How changes to two ‘zeros’ could cut short the era of endless tech boom

From massive venture capital investment to sky-high salaries, the days of constant growth backed by low-cost loans may be over

For more than a decade, the tech industry has been defined by two economic zeros. The “zero interest rate policy” (ZIRP) across the western world saw the price of money plummet, letting startups run at a loss for years and giving investors massive appetite for risky bets that might pay off in a big way. At the same time, the “zero marginal cost” of the software industry gave outsized returns to effort, allowing for situations like WhatsApp: 55 employees serving 420 million users and selling to Facebook for $19bn.

But both those conditions are coming to an end. Governments around the world have raised interest rates in a desperate attempt to keep post-pandemic inflation under control, while the rise of AI technologies threatens the production model that brought the sector to its current dominance. And because of that, the next decade could be very different from the last.

That time Monster Energy tried to force Pokémon to change its name.

That time Twitter lifted restrictions on Russian accounts a year after it invaded a neighbour.

That time the US Treasury warned that most crypto “DeFi” might be in violation of anti-money-laundering restrictions

That time everyone realised that AI training data might be illegal.

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What are SWIFT/BIC codes, and what do they mean?
Swift codes are handled by the SWIFT organization, and in particular from a division called “SWIFT Standards”. SWIFT stands for “Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication” and is a member-owned cooperative that is used by the financial world to conduct business operations. These codes were initially referred to as “swift codes” but were later standardized as BIC which stands for “Business Identifier Codes”. Both terms are used today and mean exactly the same thing: a BIC code is a unique alphanumeric identification code, consisting of combinations of letters and numbers, which is used to uniquely identify an institution's branch among the members of the swift network.

Why do I need this code?
The swift code is usually required by web banking applications for money transfers between two different banks (that are members of the swift network). We are not only asked to provide the beneficiary’s bank account number (or IBAN account number) that we want to send money to, but we must also provide the exact BIC code of the branch of the beneficiary’s bank. This site aims to simplify the process of finding this code. Note: please read our disclaimer at the bottom of this page BEFORE using any of the information found on this site.

The downside of international transfers with you bank:
Banks use SWIFT for international transfers, but it's not the most efficient or cost-effective solution. When you receive or send a wire transfer internationally with your bank, you might get a bad exchange rate, and pay high hidden fees as a result. We recommend using HUBFX, to get a great rate and low, transparent fee every time. Learn more.

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Understanding the code:
A swift code consists of 11 or 8 characters, which is the standard format standardized by ISO (International Organization for Standardization). Here is an example code: CHASUS33XXX. This swift code is for the head offices of “JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A.” in the U.S.A. and can be broken down to four parts:

CHAS - US - 33 - XXX

- First four characters: These 4 characters (“CHAS” in our example) identify the bank (“JP Morgan Chase”). This 4-letter code is used to identify this particular financial institution’s branches and divisions all over the world.
- Fifth and sixth characters: These 2 characters identify the country in which the bank is located. “US” in this example means “UNITED STATES”.
- Seventh and eighth characters: These 2 characters represent a location code (“33” in this example).
- Last three characters: These 3 characters form the branch code. “XXX” is used to identify the HEAD OFFICE or the institution, but this particular branch code is optional, and if omitted, the 8-character remaining code (“CHASUS33” in our example) is assumed to refer to the head office (primary office) of the institution.

Most requested SWIFT codes:

CHASUS33 CHASUS33XXX JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A.

BOFAUS3N BOFAUS3NXXX BANK OF AMERICA, N.A.

MIDLGB22 MIDLGB22XXX HSBC BANK PLC

BARCGB22 BARCGB22XXX BARCLAYS BANK PLC

ABNANL2A ABNANL2AXXX ABN AMRO BANK N.V.

CITIUS33 CITIUS33XXX CITIBANK N.A.

WFBIUS6S WFBIUS6SXXX WELLS FARGO BANK, N.A.

NWBKGB2L NWBKGB2LXXX NATIONAL WESTMINSTER BANK PLC

COBADEFF COBADEFFXXX COMMERZBANK AG (BANKING COMMUNICATION SYSTEM)

BNPAFRPP BNPAFRPPXXX BNP PARIBAS SA (FORMELY BANQUE NATIONALE DE PARIS S.A.)

POALILIT POALILITXXX BANK HAPOALIM B.M.

LOYDGB2L LOYDGB2LXXX LLOYDS BANK PLC

NTSBDEB1 NTSBDEB1XXX N26 BANK GMBH (Used for NUMBER26 bank accounts)

DEUTDEDBPAL DEUTSCHE BANK PRIVAT-UND GESCHAEFTSKUNDEN AG (DEUTSCHE BANK VIRTUAL ACCOUNTING)

AXISINBB002 AXIS BANK LIMITED

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