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Twilio is a cloud communications platform that provides businesses with an easy way to send and receive text messages, voice calls, video calls and data transfers. The company recently announced plans to lay off 11% of its workforce.
What Is Happening At Twilio?
Twilio is reducing its workforce by 11%, or about 190 jobs, in an effort to focus on its long-term priorities. The company has been struggling financially for some time and this move is designed to shore up its finances. Twilio CEO Jeff Lawson said that the layoffs are not related to any regulatory issues.
The company’s main product is the Voice app, which lets people make phone calls and send text messages without having to use a traditional phone service. But competition from newer apps like WhatsApp and FaceTime has hurt Twilio’s business. In addition, there has been a trend of people using voice assistants like Amazon’s Echo more than traditional phones.
Overall, this is not a piece of good news for the tech industry as it shows how difficult it can be for startups to survive in today’s competitive market. However, Twilio may have found salvation in its plans to focus on other products and services such as data analytics and artificial intelligence.
How Many People Will Be Affected?
Twilio plans to lay off 11% of its workforce. This will include cutting jobs in engineering, sales and customer support. Affected employees will receive severance packages and be given the opportunity to apply for other open positions at the company.
Twilio has seen a 20% increase in customer demand over the last two years, but not enough growth in other areas of the business to keep up with that demand. The layoffs are meant to focus on areas where Twilio can make more significant improvements and grow faster.
Why Is Twilio Laying Off Employees?
Twilio is laying off 11% of its workforce to give it’s business a “structural refresh.” The company has seen slower growth in recent quarters and decided to make these layoffs in order to “focus on our strategy and execute it better.” Twilio’s CEO, Jeff Lawson, said that the layoffs will not have a significant impact on customer service or product quality.
What Else Should You Know About Twilio’s Layoff Plans?
Twilio is planning to lay off 11% of its workforce in an effort to streamline its operations. The layoffs will take place over the next few months, and they are expected to impact around 200 employees. Twilio CEO Jeff Lawson said that the cuts will help the company focus on its core businesses and improve its efficiency.
What Are My Options If I Am Affected By The Layoff?
If you are one of the 11% of employees who will be laid off by Twilio, there are a few things to keep in mind. First and foremost, Twilio is committed to providing support to its employees throughout this process. This includes offering a severance package, assistance with finding new employment, and access to resources like career counselling and job search assistance.
If you are looking for immediate help finding a new job, there are a number of resources available. Twilio has partnered with Indeed and Hired to provide access to their respective databases of jobs. Additionally, the company has created an internal job board that can be searched by department and location. Finally, Twilio offers on-site Career Development Seminars that cover topics like resume writing and interviewing techniques.
While it may be difficult to find work right away after being laid off, keeping your options open is important. By staying active on social media (especially LinkedIn), networking with other former employees, and consulting with career counsellors or other resources available through your employer or through outside organizations like Indeed or Hired, you can make the transition from employee to the job seeker as smooth as possible.
Twilio is experiencing rapid growth, which has required the company to make some tough decisions in order to continue growing. Unfortunately, this means that it will be laying off employees from time to time.


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Electrolux, which has its North American headquarters in Charlotte, reported earnings Friday that topped Wall Street expectations thanks to a focus on higher margin appliances. But the Swedish appliance maker lowered its outlook for its North American business.
For the third quarter, Electrolux said in a statement that operating earnings rose to 1.83 billion crowns ($201.7 million) from 1.51 billion, above the 1.73 billion expected by analysts surveyed by Reuters.
Electrolux, maker of Frigidaire and Molteni cookers, said its North American business had an organic sales decline of nearly 5 percent for the quarter thanks to lower sales and lower volumes of private label products. Increased price pressure in the market, the company said, continues to drag on sales.
The manufacturer lowered its North American demand growth to 3-4 percent from the year, down from the 5-6 percent the company said this past summer. Rival Whirlpool, based in Michigan, also lowered its demand for North American demand growth, Reuters noted.
Earlier this year, Electrolux announced it was canceling plans for a major expansion at its North American headquarters in Charlotte after its failed attempt to purchase General Electric’s appliance unit.
Electrolux employs about 850 people at its North American headquarters in the University City area.

domain: news


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Prime Venture Partners names former Helion co-founder Ashish Gupta as partner emeritus
Gupta is the second partner emeritus named by the firm which had earlier brought on board Raj Mashruwala, with a similar designation a few years back.
Junglee Games founder's trick to beat jet lag: Sleep less, get up early
Ankush Gera spends flight hours catching up on TV shows.
'Badhaai Ho' makers to blur tobacco products in smoking scenes for TV broadcast after government notice
Production house Junglee Pictures sai...
Why the Junglee founders' playbook hasn’t changed in the mobile-commerce era
Earlier this year, the four Junglee co-founders of Indian origin came together to back HyperTrack. That's Rakesh Mathur, 60, Ashish Gupta, 50, apart from Venky, 49, and Anand Rajaraman, 44.
Amazon’s subsidiary Junglee.com to sell used goods now
Junglee has been testing the concept for sale of used goods by merchants on its website since last July.
Amazon takes Indian ad innovations to global market
The company is seeing good growth in the number of Indian sellers advertising on Amazon, said Colleen Aubrey, global vice president of performance advertising.
Amazon using its 'India lessons' to improve operations globally
Amazon had acquired Junglee, which lets consumers sell used items, in 1998, and this was launched in India in 2012, two years before its India e-commerce launch.
Want to get rid of your old phone or tablet? Amazon will help you make money out of them
These goods include product categories like refurbished mobile phones, tablets and laptops as well as unboxed and used gadgets, books, watches, movies, etc.
Balaji Motion Pictures CEO Aman Gill resigns
He had joined the studio last year from Junglee Pictures, where he was chief content officer and prior to that he was heading the film business for the talent agency CAA Kwan.
Amazon launches used-goods platform, takes on Quikr, Olx
Amazon is looking to increase its user base among smaller sellers who may not be able to sell as a business, this programme will help get them on board.
Junglee, Amazon India’s price comparison portal to offer pre-owned cars and 2-wheelers
The pre-owned car market has accelerated at a CAGR of 15% in the past three years to reach about half the size of the new car market.
In a break from convention, 'spouse hiring' gains wider acceptance
Spouses working in the same organisation increase the level of employee stickiness. Most organisations are now more open to the idea of spouse hiring.
The crorepati club: 169 executives of HUL, most below 40, drew 8-digit salaries last year
HUL has about 169 executives who drew eight-digit salaries last year, six times more than its closest rival ITC’s 23 crorepati employees.
Jugnoo raises $5 million from Snow Leopard Ventures, Paytm
The investment, the firm’s first institutional round, or Series-A funding, was done at a pre-money valuation of $30 million.


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On June 24, 2020, the European Commission (“Commission”) published its much-anticipated assessment of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) two years after it went into effect. The assessment takes into account contributions from the European Council, the European Parliament, the European Data Protection Board (“EDPB”), individual supervisory authorities, the Multi-Stakeholder Expert Group and other stakeholders. The assessment considers a wider scope of issues surrounding GDPR implementation beyond international transfers and the cooperation and consistency mechanisms, the two topics the Commission is specifically tasked to consider under Article 97 of the GDPR.
The Commission’s overall conclusion is that the GDPR has successfully achieved its objectives of enhancing the protection of personal data and improving the free flow of personal data within the EU. The Commission specifically highlights the key role that the GDPR plays in the EU’s “human-centric approach to technology,” and notes that it will serve as a guiding legal framework for the EU as it rolls out its broader Data Strategy. The Commission also notes the impact that the GDPR has had worldwide, inspiring new or elevated standards for data protection in many countries, and serving as a “global standard-setter” for regulating the digital economy.
Notwithstanding these achievements, the Commission also makes clear that there are a number of areas for improvement.


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The big companies and the industry in general have gradually reacted to what will undoubtedly be one of the news of the year: the purchase of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft. As expected, this unexpected move had an effect inside Sony and PlayStation.
After keeping silent for a few days, the companies finally spoke about this acquisition and what they expect from Microsoft and Xbox in the future. Sony made it clear: it wants companies to honor existing contractual agreements.
One of the most important points of his statements is related to the possible exclusivity of the Activision Blizzard franchises. So Sony is hoping that Microsoft will ensure that the games remain cross-platform.
Find out: ¿Call of Duty say goodbye to PlayStation and hello only to Xbox?
Sony asks Microsoft to ensure Activision games are cross-platform
Thanks to The Wall Street Journal (via Wccftech), we know that Sony has a very clear stance on Microsoft’s latest acquisition. So far the issue of Activision Blizzard game exclusivity has not been clear; however, Phil Spencer stated that his goal is not to remove games or support certain communities such as PlayStation.
Despite this, some sources assure that Xbox will handle the situation in the same way as it happened with ZeniMax and Bethesda, so certain content would be saved to make it exclusive to its ecosystem.
Given this, Sony mentioned that it expects Microsoft to keep certain undetailed agreements in force and to ensure that Activision games remain multiplatform. These declarations take on great importance if one thinks above all of Call of Duty, saga that is one of the strong points of sale of PlayStation.
“We expect Microsoft to honor contractual agreements and continue to ensure that Activision games are cross-platform,” a Sony spokesperson said.
The future of Activision Blizzard’s IP is currently uncertain, as we know that support will continue on all platforms, but we are not sure what will happen especially with new releases from the studio.
“Activision Blizzard games are enjoyed on a variety of platforms, and we plan to continue to support those communities in the future,” Spencer, executive manager of Microsoft Gaming, previously said.
In case you missed it: “PlayStation has to answer”, fans ask Sony to buy more studios
While we know more about it, we invite you to visit this link to learn more news related to Activision Blizzard and its purchase.
Related Video: What you’re going to hate about 2022 in gaming


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OCTOBER 2, 2007 â�� PON equipment vendor Alloptic (search for Alloptic) has announced a pair of new customers for its RF PON technology.
Lexcom of Lexington, NC, has selected Alloptic's MicroNode technology to provide voice, two-way video, and high-speed data services over an FTTH infrastructure.
"We were looking for a way to expand our customer base, increase ARPU, and enable a full suite of services, while leveraging our existing headend equipment investments over an all-fiber network," said Richard Reese, president, Lexcom. "With Alloptic's MicroNode technology we are able to do exactly that. We are now getting closer to our customers with fiber and providing them faster Internet connections, along with their telephone and television services over a single, more cost efficient infrastructure. With Alloptic's Hybrid RF PON, we can compete effectively, while using our existing cable modems and set-top boxes, and easily migrate to a full GEPON solution as the customer requirements dictate."
"Alloptic's Hybrid RF PON solution was designed specifically for service providers as a cost-effective way to get more bandwidth to their customers without replacing the HFC network," said Shane Eleniak, vice president of marketing and business development for Alloptic.
Meanwhile, Alloptic also announced that Bend Broadband has selected the MicroNode family of products for their FTTP rollout. Bend Broadband, the local cable operator in Bend, Oregon, is providing voice, data, and video services.
"We have been very pleased with the performance of the MicroNode," said Frank Miller, CTO and vice president of engineering at Bend Broadband. "With Alloptic's MicroNode products, we are delivering more services to more customers with our existing headend equipment. Alloptic's solution lets us move towards a full fiber-to-the-customer network as we grow."
Visit Bend Broadband


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Although a last minute labor agreement averted the threatened shutdown of West Coast ports, the associated congestion created during the slowdown caused by the disagreement highlights the need for organizations to stay alert for supply chain vulnerabilities.
“Companies need to have strategic plans in place to mitigate supply chain risks caused by everything from natural disasters to socio-economic and political unrest that may cut off critical raw material suppliers, sources of manufactured goods, major transportation facilities, essential transportation modes, and so on, resulting in major disruptions in supply chains,” said Dr. Jeff Karrenbauer, president and cofounder of Insight, which provides optimization and simulation-based supply chain analytics and consulting services.
In the weeks and months leading up to the resolution, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) strike closed some of the nearly 30 West Coast ports, including those in Los Angeles and Long Beach, for days each week to the detriment of organizations around the country and around the globe.
Of course, a port shutdown is only one of the potential threats. Another lesson learned could be taken from the earthquake that nearly leveled the semiconductor industry in Japan just four years ago. “The electronics and automotive industries took a massive hit in the wake of that,” said Karrenbauer. “How many of these kinds of events is it going to take place before we pay attention?”
Unfortunately, too often the urgent takes the place of the strategic in supply chain planning and risk management. “We think we'll get to it next week, next month, or next year,” said Karrenbauer. “We have to remember that structured activity drives out unstructured activity—and that if we don't do something, we're going to keep getting smacked upside the head by natural disasters or premeditated attacks by an intelligent adversary.”
The key for organizations is to develop a structured risk management plan. Just as the average organization has a disaster recovery plan to safeguard data and systems, it needs to create a plan to mitigate risk in the supply chain, said Karrenbauer.
As a first step, organizations should undertake a port location study. After identifying which ports the organization is using, study the cost and impact of choosing other ports. “What would it cost you to go to the Gulf coast? Or the East coast?” questioned Karrenbauer. “What if you diversify the risk?”
Since port shutdowns or weather challenges rarely happen simultaneously, diversification provides shelter from risk. “Look at the whole supply chain starting with demand and working through the whole system,” said Karrenbauer.
It's important to do the math to figure out where the biggest risks lie. Consider raw materials that your organization uses, taking into account the volume of that raw material, the volume of the finished product, the profitability of the finished products, and the number of suppliers being used for those products, advised Karrenbauer.
Audit both the manufacturing level and distribution points to understand the flow patterns and identify where over dependency on one logistics node, supplier, manufacturing facility, etc. might be evident. “I want to do a complete flow pattern analysis of the supply chain from top to bottom, from raw materials to customers, with a strategic design tool that takes into account all the customers, customer demands, products, and capacity cost, and then get historical flows as well.”
All of this data provides a platform for performing “what if?” scenarios related to the loss of certain ports, facilities, suppliers, and products.
Further, this assessment needs to be done on an ongoing basis. “With the Panama Canal expansion coming down the stream, things will change again,” said Karrenbauer.
Since no electronics OEM has a crystal ball to predict upcoming challenges, well-informed planning is critical to success. Let us know in the comments section below about times that planning or lack of planning has impacted your supply chain.


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SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) – Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos is projected to become the world’s first trillionaire.
That’s according to Comparisun, a company which allows small- to medium-sized firms to compare different business products.
Their projection shows Bezos reaching trillionaire status by 2026.
The company said their projection is based on taking the average percentage of yearly growth over the past five years and applying it to future years.
As of Thursday, Bezos’ net worth was estimated at $143 billion, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index, which tracks the worth of the world’s richest people daily.
Compared to last year, Bezos’ worth has surged by more than $28 billion.
- Sunday Evening Forecast: Time To Soak Up The Sunshine Before Tuesday.
- Abilene organization holds weeklong prayer event to help fight human trafficking
- Small numbers of protesters gather at fortified US capitols
- Biden team preps for inauguration while lawmakers look ahead to impeachment trial of President Trump
- 95 new COVID-19 cases in Taylor County, 68 recoveries


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Thursday, 19 January 2012
Teachers - Publish Your Own Books!
Hot off the press from Apples big show and tell event is news of the release of the iBooks Author, a free app for iPads which means we can all become publishing moguls!
Those of you with experience of the books function of iPhoto will know that you can create beautiful looking books and calendars using the free software that arrives preloaded on macs. Well it seems like the new iBooks Author app lets you go further to create interactive images and text in the large colourful format that the playful interface of the iPad offers.
iTunes U already allows educators to distribute lectures and educational resources to students, now there is a new app to extend this functions further.
It seems Apple is ushering in a new era of publishing electronic content for learners and only time will tell if it will profoundly change the way we teach and learn. What do you think?


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All news related to the category "Ripple (XRP)"
Bank of America - one of the largest financial institutions in the USA, is actively testing the technology of Ripple Lab, according to unconfirmed information. This may mean that the second-largest bank in the USA will continue to introduce blockchain technology in the financial sector in the future.
Nowadays the capitalization of cryptocurrency market has slightly decreased, and now it is $ 219,892,120,950, which is 0,95% less compared to yesterday`s indicator.
Ripple hired the previous Policy Adviser to step up advocacy with lawmakers in Washington.
British service of money transferring joined RippleNet to support international transactions.
Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has launched trading support for XRP for New York state residents. Reported to CoinDesk.
Germany’s second-largest stock exchange, Boerse Stuttgart, has launched trading for exchange-traded notes (ETNs) based on two cryptocurrencies – XRP and litecoin (LTC). Reported to CoinDesk.
Cryptocurrency startups are increasingly eyeing content creators as a key use case. Reported to CoinDesk.
Blockchain payments startup Ripple has reported a 31 percent increase in sales of XRP over the first three months of the year. Reported to CoinDesk.
Ripple co-founder and executive chairman Chris Larsen, his wife Lyna Lam and nonprofit foundation Rippleworks have donated $25 million in XRP cryptocurrency to San Francisco State University. Reported to CoinDesk.
Switzerland’s primary stock exchange SIX could soon list another cryptocurrency-based exchange-traded product (ETP), which will track the price of XRP, the third largest crypto asset by market capitalization. Reported to CoinDesk.


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According to the Lehigh Business Supply Chain Risk Management Index for the second quarter of 2022, Transportation Disruption Risk is the top concern among supply chain professionals, who participated in the LRMI survey.
Transportation Disruption Risk include fuel prices, driver shortage, infrastructure and demand volatility. With a score of 89.5, Transportation Disruption Risk has the highest score across all categories since the creation of the LRMI in the third quarter of 2020.
Transportation Disruption Risk has been the top concern in three of the previous four quarters. “Supply chain professionals are seeing not only spiking fuel prices, but also a rise in delivery prices, and a decrease in product supply leading to lower payloads and increased expenses,” said Zach G. Zacharia, Ph.D., associate professor of supply chain management and director of the Center for Supply Chain Research at Lehigh. “And they are still concerned over what the next phase of the pandemic is going to look like.”
The total average risk index for the second quarter of 2022 is 69.95, almost three points lower than last quarter. This is the first quarter the total has gone down in the last four quarters.
The LRMI identified the same top four risk categories as the previous two quarters, just in different rank order, for the second quarter of 2022 when compared head-to-head. They are transportation, economic, cybersecurity and supplier risks. The other six categories are government intervention, customer, operational, environmental, quality and technological risk.
“Economic Risks dropped from the top spot, falling a little more than one point as supply chain professionals are still concerned about inflation and the scarcity of raw materials leading to a recession,” said Zacharia. “Increasing energy prices, the inability to get qualified labor and the unknown global impact of the war in Ukraine are concerns for the second quarter.”
According to Zacharia, the LRMI allows executives and supply chain managers to look ahead and prepare for risks that will become important in planning for the next quarter.
A unique aspect of the LRMI is that the quarterly reports include a sampling of candid comments from supply chain managers about each risk category that takes you beyond the numbers. Comments from the second quarter report include:
- I’ve seen a pronounced up-tick in the amount of malevolent content making it past our first-layer firewalls.
- Lost several suppliers over the last two years, forcing us to rely on a single source.
- Digital and 3D printing has improved supply.
- Sanctions on Russian anthracite coal have increased customer demand.
- Geopolitical positioning will drive many changes in 2022 including foreign financial powers leveraging their capital and control.
- Priority is to push product out the door. Less concern over quality than 2 years ago.
- Read more comments.
The LRMI was developed by the Center for Supply Chain Research at Lehigh University and the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals in order to rank 10 broad categories of supply chain risks.
LRMI reports are available every quarter in March, June, Sept. and Dec.
To get the latest report for free and to find out how supply chain managers can take the LRMI survey for the next quarter go to: business.lehigh.edu/LRMI.


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Personal income plummeted by the largest margin in 20 years in January, but the decline constitutes a temporary adjustment rather than a long-term trend.
The 3.6 percent plunge, measuring $505.5 billion, reflects the severest drop since January 1993, the Commerce Department reported Friday, and a sharp contrast to the 2.6 percent increase recorded the previous month.
Despite the dramatic change, “The numbers in January shouldn’t be taken that seriously,” said Hugh Johnson, chairman and CIO of Hugh Johnson Advisors. “You really have to take an average of December and January to see what’s going on.”
Part of the January decline resulted from the expiration of the payroll tax holiday, which raised Social Security taxes from 4.2 to 6.2 percent.
Other factors were increases in income taxes on the upper bracket and on taxes on dividends. Individuals making over $400,000 and couples over $450,000 per year saw their rates spike from 35 to 39.6 percent, while dividend taxes rose from 15 to 20 percent.
Efforts to stay ahead of these last two changes led to the impressive numbers the month prior as companies issued early dividends and bonuses in December, before the tax hikes took effect January 1.
This contributed to a savings rate of 6.4 percent that month. In January, savings declined to 2.4 percent, the lowest level since November 2007, as people adjusted to the drop in personal income.
Setting aside the statistical noise from the tax increases and the December rush to avoid them, personal income rose by 0.3 percent in both December and January according to the Commerce Department. So even though the permanent payroll tax increase will constitute an ongoing drag on personal income, the overall trend is up, albeit at a slow pace.
“We expect that to continue going forward,” said Ellen Zentner, a senior US economist at Nomura Securities International, Inc.
While economists warn not to make too much of the January figures, there are concerns about the $85 billion in mandatory cuts to the federal budget that are slated to commence March 1.
Should a deal not be reached, “The sequester will have a much bigger impact on consumer spending and personal income,” Johnson cautioned. This perspective is not universal, however, as many suspect either that a compromise will worked out or that the effect of the cuts will not be as uniformly negative as he suggests, varying from region to region, depending on their dependence on federal spending.
Another worry is how the payroll tax cut will influence consumer spending, which rose only 0.2 percent in January, a weak jump the Commerce Department attributed to higher energy prices as spending on durable goods fell.
“Essentially households are having to absorb a higher tax burden. And that’s the dynamic we’re seeing play out,” said Zentner, noting that this adjustment falls heavily on those with lower incomes and the businesses they rely on. “I see it as a resetting. Households have to reset to a new reality.”
Though this “resetting” will continue in the months ahead, once households have adjusted, consumer spending should return to a slow upward climb.


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The Managing General Partner of NEA, Sandell sits on the boards of Branch, Coursera, Divvy, One Concern, Robinhood, Transfix and Tuya, which went public in March. He also has a board seat at new portfolio company Loanpal. Another recent bet is Patreon, a patronage platform that allows creators to monetize their work by engaging directly with fans. He was an investor in Bloom Energy, which went public in 2018, and Mulesoft, which Salesforce bought that same year. Prior to his venture capital career, Sandell worked on Windows 95 at Microsoft.
ResidencePalm Beach, Florida
EducationBachelor of Arts/Science, Dartmouth College; Master of Business Administration, Stanford Graduate School of Business
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Feb 8, 2021
Former NEA partner Dayna Grayson and ex-Uber exec Rachel Holt raise $140 million for new VC firm, Construct Capital, to invest in manufacturing, supply chain and transportation startups.
Jun 16, 2020
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Apr 14, 2020
From Ant Financial to Xiaomi, and Spotify to Uber, these 10 companies put the most investors on the 2020 Midas List of the world's top tech investors.
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Bosses and workers alike hate expense reports. Utah startup Divvy thinks its credit card approach is better—and a lot of smart investors agree.
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After all the terrible headlines about harassment in Silicon Valley, after all the #MeToo stories, after all the well-meaning efforts, like Reid Hoffman’s Decency Pledge… the percentage of funding to women-led companies by venture capitalists in 2018 actually … fell.
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Back in 2010, the fastest way to get money on the same day from New York to London was to fly it there yourself. Now payments can be made securely in seconds, to anywhere in the world at virtually no cost. J.P Morgan’s POWER+ framework captures five mega themes, that are driving the payment revolution. Platforms, online, wallets, embedded, real time plus value added services.
BNPL is threatening the traditional credit card payment models and forces banks to either launch their own BNPL service or partner with an existing provider to maintain a direct relationship with their own customers. Almost half the merchants surveyed by Omdia stated that the biggest improvement to reduce friction in digital payments would be improving integration with their payment gateway. This could be achieved through embedding payments in the checkout journey on a universal level, similar to the user experience that is expected when ordering through Uber or Deliveroo. Embedding the payment is about not just ensuring a seamless user experience but also about harnessing customer data to present the consumer with relevant, personalized financing options at the point of purchase to reduce friction. Yet, large banks typically do not have the flexibility to meet their needs.
The Future Of Embedded Payments: What The Consumer-Centric Approach Means For Banks And Businesses
The concept of bringing your banking activities directly into non-financial services is made possible through technology, leading to enhanced user experiences. For you, this could mean eliminating several pain points by streamlining your banking capabilities into your everyday work. Secondly, and from the consumer perspective, the less complicated the better. Using a service which is natively branded and seamlessly integrated to the software provider, we believe is a key component of embedding financial services generally. The proliferation of this kind of branded financial infrastructure within a retailer or within a platform is still very nascent. But there are a growing number of examples, especially in the UK and the US.
Fifth Third provides embedded credit and payment services to both small businesses and retail platforms. It has doubled down on the healthcare industry, acquiring the Provide platform to participate in distribution and enablement. For B2B embedded card payments, as with consumer payments, we expect enabler take rates to face some pressure over the next few years. Platform take rates will rise slightly, leading to a 2026 revenue split of $1.5 billion for platforms and $0.8 billion for enablers, which reflects the overall increase in embedded B2B card payment growth. Platforms are partnering across the new value chain to deliver these benefits to customers and differentiate their core services.
Embedded Banking’s Top 5 Benefits for Finance Teams
Many companies get caught up looking for the perfect solution, only to dedicate an exorbitant number of resources to implementing something that ultimately doesn’t work. My advice would be to run small pilots with the solution or service before fully embedding it into your processes or committing the resources. Once your team feels confident in its value, you can begin to scale while simultaneously iterating on your processes to work out the kinks and ensure success.
Most European countries have been on the list of top tourist destinations and have a massive hospitality industry. With the Singapore government’s expanding support for fintech businesses, the country is anticipated to see an influx of new product launches and technological development in payment platforms in the next few quarters. Best Upcoming Embedded Payment Trends And as consumers adopt digital currencies in their everyday lives, the use of crypto is likely to percolate into their creator and business lives, too, von Tobel said. The knock-on effect will open up a whole new set of services aimed at crypto and blockchain that didn’t exist in even the traditional commercial banking dynamic.
We’ve seen strong growth in ecommerce, food and delivery models, as well as mobility providers. We’ve also seen embedded finance touch gaming, construction, shipping, sports, transportation – from the delivery of financial products and the use of underlying capabilities. The rocketing adoption is because fully digital journeys have been enabled through better tech and integration development. In fact, our definition is very much that it’s a digital end-to-end seamless process. Small and mid-sized businesses need all the help they can get from smarter solutions that reduce friction, remove guesswork, and automate tasks for business owners.
Morgan”, “JPMorgan”, “JPMorgan Chase” and “Chase” if and as used herein include as applicable all such employees or officers and/or entities irrespective of marketing name used. Nothing in this material is a solicitation by JPMC of any product or service which would be unlawful under applicable laws or regulations. With over 50,000 technologists across 21 Global Technology Centers, globally, we design, build and deploy technology that enable solutions that are transforming the financial services industry and beyond.
Four Ways to Maximize Return on Innovation
The embedded finance market is slated to exceed $138 billion in 2026, up from $43 billion in 2021 per Juniper Research. Providing these options through embedded payments will unlock trillions of dollars of credit card payments for SMBs. As of 2021, US consumers and businesses spent $3.60 trillion on their debit cards and $3.55 trillion on their credit cards. Between 3% and 4% of these transactions for debit cards, and less than 1% for credit cards, were conducted using embedded banking offerings. By 2026, the nonfinancial services market penetration for debit cards will increase potentially fivefold to around 15%, while we see the start of credit card SaaS models adapted for embedded finance. The embedded payments industry is growing at a rapid pace, with revenues expected to grow from $43 billion in 2021 to $138 billion in 2026.
Our report suggests a revenue growth rate of 2.5x over the next five years and a 3x growth in embedded value transacted over financed pipes. Take, for example, gig workers across the U.S. who don’t currently have access to virtual cards. Virtual, single-use cards could make a huge difference to speeding up payments and reducing the cost of payroll , weaning off a reliance on checks.
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The Covid-19 pandemic has hastened the expansion of the e-commerce sector in Japan, and as more Japanese people embrace online buying, electronic payments are becoming increasingly popular. With the growing demand for seamless payment options in Japan, the competition is growing intense among market players to provide an enhanced customer experience. Moreover, market players are launching new products to acquire more clients in Japan and tap the attractive opportunity. Business-to-business payment fintechs will likely expand into other financial software offerings, such as HR, bill-pay solutions to control the flow of payments, offering credit to businesses, or company cards for specific industries, Lerner said. Embedded finance enables customers to have a new type of relationship with financial providers, giving them access to services as a by-product of the software they use and the goods they consume. While some companies will hesitate and possibly miss out on the opportunities, others will take the lead and figure out how to reap the benefits.
Historically, merchants signed up for payment services via independent sales organizations to be approved by an acquiring bank—an arduous process that could take months. Over the past 15 years, new software-centric firms have created a function in the value chain, the payment facilitator, that underwrites merchants on the acquiring bank’s behalf and streamlines the delivery of payment acceptance capabilities. Our sizing focuses on the largest embedded finance markets today, namely payments, lending, and banking, as well as the subcategories within them. We expect the US market to more than double from $22 billion in 2021 revenue to $51 billion by 2026 across those three markets—a 19% compound annual growth rate . Embedded finance began as technology to merge software and commerce business models.
By 2026, we expect both levels to rise based on higher volume of embedded transactions by nonfinancial institutions. This should cause revenues to reach just over $4 billion for platforms and $1.3 billion for enablers. In the same period, we expect enabler SaaS fees to scale proportionally, growing to over $5 billion. By 2026, we expect B2B payments to reach $33.3 trillion, with embedded payments taking a considerably higher share as buyers shift to eCheck, virtual cards, and value-added ACH to streamline operations and simplify AP/AR reconciliation. During this time, the B2B embedded payments market will nearly quadruple from $0.7 trillion to $2.6 trillion, with revenues growing proportionally from $1.9 billion to $6.7 billion . We expect the projections in this report to persist despite the current macroeconomic volatility and near-term recession risk.
Transforming the payment process
By aggregating demand from alike business customers, fintechs could also leverage scale for more favorable pricing, she added. Embedded B2B lending encompasses loans provided by a platform to a business within that platform. For this research, we’ve also included loans, even if the true lender is a bank.
- Eligibility for particular products and services is subject to final determination by JPMC and or its affiliates.
- Demand for so-called „crypto as a service“ is growing among asset managers and retail brokerages looking for technology that provides seamless access to digital assets for their end users, Trautmann said.
- In this article, we’ll explore what embedded finance is and how both banks and tech companies are adapting to changing consumer preferences and tech advancements.
- There will also be a change in the way products are potentially manufactured, not just distributed which goes hand in hand with the role that banks play and where incumbents sit in the value chain going forward.
- One example of this technology is Zelle, which has partnered with several banks like Huntington.
- But there are a growing number of examples, especially in the UK and the US.
End users increasingly prefer the convenience of using payments, lending, insurance, and other financial services embedded in their day-to-day software, rather than accessing standalone services from traditional financial institutions. More than ever, non-bank companies are providing embedded financial solutions such as deposit accounts, payments products and lending tools to increase customer engagement and provide additional revenue opportunities. Often, these services are supported by banking as a service offerings from traditional banks and credit unions, enabling virtually any company to become both a customer and a fintech competitor. In fact, according to a new Finastra research study, almost 85% of respondents are already implementing or planning to implement BaaS over the next months.
Garza said the company was looking for a platform with executive expertise, the ability to execute quickly and an intense vertical focus. We’re always on the lookout for opportunities to partner with innovators and disruptors. Software Developers Simplified connectivity to extend the value of your software solution.
Embedded Finance: what’s behind fintech’s hottest trend?
About Bain Capital Bain Capital is one of the world’s leading private investment firms with approximately $160 billion in assets under management. We pioneered the value-added approach to investing and have invested at the forefront of the technology industry in more than 370 companies since our founding in 1984. In the US, B2B payments accounted for $27.5 trillion in transaction value in 2021, with accounts payable and accounts receivable (AP/AR) services representing around 90% of the value. B2B embedded payments have not penetrated as deeply as consumer embedded payments, in part because of a heavy reliance on checks and ACH payments relative to other payment methods, such as eCheck and virtual cards.
Portugal is thinking of taxing crypto. The crypto millionaires aren’t happy
As more fintechs such as FISPAN join the push to revolutionize the customer experience, finance teams are finding a large amount of value in these products, which is bringing FISPAN one step closer to our vision. From the elimination of redundant tasks, better data visibility, and streamlined payment and reconciliation processes, FISPAN is forging onward in our journey to revolutionize accounting as we know it. Embedded finance can consist of embedded payments, embedded lending, embedded insurance, and embedded banking, which we’ll be discussing more throughout this article. Embedded finance is reshaping the distribution model for financial services and creating new income streams for tech companies. What we’ve seen in the market and through our research is that customers have an inherent trust in their preferred software provider to offer them financial services. The COVID-19 pandemic has shone a light on the need for digital payments, and the industry is preparing for an oncoming wave of immense growth in the next decade.
Embedded Finance and Consumer Trends
In November 2020, Brazil-based fintech company EBANX and ride-hailing app Uber announced a partnership on PIX (a payment system launched by the Brazilian government. The region has several diverse factors driving the market growth, including a vast economy, a large young population, and an abundant skilled workforce. As a result, the region has enormous potential to grow its fintech industry in 2022 and beyond. Additionally, Embedded payment platforms providers are making strategies to tap the prospects in the hospitality industry through partnerships.
Fortunately, fintech has created a new opportunity for banks looking to modernize their offerings. Let’s face it, data visibility is incredibly valuable for all organizations, allowing teams to make more informed decisions, https://globalcloudteam.com/ identify risks, and answer questions more quickly and efficiently. Data visibility refers to both the ease of access to data as well its accuracy, helping companies monitor and display data from different sources.


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Austrian brand Skiny Bodywear will be launching in the UK and Ireland, this AW12.
The AW12 season will also see Lizzie Jagger front a new advertising campaign for the Austrian brand, supporting its bid to break into the UK market.
The 27 year-old daughter of rock and roll legend Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall, one of the world’s first supermodels, has already taken part in shoots for a range of prestigious brands.
She was shot by Austrian photographer Fritz Hauswirth for phase 3 of the Skiny Who Cares campaign.
It tells the story of a young woman who, one day, simply decides to set out on an adventure.
Lizzy Jagger wears a new Skiny style, which takes its inspiration from Asia – combining ‘simple, clean chic’ with subtle details.
The Austrian underwear brand, owned by Austria’s Huber Holding, celebrates its 25th anniversary this year.
In addition to its flagship store in Vienna, Skiny garments are now to be found in over 320 department stores, 80 partner stores and approximately 550 concept stores in Europe and beyond.
Advertising campaigns featuring top international models and actors such as Laetitia Casta, Naomi Campbell, Helena Christensen and Til Schweiger have contributed greatly to raising awareness of the brand since its launch.
Skiny is a part of the Huber Holdings Group, which also operates sister brand Hanro.


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Gas prices surge
Wholesale gas prices have surged 250% this year and 70% since August owing to a combination of both supply and demand factors.
Russian supply bottlenecks, a lack of wind in the North Sea, rising Asian demand, in addition to the closure of several platforms in the North Sea and low natural gas stores have all played a part. These factors have come as Europe heads towards winter, a period when demand typically spikes for heating in homes, industry and generating power and as economies are reopening post pandemic, raising demand further.
High demand and low supply are sending natural gas prices spiking higher.
The pick up in US natural gas hasn't been acute but the trend is still clear.
Impact near term – big energy firms benefit
The immediate impact of the price surge is on smaller energy firms. These are less likely to have hedged, which allows firms to manage costs over the long term. Instead, these firms buy at the spot rate meaning that they are incurring huge losses as they are likely unable to pass the increase on to their customers.
The UK had around 70 energy suppliers in 2018. This had fallen to around 40. So far nine suppliers have gone bust this year and six have folded this month alone. More could well follow shortly.
Larger firms could be offered state backed loans for taking on customers from smaller suppliers. This is good news for the big energy firms. By tidying up the mess of the small companies in the energy market these large energy firms can expect to re-establish a healthy profit from these same customers in years to come. Furthermore, competition is reduced, bad news for the customer good news for the big energy players.
SSE one of the big players in the UK energy market has see its price rise as the smaller players collapse.
Where next for SSE share price?
SSE has been trending higher since early March, it trades above its 50 & 100 sma and is approaching the key 1700p level, the all time high which was reached pre-pandemic in February 2020, and previous to that in 2015 and January 2008. The RSI suggests that there could be more upside to come, although 1700p could be a tough level to break. It would take a move below 1590p to negate the near term uptrend and a move below 1450p for the sellers to gain traction.
Interestingly for Spain’s Endesa, the outcome has been opposite. The share price plunged on Monday after the government took measures to protect consumers by capping increases in gas prices and redirecting the company’s profits.
Rising energy prices & the Pound
Should the rise in gas prices be sustained the current situation has the potential to evolve into a full-blown energy crisis which has implications for the British economy and the Pound.
Higher natural gas imports could widen the UK’s trade deficit. According to Deutsche Bank, UK gas imports from Norway passed the UK own’s domestic production. The recent rise in the commodity price is likely to go some way to explaining GBP/NOK’s steep decline over the past month.
Elevated energy prices mean higher bills which will push up inflation. As underlying costs rise not only households but also businesses, shops and manufacturers will see prices climb, threatening consumer confidence and the economic recovery.
CPI is already at 3.2% its highest level in over a decade. The BoE sees inflation rising to 4% by the end of the year but cooling next year. Usually, higher inflation prompts the likelihood of the central bank raising intertest rates which would be Pound supportive.
However, an energy crunch is a supply side constraint which has a negative impact on the Pound and is likely overshadow expectations of the rates market. Particularly given that rising energy prices could quickly dampen the economic recovery raising the risk of stagflation.
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The iconic Nabisco cookie and social media darling has been exposed by a group of enthusiastic math students at a New York high school.
Dan Anderson’s consumer math class found out that Double Stuf Oreos are only 1.86 times the size of regular Oreos.
The New York Daily News has the scoop—and they even show their work.
In a very un-Oreo move, the brand decided to play the role of nay-saying jerk. From the Daily News:
Nabisco spokeswoman Kimberly Fontes wrote the Daily News in an email that the Double Stuf Oreos are made with double the cream in comparison to the regular Oreos.


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Click to see the best priced television deals that will be available during Black Friday and.
Best Buy is discounting a huge 70 inch Samsung KU6300 HDR 4K TV for Black Friday. of 4K TV deals and deals on other.Plus, check out the full list of Black Friday deals coming soon.
Black Friday sales got off to a calm start in stores but some websites crashed as retailers struggled to keep up with demand.Smart LED TV was the hottest product of the day during Black Friday. 2018.Help other costco.com membership best deals shoppers by submitting your promo code here.The next category is a list of items that will be discounted starting on November 19.
The best 2016 Black Friday Deals and Sales available on Groupon.com on November 25.
Price 2018 - Tvs For Sale Black Friday 2016, Has samsung revealed the tvs on sale this black friday, Unannounced additions to the samsung tv. black friday deals.
Check out our 2017 predictions for Black Friday TV deals,. academy sports cyber monday sale black friday offers 2017 uk samsung galaxy pad charger cyber monday.
The Samsung Smart TV may be the most sought-after and Walmart.Samsung published the Black Friday 2016 deals on its products. All Black Friday 2016 Deals On Samsung TVs Announced. Samsung 4K TV Deals.


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You are here
Grab unveils 3 new services for users, of which 2 are built on Uber's previous offerings
GRAB on Monday unveiled three new services to its ride-hailing platform, in its first such update since it announced it would acquire Uber's South-east Asian operations in March.
Notably, two of three of these services are built on Uber's previous offerings, including uberASSIST and Uber Car Seat.
GrabAssist, which will roll out in beta on Monday, is a service for riders with mobility needs that is similar to uberASSIST. GrabAssist vehicles will accommodate foldable wheelchairs, walkers and collapsible scooters.
The service will be provided by about 1,000 drivers, and be priced marginally higher than JustGrab, Grab's primary ride-hailing service that lets riders book either a private-hire car or taxi.
GrabCar Plus, which will be launched by the end of May, is a new "premium economy" service that features "better and newer" cars that are more spacious and generally less than three years old. GrabCar Plus will be priced between JustGrab and GrabCar Premium services. The latter is Grab's luxury car service.
GrabFamily (Ages 1 - 3), which will roll out by end June, will cater to families with toddlers aged one to three. Each vehicle will come equipped with an IMMI Go car seat, and operated by a driver who is fully trained on proper installation and use of the seat.
This new service will be priced similarly to Uber Car Seat, and complements Grab's existing service, GrabFamily (Ages 4-7), another family-friendly option that offers a mifold child booster seat for children aged four to seven.
Lim Kell Jay, head of Grab Singapore, said: "The new services will make shared transport more accessible for different segments of community."
In response to ComfortDelGro's announcement of its order of 200 new taxis on Monday, Mr Lim said that Grab is open to working with all partners, and will not comment on ongoing talks with potential partners.
The Uber app will cease to function in Singapore on Monday.


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On September 13th, a new report was published by Research and Markets. In this article, it was revealed that the Indian gaming market was valued at $1.89 billion in 2020.
“A key shift in India that the gaming industry is witnessing is that now there is a lot more focus on game development,” the report reads. “In the past 2-3 years, more than 200 game development companies have come up, creating their own intellectual properties (IPs) in games. The COVID-19 pandemic, which has resulted in lockdowns, has accelerated online gaming in India. Time spent on games increased dramatically as virtual zones became avenues to socialize, connect, and compete.”
This piece also showed the Indian gaming market will be worth $4.01 billion by 2026. This means the Indian gaming sector will register a compound annual growth rate of 16.22% over the next five years.
Additionally, India was ranked the fifth-best mobile gaming market in the world. The report stated the country has over 220 million gamers averaging 42 minutes of mobile gameplay daily.
(All information was provided by Business Wire)


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“She also suffered from depression and said online that her transitioning to a woman since age 22 may have contributed to her mental health problems.” – FOX NEWS
| Damages estimated at $200-300 million
| We’re learning more about the health of the alleged cyber thief in the Capital One data breach …
CBS News – Paige Thompson, a 33-year-old former Amazon employee from Seattle, has been arrested and charged by the FBI with stealing personal data belonging to more than 100 million Capital One customers.
Thompson, using an alias, boasted about the hack on social media, and appears to have obtained some information from several other companies, government entities and educational institutions, according to court documents.
Thompson’s resume lists eight different employers over a 12-year period, including positions with Amazon and a division of Lowe’s.
Paige Thompson, a former Amazon employee and accused hacker accused of stealing the personal data for more than 100 million Capital One customers, almost seemed to want to get caught. Mission accomplished.
Thompson, 33, was arrested on Monday after FBI agents searched her home and found files and information related to both Capital One and her former employer, according to a lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice.
Agents also found an online alias, “erratic,” allegedly connected to Thompson where she had posted online in late June about having information on “several companies, government entities, and educational entities,” according to the complaint.
Earlier that month, a Twitter account under the name erratic with a profile picture that appears to be Thompson wearing sunglasses, posted a direct message admitting she believed her actions were likely to be discovered.
“Ive basically strapped myself with a bomb vest, f***ing dropping capital ones dox and admitting it,” the message read. “I wanna distribute those buckets i think first.”
In court on Monday following her arrest, Thompson broke down and laid her head on the defense table, Bloomberg reported. A judge has ordered her to be held in jail. A bail hearing was set for later this week. Read more. (Coverage continues below … )
“This damage to Capital One is probably going to exceed $200 to $300 million dollars by the time it’s all said and done,” said Morgan Wright, cybersecurity expert and senior fellow at the Center for Digital Government, on Yahoo Finance’s The Ticker … [T[he costs will be “associated with customer notifications, credit monitoring, technology costs, and legal support.” – Yahoo! Finanace
PREVIOUSLY ON HEADLINE HEALTH:
More about the Capital One cyber incident
Capital One | Updated 5:45 PM ET, Wed July 31, 2019What happened
On July 19, 2019, we determined that an outside individual gained unauthorized access and obtained certain types of personal information about Capital One credit card customers and individuals who had applied for our credit card products.
What we’ve done
Capital One immediately fixed the issue and promptly began working with federal law enforcement. The person responsible was arrested. Based on our analysis to date, we believe it is unlikely that the information was used for fraud or disseminated by this individual. However, we will continue to investigate.
“While I am grateful that the perpetrator has been caught, I am deeply sorry for what has happened,” said Richard D. Fairbank, Chairman and CEO. “I sincerely apologize for the understandable worry this incident must be causing those affected and I am committed to making it right.”
Safeguarding information is essential to our mission and our role as a financial institution. We have invested heavily in cybersecurity and will continue to do so. We will incorporate the learnings from this incident to further strengthen our cyber defenses.
What’s the impact
Based on our analysis to date, this event affected approximately 100 million individuals in the United States and approximately 6 million in Canada.
Importantly, no credit card account numbers or log-in credentials were compromised and less than one percent of Social Security numbers were compromised. Based on our analysis to date, we believe it is unlikely that the information was used for fraud or disseminated by this individual.
The largest category of information accessed was information on consumers and small businesses as of the time they applied for one of our credit card products from 2005 through early 2019. This information included personal information Capital One routinely collects at the time it receives credit card applications, including names, addresses, zip codes/postal codes, phone numbers, email addresses, dates of birth, and self-reported income.
Beyond the credit card application data, the individual obtained portions of credit card customer data, including:
- Customer status data, e.g., credit scores, credit limits, balances, payment history, contact information
- Fragments of transaction data from a total of 23 days during 2016, 2017 and 2018
The individual also obtained the following data:
- About 140,000 Social Security numbers of our credit card customers
- About 80,000 linked bank account numbers of our secured credit card customers
We will directly notify these customers through the mail.
For our Canadian credit card customers, approximately 1 million Social Insurance Numbers were compromised in this incident. We will directly notify all Canadian customers affected.
For our Canadian credit card customers, please visit our website at www.capitalone.ca/facts2019.
What are we doing to help
Free credit monitoring and identity protection is available to everyone affected.
We recognize that there may be questions or concerns and our customer service line is available at 1-800-227-4825. Source.
MORE OF TODAY’S TOP HEALTH NEWS:


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It’s really interesting to see that silicon valley is constantly re-inventing itself. Bye bye stuffy and old hardware technologies. It’s now software, connected and vertical. And consumer-driven.
[reproduced from the Wall Street Journal]
Tech's Rust Belt Takes Shape
By DON CLARK And SHIRA OVIDE
Technology has long distributed its riches unequally. But the sector has seldom seemed so sharply divided between disrupters and the disrupted. Computing pioneer International Business Machines Corp. IBM on Thursday reported its revenue dropped 5% after failing to close big software and hardware deals. IBM is also in advanced talks to sell part of its server system business to Lenovo Group Ltd., according to people familiar with the matter, the same company that bought IBM's personal-computer business in 2005. Microsoft reported a strong gain in earnings for its third fiscal quarter with a 19% rise in profit and managed to surprise its investors. Google on Thursday provided more evidence it is weathering the storm of lower prices for online ads on mobile devices when the Internet giant reported stable revenue for the first quarter. Software giant Microsoft Corp., once known for rapid sales of PC software, reported that the business that includes its Windows operating system turned in essentially zero growth after one-time effects of software revenue deferrals. By contrast, Internet innovator Google Inc. said Thursday revenue grew 31% in the first quarter, while profit rose 16%.
The growth disparities are just the latest repercussions of technology shifts—including the rise of mobile devices and slowing growth in personal computers, the replacement of conventional software with online versions and outsourcing corporate internal computing operations to facilities run by other companies.
Tech's turmoil bears similarities to the way old-line industrial companies in America's Rust Belt lost sales to rivals in Asia and other regions.
But the disrupters this time are mainly domestic and born since the Internet revolution took hold in the mid-1990s, often offering free or low-cost alternatives to widely used products.
Google, for instance, has been relentlessly broadening its foothold from Web search with online competitors to Microsoft's applications. Even Apple Inc. which transformed the hardware market with its hit iPhones and iPads and is still growing quickly, has run into tough competition from mobile devices running Google's free Android operating system.
Companies that have failed to gain major footholds in tablets and smartphones, meanwhile, are suffering more severely. Dell Inc., reacting to prospects of slower growth, is taking particularly aggressive action by proposing a deal to go private.
Many of the companies shaking up tech markets are fleet-footed startups. "You have a very audacious set of emerging companies that truly believe in the next five years they can replace these old-line guys," says David Wah, a managing director for technology, media and telecom investment banking at Credit Suisse Group. Online business software company Workday Inc., which was founded in 2005 and went public in October, reported that revenue for its fourth quarter ended in February rose 89%. By contrast, the entrenched incumbent in business software, Oracle Corp., reported a 1% drop in its revenue in its most-recent quarter. Another example is Box Inc., a Silicon Valley startup also founded in 2005 that lets customers store their data online and tap into it from mobile phones and PCs. Aaron Levie, its chief executive, says the closely held company's revenue grew more than 150% in 2012 and it expects another doubling again this year. Mr. Levie argues that today's Web-based technology makes it easier for consumers and corporate employees to try new things. Box, in fact, claims 150,000 businesses and 15 million individuals use its service. That phenomenon, which has helped companies like Facebook Inc. penetrate large firms, makes it hard for older technology suppliers to remain entrenched the way they once did. "What is happening here is that the control and the amount of power that one company has over the ecosystem is really changing," Mr. Levie says.
Not that many older tech companies will concede that their fast-growth days are gone for good.
Microsoft, despite effects of slow sales of its new Windows 8 operating system, reported Thursday that third-quarter net income rose nearly 18.5% to $6.06 billion. The company holds back portions of sales from Windows and Office versions that come with the ability to upgrade to the newest version at little or no cost; revenue grew 18% when those figures are included, or 8.2% when they are not.
While not growing as rapidly as younger tech stars, pockets of the Redmond, Wash., company have been surprisingly resilient. Its division selling back-end services posted 11.2% revenue growth in the last quarter. Microsoft's unit that includes the Xbox videogame business also posted higher-than-expected revenue growth of 33%. Microsoft, in response to rivals like Google, is offering online—or "cloud-based"—versions of products such as Office, the bundle of word processing and spreadsheet software the company has long sold.
Across both business and consumer, I think we have a really exciting set of cloud services," said Peter Klein, who said Thursday he is stepping down as Microsoft's chief financial officer. Another example is Intel Corp., which has struggled to get its chips into mobile devices and reported Tuesday that first-quarter profit dropped 25% on revenue that declined 2.5%. But the company is nevertheless pumping about $12 billion annually into upgrading its factories to use more advanced production process, betting that the products they churn out will find a place in future smartphones and tablets. "That creativity and drive that first attracted me to Intel almost four decades ago has never been higher," said Paul Otellini, who is giving up the job of Intel chief executive next month, during a conference call with analysts.
IBM, meanwhile, has been praised during the past decade for moving successfully into services and software and reducing its reliance on less-profitable sales of mainframes and servers. Under Chief Executive Samuel J. Palmisano, who stepped down at the end of 2011, it accelerated that strategy by buying more than 140 companies since 2000 and improved its earnings per share using stock buybacks. Now, Chief Executive Virginia "Ginni" Rometty is pushing IBM into new areas such as mobile and cloud computing, as well as security and social media software. But the company reported Thursday that total revenue in the period ended in March fell more than Wall Street expected, weighed down by broad weakness in its services, software and hardware businesses. Net income fell 1% to $3.03 billion. The company reported $23.41 billion in revenues, which fell 3% when adjusted for currency fluctuations.
Google, meanwhile, provided more evidence it is weathering the storm of lower prices for online ads on smartphones and tablets. While those ads generally cost less than those on sites accessed by PC users over the Web, marketers increasingly say that the prices of ads sold by Google for the mobile-device version of its search engine are going up. Excluding Google's Motorola Mobility hardware unit, which wasn't incorporated into Google until around the middle of last year—the company said revenue rose 22% to $12.95 billion from a year earlier. Profits totaled $3.35 billion. The average price that advertisers paid when people clicked on ads on Google sites fell 4%, compared to a 6% drop in the fourth quarter. The ad-price drop, which was paired with a 20% rise in the number of times people clicked on Google's ads, was the smallest since the company began experiencing such declines in the fourth quarter of 2011. Larry Page, the company's chief executive, vowed to keep the company's spending on low-margin businesses such as Motorola's mobile devices and its ultra-fast Internet and video service in check. "I'm certainly not worried about the expense," he said during a conference call. At the same time, Google is positioning itself for the future in computing as it rolls out its Google Glass wearable-computing device to software developers. "I get chills when I use a product that is the future, and that happens when I use Glass," Mr. Page said.
—Amir Efrati, Spencer E. Ante and Rachael King contributed to this article.


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Royal Enfield Hunter 350cc Leaks;. Price around Rs 1.3 L
Royal Enfield Hunter 350 will take on a new segment in India upon its launch this year in June
It was recently brought to light that the next big launch from Royal Enfield will be the upcoming Hunter. The 350cc roadster has been spotted testing on roads on various occasions and is anticipated to launch across the country by the end of June.
Reportedly, Royal Enfield Hunter 350 will be offered in two variants. The base variant will have a disc brake up front and a drum brake at rear while the top-end variant will come with disc brakes at both ends. Further, the former will come with a single-channel ABS whereas the latter will be equipped with a dual channel ABS.
Front brake would consist of a single 300mm rotor as standard on both variants. The rear brake will comprise a 153mm drum on the base variant and a 270mm disc on the top-end trim. Besides this, there will be no other variations in terms of specs or features between the two variants.
Powering Hunter 350 will be a 349cc single cylinder, air/oil-cooled engine that puts out 20.2 bhp and 27 Nm of peak torque. This unit comes along with with a 5-speed gearbox. Hunter is also anticipated to be lighter than its other 350cc siblings which will result in better power to weight ratio.
Coming to its features, it is likely to be offered with a semi-digital instrument console along with Tripper Navigation which will be available as an optional accessory.


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Sustainable farming and food policy are like the vegetables of the food world — we have good intentions, but they’re not tasty and tend to be an afterthought.
That’s where Feeding the 5000 comes in. The event come to NYCfor the first timein Union Square on May 10, is serving 5,000 free meals made with food that would’ve ordinarily been thrown away — which doesn’t mean it’s expired. The fruit or vegetable could be too “ugly” to sell at a supermarket (though it may actually be healthier!), fine dining restaurants often have scraps that don’t make the cut, or food like bread that’s past its sell-by date but still edible.
These ingredients will be used to make 5,000 meals from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and handed out for free. And since part of ending food waste is reducing hunger — 1.4 million New Yorkers are food insecure, according to Barbara Turk, NYC’s director of food policy — Feeding the 5000 is also donating 5,000 meals to City Harvest.
In the U.S. alone, we spend $218 billion growing, processing and transporting food that goes uneaten, sending up to 63 million tons of edible food to landfills annually, according to Feedback, the U.K.-based environmental nonprofit that has been hosting Feeding the 5000 events since 2009.


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The Dow Jones Industrial Average briefly declined 100 points Tuesday, as Home Depot and Walmart both reported strong earnings results. Tesla stock reversed higher in morning trade, as it looks to retake a key long-term support level.
Among the Dow Jones leaders, Apple (AAPL) rallied 0.3% Tuesday, while Microsoft (MSFT) moved down 0.1% in today’s stock market. Goldman Sachs (GS) and JPMorgan (JPM) are in buy zones after recent breakouts.
Tesla (TSLA) reversed almost 3% higher Tuesday.
ASML and Microsoft are IBD Leaderboard stocks. Jefferies was Wednesday’s IBD 50 Stocks To Watch pick. Cameco was Monday’s IBD Stock Of The Day, while Alphabet was featured in this week’s Stocks Near A Buy Zone column.
Dow Jones Today
The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded down 0.25% early Tuesday, while the S&P 500 moved down 0.1%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite pared gains to 0.4% in midday trade.
Split Stock Market Rally
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 eased from their recent all-time highs following Monday’s modest losses. Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq is about 6% off its record high, as tech stocks continue to struggle.
Monday’s Big Picture column commented, “With the Nasdaq still below its 50-day moving average, the troubled tech trade still hasn’t resolved itself yet. But plenty of other sectors are attracting money, including metals and financials. The best strategy now is to avoid what’s not working (large-cap technology stocks) and go with what’s working (energy, financials, materials).”
For more stock market commentary, check out IBD’s The Big Picture.
Dow Jones Earnings: Home Depot, Walmart
Dow Jones stocks Home Depot and Walmart reported earnings ahead of the open Tuesday.
Home Depot easily beat first-quarter estimates early Tuesday. The company’s earnings jumped 86% to $3.86 a share as sales rose 33% to $37.5 billion.
HD shares declined 0.5%, on pace to extend a losing streak to three sessions.
Walmart reported strong Q1 results, topping analyst estimates. The discount retail giant reported EPS of $1.69 on revenue of $138.31 billion.
Walmart stock jumped 2% Tuesday morning and is trying to regain its long-term 200-day line.
Dow Jones Stocks: Goldman, JPMorgan
Dow Jones financial leader JPMorgan is in the 5% buy zone past a 161.79 buy point in a flat base, according to IBD MarketSmith chart analysis. Shares are about 2% above the entry amid Tuesday’s slight gain.
On May 5, Dow Jones stock Goldman Sachs broke out past a 356.95 buy point, entering a buy range that goes up to 374.80. Goldman shares gave up the entry on May 12 before retaking the entry on Thursday. The stock gained 0.3% Tuesday morning.
Stocks To Buy And Watch: Alphabet, ASML, Jefferies, Cameco
FANG stock leader Alphabet is rebounding from its 50-day line. Shares are on pace to extend their win streak to four sessions with a 0.4% gain Tuesday.
Alphabet is an IBD Leaderboard stock. Per Leaderboard commentary, “Alphabet is in a buy zone as it stages a rebound from its 10-week line. It has also moved back above its 21-day exponential moving average, another encouraging sign.”
The stock broke out on April 5 past a 2,145.24 entry in a flat base. The 5% buy area goes up to 2,252.50. So while shares are extended from that entry, they are in buy range from support at the 50-day average.
IBD Long-Term Leader ASML is trying to rebound from its critical 50-day line, placing the chip leader in a new buy area. It is the second time since March that ASML has found support around the same level. The most recent base formed from July to October. Shares rallied almost 1% Tuesday.
ASML is also an IBD SwingTrader stock.
Jefferies is building a cup with handle, offering a 34.52 buy point. Shares are fighting to hold their 50-day line. The stock gained 0.2% Tuesday morning.
According to IBD Stock Checkup, JEF stock boasts a strong 97 out of a perfect 99 IBD Composite Rating. The IBD Composite Rating helps investors easily measure the quality of a stock’s fundamental and technical metrics.
Bullishly, the stock’s RS line made a new high Monday, confirming the uranium miner as a stock market leader.
Tesla stock reversed early losses and rose nearly 3% Tuesday, following Monday’s 2.2% loss. Shares are trying to find support around their long-term 200-day moving average, but are falling further below that level.
On Jan. 25, Tesla stock hit a record high at 900.40, after climbing as much as 93% from a 466 buy point in a cup with handle.
Dow Jones Leaders: Apple, Microsoft
Among the top Dow Jones stocks, Apple rallied 0.3% Tuesday, looking to rebound from Monday’s 0.9% decline. Shares are fighting to regain their 50-day line.
Last week, the stock triggered the 7%-8% loss-cutting sell rule from a 135.63 buy point.
Be sure to follow Scott Lehtonen on Twitter at @IBD_SLehtonen for more on growth stocks and the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
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The health club industry is sometimes criticized for "helping the fit get fitter." Suzanne Gray, president of Right Fit Sport Fitness Wellness, is determined to change this perception. She has spent four decades developing tailored fitness...
It's time to let out your superhero. Learn how to be one when it comes to attracting new members, creating better member experiences and developing a steady stream of referrals regardless of the role you play at your fitness facility.
Everyone has their fans, and those fans often are created because your brand helped them to achieve at least some of their goals. At Club Industry, we have enlisted some of those fans as our brand ambassadors.
The health club industry is more fragmented than ever before, placing a burden on operators to find a niche and make the most of it. One London-based concept, FaceGym, is opening in New York City in May with hopes of doing just that.
Everyone needs a little help with how to deal with retention issues, marketing messages, sales techniques, wellness programming, leadership development, and what trends and technology will affect the industry in the future.


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Chances of an alliance between Malaysian national carmaker Proton and Germany's Volkswagen AG are "reasonably good", a cabinet minister said on Monday.
The two carmakers may hold a third round of negotiations, although no timetable is set for conclusion of the talks, Second Finance Minister Nor Mohamed Yakcop told reporters on the sidelines of an international economic conference in Singapore.
The fact that state-owned Proton and VW held their first round of talks in New York earlier this month and met again in Bangkok recently with the possibility of a third round "would almost by definition be a good news", he said.
"If it was bad, if it was not workable, we would have stopped at the first round," Nor Mohamed said, when asked about progress of the talks.
"The fact that we had a first round and a second round and a possible third round means that things are progressing, and the probability of working something out is reasonably good," he said.
The resumption of talks between Proton and VW marked a surprise turnaround after Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said attempts to form a strategic alliance between the two had failed.
Nor Mohamed said the government, which holds a 43 per cent stake in Proton through its investment arm Khazanah Nasional, has not rejected General Motors Corp's proposal for a tie-up with Proton, although no negotiations were going on.
"GM's proposal is still on the table. We have not shut the door on any of them," he said.
Asked when a deal could be reached, he said: "We hope to get something soon but really no timetable."
The government, which has been involved in extensive talks with VW and General Motors, is trying to find a foreign partner for Proton to help turnaround the money-losing carmaker.
Proton reported a net loss of 591.4 million ringgit ($A15.37 million) for the year ended March 31, reversing a net profit of 46.7 million ringgit ($A15.37 million) the previous year.
Proton Managing Director Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir has said the company believed a foreign partner would help consolidate and strengthen Proton's business. The company will cut costs and work to increase exports, as well as introduce two new models to boost sales, he said.
For years, Proton thrived in a protected environment in which high duties were imposed on imported vehicles, forcing many Malaysians to buy Proton cars. But duties have been slowly lowered in line with a regional trade agreement, and more Malaysians are buying imported vehicles.


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Mastercard launches an incubator focused on web3.
The incubator will help artists communicate with fans in a new environment. Mastercard representatives announced this at CES 2023 on Friday.
The program provides aspiring artists with web3 tools and skills that will help promote creativity in the sphere of the digital economy. In a virtual environment, representatives of creative professions will communicate with experts and experimenters. Artists will also study web3 in order to apply this concept in their activities.
As part of the new project, Mastercard is collaborating with Polygon, a scalable blockchain. Last year, Polygon interacted with other large companies during the implementation of the acceleration program. The blockchain platform also collaborated with clothing brands that launched NFT projects.
After joining the incubator, artists will learn how to mint NFT. They will also be able to navigate virtual worlds and create their own communities there.
Mastercard’s new project confirms that the company intends to occupy a niche in the field of digital assets. Previously, the brand has established cooperation with firms that are focused on cryptography. Mastercard also has experience in expanding the NFT ecosystem with Coinbase. The company spent the first week of the Grammys with Roblox in the metaverse, where it provided immersive activations and in-game branding.
High-ranking Mastercard employees have previously stated that they see the crypto space as a promising area for further development.
As we have reported earlier, Mastercard Launches Platform to Donate to “Christmas Without Hunger”.


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WASHINGTON -- Marianne McInerney, president of the American International Automobile Dealers Association, is credited with helping to sell two vehicles at St. Louis Acura during her one-day trial as an automotive sales associate.
One was a TL, the other an MDX, says Ray Mungenast, operator of the dealership and vice president of the Dave Mungenast Automotive Family.
But what's more important to the Mungenasts and other dealers is that she went to the front line to find out what the car business is really like.
"In 40 years in the business, this is the first time anyone from an association or manufacturer came out wanting to learn," said Dave Mungenast Sr., president of the dealership group and a former AIADA chairman.
"She did a good job. She made a lot of friends."


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This sleek-looking electric yacht is powered by the sun
Cars aren't the only vehicle getting an electric makeover these days.
The Netherland-based company Soel Yacht revealed an electric yacht that runs on solar power in 2015, and the
The yacht, dubbed the SoelCat 12, has a total lithium battery capacity of 120kWh and can operate six hours at eight knots speed on batteries alone.
The company also refers to the yacht as "autonomous," however, that doesn't mean it steers itself. Rather, the boat is autonomous in the sense that it is capable of supplying its own energy (via the solar array) required for the electric propulsion system.
The Soel Yacht 12 has a captain on board just like normal vessels, David Czap, one of the yacht's designers, told Business Insider.
The vessel is 39 feet long, holds up to 24 passengers, and can reach speeds between six to 15 knots.
The sleek looking solar electric catamaran starts pricing at about $600,000, but the company isn't necessarily targeting just wealthy customers who want a private yacht.
Rather, the solar-powered mini-yacht is meant to offer a better way for travelers to get around when they are on vacation.
As climate change concerns grow, more people have embraced ecotourism - environmentally responsible and sustainable travel to natural areas.
And while resorts have adopted all kinds of green initiatives, there hasn't been as much attention paid to making hotel and tour transport sustainable, Joep Koster, designer and architect at Soel Yachts, said in a press statement.
Koster, a naval architect, and his business partner Czap are no stranger to the electric boat industry.
In fact, Czap cofounded Czeers Solarboats in 2006, which was the company responsible for creating the first solar powered speedboat. He then went on to found another company called Naval DC in 2008, which focuses on developing solar electric propulsion systems. Naval DC and SoelYachts worked together to make the solar powered catamaran.
The company had originally planned to launch the boat in 2016, but was delayed. The company says it is currently building the first SoelCat 12 at a shipyard in Auckland, New Zealand and will ship the unit in July to a resort in French Polynesia. Beginning in September, the resort will begin using the vessel to transport guests, the company said.
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When financial services provider LV= unveiled its rebrand in May 2007, it was accused of “branding madness” and “elbowing tradition aside”.
Formerly the Liverpool Victoria Friendly Society, the company was keen to throw off dated images of co-operative financial businesses and attract new customers with an updated identity.
Three years on, and it appears LV=’s rebranding gamble has paid off. According to the company’s own research, prompted brand awareness of LV= and/or Liverpool Victoria has risen from 54% before the relaunch to 70% in September 2009.
Indeed, 72% of respondents recognised LV=’s advertising last September, compared with 17% under the old brand. Such heightened awareness has moved LV= from the 21st most well-known brand in the insurance market to sixth behind Churchill, Direct Line, AA, Aviva and More Than. Financially, the company has improved from an operating loss of £20m in 2006 to profits of £62.8m in 2008.
LV= group marketing director David Radford, who joined the company from Barclays in 2002, says: “The business strategy was clear, and we had to have a fresher, more progressive identity to live up to that strategy.
“We have played on the LV wording resembling ‘love’ in our advertising imagery because we are in business to look after what people love in life – their cars, their homes, their retirement funds.”
LV= chief operating officer Richard Rowney, who joined in February 2007, also from Barclays, at the height of the pre-relaunch phase, adds: “We knew that if we carried out the rebrand cost effectively and in a way that combined our heritage with our new ambition, there was no doubt it was the right thing to do. And our latest brand awareness scores demonstrate that we did the right thing.”
The arrival of new chief executive Mike Rogers in 2006, again from Barclays, was the trigger for not just changes to the Liverpool Victoria brand but across the business.
Radford says: “The brand identity and strategy came from the business strategy. If the business was going to be sharper, more competitive and geared up towards digital media, being Liverpool Victoria Friendly Society was going to be a struggle.
“While the business had a strong capital base, it wasn’t increasing its customer numbers. Being at the forefront of brand marketing has been key to our ability to acquire new customers while also retaining the base we already have.”
Rowney adds that the difficulty in attracting new customers was one of the factors that led to the realisation that the Liverpool Victoria brand was not “fit for purpose”. The old name sounded localised to a particular region – even though the brand has its headquarters in Bournemouth – rather than being clearly open for all consumers. Most people also thought the term “friendly society” was old-fashioned.
“LV= has been a really successful relaunch because it met that difficult challenge of addressing our existing customers and attracting new business across a broad range of products. We went from 2.4 million customers to 3.6 million during a period when many of our competitors were cutting back.”
The company saw the LV= name as a logical evolution of its existing characteristics. Radford says: “We were already being referred to as LV and the equals sign was adopted because we are a mutual, so our members own the business.”
The change that took place was not limited to the brand’s outward-facing qualities, but resonated internally in terms of the working environment and business philosophy.
Radford says: “There has been a big focus on internal marketing. The initial emphasis was on our own people. The company has woken up to be much more open for business and an accessible, engaging brand. There’s a greater sense of urgency within the business and key to that is the level of engagement of our people.”
LV= staff were also invaluable to the business when Radford, Rowney and Rogers were deciding how to implement the new branding. The LV= executives oversaw a research programme intended to canvass opinions from staff, along with customers, the public and financial advisers. Radford says the research discovered that people wanted financial services from a company with the strength and business finesse of its largest rivals but also the trust that people feel they can place in a mutual organisation.
LV=, however, faced a battle to consolidate its online operations under the LV.com website because the domain name was wanted by Louis Vuitton and Las Vegas. Radford says winning this domain was an important milestone in the brand’s turnaround, as the website acts as a “shop window” to consumers everywhere.
With this much stronger online offering, LV= has spent the past few years changing its marketing approach. Before its rebrand, 90% of its marketing budget of around £25m in 2006 was spent on direct mail. The budget is around £30m today and analyst Datamonitor says in the first half of 2009, about 58% was spent on television campaigns, 13% on direct mail, 16% on print and 13% on outdoor.
“We don’t have the marketing budget of some of our competitors, which means we have to punch above our weight,” says Rowney. “The ecommerce team is exploring the use of viral games and social media, which are important new ways of getting brand messaging across – especially for a company that is trying to position itself as a challenger brand that is on the consumer’s side.”
Datamonitor financial services analyst Sylvia Li agrees that LV= has made a successful transition from sleepy mutual to a modern brand. “If you look back at the identity of Liverpool Victoria Friendly Society, there was something that needed to be done in terms of a new image and strategy,” she says. “The business is now growing very fast, which is a testament to what it has done.”
However, Li suggests that it is difficult to tell how much growth LV= has experienced is down to the rebrand and how much is a result of acquisition activity between 2006 and 2008, when it added ABC Insurance Solutions, Tomorrow, Britannia Rescue and Highway Insurance into its portfolio.
At any rate, the stark improvement in the brand’s recognition and awareness scores speak for themselves. Li adds: “LV=’s new approach to advertising has paid off as the message is so much clearer because the ads are shorter, catchy and more modern. It has done well to improve brand awareness.”
LV=’s brand journey may span more than three years, but Radford says the next phase of development has begun and will focus on telling the company’s target audience just how the brand’s values are combined with its products.
He would like to see the brand’s values reflected in its customer-facing operations. “A lot of people in our market can get their PR and advertising right, but the policy documents sent out to customers are so complicated and full of jargon that the experience doesn’t live up to the brand promise,” he explains. “We are overhauling our communications to customers and taking out the technical, financial-services speak that as an industry we are guilty of. But there’s no room for complacency.”
David Taylor, thebrandgym
We are normally sceptical about rebranding because it usually focuses on the “image wrapper” of brand identity and communication, rather than the customer experience. However, the rebrand of Liverpool Victoria to LV= makes business sense.
This is a brand that had only 2% spontaneous awareness. In a market like insurance, where involvement is low and online search a key tool, this was a bad place to be. Shortening the name to LV made building awareness much easier.
A marketing masterstroke was getting ownership of LV.com, a super-simple and easily memorable domain name. The move to LV also helped modernise the brand in a market that is getting less dusty and dull.
LV still faces two key challenges. First is building the customer experience to make it more distinctive. The “love” idea and heart symbol used by LV are a good place to start, but the brand needs to demonstrate through action that it loves its customers.
Second, the brand needs a marketing campaign that has real impact to boost awareness and drive traffic to LV.com. It has been active in rugby sponsorship, but this is still quite niche.