The U.S. has dropped a key demand in negotiations over digital taxation of technology companies such as Alphabet’s Google and Facebook, lifting a barrier that had raised transatlantic trade tensions and prevented an international deal. From a report: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told her counterparts at a virtual meeting of Group of 20 finance officials that the U.S. is no longer…
Tag: treasury
SolarWinds Hack Was ‘Largest and Most Sophisticated Attack’ Ever, Microsoft President Says
A hacking campaign that used a U.S. tech company as a springboard to compromise a raft of U.S. government agencies is “the largest and most sophisticated attack the world has ever seen,” Microsoft Corp President Brad Smith said. From a report: The operation, which was identified in December and that the U.S. government has said was likely orchestrated by Russia, breached…
Darknet Crypto Kingpin JokerStash Retires After Illicit $1 Billion Run
The kingpin or kingpins of the world’s biggest illicit credit card marketplace have retired after making an estimated fortune of over $1 billion in cryptocurrency, according to research by blockchain analysis firm Elliptic shared with Reuters. From the report: The “Joker’s Stash” marketplace, where stolen credit cards and identity data traded hands for bitcoin and other digital coins, ceased operations this…
Twitter Has Studied Using Bitcoin, CFO Says
Twitter’s finance chief said the social-media company has thought about how it might pay employees or vendors using the popular cryptocurrency bitcoin. From a report: Chief Financial Officer Ned Segal, in speaking Wednesday with Andrew Ross Sorkin on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” said the company continues to review potential uses of the digital currency. “We’ve done a lot of the upfront thinking…
Britain is Cracking Down on the $3.7 Billion ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ Industry
Popular “buy now, pay later” shopping services like Klarna will face stricter regulation under proposals announced by the U.K. government Tuesday. From a report: The Treasury said buy now, pay later (BNPL) firms would come under the supervision of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which regulates financial services firms and markets in Britain. Such firms will be required to conduct affordability…
Xiaomi Sues US Seeking To Reverse Investment Ban
AmiMoJo shares a report: Xiaomi has sued the U.S. Defense and Treasury departments, challenging a blacklisting that blocks American investors from buying the Chinese smartphone giant’s securities. The lawsuit came after the Defense Department determined earlier this month that China’s biggest smartphone maker was affiliated with the People’s Liberation Army. Beijing-based Xiaomi called the blacklisting “unconstitutional” and seeks a court ruling…
US Treasury Nominee Yellen Wants to Encourage Cryptocurrencies — ‘For Legitimate Activities’
Business Insider reports: The bitcoin price was set for its biggest one-week fall since September on Saturday morning, having slipped around 10% since Monday… Bitcoin came under selling pressure this week after Janet Yellen, Joe Biden’s pick for Treasury secretary, suggested the use of cryptocurrencies should be “curtailed” because they were used mainly for “illicit financing”. Writing at Nasdaq.com on Thursday,…
Journalists Scrutinize QAnon’s Role in Capitol Hill Mob — And Its Hosting Infrastructure
On Thursday Axios tried to assess QAnon’s role in the mob that stormed America’s Capitol building:
Adherents of the QAnon conspiracy theory, who imagine a vast deep-state cabal of pedophiles arrayed against Trump, have for years insisted that a moment of reckoning for their enemies is imminent. QAnon believers have largely accepted that Trump is waiting for the right time to bring…
NYSE Abruptly Reverses Plan To Delist Three Chinese Telecoms
The New York Stock Exchange has abruptly reversed plans to delist three major Chinese telecommunications companies after consulting regulators about an investment ban ordered by President Donald Trump. From a report: Coming days before the companies were to be delisted — and just over two weeks before Trump is to leave the White House — the U-turn avoids a step that…
Global Digital-Tax Detente Ends, as US and France Exchange Blows
Detente is ending in the global fight over tech taxes. Earlier this year, France agreed to suspend collection of a tax on digital revenue from large technology companies such as Facebook, Amazon and Alphabet’s Google. Meanwhile, the U.S. delayed the application of tariffs it was putting on French goods in retaliation for the tax. But now France has resumed collecting what…