Category: Money Makes The World Go Round

It’s not good news for the Asian tiger this morning as China growth reaches its slowest quarterly growth since the economic crisis. With the most disappointing growth figures in a decade, the numbers will increase the pressure on Chinese President Xi Jinping as the US trade war blazes on in the background.

China reported its slowest quarterly growth at 6.5% YOY in Q3, although the Chinese government says that they are still on track to exceed the yearly target of 6.5%. GDP was also lower than analysts expected.

NBS (National Bureau of Statistics for China) spokesperson Mao Shengyong said that China was facing:

“extremely complex environment abroad and the daunting task of reform and development at home.”

Slower China Growth the Way of the Future?

The NBS reported that it was likely to see a slower growth and “greater downward pressure” in the future. However, China’s economy is resilient and so far, its investment trends remain stable. Moreover, the trade sector is still reporting figures better than expected.

The Chinese stock markets have also taken large tumbles this year, and the CSI 300 that tracks the largest companies in Shenzhen and Shanghai declined by a massive 25.5%. The Chinese government appears to remain unfazed by this decline and will take the necessary moves to restore investor confidence and hand out merger approvals quicker.

In a report by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences earlier this week, analysts reported that the Chinese economy would grow by 6.6% in Q3, missing their target slightly.

The slowdown in China growth appears to have been provoked by rising US interest rates along with the US/China trade war that’s leaving many Chinese companies out of pocket.

However, an official campaign against financial risk has also served to bring property and infrastructure to a halt, with some major projects like the subway lines in northern cities outright canceled.

Other Figures Not So Bad

Industrial production and retail sales both increases by 5.8% and 9.2% respectively compared to 6.6% and 10.3% this time last year. Moreover, trading activity despite the trade war has been reasonably strong. The tariffs imposed by Trump did not come into effect until late September, which means Q4 could see even more disappointing results.

Featured image from Shutterstock.

American lottery game Powerball which is played in more than 44 states announced they did not sell any winning tickets for the $378 million draw yesterday. A nonprofit organization, the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) coordinates the drawings. Winnings of Powerball’s starting jackpot of $40 million can either be paid in 30 installments or in one lump-sum cash payment.

Nobody had the luck of buying the ticket with these winning numbers: 03, 57, 64, 68, 69, Powerball: 15, PowerPlay: 3X. The next draw, which will take place on Saturday, will be one of the biggest in the country’s lottery history.

The lottery jackpot for the following Powerball draw has risen to $430 million, with a cash option of $248 million. On just a handful of other occasions have the stakes been so high.

In case you bought your Powerball ticket and didn’t check it yet, don’t throw it away. There were thousands of tickets sold in the New York area which won smaller prizes and three winning tickets worth $1 million that were sold nationwide. Are you the next millionaire?

Second Place Is Not that Modest Either

You don’t have to be disappointed if you didn’t buy the winning ticket. By matching all five numbers, you could win a second prize of $1 million in Powerball. However, no one won the second prize of $2 million in Power Play, which you can participate in for an additional $1.

To win the Mega Millions grand prize your odds are 1 in 302,575,350. However, your odds of winning Powerball are a bit better at 1 in 292,201,338.

What Was the Largest Jackpot in History?

Featured image from Shutterstock.

Ginger-haired Mexican boxer Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez has just signed the largest TV deal in sports history with the sports streaming service DAZN. The deal is reported to be worth a startling $365 million over a five-year period as DAZN is looking to revolutionize the way boxing and sports content is consumed in America. Canelo Alvarez is the biggest name in world boxing and the darling of the Mexican public.

The news that Canelo has signed this groundbreaking deal with DAZN is a massive boon for the sports streaming service who now cements itself as a major player in televised sport across America.

The move by DAZN is also a firm indicator that online streaming services could well be taking over sports coverage in the next few years as the traditional broadcasting and cable businesses still struggle with the changing ethos of modern-day content consumption.

Boxer Canelo Alvarez Is Going Online

At a glitzy press conference on Wednesday in New York, Canelo’s promoters, Golden Boy Promotions became the focal point of the sporting world. DAZN and Golden Boy announced they have signed an 11-fight-deal to stream Canelo’s fights over a five-year period that will be worth at least $365 million.

Not only will it become the largest TV deal in sports history, but Alvarez could well be finishing his career on DAZN.

Since HBO recently announced it was pretty much removing itself from boxing coverage for the first time in over 40 years, the only major player in the industry was Showtime Boxing. Smaller boxing promotions in America such as PBC and ESPN make some noise and are great for hardcore fight fans, but they are not on the same level as Showtime or DAZN.

Mexican boxer Canelo Alvarez is the biggest name in world boxing with the highest-paying deal ever, alongside the unified British heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, who sells out 80,000 people stadiums in the UK.

Joshua has also recently signed a multiple fight deal with DAZN to stream his fights in America. The British heavyweight kingpin is part of the Matchroom Boxing USA stable who recently secured 1-billion dollars to stream over 30 fights per year on DAZN over the next two to five years.

A Sports Content Revolution

We’re currently watching a sports content revolution happen before our eyes. Fighters such as Canelo usually command in the region of $80 to $90 for PPV fights. But this new service from DAZN is a game-changer.

The new DAZN streaming app is only $9.99 dollars per month and will now include 11 Canelo fights over the next five years, several fight cards per year from Golden Boy, Anthony Joshua fights and a total of 32 shows from Matchroom boxing from the US and UK. When you couple this with DAZN’s Bellator MMA coverage and fight fans are in for a real treat.

DAZN already has a firm foothold in Germany, Japan, and Canada, but is now targeting the US with more deals apparently in the pipeline for other American sports.

Featured image by Presidencia de la República Mexicana.

European media is flooded this morning with accounts of what looks to be the biggest tax fraud in Europe’s history. According to several European media outlets including Germany’s Die Zeit and Norway’s E24, banks and investors avoided paying taxes on hundreds of billions of European treasury bills and dividends.

And the scandal isn’t restricted to one, or even two European countries. Denmark, Belgium, and Germany are thought to be the hardest hit. But the tax fraud extends all the way to Norway, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, and France.

Moreover, the tax avoidance scheme has been building up for a number of years, in what the media is dubbing, the “coup of the century.”

Quoted in Die Zeit, Christoph Spengel, a tax law professional who had access to the incriminating evidence, said:

“It’s about the biggest tax fraud in Europe’s history.”

The tax scam is thought to have cost Denmark, Germany, France, Belgium, and Italy a total of $63 billion. For Denmark alone, that sum equals some 12.7 billion Danish kroner (around $2 billion) writes Politiken.

Norway suffered losses of some 600,000 Norwegian kroner (around $73,000) however, according to Swedish news agency Di, after being warned by Danish authorities, was able to prevent 10 further fraud attempts totaling 380 million kroner ($46 million).

It’s not yet certain how much money has disappeared from European treasury bills or the magnitude of the tax fraud that looks the be the century’s worst.

Tax Fraud and a Corrupt Network of Global Banks

SVT reported that many of the world’s largest banks are up to their necks in the largest tax scam of modern times. Deutsche Bank (which will surprise no one after their former traders were convicted of Libor rigging just yesterday) is among the names incriminated.

UBS, BNP Paribas, Barclays, JPMorgan, Meryll Lynch, Banco Santander, and Morgan Stanley are all also said to be implicated. And Swedish bank SEB is on the hot list as well.

SEB is accused of receiving some 70 million Swedish kroner ($7.8 million) for helping to conceal 1 billion Swedish kroner from the German treasury. According to Spengel:

“If you realize you’re part of a criminal gang – and that’s the case here with SEB – it’s breaking the law.”

The bank denies any criminal offenses, with German chief executive of SEB writing an email to SVT assuring them that the bank always operates in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.

The CumEx Files

A year in the making, the CumEx files are the culmination of a massive covert operation of 19 different media and journalists from 12 countries. More than 180,000 secret documents from financial institutions, banks, law firms, and German police investigation material were revised.

“Cum-Ex” is Latin for “with” and “without,” which is meant to highlight the complicated short-term trading of stocks that sellers and buyers do not physically own. Because of its complex nature, ownership is very hard to pinpoint. Tax offenders in some cases declared that they had paid taxes abroad and even received tax refunds in their home countries.

Initially, the idea behind the scam was to receive a double tax refund, however, in the most severe of cases, the same payment was made several times. Since regulations vary from country to country, the scheme was allowed to run unnoticed for several years.

As a German senior advocate told Politiken:

“It’s the perfect crime as this money machine has picked up huge cash sums. It’s as if you had looted Fort Knox, just better, because the source of the money was the treasury, and it’s outcast.”

Featured image from Flickr.

If you can afford $100 million to buy a balance-busting luxury superyacht, you probably have your servants reading this article to you right now. The mammoth superyacht Archimedes is worth $100 million (£75m) and recently stopped traffic, (or should I say the schooners?), when visiting Bristol Harbor in south-western England.

Towering over everything like the endearing image of LeBron James in platform heels, the Archimedes wowed onlookers with its dominating stature and untold luxury fit for a king, or queen.

On Board the Superyacht Archimedes

How something floating on the water can cost in the region of $100 mil is beyond staggering. The superyacht Archimedes is 68-meters long and houses eight cabins sleeping up to 16 guests and 18 staff.

The twin Caterpillar engine spits out an earth-shattering 4,000 BHP, which is four times more power than a Bugatti Veyron, reaching up to 16 knots at top speed.

The vessel weighs approximately 1,100 tons and costs its owners almost $500,000 per year in docking fees alone, not to mention the $320,000 per year for insurance on superyachts of this ilk!

Although the yacht looks fantastic on the outside, it’s what’s on the inside that counts. And that’s where this vibrant vessel excels.

From the majestic tip of its ice-strengthened blue hull to its modern stabilization system and everything in between, this superyacht is built to survive and glide on the waters even in the most frightening of weather conditions.

The boat comes with a stylish sundeck with a luxuriously crafted marble mosaic Jacuzzi, next to a bar and entertainment zone for partying the night away on the seven seas. Keep fit with its onsite gymnasium or dine in style in one of the boats dining and social spaces.

Little billionaire touches like marble floors in the six bathrooms, a grand piano, elevators, and a real fireplace give the superyacht Archimedes a certain elegance you don’t often see. Hell, you are on a $100 million boat, so what do you expect?

And if you get bored with all this untold luxury or your own company, you can use the two smaller attached boats to make your escape. Or alternatively, the ship’s helipad to fly you into Monte Carlo to see Prince Albert II of Monaco.

Featured image from Yacht Harbour.

Facing stricter regulation, China’s P2P lending sector is declining rapidly, and could even collapse entirely.

P2P lending has been lucrative in China with little constraining regulation. The industry is worth as much as $120 billion and has been high-risk, but high return.

Chinese regulators have been clamping down on debt and financial risk, the number of loan defaults is rising, capital investments are running out of the sector, and Chinese citizens are losing money. And getting pretty angry about it.

In July 2018, 114 P2P lending platforms in China were shut down or had funds suspended, without warning, by China’s regulators over liquidity concerns. Since June 2018, 243 online P2P lending platforms have gone bust.

In an endeavor to prevent failing P2P loan company leaders fleeing and leaving Chinese citizens to take the burden of debt, many P2P loan executives are also being prevented by Chinese authorities from leaving the country.

Ordinary Chinese citizens have used P2P lending platforms to invest savings. The P2P companies then lend the funds to individuals and small companies. Reporting by Bloomberg also indicates that hundreds of P2P lending platforms had collapsed by early October 2018, leading individuals to lose thousands.

Bloomberg went on to describe how one Chinese woman committed suicide after losing almost $40,000. In a note to her parents, the victim of China’s P2P lender PPMiao said:

“A state-backed P2P just ran away, its shareholder unwilling to take any responsibility.”

Hundreds of other citizens, saying they too were victims of PPMiao’s exit, protested at China’s International Finance Center in August.

Chinese authorities are taking action, including setting up “communications windows” to respond to requests by P2P lenders and clamping down on borrowers who try to avoid loan repayments. The government is also seeking other ways to protect and educate investors.

China’s P2P Lending Sector to Decline from 1,500 to 50 Companies

An exodus of capital from the industry accelerated in June 2018. In the last four months, the total outstanding value of P2P loans has fallen from 1.02 trillion yuan to 853.6 billion yuan.

There are just over 1,500 P2P lending companies in China currently. In 2015, at the industry’s peak, there were 3,500. Under new, stricter, regulation, industry participants expect this number to fall to as low as 50 after the regulatory changes take effect.

Going forward, P2P lenders will need to hold licenses granted by financial regulators, only if strict criteria are met. Few of the 1,500 current operators are expected to meet these requirements.

Roger Ying, the founder of Beijing-based P2P lender Pandai, has sold his stake in the business and exited the industry. Speaking to the Financial Times Ying said:

“The licensing is pretty much a prolonged process designed to flush out P2Ps.”

Ying, like others, forecasts that less than 50 P2P lenders will remain in China after the cull, adding:

“To put it mildly, I’m happy to have exited [the industry] when I did.”

Featured image from Shutterstock.

If you have the patience to deal with someone else’s screaming kids, ultra-wealthy families and high-end business couples are paying up to $800 a day for baby nurses to care for their newborns.

Wealthy business people who can handle hundreds of employees are starting to realize that taking care of their own newborn babies is on an entirely different level. These affluent families with moms and dads working in high-end business roles are now paying through the nose for baby nurses to not only care for their babies but also to teach them to sleep through the night.

Can Handle a Business but Not a Baby

The millionaires, billionaires, and modern-day business families of this world know how to make money. But do they know how to take care of their babies?

The traditional stay-at-home-mom and go-to-work-dad were the cornerstone of family development in the Western world until approximately 30-years ago.

In the modern business world where many women rightfully command the same respect and salaries as their male counterparts, times have changed in the family home.

According to Seth Norman Greenberg, the managing director of a New York-based domestic staff recruitment company called the Pavillion Agency had some really interesting things to say when talking to Business Insider:

“I spoke to someone the other day who said, ‘My husband’s a titan, he manages 10,000 people, and he can’t put our kid to sleep. Clients can be in any industry, from business titans, financial, manufacturing, tech — and then some people that are just retired.’”

Affluent wealthy families are paying up to $800 for baby nurses to fill the void and to teach their newborns to sleep through the night so the parents can get a proper night’s sleep.

The nurses work 22-hour shifts and barely take a day off until the kids reach three or four years old. They’re also not always registered nurses because the demand is currently so great.

Greenberg also mentioned that ultra-wealthy families who are successful from a business can do so because their homes are run for them, allowing them to do what they do best – making money!

Featured image from Shutterstock.

It’s well known that the President-elect is a man of expensive tastes. However, despite his penchant for gold trimmings and high-rise buildings, the construction billionaire was able to hit a nerve with US voters in 2016. Love him or hate him, in many ways, big spender Trump appears to be keeping his promises.

Unemployment is at a 50-year low. Business is booming. And America is on its way to indeed becoming great again. There’s just one small problem: the land of the free is saddled with a whopping $779 billion deficit after Trump’s first full fiscal year. And no, that wasn’t among the pledges bleated out on the electoral podiums.

Deficit Reaches $779 Billion After Big Spender Trump’s First Fiscal Year

According to OMB data, after hefty tax cuts and increased spending, the US deficit grew by $113 billion over the last twelve months. To be fair, plunging the country into debt is something US presidents are generally pretty adept at. The problem has been gradually getting worse since the financial crisis a decade ago.

Although, like everything else, big spender Trump is doing it bigger and better, widening the budget deficit to reach a six-year high of $779 billion after his first fiscal year in the White House. If racking up debt is nothing new, racking up debt during an economic boom is, with the gap widening by some $113 billion since the year before to reach 3.9% of GDP.

A report released by the US Treasury and Office of Management and Budget put this figure at a 40-year high, up by 3.2% from the year before. While not entirely unexpected, these figures will confirm what most people already knew and what Ron Paul repeatedly refers to as the government kicking the debt further down the road.

If Debt Goes Up in Times of Plenty What Happens in Times of Crisis?

The biggest concern is that the government is growing the country’s deficit during a time of economic boom with unemployment at its lowest since the 1960s. Tax cuts passed at the end of 2017 and higher public spending on programs such as Medicare are adding to the burden. And making people wonder: if we need to borrow money when the economy is doing well–what happens during a downturn?

The Congressional Budget Office predicted that if spending continues along this path, America will hit its highest debt levels relative to GDP in history over the next 30 years. Yet, one of Tump’s electoral promises was that he would repay all debt within eight years.

How the US president aims to tackle the rising deficit remains to be seen, but it looks unlikely that America will no longer owe its creditors in 2025.

Featured images from Shutterstock.