Washington Financial News

31.12 / 20:29

UPS Target Deal Beijing Fell Short on Trade Deal Promises, Creating Dilemma for Biden

WASHINGTON—Beijing’s commitment to step up purchases of U.S. goods and services under a 2020 trade pact expires Friday with China expected to miss its targets by a wide margin, creating a dilemma for the Biden administration as it calibrates a response.

29.12 / 15:15

foreign Biden’s Worker-First Trade Policy Rankles Foreign Partners

WASHINGTON—President Biden’s goal of repairing frayed relations with European and Asian trade partners is coming into conflict with his other priority of putting U.S. workers first.

24.12 / 02:10

VISA Interviews U.S. Will Waive In-Person Interviews for H-1B, Other Work Visas

WASHINGTON—The State Department is temporarily dropping an in-person interview requirement for some work-visa categories in 2022 to ease visa issuances, as the Covid-19 pandemic stretches into a third year, the department announced Thursday.

21.12 / 12:25

Blockchain Provident Cooper FTX US and DC Sports Leader MSE Establishes Multi-year Crypto Exchange, NFT Deals

Cryptocurrency exchange FTX USA announced on December 20 that it has become a cryptocurrency exchange and non-fungible token (NFT) partner with Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE).

21.12 / 10:45

US Sony Bitcoin $154 Million Stolen, Converted To Bitcoin: Here's How US Took Action

The money was allegedly stolen from a Sony subsidiary by one of its Japanese employees.

20.12 / 23:59

business Sport partnership Crypto exchange FTX US partners with four Washington, DC sports teams

The company behind four major Washington, D.C.-based professional sports teams has announced FTX US will be its official crypto exchange and nonfungible token partner.

20.12 / 20:25

UPS U.S. Raises Fuel-Efficiency Requirements for Cars and Light Trucks

WASHINGTON—The Biden administration raised fuel-efficiency standards for passenger cars and light-duty trucks, part of a bid to mitigate climate change and nudge the auto industry toward electric vehicles.

20.12 / 11:05

SEC JPMorgan JPMorgan brokerage unit fined $200m after failure to monitor WhatsApp, other messaging apps

WASHINGTON — The brokerage arm of JPMorgan on 17 December agreed to pay $200m in fines and admit that it failed to keep track of employees’ use of personal messaging apps that circumvented record-keeping requirements.

15.12 / 22:31

Biden Agenda Slows in Senate as Final Child Tax Credit Payments Land in Bank Accounts

WASHINGTON—Democrats are struggling to advance their roughly $2 trillion education, healthcare and climate package before the end of the year, endangering the smooth continuation of monthly child tax credit payments.

15.12 / 19:33

FIVE SEC SEC pushes for tighter rules on insider trading with 120-day delay before execs can sell stock

WASHINGTON — Wall Street’s regulator is putting forward tighter rules on how and when corporate insiders can sell their companies’ stocks, at a time when executives are cashing in at historic levels.

15.12 / 01:38

Career Biden to Nominate Sandra Thompson to Lead Fannie and Freddie’s Overseer

WASHINGTON—President Biden plans to nominate Sandra Thompson to become the permanent director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the White House said, tapping a career regulator to head the agency responsible for overseeing mortgage-finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

15.12 / 00:38

Government Stablecoin Congress hearing Opinions Witnesses offer differing opinions on approach to stablecoins at congressional hearing

The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs heard from several expert witnesses with knowledge of stablecoins who urged lawmakers to establish a clear regulatory framework but could not seem to agree on where lines would be drawn.

14.12 / 22:48

Democrats Prepare to Raise Debt Ceiling

WASHINGTON—Democrats prepared Tuesday to raise the government’s borrowing limit by $2.5 trillion, moving to quickly pass the measure through both houses of Congress and push the next debt-ceiling standoff past the midterm elections.

14.12 / 21:17

Government Stablecoin Congress 'DeFi is the most dangerous part of the crypto world,' says Senator Elizabeth Warren

Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren did not hold back in her criticism of decentralized finance, expressing concern about how a run on stablecoins would affect the average investor.

14.12 / 03:23

Law Congress hearing Law Decoded: A different Congress hearing, Dec. 6–13

The biggest regulatory story of the week was a United States House Committee on Financial Services hearing squarely focused on crypto. Even the event’s title — “Digital Assets and the Future of Finance: Understanding the Challenges and Benefits of Financial Innovation in the United States” — conveyed a different vibe than countless previous Congressional meetings that had been first and foremost about investor protection or security risks or threats to financial stability.

13.12 / 18:55

Bitcoin US ‘Could Hit El Salvador’s Chivo Bitcoin Wallet with Sanctions,’ Claims NGO

The United States could impose sanctions on El Salvador’s Chivo bitcoin (BTC) wallet, the human rights organization Cristosal has speculated.

13.12 / 14:27

SEC Stocks market COP SEC Lures Top Enforcer Who Says Tougher Punishment Is Coming

WASHINGTON—The Securities and Exchange Commission often picks its top cop from the ranks of Wall Street’s best defense lawyers. Its newest one hadn’t worked on a securities case in almost six years until he took on the job in July.

10.12 / 19:07

Global Trade U.S.-China Frictions Undercut Efforts to Settle Global Trade Disputes

WASHINGTON—Rising tensions between the U.S. and China are hampering efforts by members of the World Trade Organization to repair its ability to settle international trade disputes.

10.12 / 16:03

Blockchain cryptocurrency regulation IMF National NOT Crypto Regulation Should Be Global, Not National - IMF Directors

The rapid growth of crypto assets, associated products and services, and the interlinkages with the regulated financial system are intensifying the need for global crypto regulation that should be comprehensive, consistent and coordinated by the world’s regulators, according to a recent paper released by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

10.12 / 13:57

Senate Clears Key Hurdle for Debt-Ceiling Increase to Avert Default

WASHINGTON—The Senate overcame the biggest hurdle to raising the debt ceiling Thursday, with more than a dozen Republicans joining Democrats to help clear legislation crafted to avert a government default.

10.12 / 08:45

Culture Kyiv President Joe Biden speaks to Ukraine's Zelenskyy on Donbas, NATO

President Joe Biden spoke to Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday two days after he signalled that the U.S. would play a bigger role in negotiating an end to the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.

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