State Bank warns against trade in virtual currencies

State Bank warns against trade in virtual currencies 

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Friday warned the general public as well as banks against trade in virtual currencies, informing them that no legal protection was available against risks involved in the unlicensed business. Virtual currencies, coins and tokens (such as Bitcoin, Litecoin, Pakcoin, OneCoin, DasCoin, Pay Diamond etc) are neither recognised as a legal tender nor the SBP has authorised or licensed any individual or entity for the issuance, sale, purchase, exchange or investment in any such virtual currencies, coins and tokens in Pakistan, according to the SBP. While the SBP spokesperson said no data was available about prevalence of virtual currencies in Pakistan, President of the Forex Association of Pakistan Malik Bostan told Dawn that four websites operating from Pakistan were reportedly trading in virtual currencies. He said the exact volume of trade in virtual currency in the country was not known, but many people believed it could be around tens of billions of rupees. Virtual currency, also known as virtual money, is a type of unregulated digital or electronic money, which is issued and usually controlled by its developers and used and accepted among the members of a specific virtual community. The SBP said virtual currencies such as coins and tokens provided high degree of anonymity and could be potentially used for facilitating illegal activities. It advised banks, development finance institutions, microfinance banks and payment system operators and payment service providers not to facilitate transactions of their customers and account holders in virtual currencies or Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) and tokens. Due to the ambiguous nature of virtual currencies, no legal protection or recourse was available to anyone in the event of a loss incurred due to any or all of the risks like high price volatility as investments tied to virtual currencies are highly unstable and are primarily based on speculations, said the SBP. No legal protection was available against the risk regarding failure or closure of virtual currency exchanges or businesses due to any reason, including action by law enforcement agencies, hacking or security compromises of crypto currency exchanges and wallet businesses, as a number of instances had been recorded across the world where a huge amount of money had been lost due to the exchange or wallet operations being hacked and compromised, the SBP explained. In Pakistan, fraudsters are also offering pyramid-style investment schemes and coins and promising high returns (similar to Ponzi schemes) to the people, the SBP said, warning that this could cause a significant loss to the general public. The State Bank advised people that domestic and international payment and money transfer services in Pakistan were regulated by the SBP under the applicable laws. In this regard, no entity was currently licensed or authorised by SBP to offer money remittance services and products in Pakistan using virtual currencies, coins, or tokens. Persons using virtual currencies, coins or tokens for the purpose of transferring value outside the country were subject to prosecution as per the applicable laws. “The general public in their own interest is advised to be cautious of and refrain from indulging in activities relating to mining, trading, exchanging, transferring value, promoting and investing of virtual currencies to avoid any potential financial loss and legal implications,” said the SBP. Action sought against illegal business Finance experts welcomed the SBP move that they said would help in spreading awareness among the masses but they questioned the actions taken by the banking and money market regulator to practically stop this activity. “It’s a good thing, I would say,” said a capital and money market expert Mohammed Sohail. “If there is a statement or a warning for people then there must be some information about such activities [prevailing in the country]. But, you see, the State Bank needs to do more than warning the general public. Unfortunately, we have not seen any action on the part of the regulator when it comes to illegal forex or illegal brokerage houses. These illegal businesses actually facilitate and work as channel between the people and virtual currencies market.” As the first step towards discouraging such activities, he said, the State Bank should move against the illegal businesses in capital and money market that could largely help discouraging people from looking towards virtual currencies as an open option for transaction or investment. PICKED : https://www.dawn.com/news/1400103/

Facebook needs ‘a few years’ to fix problems: Zuckerberg

Facebook needs ‘a few years’ to fix problems: Zuckerberg WASHINGTON: Facebook will likely need “a few years” to fix the problems uncovered by the revelations on the hijacking of private user data, chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said in an interview released on Monday. Speaking to the news site Vox, Zuckerberg defended the company’s business model and shot back at criticism of the social networking giant from Apple CEO Tim Cook last week. Zuckerberg maintained that one of Facebook’s problems was that it was “idealistic,” focusing on the positive aspects of connecting people and that “we didn’t spend enough time investing in, or thinking through, some of the downside uses of the tools.” “I think now people are appropriately focused on some of the risks and downsides as well,” he said. “I think we will dig through this hole, but it will take a few years. I wish I could solve all these issues in three months or six months, but I just think the reality is that solving some of these questions is just going to take a longer period of time.”

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No minimum wage policy in UAE'

'No minimum wage policy in UAE' 


UAE’s wage policies enable a flexible labour market that creates thousands of new jobs annually: ministry Abu Dhabi: The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation today (Tuesday) said the government has no plans to implement a minimum wage policy. The ministry said in a statement, received by Gulf News, that wages – including for domestic workers – will continue to be fixed through negotiation between employer and employee. “The UAE’s wage policies enable a flexible labour market that creates thousands of new jobs annually,” the ministry said. “The government remains of the view that a free labour market, based on supply and demand, creates optimal conditions under which we are able to continue to welcome thousands of guest workers to the UAE every year, while simultaneously fostering sustainable economic growth.” The ministry has nothing to do with any statements released on fixing minimum wages for domestic workers. Recently, some embassies in the UAE had announced measures being put in place about fixing a minimum wage for domestic workers hired from their countries. The UAE has taken steps to increase protection for domestic workers. On September 26 last year, President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan issued Federal Law No. 10 of 2017. The law regulates the contractual relationship between employers and domestic workers and provides legal protections to safeguard the rights of all parties involved. Picked : http://gulfnews.com/news/uae/government/no-minimum-wage-policy-in-uae-1.2199200

China slaps retaliatory tariffs on 128 US products

China slaps retaliatory tariffs on 128 US products BEIJING: China on Monday imposed tariffs on 128 US imports worth $3 billion, including fruit and pork, retaliating for US duties on steel and aluminium that Beijing said “seriously infringed” Chinese interests. The move, which was decided by the customs tariff commission of the State Council, followed weeks of rhetoric that has raised fears of a trade war between the world’s two biggest economies. The Trump administration had said its duties were aimed at steel and aluminium imports that it deemed a threat to US national security, but China’s Commerce Ministry on Monday called that reasoning an “abuse” of World Trade Organization (WTO) guidelines. The US measures “are directed only at a few countries, seriously violating the principle of non-discrimination as a cornerstone of the multilateral trading system, which seriously infringed the interests of the Chinese side,” said a statement on the Commerce Ministry website. President Donald Trump has repeatedly railed against China’s massive trade surplus with the United States and promised during the election campaign to take steps to slash the US deficit. Beijing had warned last month that it was considering the tariffs of 15 percent and 25 percent on a range of products that also include wine, nuts and aluminium scrap. They came into force on Monday, Xinhua said, citing a government statement. The levies are in response to tariffs of 10 percent on aluminium and 25 percent on steel that have also angered US allies. “We hope that the United States can withdraw measures that violate WTO rules as soon as possible to put trade in the relevant products between China and the US back on a normal track,” the Commerce Ministry statement said. “Cooperation between China and the United States, the world’s two largest economies, is the only correct choice.” Trump has temporarily suspended the tariffs for the European Union as well as Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico and South Korea. But the White House has unveiled plans to impose new tariffs on some $60 billion of Chinese imports over the “theft” of intellectual property. Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, the top economic official, told US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in a phone call last month that the IP investigation violated international trade rules and Beijing was “ready to defend its naitonal interests”. ‘Heavy blow’ But Beijing has so far held fire against major US imports such as soybeans or Boeing aircraft — items that state-run daily the Global Times suggested should be targeted. The nationalistic newspaper said in an editorial last week that China has “nearly completed its list of retaliatory tariffs on US products and will release it soon.” “The list will involve major Chinese imports from the US,” the newspaper wrote, without saying which items were included. “This will deal a heavy blow to Washington that aggressively wields the stick of trade war and will make the US pay a price for its radical trade policy toward China,” the Global Times wrote. Despite the rhetoric, US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross on Thursday suggested the new measures on intellectual property were a “prelude to a set of negotiations”. The United States ran a $375.2 billion deficit with China last year. US Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat, held meetings with Chinese officials on Friday and Saturday, including Vice Premier Liu. “With Vice Premier Liu He, I had an extensive discussion about how China’s trade-distorting measures end up hurting American workers,” Warren wrote on Twitter. “I’ve long been skeptical of trade policy -– both at home and abroad -– that caters to big corporations instead of working families,” she said. PICKED : https://arynews.tv/en/china-slaps-tariffs-us-products/

U.S. government seeks end to Supreme Court privacy fight with Microsoft

U.S. government seeks end to Supreme Court privacy fight with Microsoft
President Donald Trump on March 22 signed a provision into law making it clear that U.S. judges can issue warrants for such data, while giving companies an avenue to object if the request conflicts with foreign law. The U.S. government's Supreme Courtbattle with Microsoft over whether technology companies can be forced to hand over data stored overseas could be nearing its end, after federal prosecutors asked that the case be dismissed. President Donald Trump on March 22 signed a provision into law making it clear that U.S. judges can issue warrants for such data, while giving companies an avenue to object if the request conflicts with foreign law.
"This case is now moot," the U.S. Department of Justice said, citing the newly passed legislation, in a 16-page court filing on Friday that requested the dismissal. The Supreme Court on Feb. 27 heard arguments in the case, which had been one of the most closely watched of the high court's current term. Some justices urged Congress to pass a law to resolve the matter. Microsoft and the Justice Department had been locked in a dispute over how U.S. prosecutors seek access to data held on overseas computer servers owned by American companies. The case involved Microsoft's challenge to a domestic warrant issued by a U.S. judge for emails stored on a Microsoft server in Dublin relating to a drug-trafficking investigation. The bipartisan new law, known as the Cloud Act, was supported by Microsoft, other major technology companies, and the Trump administration. But civil liberties groups opposed it, saying it lacked sufficient privacy protections.
Microsoft, which has 100 data centers in 40 countries, was the first American company to challenge a domestic search warrant seeking data held outside the United States. The Microsoft customer whose emails were sought told the company he was based in Ireland when he signed up for his account. A representative for Microsoft did not immediately return requests for comment on the Justice Department's filing.
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UAE postpones good conduct certificate requirement for job visas

UAE postpones good conduct certificate requirement for job visas 

Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation announces postponement of new requirement
Image Credit: Ahmed Ramzan/Gulf News archives Dubai: The UAE has postponed the mandatory requirement for a good conduct certificate for employment visas from April 1, according to the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation. The ministry, in a response to a Twitter user's inquiry, said that the requirement is postponed "until further notice".
The UAE had made the good conduct certificate mandatory for employment visas starting on February 4. Sources told Gulf News that authorities have started processing visa applications from certain nationalities without the good conduct certificate from last week. However, the ministry had not officially confirmed this. Until Thursday, the last working day in March, the ministry replied to Twitter users that there was no update when they enquired about the status of the requirement of good conduct certificate. “If there is any update, [it] will be shared on the official channels,” it had added.
On Sunday morning, the ministry updated the latest decision to all those who had made the enquiry through Twitter. However, no media statement has been issued as of press time on Sunday. The rule making it mandatory to obtain a certificate of good conduct for expatriates to get a work permit in the UAE had come into effect after the UAE Coordination Committee in January approved a Cabinet Resolution issued in 2017 stipulating that expatriates who apply for work visa in the UAE must first obtain a certificate of good conduct — issued either by their home country or the country where they lived for the last five years.
Sourced : http://gulfnews.com/news/uae/government/uae-postpones-good-conduct-certificate-requirement-for-job-visas-1.2197723

Price of petrol, diesel slashed by over Rs2

Price of petrol, diesel slashed by over Rs2 

The federal government announced a new tariff for petroleum products on Saturday, reducing the per-litre price of petrol and diesel by Rs2.07 and Rs2.00 respectively. From April 1, 92 RON petrol will be sold for Rs86 and high speed diesel for Rs96.45, while prices of kerosene and light diesel will be maintained, a press release by the Ministry of Finance stated.
The statement said the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) had asked that the prices of light diesel and kerosene should be increased — recommendations that were not adopted and thus respective price for the products maintained at Rs65.30 and Rs76.46 respectively. The ministry, however, also stated that Ogra had asked for a greater price cut for petrol — another recommendation that could not be followed completely as, the ministry explained, the price cut granted in previous months was more than what was asked for.
The prices will remain effective until April 30. Based on existing tax rates and import prices reported by Pakistan State Oil, Ogra had recommended a reduction of Rs5.26 per litre in the price of petrol for April. The regulator had also recommended an increase of 65 paisa per litre for high speed diesel, 55 paisa per litre for light diesel oil and 13 paisa per litre for kerosene.
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