PayPal CEO Dan Schulman On Cryptocurrency And Cybersecurity Threats | Squawk Box | CNBC

PayPal CEO Dan Schulman talks about the volatility of digital currencies and the potential of cybersecurity threats on the internet.
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PayPal CEO On Cryptocurrency And Cybersecurity Threats | Squawk Box | CNBC

FG retirees face N63bn shortfall in budgetted benefits Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/02/fg-retirees-face-n63bn-shortfall-budgetted-benefits

THE National Pension Commission (PenCom) has requested for N113.0 billion for Federal Government retirees in 2017. This figure indicates a huge shortfall of N62.8 billion, or 55.6 per cent gap, in allocation provided by the Federal Government in the 2017 budget estimates

PenCom made the submission in a memorandum submitted to the National Assembly Joint Committee on appropriations at the budget defence session last week by PenCom Director-General, Mrs Chinelo Anohu-Amazu. The Commission noted that the entire N113.02 billion should be approved in pursuant to Section 39(3) of the Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2014. The pension regulator maintained that the most critical challenge of the implementation of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) in Nigeria today is the non-payment of retirement benefits of Federal Government employees due to insufficient appropriation and late release of appropriated funds for payment of accrued pension rights. In her submissions Anohu-Amazu stated: “PenCom would like to make a case first, on the need for adequate appropriation of funds for the payment of the Federal Government’s pension liability under the Contributory Pension Scheme. “Based on the number of verified and enrolled Federal Government employees that retired from January to December in 2016 under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) as well as deceased employees within 2016, PenCom requested for the provision of the sum of N91,914,899,000.00 in the 2016 FGN Appropriation Bill. However, the National Assembly approved only the sum of N50,195,808,918.00 in the 2016 Appropriation Act, thereby resulting in a shortfall of N41,719,090,082.00.” The Commission noted that out of the N50,195,808,918.00 appropriated for the Retirement Benefits Bond Redemption Fund (RBBRF) in the 2016 Appropriation Act, only N18,823,428,342.00 had so far been released into the RBBRF Account as at date, adding that this leaves an outstanding balance in the sum of N31,372,380,576.00 which are yet to be released for 2016. The Commission stated further: “The Joint Committee on Appropriations is requested to consider and ensure the appropriation and release of the sum of N73,091,470,658.00 to pay January to December 2016 retirees of the Federal Government. Based on the number of verified and enrolled Federal Government employees that will retire from January to December in 2017 under the CPS, PenCom determined and requested for the provision of the sum of N113,023,255,000.00 in the 2017 FGN Appropriation Bill. “However, we observed that in the proposal to the National Assembly, the Federal Government submitted only the sum of N50,195,808,918.00 in the 2017Appropriation Bill, thereby resulting in a shortfall of N62,827,446,082.00,” it said.  




cc: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/02/fg-retirees-face-n63bn-shortfall-budgetted-benefits/

Stock market continues to bleed as 25 equities record price losses Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/02/stock-market-continues-bleed-25-equities-record-price-losses/

HE bearish trend in the stock market continued unabated last week as 25 quoted companies witnessed different degrees of price losses, thereby resulting in decrease in investors’ wealth by N61 billion.Among the stocks tat depreciated in price last week were Vitafoam Nigeria Plc which led other decliners by 13.04 per cent from N2.30 to N2.00 per share. This was trailed closely behind by Fidson Healthcare Plc with negative return of 11.40 per cent to close at N1.01, followed by Nigerian Breweries Plc with drop of eight per cent to close at N115.00 per share and Chemical and Allied Products, CAP, Plc which fell by 7.50 per cent to close at N29.60 per share. Other price losers include Eterna Plc, that went down by 6.70 per cent to close at N3.34 per share; Axamansard Insurance Plc, 6.25 per cent to close at N1.50; Guinness Nig. Plc, 6.23 per cent decline to close at N60.95; Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, 5.90 per cent to close at N16.75; Diamond Bank Plc, 5.75 per cent to close at N0.82, while NASCON Allied Industries Plc was down by five per cent to close at N7.03 per share.


cc: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/02/stock-market-continues-bleed-25-equities-record-price-losses/

Bitcoin’s value has stayed above $1,000 for a whole week

On last week’s bitcoin news roundup, one bitcoin was worth $1,009. At the time of press, one bitcoin is worth $1,061. The cryptocurrency is showing resiliency, as it is cementing itself above the $1,000 mark. Even though trading volume declined since the People’s Bank of China interfered, its value keeps on rising, and the effects of PBOC’s crackdown keep diminishing.

Ether prices surged and hit a new high for 2017

Ethereum, the second biggest cryptocurrency, has recently seen a significant increase in value, as news of major companies – such as Microsoft, JP Morgan, and Banco Santander – working on Enterprise Ethereum started to appear. Enterprise Ethereum is essentially a modified version of Ethereum to be used for private blockchains, according to CryptoCoinsNews. At the time of press, one Ether was worth $12.72

BTCChina to freeze cryptocurrency withdrawals for one month

BTCC is to freeze bitcoin and litecoin withdrawals for one month, and is now the last of largest bitcoin exchanges in China to do so, in order to upgrade its customer verification system. The move comes after at a request from the People’s Bank of China, China’s Central Bank, in an attempt to combat money laundering. BTCC plans to end the process on March 15, but added that “If the system upgrade can be completed ahead of time, all business will return to normal immediately”. China’s other major exchanges, OKCoin and Huobi, also froze cryptocurrency withdrawals last week.

There are now over 1,000 Bitcoin ATMs throughout the world

According to CoinATMRadar, there are 1,008 bitcoin ATMs in the world right now, and over 36,000 bitcoin to cash service providers, all contained in 55 countries. The United States is leading the bitcoin ATM market with 626 units, while Canada comes in second place with 138. In Europe, the leading country is the United Kingdom with 53 ATMs, and in Asia Japan gets first place, with 11 ATMs.

Bitcoin news New developments:

Former president of Bank of China claims it’s impossible to kill bitcoin

L H Li, former president of state-owned Bank of China, the fifth largest bank in the world, claimed that it is now impossible to take down bitcoin, in an interview for China’s predominant state broadcaster, CCTV. According to a translated statement, L H Li said: “Bitcoin was built on a platform without national boundaries. If you want to kill bitcoin, it will be an impossible task. So, it will continue to exist. What’s important now is that we should properly regulate it.”. The statement is of enormous importance, taking into account the People’s Bank of China’s interference in the bitcoin space. It’s possible that bitcoin’s acceptance as one of the world’s major currencies may be imminent.

The European Union plans to increase support for blockchain technology

According to a recently published statement, the European Union wants to increase the support it gives to the development of blockchain technologies and projects, even beyond financial services applications, currently being explored by several financial institutions. Last Spring the European Parliament approved a task force, led by the European Commission, to study blockchain technology. The statement even includes the possibility of future collaboration in blockchain-related events: “The Commission will organise a kick-off conference with the European Parliament on Demystifying Blockchain and a series of workshops to look at Blockchain developments and use case applications.”

Bitcoin Price Technical Analysis

Bitcoin price seems to be regaining its ground as it traded back above $1000 and is gearing up for a pullback from its climb.

Bitcoin Price Key Highlights

• Bitcoin price recently broke past the resistance at $1000, signaling that it’s ready to resume its climb.
• Price is pulling back to this area of interest, at which plenty of buy orders might be located.
• Technical indicators are also signaling that more gains are in the cards.

Bitcoin price seems to be regaining its ground as it traded back above $1000 and is gearing up for a pullback from its climb.

Market Events

U.S. markets are closed for the holiday today so liquidity could be low, which also opens up the possibility of volatile action in case there are any catalysts that spur a big move. For one, headlines that sound bullish for the U.S. economy, such as Trump’s tax reform plan could put downward pressure on BTCUSD.

On the other hand, subdued reports on regulatory action in China among bitcoin firms is restoring a bit of calm in the markets, encouraging investors to put funds back in the cryptocurrency once more. To top it off, unease about Italy’s political landscape and Greece’s debt troubles could also drive up demand for alternative assets especially if traders expect another round of capital controls in those nations.

Charts from SimpleFX

Disclaimer: The information contained herein is not guaranteed, does not purport to be comprehensive and is strictly for information purposes only. It should not be regarded as investment/trading advice. All the information is believed to come from reliable sources. NewsBTC does not warrant the accuracy, correctness, or completeness of information in its analysis and therefore will not be liable for any loss incurred.