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It’s been a difficult journey for the cryptocurrency market through 2022. As of November, the market had dipped by more than 70 percent from its previous high at the end of November. Just when the market was getting worse and down, the FTX crash turned them even more dire. So, will the crypto market recover in 2023?
Crypto Market Dips are Cyclical
The crypto market, especially Bitcoin has had its fair share of dips in the past. Each time, it’s rebounded with a huge increase.
For instance, in 2013, Bitcoin reached a peak of $1,160. It then plummeted for a full year before hitting a low of $150. In 2017, it broke the record, and hit a new highest of $19,600. Fast forward to 2018, the price was at $3,100. In 2020, the price broke through that resistance and hit a new highest of $68,000 in November 2021. Just like that, we’ve witnessed another drop. However, history has shown us that following each dip there’s a bull-run.
Every Dip is Followed by a Long Bull Run
Similar to what we’ve witnessed previously, dips are usually followed by a lengthy bull run that finally surpasses the resistance created by the previous market’s highest price. This is evident in more than Bitcoin but also other cryptocurrencies.
Growing Use of Crypto and Blockchain
Blockchain and cryptocurrency technology has progressed a lot in the last few years. With more and more companies and industries embracing the technology, its use and acceptance is growing. From banking to gaming the use of crypto is increasing in a variety of ways. And this growing use case could result in increasing participation in the crypto market which could boost prices.
The rise in interest of institutions in crypto
In recent years, we’ve seen a growing curiosity from institutions investing in crypto. From banks to hedge funds and even large corporations are beginning to investigate the possibilities for crypto-based assets. This increased interest from institutions could provide more stability to the market for crypto and lead to more expensive prices.
As the market for crypto grows as it matures, governments all over the world are starting to create more favorable rules for crypto. This will help draw more investors and increase the adoption rate of crypto.
A broader range of blockchain applications
The technology that is the basis of many cryptocurrency, blockchain, has a wide range of applications that go beyond the realm of financial transactions. In addition to supply chain management, voting and other systems industries are exploring ways they can utilize blockchain technology, which could increase investment and enthusiasm in crypto.
Technologies are constantly evolving.
Blockchain and cryptocurrency technology is at the very beginning of development. As advances continue to be made in areas such as scalability and security, the potential of cryptocurrency assets will continue to grow. This could lead to greater acceptance and higher prices.
Uncertainty in the global economy
With the ongoing instability in the economy caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors, more and more investors are beginning to look for safe haven investments like bitcoin and even gold. Since the economic outlook for the world is uncertain, this could lead to more demand for crypto as well as higher prices.
Interest from retail investors
Institutional investors aren’t the only people who are interested in crypto. Retail investors, also known as individual investors, are also starting to invest in the cryptocurrency market. As more and more everyday people are educated about crypto and the best ways to invest in it, this could lead to increased demand and higher prices.
The growing awareness and acceptance of crypto
As the market for crypto grows, more and more people are beginning to learn about it and comprehend it. As awareness and acceptance grows of crypto, it will lead to increasing numbers of people purchasing or holding cryptocurrency, and this can increase prices.
how to check crypto wallet balance
The Decentralized Finance (DeFi) is an emerging area of the crypto market that enables the provision of financial services developed upon blockchain technology. As DeFi expands and more projects and platforms become available, this could lead to increased adoption and higher prices for crypto.
Developments in crypto payment methods
As the market for crypto continues to grow increasing numbers of companies are beginning accepting crypto payments as a method of payment. This could lead to increased use of crypto in everyday transactions, and a rise in prices.
The increased investment of sovereign wealth funds
Sovereign wealth funds, which are owned by the state as investment vehicles, are starting to explore crypto as a potential asset class. As more funds allocate a portion of their assets to digital currencies, this could result in a rise in demand and more expensive prices.
Utilization of crypto to make cross-border payments
One of the main advantages of cryptocurrency is its ability to make quick and inexpensive cross-border payments. As more businesses and individuals are beginning to make use of crypto for international transactions, this could lead to increased demand and higher prices.
Increasing numbers of crypto ATM’s
The number of crypto ATM’s increase, it will become easier for individuals to purchase and keep crypto, which will drive up demand and prices.
Development of security tokens
Security tokens, or digital assets that represent ownership of an asset, such as stock or real estate are rapidly expanding segment of the cryptocurrency market. As more security tokens are issued and traded, it can lead to a higher demand and consequently higher prices for crypto.
More adoption by merchants
As more and more retailers accept cryptocurrency as a method of payment, this will make it easier for consumers to utilize and store crypto, which could drive up demand and prices.
So, is crypto likely to grow in 2023? Only time will tell. However, with these aspects to consider, it’s likely that the crypto market could be able to see a rebound in 2023. For those committed to the long-term, being patient and disciplined is crucial.


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While Microsoft certainly has been the top dog in terms of acquisitions these past couple of years, Sony has also kicked things into gear. Just earlier this year, the company announced that it would be acquiring Bungie in a massive deal worth $3.6 billion, and now, we also have a clearer idea of when to expect that deal to be finalized.
In its latest quarterly fiscal report, Sony stated that it’s projecting its operating income in fiscal year 2022-23 (April 2022-March 2023) to drop by 41 billon yen. Why? According to the company, the acquisition of Bungie (which is currently being investigated by the Federal Trade Commission) will make a dent, and that deal is expected to close in Q3 of the fiscal year, which is the October-December period of 2022.
“This forecast is based on the assumption that the acquisition of Bungie, Inc. (“Bungie”), which is currently under review by the relevant authority, will close in the third quarter ending December 31, 2022,” Sony wrote in its report.
As previously announced, once the ink is dry on the deal, Bungie will continue to operate with complete autonomy and creative control over itself, and its current and future games, including all things Destiny, will remain multiplatform titles rather than becoming PlayStation exclusives. Sony is also expecting the Bungie deal to significantly fast-track its efforts to expand in the live service space, so doubtless, the company will be hoping to wrap up the deal as quickly and neatly as possible.
Recently, Sony also announced the acquisition of Haven Studios, following which PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan reiterated that the company still has more acquisitions planned.
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The oldest bakery in Montrose is closing down after 85 years of service in the town.
William J. Johnston Bakers and Confectioner, on Castle Street, is shutting up shop because owner Ian Johnston is retiring and his business partner and daughter Sarah Barclay is pregant and wants to spend time with her family.
The business has been sold but will not be taken over as another bakery.
In a statement the family said: “We want to thank everyone for their local custom and support over the years.
“It will be an extremely sad day but as a family we feel we need to slow down from the long hard hours.”
Ian said: “It is with sadness that we do this but it is the right time.
“We tried to sell it as a going concern as another bakery but there was no interest.”
The Johnston family have been bakers for more than 100 years and the premises on Castle Street opened its doors in 1929 when William J. Johnston left the family bakery business in Perthshire to move to Montrose.
For the last 10 years Ian and Sarah have ran the shop as a partnership.
William J Johnston Bakers and Confectioner will shut its doors for the final time on Saturday, July 26.


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Street rods roar into Hobart for national car show
Hundreds of hot rods have roared into Hobart for one of Australia's biggest classic and custom car shows.
About 400 street rods, ranging from scrap metal creations to $250,000 rarities, are in Hobart for the street rod nationals.
Enthusiasts from across Australia are here for the five-day event, featuring mostly pre-1949 American cars.
Organiser Lindsay Greenwood says there is a growing legion of street rod fans.
"All very passionate and to mostly it's a lifestyle," he said.
Bob Waddilove built his rod out of recycled car parts.
"I love the fact it's individual, it's a piece of art, if I couldn't drive it I'd hang it on the wall and look at it," he said.
The event runs until Tuesday and will see the street rods travel as far south as Geeveston.


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Economist Advises Taiwan on Post-Pandemic Objectives|學者:台美FTA.加入CPTPP 對台經濟才會加分
Economist Razeen Sally, who accurately predicted the trade war between the United States and China, was recently invited by a Taiwan media outlet to give an online lecture on post-pandemic global economic changes. He advised Taiwan to end its trade dependency on China, to open up markets, and to sign a free trade agreement with the U.S.
Razeen Sally currently serves as the director of the European Centre for International Political Economy, which he co-founded, and also teaches at the National University of Singapore. A Taiwan media outlet recently invited him to give an online lecture about the new global economic situation following the COVID-19 pandemic. With regards to Taiwan, he said although disease prevention efforts have been successful, significant trade challenges remain, and he is not optimistic about trade and economic cooperation with China.
... for Taiwan and economic policy is that for you to survive, you will need to advertise your open market. A bilateral FTA with the United States, which might actually be more possible...
Sally also said the global economy won't recover until 2022 because it will require at least a year and a half to produce and commercialize a vaccine. He predicted not a V-shaped reversal, but a sluggish recovery. Tensions between the United States and China have increased recently, which could affect the global economy. Some scholars warn that Taiwan should not rashly choose sides.
You should "borrow strength and use strength" following the supply chain relocation trend to maintain an economic distance with China.
Scholars add that out of the industries moving out of China, only the semiconductor industry has been successful and other industries maintain close trade ties with China. Completely severing ties with China will batter Taiwan's economy and the government needs to make a prudent assessment and progressively transfer production capacity to Southeast Asia. A comprehensive set of measures for returning Taiwan businesspersons also needs to be in place for effective investment.
五色口罩一次滿足！PChome 9/22 中午12點 強推艾可兒彩色醫用口罩(31 分鐘前)
淘寶台灣快訊/9/21-27 淘寶台灣成人醫用口罩開賣資訊(44 分鐘前)
技成科技晉升Palo Alto Networks台灣首家鑽石級經銷商(53 分鐘前)


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DAVID GREENE, HOST:
All right, in this country we have the back story of an Internet security case. Federal prosecutors want a look inside the iPhone used by one of the shooters in the mass killing in San Bernardino, Calif. Apple is resisting an order to do that. It turns out that Apple has fought this battle in court before. NPR's Joel Rose reports.
JOEL ROSE, BYLINE: The Brooklyn case starts with a drug dealer. Jun Feng pleaded guilty to selling methamphetamine. As part of its investigation, the FBI got a search warrant for Feng's iPhone. But the phone was locked by a pass code. So prosecutors asked a judge for an order compelling Apple to bypass the lock. This was all pretty routine, says Susan Hennessy. She's a former lawyer for the NSA who's now at the Brookings Institution.
SUSAN HENNESSEY: In approximately 70 prior occasions, this exact situation had occurred. And Apple had elected to comply with the court order.
GREENE: The fact that Apple had bypassed the lock on 70 phones in similar cases was revealed during a court hearing last October. Apple might have quietly done the same for Jun Feng's phone too, but something unusual happened. Federal magistrate Judge James Orenstein did not sign the order the government wanted. Instead, he went public and asked Apple if the company had any objections.
JENNIFER GRANICK: What was remarkable is that the public hadn't seen the argument surfaced.
ROSE: Jennifer Granick is with the Stanford Center for Internet and Society.
GRANICK: Judge Orenstein had concerns about whether the government's legal argument for compelling Apple was a valid legal argument.
ROSE: The judge seemed particularly skeptical that the government is relying in part on an 18th century law called the All Writs Act. Prosecutors say it gives them authority to compel companies like Apple to help carry out search warrants. Susan Hennessey at the Brookings Institution says the government probably expected Apple to comply, just like the company had dozens of times before.
HENNESSEY: The All Writs Act, it's intended to be a gap-filling measure. This is precisely how All Writs has been applied throughout history.
ROSE: But this time, lawyers for Apple disagreed. They said the company had complied when the law seemed settled. But in October, Apple's lawyers argued that the government was actually asking for something novel, the power to force a tech company to defeat the security on one of its own devices. It's similar to the argument that's now playing out in California, where the FBI wants Apple to unlock the iPhone of Sayed Farook.
ALEX ABDO: The cases are different. But the underlying legal question is very similar.
ROSE: Alex Abdo is a lawyer with the ACLU.
ABDO: The question in the New York case is whether the government can rely on this very old statute to conscript Apple into government service.
ROSE: There are some key differences between the two cases. The defendant's iPhone in New York was using an older operating system, which makes it relatively easy for Apple to bypass the lock. The iPhone in California is running Apple's newer operating system. And the company says it would have to write software to get into the phone. Alex Abdo at the ACLU says that's a conscious change by Apple.
ABDO: Because they didn't want to be in a position, they told the court, of having to serve as a government investigative agent. They wanted to be out of the business of spying on their customers.
ROSE: That may be especially important to Apple in international markets, where security is a big selling point. But U.S. law enforcement is frustrated by that argument. Federal prosecutors say Apple is putting its own public relations interests ahead of national security. They think Apple could easily defeat the security on phone in California and Brooklyn, just like it's done 70 times before. Joel Rose, NPR News, New York.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.


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Global technology leader IBM released highlights from its second annual digital media survey this week. The company surveyed 2,800 individuals around the globe on their media consumption habits and asked specific questions tailored around video advertising. The full summary can be read here. While I read every published study regarding online video, this one was particularly interesting since it was consumer-based and asked very relevant questions.
There are three key findings that I zeroed in on as critically important as the online video ad industry enters what could be a true breakout year in 2009 (for the record, fellow MediaPost writer, Cory Treffiletti, thinks 2008 was a breakout year for online video because of Hulu's success, and I agree. However, I'm talking about the implications for advertising specifically).
Online is winning: 76% of users have watched video on their PC, up 27% from 2007. Nearly half of them (45%) say they do it regularly and that they watch less TV as a result. One of the barriers to online video advertising's breakout has been a lack of scale. Based on these stats, critical mass via a shift to online may be well underway.
Ad-supported works (if done right): An overwhelming majority (70%) support having their content free and ad-supported rather than having to pay for it. However, in an online environment, users would rather see ads before or after their viewing. Commercial interruption and/or product placements scored negatively. What does this mean? Despite the protests of some, pre-roll is likely to remain the key ad unit for the foreseeable future. Post-roll is another opportunity that should be investigated further: how can publishers incentivize users to stay past the end of the video?
Give to receive: A significant amount (nearly 60%) of those surveyed were willing to provide data on themselves (demo, lifestyle and communications preferences) if they received something of value in return. Items ranged from free music or videos to things like travel points. Also interesting was that the quid pro quo protocol was expected more internationally (45% for U.S. versus 60%+ for non-U.S.). This is an interesting prospect for destination sites: can they offer some exclusive content to users who register, and then monetize that effectively via higher rates for targeting? That sounds like a very reasonable proposition.
A final thought on this: watch the video that accompanies the online press releasea. Hearing answers from those not only in New York and Los Angeles but Tokyo, Frankfurt and Mumbai is fascinating and puts the global change at hand truly in perspective.
As a former analyst at Gartner (the world's largest IT research and advisory services firm) I am always a bit skeptical of reports that focus on data derived from self-reported surveys (e.g. Do you watch online video? Are you watching less TV because of it?). Actual viewing behavior (as in time spent viewing video) provides a more accurate perspective of the real world. The latest Nielsen research data highlights that online video still represents less than 2% of total video viewing time and 10% of total time online. The Nielsen report states that traditional TV viewing amounts to 142.5 hours per month versus just 2.5 hours per month for online video. As such, when you consider the actual usage data, it is tough to argue that online video is "winning". Over the next few years, online video will become an increasingly important part of the video advertising mix, but along the way, you can also expect for traditional television to evolve to support many of the more valuable advertising capabilities of online video (addressability, contextual messaging, dynamic update, interactivity, measurement, etc.). (http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.san&s=95386&Nid=49746&p=257661)


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Ola Electric raises $ 100 million in long-term debt from Bank of Baroda
Ola Electric, the electric vehicle (EV) arm of taxi aggregator Ola, announced on Monday that it had raised $ 100 million (Rs 744.5 crore) in long-term debt from the Bank of Baroda.
The company claimed that it was the largest long-term debt financing deal for India’s electric vehicle industry. This 10-year debt will be used to finance and financially close phase I of the Ola Futurefactory, Ola’s global manufacturing hub for its electric two-wheelers.
Last December, Ola announced that it would invest 2,400 crore rupees in the establishment of phase I of the plant. Earlier this month, Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal announced on Twitter that Phase I of the plant was nearing completion and the company’s electric scooters would hit the market soon.
âToday’s agreement for long-term debt financing between Ola and Bank of Baroda demonstrates the confidence of institutional lenders in our plans to build the world’s largest two-wheeler factory in record time .
We are committed to accelerating the transition to sustainable mobility and manufacturing electric vehicles made in India for the world and we are pleased that Bank of Baroda has joined us on our journey, âsaid Aggarwal.
The Ola Futurefactory is coming to a 500 acre site in Tamil Nadu. At full capacity of 10 million vehicles per year, it will be the largest two-wheeler plant in the world.
Besides its two-wheeler factory, Ola Electric is also working on Hypercharger, which the company says will be the world’s largest electric two-wheeler charging network, spanning 400 cities in India and Europe, with more 100,000 charging stations. Ola electric scooters should offer a range of 75 km with just 18 minutes of charging.


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Rep. Randy Neugebauer Defends Farm Programs
As congress works on a farm bill, www.cnsnews.com , a conservative website, is running an article in which the writer calls the farm bill one of the most flagrant examples of corporate welfare in the federal budget.
On Lubbock’s First News on KFYO, Rep. Randy Neugebauer disagreed.
“This farm bill that’s coming up, it’s going to be a balanced approach where producers have skin in the game. For example, the direct payments, which is something which has taken a lot of criticism because a lot of people felt like that was paying farmers to do nothing, those payments are going away. What basically we’re going to see in this farm bill is a farm bill that provides a safety net, and the producers have skin in the game.


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The success of Western Union’s digital platforms serves as proof that sometimes incumbents can challenge the challengers.
The narrative of digital transformation has often felt like new, innovative and agile participants rising to supplant older, slower, and cumbersome incumbents. However, through price reductions and new tech Western Union is fighting for postion.
Western Union (read our Western Union money transfer review here) has been the dominant name in overseas money transfers for over 150 years. However, in recent times they have found their position threatened by new names such as Wise (formerly known as TransferWise), Azimo, XE and others.
Powered by digital technology these money transfer fintech start-ups promise faster and more affordable transfers than traditional incumbents.
However, rather than flounder against this onslaught, Western Union has thrived. It has done so thanks to a unique blend of the old and the new.
The new comes in the form of digital innovation. Like other money transfer services, it benefited from a COVID inspired acceleration in digital platforms. Revenue from their digital transfer platform surged by 38% from $600 million in 2019 to $850 million in 202022. Their transaction site saw a leap of 30% in annual customers to 8.6 million.
The old comes from their position of trust – built by a century and a half’s track record. For all the benefits of fast digital transfers, people still want to use companies that they know and trust.
Many feel uncomfortable with online transfer services preferring instead a more traditional face to face approach.
Western Union’s approach, therefore, has been to take a highly practical attitude to innovation. At every turn, they have sought to understand how the pandemic has shifted what people need from a transfer service.
Speaking to TechCrunch their President of Product and platform Shelly Swanback explains more.
“One of the things we learned from that experience is this notion of everyday innovation,” she explained. “Innovation isn’t always blockchain or some emerging technology. Sometimes the best innovation is just about innovating every day with the products and services that you have.”
For example, with people confined to home they had to work out how to deliver cash to their homes in countries such as Sri Lanka, Nepal and Jordan which satisfied all security and regulatory requirements.
For those uncomfortable with digital platforms, they also introduced a video service in which they could connect directly with an advisor who could provide hands on support with their transfers.
Western Union’s success shows that, when it comes to digital innovation, older players aren’t necessarily the ones being left behind. By adapting to new technologies and deploying them in practical ways which help their customers, they are beating those agile start-ups at their own game.


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A Japanese company known all over the world Sony, recently disclosed its investment plans for the platform stencrypted securities (security tokens) Securitize. Thus, the electronic giant joined the group of companies that turned to technology blockchain.
Sony is a development opportunity for Securitize
It is also of great importance for the platform itself Securitize.
According to its CEO and co-founder, Carlos Domingo, the investment decision of the Japanese giant proves that Securitize is of great importance for shaping digital capital markets.
In addition, interest from a brand with such a strong market position will certainly have a positive impact on both the platform's reputation and its further performance.
Sony Financial Ventures
The investment in Securitize was made by Sony through one of its subsidiaries - Sony Financial Ventures (SFV)belonging to Sony Financial Group.
It is one of the largest companies providing financial services, and it also includes, among others Sony Life Insurance, Sony Assurance, Sony Bank, Sony Payment Services and Sony Lifecare.
Sony Financial Group currently most investments are made in Asia, North America and Europe, with these investments including many innovative technologies, such as artificial intelligence or robotics.
SFV Director, Junji Nakamura, he repeatedly emphasized in media coverage how many opportunities brings blockchain technology, paying special attention to creating new asset classes and increasing market liquidity. He did not hide his enthusiasm for the action taken.
Investment in Securitize
Sony's decision to invest in Securitize was determined primarily by the successful course of the financing round of the company, which recognized global companies joined.
The platform managed to raise funds worth USD 15 million.
The importance of Securitize on the market
The Securitize platform became famous in January this year, when it was able to finalize the contract with AltoIRA, which expanded the possibilities American investors.
Another event that brought attention back to the company was Sony's interest in it. This is proof that the platform is becoming an increasingly important market player - the Japanese giant would not turn to an entity with a dubious reputation.


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Bitcoin futures prices appear to be settling down to a small premium above the cryptocurrency’s spot price. But by how much should futures prices differ from spot?
According to financial theory, the price of a futures contract on a particular asset should move in tandem with the spot (current) price, but there will be a gap between the two.
The gap, or “basis”, reflects the collective costs faced by a futures seller, assuming that the seller wants to hedge the short position. These include the cost of buying and financing the asset, the cost of storing it until the delivery date, and any charges for insuring it.
In theory, any divergence between this theoretical basis and the levels at which futures are trading should encourage specialist traders called arbitrageurs to step in and narrow the gap.
One important element of the cost equation—the financing rate for futures—is determined by interest rate differentials. In other words, the futures seller assumes an interest cost for borrowing money to buy bitcoins, while adding back any interest received from the asset.
Since bitcoins don’t pay interest, the financing rate for a dollar-priced bitcoin futures contract should reflect the wholesale dollar interest rate over the life of the contract.
Then, if interest rates were the sole determinant of futures prices, the bitcoin futures curve should be upward-sloping, or “in contango”, in the jargon of traders.
“You’d expect the normal shape of the bitcoin futures curve to be a slight contango.”
This means that, in headline terms, the price of a bitcoin futures contract should be higher than the bitcoin spot price, and futures contracts of longer maturity should trade at steadily higher premia.
On the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), both of which launched bitcoin futures in December, futures have generally traded at a premium to the prevailing market price for bitcoin, in line with what interest rates would predict.
“You’d expect the normal shape of the bitcoin futures curve to be a slight contango,” Michael Mollet, director of product development at CBOE Global Markets, told New Money Review.
During the first quarter of 2018, CME’s June bitcoin futures contract traded at a premium to the March contract, temporarily falling to a small discount twice during periods of a sharp decline in the cryptocurrency’s price. Overall, the premium narrowed during the three-month period.
“The basis between the futures market and the spot market has tightened considerably since the launch of our contract,” said Tim McCourt, CME’s global head of equity products.
“There’s been a relatively stable term structure and a clear interrelatedness between the futures market and the spot market,” he said.
However, “it’s too early to say what the exact parameter driving the relationship between the futures price and the spot price is,” said McCourt.
In theory, in addition to interest rate differentials, traders could build the storage and insurance costs for holding bitcoin into the premium of the futures price over the spot price.
“Custodial fees for cryptocurrencies are high—anything from 0.5 to 1 percent a year.”
Matt Hougan, global head of research at Bitwise Asset Management, a provider of cryptocurrency tracker products, explains his company’s experience of these additional holding costs.
“Custodial fees for cryptocurrencies are high—anything from 0.5 to 1 percent a year,” Hougan told New Money Review.
Bitwise charges a 2.5 percent per annum management fee for its fund, which tracks an index of ten cryptocurrencies, weighted by their aggregate market capitalisations. The management fee includes the cost of custody.
Bitwise has contracted a separate entity, Kingdom Trust, to hold its clients’ cryptocurrencies in cold storage (cold storage means the private keys needed to authorise a transaction are kept offline to reduce the risk of theft by a computer hacker).
“We’ve only found one organisation willing to insure cryptocurrencies against hacking risk, over and above custody in cold storage, and that’s Lloyd’s of London. They charge 2-4 percent a year, which is higher than most people want to bear,” said Hougan.
“Bitcoin custody is a risky business. The risk of a hack wiping everything out is high.”
One exchange executive pointed out the inherent difficulty in arriving at a notional cost for bitcoin custody.
“It’s not costless to store bitcoin, as mechanisms need to be in place to ensure that private keys are stored securely, and that cost should be baked into the relationship between futures prices and spot prices,” Timo Schlaefer, founder of bitcoin trading platform Crypto Facilities, told New Money Review.
“It’s hard to express the cost as a percentage though, since different players have different tolerances of custody risk. Some custodians charge 10 bps per month with a fairly hefty setup fee. That could add up to 200 bps in the first year,” said Schlaefer.
Another exchange executive, who requested anonymity, suggested that measuring the cost of insuring bitcoin against theft is even trickier.
“Custody is a risky business,” the executive said.
“The risk of a single hack wiping everything out is high and you can’t properly insure against it in the current market. An insurance company will add lots of exclusions and add pages of terms and conditions as a way to wiggle out when you need it the most,” the executive said.
In one well-publicised case, insurance company Massachusetts Bay refused to pay out on a policy taken out by payments processor BitPay when BitPay suffered three separate hacks in late 2014.
Massachusetts Bay justified its decision by pointing out that the email account of one of BitPay’s business partners had been compromised. The business partner’s email address was used to send fictitious emails to BitPay, which then authorised the outwards transfer of 5,000 bitcoins (worth around $47 million at today’s prices).
“There are multiple approaches at play in pricing bitcoin futures.”
Another theoretical influence on the pricing of cryptocurrency futures is specific to this asset class. This factor, which works against the prevailing trend for a futures premium, is the possibility of a future fork of the currency.
“If market participants expected a hard fork to occur in June, for example, you’d expect the June future to trade at a pretty significant discount to the current price,” Michael Mollet, director of product development at CBOE Global Markets, told New Money Review.
Collectively, these determinants of bitcoin futures prices are still in the process of working themselves out. In the meantime, futures quotes are likely to be influenced by a variety of different players, according to CME’s Tim McCourt.
“What I would call access players in the futures market are probably more motivated by overall supply and demand than by the type of sophisticated pricing model you typically see for other financial futures contracts,” said McCourt.
“On the other hand, market makers and liquidity providers, many of which have their own spot inventories of bitcoin, are using more of a fair value approach to price bitcoin futures. There are multiple approaches at play,” he said.


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LONDON — British consumer sentiment recorded its biggest improvement in nearly four years this month as coronavirus lockdown restrictions eased, though it still remains far below its level at the start of this year, a survey showed on Friday.
The GfK consumer confidence index, Britain’s longest-running such survey, increased to its highest since March at -30, up from -36 in late May, which was the lowest reading since the depths of the financial crisis.
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The improvement matches other data showing some recovery since economic output collapsed by an unprecedented 20% in April, when many businesses suspended operations, shops closed to the public and workers were told to stay home were possible.
However GfK said the improvement was not guaranteed to last.
“With the labor market set for more job losses, we have to question whether we are seeing early signs of economic recovery or that infamous ‘dead cat bounce’. Most bets will be on the dead cat,” GfK director Joe Staton said.


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Got milk? Not anymore.
The milk industry on Monday replaced its two-decade-old slogan, “Got Milk?” with a new catch phrase, “Milk Life.”
“We want to make sure that milk is relatable, relevant and meaningful to Americans,” said Julia Kadison, interim CEO of the Milk Processor Education Program.
“Got Milk?” had been the go-to line since 1993, when the California Milk Processor Board first rolled it out. Scores of celebrities donned “milk mustaches” for the popular campaign.
Now the milk business needs a big boost. Per-capita consumption of fluid milk and cream has fallen by 25 percent from 1975 to 2012, according to the USDA.


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Groupon, the discount e-commerce marketplace, announced that it is shedding 1,100 jobs and ceasing operations in seven markets internationally.
The decision was made to help streamline business operations.
Groupon COO Rich Williams wrote in a blog post Tuesday that the job cuts will primarily be in the company’s international Deal Factory and Customer Service areas.
The company also said that it has made an “honest look” at where it does business.
It said that the investment necessary to bring its tech, tools, and marketplace to every one of its 40+ countries “isn’t commensurate with the return at this point.”
The company recently pulled out of Greece and Turkey and it is now ceasing operations in Morocco, Panama, The Philippines, Puerto Rico, Taiwan, Thailand and Uruguay as well.
Rich Williams said: “We believe that in order for our geographic footprint to be an even bigger advantage, we need to focus our energy and dollars on fewer countries,”
“Evolution is hard, but it’s a necessary part of our journey. It’s also part of our DNA as a company and is one of the things that will help us realize our vision of creating the daily habit in local commerce.”
“While this is a lot of change, here’s what’s not changing: Our mission to connect local commerce; our commitment to delivering great deals to our customers and real value to our merchants and our belief that Groupon is a unique and amazing place to work.
Many analysts expected the site’s popularity to eventually dwindle and pointed out its unsustainable business model because of the company’s contentious relationship with merchants.


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Lloyds boss tells banks to be ‘boring’
Speaking at the CBI Scotland annual dinner, António Horta-Osório said banks had let the public down by becoming “complacent, non-customer focused and inefficient”, The Telegraph reports.
He added: “The banking industry has done itself no favours. Issue by issue and scandal by scandal, the faith and trust in our industry has been eroded.
“The industry must change. We must recast the banking model … retail and commercial banks should be simple and they should be boring.”
Commenting on the FSA’s recent consultation paper on clamping down on incentives, he said banks had “focused too much on sales targets”, insisting that pay will increasingly become linked to the long-term performance of the bank in the future.
Meanwhile, Horta-Osório also urged the new regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority, to have “the courage to take pre-emptive action so we avoid costly and retrospective actions as we saw with PPI”.
His speech came just a day after it was revealed that Lloyds itself is being investigated by the Financial Services Authority over commission payments on its retail product sales.


text: LINDA A. JOHNSON AP Business Writer TRENTON, New Jersey (AP) — Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. on Thursday reported a solid increase in third-quarter revenue, due to strong sales growth for its blockbuster blood thinner Plavix and other key medicines, and boosted its profit forecast. Higher average drug prices and lower spending on marketing and administration also boosted the performance for the maker of Abilify, which treats schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, and HIV drugs Sustiva and Reyataz. However, New York-based Bristol-Myers said its net income from July through September was $966 million, down by nearly two-thirds from $2.6 billion a year earlier. That figure was inflated by a one-time, $2 billion gain from the sale of a business. Excluding that, profit actually was up by 64 percent in the last quarter. The world’s No. 15 drugmaker by revenue had sales of $5.49 billion, just a hair below the $5.52 billion analysts expected. A year ago, revenue totaled $5.25 billion. Both totals include profits from the company’s majority interests in Mead Johnson Nutrition Co., $699 million this quarter and $744 million a year ago. In the interim, Bristol-Myers sold about 20 percent of the company in an initial public offering. Several Bristol-Myers drugs had double-digit sales jumps. Those included Abilify, Orencia for rheumatoid arthritis, leukemia drug Sprycel and hepatitis B drug Baraclude. The company also launched its newest drug, Onglyza for diabetes, in the U.S. in August. It produced $20 million in sales by the end of September, and shortly after got approval in the European Union, where it will soon be on sale. The company posted earnings per share of 48 cents, or 52 cents excluding one-time items. A year ago, it had earnings of 29 cents, or 45 cents without items. Analysts were expecting, on average, earnings per share of 51 cents without items in the latest period. The company raised its 2009 earnings forecast, to a range of $1.72 to $1.77 per share from $1.58 to $1.68. In August 2008, Bristol-Myers sold ConvaTec, its high-tech dressing and wound-care business, for $2 billion. The sale was part of a Bristol-Myers’ strategy called the “String of Pearls,” to sell off noncore businesses and convert the company from a traditional drugmaker to a biopharmaceutical company by acquiring key biotech assets. Bristol-Myers bought one of those pearls during the third quarter for $2.1 billion — Medarex Inc., a biotech drugmaker developing treatments for immune system diseases and cancer. The two companies previously had been collaborating on a late-stage drug candidate, ipilimumab, for advanced skin cancer.


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Denver’s dining scene has a lot in motion with restaurants opening in new locations and others swinging their doors open for the first time. Whether you’re looking for a spot to sip on some craft beer or trying to find a new spot to get some grub, we’ve got you covered with this week’s food news roundup.
American Cultures Opens in LoHi
The latest addition to the LoHi neighborhood is a kombucha taproom that opened at the end of June. Originally a food truck, American Cultures landed a brick-and-mortar spot at 3233 Tejon St., pouring a variety of fizzy fermented teas with pints for $5 and floats topped with frozen yogurt for $6. Think of it as a taproom where, instead of various breweries, you’ll find kombucha brands such as Health-Ade and Happy Leaf Kombucha. Guests can also take home reusable growlers.
Latigo Opens in Ballpark Neighborhood
Chef Ignacio Leon—who owns Paxia and Los Carboncitos with his brothers—added a third restaurant to his repertoire. Latigo opened at 22nd and Blake streets, bringing his sophisticated take on traditional Mexican cuisine. “I am thrilled to have the opportunity to showcase authentic Mexican food in one of Denver’s liveliest neighborhoods,” said Leon. “Latigo’s approach will be simple: to deliver fresh, high-quality cuisine that remains true to the traditions of Mexico.” The 300-seat restaurant is open for lunch and dinner seven days a week.
Union Station Opens Beer Garden, Plans Expanded Food Service
The food and drink options at Union Station continue to grow and expand. The Plaza Beer Garden opens Monday, July 18 out front of Union Station with Oktoberfest-style picnic tables to accommodate up to 120 guests. The bar consists of a selection of Colorado craft beers, cocktails and wine. A walk-up grill features house-made sausages, bratwursts and pretzels for guests to enjoy.
Meanwhile, inside at the Terminal Bar, a full service menu has been announced for guests to enjoy while seated at tables in the bar. The menu is set to launch in September with options including Union Station fish croquettes with horseradish tartar sauce and beef sauerbraten with red cabbage spaetzle.
The Beer Hall just outside of Terminal Bar announced plans to begin food service in August. Guests can order German beer hall-inspired snacks such as crispy cheese curds, chicken schnitzel fries, pretzels and more.
The added food options come under the culinary direction of chef Lon Symensma. All three concepts will begin food service at 11 a.m. daily.
Sesh Fest Announces Brewery Lineup
Sesh Fest makes its return this year on Saturday, August 6 at Highland Masonic Events Center. The annual festival celebrates session-style beers defined as any beer under 5% ABV with balanced flavors for easy drinkability. This week, Sesh Fest announced breweries attendees can expect to sip at the festival. Participating breweries include Call to Arms Brewing Company, Ratio Beerworks and TRVE Brewing Co. among more than 30 others. Tickets to the event are $30 and on sale now at www.seshfest.com.
Pinche Tacos Plans Expansion to Phoenix, Governor’s Park
Pinche Tacos (aka Tacos Tequila Whiskey) announced plans to open a third Denver location in Congress Park and its first out-of-state location in Phoenix, as reported by Eater. The Congress Park location is still more than a year out, planning to open next summer and will be similar to the existing locations with a few taco and cocktail options unique to the new outpost. The Phoenix location will open before then in spring 2017. Aside from the Pinche expansions, keep an eye out for Fish N’ Beer slated to open this fall in RiNo.


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Traders Purchase Large Volume of Put Options on Groupon (GRPN)
Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN) saw unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock investors acquired 13,293 put options on the company, American Banking and Market News reports. This is an increase of approximately 148% compared to the typical daily volume of 5,366 put options.
In other Groupon news, SVP Jeffrey Holden unloaded 10,000 shares of Groupon stock on the open market in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.85, for a total value of $118,500.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 287,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,411,283. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.
A number of analysts have recently weighed in on GRPN shares. Analysts at Sterne Agee reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Groupon in a research note to investors on Friday. They now have a $11.85 price target on the stock, down previously from $12.00. Separately, analysts at Northland Securities raised their price target on shares of Groupon from $13.00 to $15.00 in a research note to investors on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, analysts at Northland Capital Partners raised their price target on shares of Groupon from $13.00 to $15.00 in a research note to investors on Thursday, January 2nd. They now have an “outperform” rating on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. The stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $11.16.
Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN) opened at 11.89 on Tuesday. Groupon has a one year low of $4.24 and a one year high of $12.76. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $10.36 and a 200-day moving average of $10.09. The company’s market cap is $7.944 billion.
Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $595.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $615.69 million. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Groupon will post $0.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Groupon, Inc offers online retail services. The Company provides daily deal on the stuff to do, eat, see and buy in more than 500 markets in 44 countries.
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The Nokia 3310 3G is currently available in the United States via Best Buy at $59.99. The phone will be available in Azure, Charcoal, Red and Yellow color variants.
Even though the e-commerce retailer has listed the Nokia 3310 3G smartphone, the device will not ship immediately because the current listing is for pre-order. The Nokia 3310 3G will ship as soon as the stocks reach the warehouse from the HMD Global distributor.
With model number TA-1036 CHARCOAL, the Nokia 3310 3G will be unlocked with support for dual-SIM. The listing states that the feature phone will be available on October 29. However, we expect you to receive the handset after a gap of three days because of shipping delays.
The core problem with the Nokia 3310 3G is that the handset will work only with GSM mobile service providers such as T-Mobile and AT&T. The listing specifically states that the phone won’t work with Boost Mobile, Verizon Wireless, Virgin Mobile, Sprint or CDMA networks. The phone will also be compatible with Net10, H2O, GoPhone, Simple Mobile, Tracfone and Cricket Wireless.
The Nokia 3310 3G is equipped with a 2.4-inch LCD display with a resolution of 320×240 pixels. With a 2MP rear camera, the handset ships with 16MB expandable storage and support for FM Radio. Interestingly, Best Buy has marked that the phone is not water resistant. Can we really expect a water-resistant capability for this price?
The advantage of the phone is that it is integrated with Bluetooth support for establishing connectivity with other devices. The handset is pre-loaded with classic Snake game. BestBuy is also offering protection packages for one and two years at $19.99 and $29.99 respectively.
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QD Vision Improves Quantum-Dot LED Performance
WATERTOWN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--QD Vision, Inc., announced it has achieved significant improvements in efficiency of its red quantum-dot light-emitting devices (QD-LEDs). The trend of improvements in brightness, color, resolution and other metrics continue to advance QD- LEDs toward best-in-class performance levels among display technologies.
“We intend to continue driving further improvements in the performance of QD Vision devices to enable the next generation of displays that will offer a better lifetime, efficiency, and viewing experience than current-generation products.”
"The new performance registered with our red QD-LED is an important milestone on QD Vision's path to develop and deliver quantum-dot materials, device architectures and manufacturing processes that will enable manufacturers to produce the next generation of high-performance displays," said QD Vision CEO Mark Comerford.
According to QD Vision, red QD-LEDs fabricated in its laboratory have consistently and simultaneously achieved external quantum efficiencies (EQEs) of 3.1% and luminous efficiencies of 3.4 lm/W (4.2 Cd/A) at a brightness of 210 nits and with CIExy color coordinates of (0.66, 0.33), which exceeds the stringent NTSC standard. These metrics are substantial improvements over the best-in-class results QD Vision announced for its red LEDs in June 2006.
The improvements in QD Vision's red display come on the heels of the company's announcement in October of the world's first green quantum-dot LED, which also achieved record setting performance levels. The company said it has also produced a blue QD-LED that will be the focus of a future announcement.
"We are making steady progress toward commercialization of quantum-dot display materials and technologies," said Dr. Seth Coe-Sullivan, Chief Technology Officer and co-founder of QD Vision. "We intend to continue driving further improvements in the performance of QD Vision devices to enable the next generation of displays that will offer a better lifetime, efficiency, and viewing experience than current-generation products."
About QD Vision
QD Vision (http://www.qdvision.com) is leading quantum-dot materials advancements and manufacturing process development for the next generation of displays. With backing from Highland Capital Partners and North Bridge Venture Partners, QD Vision's interdisciplinary team is focused on eliminating the shortcomings of current-generation displays by achieving the unique combination of high product reliability, low power consumption, scalable manufacturing, and best-in-class viewing experience.


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Spyker Cars has run into financial problems and has accepted an ?â?ó?óÔé¼?í?é?¼80m (?âÔÇÜ?é?ú54.2m / $109m) offer from Mol and Indian business partner Vijay Mallya. It originally bought the team from Midland Group for $106.6m.
That was the second takeover of the team since 2005 when Eddie Jordan sold it to Midland.
Mol’s offer is currently being inspected and may be confirmed within 30 days.
Meanwhile the team is set to race the B version of its chassis at the Italian Grand Prix. It was not used at the Turkish Grand Prix as it had failed an impact test.
Since then the team has suspended chief designer John McQuilliam. It is not known whether that was linked to the delay to the arrival of the revised car.
- Spyker & Super Aguri in trouble
- Reuters: Spyker director in joint bid for Formula One team (external)
Photo: Peter J Fox / Crash Media Group


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China's manufacturing growth slowed in April, according to official figures from the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing, as China tackles inflation.
China’s Purchasing Managers Index - PMI - was down 0.5% to 52.9% last month, reflecting a fall in new purchase and foreign trade orders. Zhang Liqun, an analyst at CFLP, said the data “May indicate that export growth speed is slowing.”
The PMI is a survey which focuses on business conditions relative to the previous month, covering more than 820 companies in 20 industries, including energy, metals, textiles, car-making and electronics. An index rating of over 50 percent indicates economic expansion. One below 50 percent indicates contraction. China has now maintained a PMI of over 50 for 26 consecutive months.
Some analysts believe that this slowdown in growth could show that measures taken by the government to tackle rising prices in China could be having an impact. With China's economy growing at around 10% each year, there is a danger the economy could overheat.
China faces strong inflationary pressures and interest rates are expected to be raised again this quarter in an effort to curb increasing commodity prices. The government has raised interest rates four times since the start of last year, has frequently increased the amount of cash banks must hold in reserve, and allowed greater currency flexibility in efforts to contain inflation.
Premier Wen Jiabao has frequently in recent months stressed the importance of tackling inflation. Consumer prices jumped 5.4 percent in March compared with a year earlier, and up from 4.9 percent in February.


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Berry oatmeal brulee from Gravy in Portland
PHOTO BY MARTIN GEE
It’s a typical Saturday morning, and outside Pine State Biscuits in Portland the queue is 15 deep. Downtown at the Bijou Cafe, customers who do business over breakfast are eating with their families. Up on Mississippi Avenue, a cluster of customers in front of Gravy wait for up to an hour for a heaping plate of corned beef hash or a bowl of oatmeal brulée. As the restaurant industry continues to suffer, breakfast restaurants are flourishing, and in Portland their popularity seems limitless.
“There’s something about the demographics of this town that makes people really like to eat breakfast,” says Mark Greco, owner of Gravy. “It’s almost like a subculture. I’m barely hip enough to own Gravy because some of the people who come are so cool.”
His business has grown slowly but steadily the last few years. Pine State Biscuits has only been in business for two years, but ever since opening their doors, they’ve made a profit.
The key ingredient to the success of breakfast restaurants is affordability.
“Breakfast is more affordable to the restaurant in terms of food costs and to the customer in terms of the bill they get at the end,” says Joel Pomerantz, Oregon Restaurant Association representative. “In Portland the people that are putting these restaurants together are younger and they’re kind of hip. They’re the same kinds of people who in another context might be putting together specialty cocktails with local ingredients.”
The breakfast restaurant is an old-fashioned American tradition that’s thriving across the state. Pop into one of the Pig ‘N Pancake restaurants along the Coast or order eggs Benedict at the Victorian Cafe in Bend or French toast from the Morning Glory in Ashland to see that Oregonians are still taking the family out to breakfast.
Omer Orian, who is 25, and his 24-year-old brother, David, opened Off the Waffle in Eugene in Februrary and plan to open a 24-hour waffle cart on the University of Oregon campus this month.
“No recession is going to stop people from buying these waffles at three bucks apiece,” says Omer.


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* Achieves 128% more conversions and 16% reduction in cost per conversion in the first month of implementation
To improve the scale of customer lead generation, Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance Co. Ltd (Kotak Life) today announced that it has adopted a new approach for its digital campaigns that leverages new tools and features on Google Search, in partnership with Kotak Life’s digital media agency iProspect. Given the faster uptake in digital sales of life insurance products driven by a change in customer behaviour, low data charges, higher mobile phone penetration, and physical restrictions imposed in a post-pandemic India, Kotak Life’s new approach has driven a 128% jump in digital search conversions and clocked a reduction of 16% in cost per conversion in just the first month of the new campaign set-up. This has helped the company achieve a 4% increase in the conversion rates – from posting a query to buying a policy.
Prasad Pimple, EVP-Digital Business Unit, Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance Co. Ltd. said, “For implementing a Digital Business model, it is important to identify a wide and relevant in-market audience online. This requirement led us to experiment with a new approach for our Google Search campaigns which helped increase scale and valid leads contribution, while reducing cost per lead. We are looking forward to expanding this to more product categories in the coming months.”
Kotak Life has a strong digital presence with platforms that offer customers a seamless buying experience both online and offline. The approach, ‘NEEV’, helped structure and consolidate 60 plus ad groups to an optimized number for Google Smart Bidding. The revamped structure has shown an impact immediately post-set up. The campaign is constantly on an optimisation mode and continues to show a good impact on the business ROI.
About Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance Company Limited
Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance Company Limited (Kotak Life) is a 100% subsidiary of Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited (Kotak). Kotak Life provides world-class life insurance products with high customer empathy. Its product suite leverages the combined prowess of protection and long-term savings. Kotak Life is one of the fastest growing insurance companies in India and has covered over 7.8 million new lives as on 30th September, 2021. For further information, please visit https://kotaklife.com/


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With the widespread deployment of 5G around the world, many Chinese manufacturers are accelerating their expansion into overseas markets while providing 5G products and services to domestic users. The latest data released by research institute Counterpoint shows that in the first quarter of this year, Chinese brands accounted for 6 of the top 8 smartphone sales in Europe, among which Xiaomi, OPPO, vivo, etc. all achieved growth; in the Indian smartphone market, China Manufacturers even accounted for a combined 75% of the share.
5G has the advantages of high speed and low latency, which can bring consumers a better application experience. Since the beginning of this year, Xiaomi, OnePlus, OPPO, vivo, etc. have all launched 5G mobile phones equipped with Qualcomm’s flagship 5G mobile platform Snapdragon 888, which has further improved the user experience. On the other hand, Qualcomm’s 5G mobile platform also includes Snapdragon 7 series, 6 series and 4 series, which can cover terminal products in more price ranges, and support all major 5G frequency bands in the world, helping Chinese partners to quickly expand overseas markets.
Some time ago, the San Diego Union-Tribune reporter Mike? Freeman specifically interviewed and commented on Qualcomm’s president and CEO-designate Ammon, who believes that he attaches great importance to the Chinese market and leads Qualcomm’s efforts to expand partnerships with Chinese smartphone makers such as Xiaomi, OPPO, and vivo — many of which Hope to sell end products not only in China but also in Europe, Latin America and other regions around the world. Anmon also revealed in the interview that the process took him seven years. He travels frequently to China, once or twice a month, to meet with clients to understand what Qualcomm needs to do differently and how to build the company’s position.
In addition to smartphones, Qualcomm’s business is also involved in automotive, telemedicine, robotics/drones, virtual reality, and smart factories. According to Qualcomm’s just released financial report, in the second quarter of fiscal 2021 ended March 28, its IoT business revenue reached $1.073 billion, exceeding $1 billion for two consecutive quarters. With the continued commercialization of 5G, Qualcomm’s technologies, products, and solutions will also accelerate into multiple vertical industries. Qualcomm CEO Mollenkov also said in an interview that 5G will also achieve growth in more and wider industries. Anmon’s understanding of customers and the ecosystem around 5G gives him a unique advantage in gaining insight into new opportunities.
In the field of IoT, Qualcomm has also cooperated extensively with Chinese manufacturers. For example, in July last year, Qualcomm and more than 20 companies including China Mobile, SIMCom, Guanghetong, Thundercomm Lianda, and Meige Intelligence jointly launched the “5G Internet of Things Innovation Plan” to accelerate terminal form innovation, ecological cooperation innovation and digitalization. Upgrade and innovate, and draw a 5G IoT ecological blueprint. At present, many Chinese module manufacturers have launched a series of 5G modules based on Qualcomm solutions, which can be used in fields such as news live broadcast, industrial inspection, warehousing and logistics, and have broad application prospects.
The 5G modules launched by these Chinese manufacturers, like 5G mobile phones, can also support the corresponding 5G frequency bands according to the 5G commercial situation in various regions. For example, Guanghetong 5G modules FM150-AE and FG150-AE successfully passed the Deutsche Telekom certification last month, and can be used for the deployment of related 5G projects in the Deutsche Telekom network environment. In February of this year, Qualcomm launched the world’s first 5G modem-to-antenna solution Qualcomm X65 compliant with the 3GPP Release 16 5G standard, helping to accelerate the expansion of 5G from mobile phones to more industries. At present, SIMCom, Guanghetong, Meige Smart, etc. have launched a series of 5G modules based on this solution, involving 5G Sub-6GHz modules and 5G millimeter wave modules.
It is believed that with the extensive coverage of 5G around the world and the expansion of applications in thousands of industries, more Chinese companies will accelerate their overseas development like mobile phone manufacturers and seize the opportunity of 5G to achieve global development. Please wait and see.
The Links: G121X1-L04 G084SN03 V0


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(Press Release) Eric Shaughnessy has been named Senior Vice President, Sales, for Eyeking, effective November 2015.
Eric brings to his new role at Eyeking more then 20 years of executive leadership experience in the sales category. Prior to joining Eyeking, he held senior sales leadership roles at a number of apparel companies with distribution strength in sporting goods, department store, mass, mid-tier and mall based chains.
"With his experience and proven industry track record, we are very happy that Eric has joined the executive management team at Eyeking," said Shelly Goldman, Eyeking's President.
“We are excited to share this news with the industry and know that with Eric on the team we are well staffed to capitalize on our growth potential for both our branded and private label divisions.”
An industry veteran with more than 15 years of sales management experience, Eric comes from Concept One where he was the Senior Vice President.
“I am very excited at the opportunity to join one of the highest potential for growth company I have had the pleasure to work with in my career. It’s exciting to be part of the team that has continued to grow their business year on year and bring real value to any licensor that they work with.”
Eric is a graduate of Boston College and will be based at the Eyeking corporate office located on Long Island.


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With Clyde Mooney, TheShout.
The Australian Brewery is set to be the first craft brewer to make a mark on the subcontinent in the wake of successful negotiations to supply to India.
Leveraging their invitation from Austrade India to represent Australian craft beer in Delhi, the brewery has secured two distributors who have agreed to import their beers into the second most populous country in the world.
The AB’s Ambassador, David Ward says that beer consumption is beginning to thrive in India with rapidly expanding wealthy classes looking to invest is premium products.
“The big local brands such as Kingfisher are launching premium variations to their existing product for the burgeoning middle- and upper-classes,” Ward told TheShout. “But it’s a little strange to go into a bottle shop and there are so few beers; there are some European premiums, couple of micro-breweries starting up, but there aren’t really any craft beers there – we’ll be the first.”
The trade show was a success, with the brand’s beers making an impression on the delegates.
“Austrade were fantastic; everybody was really keen to get us board.” “While the response was positive with all our beers, the Pale Ale was the most popular. The distinctive passionfruit and mango aroma, and flavour of galaxy hops gelled really well with the Indian pallet.”
The AB is preparing to dispatch its first 250 cases, and Ward says although they are starting with just the one distributor they hope export will grow to about 2-3 containers annually.
He confirmed the deal will likely stretch their production capacity and says the brewery is already planning an expansion, with a DA already approved and capital in place. Still, the family-owned operation is not resting on its laurels, with plans to explore other export opportunities.
“We have our eye on the American market, and are in discussion with an importer in Japan,” says Ward.


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A group of leading car manufacturers, suppliers, tech and transportation companies have joined a consortium of investors backing Tel Aviv, Israel-based Maniv for the closing of a mobility innovation-focused fund.
Maniv announced today that it has closed its second venture fund with $100 million in commitments from the likes of Alliance Ventures (the strategic investment arm of Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi), Aptiv, BMW i Ventures, Hyundai Motor Group, LG Electronics, Shell Ventures, Lear Corp and Valeo.
Additional investors in the fund include Deutsche Bahn Digital Ventures, the VC arm of the German rail and logistics operator, Israeli car importer Carasso Motors and several unnamed individuals, family offices and institutional investors.
Maniv says it will continue to invest globally in early-stage startups accelerating the digitisation of transportation, spanning data and connectivity, digital and electric mobility platforms, autonomous vehicle technologies as well as 'novel business models that change how people and goods move'.
Current portfolio companies include Hailo Technologies, Nauto, Turo, Oryx Vision, Cognata, Phantom Auto, Intuition Robotics and Bipi.
"Maniv evolved organically out of a need to bridge between innovative tech ecosystems and the global automotive industry in order to enable safer, cleaner, more convenient, less expensive and more accessible mobility to all," said Michael Granoff, MP at Maniv.
"Our strategic network, unparalleled access and deep involvement in the growth and success of our portfolio companies means the most impactful mobility startups worldwide are choosing to work with Maniv," added Olaf Sakkers, a GP at the firm.


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Come 2021, single-use plastics such as straws, cutleries and cotton buds will be banned in the EU. New Zealand will ban single-use plastic shopping bags in 2019, while Taiwan will impose a blanket ban on single-use plastic products by 2030.
These decisions reflect a growing global concern with plastic pollution. Although Singapore has no current plans to ban plastic bags, some companies like KFC and Resorts World Singapore have already banned plastic straws and many food outlets have stopped offering them. The current level of plastic usage is clearly worrying Singaporeans:
– 83% say they are concerned with the level of plastic usage in Singapore;
– 62% want a ban on plastic bags; and
– Nearly half (45%) are dissatisfied with our progress on restricting plastics (53% dissatisfaction for those aged 15-24).
Plastic bags and straws are not the only items of concern. If given a choice, Singaporeans would first ban or restrict usage on plastic cups, plates and utensils (30%), followed by beverage bottles (24%), ahead of plastic bags, straws and food containers meant for takeaways.
Photo by Martijn Baudoin on Unsplash


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China's standards initiatives will shape global competition in the technology, media and telecoms (TMT) sector for years to come, according to consultant Deloitte & Touche.
The company said that China's position as the leading consumer and producer of many technology products puts it in a strong position to influence standards in its own market, as well as the rest of the world.
As these standards become more widely accepted, Chinese firms will increasingly direct the global technology sector, Deloitte predicted.
"Technology vendors that misjudge the impact of China's standards revolution could find themselves at a significant disadvantage, with their position in the market increasingly overtaken or encroached upon," said Clarence Kwan, national managing partner, Chinese services group, for the TMT practice at Deloitte.
"China is able to use the lure of its massive markets and spectacular growth as leverage in the standards war.
"Global technology and telecoms companies need to review China's standards initiatives, and collaborate, where appropriate, with Chinese companies in standards development."
From operating systems and software applications, to storage media, wireless communications and satellite positioning, Chinese government agencies and companies are working to shape new technology standards for economic advantage.
Deloitte suggested that Chinese manufacturers will begin by building a critical mass of support at home, then exporting their technologies to emerging markets such as South East Asia and the Middle East.
"Technology companies must carefully monitor China's actions, assess the implications of Chinese standards and amend their strategies accordingly," said Kwan.
Are you paying attention?
Private equity firm Permira only acquired Magento from eBay for $200m three years ago
Before robots can take over from humans, we need more humans
It's not easy not being evil


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Authorities respond to problems with ETC
Shanghai's transport authorities said on Thursday they are working on the technical improvement of electronic toll collection (ETC) devices to ensure their stability in response to some advisers' calls for improvement.
China has launched a campaign to cancel manual charging of toll fees and recommends that cars be fitted with devices which will automatically deduct toll fee to enable vehicles to pass more quickly through toll gates.
However, this has led to a large number of complaints over congestion and more expensive charges.
Failure to separate vehicles for the ETC system and manual swiping at each toll gate in advance is the major problem, said adviser Shen Qinhua.
In addition, some vehicles get stuck due to technical problems during card reading, Shen said.
Different charging methods have triggered complaints of extra charges, said adviser Jiang Jianhua, who called for a transparent charging system.
He said the ETC system should be promoted gradually instead of being introduced too quickly.
An official with the Shanghai Road Transport Administrative Bureau said some problems had been noticed during the process, and technical improvements are being made in response to suggestions.


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The Trillion Trees initiative and major corporations are looking to invest in tree-planting. TerraMatch connects these investors with trusted local experts who grow trees responsibly and at scale.
Ranger Rodrigue Katembo risked his life to protect wildlife from oil developers in Virunga National Park—even wearing a hidden camera and pretending to accept bribes. He recently shared his incredible story with WRI.
Pour lire cet entretien en français, cliquez ici.
Giving people the legal right to own, use and sell land, water and other goods can actually lead to more sustainable resource use.
The world spends about $50 billion on restoration and conservation every year. That's about $300 billion less than what's needed.


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White House Lays Out Cybersecurity Guidelines
The Obama Administration is courting the tech industry with voluntary cybersecurity guidelines that some security experts are saying will be completely ineffective. Gauthem Nagesh joins digits. Photo: Getty Images.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
... what to do some Spencer on pay Wall Street Journal the administration has released a voluntary cybersecurity Gilead's for all major crucial industries the year after President Obama ... issued an executive order promising to safeguard the nation's most critical computer networks ... joining us from Washington DC is WSJ's Dobson The just welcomed our son ... thanks for having me ... so I read a story with great interest and it looks like the cybersecurity experts are sane and ... this is not going to really do much what what what ... what what what's going on over there ... yes I think that actor a lot of the experts don't think that these guidelines can make a difference basically the White House has been in this process for year ... they've been working closely with industry and some other groups trying to come up with the set of cybersecurity rules that are gonna be acceptable ... to utilities ... banks will recall critical infrastructure providers ... however ... because they had to bend over so far can make these rules something the industry can be on board with ... a lot of the security folks don't think that really can make that much that different one of the doubt ... and that was on August the fierce lobbying against his will to cut the mortar down but ... you know is that the typical its gonna cost too much money or what why would the via Manly against ... aam require Daimler of requirements to do this given that ... everyone ... everyone agrees that the attacks or otherwise and we need to beef up security is computer networks ... absolutely well cost is a big part of this ... in general companies are really wary of allowing the government to regulate cybersecurity because right now they don't the government doesn't have any laws on the books about how coming and protect its networks is no expectations ... as soon as you crack that door open and let the government in ... both as you and I know that and probably lead to more and more action in Syria ... right now we've seen big companies like party ... Neiman Marcus ... get hit with big consumer focused preaches there's probably a lot of stuff going on behind closed doors ... come these are not necessarily love to disclose the sorts of things ... as soon as they allow the government require them to report these breaches are to take certain steps ... their opening Pandora's box and they know that ... they're just a step away from ... the federal regulators dictating to them how they have to manage their networks ... so it costs a big issue and then there's a liability issue ... no utility company wants to be held liable if a hacker freaks in ... and takes on the network then all of their customers can turn around its soup that is a huge concern ... the outlaws doesn't like for points but ... you know the administration claims in your story that voluntary standards to work ... based on your experience or knowledge of this case ... is that true to voluntary center to actually lead to better security ... well I think it's fair to say that voluntary standards ... we'll have some effect in terms of education awareness but for my reporting ... there's not a lot of people who believe that ... the wee seen these guidelines and operationally impact much if anything ... in either the critical infrastructure space or more generally among companies in us because one there's no reason for companies to ... go along with this they're not getting anything from the administration no tax write offs no money no liability protections ... and there's nothing really that compels them to participate sure they were very active in helping formulate this and you will see somebody and perfect sectors especially sectors like thinking ... that already tend to spend a lot of money on cybersecurity ... and have things in place that are well and be on the recommendation police today ... however ... in general ... and these sorts of voluntary guidelines they can be useful I think it's fair to say but in terms of changing behavior we haven't seen that what changes behavior usually is a company getting hacked ... after they get hacked cost a lot of money they changed by ... the Lemieux Lumia one last question is ... I think a lot people would agree that ... greater transparency in this in this ... area would be ... a positive because the ... companies ... are reluctant to disclose these these breaches and ... Wall Street Journal has just recorded ... a breach of a of physical power station in California ... and after we disclose that ... the utility's other to beef up security so ... is there anything in these guidelines that will improve disclosure and it's not what why not ... not yet ... that is part of the theme of this and there's also a separate sort of legislative issues called data breach notification where their tiny increase consumers the amount of information when they are ... breached but really in this sector ... that easier we brought up ... it really shows the riskier the power grid is increasingly controlled by computers within the same thing the pair traffic control system ... the financial markets we seen instances where ... markets were happy to have big consequences so ... these are tools that a criminal group or terrorist organization or an enemy state ... could definitely the same way we saw a power ... station attack by a machine gun or something like that ... it's very easy to see that happening via a hacker who is located in China or Russia are somewhere else ... be able to have almost the same impact with just a keyboard ... and so ... the issue here is whether or not the security standards are going to compel the utility companies do enough to prevent that ... and again it doesn't seem like they will ... if companies are going to act it's gonna be because they think this is in their best interest the administration ... they're ... selling point on this is basically like look ... these utility companies you need to do something or you may get hacked and you may ... go on a business remain cost a lot of money ... so are interest a line here that's true ... but companies don't spend money unless they have few rights typically and so if they don't think they kept the yet they probably won't well you know this is insane case of of the a bomb and ... administration of letting the marketplace work and will have to see if the market actually does what top ... that with the government wanted to so thanks for coming on today ... thanks for having ... thanks for watching digits if you want to get more news and information about technology check out WSJ dot com and our new website WSJD thank you


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As Poslovni Dnevnik/Darko Bicak writes, the largest European airline currently in operation, and as they themselves point out, the largest airline in all of Croatia, the low-budget Irish Ryanair, has been celebrating the anniversary of the launch of its Zagreb operations.
The company emphasised that, along with a total of 27 routes heading to various European cities from Zagreb Airport, they have good reservations in their largest summer flight schedule for Zadar.
Ryanair’s three Zagreb aircraft represent a massive 300 million US dollar investment, which will support more than 90 high-paying aviation jobs and more than 1,000 total jobs in Zagreb itself.
Ryanair’s sales and marketing manager for CEE & the Balkans, Olga Pawlonka, said that Ryanair will operate (from Zagreb alone) almost 80 weekly flights throughout the summer of 2022, 30 more than last year, to provide Zagreb’s customers with a wide choice of European destinations to head to, such as London, Milan, Paris, or popular destinations for holidays (Brindisi, Corfu and Malaga), giving an extremely welcome boost to Zagreb tourism after two consecutive years more or less entirely lost to the coronavirus pandemic.
Ryanair pointed out that their customers in Zagreb can plan an escape at the lowest prices of a mere 159 kuna (19.99 euros) one way until October 2022.
As Tadej Notersberg, CEO of Lauda Europe, a company that is part of Rynair with its branded fleet of 29 Airbus 320 aircraft, recently pointed out; in addition to Zadar and Zagreb, their aircraft are based in Vienna, London Stantsed and Palma de Mallorca (Spain). The global coronavirus crisis severely disrupted air traffic across all of Europe for two years, but with the lifting of epidemiological restrictions in most countries, they are now finally returning to previous levels.
“We’re satisfied with the way business in Croatia has been going so far, and the forecasts speak of further growth. That’s why we’re increasing the fleet, the number of flights and the amount of routes,” concluded Nottersberg on this Ryanair Croatia anniversary.
For more, make sure to check out our dedicated travel section.


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PMMA prices suffered big decreases in November after worsening market conditions allowed buyers to negotiate corrections.
According to GC Intelligence market assessments, the decreases exceeded €100/mt on many accounts.
The bigger decreases were mainly for imported material.
Domestic producers continue to suffer under the weight of high energy costs and were for the most part unable to negotiate much lower numbers.
A major driver weakening prices is low demand due to high energy bills reducing consumption.
Moreover, buyers suffering low profitability are likely heavily destocking which deepens the slowdown in demand.
Another major reason why polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) prices suffered big decreases is the intense competition from imports.
Suppliers from other regions are also battling low demand. But they can compete in Europe due to a better cost position.


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Parrot says its new ANAFI Ai 4G drone will be accessible from the cloud for mission planning, real-time video streaming, and fully remote management of the fleet. This capability is being enabled through the joint efforts of the drone maker and French software company UAVIA.
UAVIA is best known for its Robotics Platform that allows multiple users across the world to collaboratively control autonomous drone fleets while having data processed, analyzed, and shared in real time for a wide range of applications.
A collaboration between the two companies has been made possible through Parrot AirSDK, a software development kit for autonomous drones.
When the integration is made public in June 2022, operators flying an “ANAFI Ai UAVIA Inside” drone will be able to program custom-designed flight missions with access to all aircraft sensors, connectivity interfaces, and autopilot features. These drone flights will then be conducted remotely using 4G connectivity, even as multiple stakeholders participate in the mission in real time using the UAVIA platform’s 4K video and data streaming feature.
Possible applications can include both routine and emergency use cases in complex environments.
Also read: How Verizon shuttering Skyward impacts Parrot ANAFI Ai drone rollout
Chris Roberts, Parrot’s chief sales and marketing officer, calls the UAVIA partnership “fully in line” with the vision of developing an open ecosystem around the ANAFI Ai drone. Here’s Roberts:
The UAVIA technology integration with our open software architecture is the perfect example of how a partner can complement and enhance efficiently the ANAFI Ai capabilities to address new market segments and extend professional usage.
Pierre Vilpoux, CEO of UAVIA, adds:
This collaboration is natural as UAVIA and Parrot share a similar vision of the connected drone and the way users expect to interact with them. This convergence was reinforced by the compatibility of the architectures of our respective products, and this full integration takes the autonomous drone to the next level.
Read more: Parrot is now offering certified ANAFI drone training in US, Canada


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EBay has launched the world’s first virtual reality store, in partnership with Australian retailer Myer. It works with all Google Cardboard devices, and the company is also giving away Shopticals, a branded headset made out...
About The Author
Maria Korolov is editor and publisher of Hypergrid Business. She has been a journalist for more than twenty years and has worked for the Chicago Tribune, Reuters, and Computerworld and has reported from over a dozen countries, including Russia and China.


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Tradeshift’s Index of Global Trade Health Q4 2021
Global trade passes the latest resilience test… for now at least
The Omicron variant proved an unwelcome Christmas gift for global trade in Q4. But unlike previous waves, supply chains have so far passed the latest test of their resilience.
Our latest Index of Global Trade Health shows that cumulative transaction volume growth across the Tradeshift platform stayed flat in Q4 compared to pre-pandemic forecasts. Recent history suggests that things could have been a lot worse.
Fears that the significant drop in order volumes we saw in Q3 could be the beginning of more profound and protracted slowdown in activity also proved unfounded. Instead, ordering activity appears to be returning to a more predictable pattern. With recent data also suggesting that the supply chain bottlenecks of the past year are beginning to ease, we could well be looking at a gradual calming of the waters heading into 2022.


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HONG KONG (MarketWatch) — While the markets are keenly waiting for Chinese inflation data and other key economic statistics later Wednesday, the headline inflation figures may already be common knowledge, thanks to “whispered numbers” leaked to the media.
Mainland Chinese media sources are saying the April consumer price index (CPI) will show a rise of 5.1% from the year-earlier period, slightly below a 5.2% gain tipped in a survey of analysts reported by Dow Jones Newswires. In March, CPI inflation accelerated to a nearly three-year high of 5.4%
The producer price index will post a 7.1% gain, according to whispered numbers in the Chinese media cited in a Bloomberg report, below a 7.3% forecast from the Dow Jones Newswires survey.
Other data due out Wednesday include money-supply growth, urban fixed -asset investment, retails sales, and industrial production.
The tendency to get wind of economic data ahead of official releases will come under closer scrutiny this month after figures reported in Chinese-language Web sites in March turned out to be almost identical to the actual data.
Of 10 important data points in March, all but one of the leaks matched or provided ranges that were in line with the official results.
Chinese authorities said they would investigate the matter and hold accountable those found spreading state secrets on the Internet or elsewhere. But for the most part, analysts don’t believe Beijing has made a serious attempt to plug the data leaks.
One reason is that such leaks serve to warn the market, much in the same way that U.S. Federal Reserve board members will drop hints of their policy outlook.
“I don’t think there’s any terrible harm that results from this,” said Action Economics’ strategist David Cohen in Singapore, referring to the whispered numbers.
Another analyst said the leaks helped prevent knee-jerk reactions that could arise from unexpectedly large shifts in the data, making the leaks instrumental in supporting market stability.
Nevertheless, Action Economics’ Cohen said markets would be watching how closely the April data matched official figures. A few more rounds of matching data would bolster the track record of the whispered numbers and give added weight to the unofficial releases in the future, he said.
He cautioned, however, that Asia shouldn’t be regarded as having a foot-loose culture when it comes to institutional conventions. Things tend to vary on a case-by-case basis, with jurisdictions such as Singapore seemingly air-tight when it comes to official data, while markets in the Philippines often glimpsing official data ahead of time.
However, other signs point to a tighter lid on Chinese data. Chinese authorities on Friday fined Unilever PLC
Chinese shoppers stocked up laundry detergents and shampoos, effectively clearing supermarket shelves of many such products in late March, after Chinese media reported pending price hikes.
In issuing the fine, China’s economic planning agency, the National Development and Reform Commission, said Unilever had disrupted market order and broken the law.
The fine levied on Unilever reflects Beijing’s growing sensitivity about inflation numbers, according to China Market Research managing director Shaun Rein in Shanghai.
Government officials and company executives were also aware of the growing political sensitivity of the issue, Rein said.
“Last month’s leaks really upset certain folks, so everyone will probably be more tight-lipped,” Rein said.


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Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser announced Sept. 27 that Compass Bank (now BBVA USA) and Air Academy Federal Credit Union will refund Colorado borrowers after failing to return guaranteed automobile protection fees that were improperly retained by those institutions.
"Compass Bank will refund borrowers approximately $1.68 million, and Air Academy Federal Credit Union is currently working to determine what it owes to customers, which involves a manual review of lending files that could take several months," according to a news release issued by the AG's office.
"GAP is an add-on product sold to car buyers who finance their purchase," according to the release. "If a buyer’s car is totaled in an accident, the buyer’s auto insurance typically pays only the fair market value of the car, which can be less than the amount owed on the buyer’s loan. GAP applies in that situation to cancel, or pay off, the remaining balance owed on the loan."
If a borrower pays off the loan early or the car is repossessed before the loan is paid, Colorado law requires the lender automatically refund borrowers any unearned GAP payments — funds that are not paying for any service of value to consumers.
"An investigation by the consumer credit unit in the consumer protection division of the Colorado Attorney General’s Office revealed that Compass Bank and Air Academy Federal Credit Union did not refund the unearned GAP fees for many consumers as required by Colorado law," the release said. "In the settlements, the lenders agreed to comply with their legal obligations and to pay consumers what they are owed. The credit union has also committed to a robust oversight system to ensure that it complies with that requirement."
Earlier this year, the Department of Law secured more than $9.5 million in refunds for Colorado consumers from Wells Fargo for failure to return unused GAP fees and $121,983 from American Assurance Corporation related to GAP coverage overcharges.
According to the release, the administrator of the Uniform Consumer Credit Code, who is part of the AG's office, is leading this investigation.
In addition to enforcement activities, the administrator also licenses, regulates and examines certain lenders and their contractors.
"In the past year, through a separate, routine, confidential oversight process, the administrator secured $161,385 GAP refunds paid to a total of 614 consumers. The oversight process allows for additional compliance without the need for a lawsuit," the release said.


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As smartphones increasingly become the primary computing device for many users, they also present a greater risk for certain cyber attacks. According to aÂ recent report from ESET, ransomware attacks on Android devices rose more than 50% in the past year.
The future is no longer on a distant horizon: Mobility has overtaken the desktop as a fundamental part of how business is conducted; cloud adoption is prompting businesses to transform how they roll out applications and services with the promise of a more agile and automated IT infrastructure; IoT is connecting greater numbers of devices; and big data is gathering information on everything from telemetry readings of sensors to how many calories have been burned during an afternoon walk. The security implications among all of these elements are significant.
For more than a year, the intense debate surrounding data access and control has raged on. After the San Bernardino massacre in December 2015, Apple and the FBI feuded about access to data on the iPhone 5C used by one of the attackers. Several other court cases touched on the subject of digital privacy throughout last year, including one we covered in our blog in December 2016 in which the Florida Court of Appeals bucked the trend of siding on behalf of protecting users by ruling that the government can force an iPhone user to release the passcode to unlock his/her phone. This week, privacy proponents have been dealt another blow.
At Tech Orchard, weâ€™ve spoken with clients and written about the importance of taking precautionary security measures to protect mobile devices. For most users, the first step is setting a password to lock their smartphone or tablet. PINs and thumbprints are options available on devices from various manufacturers, while pattern lock is widely used as a mechanism for authentication and authorization on Android devices. Unfortunately for pattern lock users, this security method may be anything but secure.
Each year, we take a moment to reflect on recent experiences helping companies discover meaningful mobility and detail our expectations in this space for the coming year. Below are not only our top five mobility predictions for 2017, but quick tips on how you can address them in your organization.
Early this year, we all watched the legal battle between Apple and the FBI unfold about access to the iPhone 5C used in the 2015 San Bernardino massacre. The feud ended, at least temporarily, on March 28 when the FBI withdrew its case from the courts after a third-party managed to unlock the device. With no real resolution provided, additional court cases have popped up surrounding the critical issue of digital privacy, and this month, the Florida Court of Appeals ruled that the government can force an iPhone user to release the passcode to unlock his/her phone.