Snippings

In response to mounting financial pressures of Western sanctions, Russia enacted significant legislation legalizing cryptocurrency mining and permitting the use of cryptocurrency for international payments. The bills, signed into law on August 8th by President Vladmir Putin, are a significant departure from the government’s previous stance in the country, where the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) had pushed for a complete ban on cryptocurrencies as recently as 2022. The new laws will enable Russian businesses to engage in international trade using cryptocurrencies and authorize approved entities to mine digital assets.

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Retail banking is not only harder than it looks but also heavily regulated by watchdogs who take their duties very seriously. That can put the regulators at odds with buccaneering entrepreneurs who want to shake up existing ways of doing business.

From: The cautionary tale of Goldman and Apple’s credit card.

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Charlestown Historical Society President Julie Hall 

The business that began by shipping 130 tons of ice in 1806, 50 years later shipped 363 cargoes consisting of 146,000 tons of ice. The destinations that year included Charleston, Savannah, Key West, New Orleans, Galveston, Havana, Saint John’s, Barbados, Buenos Aires, Valparaiso, Ceylon, Calcutta, Bombay, Singapore, Manilla, Canton and Australia, among many others.

From: Historic Houses of the Month Frederic Tudor and Charlestown’s Ice Trade.

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The genius of the Tudor ice shipping scheme centered on three simple principles. First, the ice was free and was harvested locally from Fresh Pond, Walden Pond and other ponds and lakes in the area.  The only cost was the labor to cut the blocks.  Secondly, after much trial and error, Frederic discovered that layering sawdust between the blocks of  ice provided the best insulation for the journey. Sawdust was the byproduct of the local sawmills, again free.  Lastly, ships often left  Boston Harbor empty, heading to the West Indies to pick up exotic produce and goods. Filling the holds with Tudor ice for the voyage south allowed Tudor to negotiate better shipping prices.

From: Historic Houses of the Month Frederic Tudor and Charlestown’s Ice Trade.

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Santander CEO Hector Grisi confirmed that “1425 was the number of people we are reducing”.

However, “in this sense as we simplify and automate we will be able to do some more [layoffs]”, he continued.

From: Santander cuts 1400 UK jobs.

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Consumer Reports are optimistic about this way of working where AI agents will interact not just with traditional online systems, but where AI agents negotiate and transact with each other on our behalf. This could lead to a more efficient and potentially fairer marketplace.

From: Empowering Consumers with Personal AI Agents: Legal Foundations and Design Considerations – Innovation at Consumer Reports.

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personal AI agents could be entrusted with a “duty of loyalty” that binds the service provider to operate the agent in the best interests of the user. These agents could manage tasks like travel bookings or e-commerce purchases with the same trustworthiness as a high-end fiduciary representative, advocating only your interests.

From: Empowering Consumers with Personal AI Agents: Legal Foundations and Design Considerations – Innovation at Consumer Reports.

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Consumer Reports is exploring the potential for developing pro-consumer AI agents that prioritize user interests above all else. This approach comes with unique legal and design challenges that set it apart from purely commercial offerings.

From: Empowering Consumers with Personal AI Agents: Legal Foundations and Design Considerations – Innovation at Consumer Reports.

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Meta says that as soon as the video selfie is uploaded it will be encrypted and stored securely

From: Meta reboots Facebook face biometrics to combat ‘celeb-bait’ ads | Biometric Update.

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We’re handing so much money over to owners of prime residential or commercial land, to owners of oil and gas fields, intellectual property and infrastructure that there isn’t enough left to create enough demand for dynamic sectors of the economy.

From: 26 October 2024. Capitalism | History – by Andrew Curry.

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