deals. You may also have relatives luring you into get-rich-schemes that offer nothing but false promises. While you may trust your loved ones, it is but prudent to check out everything about the proposed investment deal before you turn over your hard-earned money.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

IFC to help PH banks unload non-performing assets

MANILA, Philippines - The International Finance Corp., the private sector financing arm of the World Bank Group, is extending help to Philippine banks and financial institutions to unload their nonperforming assets (NPAs).

The IFC said it approved a loan of up to P1.79 billion to ACP Investments One Inc. to acquire NPAs from Philippine banks and other financial institutions.

The financing, IFC said, will allow Philippine banks to free up capital and increase lending to businesses that can create jobs.

ACP Investments One is a special purpose vehicle and owned by Altus Capital Corp., which has expertise in managing portfolios of nonperforming loans and distressed real-estate assets.

The IFC said the 7-year senior loan is part of its debt and asset recovery program, "which helps financial institutions in various countries offload nonperforming assets so that they can extend more credit to enterprises, especially in rural sectors where access to finance is limited."

ACP Investments One president Benjamin C. Sevilla said the loan will assist financial institutions to offload their NPAs, strengthen their balance sheet, as well as free up resources for lending.

"This effort will build the capacity of local asset managers by bringing in global best practices in asset resolution," he said.

IFC resident representative Jesse Ang said IFC’s debt and asset recovery program has allowed banks to offload up to $21.5 billion in nonperforming loans and helped 4.9 million families and small enterprises normalize their financial obligations.

"People were able to save their homes and other assets, while the enterprises’ renewed access to formal credit kept their businesses going and preserved existing jobs or created new ones," Ang said.

As of September 2014, Philippine banks held some P140 billion worth of nonperforming loans and P135 billion in distressed real and other properties.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

5 Things Today's Teens Don't Know About Money

You know your teens can be illogical, unreasonable, and occasionally malodorous, but isn't it at least reasonable to assume they know the basics about money?

Apparently not. Surveys show that teens are failing at financial literacy. And while financial institutions like PricewaterhouseCoopers are investing significant resources in changing that, the problem is persisting.

From those in a position to know best -- personal finance and business education teachers -- here are some of the most gaping holes in teens' money knowledge.

1. Bank account basics

"My students had no idea how to figure out online banking," said Keith Newman, a personal finance teacher at Bodine High School for International Affairs in Philadelphia. Part of the problem, he said, is that there are no high-quality, up-to-date teaching tools to help students learn about bank accounts, so he is hoping to take his students to a bank to open accounts and learn banking nuts and bolts.

2. Budgeting

Students' "parents just hand them money, and they just burn through it," said Newman. His students are far from wealthy, but he says many of their parents are wary of financial institutions and prefer to do everything with cash. "I have students who have fathers who take care of their daughters very well, giving them $15 or $20 every day."

Kim Zocco, a business education teacher at Archbishop Edward A. McCarthy HIgh School in Southwest Ranches, Fla., has many students from families at the other end of the economic spectrum, but says that just creates another problem. "Their parents take care of everything for them. They are oblivious because they can just have and get," she said.

3. The power of compounding

Maggie Wohltmann, a business education teacher at Teaneck High School in New Jersey, likes to explain to her students that they all have the potential to be millionaires someday -- but the odds of reaching that goal increase sharply if they save early. She demonstrates what can happen if someone puts away a reasonable amount every month. Her goal, she said, is "getting across that it's the 22-to-32 age range, before you have the house or the family, that's when it's key to really invest the money."

4. Keeping credit reports clean

Many teens are stunned to learn that financial behavior over an extended period will affect their ability to borrow money or even obtain a credit card. "It's really eye opening," said Wohltmann. "Ten years is a long time to these students."

5. Rainy day savings

Whether teens come from affluent households or more modest ones, the idea of putting money away in case something happens if often novel, teachers say. "Savings shock them," said Newman.

Zocco and Wohltmann drive home the importance of a financial cushion with a role-playing exercise. They pair up their students, have them form "households," and assign them real world jobs. The students have to live within their means and deal with financial setbacks the teachers dole out: Their car may break down, they may suddenly have twins, and so on.

"In the end, they're pretty shocked at what they're left with" after taxes, and "what they need to save," said Zocco.

There is another life lesson as well. The teens see first hand that money issues can be really, really stressful. "The students bicker in their households like couples do -- and these are pretend things," said Wohltmann.

source: dailyfinance.com

Trading Forex News

If you have been trading Forex for some time, you know the value of using Fundamental analysis to decide when and how to trade. News from around the world affects local currencies and this has a direct effect on Forex price movements.

That is why following the news is so important to a Forex trader. If, for example, Japan announces its GDP, this will immediately affect the Yen and its ratio to other currencies around the world.

It is not only the economic news that plays a role in Forex prices. Social and political events can cause a local currency to move around and the reaction in other areas of the world is automatic and immediate.

Read the News

Keeping abreast of what is happening in other countries is an essential tool for every Forex trader. In addition, watching the economic calendars for expected announcements can you to is ahead and gives you a heads up on what to expect. You don’t want to being taken off guard as this is a sure way to lose your money.

Our first instinct when we hear a report that might be relevant to our trades is to jump right in and place a trade. This is usually a knee jerk reaction and will only lead to our making the wrong move. The market has already responded to the news and the prices have by now moved up or down.

In addition to staying alert to what is happening around the world, it is important for you as a Forex trader, to keep in mind that by the time any news is announced, it is often too late to react.  News may travel quickly but not quickly enough sometimes.

It is worth staying one step ahead of the game by trying to be constantly in the loop about what is happening with the currency you are trading.  To do this and to be able to buy and sell at the right time and right price you need to have a planned strategy in mind. Novice Forex traders should learn strategies from experienced traders, you can find them on forex brokers review, or from online tutorials or courses such as FXAcademy that teach tools and trading strategies.

Knowledge is money so the more you know, the more successful you will be.

source: 20smoney.com

Banks slammed by a host of ills get ready to report earnings

JPMorgan's trading blunder, slowing economies in the U.S. and overseas, and the LIBOR-fixing scandal are some of the problems that could hurt financial institutions' profits.

NEW YORK — Chief Executive Jamie Dimon is set to defend his bank and his reputation after JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s big trading blunder.

Early Friday morning, Dimon will host a two-hour face-to-face meeting with analysts to talk about the bank's progress in unwinding big derivatives bets by a trader Wall Street dubbed the London Whale.

Since JPMorgan revealed more than $2 billion in trading losses in May, estimates of how deep the losses could get have varied — including one estimate that it has surged to $9 billion. The trades cost the bank not just money but also its credibility as one of Wall Street's best risk managers.

The massive trading loss isn't all investors will focus on. JPMorgan is the first big bank to report second-quarter results, and investors will be listening for anything that Dimon — long seen as one of the shrewdest bankers in the business — will say about a host of ills that has slammed the financial industry.

"The challenges are pretty formidable for the sector, at least over the next several quarters, if not for a longer period of time," said Todd Hagerman, managing director of equity research at Sterne Agee & Leach Inc. in New York.

Hagerman and other analysts said they are paying close attention to what bank CEOs say about the state of their business. Wells Fargo & Co. also reports results Friday, with industry heavyweights includingGoldman Sachs Group Inc.,Citigroup Inc.,Bank of America Corp.and others coming in the next few weeks.

Big banks have had a tough year. First came regulators' stress tests, then a $25-billion mortgage settlement and credit downgrades — all while the U.S., European and Asian economies slowed, further squeezing profits.

And just as JPMorgan appears to have assuaged some investor anxieties, another firestorm has started: manipulation of key interest rates by British banking giant Barclays and potentially other global banks.

"There's investor fatigue over the new uncertainty" because of the rate-fixing scandal, said David Konrad, a banking analyst at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods in New York.

"We've had a laundry list of things that we've worked through and checked off," he added. "And then a new item comes. It really hurts investor sentiment."

Barclays, the British investment bank, recently agreed to pay $450 million to settle charges that it tried to manipulate the London interbank offered rate, or LIBOR, a key interest rate that helps determine costs of consumer and corporate borrowing rates and financial products across the financial world. The scandal has already claimed three top Barclays officials, including its chairman and chief executive.

About 20 other major banks, including U.S. institutions, are under investigation in the LIBOR-fixing probe. They could face not only hefty fines but also civil lawsuits from institutional investors.

The California Public Employees' Retirement System, for example, said it's examining whether it was stung by any LIBOR-fixing before it assesses its options. "We are looking at the impacts," CalPERS spokesman Brad Pacheco said in an email.

LIBOR-fixing fallout could hurt Citigroup, JPMorgan and Bank of America, which help set the interest rate, Mike Mayo, a managing director at Credit Agricole Securities USA, said in a recent research note.

"We believe the industry is one more shoe to drop away from major regulatory aggressiveness against the banks," Mayo said, citing JPMorgan's losses and low public approval for banks.

After JPMorgan's trading losses, some lawmakers have been beating the drum for strengthening rules put in place by the Dodd-Frank financial overhaul of 2010.

A focus has been the so-called Volcker Rule, which would sharply limit banks' ability to trade with their own funds. So-called proprietary trading has been cited as a contributing factor of the financial crisis. JPMorgan has characterized its problematic trades as bungled attempts at hedging its portfolio.

Regulators could also tighten restrictions on how banks use their capital, limiting stock buybacks that investors may be hoping for — particularly shareholders of JPMorgan, which called off a planned buyback after its disclosure in May.

Slowing growth in Europe, China and the U.S. makes for a rough time for banking too. Trading, loan volume, and mergers and acquisitions have all slowed amid tepid global growth.

Lower interest rates in the U.S. — with 10-year Treasury yields at 1.5% — can also tighten banks' revenue streams.

"With an economy that's growing at a very lackluster, pedestrian rate," Sterne Agee's Hagerman said, "you simply can't grow your business in that kind of environment."

source: latimes.com