Monday November 28, 2022

// November 28th, 2022 // Comments Off on Monday November 28, 2022 // Daily News

Well, thanksgiving is over, and that cost ALOT more this year thanks to Brandon

Protests against Covid controls erupt across China

BEIJING — Rare protests broke out across China over the weekend as groups of people vented their frustration over the zero-Covid policy.

The unrest came as infections surged, prompting more local Covid controls, while a central government policy change earlier this month had raised hopes of a gradual easing. Nearly three years of controls have dragged down the economy. Youth unemployment has neared 20%.

People’s Daily, the Communist Party’s official newspaper, ran a front page op-ed Monday on the need to make Covid controls more targeted and effective, while removing those that should be removed.

In Beijing, many apartment communities successfully convinced local management they had no legal basis for a lockdown. That came after more and more compounds in the capital city on Friday had abruptly forbade residents from leaving.

On Sunday, municipal authorities said temporary controls on movement should not last more than 24 hours.

Over the last three days, students staged protests at many universities, while people took to the streets in parts of Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan and Lanzhou, among other cities, according to videos widely shared on social media. The videos could not all be independently verified.

Today’s Inspiration

When You Feel Stressed

Adapted from the resource Closer to God Each Day – by Joyce Meyer2 MIN READ

Years ago, I went to a doctor because I was constantly sick. He told me the symptoms were the result of being under stress. I wasn’t getting enough sleep, and I was eating improperly, and pushing myself too hard.

Stress is a normal part of everyone’s life. God has created us to withstand a certain amount of pressure and tension. The problem comes when we push beyond our limitations and ignore the warnings our body gives us when it hurts or is exhausted.

I urge you to take good care of yourself, because if you wear out the body you have, you cannot go to a store and buy a new one. Many of the things we do that give us stress overload are things we could change if we would. Be honest with yourself about why you are doing some of the things you do and let God help you prune off the ones that are wearing you out and bearing no good fruit.

Peace is meant to be the normal condition for every believer in Jesus Christ. He is the Prince of Peace, and in Jesus we find our own inheritance of peace. It is a gift from the Holy Spirit, which He gives as we live in obedience to His Word.

Prayer of the Day: Lord Jesus, thank You for the peace You give—peace that operates in the midst of a storm. And because of Your peace, I can manage my stress today and every day, amen.

Monday November 21, 2022

// November 21st, 2022 // Comments Off on Monday November 21, 2022 // Daily News

In response to FTX being exposed for its criminal activity involving money laundering and illegal contributions to the Democratic National Committee

FTX will sell or restructure global empire, CEO says

FTX’s new CEO said on Saturday that the bankrupt crypto exchange is looking to sell or restructure its global empire, even as Bahamian regulators and FTX squabble in court filings and press releases about whether the bankruptcy filing should proceed in New York or in Delaware.

“Based on our review over the past week, we are pleased to learn that many regulated or licensed subsidiaries of FTX, within and outside of the United States, have solvent balance sheets, responsible management and valuable franchises,” FTX chief John Ray, said in a statement.

Ray, who replaced FTX’s founder Sam Bankman-Fried when the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Nov. 11, added that it is “a priority” in the coming weeks to “explore sales, recapitalizations or other strategic transactions with respect to these subsidiaries, and others that we identify as our work continues.”

Ray’s statement came with a flurry of Saturday morning filings in Delaware bankruptcy court. In those filings, FTX asked for permission to pay outside vendors, consolidate bank accounts, and establish new ones.

The exact timing of a possible sale is unclear. FTX indicated that it has not set a specific timetable for the completion of this process and said that it “does not intend to disclose further developments unless and until it determines that further disclosure is appropriate or necessary.”

Both FTX and Bahamas securities regulators are seeking jurisdiction over the bankruptcy process in two different U.S. courts. Last week, Bahamian regulators moved potentially hundreds of millions of “digital assets” from FTX custody into their own, acknowledging the deed in a press release after FTX attorneys accused them of doing so in an emergency court filing.

Ray singled out some of the company’s healthier subsidiaries for praise. One example was LedgerX, a Commodity Futures Trading Commission-regulated derivatives platform. LedgerX was one of the few FTX-related properties that are not a part of its bankruptcy proceedings and remains operational today. The platform, which FTX acquired in 2021, lets traders buy options, swaps and futures on bitcoin and ethereum.

The new FTX CEO asked that employees, vendors, customers, regulators and government stakeholders “be patient” with them.

FTX said in a filing that there could be more than one million creditors in these Chapter 11 cases.

FTX and its accountants had identified 216 bank accounts, across 36 banks, with positive balances globally. Cash balances across all entities totaled some $564 million, with $265.6 million of that in the custody of LedgerX on a restricted basis.

FTX attorneys also want to employ a “cash pooling system,” merging all the cash assets of each disparate FTX entity into one consolidated balance statement and in new bank accounts, which FTX is currently in the process of opening.

Notably, FTX attorneys wrote that they were “working, and will continue to work, closely with [existing FTX banks] to ensure that prior authorized signatories do not have access” to any prior FTX accounts that will continue to be used. Prior reporting and court filings have indicated that Sam Bankman-Fried held nearly absolute control over cash management and account access.

FTX’s bank accounts reflect the global influence of the crypto-asset empire. Institutions in Cyprus, Dubai, Japan and Germany held a wide array of global currencies. FTX subsidiaries held more than a dozen accounts at Signature Bank, an American institution that made an aggressive foray into servicing crypto customers in 2021. With the exception of one Bank of America account for Blockfolio, major American banks are unaccounted for on the list. Blockfolio was acquired by FTX in the summer of 2020.

In another petition, FTX lawyers moved to access $9.3 million for vendor payments that FTX called “critical.” No list was provided, but the FTX motion established criteria for “critical vendor” status.

In welcome news for customers, FTX attorneys applied to the court for permission to redact “certain confidential information,” including the names and “all associated identifying information” of FTX’s customers. “Public dissemination of [FTX’s] customer list could give […] competitors an unfair advantage to contact and poach their customers,” the filing read, potentially jeopardizing FTX’s ability to sell off assets or businesses.

FTX lawyers want the proceedings to continue in Delaware. Bahamas regulators, on the other hand, claim they do not recognize the authority of those Chapter 11 proceedings and want to hold a Chapter 15 process in New York.

Chapter 15 bankruptcy is the route that the defunct hedge fund Three Arrows Capital has pursued. The implosion of Three Arrows launched a spiraling crisis that has taken down Voyager, Celsius, and ultimately FTX.

The Chapter 11 process that FTX seeks would allow for restructuring or sale of the company to the highest bidder, although it isn’t clear who that might be. Rival exchange Binance initially made an offer before pulling it. That turnaround deepened a liquidity crisis at FTX and revealed a multibillion-dollar hole.

FTX’s first hearing in its bankruptcy court case is set for Tuesday in Delaware.