The concept of special escrow accounts to improve mortgage housing loans in Russia

Purpose: The article aims to identify and evaluate the key determinants of improving mortgage lending in Russia. Increasing the participation of financial institutions in the application of escrow accounts is of paramount importance in terms of fine-tuning the process of improving mortgage lending in Russia. Design/Methodology/Approach: In order to further improve housing mortgage lending, it seems necessary: firstly, to identify new opportunities that contribute to the development of a system of interaction between credit and financial organizations and borrowers in terms of using the innovative functions of escrow accounts; secondly, to highlight the functions, during the application of which the increase in the efficiency of the escrow account mechanism will be optimal; thirdly, to formulate recommendations on the implementation of the necessary changes in the process of applying escrow accounts, taking into account the peculiarities of mortgage lending in Russia. Findings: To fully take into account the potential impact of special escrow accounts on the process of interaction between the lender and the borrower, an additional escrow account functionality was developed, aimed at improving mortgage lending. Practical Implications: The results of the study can be put into practice in order to expand the range of escrow account functions used in the process of mortgage lending in Russia. Originality/Value: The main contribution of this study is the emphasis on the need to introduce innovative approaches to increase the functionality of escrow accounts used in the process of mortgage lending in Russia.peer-reviewe

TumbleBit: an untrusted Bitcoin-compatible anonymous payment hub

This paper presents TumbleBit, a new unidirectional unlinkable payment hub that is fully compatible with today s Bitcoin protocol. TumbleBit allows parties to make fast, anonymous, off-blockchain payments through an untrusted intermediary called the Tumbler. TumbleBits anonymity properties are similar to classic Chaumian eCash: no one, not even the Tumbler, can link a payment from its payer to its payee. Every payment made via TumbleBit is backed by bitcoins, and comes with a guarantee that Tumbler can neither violate anonymity, nor steal bitcoins, nor print money by issuing payments to itself. We prove the security of TumbleBit using the real/ideal world paradigm and the random oracle model. Security follows from the standard RSA assumption and ECDSA unforgeability. We implement TumbleBit, mix payments from 800 users and show that TumbleBits offblockchain payments can complete in seconds.https://eprint.iacr.org/2016/575.pdfPublished versio

Contracts Ex Machina

Smart contracts are self-executing digital transactions using decentralized cryptographic mechanisms for enforcement. They were theorized more than twenty years ago, but the recent development of Bitcoin and blockchain technologies has rekindled excitement about their potential among technologists and industry. Startup companies and major enterprises alike are now developing smart contract solutions for an array of markets, purporting to offer a digital bypass around traditional contract law. For legal scholars, smart contracts pose a significant question: Do smart contracts offer a superior solution to the problems that contract law addresses? In this article, we aim to understand both the potential and the limitations of smart contracts. We conclude that smart contracts offer novel possibilities, may significantly alter the commercial world, and will demand new legal responses. But smart contracts will not displace contract law. Understanding why not brings into focus the essential role of contract law as a remedial institution. In this way, smart contracts actually illuminate the role of contract law more than they obviate it

Quasi-Appraisal: Appraising Breach of Duty of Disclosure Claims Following Cash-Out Mergers in Delaware

In recent years, Delaware has served as the hot bed for the dramatic increase in merger appraisal litigation and the proliferation of “appraisal arbitrage” whereby opportunistic shareholders buy into companies following merger announcements and challenge announced deal prices as an investment strategy. While this has not always proved profitable, it has increased scrutiny over the Delaware appraisal regime and the ability for shareholders to avail themselves of the opportunity for a judicial valuation of their shares. Furthermore, it has highlighted information asymmetries in which controlling shareholders, particularly those seeking to cash out their minority shareholders, are incentivized to underpay or mislead minority shareholders who might be reluctant to seek appraisal. This raises questions regarding the accessibility of the appraisal remedy and how closely appraisal should mirror class actions which allow for broader representation with lower barriers to entry. This Note argues that current trends in merger and appraisal litigation, particularly those which have significantly heightened scrutiny over pre- and post-closing disclosure claims, present an opportunity to reexamine quasi-appraisal as a collective form of redress in appraisal actions. This Note calls for the expansion of the quasi-appraisal remedy to provide greater access to appraisal valuations in the most extreme examples of minority shareholder manipulation, which would provide a more equitable form of recovery and discourage manipulation of minority shareholders

Cryptocurrency functioning in the global economy

The article reveals a conceptual basis of the cryptocurrency functioning. The main types of cryptocurrencies are featured and analyzed as well as their general strengths and weaknesses. Based on the price dynamics correlation analysis of some cryptocurrency types, a general low level of dependence between digital assets is established. The main functions of the cryptocurrency are formulated in the form of transformed money functions. Also, additional functions of cryptocurrencies are defined on the basis of their innovative nature, as well as the role in the modern financial system and world economic relations

Housing and Real Estate Trends among Americans Retiring in Mexico's Coastal Communities

For years, U.S. and Canadian retirees have flocked to Mexico as an alternative overseas retirement destination that was affordable, offered desirable weather and was close to their communities of origin in North America. These attributes have made Mexico the top overseas retirement destination for older Americans, resulting in a building boom that reached its peak in 2005/06 and stretched from Playas de Tijuana-Rosarito and Los Cabos along the Baja California peninsula, and from Puerto Penasco, Sonora to Mazatlan, Sinaloa. In southern Mexico, the real estate focus has been on expanding the Cancun corridor to the Riviera Maya

Preventing Deterioration and Abandonment of Rental Properties in Buffalo

The City of Buffalo faces a severe abandoned housing crisis. One component of this immense problem is the abandonment of rental housing due to dilapidated conditions. Forcing landlords to keep their properties in good repair will help to reduce abandonment of rental housing. Several mechanisms hold landlords in Buffalo accountable for the poor conditions of their buildings. The warranty of habitability requires landlords to maintain decent, safe, and sanitary housing. However, remedies available to tenants under this legal doctrine, such as rent withholding and repair and deduct, are inadequate and dangerous. The lack of adequate protections for tenants seeking to address the poor conditions in their apartments is a major deterrent to tenant initiation of action