BUSINESS SATURDAY, JULY 5, 2014

European regulator tells banks to shun Bitcoin LONDON: Europe’s top banking regulator would require a substantial body of regula- But regulators argue the lack of legal AMF. Bitcoin prices surged to $1,240 in yesterday called on the region’s banks not to tion, some components of which would need framework governing the currency, the November last year before they crashed fol- deal in virtual currencies such as Bitcoin until to be developed in more detail,” it added. opaque way it is traded and its volatility make lowing moves by exchanges, financial institu- rules are developed to stop them being Virtual currencies, most famously Bitcoin, it dangerous. Mt Gox, once the world’s tions and the government to rein in the virtual abused. The European Banking Authority have come under increasing scrutiny by biggest Bitcoin exchange, filed for bankruptcy currency. (EBA) said it had identified more than 70 risks financial regulators as their popularity has in Japan this year and at least 11 banks in its They currently trade at more than $600 a related to trading in virtual currencies, includ- grown. Launched in 2009 by a mysterious key market of China have stopped handling Bitcoin. The EBA said that the risks of virtual ing their vulnerability to crime and money computer guru, Bitcoin is a form of cryptogra- the currency. Bitcoin’s reputation was also currencies “outweigh the benefits,” such as laundering. phy-based e-money that offers a largely damaged when US authorities seized tens of faster and cheaper transactions, “which in the The London-based body in a statement anonymous payment system and can be thousands as part of an investigation into dark European Union remain less pronounced”. advised European financial institutions stored either virtually or on a user’s hard drive. Web bazaar Silk Road. “We want investors to The authority said it was also concerned that against “buying, holding or selling virtual cur- Backers say virtual currencies allow for an effi- understand fully the magnitude of the risks “anyone with a sufficient share of computa- rencies while no regulatory regime is in place”. cient and anonymous way to store and trans- attached to this currency,” said Olivier Vigna, tional power” could exploit flaws in a virtual “A regulatory approach to address these risks fer funds online. chief economist of France’s market watchdog currency. —AFP Greece’s next bailout loan installment approved ATHENS: A key body monitoring Greece’s bailout approved the disbursement of the next batch of rescue loans yesterday, after the country met outstanding reform targets that had delayed the payment. Greece’s finance ministry said the Euro Working Group, made up of finance ministry officials from the 18-country euro-zone and representatives from the European Commission and European Central Bank, approved the install- ment during a teleconference yesterday. Euro-zone finance ministers are expected to formally approve the disbursement of the 1 billion-euro ($1.36 billion) installment in a meeting in Brussels on Monday. To access the funds, Greece had to meet six specific targets, including pass- ing legislation and reforming the pharmaceutical sector to lower pharmacies’ profit margins and therefore prices. Greece has relied on international rescue loans worth a total 240 billion euros from other euro-zone countries and the International Monetary Fund since May 2010 when it found itself unable to raise funds on bond markets due to a financial ATHENS: Protesting former Finance Ministry cleaning staff shout slogans following scuffles with riot police crisis. In return, it has had to overhaul its economy and impose in this file photo. —AP spending cuts and tax hikes, all under the strict supervision of its creditors. Debt inspectors from the IMF, European Central Bank and Billionaire Richard European Commission are expected to return to Athens next week to continue inspections on reforms progress for the dis- bursement of a further 1 billion euros. After six years of a deep recession, Greece hopes its economy will begin growth again Mellon Scaife dies at 82 this year. For the first time since its bailout, it also recently tested the bond market with the successful sale of a five-year Scaife’s net worth in 2013 at $1.4bn bond in April, raising 3 billion euros. —AP

PITTSBURGH: Richard Mellon Scaife, the bil- Forbes magazine estimated Scaife’s net worth death was determined to be a suicide; Brown lionaire heir to the Mellon banking and oil for- in 2013 at $1.4 billion. died in a plane crash. Scaife also accused VIVA first to launch tune and a newspaper publisher who funded The intensely private Scaife became widely Kenneth Starr, the independent counsel libertarian and conservative causes and vari- known in the 1990s when first lady Hillary whose investigation led to Clinton’s impeach- new shared voice ous projects to discredit President Bill Clinton, Rodham Clinton said her husband was being ment in the Monica Lewinsky sex scandal, to post-paid plan has died. He was 82. Scaife died early Friday at attacked by a “vast right-wing conspiracy.” be a “mole working for the Democrats.” his home, his newspaper, the Pittsburgh White House staffers and other supporters Scaife’s stance toward the Clintons softened KUWAIT: VIVA, Kuwait’s fastest-growing and most developed Tribune-Review, reported. Scaife’s death suggested Scaife was playing a central role in years later. In an interview published in early telecom operator, announced yesterday the launch of its new comes less than two the attack. Several foundations controlled by 2008, he told Vanity Fair magazine he and the family voice post-paid plan, making it the first to launch such months after he Scaife gave millions of dollars to organizations former president had a “very pleasant” lunch a product in the Kuwaiti market, and is presented through a announced in a first-per- run by critics of Clinton, including $1.7 million the previous summer, and “I never met such a specially tailored package, fit to meet all customers’ needs. son, front-page story in for a project at the conservative American charismatic man in my whole life.” Customers will be able to enjoy this new service starting July his Pittsburgh Tribune- Spectator magazine to dig up information Clinton gave Scaife an autographed copy 3, 2014. Review that he had an about his role in the Whitewater real estate of his book, and Scaife said he later sent Customers who subscribe to VIVA’s KD 55 or KD 40 post- untreatable form of can- scandal. Scaife rarely gave interviews, but in a $100,000 to the Clinton Global Initiative. paid voice plans will be able to share unlimited voice calls, cer. “Some who dislike sit-down with George magazine editor John F (Scaife also said philandering “is something SMS (VIVA to VIVA network) and unlimited data with other me may rejoice at the Kennedy Jr in 1998, he called President Clinton that Bill Clinton and I have in common.”) secondary lines under the same contract. Customers who sub- news,” wrote Scaife, who “an embarrassment.” Scaife’s newspaper also endorsed Hillary scribe to this new service, will be able to get up to four post- Richard acknowledged making In the interview, Scaife denied that his Rodham Clinton’s bid for president in 2008. paid secondary lines, each line will be for only KD 5 monthly. Mellon Scaife political and other ene- money helped support an effort to hurt the Despite funding many causes dear to conser- For customers to enjoy this service, they should simply opt- in to the Family service to start sharing the voice and data mies. “Naturally, I can’t share their enthusi- president, but he suggested Clinton might be vatives, Scaife was libertarian on many social lines. VIVA continuously presents its customers, both prepaid asm.” He was the grand-nephew of Andrew linked to the deaths of dozens of administra- issues. He supported abortion rights, sup- and postpaid, with the exciting packages that offer excellence Mellon, a banker and secretary of the Treasury tion officials and associates, including White ported legalizing same-sex marriage and in quality of service with added value for money. As a market who was involved with some of the biggest House Deputy Counsel Vince Foster and one- marijuana, and opposed the invasion of Iraq leader, VIVA is committed to providing differentiated services industrial companies of the early 20th century. time Commerce Secretary Ron Brown. Foster’s in 2003. —AP that grants its customers a unique experience.