Climate Change, Lies & ExxonMobil

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in ,, at 11/08/2015 01:40:00 PM
So evil that prospective investors should be warned: "OWNING XOM SHARES IS HAZARDOUS TO YOUR SOUL"?
There is an interesting legal wrangle underway concerning the energy giant ExxonMobil--I can recommend Steve Coll's book Private Empire: ExxonMobil and American Power if you need further information on the company's globe-spanning reach. Unsurprisingly as one of the world's biggest energy companies, ExxonMobil has long been a bogeyman for environmentalists. The latest investigation involves these corporate evildoers failing to disclose fuel-burning's effects on climate change when it supposedly knew of them long ago:
Oil giant Exxon Mobil is being investigated for misleading the public about the impact of climate change. The New York attorney general has sent a request for emails and financial records to the company. Allegations surfaced last month that the company's own scientists raised concerns about global warming decades ago and that Exxon had worked to suppress that information.
From the environmentalists' standpoint, it is similar to the tobacco industry not disclosing that its products literally caused people to die (from lung cancer and other smoking-linked diseases). However, as Matt Levine points out at Bloomberg, this analogy has limitations.
Ah, but of course misleading people about climate change isn't just political. It's also, plausibly, a business decision. People might not have bought gas if they knew the full risks of climate change, but if Exxon covered up those risks, then people would have been fraudulently induced to buy more gas, and harmed by that fraud in the form of climate change. This is to a large extent the theory of previous investigations of tobacco companies, and "some experts see the potential for a legal assault on fossil fuel companies similar to the lawsuits against tobacco companies in recent decades, which cost those companies tens of billions of dollars in penalties."

The analogy strikes me as a bit strained, though. The harm of misleading smokers is just so direct, as is the commercial benefit of doing it. If you sell people cigarettes that kill them, those same people are obviously harmed. And if you lie about whether cigarettes will kill people, people will probably buy more cigarettes. But who is defrauded by an oil company that funds climate-change deniers? There is no particular reason to think that the people most harmed by climate change and the people who buy a lot of crude oil products are the same set of people, whereas to a first approximation the people most harmed by smoking are smokers. If you stop smoking, your risk of lung cancer goes way down. If you stop putting gas in your car, your risk of ending up underwater when the ice caps melt does not go down by any measurable amount. 
There is also the questionable assumption at work that shareholders are being harmed by the deception ExxonMobil allegedly wrought all those years ago. The claim of "securities fraud" doesn't seem to register IMHO:
But Americans don't just vote and drive. They also own stocks. And Schneiderman's probe isn't just about lying to the voting public, or the oil-consuming public. It's also about lying to the investing public:
Whether Exxon Mobil began disclosing the business risks of climate change as soon as it understood them is likely to be a major focus of the New York case. The people with knowledge of the case said the attorney general’s investigators were poring through the company’s disclosure filings made since the 1970s, but were focusing in particular on recent statements to investors. Exxon Mobil has been disclosing such risks in recent years, but whether those disclosures were sufficient has been a matter of public debate.
This is in certain ways the weirdest theory. For one thing, if you actually think that Exxon Mobil is engaged in a diabolical conspiracy to suppress climate science to wring extra profits out of an earth-destroying business, the last people you should be worried about are Exxon's shareholders. They're the ones profiting from all that destruction! For another thing, if you are concerned about those shareholders, the last thing you should do is fine Exxon a lot of money. They're the ones who will ultimately have to pay that money! "This is not good news for Exxon Mobil or Exxon Mobil shareholders," says an analyst.
It's a weird case all around, and one that would not get all that far outside a politically-charged climate.
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$45B in PRC Freebies Ain't Enough: Venezuela Hits IMF

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in ,, at 11/07/2015 02:44:00 PM
So broke he can't even spend the night: Venezuela's President Maduro.
We all have wastrel friends and relatives of no particular achievements, distinction or talents who get by through begging, borrowing or stealing money. Such is the nature of life, unfortunately. In the international community, there is a country which embodies such turpitude: It's called Venezuela. To put its senseless wastefulness into perspective, consider that it's already received $45B from China, most of which I guarantee you has already been poured down some rathole.

How do I know this? Well, unbeknownst to many, it's also been taking out its special drawing rights (SDRs) from the IMF absent any significant sources of foreign exchange these days when oil prices are comparatively low. From Agence France-Presse:
With its cash reserves in sharp decline, Venezuela withdrew $460 million from the International Monetary Fund last month in its third such operation this year. he IMF website showed Friday that Venezuela exchanged part of its Special Drawing Rights -- an international reserve asset created by the IMF -- account at the Fund for greenbacks. Some countries often buy SDRs to comply with their obligations at the IMF, and in other cases sell them for hard currency to raise their reserve level at home, the Fund said.

Venezuela depends almost exclusively on oil exports and has taken a big hit from a drop in crude prices. Its hard currency reserves have fallen 25 percent over the past year to $15.4 billion. Venezuela's three SDR-selling transactions this year at the IMF have netted it more than $2.3 billion. Until this year, Venezuela had not withdrawn assets from the IMF since 2006.
Venezuela's so broke that they have to hit up the American imperialist's lackey organization, the IMF. Pathetic...but not particularly surprising. When cash is running short, you will grab it from "friends" and "foes" alike. At this rate, the "treason" of a full-blown IMF bailout may not be too far behind.
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Me Too! Do S Korea & Indonesia Want to Join TPP?

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in ,,, at 11/05/2015 12:10:00 PM
Indonesia and S Korea apparently seek a seat at this table now.
It appears as though the United States is gaining the upper hand in signing FTAs in the Asia-Pacific after the TPP enlargement. With China's pan-Pacific equivalent not gaining any traction, the undecideds--countries that sat out the TPP negotiations to see how matters progress--appear to be more favorably disposed now to the American effort. Chalk this one up to the "bandwagon" effect: non-participants in the TPP negotiations fear being left out will cause their exports to be less competitive as those within the FTA benefit from lower tariffs. Make no mistake that the US swaying Japan greatly involved the former playing up the latter's fears about China:
[Former US trade negotiatior Ira Shapiro] believes that it was the rise of China that ultimately convinced Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to pursue TPP. If the TPP becomes reality, "China will have a choice of either making the changes necessary to join TPP or intensify its leadership of competing arrangements, as we've seen with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank," he said. "For the U.S. and Japan, it is important to set a model."
Let's begin with South Korea. Like Japan, it has traditionally been very careful about the terms of FTAs given the mandate not to offend domestic agricultural interests. However, with Japan making such concessions already with TPP, the Koreans are now more willing to do the same--at least slightly. In particular, the Japanese seek more automobile exports to Korea. In a manner of speaking, Japan got a head start over Korea and can now help dictate the terms for the latter's entry to its advantage:
South Korea's effort to be welcomed into the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact will provide Japan with an opportunity to regain lost ground in that country's automobile market. South Korean President Park Geun-hye expressed hopes that Japan will cooperate on this matter during her meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday.

By cooperation, she is presumed to have meant Japan's quick approval, since all 12 TPP members need to agree to the entry of new members. Japan's stance is that it welcomes South Korea, since Abe has said before that he hopes to broaden the TPP's reach in Asia as a high-level trade pact. Japan had to promise that it will open up its market to the U.S. before joining the TPP.

Likewise, "South Korea will need to promise to drop tariffs on Japanese industrial products in exchange for approval of its participation," said a Japanese TPP negotiator. Currently, South Korea levies a tariff of 8% on Japanese autos and around 6.5% on Japanese chemical products.
Meanwhile, Indonesia's new President Joko Widodo is also in a semi-rush to get in after the conclusion of the aforementioned deal:
On his first official visit to Washington, however, Widodo pulled a surprise out of his hat. "Indonesia is an open economy," he was quoted as telling U.S. President Barack Obama. "We are the largest economy in Southeast Asia, and Indonesia intends to join the TPP..."

Indonesia, which has the world's fourth-largest population, has long been wary of free trade. This is largely because natural resources are its only major exports. When it comes to big multilateral deals, Jakarta has favored the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership -- a proposed agreement involving the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, China and India -- over the TPP due to its lower degree of trade liberalization.

But Widodo, recognizing the global liberalization momentum, appears concerned that staying out of the TPP would put Indonesia at a disadvantage. When he travels abroad, Widodo urges foreign businesses to invest in Indonesia as an export base. The TPP, though, will increase the appeal of member countries by reducing or eliminating tariffs on goods, provided a certain ratio of parts are made within the zone.
Nuff said: advantage America. China, what's your counter-proposal?
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Does Pakistan Really Have "Record" Forex Reserves?

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in , at 11/03/2015 03:38:00 PM
Pakistan's aid donors help bolster its reserves--not financial inflows for the most part.
It is sad that accumulating $20B in reserves--this in a country with a population of 182 million--is considered as a "record." However, that is the case for Pakistan and its recent report on foreign exchange reserves. As chronicled in this blog [1, 2], Pakistan is a habitual borrower from the IMF--a dubious distinction if there ever was one that even the IMF would prefer avoiding. Unfortunately, Pakistan's bolstered reserves, low as they are in ultimate terms--China has over a whopping 175 times more by my estimates--are mostly the result of the IMF juicing up the coffers:
Pakistan’s record foreign-exchange reserves are masking economic weaknesses that risk pushing the nation toward more aid from the International Monetary Fund. At least half of the country’s $20 billion stockpile comprises debt and grants, almost all of which have flowed in since Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif took office in May 2013. That money could leave quickly as Pakistan begins repaying the IMF in 2016 or if oil prices surge, leading to another balance-of-payments crisis.
"This is borrowed money and not a reflection of a stable economy," said Yawar uz Zaman, vice president for research at Karachi-based Shajar Capital Pakistan Pvt. "Finance costs will continue to grow in the years to come, which will mean we will go for another loan from an international lender."
Sharif won a $6.6 billion loan from the IMF soon after taking charge, triggering a stock market rally that has put Pakistan among the world’s best performers. Since then, however, he’s struggled to attract more stable inflows as a shaky global economic recovery damps demand and makes investors wary.
The rest comes with a little help from Pakistan's [self-styled] friends. Other contributions are from non-financial and more political- or security-related sources in the form of the Saudis chipping in another $1.5B and the American-led coalition another $2.8B. In other words, the inflows are not from financially sustainable sources like foreign investment or export proceeds.

People of goodwill wish Pakistan well, but the truth is that it hasn't really done anything to make itself attract more financial inflows outside of charity. Pakistan remains, in the words of Anatol Lieven, a hard country.
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Did Uber Kill London Cabbies' Need for "Knowledge"?

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in , at 11/02/2015 11:57:00 AM
London black cab drivers must famously have memorized the streets of central London by acquiring "The Knowledge." Without it, they cannot acquire a license to drive a taxi in that world-famous city. Unless you've been hiding under a cave, the emergence of Uber--the ride-sharing service--has dented the business of licensed taxi drivers the world over. After all, why spend so much time (3-5 years), effort and expense to acquire a license when some joker with a smartphone and Uber can do exactly the same sort of thing?

As it so happens, the largest cabbie school in London is closing its doors--mostly due to the Uber phenomenon:
Malcolm Linskey expects tears. The 70-year-old will retire soon, an event hastened by falling demand for the business he started 30 years ago, Knowledge Point, a training school for London black cab drivers. “It’s crazy, we’re going to be brushed aside,” he says. The cabby school, London’s largest, is to close its doors in December on the building it has occupied for 26 years in Islington, north London, blaming the twin pressures of Uber and increased property prices. 
Time moves on:
Mr Linskey says it will continue to produce and sell taxi driver training materials in print and online supplemented by training sessions in church halls and community centres. Uber, the cut-price taxi app that started in San Francisco, has sparked protests of unfair competition from cab drivers across the world. In May, parts of London were in gridlock following a demonstration by taxi drivers who felt the lack of regulation favoured such “e-hailing” apps.

London cabbies must study “the Knowledge”, learning their way round 25,000 streets as well as all the twists and turns of dead-ends and one-way roads. Before obtaining the green badge, which will license them to pick up fares in London, they will be tested on routes, for example from Manor House to Gibson Square. The school helps aspiring drivers reduce the time — on average about three and a half years — it takes to learn the various routes. 
Is this progress? It's true that many taxi drivers around the world are incompetent and unprofessional, but those in London are less likely to be so. Regardless, they too are as vulnerable to the winds of "creative destruction" as their peers elsewhere.
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Intervention Redefined: Japan Gov't Holds Half of All ETFs

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in at 10/29/2015 09:28:00 PM
Japan's central bank literally has a 'majority' stake in the JPY-denominated ETF market.
Imagine if Janet Yellen and the Federal Reserve held half of all monies invested in US-based, dollar-dominated exchange-traded funds (ETFs): BlackRock, Fidelity, State Street, Vanguard, and the rest of them. You can bet that US lawmakers, especially those of the Tea Party persuasion, would be up in arms about the unprecedented levels of market intervention the government was engaged in. "Such a distortion of markets has never been seen!" you can almost hear them shout.

Well, actually, something like that is already occurring in Japan. Among ETFs offered by the likes of Daiwa, Nikko and Nomura, the largest customer is none other than the Bank of Japan (BoJ). What's more, with Japan teetering on the edge of recession, the BoJ might pump even more into stock markets real soon. To paraphrase James Bond, half the market is not enough:
Japan’s central bank already owns more than half of the nation’s market for exchange-traded stock funds, and that might just be the start. The Bank of Japan will boost stimulus on Friday, according to 16 of 36 economists in Bloomberg’s latest survey, with 12 saying it would do so by increasing its annual ETF-buying budget. With 3 trillion yen ($25 billion) a year in existing firepower, the BOJ has accumulated an ETF stash that accounted for 52 percent of the entire market at the end of September, figures from Tokyo’s stock exchange show.
Practically speaking, the BoJ can already swallow all the sovereign debt Japan prints. So, the remaining option is to buy stocks. Still, many (including myself) wonder if all this effort is all for naught. Or, if benefits can be obtained after plowing in x amount of cash:
Policy makers weighing a deeper foray into equities shows how the world’s third-biggest stock market has become one of the most important Abenomics battlegrounds. The Topix index is up 21 percent since the central bank unexpectedly tripled its ETF budget almost a year ago, and Citigroup Global Markets Japan Inc.’s Tsutomu Fujita says there’s room for them to triple it again. For Amundi Japan Ltd., expanding the program would do more harm than good.

“At a fundamental level, I don’t support the idea of central banks buying ETFs or equities,” said Masaru Hamasaki, head of the investment information department at Amundi Japan. “Unlike bonds, equities never redeem. That means they will have to be sold at some point, which creates market risk.”
In Japan we see grand experiments that portend the future of societies combating chronic deflation. They may look like extreme measures, but hey, Japan is dealing with extreme problems too.
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World Bank's Kim on Migration's Economic Case

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in , at 10/28/2015 12:07:00 AM
The World Bank president prescribes migration to cure a slowing world economy.
There's some good commentary from World Bank President Jim Yong Kim on how migration can help support faltering global economic growth. The notions are fairly simple and understood economically: Legions of elderly in the developed world are not productive and pose a strain on national resources insofar as they have sizable guaranteed pension and health care benefits. Meanwhile, as recent headlines from Europe demonstrate, there are also vast numbers of migrants from poor countries eager to work in rich countries given the opportunity. Not only can they provide the economic output necessary to help support growing old age populations in the developed world, but they also provide demand for consumer goods and other things.

Kim cites the example of OECD member Turkey as a net beneficiary of migration
Today, on average, a refu­gee can expect to remain a refu­gee for 17 years. So we need to move beyond humanitarian assistance to development solutions. If host countries can create a path for refugees to participate in their economies — as Turkey is doing — everybody benefits. These benefits are even greater when rich countries, especially those with declining populations, take in refugees. Most of the evidence suggests that refugees, like economic migrants in general, work hard and contribute more in taxes than they consume in social services.
That said, there remain societal differences--he gives the example of his native South Korea--that restrain the acceptability of migration:
I was recently in South Korea, where I raised the issue of accepting immigrants, whether they are from neighboring Asian countries or anywhere else. I asked whether a person from Indonesia, or Tanzania or Syria, could ever become a “hyphenated Korean,” as I’ve become a Korean-American . The answers I received made it clear that, despite the great benefits that Koreans have derived from being able to move to all corners of the earth, “Syrian-Koreans” probably will not be accepted as full members of Korean society anytime soon.
Ultimately, though, necessity will likely win out in the migration debate:
But South Korea, like many wealthier countries, has an aging population, and it needs an influx of younger workers to continue on its remarkable path of economic growth. The great challenge for many advanced economies is to manage such changes and welcome migrants and refugees with a plan to help them settle and perhaps eventually become citizens, just as I became a citizen of the United States at the age of 12.

This is a smart strategy, especially during these times of low global economic growth. Countries that welcome refugees, and help other countries to productively host them, will be doing the right thing — both for our fellow human beings who are suffering and for the global economy.
Would-be Trump voters and assorted bigots aside, who's to argue with such logic? If only things were so simple in cultural terms as they were in economic ones, though.
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Macau Mauling: Steve Wynn Takes On the Communist Party

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in , at 10/25/2015 07:50:00 PM
The PRC humbles the capitalistic Steve Wynn.
If nothing else, casino legend Steve Wynn is a brave man. Yes, I know, he's also a very rich man, but as of late, his fortune has been eroded by the Chinese Communist Party's anti-fun campaign against Macau. Efforts to prevent Communist Party officials siphoning state funds to gamble in Macau has involved limiting the money Chinese can move from the mainland to Macau. However, Wynn claims that the drive to diversify Macau's revenues away from revenues towards dining, shows and other attractions has also had the effect of dampening Macau's core business:
Billionaire Steve Wynn is not happy with the government of Macau. The casino magnate let loose on a conference call Thursday after his company's Macau division reported a net revenue decline of nearly 40%. "In my 45 years of experience, I've never seen anything like this before," Wynn said...

But now, VIP gamblers are fleeing Macau in droves because an intense anti-corruption campaign in Mainland China has made them wary of visiting casinos. The industry is also taking a hit from new government rules. Wynn said he is particularly flummoxed by the local government's decision to limit the number of tables allowed at new casinos, including one that his company is building. "The table cap is the single most counter-intuitive and irrational decision that was ever made," Wynn said. "Here we are spending billions of dollars ... and then arbitrarily somebody says, 'well you should only have this many tables.' No jurisdiction ever has imposed that kind of logic on us."
Welcome to market authoritarianism, Steve Wynn. After benefiting from the Communists seeking Western developers earlier on, Wynn and his Western peers have been understandably less keen on the restrictions that have been placed on their activities as of late:
"We built tens of thousands of rooms and restaurants and attractions, but they say, 'you're not allowed to gamble, because you can't have the tables.' Well that's one of the reasons they come to Macau." The frankness of Wynn's remarks were a notable departure from the jargon and corporate speak that typify earnings calls. "I don't know that this has been the most satisfying quarterly phone call we've ever had, but at least it's the most candid and the most honest one that we could possibly give everybody that is interested in our company," Wynn concluded.
The Communist Party giveth and taketh away. That's just the nature of things, and it's as true for Macau as it is for the mainland.
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Hi-Speed Rail Diplomacy: China vs. Japan

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in ,, at 10/22/2015 11:30:00 PM
Coming to an Asian country near you...or will that be the Chinese equivalent?
With China eclipsing Japan as the world's second largest economy in 2007, the latter has been keen to maintain its global influence and prestige--especially here in Asia. While both countries compete in nearly all things that are even remotely exportable, the competition has been particularly fierce in infrastructure. Obviously, the Chinese see foreign markets as outlets for expertise gained in constructing massive domestic infrastructure projects, especially now that grandest ones at home are becoming fewer due to the PRC slowing down economically. Meanwhile, the Japanese have massive expertise and a desire to use this industry to build goodwill.

A few days ago, the Japanese were dismayed about losing out in constructing a high-speed railway line in Indonesia to the Chinese who offered highly concessional financing to go with the construction:
Jakarta dropped both Chinese and Japanese high-speed railway construction proposals early this [October], citing the high cost of each, and offered to consider instead a cheaper medium-speed railway. But [Indonesian planning minister Sofyan Djalil] told Suga that China recently submitted a new proposal to build the high-speed rail link between Jakarta and the West Java provincial capital of Bandung without requiring Indonesian fiscal spending or government debt guarantees.

Sofyan was visiting Japan as a special envoy of Indonesian President Joko Widodo...Suga doubted the feasibility of the Chinese proposal to build the railway without Indonesian funding. It is estimated to cost 78 trillion rupiah ($5.3 billion).
Cost estimates aside, the larger point is that China and Japan have been made to pony up considerable vendor financing as well in their efforts to outdo each other in selling high-speed rail.

Another case in point is that with Indian President Najendra Modi being keen on improving infrastructure for development like his Indonesian counterpart, the Japanese are now offering massive concessional funding again to pre-empt the Chinese this around for a Mumbai-Ahmedabad rail link:
Japan has offered to finance India's first bullet train, estimated to cost $15 billion, at an interest rate of less than 1 percent, officials said, stealing a march on China, which is bidding for other projects on the world's fourth-largest network. Tokyo was picked to assess the feasibility of building the 505-kilometre corridor linking Mumbai with Ahmedabad, the commercial capital of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state, and concluded it would be technically and financially viable.

The project to build and supply the route will be put out to tender, but offering finance makes Japan the clear frontrunner. Last month China won the contract to assess the feasibility of a high-speed train between Delhi and Mumbai, a 1,200-km route estimated to cost twice as much. No loan has yet been offered. Japan's decision to give virtually free finance for Modi's pet programme is part of its broader push back against China's involvement in infrastructure development in South Asia over the past several years.

"There are several (players) offering the high-speed technology. But technology and funding together, we only have one offer. That is the Japanese," said AK Mital, the chairman of the Indian Railway Board, which manages the network. 
The way things are going these days, just you wait for the Chinese counteroffer. At this rate they may be building high-speed rail for free as national pride is fierce in both countries not to lose out to each other. 
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Whew! TPP Won't Kill Off Cosplay

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in ,, at 10/18/2015 06:15:00 PM
TPP preserves your rights to dress like a cartoon character...to an extent.
I have always enjoyed featuring fringe stories from the world of international economic relations, and this one should fill the bill for this month. There is a very large, globe-spanning community that enjoys dressing up as famous cartoon/comic/video game characters known as the "cosplay" crowd. As you would expect, they dress in their, er, finest for conventions of the aforementioned media.

While elder Japanese were probably fretting about agricultural and automobile imports during the TPP negotiations, younger Japanese cosplay fans in Japan worried about their freedom of expression. That is, would the likes of Bandai Namco and Nintendo strictly enforce intellectual property rights against those dressing up as their characters? Thankfully, the Japanese government may have actually listened to the cosplay folks and inserted some provisions that will preserve their freedom to dress as silly as they please:
Negotiators from the 12 nations participating in the Trans-Pacific Partnership were surely relieved to finally seal a deal. The arrangement also took a load off the minds of Japanese otaku, as the nation's legions of anime and comic fans are known. The free trade pact, hashed out over more than five years, is to strengthen the protection of intellectual property -- to a degree that drawing or dressing up as a character from, say, "Dragon Ball" could lead to criminal charges. The original copyright holder would not even have to file a complaint; a third party could do so.

A summary of the pact released by the Japanese government on Monday confirms that copyright violations will be prosecutable even if the owner does not press charges. To the relief of otaku, though, the paragraph does not end there. It goes on to say that cases that do not affect the profitability of rights holders will be considered exceptions [my emphasis]. The summary sparked a flurry of celebratory Internet comments by the otaku-inclined. "The Japanese government cares about our culture," one individual wrote. "They gave us full consideration."
Actually, a big text will come at the next big event in Japan. The thinking goes that for as long as the IP use is not massive--or massively profitable--then cosplay outfitting will be allowed. That is, homemade is fine but large-scale commercialization of others' IP may not be:
"Selling small volumes of doujinshi or doing cosplay should be safe," said Ken Akamatsu, author of the "Love Hina" and "Negima! Magister Negi Magi" manga series. But the legality of "massively profitable doujinshi and posting edited anime videos remains unclear."

 Otaku will have to wait to see how domestic laws take shape after the TPP comes into effect. In some countries, such as the U.S and South Korea, copyright violations are already punishable without a complaint from an owner. But the law books also allow for "fair use" -- limited exceptions for copying protected materials. This doctrine provides a shield for fan-driven events like Comic Con in San Diego and Anime Expo in Los Angeles.
It seems a fair trade-off  to me.
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