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SAM605 USAF G5 KAF AC of Interdast inbound from Ramstein AFB overnight back to JBA
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SAM663 USAF G5 departed Tallahassee Int'l after a ground stop and on approach to JBA
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SAM601 USAF C-40C departed MacDill AFB after a quick ground stop-second departure from here for it today-ground stop at Bragg prior
Meatpacker JBS says it paid equivalent of $11 mln in ransomware attack
Meatpacker JBS USA paid a ransom equivalent to $11 million following a cyberattack that disrupted its North American and Australian operations, the company's CEO said in a statement on Wednesday. The subsidiary of Brazilian firm JBS SA (JBSS3.SA) halted cattle slaughtering at all of its U.S. plants for a day last week in response to the cyberattack, which threatened to disrupt food supply chains and further inflate already high food prices. The cyberattack followed one last month on Colonial Pipeline, the largest fuel pipeline in the United States. It disrupted fuel delivery for several days in the U.S. Southeast.
Ransom software works by encrypting victims' data. Typically hackers will offer the victim a key in return for cryptocurrency payments that can run into hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. The FBI said earlier this month that the agency was investigating about 100 different types of ransomware. read more
The JBS meat plants, producing nearly a quarter of America's beef, recovered faster than some meat buyers and analysts expected. "This was a very difficult decision to make for our company and for me personally," said Andre Nogueira, CEO of JBS USA on the ransom payment. "However, we felt this decision had to be made to prevent any potential risk for our customers."
The Brazilian meatpacker's arm in the United States and Pilgrims Pride Corp (PPC.O), a U.S. chicken company mostly owned by JBS, lost less than one day's worth of food production. JBS is the world's largest meat producer. read more
Third parties are carrying out forensic investigations and no final determinations have been made, JBS said. Preliminary probe results show no company, customer or employee data was compromised in the attack, it said.
A Russia-linked hacking group is behind the cyberattack against JBS, a source familiar with the matter said last week. The Russia-linked cyber gang goes by the name REvil and Sodinokibi, the source said. read more
A JBS spokesperson said the ransom payment was made in bitcoin.
The Justice Department on Monday recovered some $2.3 million in cryptocurrency ransom paid by Colonial Pipeline Co, cracking down on hackers who launched the attack.
https://www.reuters.com/technology/jbs-paid-11-mln-response-ransomware-attack-2021-06-09/
BlackRock outlines investment push into private markets
BlackRock Inc (BLK.N), the world's largest asset manager, is pushing more aggressively into private market investments, the firm detailed at an investorpresentation on Thursday.
Since interest rates were slashed to near-zero across the globe at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, investors have sought out other sources of yield. BlackRock, in its investor day presentation on Thursday, said alternative investments - including private equity, real estate, hedge funds and venture capital - can offer a market-beating edge. Private market investments recorded 18% revenue growth for the company last year, twice the rate of the broader industry.
BlackRock, which manages $279 billion in alternative assets, said its portfolio advisory business is moving away from the traditional model of a 60% equity, 40% fixed income breakdown in portfolios in favor of a 50% public equity, 30% bonds and 20% private markets split. The firm also outlined the opportunities for growth it sees in China. A spokesperson for BlackRock said this has picked up momentum since the firm in May received a license in China for a majority-owned wealth management venture, the country's fast-growing asset management market. read more
BlackRock's chief executive Larry Fink told investors on Thursday that he has no plans to leave the firm anytime soon, but is confident that when he does it will be "in good hands." CNBC among other media outlets reported last year that top donors to then-candidate Joe Biden's campaign were floating Fink's name for possible roles in the administration.
https://www.reuters.com/business/blackrocks-fink-says-has-no-plans-leave-firm-good-hands-2021-06-10/
Myanmar coup latest: Military plane crash in Mandalay kills 12
Thursday, June 10
11:10 p.m. The brother of detained Frontier Myanmar journalist Danny Fenster wants U.S. President Joe Biden to take direct action to free the American, thought to be held in Insein Prison since last month. "We have heard from everybody with the exception of the White House," Bryan Fenster says in an interview with NBC News. Danny Fenster managing editor of Frontier Myanmar, one of the country's top independent news sites was detained while preparing to fly to Malaysia.
10:00 p.m. Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, speaking by phone with Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi, calls for the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus on Myanmar announced at the April summit of leaders from Association of Southeast Asian Nations members. Motegi confirms Japan's continued support for ASEAN initiatives toward Myanmar including humanitarian assistance, and he cites the importance of Myanmar's junta releasing individuals held in detention, according to a readout from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
10:45 a.m. Local media outlet Irrawaddy reports that a plane crashed in the Mandalay region's township of Pyin Oo Lwin in the morning, killing 12 people. About 16 were on board, and one woman and a child were injured. The type of plane that went down and the cause of the crash remain unknown.
10:00 a.m. Khin Maung Zaw, one of lawyers in Aung San Suu Kyi's legal team, responds to a report in the official Global New Light newspaper, saying, "These accusations [of] bribery and corruption upon [Suu Kyi] are absurd. They are groundless," adding that the detained leader "might have defects, but personal greed and corruption [are] not her traits."The two ministers also agree to work together in responding to Myanmar's political situation.
9:30 a.m. Myanmar's state-run Global New Light newspaper reports that ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been charged with additional counts under the country's anti-corruption law, with the Anti-Corruption Commission accusing her of "illegally accepted $600,000 and 7 visses (11.2 kg) of gold from the former Yangon region's chief minister," and adding that she "misused her authority in renting 1.86 acres (0.55 hectare) of land and a building" to open a charitable foundation, which she chairs, resulting in losses to the country of more than 5.2 billion kyat ($3,150). The newspaper, which is seen as a mouthpiece of the junta, also says that two other former officials have been charged under the law.
https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Myanmar-Coup/Myanmar-coup-latest-Military-plane-crash-in-Mandalay-kills-12
French and Swiss central banks to trial wholesale digital currencies
The Swiss National Bank and the Bank of France will trial Europe's first cross-border central bank digital currency payments, the banks said on Thursday, a move that will be a first for two of the world's top currencies.
The experiment will focus on the bank-to-bank 'wholesale' lending market rather than everyday public transactions but will be the first time a digital euro and Swiss franc have been fully tested. Switzerland's UBS (UBSG.S), Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) and France's Natixis (CNAT.PA) are involved in the project, along with Swiss bourse operator SIX Digital Exchange, fintech firm R3 and the Innovation Hub at the Bank for International Settlements. The eurozone is adapting to a "strong trend" towards the digitalisation of payments," said Bank of France Deputy Governor Sylvie Goulard. It is the Bank of France's latest CBDC pilot. In April, it 'settled' - or made payments on - digital bonds issued by the European Investment Bank using blockchain technology. "The Bank of France is convinced of the potential benefits of wholesale central bank digital currency to provide maximum security and efficiency in financial transactions," Goulard said.
The collaboration between the two central banks has been dubbed Jura, after the mountain range which separates Switzerland and France. It will involve the exchange of a euro wholesale CBDC against a Swiss franc wholesale CBDC through a payment versus payment settlement mechanism. These transactions will be settled between banks based in France and Switzerland. The technology means payments will be almost instant while both central banks effectively have to digitally approve them before they can go through. The central banks said the project was "exploratory" and was not an indication that their digital currencies would be fully introduced.
The scheme, which will run for the next few months, is also the latest part of the Project Helvetia experiment launched in Switzerland last year into using tokenised assets with wholesale CBDC.
It comes, too, after the central banks of China and United Arab Emirates joined a cross-border digital currency project called Multiple CBDC dubbed m-bridge in partnership's with the BIS' innovation arm based in Hong Kong. SNB governing board member Andrea Maechler said her bank was taking part because "it is essential for central banks to stay on top of technological developments." Wholesale digital currencies, usually limited to financial institutions which hold accounts with a central bank, are different from retail CBDCs which are available to the general public. They are seen as the most popular proposal among central banks because of the potential to make existing wholesale financial systems faster, cheaper and safer.
The SNB has been skeptical about digital currencies like Facebook's Diem project, formerly known as Libra, saying they could undermine its ability to conduct monetary policy.
https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/french-swiss-central-banks-trial-wholesale-digital-currencies-2021-06-10/
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