Trading News

Canadian software developer and application service provider Global Trade Corporation (GTC) announced today that it is in the process of developing the Trade Finance Exchange (TFX) Platform to simplify trade. As everyone knows, global trade can be made far more efficient if the basic functions are performed more speedily, and that is what the platform seeks to accomplish. The platform is going to help companies and financial institutions with price discovery. In addition to that, the platform will also provide its users with a fully digital marketplace meant for trade assets.

It is a highly ambitious project, but at the same time, it should be noted that GTC has been in this line of work for many years now. The company’s popular GlobalTrade Multi-bank Trade Finance Management Platform, used for payment instruments management by global corporations since 2004, is going to be integrated into the platform. Also, it is important to keep in mind that GTC is going to collaborate with some of the biggest names in the global business including, Baker Hughes, Siemens AG, and Lindner Group, and banking giants like HSBC, CA CIB, and Standard Chartered to build the TFX Platform.

The company has decided to go for this initiative since its clients have asked for such a platform, according to the Founder and Chairman of GTC Jacob Katsman. He went on to say that the kernel of the idea had been in place for many years, and it had been back in 2002 when a company had first come up with such a marketplace meant for trade finance instruments. Since then, many such marketplaces have emerged, but Katsman asserted that the TFX platform is going to be different. He said,

In recent years, several trade finance marketplaces emerged with a similar idea. The problem for corporates using these marketplaces is that they are stand alone and are not integrated with a trade finance management system. This is where the GTC solution will be different.

The involvement of Siemens AG in the whole project is certainly making a lot of sense because the company has worked extensively on the intricacies of RFQ (Request for Quotation). Gerhard Heubeck, Head of Trade Finance Advisory at Siemens AG, stated that the coming together of a range of companies is essential to the success of such a platform. It should be noted that three large banks and other companies are going to be participants in this project. Heubeck said, “At its core, of course, an RFQ platform must be driven by corporations with a large volume of transactions and should contribute to internal and external process optimizations, as well as provide a system-integrated audit trail.”

On the other hand, Head of Group Treasury at Lindner Group, Sven Matzelsberger, also spoke about the fact that a solution of this nature for the trade finance space had been in demand for quite some time. He went on to state that a platform of this nature is going to enhance transparency and also lead to far greater levels of efficiency in the business. Vinay Mendoca, MD & Global Head Product, Propositions & Structuring, Trade, and Receivables Finance at HSBC spoke about the project as well. He said,

We are firm believers in the simplification and digitisation of trade and anticipate that initiatives such as TFX will improve the transparency and efficiency of the trade finance eco system.

It is an ambitious project from GTC for sure, but it could have far-reaching ramifications in the years to come.

News

The cannabis industry has gone through a lot of troubles over the years and that is natural, considering the fact that it is a relatively new industry. In a new development, it has emerged that California based cannabis firm Harborside has announced that it has reached a breakthrough with the US Tax Court with regards to its tax bill. The company, which is listed in Canada, announced that its current total tax shortfall stands at $11 million. That is a significantly important development for the company since the tax bill had earlier been pegged at $25 million by the court.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) had earlier revealed that the parent company of Harborside Oakland, Patients Mutual Assistance Corporation, was in the arrears for the period between 2007 and 2012. The tax code had been under Section 280E but last year, the company had argued that legal cannabis companies in a state should be exempt from the provisions in that section. At the time, the argument fell flat, but it seems that a year on from that embarrassment, the company has managed to make some progress in that front.

Andrew Berman, the Chief Executive Officer of the company spoke about the outcome. He said that it is the good news for all shareholders in the company that the tax liability is now far lower than it was in the past. He went on to add,

“By challenging the IRS’s overly aggressive interpretation of the tax law as it applies to cannabis businesses operating legally under state law, we have succeeded in reducing Harborside’s liability from the $36 million originally sought by the IRS to approximately $11 million.”

News

China is impulsively following the footsteps of the United Nations and trying to prop up a flagging central financial system. It has started manipulating its cash into the market with an aim to prevent the fall in the interest rates.

Following this strategy, the People’s Bank of China has already injected around 200 billion Yuan into the monetary gadget. China took this sudden impulsive decision of flowing cash (which is basically bank loans) amidst some industry disputes with America, which ultimately was slowing down China’s home financial system. As a result of the dispute, China’s manufacturing units began facing huge deflation, which even affected the monthly imports and exports of China. To prevent the situation from getting worse, China decided to inject billions in the hope of returning the investors’ interests towards Bitcoin again. By injecting liquidity into the monetary devices, China intends to make the financial coverage of the nation smooth and easy. The billions of medium-term lending facilities will hopefully open up the opportunities for the central financial institution of China to decrease the interest rates.

Talking about this US-China Dispute, Yuwa Hedrick-Wong, the economic commentator of Forbes Asia, commented,

“The USA-China industry struggle, for me, is solely a manifestation of a far deeper transition within the international economic system, and I consider China is getting ready its economic system to in the end decouple from the United States through the years.”

With this industry spat between the two nations, the worldwide economy is slowing down that can bring in economic disaster worldwide. The approach of the central banking institutions in flooding the market with billions, to some extent, will prevent the falling rates of interest, but at the same time, will devalue their own home currencies. In such a case, the use of Bitcoin can smake the situations stronger.

However, US Secretariat does not agree to this and the US Secretary of Treasury, Steven Mnuchin, has shown his concern for the illegal use of Bitcoin and also expressed his dislikes on the use of cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin has the potential to change the global economy. Many investors & analysts predict Bitcoin’s booming price and recommend investing in it. If you also want to trade or invest in Bitcoin, please go through the Bitcoin Trader’s Trading Platform Review and invest.

Company News

Industry veteran Patricia Sutter has been appointed as the new head of the Wells Fargo Corporate Trust Services on October 15. She replaces Troy Kilpatrick, who was presiding the position since 2014. Troy Kilpatrick has now taken charge of the Risk transformation work for the company.

She will work in the Chicago office and will be reporting to David Marks, Head of Wells Fargo Commercial Capital (WLCC). She will be leading a team of 2000 professionals holding the new responsibility.

Sutter has been leading the CTS Chicago office for the last 15 years and is a renowned corporate leader with 31 years of leadership experience at various prominent organizations. She has also headed multiple lead roles within CTS. Previously, she was in charge of the Conventional Debt Specialized Services (CDSS) team.

About Wells Fargo 

Wells Fargo & Company is a prominent global financial services corporation with $1.9 trillion assets. It was founded in 1852 and its headquarters are based in San Francisco. Wells Fargo has a huge network of 7600 offices across 32 countries. With 263,000 employees, it offers investment services, banking, and mortgage product and services and commercial finance.

David Marks, Head of WLCC quoted, “Wells Fargo is a leading provider of trust and agency services related to debt and equity securities, and we will continue to deliver the highest caliber of services to corporate Trust clients under Patricia’s leadership.”

Praising her business acumen, he said, “Patricia has an extraordinary knowledge of the business and our clients and she will be a valued addition to the WFCC leadership team.”

Recent reshuffle in the company

Recently, Wells Fargo has been going through a reshuffling process to expand its mortgage services and is going to hire more workforce to meet the growing business volumes. This move is followed by the last year’s dismissal of 1000 employees from the same department.

News

In a recent development, a cannabis farmer Cuong Nguyen grabbed the attention of one and all because of his revelations during an interview. 41-year old Cuong was one of the thousands of Vietnamese migrants who barged into the United Kingdom territory illegally with a motive to earn quick money from a country that is notoriously famous for having the highest prices for cannabis in Europe. He ended up working in the United Kingdom’s multi-billion dollar weed industry.

“All I ever wanted was to make money … whether it was legal or illegal,” said Cuong during the interview. While hiding himself in a suburban British house, he spent months looking after the plants grown by him.  He added that he left his native land in 2008 when he saw great potential in the cannabis trade. Cuong shared that he gave $15,000 to brokers to get a fraudulent passport and a place on a tour group to Europe.

Though, Cuong slipped into the UK territory from the Vietnamese port town of Haiphong at his will, not every migrant has the same story as a majority of them, including children, become victims of human trafficking and pushed into the gloomy reign of Vietnamese drug rulers. These drug bosses work as a foreman for the flourishment of the UK weed trade.

During the interaction, Cuong informed that he was 29 years old when he sneaked into the UK to earn a lavish life for himself. In his native land, he used to work as a small-time crook and was also a drug addict. His story throws light on the pitiful condition in Vietnam, where criminal groups take advantage of the widescale poverty and lack of opportunities for the youth to fulfill their illegal objectives.

Cuong added that he left his native land in 2008 when he saw great potential in the cannabis trade. Cuong shared that he gave $15,000 to brokers to get a fraudulent passport and a place on a tour group to Europe. He further conveyed that he left the tour in France and followed a migrant route to a camp in Calais. At the camp, Vietnamese human traffickers helped him in crossing the channel to Britain while hiding in a lorry.

With no knowledge of English, survival became quite tough for Cuong, and so he resorted to the migrant network for aid. He landed up in Bristol and worked for a person who managed several cannabis farms in the suburban vicinity. As per Cuong, he was restricted to stay in the house and work all alone. He was compelled to rely on the weekly food drops given by the handlers of the farms.

“I got up early, ate rice and prepared feed for my plants… put them under lights for two hours and watered them,” recalled Cuong. He feared the attack of the cops who had earlier destroyed cannabis farms running in disguise in dog kennels, pubs, abandoned hospitals, as well as a former nuclear bunker. He stated that he got panicky when police showed up in his neighborhood. He revealed that he earned nearly $19,000 from his illegal business and blamed his boss for cash embezzlement.

The Daunting Facts And Figures

The migrants coming from the poor central provinces of Vietnam, head to the UK with a hope to earn good cash to satisfy their family needs. Smugglers take advantage of their condition and charge up to $40,000 for arranging the travel documents and plane tickets. Unfortunately, at times, some people fall prey to evil human traffickers who falsely charge them with heavy debts and force them to work in brothels, nail bars, and cannabis farms in lieu of their services.

According to a report published by Anti-Slavery International, ECPAT UK, and Pacific Links Foundation, over 3,100 Vietnamese adults and children were categorized as potential trafficking victims by the UK government between 2009 and 2018.

In 2014, Cuong was arrested by the cops for smoking cannabis. The Crown Court data reveals that he was convicted for growing cannabis and was also sentenced to 10 months in jail. However, later, he was deported to his homeland.

The Home Office data shows that Cuong was amongst the 1,600 migrants who were sent to Vietnam either at will or by force since 2014. This whopping number included a minimum of 22 people under the age of 14 years of age. With the widespread poverty, these returnees often end up getting re-trafficked by the criminals.

Cuong, on the other hand, is slowly and steadily settling himself into his home territory and is planning to open a salon to earn money for the baby he is expecting from his new girlfriend. “In the past, I had to be tough and aggressive. Now I have to be soft and nice,” concluded Cuong.

Company News

A fresh report has revealed that Brazilian banking giant Banco Inter SA is exploring the option of tying up with ride-hailing giant Uber over a financial services partnership. A partnership of this nature is helpful to both the bank as well as the ride-hailing giant. A source who is close to the developments could not divulge the actual terms of any possible partnership, but it is believed that the partnership is targeted at Uber drivers in Brazil. In addition to the drivers, one must also consider the millions of customers of Banco Inter customers in the South American country. At this point in time, Brazil is one of the most important markets for Uber and has emerged as the biggest market after the United States.

As a matter of fact, Sao Paulo alone records the highest number of Uber rides for any city in the world. In this regard, it is important to point out that Uber has done something of a similar nature in Mexico. It partnered with Mastercard and BBVA to create a debit card for Uber drivers. Countries like Mexico mostly run on cash and such partnerships eventually help in bringing formal banking to unbanked people in a big way. Uber could be trying something of a similar nature in Brazil.

This move will also be beneficial to Uber’s biggest shareholder SoftBank, which has invested billions in South America in recent years. SoftBank has invested in Fintech and healthcare sectors in a big way. This move will, hence, help SoftBank’s larger vision of bringing millions of Brazilians into electronic payments platforms. Back in August, the Chief Operating Officer of SoftBank Marcelo Claure spoke about its plans in South America. He said,

“There are so much innovation and disruption taking place in the region and I believe the business opportunities have never been stronger.”

Company News

Leading cryptocurrency exchange Binance has announced the launch of Peer-to-peer trading also known as P2P in China. With the launch, the platform aims to extend support to traders making transactions via many popular Chinese payment apps like Alipay and Wechat Pay. The P2P services can be accessed by the citizens of China.

According to a report, Binance launched P2P trading functionality with ETH, BTC, and USDT for trading against the Chinese Yuan or CNY. Binance has emerged as the world’s leading crypto exchange platform in terms of volume. In the beginning, only Android users with Binance accounts will be able to access P2P trading functionality. Additionally, Android users must have registered the Binance accounts for more than 30 days.

Binance has also assured that it will gradually launch this service for iOS and web interface users.

Changpeng Zhao, CEO of Binance, took to his Twitter handle and divulged that they are beginning with China so that over 1.4 billion people can use the latest P2P functionality. The exchange will soon expand the service in several other regions. When asked about the options of choosing Alipay and Wechat Pay as a mode of payment for the service, Zhao revealed that the leading Chinese apps have been supported for users to make payments for one another without any direct involvement of the company.

As of now, Alipay and Wechat pay have been the dominant players in the local payment market for a few years. Users are allowed to use these two apps almost anywhere in the country. These apps QR codes can be displayed right from the vegetable sellers on streets to luxury retailers. China is fast moving in the direction to become a cashless society. A recent survey reflected a swift rise and popularity of mobile payments in the world’s most populous economy. People in China now seldom use cash to make their transactions.

Alipay and Wechat Pay have emerged a force to reckon with. Now Alipay and Wechat have become so popular in the country that it will not be a big surprise if they become popular with cryptocurrency investors in the coming time.

Zhao also clarified that Binance is in no direct connection with Alipay or Wechat to make these features accessible. He tweeted, “Some confusion by some news outlets.”

Meanwhile, the Malta-based Binance is also planning to provide its services in South Korea by launching a new exchange.

Zhao divulged the exchange plan to offers its services in a new market. In a bid to simplify the process, it has decided to collaborate with local news outlets and local associates.

Zhao said, “We do not know the details related to the establishment of the Korean branch. We are working with local partners, but we do not know the details.”

Binance spokesperson informed that the exchange is planning to work with a blockchain FinTech company, BxB and right now is in discussion with the firm. It has not yet taken any specific decision on it. The exchange has yet to decide and consider whether to build a branch in South Korea or not.

Zhao revealed that the exchange firm is clueless about the establishment details of its new headquarter in S.Korea.

Company News

It is a well-known fact that banks in India are in trouble but it seems that they could be saved by e-commerce behemoths like Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart. The credit has dried up from banks all across the country and in such a situation; it is hard for any bank to survive for long. At the end of the day, credit is the lifeblood of a bank and also of a thriving economy. That being said, the small loans meant for online shopping for Indian customers located in villages, towns and even in large cities, are chugging along at a decent pace. The money disbursed by the banks for online purchases are small but the volumes could eventually be huge due to the rapidly growing appetite for online shopping in the country.

The Indian economy is currently week but the big festive season sales conducted by Amazon India and Walmart-owned Flipkart saw both companies report record sales. Despite not being at the level of China, the two companies recorded combined sales of $3 billion according to a leading consulting firm. In addition to that, another market research firm has estimated that the spending could actually hit $5 billion by October end. However, the most important thing to mention in this regard is the fact that as much as 70% of the transactions that took place during these discount periods were done through credit methods.

That is a key statistic and goes to show that the appetite for online shopping could eventually lead to a revival in banks. On the other hand, a large percentage of the purchases made on both Amazon and Flipkart were from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities in the country. Moreover, the fact that these loans are often paid off within a short turnaround time makes it an excellent debt asset for the bank. Internet penetration is growing in India at a breakneck pace and that will further help in developing the customer base all across the nation. Notably, extending its operation further, Amazon has come up with a fulfillment center in Rugby, Warwickshire for which, it will soon be hiring locally.

Company News

In a bid to provide more connected vehicles in the future, Audi has signed a memorandum of understanding with Deutsche Telekom and Ingolstadt City. According to the press released by the German carmaker, this agreement will enable Audi to use 5G Technology in its cars in the future. The primary aim of the agreement is to provide safe urban mobility with the help of 5G and to aid the overall sustainability of transportation in the coming years. Recently Deutsche Telekom Organization hires a blockchain professor in association with a berlin-based university.

Connected Cars

Audi is planning to use 5G Technology in its future vehicles significantly, and the use of this higher bandwidth will help the occupants to have data access on a real-time basis. 5G will open new avenues of communication between the vehicles on the road, and it could pave the way for the number of future driving technologies included in the automated one. Along with 5G Technology, the internet of things (IoT) will also play a crucial role in providing real-time data to connected vehicles.

Speaking on the development, Managing Director of Audi Electronics Venture GmbH, Peter Steiner, said that the company is working on the theme of “consistently connected” technology and aims to contribute towards improving the urban mobility across the globe. Together with its partners, Audi aims to develop sustainable solutions for safe transportation.

Future Scenarios

One possible future scenario of connected vehicles could manifest in the form of an exchange of information about the traffic and the parking spaces at various road junctions. That will help to streamline the movement of the vehicles as divers can fine-tune their movement according to the available information. Even cyclists and pedestrians are going to get benefited from the adoption of technology, and the overall exchange of information on a real-time basis will help save not only a lot of time but also cost associated with traffic jams and congestions.

News

Federal banks and other financial regulators all over the globe are worrying about the growing popularity of cryptocurrency. As a result, Facebook’s Libra is facing trouble bringing the currency of the future to the mainstream.

Recently, Benoît Coeuré, a member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank (ECB), warned the central banks and regulators all over the world by telling them that cryptocurrencies and stablecoins can take the place of US dollars as a global currency, thus reflecting the threat of cryptocurrencies over the fiat currency.

Back in May, the European Central Bank (ECB) had expressed that cryptocurrencies would not cause any immediate harm or risks to the country’s economy. According to a report published in the same month by the Internal Crypto-Assets Task Force (ICA-TF), an advisory committee created by the European Central Bank in 2018, the number of digital crypto assets is very small in the European market as compared to the financial system published.

The ICA-TF was created with the purpose of overseeing the impact of digital currencies in the financial market and to detect the threats of cryptocurrency in Europe.

Though the report also suggests that digital currency lacks some of the characteristics of money. And currently, it’s not competing with the fiat currency, so financial regulators don’t have to worry about anything, at least for now.

Digital assets like stablecoins, altcoins, tokens have been giving the crypto market an altogether new push. Eminent STO adviser  Marvin Steinberg sees a very promising future for the industry.

Facebook’s Libra is the opensource blockchain currency meant for the local users, which can help the cryptocurrency to reach the mainstream. Benoît Coeuré said that being a stablecoin, backed by a reserve, Libra has got the chance to actually beat the USD in the market, which has spooked the US officials.

Coeuré also added,

“Libra has undoubtedly been a wake-up call for central banks to strengthen their efforts to improve existing payment systems. This by itself, is undoubtedly a win-win situation for the global community.”

Knowing all investors in the market which have already invested in cryptocurrencies, there are chances this new currency will soon go mainstream. If you also want invest or trade in cryptocurrencies then you have to choose trading platform carefully from numerous available platform in crypto space. One of them, Bitcoin Era offers a quick way to invest. To know more please check Bitcoin Era Trading Platfrom Review.