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BENGHAZI, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Oilfields in eastern Libya that account for almost all the country's production will be closed and production and exports halted, the eastern-based administration said on Monday, after a flare-up in tension over the leadership of the central bank. There was no confirmation from the country's internationally recognised government in Tripoli or from the National Oil Corp (NOC), which controls the country's oil resources. NOC subsidiary Waha Oil Company, however, said it planned to gradually reduce output and warned of a complete halt to Libya's production, citing unspecified "protests and pressures". Another subsidiary Sirte Oil Company...

undreds of flights were cancelled at British airports yesterday due to the fault ... Travel disruption is continuing today as trains are hit in Crowdstrike outage with ticket machines and scanners going down at London stations. The meltdown chaos comes after the world's biggest IT disaster struck, with thousands of Brits stranded abroad. It happened on one of year's busiest travel days, with families now desperately queuing at Dover Port in an attempt to get home. After another 45 flights were cancelled today, 28,000 Brits are fighting to get a seat on a plane. Some passengers stuck overseas have been...

Total Control: Individual Carbon Footprint Trackers that will definitely be programmed to Central Bank Digital Currency’s.. “We're developing through technology an ability for consumers to measure their own carbon footprint. What does that mean? - That's where are they traveling. - How are they traveling. - What are they eating. - What are they consuming on the platform. So individual carbon footprint tracker. Stay tuned. We don't have it operational yet, but this is something that we're working on.”

Meantime the central bank seeks to palm off on the public the idea that its staggering negative capital is a ‘deferred asset.’ Hold up your hand if you think that the aggregate losses of an organization are an asset of that organization. No hands at all? Absolutely right. Losses are not an asset. That’s accounting 101. Yet the greatest central bank in the world, the Federal Reserve, insists on claiming that its continuing losses, which have accumulated to the staggering sum of $164 billion, are an accounting asset. The Fed seeks to palm off this accounting entry as a “Deferred...

Global bank messaging network SWIFT is planning a new platform in the next one to two years to connect the wave of central bank digital currencies now in development to the existing finance system.. The move, which would be one of the most significant yet for the nascent CBDC ecosystem given SWIFT's key role in global banking, is likely to be fine-tuned to when the first major ones are launched. 90% of the world's central banks are now exploring digital versions of their currencies. Most don't want to be left behind by bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, but are grappling with...

Australians made $746 million in digital payments in 2018—that number soared to $93 billion in 2022.. A new all-in-one mobile app will offer what its developers claim is Australia’s first end-to-end digital banking platform for the country’s 2.4 million businesses with fewer than 10 employees. The announcement comes a day after Bankwest announced that it is closing 45 of its branches and transitioning the remaining 15 to Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) branches, going digital-only by October 2024. Bankwest is a subsidiary of the Commonwealth Bank, which trades on the Australian Stock Exchange. ... The new app, called Business+, was...

Satisfied with IAM systems after a six-team trial last season, the U.S. National Football League appears ready to go league-wide with biometric ID verification. The pilot came at the end of 3.5 years of digital IAM testing by the NFL. No sports leagues like to lose money when people get unpaid-for stadium access, but NFL owners are particularly upset by it compared to others. League owners are expected to set up a centralized facial recognition IAM service based on its Express Access authentication platform in the 2024 season. That would be for all 30 stadiums for the 32 teams, beginning...

A Massachusetts woman has been charged with trespassing, assault on a court officer and disorderly conduct and is now facing jail time after trying to enter the State House without showing proof of COVID-19 vaccination. Michelle Efendi, a 37-year-old mother of four, could spend six months behind bars after her non-violent attempt to get into the State House in Boston. The incident took place shortly after the State House reopened to the public following its COVID-19 closure. She explained the reason for her visit to radio host Dr. Drew Pinsky, saying: “I wanted to meet my elected officials. No one...

CONCERN has mounted over Russia’s central bank governor after she suddenly cancelled an appearance at an exhibition without explanation. It comes amid circulating rumours that Elvira Nabiullina, 60, has undergone an unspecified surgery at the Kremlin. Russia's central bank has declined to comment on the rumours, Reuters reported. The Kremlin has also refused to comment on the surgery rumours, appearing annoyed at the question. “I do not consider this question appropriate at our conference call,” Putin’s spokesman told journalists today. "This is absolutely personal information about health and we have neither the scope nor the desire to comment on it."

Central banks are set to surpass 1,000 tons of gold purchases for the second consecutive year, aiming to reach levels not seen since 2010. This surge in buying suggests a potential return to a bullish gold market. Adding to the optimism, gold futures are experiencing the steepest contango since the 1980s, indicating growing interest and potential support for a sustained uptrend in gold prices. The significant increase in central bank gold purchases underscores a renewed confidence in the precious metal as a store of value and a hedge against economic uncertainties. Investors are closely watching these developments, considering the historical...

Central bank digital currencies can push the world away from depending on the U.S. dollar, the organization said. . The International Monetary Fund (IMF) released a handbook for global central banks regarding the development and implementation of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). The IMF’s “Central Bank Digital Currency Virtual Handbook” published last week pointed out that the increased use of CBDCs can “reduce dollarization” of the global economy—a situation where countries move away from relying on the U.S. dollar as a reserve currency. De-dollarization would push up borrowing costs in the United States, making loans expensive for businesses and individuals,...

The Federal Reserve has officially reported a loss of $57 billion for the first six months of 2023. Quite a number! So the “Federal Reserve Banks Combined Quarterly Financial Report as of June 30, 2023” (CQFR)—a little-known document—is especially notable for its red ink. We can anticipate an annual loss of over $100 billion for 2023 and for the losses to continue into 2024. 1 How does a central bank, especially the world’s greatest and most important central bank, lose tens of billions of dollars in six months? An average person, influenced by the mystique of the Fed, might understandably...

he Biden administration and the Federal Reserve are taking steps toward the potential roll-out of a central bank digital currency (CBDC). In attempting to do so, they are ignoring serious concerns about consumer privacy and heavy-handed government control in the U.S. and abroad. Everywhere around the world, powerful heads of central banks and politicians are pushing central bank digital currency. Yet also around the globe – from the U.S. to Europe to Africa – more and more of the general populace are rejecting CBDCs as they learn what they would entail and experience them in practice. A CBDC is a...

Central bank digital currencies are feverishly being developed all over the globe, and this is something that should deeply alarm all of us. For a moment, I would like for you to imagine a world where the government instantly knows whenever you buy or sell something. No transaction would ever be truly private, not even your most personal or embarrassing ones. In addition, your money would not be truly your own under such a system. Your access to the digital currency system would be a privilege which could potentially be suspended or revoked with the click of a mouse. All...

LONDON, NatWest CEO Alison Rose stepped down with immediate effect on Wednesday after she admitted to a "serious error of judgment" in discussing former Brexit party leader Nigel Farage's relationship with the bank with a BBC journalist. ... NatWest has faced intense political and media scrutiny over a decision by its private bank Coutts to close Farage's accounts. An internal review .. showed Coutts' wealth reputational risk committee had said his values did not align with the bank's own. ... Some major NatWest investors are also applying pressure on the bank's chair Howard Davies to step down for mishandling the...

A reader sent me this graphic which is circulating on social media. Whenever I see an unattributed image like this going around I want to verify it, lest it be photoshopped, a deep-fake or some derivation of “urban legend”. Sure enough, if you go to NatWest bank’s website, right here – you see this cash withdrawal policy spelled out for all to see: This isn’t actually new Here in Canada, for at least a few years – predating COVID, the big four banks have been routinely asking you why you are taking cash out whenever you withdraw anything over a...

International Man: In practically every country, the allowable limit for cash withdrawals and transactions continues to be lowered. Further, rampant currency debasement is lowering the real value of these ridiculous limits. Why are governments so intent on phasing out cash? What is really behind this coordinated effort? Doug Casey: Let me draw your attention to three truths that my friend Nick Giambruno has pointed out about money in bank accounts. #1. The money isn’t really yours. You’re just another unsecured creditor if the bank goes bust. #2. The money isn’t actually there. It’s been lent out to borrowers who are...

Governor Ron DeSantis signs legislation to ban a federally adopted central bank digital currency. DeSantis was joined by Commissioner Wilton Simpson and President Kathleen Passidomo at Southwest Florida Public Service Academy at Fort Myers Technical College. Governor Ron DeSantis announced comprehensive legislation to protect Floridians from the Biden administration’s weaponization of the financial sector through a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). The legislative proposal protects consumers and businesses from a federally controlled CBDC by: Expressly prohibiting the use of a federally adopted Central Bank Digital Currency as money within Florida’s Uniform Commercial Code (UCC). Instituting protections against a central global...

Cheques or cash payments of more than $10,000 will not be accepted next year, raising concerns about the government one day adopting problematic central bank digital currencies. ... The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) starting in 2024 will no longer allow citizens to pay tax debts over $10,000 by cheque and will mandate payment via electronic means under a new rule that is part of a federal omnibus budget bill likely to become law soon. Since 1917, the CRA has allowed anyone with tax debt to pay by “cash or cheque,” but beginning next year payments of more than $10,000 will...

As the U.S. Central Bank considers the development of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), policymakers must examine the potential negative economic impact and privacy implications that a centralized digital currency would entail. While the Federal Reserve touts CBDCs as a means to improve payment efficiency and better facilitate monetary policy, CBDCs could have a negative impact on financial stability and banking at both the micro and macroeconomic levels. The first concern facing policymakers is CBDCs’ potential to destabilize the traditional banking system. CBDCs could eventually require -- and upon establishment of their infrastructure, facilitate -- conversion of deposits in...