FinPol Digest

Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov said that "Mr. Yaroshenko suffers from numerous medical and dental problems, including post-traumatic mental health issues caused by the abuse" Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov has called on the largest human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, to provide medical and legal assistance to Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko jailed in the US. On Thursday, Antonov wrote an open letter to several human rights organizations in the US that was released by the Russian Embassy in Washington. "Mr. Yaroshenko applied three times for a prisoner transfer to Russia to serve the remainder of his sentence in Russia pursuant to Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons. His requests were unreasonably denied," he added. Russian Ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov, has asked prominent international human rights groups to help settle medical and leg...

The government of South Korea has passed a bill indicating that a comprehensive cryptocurrency regulation will be coming to the country in the near future. The country itself is very blockchain-friendly, considering the number of blockchain startups and crypto exchanges that are registered in Seoul, the capital. The past regulatory discussions have always been in favour of the blockchain as well. The South Korean government was more than keen on making a blockchain-powered city. They agreed on this notion and chose Busan as their primary target. The main goal was to somehow increase blockchain tourism, meaning that every crypto investor would be able to visit Busan during any season and survive on nothing else than Bitcoin, Ethereum and etc. However, the country was facing serious privacy issues when the government was blocking any transaction made without ID verification. This was encroaching on the very foundation of the blockchain technology, but it seems to have been reso...

One major player in the cryptocurrency industry has just moved 257,491 ETH — valued at almost $35M at the time of writing. The total fee for the Ethereum transaction was just $0.07. One Ethereum whale in the market seems to be consolidating its funds in a major move that set off alarm bells. Whale Alert (@whale_alert) picked up on a $35M transfer earlier today, which entailed the movement of a whopping 257,491 ETH. The total fee for the transaction was a paltry $0.07 (0.000462 ETH). The fact that tens of millions of dollars can be transacting on Ethereum for pennies speaks to the strength of its network. The recipient address appears to be relatively new, only being active for just a few months. The first transaction to the address was a mere ‘test’ of 0.2 ETH received. In the past few days, the whale was also sending small chunks of 1,300 ETH or so to the address — until finally sending a larger ETH stash this morning. The sending address has been completely cleaned out of...

The European Central Bank could take action including a possible rate cut at its policy meeting on Thursday, as central banks around the globe rev up stimulus to support the world economy through a period of heightened uncertainty from trade wars and Brexit. The ECB, which sets interest rates for the 19 European Union member countries that use the euro, is expected by many analysts to at least tweak its promise to keep interest rates at rock-bottom levels into next year. The new wording would emphasize that the next move down the road could be a cut. But a rate cut Thursday is not out of the question either — even though one of the rate benchmarks is already below zero.  That would see the ECB moving ahead of an expected rate reduction from the U.S. Federal Reserve, which has an outsized role due to the size of the U.S. economy and the dollar’s status as an international currency for borrowing and trade. Fed officials have signaled they may cut rates at their July 30-31 m...

“This is a new government,” Boris Johnson said as he launched the Conservatives’ manifesto today. It was a revealing comment. He wants voters to think he offers the change they want, so they don’t have to gamble on Jeremy Corbyn’s radical “real change”. By referring to his 120 days as prime minister, Johnson invites people to believe that nine years of Tory rule have nothing to do with him – even though he has been an MP for half of the austerity era that began in 2010. (The man David Cameron once called a “greased piglet” got away with it again on the BBC’s Question Time on Friday, when Jo Swinson unfairly had a much harder time on austerity because of the Liberal Democrats’ role in the coalition). There was more clear blue water between Johnson and his Tory predecessors today. Theresa May’s 2017 programme proved the maxim that manifestos rarely win elections, but can lose them. Her document was the turning point two years ago. Her U-turn over social care reforms dubbed a “dem...

Nobel Prize-winning economist Robert Shiller warned that businesses could take a ‘wait and see’ approach to increased trade tensions between the U.S. and China.  A ramp up in U.S.-China trade tensions — which many are predicting in the wake of a new round of tariff threats from both sides — would immediately result in an economic crisis, according to Nobel Prize-winning economist Robert Shiller. Shiller described recent statements from US President Donald Trump as those of "a showman" who "obviously relishes" celebrity, noting that the recent escalation in trade rhetoric could reflect the proximity of US midterm elections in November this year. The Yale economist criticized U.S. President Donald Trump during a Saturday interview in Beijing, calling the U.S. commander-in-chief “a showman” who “obviously relishes” celebrity, but acts in a way that’s “totally unbecoming for a president.” But he saved his strongest critique for the apparently increasing like...

The United States House of Representatives on Wednesday passed two bills intended to support protesters in Hong Kong and send a warning to China about human rights, as dozens remained holed up in a Hong Kong university surrounded by police. The bills now go to the White House for President Donald Trump to sign or veto amid sensitive trade talks with Beijing.  The House voted 417 to one for the "Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act", which had passed the Senate unanimously on Tuesday. Strong support for the measure had been expected, as House members passed a similar bill last month. The legislation, which has angered Beijing, would require the State Department to certify at least once a year that Hong Kong retains enough autonomy to qualify for the special US trading consideration that helped it become a world financial centre It also would provide for sanctions against officials responsible for human rights violations in Hong Kong. Demonstrators in Hong Kon...

The growing importance of Asia in the world economy should not be a cause for worry, as Asia needs diverse partners and access to global markets to continue to prosper, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has said. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the global political and economic architecture has been undergirded largely by one superpower, which set the stage for an unprecedented period of globalisation managed through multilateral institutions and actors. Now that unipolar moment is giving way to an era of diffused powers, with countries like the US, China and Russia each bearing considerable disruptive capacities, and each struggling to stitch together new norms and rules for these rapidly changing times. This phase, the beginning of which was marked by the Global Financial Crisis of 2008 and characterised by America's two bruising wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, has seen a vacuum emerge.  Many are seeking to fill it, most determinedly China, but with a push back from ...

Germany narrowly dodged its first recession in six years, putting a damper on speculation that the government will add fiscal stimulus any time soon. The surprise expansion doesn’t change the fact that the economy is going through a torrid period that’s turned it from the euro area’s traditional growth engine into a source of weakness. A pile up of trade tensions, weaker world demand and turmoil in the automobile sector has led to the worst manufacturing slump in a decade and put question marks over the country’s role as an economic powerhouse. Weakness in the global economy was also evident elsewhere on Thursday. Expansion in Japan cooled sharply in the third quarter, and China saw slower growth in factory output and consumption coming off the boil. In the Netherlands, the economy unexpectedly maintained at 0.4% pace in the third quarter. Germany’s 0.1% GDP increase was led by consumer and government spending. Construction and exports also rose, while investment in ma...