Of course, officially it is not an invasion. Russia recognized to so-called Ukraine rebel regions Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states. Consequently, Russian president Vladimir Putin has ordered Russian troops to “maintain peace” in these two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine. In two official decrees, Putin on Monday instructed the country’s defense ministry to assume “the function of maintaining peace” in the eastern regions. The White House said it will slap sanctions on the Russian-occupied regions. Here is Putin’s declaration on TikTok:
Mark Zuckerberg – The Disgraced Former King Of Cybersociety!
Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, has lost more than half a trillion dollars in market value since its August 2021 peak. Half of that vaporized in a single day, the biggest drop ever in the global stock exchange history. Once the sixth-largest company in the world by market capitalization, Meta has fallen out of the top ten, replaced by two computer-chip makers, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway and the Chinese e-commerce company Tencent.
Mark Zuckerberg, who has openly courted comparisons to the Roman emperor Augustus, is now a disgraced lame duck. Or at least it seems so. The New York Intelligencer remarked that this is “an ignominious fall from a rarefied group of world-dominating companies.” According to The Wall Street Journal, the Meta fallout has been so severe that advertisers are shifting their ad budgets to Google since Facebook is no longer profitable.
According to Forbes, the 37-year-old tech Mark Zuckerberg is worth about $74 billion. And Meta, which also owns Instagram and WhatsApp, still made $39 billion in profit in 2021. But, according to its projections, the company’s profits will shrink for the foreseeable future as it sinks more money into developing the metaverse.
The future is still the future, and no one knows today if the metaverse vision will not work. We would not place any bets on it. There is also the fact that Meta is also facing an antitrust lawsuit in the U.S. from the FTC and may have to spin off WhatsApp or Instagram. There is a time for everything. And Mark Zuckerberg has had his. Now comes the Chinese Age of Social Media with TikTok.
U.S. Government against Big Tech – An App Store Bill Ante Portas!
The GAFAM War
For years, GAFAM (Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, and Microsoft) has been waging war with governments over tax evasion, antitrust rules, and their ever-expanding power over society. The Wall Street Journal reports that U.S. lawmakers in both parties may take action against Apple and its clout. The tech giant comes under pressure and may lose its grip on the profitable app store business. The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 20-2 this month to advance legislation that could erode Apple’s fees on digital app revenues.
Read our story on the GAFAM war here!
The vote came despite the political lobby work of Apple CEO Tim Cook, who warned that the bill would hurt user privacy and security. However, some Apple rivals, such as Epic Games and Microsoft, back the bill.
The Sideloading Bill
The bill targets app platforms and would allow developers to sidestep Apple by allowing “sideloading” of software onto iPhones outside of its App Store or to let apps use the store but skip Apple’s in-app payment system. The bill would also apply to Google Play. Apple has argued that sideloading would enable sidestepping safeguards to limit collecting user data.
According to Apple lobbyist Timothy Powderly, the company chose to prohibit sideloading and alternative app distribution because smartphones contain a person’s most sensitive data, and protecting that data would be imperative.
“For a long time, Apple floated above the fray in Washington,” said Paul Gallant, a policy analyst with Cowen & Co. Now, he said, the company has “been pulled down into the muck.“
Lobbying with limits
Apple‘s lobbying expenditure amounted to about $6.5 million last year, roughly a third that of Amazon or Meta. Tim Cook has long used his public persona to personally influence those in power and guide the company through political storms in Washington waters. This time, it seems, lobbying found its limits!
Top 5 Investment Watches in 2022
Jorg Weppelink of Chrone42 recently presented five luxury watches other than Rolex and Omega that may be great investment opportunities in 2022. It is a bit tough to find Omega models that have the potential to go up in price, the expert claims. Omega Speedmasters or Omega Seamasters are great investment watches, but Chrone42 looked beyond that two household brands. Sure, there are no guarantees that these watches will make you a lot of money. If you don’t, you will have a watch that you love.
- Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Jumbo ref. 15202ST
- Patek Philippe Nautilus ref. 5711/1A
- Vacheron Constantin Overseas 4500V
- F.P. Journe Elegante 48
- Czapek Antarctique Terre Adélie
Over the last decade or so, luxury watches have become a popular alternative asset class, i.e., investment watches. As a result, more and more people want to make money with watch investments.
The world of luxury mechanical watches can be highly lucrative if you know which models to invest in. There are two approaches when it comes to luxury watch investments. You could either become an expert in vintage watches or invest in modern timepieces and speculate that your watches will increase in value over time.
U.S. Government Makes Fighting Cybercrime Top Priority
FinTelegram reported that in fighting cybercrime, the U.S. Justice Department will make a strategic change! It will focus more on preventing further harm to victims, even if it means tipping off suspects and jeopardizing arrests, U.S. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco explained. Law enforcement must keep pace with the cybercriminals who exploit innovations as fast as the marketplace produces them. Prosecutors and law enforcement are targeting dozens of ransomware groups estimated to have caused billions of dollars in damage to victims.
Cybercriminals received more than $1.2 billion in ransom payments in 2020 and 2021 combined, according to cryptocurrency-tracking firm Chainalysis. Monaco said that ransomware and other digital extortion “only work if the bad guys get paid, which means we have to bust their business model,” Monaco said.
She said the department needed to apply the “same thinking” that enabled thwarting terrorist attacks to blunt the impact of damaging hacking incidents, such as ransomware. Prosecutors, agents, and analysts will weigh whether to take disruptive action against cyber threats at each stage of a cyber investigation, even if it alerts cybercriminals and thus prevents possible arrests, Monaco said at the Munich Cyber Security Conference.
No Chargeback – What You Need To Know When Paying With Crypto!
Especially in the so-called high-risk segments such as online gaming, online trading, porn, or events, merchants offer crypto as a payment option to their customers. From the merchants’ point of view, this is perfect because it saves them from chargeback disputes. Additionally, the flow of money is not so easy to track. FinTelegram recently warned to pay with crypto online because clients of online merchants lose their chance of a chargeback.
Disappointed or deceived clients have the option of a chargeback as a last resort when paying by credit card or bank transfer. A chargeback reverses a money transfer from the client’s bank account or credit card and is ordered by the card-issuing bank. A consumer can initiate a by contacting his bank (Issuing Bank) and submitting a substantiated criticism regarding a card or bank wire payment. However, the dispute initiated by clients against the seller (Merchant) is not straightforward and, unfortunately, far too often unsuccessful. The merchant can either accept the chargeback or contest it by providing proof of supply of items in question.
There is no chargeback option in the case of payments or deposits via cryptocurrencies, which is a perfect situation for the merchant!
Many high-risk merchants offer payments or deposits via credit card through crypto exchanges like Binance. We strictly advise you not to do that because you will also lose the chargeback option!
Financial Education – Credit Card Payments Are Often Crypto Payments In Disguise
Clients of so-called high-risk merchants such as online casinos, online brokers, adult entertainment, or online ticket selling are increasingly asked to make their payments and deposits via credit and debit cards. We call that “crypto payments in disguise.” By offering these disguised crypto payments, merchants avoid chargeback disputes. As a result, the client loses the opportunity to get his money back with a chargeback claim via his bank (issuing bank). Do not do that!
Here is how it works:
- For credit card deposits, merchant redirect their clients to a regulated or unregulated crypto exchange such a mercuryo where cryptocurrencies are purchased with the card. From the credit card company’s perspective, the crypto exchange is then the merchant.
- The purchased cryptocurrencies are then transferred to the client’s wallet, meaning that the merchant has properly delivered to the cardholder and fulfilled the respective order by the book.
- The cryptos are then transferred to the merchant’s wallet and away they go. Forever!
- If the client starts a chargeback dispute, he has no chance. Because the card accepting merchant, the crypto exchange, can prove that it has properly delivered the cryptos. The chargeback dispute has almost no chance.
Under any circumstances, avoid depositing via cryptocurrencies at high-risk merchants such as online brokers, online casinos, or adult entertainment at all costs. You are giving away your chargeback parachute!
Luxury Watch Investors Should Look At The Latest Hermès Cape Cod
Attractive asset class luxury watches
Luxury watches have become a top-rated asset class for modern investors in recent years. They have excellent value stability, and the best objects even have considerable appreciation potential. It is no secret that watches are a popular investment vehicle for non-taxed and illicit income as it’s just easier to buy a luxury watch with cash than to launder it into the banking system with all the anti-money laundering (AML) rules. Investors can pawn or sell their luxury watches at any time. As a result, luxury watches are a perfect alternative asset class.
The new Hermès Cape Cod
The Robb Report recently introduced an exclusive Hermès for investors. The French house is known for creating exquisite watch dials with designs often lifted from its iconic scarves. The bold pencil strokes of Henri d’Origny created the first Hermès Cape Cod in 1991. The artist Thanh-Phong Le designed the new Crépuscule Cape Cod, inspired by a silicon wafer used in microelectronic semiconductors.
In 2018, Hermès partnered with the Neuchâtel-based Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology (CSEM), which engineers developed the “Crépuscule” (dusk) dial made from a silicon wafer.
The dial was created from a single 0.5 mm-thick plate coated with a minute film of silicon nitride measuring just 72 nanometers to achieve an intense blue color. It was then exposed to blue light via a photolithography process to create the motif, which depicts the sun’s golden rays hitting the blue water at sunset. Finally, the plate was dipped in several baths to remove any extra material before being coated in gold and cut to fit within its 29 mm case.
Price and availability
For the Cape Code, Hermès stepped outside of the box and created a truly original piece. The Crépuscule Cape Cod comes at a moderate price of $7,270 and will be available in summer 2022.
Modern Nomades – Real Estate Investments Coming With Residence or Citizenship
We live in the age of modern nomads in which mobility is one of our fundamental values. Real estate comes with residence or citizenship rights in another jurisdiction when purchased through an investment migration program. According to the Best Investment Migration Real Estate Index established by Henley & Partners, Dubai is the favorite destination for such a real estate investment.
The index highlights the 16 most important residence and citizenship by investment programs offering real estate investment. It uses more than 30 parameters and 300 data points to score and compare these highly attractive program options according to key considerations for investors. The criteria include the reputation of the home country, its quality of life, GDP, the minimum real estate investment amount, potential rental income, associated property costs, application processing efficiency, the real estate holding period, residence requirements, restrictions, and salability, as well crypto friendliness, which is gaining in importance among global investors.
Using this interactive index, investors can compare real estate–linked investment migration options according to the factors that matter most to you and your family. It will help you identify the most suitable destinations for your portfolio diversification in terms of real estate and residence.
Putin’s Latest TikTok Statement To the Ukrainian Nato Provocation
It is no secret that Russian President Vladimir Putin feels provoked by NATO. A partnership of the Russian neighboring state Ukraine with NATO would be an act of aggression. In doing so, Putin likes to remind people of the Cuban missile crisis in the 1960s under then-U.S. President J.F. Kennedy. In his latest video on TikTok, Putin again emphasizes that NATO’s geographic advance toward Russia would be an act of aggression. And Russia’s troop deployment is only a reaction.
Putin uses TikTok very cleverly to create sentiment for his position. His argumentation is very coherent. There is no denying that an expansion of NATO to include Ukraine can be perceived as a provocation by Russia.
