War in Ukraine: Tracking the fighting with satellites

With Ukraine’s counter-offensive shrouded in secrecy and Russian-controlled territory impenetrable, can satellite data help you see into a war zone? The Economist’s Senior data journalist, Sondre Ulvund Solstad, breaks down how he uses fires to track the fighting.

Elvis Presley and Graceland: Inside the Estate Dispute

The death of Elvis Presley’s only child, Lisa Marie, put the spotlight on her finances and set the stage for a court battle over the estate between her mother Priscilla and daughter Riley Keough.

Project Rosalind: building API prototypes for retail CBDC ecosystem innovation

The BIS Project Rosalind develops a prototype application programming interface layer for retail CBDC systems and explores ecosystem innovation.

The Dark Side Of CBDC Explained

Do you feel okay being tracked? Patrick Bet-David talks about the dark side of CBCD and what you should consider before buying into this concept.

Is a Digital Dollar Coming? Some Financial Experts Warn It Could be Instrument of Government Control

More and more central banks around the world are in the early stages of creating digital currencies. 

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told the House Financial Services Committee in March that the Fed had already begun testing a digital dollar. 

Powell told the House Financial Services Committee, "We're not at the stage of making any real decisions. What we're doing is experimenting in kind of early-stage experimentation. How would this work? Does it work? What's the best technology? What's the most efficient really at an early stage on? But we're making progress on sort of technological issues." 

Just like paper dollars, a Central Bank Digital Currency of CBDC would be issued by the Federal Reserve. 

Those pushing for it say it would have several advantages over physical money. They say it could be used to fight inflation because the Fed would have more direct control over the money supply. It could speed up transaction payments and help fight money laundering.

But, what about privacy issues?

The Scam of The Century!

Aside from losing over 1.13 million people, the United States is thought to have lost billions of dollars in pandemic relief fund fraud, according to the most recent Associated Press analysis, published this week. 

The analysis discovered that fraudsters took more than US$280 billion in relief cash, while another $123 billion was lost or misspent. 

“Combined, the loss represents 10 percent of the $4.2 trillion the U.S. government has so far disbursed in aid,” according to the report. 

According to the analysis, this was the worst heist in U.S. history, with criminals stealing billions of dollars in government money intended to stabilize an economy in free fall.

Crypto - A security or something else?

Crypto is at a crossroads. As exchanges and currencies blow up, the US Securities and Exchange Commission is ready to step in. 

The SEC is on the verge of regulating crypto. But first, America has to decide, again, what a security really is.

Is crypto a security, like a stock? Or a tradable item of speculation, like a Beanie Baby? 

Robert Armstrong and Ethan Wu argue about the benefits and risks of regulating crypto.

Check out thus "Behind the Money" podcast HERE.