Latest news with #USHouse
Free Malaysia Today
an hour ago
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Stablecoins inspire hope, hype in Hong Kong
The symbols of Bitcoin and the stablecoin Tether (USDT) have been displayed at a cryptocurrency store in Hong Kong. (AFP pic) HONG KONG : Stablecoin excitement has gripped Hong Kong as the city prepares to launch a licensing system for the less volatile type of cryptocurrency, but authorities warn against overplaying its future role in financial systems. The digital units have been touted as a cheaper, easier way to carry out monetary transactions – and their popularity is soaring, with more than US$270 billion in circulation worldwide. Unlike the heady highs and lows of Bitcoin, the value of most stablecoins is kept steady by being linked to an existing national currency – mainly the dollar — or a commodity like gold. Stablecoins are useful internationally because they enable fast, low-cost cross-border payments, handy in markets where hard currency is limited, such as Argentina and Nigeria. The tokens, bought and sold on digital exchanges, are also used as a safe way for crypto investors to station their profits, instead of converting to cash. 'The size of the stablecoin market has reached a level where the cash flows have geopolitical implications,' said Paul Brody, global blockchain leader at consulting firm EY. More than 99% of stablecoin assets are in US dollars, so for other countries 'if you're not a player, you could find yourself frozen out', Brody told AFP. The US House of Representatives this month passed an act codifying stablecoin use, which Senator Bill Hagerty said will 'ensure the dominance of the US dollar'. Hong Kong's own stablecoin regulations come in on Friday, part of a push to position itself as an Asian crypto hub as US President Donald Trump's support for the sector fuels a global resurgence. 'Overly idealistic' 'The opportunities are massive,' said Rita Liu, whose payment company is developing a Hong Kong dollar-denominated stablecoin in a government-run trial. 'There's a wave of legitimising the digital asset industry… Hong Kong is trying to be at the forefront of that wave,' said Liu, chief executive of RD Technologies. Crypto trading has been banned since 2021 in mainland China, which sees it as a 'bit too close to gambling', Brody said. He and others think stablecoins could prove more acceptable to Beijing, which has experimented with its own 'e-yuan' central bank digital currency. Officials may first want to see how things go in the semi-autonomous territory of Hong Kong. 'So far, 'a few dozen institutions' have expressed interest in issuing stablecoins or requested more information,' Hong Kong Monetary Authority head Eddie Yue said last week. However, he called for the public to 'rein in the euphoria' over the new bill, as 'in the initial stage, we will at most grant a handful of stablecoin issuer licences'. 'Some discussion on stablecoins may be overly idealistic,' Yue warned, especially around their 'potential to disrupt the mainstream financial system'. 'The hype can inflate companies' stock prices,' he added, a point echoed by Lily King of crypto company Cobo. 'Some applications may be influenced by public relations strategies, as stablecoin-related news often drives market sentiment,' she said. Bigger problems RD's Liu, a former senior manager at Chinese payment platform Alipay, feels that 'some of it is fake hype, and some is real', fuelled by 'people's hope in this industry'. Stablecoins account for about 7% of the global cryptocurrency market capitalisation, according to CoinGecko. 'If they eventually become 'a mainstay of the plumbing' in finance, Hong Kong could enjoy something of a 'first-mover advantage', said Jonas Goltermann at Capital Economics. Japan and Singapore already regulate stablecoins, while South Korea is exploring the possibility. While stablecoin issuers usually assure buyers their currency is backed up by real-world reserves, they are not risk-free, and sometimes deviate from their pegged value due to market fluctuations, tech issues or problems with the underlying assets. 'There is also the risk that stablecoins will become 'more of a niche product' if banks work out how to make their own programmable money,' Goltermann said. 'It makes sense for Hong Kong to try anything – it's kind of on a declining path, for reasons that are not to do with technology. 'It's mostly about the politics, and its relationship with China,' he told AFP. 'It's not like stablecoins are a silver bullet that can fix that. But that doesn't mean it can't help,' he added.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
California Democrats debate what a Harris governor run could mean for them
Rep. Dave Min was chatting with reporters at the US Capitol when the California Democrat was asked about whether he wants Kamala Harris to run for governor. Suddenly, Min no longer had time to talk. 'I have no comment,' he said. Asked what he thought a Harris run would mean for his own reelection prospects, Min repeated, 'I have no comment on that, sorry,' and bolted onto the House floor, away from reporters. Rep. George Whitesides, another Democratic freshman from California who beat an incumbent Republican by 8,000 votes, took a long pause before answering whether he wanted to see the former vice president run. 'I welcome her to the race. I'm just really focused on my own race, but if that's what she feels calls to do, that's her prerogative,' Whitesides told CNN. As Harris deliberates on whether she should run for governor or hold out for another potential presidential bid, California Democrats are quietly asking themselves the same question. Her critics say that while she would be a favorite to win the governor's race in a deep-blue state, possible ambivalence about her candidacy could hurt Democratic chances in swing districts as the party tries to retake the US House. Some top donors and interest group leaders insist that Harris will have to answer for former President Joe Biden, whose decision to run for reelection before making way for her remains a sore subject for Democrats, and whether Harris could have done more to prevent President Donald Trump's return to the White House. Harris has plenty of allies who want to see her run. Several leading elected officials in the state told CNN that they do not believe the candidates already running have either the stature or experience to stand up to Trump's pressure campaign against California on everything from immigration raids to funding cuts. 'As someone who served as district attorney, attorney general and senator from California, she would have the experience, leadership and understanding of the state legislature to tackle two of the biggest problems in the state: the lack of affordable housing and a sense of a lack of public safety,' said Rep. Ro Khanna, who represents the Silicon Valley area and has had an uneasy relationship with Harris at times. Rep. Mike Levin, who held his San Diego County district by 17,000 votes last year, said he believed a Harris run could help in 2026. 'She knows the state well, she knows the electorate well and I think she'd be a very formidable candidate,' he said. The Harris critics — few of whom will put their names to their complaints — are doing their own math: She would probably win if she runs, they say, but if she doesn't generate enthusiasm or if she fires up Republicans, she could prove a drag on vulnerable Democrats like Min and Whitesides as well as State Assembly and State Senate districts where Democrats don't have votes to spare. 'There's no groundswell for her candidacy. In fact, I think it would only fire up Republicans and hurt our ability to win the four to five seats that we need to win to win the House and hold on to three seats that we just flipped in 2024,' said one California House Democrat who asked not to be named in order to speak candidly about a candidate widely expected to be the party's front-runner if she enters the race. 'She comes in with baggage.' Part of the issue for many Californians, said Rep. Jimmy Gomez, who represents a reliably Democratic district in Los Angeles, is that no matter what kind of campaign Harris might run, people believe that being governor wasn't her first choice. 'Once you're the vice president of the United States, there's only one place to go. It's president,' Gomez told CNN. 'For me, if I was vice president and all of a sudden I lose, it would be a fallback to me. I hate to put it so bluntly.' Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has had a tough relationship with her fellow San Francisco-rooted politician. Asked by CNN whether she wanted to see Harris run for governor as she left the Capitol last week, Pelosi said only, 'I want her to do whatever she wants to do.' Where Harris stands Harris is once again earning her reputation for long, drawn-out deliberation. Several people who have spoken to Harris told CNN she has asked them whether they think she should run. Some of those people, who spoke on condition of anonymity to disclose private conversations, say they have turned the question back to her. She has also reached out to former California governors to ask what she could get done on the job, though not all have agreed to speak with her about it. Harris canceled a long-planned August vacation, a move that one person familiar with her deliberations does not mean she's decided what to do. Besides talking about a potential governor's race, that person said, Harris has in the last few weeks asked her closest aides for research and memos that outline other options. Among those options: Starting a 501(c)(4) organization focused on the information ecosystem and how to empower younger voters while rethinking institutions key to democracy, creating a political action committee to raise money for other candidates, and doing a listening tour of Southern states with a 2028 presidential bid in mind. Her thinking, the person said, is that she would have time for all of these if she doesn't run for governor. While nursing some worries that Harris has let the governor's race take shape too much in her absence, confidants have also kept tabs on the other candidates, who include former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, former US Rep. Katie Porter and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Harris allies privately scoff at the insistence of several candidates that they'd remain in the race if she enters it or that they would retain much support if they did. And few voters are focused on a governor's race when the primary isn't until next June. The top two finishers in that contest, regardless of party, will advance to the November 2026 ballot. Supporters and rivals are not waiting for the fall book tour for Harris' soon-to-be-published memoir or a decision on the race to choreograph around her. Several pro-Harris Democrats have been passing around numbers from private polls conducted for others in the state showing her popularity among Democrats is much higher than any declared candidate. Supporters of others have been seeding chatter that people don't want her back on the ballot, often with data that shows a drop-off of support for Democrats across California races when she was the presidential nominee last year. Burning over Trump's time in office, Harris is eager to stay involved, several who have spoken with the former vice president told CNN. She wants to at least keep open the option for another White House campaign in the future. That's different, though, from delving back to the hand-to-hand politics that advisers feel this kind of run for governor would require, if only for Harris to stave off looking like she was taking the race for granted, and for grappling with big challenges in Sacramento that are getting bigger. Harris' decision is not just intertwined with closing the door on a 2028 presidential run, but weighed against the quieter, wealthier existence that key members of her family have suggested to others they'd prefer. Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, a California Democrat, said that especially among fellow Black women she speaks with, 'they're still healing and they want to make sure that she is fully healed.' 'She should certainly run if that's the thing that she wants to do. She is certainly California's girl. We have been rooting for her for so long,' Kamlager-Dove said, adding that though she thinks having yet another big personality as governor is important, 'those decisions are incredibly personal.' The wildcard: redistricting One factor in how vulnerable California Democrats feel about a Harris run wasn't in the conversation just a few months ago: the prospect that their districts may be redrawn in the middle of the decade. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called a special session to consider a rare mid-decade redistricting at the behest of Trump and the Justice Department. Trump says he wants to eliminate as many as five Democratic seats in Texas ahead of the midterms. That's led leaders of Democratic-run states — including California Gov. Gavin Newsom — to threaten their own redrawing of lines to push out Republicans. In California, Democrats who won by small margins could face harder races as they lose friendly territory to other districts. California Democrats who argued Harris' weaknesses to CNN could not, when pressed, say any of the other candidates would be more of more help for down-ticket candidates. And Harris supporters point out that if the argument holds, any statewide dynamics are likely to be subsumed to nationalized energy in a midterm year when Democrats will be mobilizing to take the majority in the House as a check on Trump. Rep. Mark Takano, who represents the Southern California city of Riverside, told CNN that not only does he hope Harris considers running, but that enthusiasm for her and for Democrats overall has resurged in the last few months in response to Trump. 'After the Los Angeles protests, the 'No Kings' march, any drift to the right among certain parts — Latinos, African Americans, Asians — I think that's been staunched, to say the least, and it's moved the other direction,' Takano said. But Rep. Young Kim, a Republican who represents an Orange County seat that is once again near the top of Democrats' wish list to flip, laughed when asked about Harris running. 'Seriously, good luck to her,' Kim said with a laugh. She clarified she was being sarcastic.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Epstein files row: House panel seeks DOJ records; aims to arrange deposition with ex-girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell in August
A key US House committee is investigating the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking case, seeking access to files from President Donald Trump 's Department of Justice and aiming to arrange a deposition with Epstein's former associate, Ghislaine Maxwell . The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, under Republican leadership, launched its inquiry just as House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., adjourned the session for a month-long recess, according to the Associated Press. The move comes amid mounting calls for transparency in a case that Trump has repeatedly urged his supporters to disregard. However, this marks only the beginning of what could become a prolonged investigative process. As part of the probe, Democrats, joined by three Republicans, successfully pushed for a subcommittee to issue subpoenas. The subcommittee has pledged to protect the identities of victims while demanding broad access to 'un-redacted Epstein files.' Democratic members have requested that the Department of Justice comply within 30 days of serving Attorney General Pam Bondi. The requested materials include documentation of prosecutorial decisions regarding Epstein, records related to his death, and any presidential or executive communications about the matter. Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., said he had spoken with the Speaker about increased Republican efforts toward transparency concerning the Epstein files, calling it a matter of public interest. Comer expects congressional staff to conduct a sworn interview with Ghislaine Maxwell on August 11 near the Florida prison where she is incarcerated. Subjects of congressional depositions typically have legal representation present. Maxwell has already participated in interviews with the Justice Department earlier this week. Committee Republicans have also issued subpoenas for several individuals, including former President Bill Clinton, former Senator Hillary Clinton, and former attorneys general dating back to Alberto Gonzales. The Department of Justice maintains the authority to negotiate the terms of subpoenas and to argue against the disclosure of specific information. The outcome will likely depend on the administration's willingness to engage in the traditional accommodation process with the House.
Straits Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
US House Speaker Mike Johnson says Epstein case ‘not a hoax'
Find out what's new on ST website and app. US House Speaker Mike Johnson taking questions from reporters at the Capitol in Washington, on July 23. WASHINGTON - Republican House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal was 'not a hoax' in an interview released on July 24, as the case continued to stoke turmoil within President Donald Trump's party. Mr Trump has denounced the furore over his late friend, a disgraced financier and convicted sex offender as 'the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax' and urged his fellow Republicans without success to drop the issue. 'It's not a hoax. Of course not,' Mr Johnson said, in an interview with CBS News. Mr Johnson said on July 22 he would send lawmakers home a day early for a five-week summer recess to avoid a political fight over whether to make public additional files on Epstein, who hung himself in a New York City jail in 2019, according to New York City's chief medical examiner. Even so, a Republican-controlled subcommittee of the House Oversight Committee on July 23 approved a subpoena seeking all Justice Department files on Epstein. Three Republicans joined five Democrats to back the effort, in a sign that Mr Trump's party was not ready to move on from the issue. 'We want full transparency. We want everybody who is involved in any way with the Epstein evils - let's call it what it was - to be brought to justice as quickly as possible. We want the full weight of the law on their heads,' Mr Johnson told CBS in the interview, conducted on July 23. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Asia 11 Thai civilians killed as Thai and Cambodian militaries clash at disputed border: Reports Asia Singapore urges all parties in Thailand-Cambodia border dispute to exercise restraint Asia Deadly Thai-Cambodian dispute puts Asean's relevance on the line Life Hulk Hogan, who helped turn pro wrestling into a billion-dollar spectacle, dies at 71 Singapore Avoid water activities around Tuas Second Link, Raffles Marina after chemical tank accident: NEA Singapore Khatib Camp to make way for housing, with its functions moving to Amoy Quee Camp Singapore Mindef to set up new volunteer management unit to grow volunteer pool Singapore Primary 1 registration: 29 schools to conduct ballot in Phase 2B A disclosure on July 23 about Mr Trump's appearance in the Justice Department's case records threatened to deepen a political crisis that has engulfed his administration for weeks. The Wall Street Journal reported that US Attorney-General Pam Bondi told Mr Trump in May that his name appeared in investigative files related to Epstein. REUTERS
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
6 days ago
- Politics
- First Post
House Speaker Johnson breaks with Trump, says Epstein scandal ‘not a hoax'
Republican House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal was 'not a hoax' in an interview released on Thursday, as the case continued to stoke turmoil within President Donald Trump's party. read more US House Speaker Mike Johnson said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal was 'not a hoax,' directly countering President Donald Trump's repeated attempts to downplay the issue as fresh disclosures continue to stir unrest within the Republican Party. 'It's not a hoax. Of course not,' Johnson said in an interview with CBS News, released on Thursday. Trump, who had known Epstein personally, has repeatedly dismissed the renewed scrutiny as 'the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax' and called on Republicans to drop the matter. His efforts have so far failed to unite the party, which remains divided over how to proceed. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD On Tuesday, Johnson said he would send lawmakers on their summer recess a day earlier than planned, partly to avoid a contentious debate over releasing more documents related to Epstein. Epstein died in a New York City jail in 2019, a death ruled as suicide by the city's chief medical examiner. Even so, a Republican-controlled subcommittee of the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday approved a subpoena seeking all Justice Department files on Epstein. Three Republicans joined five Democrats to back the effort, in a sign that Trump's party was not ready to move on from the issue. 'We want full transparency. We want everybody who is involved in any way with the Epstein evils — let's call it what it was — to be brought to justice as quickly as possible. We want the full weight of the law on their heads,' Johnson told CBS in the interview, conducted on Wednesday. A disclosure on Wednesday about Trump's appearance in the Justice Department's case records threatened to deepen a political crisis that has engulfed his administration for weeks. The Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi told Trump in May that his name appeared in investigative files related to Epstein. With inputs from agencies
