Canada bans ‘grease payments’ to foreign officials

It will become illegal for Canadian businesses to grease the palms of foreign government officials to speed up or facilitate routine transactions such as permits, Global Affairs Canada announced today. read more »

Bitcoin Is the ‘Very Definition’ of a Bubble, Credit Suisse CEO Says

The speculation around bitcoin is the “very definition of a bubble,” Credit Suisse Group AG Chief Executive Officer Tidjane Thiam said as the currency exceeded $7,000 for the first time.

Bankers are steering clear of bitcoin out of concern that criminals could use its anonymity to hide their activities, he said Thursday at a news conference in Zurich.

“Most banks in the current state of regulation have little or no appetite to get involved in a currency which has such anti-money laundering challenges,” he said. “From what we can identify, the only reason today to buy or sell bitcoin is to make money, which is the very definition of speculation and the very definition of a bubble.” read more »

JPMorgan Chase Defends Whistleblower Claim From Madoff Era

Jennifer Sharkey claims she was fired for investigating client. Case is rare trial of Sarbanes-Oxley whistleblower protections.

A long-delayed whistleblower trial began Monday over claims that JPMorgan Chase & Co. fired a wealth manager for raising red flags about a client in 2009, just months after the discovery that Bernard Madoff used JPMorgan Chase accounts to advance his multibillion-dollar fraud. read more » 

S.E.C. Warns Celebrities Endorsing Virtual Money

The Securities and Exchange Commission took a first step on Wednesday to head off the recent trend of celebrities endorsing new virtual currencies, warning that they could be breaking laws.

Entrepreneurs have been issuing the digital currencies through so-called initial coin offerings, or I.C.O.s, which have become a hot but largely unregulated method of fund-raising for technology projects.

So far this year, some 270 projects have raised over $3 billion by selling new currencies to investors. The vast sums of money have drawn in celebrities, like the socialite Paris Hilton and the rapper the Game, who have promoted particular projects, generally in exchange for a payment of some sort. read more »