#asic

The European Union and Canada are both reducing their reliance on US financial systems like the Visa and Mastercard credit card sector. This has controlled upward of 90% of their digital payment arrangements and the realisation has sunk in just how vulnerable they could be to having the plugged pull on this. Obviously these moves are in reaction to President Donald Trump and his regime’s threatening stance on everything from tariffs to NATO. Australia is in the same boat on this score and is it time to take control of our own digital money sector. In Brazil they have PIX which is a feeless digital payment system not dependent upon American multinationals. Australia needs to ensure its sovereignty around its financial sector and stop being so dependent upon American corporations.

“Europe's push to curb its dependence on U.S. payments giants Visa  and Mastercard  has driven a wedge between the European Central Bank and financial firms keen to shield revenues, hobbling efforts ​to build a home-grown system, several people involved said. A surge in cashless payments since the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the euro zone's reliance on U.S. firms, which ‌handle nearly two thirds of card payments in the bloc. Companies such as PayPal  and Apple  have also expanded.”

- (https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/ecb-banks-rift-hampers-europes-efforts-loosen-reliance-us-payments-giants-2026-05-22/) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=754bw9eQZtQ

Australian Sovereignty A Bad Joke Really

The excesses of the Trump agenda are motivating nations long held in thrall to US economic power to begin to break free. It is time for Australia to do likewise and stop being the sleepy follower of America it has long been. If PM Anthony Albanese had any grasp on politics and populism he would have embraced the role of anti-Trump champion, as Canada’s PM Mark Carney has done. The slap in the face for Australians following the imposition of tariffs and now the increased cost of living from the Trump war on Iran oil shock provides plenty of support for such a position. In truth, Americans have been screwing us financially for years but our leaders suck up to them just the same. Big US multinationals don’t pay their fair share of tax downunder, whether it be Big Gas or Big Tech. Of course, the elephant in the room is the dreadful AUKUS deal. We get to pay billions with no guarantee of ever getting any submarines.  This is what you get when weak leaders play politics to the detriment of telling the truth to their constituents.

Weak Leaders Downunder Have Let Us All Down

Aussies have had a generation of weak leaders from Labor and the Coalition doing the bidding of the wealthy and the powerful. Neoliberalism has consigned politicians and governments to the sidelines whilst big business has its way with our resources and markets. Where is the competition between businesses in our markets? The ACCC and ASIC have looked on or away while mergers and takeovers stripped out any real competition from most sectors. Multinationals shift billion dollar profits to tax havens to avoid paying the proper amount of tax on the revenues generated in Australia. These multinationals control the banking and financial sector via their payment systems. Without any real financial sovereignty how is Australia going to stand up for itself? Australia needs to ensure its sovereignty around its financial sector and stop being so dependent upon American corporations.

Foreign Corporate Masters Trump Australian Allegiance

We have seen decades of corporate control, where Australians working for these multinationals show greater allegiance to their corporate masters than their country. PwC, Shell Australia, News Corp, Santos, and the banking sector are just a few examples of Aussies betraying their national interests in favour of their foreign owned bosses. The lack of civic awareness and responsibility in Australia breeds this kind of contempt where greed trumps any real national pride. We are bedevilled by big corporations throwing their weight around, whether it be the mining sector or Big Tech. The latest report from Michael West Media has BHP threatening Albo with another well-funded advertising campaign if the federal government touched the diesel rebate worth billions. Corporate power over the national interest is the reality of where we find ourselves downunder. This is what you get when disrespect for our politicians becomes all too common. Too many Australians kow tow to who pays their wages rather than any concept of national identity.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FknLOpxmPnU

“Labor’s retreat on diesel subsidies is a perfect x-ray of what the ALP really is. This year alone, the fuel tax credit scheme will cost taxpayers $10.8 billion, with BHP pocketing roughly $600–627 million of that corporate welfare. The moment anyone seriously moved to touch the racket, Labor folded like wet cardboard in the morning dew. So much for courage. So much for governing in the public interest. So much for stable government. When mining capital growls, the ALP dropped to its knees.

And the threat was not subtle. The Minerals Council waved yet another $25 million political advertising hit contract at the government, which in plain English meant: touch our corporate welfare subsidies and we’ll bury you. “

- (https://www.facebook.com/groups/unionsaustralia/posts/26841361015516278/)

This is an example of where real power resides in Australia. It is not in our zombie neoliberal governments, as they just get out of the way more often than not when powerful interests stake their claims.

Australia Should Set Up Its Own Digital Payment System

Australia needs to ensure its sovereignty around its financial sector and stop being so dependent upon American corporations. Developing our own sovereign digital payment system would go a long way to achieving some of that. Let’s have a PIX payment system without fees. Why should we have to pay for a digital currency? Money should be free of fees and charges. Stop rorting the populace! American multinationals have been ripping us off for years. Ditch Visa, Mastercard and all the rest.

“We need to break up these big companies and bust their monopolies and oligopolies. Capitalism only works effectively for all when there is real competition in the marketplaces. Right now, this doesn’t exist in Australia and in most countries around the globe. There are too many sectors where only 2 or 3 corporations control markets. This prevents consumers having buying power and employees having any wage bargaining power. The chips are all in the corner of the bosses and the shareholders. Think about Coles and Woolworths dominating the supermarket and the liquor sectors. Think about the 4 big banks and the 4 big accountancy consulting firms. The insurance business is, likewise, dominated by a small number of giant companies. The telco business is Telstra, Optus and not much else. Big Tech is even worse, with most of them holding monopolies. Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Apple, Meta and their ilk control their markets monopolistically. Consumers are screwed when multinationals have such domination over markets and sectors. Capitalism does not work when competition does not exist.”

- (https://www.midasword.com.au/break-up-these-big-companies-bust-their-monopolies/)

Robert Sudha Hamilton is the author of The Stoic Golfer; The AI Heresy; What Price Life?; America Matters: Pre-apocalyptic Posts & Essays in the Shadow of Trump; and other titles. NOW AVAILABLE AT APPLE BOOKS & GOOGLE PLAY BOOKS. Google Play Books AUDIOBOOK

©MidasWord

ASIC Warns of "Lost Generation" Risk if Australia Falls Behind on Fintech and AI

Australia risks producing a "lost generation" of citizens stuck with a lower standard of living if the country fails to keep pace with global financial innovation, ASIC Chairman Joe Longo said today (Thursday), as the regulator published a landscape review mapping the country's standing against six…

Block Earner wins Australia’s first crypto credit licence

The licence enables Block Earner to originate, underwrite and offer regulated digital asset-backed credit products.

ASIC issues first-ever credit licence to crypto firm

Sydney fintech Block Earner has become the first crypto company to secure an Australian Credit Licence (ACL) as Australia ramps up regulation of digital assets.

We need to break up these big companies and bust their monopolies and oligopolies. Capitalism only works effectively for all when there is real competition in the marketplaces. Right now, this doesn’t exist in Australia and in most countries around the globe. There are too many sectors where only 2 or 3 corporations control markets. This prevents consumers having buying power and employees having any wage bargaining power. The chips are all in the corner of the bosses and the shareholders. Think about Coles and Woolworths dominating the supermarket and the liquor sectors. Think about the 4 big banks and the 4 big accountancy consulting firms. The insurance business is, likewise, dominated by a small number of giant companies. The telco business is Telstra, Optus and not much else. Big Tech is even worse, with most of them holding monopolies. Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Apple, Meta and their ilk control their markets monopolistically. Consumers are screwed when multinationals have such domination over markets and sectors. Capitalism does not work when competition does not exist.

Corporations Dominating Markets Mean Little Innovation

It is no accident that these corporations have gobbled up their competitors and or merged with them to create giant companies dominating their markets. Their CEOs and boards have been busy strategically doing this over decades. Our governments and their agencies have been remiss in letting these big companies take over sectors. Competition was supposed to be protected by the ACCC and ASIC. These repeated failures, in this regard, have been treated with indifference by the public and those who should know better. Big business has got its way to our detriment and to our expense going forward. Productivity has, also, been moribund, which tells us something about the absence of real competition too. Big companies controlling sectors can not only price set but it breeds complacency and a lack of innovation. Real innovation is spurred on by actual competition for markets.

Big Companies Buy Politicians & Leaders

Our governments and politicians do not speak truth to power, rather they suck up to it for pats on the head and rewards. How else can you explain the decades of bad deals negotiated on our behalf by these ministers and their bureaucrats? It cannot all be put down to stupidity and being out of their depth. The revolving door has been spinning like a golden top for these individuals, as they take up lucrative positions in resource and military hardware companies post public office. Scott Morrison, the former PM has done very well out of the AUKUS decision for Australia to spend upwards of $368 billion with the US and UK over the coming decade and a half. Remembered as our greatest liar in the top job, Scott, obviously saw, what side his bread was buttered on and where a predilection for dissembling would be most appreciated.

Mega Corruption On Trumpian Scales

Mega corruption is defined as kickbacks on deals so large as to be beyond the comprehension of ordinary citizens. Hundreds of billions of dollars going to companies mean that the gravy train is so thick that it feeds plenty of backhanders along the way. Military spending is infamous for such waste and corruption, as it hides behind the flag waving of national security. Who is going to question it? I mean, it would be unAustralian. Labor meekly went along with the dreadful AUKUS deal, where we get to pay billions with no guarantee of receiving any submarines. Who would comply with such a foolish position, if they weren’t complicit themselves in some way? In Labor’s case it was politically expedient to go along with AUKUS and they continue to do so. Kissing the arse of an America led by a mega-crook and his cohort of Epstein billionaires.

One Nation Is Aussie MAGA

Despite the odious intentions of One Nation, Australia’s MAGA, being anti-immigration is not going to make downunder a better place. Attacking foreign looking folk on our shores will not improve the economic wellbeing of our citizens. We need to break up these big companies and bust their monopolies and oligopolies. Political parties in thrall to Donald Trump will not succeed in making the world better. Right wing Australia is following the Trumpian playbook in demonising immigrants. The Liberal Party is fighting over the scraps with Pauline Hanson in a race to the bottom. Beware of those campaigning on fighting culture wars, as they invariably stuff up the economy. Being bought and paid for by Gina Rhinehart, the mining magnate oligarch, who has moved to America to be close to Donald Trump’s vision of a white man’s paradise, is no recommendation.  We need a fairer Australia, not one ruled by oligarchs aping Americans.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6JNitUgeWQ Coles Found Guilty

Coles has just been found guilty in the federal court of misleading advertising. Woolworths is being tried on similar grounds, after both were charged by the ACCC. It seems that holding the nation over a barrel via their domination of the supermarket sector is not enough. No, in addition they want to pull the wool over our eyes to convince us they are discounting stuff when they really aren’t. The corporate world is a controlling, surveiling and dishonest place. Fly Buy and Reward’s cards are all about surveillance and selling our data to other corporations for big money. Too much power corrupts, we all know this, but we have let our leaders lead us astray. Too busy staring at screens and not paying enough attention to what is happening in the real world.

“The Federal Court today found that Coles Supermarkets Australia made false or misleading representations about ‘Down Down’ discounts, in proceedings brought by the ACCC. The proceedings related to 245 common products sold by Coles. The ACCC alleged that Coles temporarily increased the price of each product by at least 15 per cent for a relatively short period of time, before placing it on a ‘Down Down’ promotion at a price that was still higher than, or the same as, the price it had previously sold for before the price increase.”

- (https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/court-finds-that-coles-misled-customers-over-down-down-claims) Time To Break Up The Big Companies

We need to break up these big companies and bust their monopolies and oligopolies. Until we reinvigorate our sectors with opportunities for competition and take back control of our markets, we will continue to suffer economically. Think about nature and bushfires, things grow back stronger after that destruction. Anti-Immigration is a band aid at best and a culture war poison at worst. The real enemy or challenge is ingrained corporate power distorting and manipulating the free market and how capitalism is supposed to work. It is time to take on the big boys, not attack vulnerable people at the bottom of the food chain. Right wing parties never want to take up this fight, I wonder why? Look at Trump’s America to see where that extreme agenda takes you. ICE murdering US citizens in the streets. We need real competition and not oligarchs like Elon Musk controlling our lives. America is a sick place, where rich people with obscene amounts of money don’t pay tax. Meanwhile, the working poor do all the heavy lifting. The Albanese federal government has just mooted the initiation of tax changes to trusts, the CGT discount and negative gearing. This is the first real attempt in over 30+ years to arrest the economic settings, which have resulted in a wealth divide growing exponentially in Australia. Basically, rich people avoid paying their fair share of tax via these means, whilst ordinary working folk carry that load. Of course, now, there are some unhappy wealthy people making noise about these announced amendments to the tax system. The property market in Australia has been out of control for many years with an inflation rate running at around 400% over those 30 years. Homes are unaffordable for the average Aussie, unless they have rich parents. Rents have gone through the roof too. Having a roof over your head should be a basic human right and not an expense, which drains most of your income. Residential housing should not be the biggest investment Ponzi scheme in town.

Busting Up Closed Markets Will Free Creativity

We need to break up these big companies and bust their monopolies and oligopolies. If every sector is dominated by large corporations how are new start-ups going to break into those markets? They will have to be backed by other multinational corporations with the deep pockets required. This limits innovation to vested interests with massive financial backing. These circumstances do not provide opportunities for all Australians. Burgeoning economies are about opportunity. Economic growth globally is in a rut because big companies have rigged the game. They have used their wealth and power to buy influence from politicians and their regulators. It is time for a fire to stimulate regrowth in our sectors and markets. New growth will emerge on the back of opportunities for investment and innovation. Now is the time for a fire.

Recognising Australia’s Lack Of Competition

“PIA says this is the first report in a planned series.

After identifying the reasons for the lack of competition in major areas of Australia's economy, and the causes of our poor productivity performance, it plans to use forthcoming papers to suggest solutions for big problems.”

Treasury needs to breathe more life into Australia's uncompetitive sectors, new think tank says

- https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11-23/treasury-should-take-on-oligopolies-policy-institute-australia/106040652)

https://grattan.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/895-Competition-in-Australia-Too-little-of-a-good-thing-.pdf

“Labor is in the pocket of the Gas Giants, obviously, why else would they rather kick off 160, 000 disabled Australians from the NDIS than properly tax the gas industry to improve the budget bottom line. The facts are that the LNG export sector is worth tens of billions of dollars annually but the majority of the companies involved have not paid corporate tax for years and years. Most of the gas is sold royalty free and the PRRT fails to derive tax from LNG sales, according to the current rules in place. The whole thing is a scam. Why do our governments  support this ripping off of the Australian people in favour of foreign multinational companies? It is a combination of politics over good policy, revolving door corruption and stupidity. Albanese backs gas industry over ordinary Australians.”

- (https://www.midasword.com.au/albanese-backs-gas-industry-over-ordinary-australians/)

Robert Sudha Hamilton is the author of The AI Heresy; What Price Life?; America Matters: Pre-apocalyptic Posts & Essays in the Shadow of Trump; and other titles. NOW AVAILABLE AT APPLE BOOKS & GOOGLE PLAY BOOKS. Google Play Books AUDIOBOOK

©MidasWord

Australia pushes tokenized bonds from pilots toward market reality

Australia’s tokenized bond push is moving from experimentation toward implementation, with the RBA, ASIC, and major banks now focusing on the legal and

Semiconductor tapeout delays don’t just affect schedules — they impact the entire product lifecycle.

From RTL to GDSII, engineering teams need reliable execution, faster closure, and verification confidence to avoid costly re-spins and missed market windows.

Silicon Patterns supports ASIC and SoC development with expertise across RTL design, physical design, DFT, verification, and tapeout support.