Tech startup crowdfunding isn’t all it’s cracked up to be The Morning Ledger: Junk Bonds Send a Worrisome Signal - btbirkett@gmail.com - Gmail

The Morning Ledger: Junk Bonds Send a Worrisome Signal - btbirkett@gmail.com - Gmail



Tech startup crowdfunding isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. An open secret exists around equity crowdfunding: As a mechanism for funding startups, it’s basically a nonstarter, Christopher Mims writes, and it’s also apparently deliberate. The SEC included rules that are a powerful disincentive for high-growth startups to use what the SEC calls “regulated crowdfunding.” The rules stipulate that any company that takes on more than 500 individual investors or ! grows to a size greater than $25 million in assets must start filing regular disclosures just like a publicly traded company. “It is all the pain of an IPO without the benefits of the IPO.”

Oil Supply - The Morning Ledger: Junk Bonds Send a Worrisome Signal - btbirkett@gmail.com - Gmail

The Morning Ledger: Junk Bonds Send a Worrisome Signal - btbirkett@gmail.com - Gmail



an oil glut is set to continue next year in full force, as much because of the U.S. as of OPEC. American shale drillers have only trimmed their pumping a little, and rising oil flows from the Gulf of Mexico are propping up U.S. production.

Putin Looks Homeward, Hates What He Sees - Bloomberg View

Putin Looks Homeward, Hates What He Sees - Bloomberg View



ndeed, Putin did mention that in 2014, Russian law enforcement agencies investigated almost 200,000 business-related criminal cases, of which only 15 percent ended in convictions -- yet 83 percent of businesspeople who were investigated lost their businesses. "That means they were pressured, expropriated and allowed to go," Putin said. "That, of course, is not what we need in terms of business climate."

Pair misspent millions from Chinese investors in EB-5 visa program, SEC says - LA Times

Pair misspent millions from Chinese investors in EB-5 visa program, SEC says - LA Times

Yang is accused of spending more than $1 million to pay off loans from friends and family, to pay expenses for his medical practice and to buy property. About $3.5 million went to the “finder” who lined up the Chinese investors.

Typically, EB-5 investors pay a fee of about $50,000 on top of their original investment. Most of that fee goes to a licensed broker in their home country who connects the investors to U.S. developers, Homeier said.

On Clean Energy, the Wind Blows From Germany - Bloomberg View

On Clean Energy, the Wind Blows From Germany - Bloomberg View

The Silk Road Affair: Power, Pop and a Bunch of Billionaires - Bloomberg Business

The Silk Road Affair: Power, Pop and a Bunch of Billionaires - Bloomberg Business

China’s Latest Five-Year Plan by Martin Feldstein - Project Syndicate

China’s Latest Five-Year Plan by Martin Feldstein - Project Syndicate



The Chinese economy is no longer the state-owned and state-managed system that it was when I first visited more than 30 years ago. In those days, there was no private enterprise, and it was illegal for anyone but the government or a state-owned enterprise to hire an employee. Today, only 20% of employees in China work for SOEs. The rest of the Chinese economy is dynamic, decentralized, and privately owned. American multinational companies and other foreign firms are an important part of the economic scene...

The Chinese government is therefore considering several policies to increase the pace of urbanization, including the creation of several new large cities to accommodate some of the 600 million individuals who still live in rural China. Similarly, the government will phase out the hukou system of residency permits that now prevents migrants to the cities from obtaining full health care and education benefits.

A third policy change aimed at promoting urbanization will be to allow Chinese farmers to sell their land rights at realistic market prices, thereby increasing their incentive to cash out and move. And the introduction of a Western-style rental market will allow families without substantial cash or parental support to move to cities (where families currently must purchase their apartments).