Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Suing yourself to get around Chinese currency export controls

Chinese millionaire sues himself through an offshore shell company to beat currency export controls
But there's a better way: for a small sum, you can just set up an offshore shell company, direct it to sue a Chinese company you own, throw the lawsuit, and then, oh well, I guess there's nothing for it but to send a bunch of cash to your shell company, exempted from export controls, in the form of court-ordered damages.

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Mailing in the keys in non-recourse Alberta

Jingle mail rears its ugly head in Alberta again Why is this ugly? The banks entered willing into a contract that said, hey you don't feel like paying that mortgage, fine, we'll take the house in lieu of further payment. This is the way it is supposed to work. The banks (presumably, one hopes) have much better information than the consumer. If the handful of large banks' army of accountants and actuaries can't do their jobs and assess risk properly, then that isn't the fault of the consumer.
If you walk away, you lose your home, but otherwise have no personal liability. Elsewhere in Canada, your lender can take you to court and seize other assets, such as RRSPs, vehicles, and even garnishee your wages.
You know what really destroys an economy where employment is driven by services? Killing consumer spending. What a great idea in the teeth of a downturn.