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Bitcoin in retail
Cryptocurrencies are never far from the headlines these days. While buying and selling cryptos is becoming increasingly mainstream, the opportunities to spend virtual currencies are somewhat limited in comparison due to its volatility. There are, however, a growing number of companies across a plethora of industries - from big tech to airlines - who are embracing cryptocurrencies, allowing customers to use them as an official method of payment for their goods and services. In November, Mastercard said it would allow partners on its network to enable their consumers to buy, sell and hold cryptocurrency using a digital wallet, as well as reward them with digital currencies under their loyalty programmes. The move would allow customers to earn and spend rewards in cryptocurrency rather than loyalty points. The credit card giant will be pairing up with Bakkt Holdings Inc, the digital assets platform founded in by NYSE-owner Intercontinental Exchange, to offer the new crypto services to its customers.
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- Who Accepts Bitcoin? [The Complete Guide]
- Global crypto adoption among retail investors surges 881 percent
- Retailers will give cashback in BITCOIN, fintech firm claims
- Hong Kong eyes crypto retail trading ban
- Bitcoin Embraced by Mexican Retailer Grupo Elektra for Payments
- Mode extends Bitcoin Cashback programme to 40+ retailers
- Bitcoin May Squeeze Higher as Retail Interest Subsides: Analysts
- How To Accept Bitcoin In Your Business Risk-Free
- Crypto Payments
Who Accepts Bitcoin? [The Complete Guide]
Cryptocurrencies have soared this year, in type and in usage. In , it only took four months for the crypto population to almost double from million in February to million in May. In response to this rise, large corporates such as PayPal, Facebook and Revolut have integrated crypto wallets into their business models, to cater to the increased demand from the customer base. Throughout all generations, people demand more flexibility in payment options, both in-store and online in e-commerce.
With Christmas around the corner, retailers should prepare themselves for ways to offer and accept crypto-based payments. Not only do retailers need to be prepared for use of cryptocurrencies as payments in-store, but also online. A recent report from Concardis revealed that almost three-quarters of consumers across the DACH region — that is, Germany, Austria and Switzerland - prefer to buy products online.
This trend is reflected across a growing number of countries across Europe and beyond. Retailers must therefore prepare themselves for an online Christmas shopping spree. As cryptocurrencies proliferate, retailers have more options over the payment software solutions available to enable them to accept payments in cryptocurrency.
However, we are not yet at a point where crypto has completely overtaken fiat. Retailers therefore need to consider how the software they choose can fit into the broader payments ecosystem, rather than replacing conventional methods altogether. This means partnering with software solution providers that provide flexibility, while accommodating multiple payment options, without unnecessary complications. It is also important to remember that, although Bitcoin remains the dominant cryptocurrency in the market, there are many other cryptocurrencies available.
As the market matures, consumers will explore other coins. The aforementioned Concardis report also found that consumers value a broad payment mix. The figures show that almost every fifth person in the region stated they abandoned their online purchase due to missing or non-functioning payment methods.
While partnering with the right software solution provider is vital, other resources must accommodate changing payment patterns ahead of the busy Christmas period. This can extend to soft skills. For instance, training is delivered to staff, so they are equipped to handle digital asset-based payments in the same way as fiat.
As much as consumers value flexibility, they also love simplicity. It is up to the retailer to make the payment process as smooth as paying with a bank card for the consumer.
This means staff members should thoroughly understand how to use the payment software, integrating multiple cryptocurrencies and other tokenised assets in one interface. Retailers can also introduce in-store activations or promotions to make the most of the Christmas period. For example, last year, Ben Zielke, Chief Marketing Officer at BitPay said that crypto gift cards were amongst their top-performing products in November and December — with the trend expected to continue this Christmas.
Now multiple retailers accept cryptocurrencies, they can remain competitive by introducing such promotions. As Christmas this year promises to be a rebound event for many retailers in the wake of the pandemic, it is vital that merchants are equipped to stay competitive in an increasingly diversified payments landscape. Holiday retail sales grew by 8. The pivot to the digital world has provided the unprecedented impetus for the acceleration of digital currencies. Exactly what that will look like is yet to be seen, but what is certain is that it will look remarkably different from what we are used to today.
He also specialises in creating algorithms for banking and financial systems. He founded Salamantex in , which has scaled and formed partnerships with some of the largest companies in the payments space. Fintech ecosystems are complex and ever-evolving, but with a clear understanding of their functions, companies can successfully navigate the sector ….
Yuval Tal, a successful entrepreneur and investor shares his thoughts on the current state of fintech, providing valuable insights for other professionals …. The ultimate guide to fintech and its role in eCommerce, including how it makes the online shopping experience more convenient, efficient, and secure ….
How retailers can have themselves a merry crypto Christmas. December 10, Choosing the right payment software As cryptocurrencies proliferate, retailers have more options over the payment software solutions available to enable them to accept payments in cryptocurrency. Going a step further While partnering with the right software solution provider is vital, other resources must accommodate changing payment patterns ahead of the busy Christmas period.
Related Content. Digital Payments Digital Payments. Zero Hash: Helping companies offer customers digital assets. Crypto Crypto. Featured Articles Featured Articles. Fintech ecosystems are complex and ever-evolving, but with a clear understanding of their functions, companies can successfully navigate the sector … Fintech ecosystems are complex and ever-evolving, but with a clear understanding of their functions, companies can successfully navigate the sector ….
Yuval Tal, a successful entrepreneur and investor shares his thoughts on the current state of fintech, providing valuable insights for other professionals … Yuval Tal, a successful entrepreneur and investor shares his thoughts on the current state of fintech, providing valuable insights for other professionals ….
The ultimate guide to fintech and its role in eCommerce, including how it makes the online shopping experience more convenient, efficient, and secure … The ultimate guide to fintech and its role in eCommerce, including how it makes the online shopping experience more convenient, efficient, and secure …. AI and machine learning in compliance technology AI and machine learning in compliance technology.
Tackling diversity though data and technology Tackling diversity though data and technology. Banking Banking. TransferMate: four ways to prevent supplier payment fraud TransferMate: four ways to prevent supplier payment fraud. Stripe integrates with Qonto through its Partner Programme.
Asilimia bridges the informal business gap with fintech. Payhawk receives high investment in a Series B round. Mclaren technology begins the search for a fintech business.
Global crypto adoption among retail investors surges 881 percent
Please see the original press release below. The growth of digital currency has led to large retail companies finding growing interest in Bitcoin ATMs. As one of the world's leading convenience and fuel retailers, Circle K is the first major retail chain to deploy Bitcoin ATMs within its stores. By adding Bitcoin ATMs to the Company's stores, Circle K can attract new customers to their stores, offer financial access to underserved communities, and set themselves apart from other retailers with this new technology. Through our collaborative partnership, we aim to provide new ways for people to buy bitcoin instantly in a familiar environment in their local neighborhood Circle K.
Retailers will give cashback in BITCOIN, fintech firm claims
Cryptocurrency exists so we can make online payments. At SpendMeNot, we like to present information in a beautiful way. It shows some of the most popular companies that are actively accepting bitcoin. Cryptocurrency is a type of digital currency that uses cryptography for security and anti-counterfeiting measures. It is not controlled by any bank, government, or other type of authority, which makes it truly transnational. This type of currency only exists in the digital world, so it can only be used for making online payments. Bitcoin has been around for a decade and remains the most popular cryptocurrency. However, what users need to know is who accepts bitcoin payments.
Hong Kong eyes crypto retail trading ban
WisdomTree Investments is prepping the launch of a digital finance app that will allow customers to trade cryptocurrencies and other financial products. It makes WisdomTree the latest example of a traditional finance firm bringing more crypto options into the mix. Building the platform on the latest blockchain architecture was a way for WisdomTree to tap new financial services infrastructure, Peck said in an interview. The investment firm seeks a beta launch in some U. The products are for sale across 12 European Union countries as well as in Norway and Switzerland.
Bitcoin Embraced by Mexican Retailer Grupo Elektra for Payments
Find a location. A growing number of services and merchants are accepting Bitcoin and Ether Cryptocurrencies all over the world. We offer a convenient, concierge experience with our tellers ready to help you. Read our company update for more details and follow our blog series on cryptocurrencies. More than 15, businesses worldwide accept Bitcoin. To find flight tickets, hotels, rentals, cars, tours, and activities to plan your next trip, you can book your travel with bitcoins using Bitcoin.
Mode extends Bitcoin Cashback programme to 40+ retailers
By Mark Duell for MailOnline. Major British retailers are claimed to be among 40 companies who are set to give online shoppers cashback in bitcoin from next spring. The crypto rewards scheme will give Britons the option to use a QR-code based system at the checkout, and is operated by London-based open banking firm Mode. Now customers at further unnamed companies using Mode's QR system will be able to make cardless payments and earn bitcoin with online purchases from April Mode claimed today that it was also partnering with Boots, Homebase and Ocado, but spokesmen for all three companies later denied being involved to MailOnline. The deal between Mode and the unnamed retailers was completed through a global affiliate marketing network called Awin which represents a series of major brands. The cashback payments will be jointly funded by Mode and its partner brands - and are expected to see customers receive from 5 to 10 per cent back on purchases. The crypto rewards scheme is operated by London-based open banking company Mode.
Bitcoin May Squeeze Higher as Retail Interest Subsides: Analysts
Global crypto adoption among ordinary investors has surged in the past year, according to crypto-analysis firm Chainalysis. While the firm sees professional and institutional markets as crucial, it aimed to highlight the countries with the greatest crypto adoption by retail investors — focusing on use cases related to transactions and individual saving, rather than trading and speculation. The top countries in the ranking are Vietnam, India, Pakistan and Ukraine. Interest in cryptocurrencies has surged in the past year along with prices.
How To Accept Bitcoin In Your Business Risk-Free
Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated. How do warnings affect retail demand for Bitcoin? Evidence from an international survey experiment. Ebers, Axel Thomsen, Stephan L. Bitcoin is associated with different risks. We conduct an information experiment in the four largest European economies to analyze the effects of specific warnings and information on retail investors' demand for Bitcoin.
What is often left out of the discussion about Bitcoin is how terrible it is for the environment. The powerful, specialized computers that are needed to mine Bitcoin gobble up enormous amounts of energy, which is why most of it is mined in China, where electricity is dirt cheap and regulations are lax. Tesla — a company whose entire brand is rooted in sustainable energy — dropped its Bitcoin bid about three months later. Musk cited environmental concerns and the huge volume of fossil fuels that must be burned to produce a single coin. Bitcoin is big and getting bigger, with some of the biggest corporations in America jumping on the bandwagon and accepting Bitcoin as payment. Here are the top 10 players in the game.
Elektra follows low-cost airline Volaris, based in Mexico, in accepting bitcoin payments. Mexico's Grupo Elektra will accept Bitcoin as payment for purchases, the latest retailer in Latin America to embrace the cryptocurrency as it grows in popularity. Elektra is the first retail store in Mexico that allows you to buy with Bitcoin," Salinas said in a tweet.


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Researchers want to know more about how teens are spending their time in the digital age but kathryn zickuhr of the pew research center says it's tricky if a kid is looking at a book, you can. Teenagers who spend unhealthy amounts of time on the internet or online suffer from a condition recognized as internet addiction disorder (iad) those who have iad conditions may experience distress, withdrawal symptoms including obsessive thoughts, tremors, and other mental and physical problems. Technology for teens is fun and allows them to stay connected to their friends and family, which is important some teenagers will do this by spending a lot of time connecting with their friends on social media, or by hanging out with other 'gamers' when playing multi-player games online. Today, i would like to present a speech entitled teenagers of today all people have to go through their teenage years some of you have already passed this stage, someone is on the way, and some others still dream about the time when he/she will, finally, grow up. When today's teenagers take an apple to school, it's more likely a cellphone than a fruit dubbed by some the igeneration, many teenagers have become much more computer savvy—and social media savvy—than their parents.
The guardian - back to home teenagers and technology: 'i'd rather give up my kidney than my phone' our research shows face-to-face time between teenagers hasn't changed over the past. Tv, interactive video games, and the internet can be excellent sources of education and entertainment for kids but too much screen time can have unhealthy side effects that's why it's wise to monitor and limit the time your kids spend playing video games, watching tv, and using the internet. For today's tweens and teens, technology is part of the fabric of everyday life and 26 percent of teens spend more than eight hours amount of time girls.
Writing posts and receiving positive reinforcement from peers can become addicting, which leads to children spending more and more time on the internet according to the new york times , kids from ages eight to 18 spend more than seven and a half hours a day on electronic devices. It found that children spend more time in front of a screen in one day than they spend exercising in the entire week the worrying research found that 97 per cent of 11 to 16-year-olds own a mobile phone - eight per cent more than the percentage of adults who own one. Today's teenagers report using social media more frequently than teens did six years ago back then, about one-third said they used it more than once day now more than two-thirds do.
More than one medium at a time, today's youth pack a total of 10 hours and 45 minutes worth of media content into those daily 7½ hours—an increase of almost 2¼ hours. Technology and communication 2012) today, 77% of teens have a cell phone of these teens, only 39% made phone calls daily, whereas as we spend more time on. Those ages 8 to 18 spend more than seven and a half hours a day with such devices, compared with less than six and a half hours five years ago, when the study was last conducted.
In general, kids today prefer spending hours watching tv or playing with their tablet computer instead of heading outdoors to a park or getting active with friends according to the american academy of pediatrics (aap), children and adolescents should spend a maximum of 1-2 hours of screen time per a day. Teens spend 14x more of their money on food 8x more on books and clothes and twice as much on the entertainment super-category, which includes electronics, movie tickets, concerts, and video games. While most teenagers (60 percent) spend on average 20 hours per week in front of television and computer screens, a third spend closer to 40 hours per week, and about 7 percent are exposed to more.
And if the average time teens spend on technology continues to increase at this rate, teens will be spending an average of 558 hours, more than 23 days, on technology in 10 years. Teenagers who spend a lot of time playing violent video games or watching violent shows on television have been found to be more aggressive and more likely to fight with their peers and argue with their teachers, according to a study in the journal of youth and adolescence. 11 the impact of screen time on health while most studies have examined specific media and technology activities, such as television, video gaming, and internet use, several studies have investigated the impact of total screen time on the health of both children and adolescents. The researchers found that kids who spent more time in front of a screen -- whether it was a computer, tv or video game -- snacked more often and ate fewer healthy snacks than children who used technology less frequently.

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Authorities Warn, Don’t Answer Yes If The Caller Asks Can You Hear Me
Authorities around the nation are warning people with cellphones, if you get a phone call from a number that sort of looks familiar, you might not want to answer it. If you do, the caller will ask "can you hear me?". Authorities are saying you should answer no, or hang up.
According to CBS News, “You say ‘yes,’ it gets recorded and they say that you have agreed to something,” said Susan Grant, director of consumer protection for the Consumer Federation of America. “I know that people think it’s impolite to hang up, but it’s a good strategy.” The con artist uses your phone number, and many phone providers pass through third-party charges.
In addition, the criminal may have already collected some of your personal information -- a credit card number or cable bill. When the victim disputes the charge, the crook can then counter that he or she has your assent on a recorded line.
What can you do? According to CBS News If you suspect you have already been victimized, check your credit card, phone and cable statements carefully for any unfamiliar charges. Call the billing company -- whether your credit card company or your phone provider -- and dispute anything that you didn’t authorize on purpose. If they say you have been recorded approving the charge and you have no recollection of that, ask for proof.


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We had just returned from Ad: tech, New York. Despite the weather conditions, our brave team haven’t missed the event and it was impressive! With mobile and online advertising at the forefront of the conversations over the two days, there was speculation of what the future of marketing will be as we move more toward tablet and smartphone use as well as multi-screen consumption.
Meeting new friends, showing our platform new features, sharing experience: all these make the conference unforgettable. In only 2 days we met top digital companies, online marketers, agencies and networks from all over the world. And while many out-of-town registrants cancelled their travel plans to New York in the aftermath of the storm, the conference was nonetheless well attended.
Many talks were about mobile. ”Location-Based Advertising” panelist Marcus Startzel, general manager, North America of mobile ad platform Millennial Media,pointed out that “relevancy is being redefined by mobile.” With mobile, the marketer can now literally define and serve ads not only by geography, but specifically by location. It flips the emphasis from content to the context of the user.
The conference probably gathered all world key players in cell phone market, telecoms, IT companies, Ad networks and everyone else connected with mobile business. It could be even more people, if the weather was better.
Looking back, it’s easy to notice how rapidly mobile industry is growing. The event was a great chance for us to meet a genuine cross section of the mobile app ecosystem. The wide range of content on offer is excellent; we’ve made some great business contacts for the future and felt ourselves as a part of technology future.


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Bing users can now interact with Facebook posts directly from the search engine’s social sidebar, Microsoft said today.
Bing Puts a ‘Pin It’ Button on Image Searches (SocialTimes)
Bing will now allow Pinterest users to pin images directly from the image search results to their boards, the company announced Friday. “Last fall, we hosted a group of lifestyle and design bloggers at the Bing headquarters to better understand their search and social media habits,” explained Bing program manager Chen Fang in a blog post. “What we discovered is a community that does more than its fair share of image searches, with much of it tied to Pinterest. They shared some of the hassles they face, and that finding efficient ways to hunt down original, high-resolution images and filtering image results were some of their pain points.”
Bing will now allow Pinterest users to pin images directly from the image search results to their boards, the company announced today.
Klout, purveyor of a social networking influence score, and Microsoft’s search engine, Bing, announced a partnership today that will display a user’s score in response to Bing queries about him or her and will factor in the number and type of queries as part of generating that score.
LinkedIn to Let Marketers Use Slide Shows in Ads (SocialTimes)
Marketers on LinkedIn will now have the option of embedding slide show presentations into their usual ad slots. LinkedIn has added SlideShare presentations to its portfolio of content marketing ads, the company announced on Tuesday.
The social discovery app Sonar has received funding from Bing Fund, Sonar and Microsoft said today..
Apple Hit By Hackers Who Struck Facebook (The Wall Street Journal)
Apple said Tuesday that some of its employees’ Mac computers were attacked by hackers, a rare admission for a company that has long touted its security over PCs running Windows software. The malicious code in the latest attack is believed to have been the same discovered by Facebook, which said on Friday that its employees’ computers were breached by hackers last month.
Bing is continuing to improve on its specialized search engine for Facebook photos, gussying up the feature’s user interface and supporting a slideshow view.
Google+ is now accessible in 48 more countries and territories, thanks to an update to its iPad and iPhone app. In broadening its reach, Google plays to its strengths, as Google+ already has a strong international following.
Bing Integrates More Facebook Results into Social Sidebar (AllFacebook)
Just like Facebook is integrating Bing into its graph search, Microsoft’s search engine is getting more cozy with the social network. Bing announced Thursday that more results from users’ Facebook friends will be included next to the main search results if users have connected their Facebook accounts to Bing.


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TikTok agrees to pay $92 million to settle data breach lawsuits
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The popular video-sharing app sees the agreement as a way to show the community that it respects users’ privacy.
The proposed settlement has been called one of the largest privacy-related payouts in history. It applies to over 89 million users — some as young as six years old — who claimed that the company engaged in “The theft of private and personally identifiable TikTok user data.” The data was tracked and sold to advertisers in violation of stated and federal law.While TikTok has agreed to pay out the settlement, the company has gone on record saying that it does not agree with the assertions of the lawsuit. However, it believes that settling the case is the best path forward.
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Open Banking Walked so Open Finance Could Run
Financial APIs are driving an overdue wave of innovation
Welcome back to Fintech Prime Time, a monthly wrap of fintech industry data and analysis drawn from the F-Prime Fintech Index. We hope you’ve been enjoying our 2024 State of Fintech report, which we released earlier this month. We have certainly enjoyed discussing it with you all in person and on social media!
If you have any questions or want to learn more about the state of private and public fintech markets, the effect of AI and regulation on the industry, and our retrospective on 10 years’ worth of startup innovation in the space, you should join us next week! The team will host an interactive presentation of their findings, including a Q&A, on Tuesday, February 27 at 1 pm Eastern / 10 am Pacific. You can sign up here.
In today’s edition, we’re excited to dive into the world of open finance. Anyone who has read our report knows that our portfolio company and open finance leader Plaid is a prime candidate for an upcoming fintech IPO — and potential addition to the F-Prime Fintech Index. So let’s explore this growing category:
Open Banking Is Paving The Way For Open Finance
By Sarah Lamont
Over the last few years, open finance has become one of those vaguely defined fintech buzzwords. But with increasing regulatory movement in the US and nearly 70 million consumer accounts now interacting with financial APIs, it has become more relevant than ever.
Open finance has its roots in open banking, which refers to the use of application programming interfaces (APIs) to build applications fueled with consumer banking data. While largely invisible to consumers, open banking innovation has powered the novel ways that consumers now borrow, build wealth, and move money. The shift towards open banking has long been underway in the US and has paved the way for new open finance applications to flourish.
We define open finance similarly to open banking, but more broadly: the use of APIs to build applications that supplement consumer banking data with other information, defining users’ financial lives across their profiles of wealth, debt, insurance, sources of income, and more. The reason that open banking regulation is so exciting is that it’s the first step towards a world of open finance, where consumers can more fairly access financial products designed for their unique needs.
A Brief History of Open Finance
One might trace the origins of open banking in the US back to 1997, when Microsoft, Intuit, and CheckFree formed a combined open API standard known as the Open Financial Exchange (OFX). But open banking really started to catch on post-Great Financial Crisis when the US government enacted Dodd-Frank and created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
Now, after more than a decade, Section 1033 of Dodd-Frank — referring to consumers’ right to access their own financial data — has taken the main stage. In October 2023, the CFPB proposed the Personal Financial Data Rights rule. If it’s finalized in the fall of 2024 as anticipated, the rule would implement Section 1033 and codify open banking in the US.
The Rise of Financial APIs
A key driver in the adoption of open finance is the proliferation of financial APIs, and their superiority over earlier screen scraping technology. Drawbacks to screen scraping include connectivity issues any time a website experiences an update or outage, and heightened risk for financial institutions who are unaware who is scraping their consumer data and for what purpose. Instead, APIs dictate how systems can securely and efficiently exchange discrete data elements — and are the key enabling technology for open finance.
The adoption of APIs in financial services has accelerated over the last few years, as institutions have come to realize the heightened security, efficiency, and customer experience associated with them. At the same time, recent CFPB proposals are continuing to shepherd financial institutions toward a world of open APIs, enabling consumers to easily port financial data between providers. The Financial Data Exchange (FDX) emerged as an industry group whose open API standard incumbents and fintechs alike have rallied around. It is estimated that the FDX API now touches 65 million consumer accounts, up from 2 million just four years ago.
The Evolution of Bank Cooperation
The 2000s and 2010s saw a substantial debate over the right to access consumer financial data. At the time, data holders (namely banks and other incumbent institutions) cited IT costs imposed by data aggregators scraping their websites, while data users (like fintech applications) asserted that they were merely accessing consumer-permissioned personal data to better serve the end user.
Case in point: For several days in 2015, J.P. Morgan and Wells Fargo restricted customers of Mint (a then-popular, now-sunsetted account aggregator) from accessing their bank account information. Banks pointed to technical concerns such as data security and server capacity, though competitive threats loomed too. Even when institutions didn’t fully restrict access, they had other tactics at the ready: strict security standards, time-of-day restrictions, increasingly granular user permissioning, and costs for access.
Flash forward to today: Incumbents have come around to the promise of open finance as the technical advantages of APIs — and their customer experience improvements — have become more apparent. Disruptors and incumbents are increasingly collaborating here, too: members of the industry group FDX include a healthy mix of incumbents (like Bank of America and Wells Fargo) and disruptors (like Plaid and MX).
API technology, regulatory encouragement, and shifting consumer preferences are all fuelling a wave of new open finance startups. So what would it look like if the promise of open finance were fully realized?
Open Finance in Action
Many users already feel the benefits of linking their bank accounts with popular financial applications like Venmo, Coinbase, and Robinhood via Plaid. However, at F-Prime we imagine that same level of data access expanding to other areas of a user’s financial life.
A large population of consumers still don’t have fair access to credit. Lenders can use payroll API solutions like Argyle to verify sources of income or solutions like Trigo to validate a customer’s ability to pay rent on time. Financial institutions can use Method to aggregate a consumer’s outstanding liabilities and reveal where they can refinance at a lower price, or employers can use it to offer debt repayment benefits to their employees. In the insurance space, Canopy Connect can help agents surface existing insurance policies and help potential customers dig for more competitive options.
This wave of consumer financial data aggregators will leave institutions and fintechs looking for an “aggregator of aggregators” solution, either routing between providers to maximize uptime or to paint a more accurate financial picture of the consumers they serve. Meld is one example. Others, like Prism and Pave, take consumer data via these APIs and produce financial insights in pursuit of a more modern and comprehensive credit score.
It will be a while before that vision becomes reality — 1033 is still directional sentiment, not regulatory action just yet. The proposed rule also only covers a subset of consumer financial accounts: deposit accounts, credit cards, and digital wallets. It says nothing about payroll data, for example. Meanwhile, the thousands of regional banks, credit unions, and other smaller financial institutions that make up the United States’ uniquely fragmented banking landscape will struggle to keep up with the required technological standards.
That said, in the long term we can see the growing array of consumer financial data APIs coming together to a holistic, real-time, and accurate financial identity for every consumer. Easy access to financial services and more tailored financial products will result. We are excited to see the institutional response to the new regulations and technology currently impacting the market — but we are much more excited about the effect that open finance will have on the end user experience for millions of Americans.
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Activision has expanded its Sledgehammer Games studio, one of the developers of its Call of Duty series, into Toronto.
The company made the announcement during its latest earnings report, where it confirmed that Sledgehammer is working on this year’s new, untitled Call of Duty game.
Today we’re also thrilled to announce we're expanding with a new team in Toronto, Canada to partner with our teams in Foster City, CA and Melbourne, VIC! pic.twitter.com/HDmRdDA3ul
— Sledgehammer Games (@SHGames) May 4, 2021
Activision didn’t specify where, exactly, the new studio is located in Toronto, but it has begun hiring for the location on its website.
Sledgehammer is best known for co-developing 2011’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 with Activision sister studio Infinity Ward and leading development on 2014’s Advanced Warfare and 2017’s WWII. Since then, the studio has assisted fellow Activision subsidiaries Infinity Ward, Raven and Treyarch on 2019’s Modern Warfare and last year’s Cold War.
Sledgehammer was founded in 2009 by former Visceral developers Glen Schofield and Michael Condrey (Dead Space) in Foster City, California. The developer opened a second studio in Melbourne, Australia in 2019.
Sledgehammer’s new Toronto studio joins Activision-owned Call of Duty support studios Beenox in Quebec City and Irish software company Demonware (which has an office in Vancouver).
During its latest earnings call, Activision confirmed that this year’s Sledgehammer-developed Call of Duty will release in the fourth quarter and is being built for current-gen hardware. While last year’s Cold War released on current- and last-gen consoles, this comment seems to suggest the new Call of Duty will make better use of the newer hardware.
The new Call of Duty will also have integration with the free-to-play battle royale game Call of Duty: Warzone, just like Modern Warfare and Cold War.
Image credit: Activision


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Social media platforms are failing to clamp down on scammers selling people's personal data, according to a Which? Money investigation.
Which? said the report highlighted how "lax" preventative measures were on these platforms and how easily they could be exploited by criminals looking to take advantage of the novel coronavirus pandemic. To date there have been £2m ($2.5m) in coronavirus-related scams in the UK alone.
In one Facebook group investigators found details of a man in Yorkshire including his name, date of birth, address, mobile number, credit card number, CVV number, expiry date, and the sort code and name of his bank.
They also found a fraudster on Twitter offering full credit card details of someone with a “£13k+ balance” for £100, or three sets of card details for £200.
In addition, Which? found Instagram users sharing “fraud bibles” explaining how novice hackers could create fake identities and use stolen card details.
“It’s astonishing that social media sites make it so easy for criminals to trade people’s personal and financial information, particularly as fraud is such a prevalent crime that can have devastating consequences,” said Jenny Ross, Which? Money editor.
“Social media firms must take much stronger action to prevent their sites becoming a safe haven for scammers, and should work with the financial industry and police to address serious flaws with their platforms.”
Facebook, which also owns Instagram, said fraudulent activity was not tolerated on its platforms, and it had removed the groups and profiles flagged to it by Which? Money.
"We continue to invest in people and technology to identify and remove fraudulent content, and we urge people to report any suspicious content to us so we can take action,” it added.
Meanwhile, Twitter said it was against their rules to use scam tactics on their platform to obtain money or private financial information.
"Where we identify violations of our rules, we take robust enforcement action. We’re constantly adapting to bad actors’ evolving methods, and will continue to iterate and improve upon our policies as the industry evolves,” a spokesperson said.


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The first successful prosecution has taken place and it turns out it was the
finance director that did it.
I say bad news, but it is, of course, quite right and proper that someone
should pay for their crimes.
What’s bad about it is that it happens to be a finance director a man of your
profession who has been found to be on the wrong side of the law.
Though the circumstances of the case are no doubt interesting, what strikes
me as relevant is that Neils Jorgen Tobiasen, FD of UK security company CBRN,
could well give investigators the idea that they should be looking for the FD
and probing what he or she knows in any future cases a very unhappy precedent
indeed to be setting.
Of course, there might be some justification for this view. Only recently a
very successful private sector fraud investigator revealed how, when called in
to have a look at the disappearance of cash, he and his colleagues often focused
on the behaviour of people with ready access to the cash it’s a procedural
given to consider the accountants as obvious suspects in a fraud.
But a bribery case overseas? Surely that would be head of sales or someone in
a similar role like that, who would be the guilty party.
Surely the FD, back home booking the numbers, is not the person at the sharp
Now, I can reveal Tobiasen was also MD of the company, which does place him
in that sort of position, but I don’t think that will place other FDs, guilty or
not, beyond suspicion.
The fact is that, with the increasingly strategic role of an FD, why
shouldn’t investigators make him or her one of the usual suspects. There’s a
warning if ever there was one.
Cowgill Holloway and Warings Business Advisors have merged, with a range of growth plans in the North West put in place
Accountancy Age Jobs is delighted to announce the launch of a brand new look website for finance and accountancy professionals
The UK gender pay gap will not close until 2069 unless action is taken to tackle it now, according to new research by Deloitte
Three former Tesco executives, including the former finance director of Tesco UK, have been charged with fraud by the Serious Fraud Office in relation to a £263m accounting scandal at the retailer.


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You won't find many marijuana stocks hotter than Organigram Holdings (OGI 2.19%) is right now. Actually, among Canadian marijuana stocks, you'll only find one. Organigram ranks as the No. 2 best-performing Canadian marijuana stock of the year so far.
With the stock close to doubling year to date, it's no wonder more investors are starting to pay attention to Organigram. If you're in that group, here are five things you should know about Organigram before buying the stock.
1. Solid capacity and low costs
Organigram doesn't match up with some of its larger rivals in production capacity. However, the company appears to be in pretty good shape. Organigram currently has an annualized production run rate of around 62,000 kilograms. By the fall of this year, it expects to have an annual production capacity of 113,000 kilograms.
While capacity is important to driving revenue, the costs to produce cannabis is key for driving profits. Organigram's cost per gram for the cultivation of dried flower is low -- only CA$0.74 (around US$0.55) in the last quarter. This low cost is a direct result of the company's industry-leading yield, with Organigram obtaining an average of 153 grams per plant harvested in its fiscal 2019 first quarter.
2. Well positioned in the Canadian adult-use recreational marijuana market
The big opportunity for Organigram right now is, of course, the Canadian adult-use recreational marijuana market. Organigram is well positioned for this market, with supply agreements in place with all 10 Canadian provinces. Although only half of the quarter in the company's latest financial update included adult-use sales, Organigram's revenue more than quintupled from the prior-year period to CA$12.4 million (US$9.3 million).
Organigram should benefit from even more growth with the anticipated launch of the cannabis edibles market in Canada later this year. The company has taken several steps to prepare for this market, including teaming up with Canada's Smartest Kitchen to develop premium chocolate products.
3. Two major international deals
International medical cannabis and cannabidiol (CBD) markets are likely to soon be even bigger than the Canadian market. Organigram has two major partnerships that should help it capitalize on these international opportunities.
The company teamed up with Alpha-cannabis to target the German medical cannabis market. Alpha-cannabis distributes to more than 5,000 pharmacies throughout Germany. Organigram also inked a deal with Serbia-based Eviana to purchase up to 25% of its hemp-derived CBD oil. The company views this agreement as a key part of its strategy to serve the broader European CBD market.
4. An intriguing partnership
Organigram also has another intriguing partnership. The company invested in small biotech Hyasynth, which developed a process for producing cannabinoids using genetically engineered yeast strains. This approach could enable creating pure cannabinoids, including CBD, at a fraction of the cost of extraction from cannabis plants.
Organigram and Hyasynth aren't the only partners hoping to succeed with what could be a disruptive technology, though. Cronos Group is collaborating with Ginkgo Bioworks on a similar approach.
5. Relatively attractive valuation
By most metrics, Organigram wouldn't be considered as a bargain stock. The company's market cap currently stands at $906 million, but Organigram's sales over the past 12 months were less than US$20 million. However, compared to most other Canadian marijuana stocks, Organigram is practically a steal.
Is Organigram a buy?
Conservative investors probably won't see Organigram as a good fit for their portfolios. Organigram has very high growth expectations baked into its share price. Anything that interferes with achieving those growth expectations could wreak havoc on Organigram stock.
However, aggressive investors with a long-term perspective will probably like Organigram. The company appears to be in solid shape to compete in Canada and has its foot in the door in Europe. Organigram's valuation looks much more attractive than most of its peers. This high-flying marijuana stock could keep on flying high for a while.


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Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate (CIID) on Thursday filed five cases with Dhaka Customs House against the owners of Apan Jewellers on charge of dodging customs duty on 15.13 maunds of gold seized from its branches.
CIID Director General Dr Moinul Khan said they filed three cases against Dilder Ahmed, one each against his two brothers — Gulzar Ahmed and Azad Ahmed.
The Commissioner of Customs will adjudicate the cases, he said, adding that more criminal cases will be filed against the three owners of the jewellery brand in connection with the seizure of gold and some diamond from their five showrooms.
The criminal cases will be filed with the police stations concerned, he said.
Commissioner, empowered by the customs act, may in his judgment confiscate the gold and other seized goods in favour of the state and fine the accused 2.5 times of the value of the seized goods for evading the duty.
On May 14, a number of CIID teams in separate drives seized 298 kg of gold and 61 grams of diamond from Gulshan, Uttara, Mouchak and Shimanta Square branches of Apan Jewellers.


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It's Cinco de Mayo, and food companies are pulling out all the stops in an effort to make it seem as though they care about this celebration of the Mexican Army's victory over French forces in the Battle of Puebla in 1862. (Word to the wise: Cinco de Mayo is not Mexican Independence Day; that's on September 16.) Taco Bell whipped out a Snapchat filter for the occasion, and it's equal parts amusing and horrifying.
This is also bizarre:
In other news, tea drinking is in decline in the UK; Paula Deen's next questionable television appearance; KFC's new nail polish; McDonald's pizza test; and more.
— The British are forsaking their signature beverage: According to the Washington Post, tea drinking in the UK is down while coffee consumption is up — and in fact has tripled since the 1970s. What gives? Apparently, it's an image problem: Emma Clifford, senior food and drink analyst at Mintel, an industry research group says, "People, especially young people, are not excited about it at all. It's just too mundane."
— Disgraced food person Paula Deen will appear alongside Snoop Dogg in the next season of Celebrity Family Feud. Season 2 kicks off June 26. Hopefully some of the categories will involve topics like butter, cholesterol, or civil rights.
— KFC is making nail polish that tastes like fried chicken, and the only sad thing about it is that it's only available in Hong Kong.
— Whole Foods reported its second quarter earnings late yesterday and the news looks pretty grim. The company is focused on its new 365 stores as same store sales continue to decline. Like other food companies, Whole Foods plans to experiment with a loyalty program and expand its mobile app in an effort to attract consumers and keep them coming back.


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AutoZone is planning to open a new auto parts store near the northeast corner of North 124th Street and West Burleigh Street in Wauwatosa by the end of this year.
[caption id="attachment_377788" align="alignright" width="367"] 3180 N. 124th St. (Credit: Google)[/caption]
The company earlier this month purchased a building on a nearly 1.8-acre property at 3180 N. 124th St. for roughly $1.3 million, according to state records. AutoZone plans to open a location there by the third quarter, but no later than by the end of this year, said Matthew Beadle, a retail broker with Founders 3 who, along with principal Jon Thoresen, represented the company in the transaction.
Milwaukee County assesses the property at $2.1 million.
The property is located just south of the Briggs & Stratton headquarters and west of a Lowe's Home Improvement store. Staffing agency Randstad, which currently has offices in the building, will be relocated to the southern endcap that was formerly occupied by Focus Credit Union, said Beadle. AutoZone will take up the remainder of the building.
Before opening the new store, AutoZone will have to do minor façade work such as painting and sign installation, Beadle added.
Beadle, along with Founders 3 principals Tom Treder and Nick Tice, also represented the seller, Continental 164 Fund LLC, in the transaction.


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Samsung has something for every space and budget with its range of 2019 TVs. With 2019 now in full swing, the world’s leading electronics manufacturers are gearing up to release brand-new product ranges for the year. Yes, it’s finally time …read more
Everyone likes a bonus – particularly at this wallet-draining time of year – so Samsung’s latest QLED TV promotion is certain to bring a smile to the face of anyone looking to pick up a new TV this Christmas. …read more
If you have anything more than a passing interest in technology (and let’s face it, you probably have if you’re reading this!), then you’ve probably caught wind of the recent addition to Samsung’s family of TVs in form of their exciting …read more
Rob from our Southampton store explains the ins and outs of Samsung’s ground-breaking QLED TV range. To find out more, please give your local store a call today.


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Amazon.ca HUGE sale starts on November 24th, 2017 and an equally big sale on Cyber Monday. In the mean time there are tons of pre-black Friday deals including:
- Ape Man Action Camera marked down 15%
- HP Printers marked down $100
- $20 off Fujifilm Mini
- and so much more!
Click here for Amazon.ca Black Friday Deals 2017


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dcs blue moon
Hello dear readers,
I am the owner and operator of DCS Blue Moon, a gaming website that provides the latest news and updates on the Digital Combat Simulator (DCS) franchise. In this article, I would like to share with you my experiences in running my website, as well as some insights into the gaming industry and the challenges it poses to us as webmasters.
The Origins of DCS Blue Moon
I started DCS Blue Moon out of my passion for gaming and web design. I noticed that there were many websites out there that provided gaming news, but none were specifically geared towards DCS, a fighter pilot simulator that I had been playing for years. I wanted to provide a platform where enthusiasts like me could come together and share their love for the game.
Running a website is no easy task, especially in the gaming industry. There are many challenges that we face, such as keeping up with the latest news and updates, ensuring that our website is user-friendly, and staying ahead of the competition. In addition, we also have to deal with issues such as trolls, spammers, and hackers, who can pose a serious threat to our website’s security and reputation.
Maintaining a User-Friendly Website
One of the biggest challenges that we face is maintaining a user-friendly website. We want our readers to be able to access the latest news and updates easily, without having to sift through a maze of pages and menus. To accomplish this, we have implemented a simple and intuitive layout that is easy to navigate. We have also made sure that our website is optimized for mobile devices, as more and more people are accessing the internet on their smartphones and tablets.
Staying Ahead of the Competition
Staying ahead of the competition is another major challenge that we face. There are many gaming websites out there, and we must ensure that our site stands out from the rest. To accomplish this, we have focused on providing unique content that cannot be found elsewhere. We also make sure that our website is regularly updated with the latest news and updates, so that our readers can always come back for more.
Dealing with Trolls, Spammers, and Hackers
One of the biggest threats to our website’s security and reputation comes in the form of trolls, spammers, and hackers. These individuals can cause a lot of damage to our website, and can even lead to its shutdown. We have implemented various security measures to prevent such attacks, such as using strong passwords, encrypting our data, and regularly monitoring our site for suspicious activity.
Running a website in the gaming industry is no easy task, but it can be immensely rewarding. I hope that this article has provided you with some insights into the challenges that we face, and the measures that we take to ensure the success of our website. If you are interested in gaming or web design, I encourage you to give it a try. Who knows, you may just create the next big thing in the gaming world!


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Zimbabwe Industry and Trade
The manufacturing industry was booming in the 1980’s. It included the light, agricultural, mining and construction industries. Today it is severely impaired by the inadequate infrastructure, particularly in terms of water and electricity supply. The textile industry, which was once differentiated and linked to the state’s internal, high-quality cotton production, has also been in decline for years. Of the 24,000 workers who worked in spinning mills and other textile mills during the heyday of production in Kadoma, Gweru and Chegutu, most have now lost their livelihoods and livelihoods. Several companies had to close.
Between 2000 and 2010, de-industrialization progressed particularly in the former industrial metropolis of Bulawayo, the problems persisted in the following years and until 2020. A number of entrepreneurs and economic experts attributed the problematic development to the ongoing government misery. Investors from Europe and the USA were cautious because of the so-called indigenization policy, i.e. the nationalization goals of the Mugabe government. Also assessments of the economic situation, for example, the situation of workers and the role of trade unions were critical in 2016; The main cause of the problem is government policy. The manufacturing industry was also affected by high production losses in 2017 and 2018; in 2018, according to media reports, they amounted to 48.27%, which resulted in restrictions on competitiveness and other subsequent problems. Structural changes in economic policy are considered necessary, and political think tanks and industry associations have developed proposals and scenarios for this.
Domestic and foreign trade
The purchasing power of the population is limited by years of economic decline and high unemployment. The internal market is correspondingly weak. Foreign trade has also been low for years. In 2015 the trade deficit was put at -2.74 with reference to IMF data and estimated at -2.89 for 2016. In 2018 it was -2.22 according to GTAI. Between 1991 and 2019, Zimbabwe had a year-over-year trade deficit of -242.14 million US dollars. In August 2019, Trading Economics put the trade deficit at -38.80 million US dollars. Important trading partners are South Africa, China, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and some European Union (EU) countries, this includes the former colonial power Great Britain; Belgium is also an importer of rough diamonds. According to the GTAI, Germany’s imports from Zimbabwe amounted to an estimated 42.7 million US dollars in 2018, while German exports to Zimbabwe were 32.9 million US dollars, which corresponds to a balance of -9.8 million US dollars. Tobacco and raw materials dominated the imports, while the exports were mainly machinery and chemical products. In the GTAI listing of Germany’s 239 international trading partners, Zimbabwe ranks 125th as an importing country and 158th as an exporting country (as of November 2019).
Trade relations are regulated by regional and international agreements that have been criticized by some economic experts and non-governmental organizations. According to GTAI, raw materials dominated the international export goods in 2018 with 32.2%. Tobacco exports were also important; according to Trading Economics, it brought in $ 36.03 million for the main customer China in 2018.
According to militarynous, basic food and over 90% of all consumer goods and everyday necessities in Zimbabwe are imported. Most of them come from neighboring South Africa. In 2018, South Africa exported goods to Zimbabwe to the value of 30.8 million rand and imported goods to the value of 3.6 million rand. This means that South Africa also dominates as a trading partner of Zimbabwe on the African continent. According to TRALAC, the Center for Trade Law, 80% of Zimbabwe’s intra-African exports went to South Africa and 79% of Zimbabwe’s intra-African imports came from South Africa.
Zimbabwe is a member of economic partnerships such as COMESA and the Economic and Development Community in Southern Africa (SADC). China is gaining more and more influence as a trading partner of Zimbabwe.


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Uniqlo’s OOH coup
The brand reimagined its HeatTech clothing as window insulation, generating half a million free ads.
Japanese retailer Uniqlo isn’t expanding into the home insulation business. But a clever creative at Cheil Worldwide linked the brand’s HeatTech clothing line to cold South Korean winters, and managed to turn the idea into 500,000 ads seen in consumers’ homes.
The Heat Tech Window program gave away a branded bubble wrap strip of insulation, customized to fit standard Korean windows, to everyone who purchased an item of Uniqlo’s HeatTech line at one of the country’s 189 stores. The window lining was supposed to raise room temperatures by a couple of degrees, saving an average of 20% on heating costs.
But the real coup was all the free advertising. Half a million strips of branded bubble wrap were given out, popping up in windows throughout the country, contributing to 203% sales growth for HeatTech products.


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Prada has teamed up with Sotheby's for a good cause.
The Italian luxury fashion house will present its Fall/Winter advertising campaign not as pictures but as an online auction in collaboration with the world's fourth oldest auction house.
Titled 'Tools of Memory' the auction will feature fashion items, show ephemera, photographic prints of backstage photos taken by Daniel Arnold, Gigi Hadid, Phil Meech, Kevin Tachman, show invitations, parts of the catwalk decorations and pieces drawn from the runway decor from the universes of the Prada Fall / Winter 2020 men's and women's fashion shows.
All of the garments are one-of-a-kind, worn by models during each fashion show, immortalizing the backstage process and on-stage performance. Proceeds from the sale will go to educational projects run by UNESCO that aim to expand inclusion among vulnerable populations and disadvantaged groups around the world.
The campaign images are presented as in pages from an auction catalog by juxtaposing backstage photography and precious artifacts. It honors Miuccia Prada's unique position within the house of Prada, in which she redefined the world of fashion through design, art, architecture, and how we understand luxury today.
'Fashion has a duty not only to reflect its times but to help shape them. The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting lockdown of Spring 2020 not only affected the machinations of the fashion system - making it impossible to work in manners previously deemed essential - but posited questions about fashion's place within a wider social context. The purpose of fashion, not only within a crisis but within culture as a whole, is as a meaningful and useful tool, to affect change'
said Prada as part of the launch of its autumn/winter campaign 2020/21.
Prada unveiled a small number of items were on 20th July, on sothebys.com/prada. In the coming months, details of additional items will be released before the full auction catalog is brought online in time for the auction to begin on October 2, 2020. Visit Prada.com/auction for more information.
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Find a Question:
Blizzard Diablo II will run smoothly on new operating systems
Diablo II has received a new update from Blizzard, sixteen years after the game appeared. Patch 1.14a must lift some glitches faced by players could get when they turn to a recent operating system.
Diablo II box art Blizzard late announcement hinted that arrive more updates to Diablo II. Patch 1.14a focuses on addressing the problems that Diablo II may exhibit in combination with current operating systems. In addition, the update brings a new installer for OS X. “You can finally get that old Mac PowerPC send into retirement,” says Blizzard.
The studio is also working on improving the cheat and hack detection at the game. “This trip starts with the run Diablo II on modern platforms but ends do not,” according to Blizzard. Diablo II was released in 2000 and in 2011 the last update, 1.13d appeared. In 2012, Blizzard released the sequel, Diablo III.
November last year published a vacancy on the Blizzard website, which the developer was looking for a programmer to “rehabilitate” old games. Considering there now appeared an update for Diablo II, Blizzard seems to have found the desired candidate. The vacancy hinting studio also updates other classics such as Starcraft and Warcraft III.Viewing:-220
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Ready your Android phones! A new and improved Apex Launcher is coming in May2
Apex Launcher was once among the most downloaded Android launchers in the Google Play Store, but because it hasn't been updated since 2015, much of its audience migrated to other alternatives.
Well, it looks like the Apex Launcher app has a new development and support team, which is determined to bring back the application to its long lost glory.
A new and improved version of Apex Launcher will be released in the Google Play Store sometime in May. It will bring the current iteration up to date, and it will add many new features and enhancements.
The most notable improvement is the addition of Android 7.0 Nougat support, but developers claim other new features will be implemented when the new version of the launcher hits the Google Play Store.


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What if pop icon Cher and red-hot rapper-producer Future collaborated to lay down a musical cover for a tumultuous time? What song would they choose, and what would it sound like?
Retail clothing chain Gap, for a continuation of its new “Meet Me in the Gap” campaign, ventured to find out the answer, with the result being a harmonized, soulful and catchy version of “Everyday People,” the classic tune from Sly & the Family Stone.
A new 30-second ad, debuting today, will air on high-profile TV programming like NFL games, primetime and late night, marking the first time in several years that Gap has advertised on television in the fall back-to-school period.
The goal was to capture something that “wasn’t overly orchestrated or rehearsed” from the two artists, said Craig Brommers, Gap’s CMO.
Cher and Future, who hadn’t met until they showed up to the Long Beach, Calif., set of the commercial shoot, were inspired by “Everyday People” and riffed on it “to create something that feels like a modern hip-hop trap beat to a well-known pop song,” Brommers said.
The work comes from agency Yard and Director X (Drake’s “Hotline Bling” music video, Rihanna’s “Work”), with an assist from Gap’s in-house marketing team, Brommers said.
It returns Gap to the familiar stark-white, minimalist backdrop meant to focus the eye on the action on screen, with its subjects clothed head to toe in Gap denim, of course. It aims to convey a sense of optimism, which can be in short supply these days, Brommers said.
“We felt like we needed two transcendent figures to drive home the idea,” he said. “In this time of division, the campaign is about bringing people together.”
“Meet Me in the Gap” premiered in July with a handful of seemingly oddball meet-ups, like a trio of basketballers, a couple of tap dancers and a mix artist. They end up with a synchronized musical composition from feet, dribbles and beats called “Bounce meet Bounce meet Bounce.”
Another, dubbed “Dance meet Art,” puts animator/So You Think You Can Dance alum Fik-Shun with artist Gloss Black, and yet another, “Yodel meet Auctioneer, Flute meet Beat” is exactly what it sounds like.
As an umbrella concept, “Meet Me in the Gap” has legs, Brommers said, and the retailer plans to keep using it into the all-important holiday season. Execs haven’t decided if the next incarnations will feature celebrities or regular folks.
The spot with Cher and Future will run for at least six weeks, and the brand plans a substantial digital and social buy, including takeovers of Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat. Gap has aligned with Vogue and Refinery29 for fashion partnerships and with Spotify for a “Meet Me” playlist.


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Binance Launchpad, the exclusive token sale platform of cryptocurrency exchange Binance, today announced its plans deliver new token to infer users new token launches almost every month in 2019. BitTorrent and Fetch.AI will be the first two token sales of the new year. The sales will be exclusive to Binance.
Launchpad helps transformative blockchain startups raise funds needed to develop their products and gives them access to Binance’s ecosystem. Binance views its efforts for Launchpad as part of the company’s larger mission in aiding cryptocurrency adoption.
“In 2019, Binance Launchpad will help launch projects serving the universal cryptocurrency ecosystem as a whole that benefits people around the world,” said Binance CEO and Founder, Changpeng Zhao (‘CZ’). “Bringing distinguished token sales to the Launchpad platform is part of our continuing efforts to create a more secure and open token launch environment, paving a healthier market in 2019 and beyond.”
Binance Launchpad hosts high-quality token projects and offers security to its users, hoping to create a higher standard for the token launch market and continuing to help projects raise awareness and capital including Fetch.AI and BitTorrent. BitTorrent’s protocol is empowering a new generation of content creators with the tools to distribute their content directly to others on the web. Fetch.AI is an artificial intelligence-driven and decentralized blockchain network solution providing the missing critical infrastructure for tomorrow’s digital economy.
“We are lifting off with two projects which have strong existing teams and products: Fetch.AI and BitTorrent,” said CZ. “Both projects are bringing real use cases to the industry, which will help bring crypto adoption to users around the world.”
Binance Launchpad conducts a rigorous vetting process to select projects that are compliant, have strong teams and products for large scalability and benefit the global cryptocurrency community.
To learn more about Binance Launchpad and its upcoming projects, including BitTorrent and Fetch.AI, visit: https://launchpad.binance.com/
You can also apply to Binance Launchpad: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSez_ZCgbZBVJrzjAKnw6f-RLPsDCv7iyyJ36C0IrGnYJ8Stvw/viewform
About Binance Launchpad
Binance Launchpad is the exclusive token sale platform for the most transformative crypto projects. Launchpad helps entrepreneurs launch their visions with the help of Binance users around the world.
Binance is a blockchain ecosystem comprised of Exchange, Labs, Launchpad, Info, Academy, Research, Trust Wallet and Charity.
Binance Exchange is the leading global cryptocurrency exchange, with users from over 190 countries and regions. Capable of processing more than 1.4 million orders per second, Binance Exchange is the largest crypto exchange by trade volume and one of the fastest in the world. The platform focuses on security, robustness, and execution speed — attracting enthusiasts and professional traders alike. For more information, visit: https://www.binance.com


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With inflation at decades-high levels and the war in Ukraine continuing to rage, stock analysts are nervously looking at earnings estimates for the next several quarters, and many do not like what they see. "We anticipate estimates to fall at increasing rates in the months ahead," Nick Raich, CEO at The Earnings Scout, said in a note to clients this week. The Federal Reserve may not be helping. It announced a likely series of rates hikes Wednesday into 2023 that were slightly more aggressive than many expected. The Fed has announced an intention to raise rates seven times in total this year, which would be a rate hike at every meeting, with the Fed funds rate ending at 2.8% in 2023. The central bank lowering its growth forecast is not helping either, Marc Chandler from Bannockburn Global Forex told me. "The Fed's growth forecast went from 4% to 2.8% for this year ... that will feel bad for businesses," he said. And that will affect earnings. "Discretionary consumption is going to get hit, the consumer is going to spend more money on food and energy," Chandler said. Put it all together, and it amounts to a difficult stew for earnings, which are coming off a record 2021. "Persistently high inflation, supply chain disruptions and now a tighter Fed will curb demand [and cause earnings estimates to come down]," Raich told me. Even before the Fed, earnings were coming down "Earnings growth rates have generally come down since the beginning of the year," Tajinder Dhillon, who tracks earnings estimates at Refinitiv, told me. Earnings for the S & P 500 in the first quarter were expected to grow 7.5% on Jan. 1, that is now down to 6.4%. Raich believes that relatively modest decline is masking the bigger changes that are about to come. He says the declines are modest so far because analysts are waiting for guidance from their companies. "Sell-side analysts cannot see the future and do not make estimates," he said. "Instead, they rely on company guidance to adjust their EPS forecasts." "With few companies reporting ... the volume of analyst EPS estimate revisions has been low," he added. That, Dhillon says, will change soon. The big winner in the earnings sweepstakes: Energy While most sectors are seeing declines in earnings estimates, the big winner in the earnings sweepstakes in the first quarter has been oil and gas companies. Far and away, energy has the biggest expected earnings growth. A combination of higher oil prices and increased demand is sending oceans of cash to oil and gas companies. Estimates for first quarter 2022 have gone from up 165% on Jan. 1 to up 213% today. Not surprisingly, the largest companies — ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips and Occidental Petroleum are contributing the largest amount of the earnings increase. Most of the gain will be due to higher commodity costs, as oil companies have repeatedly said they will be "disciplined" in increasing production. One other subsector is also looking strong: airlines. This week, United Airlines, Delta and Southwest have all made positive comments around improved spring bookings . However, most are still losing money. Most other sectors have seen earnings estimates come down Most sectors still have positive earnings estimates year over year, but they are coming down. For example, industrials estimates have slipped from a 55% increase on Jan. 1 to a 36% bump-up today. That is likely due to higher costs, a pull forward in demand, or concern about the impact of the Ukraine crisis on growth prospects in Europe, Refinitiv's Dhillon told me. 3M, Caterpillar, Stanley Black & Decker all have negative growth expectations year over year. Consumer staples estimates have declined from 5.2% to 1.2% growth; Walmart, Kimberly-Clark, and Kraft all have negative year-over-year growth expectations. Consumer discretionary had slim growth forecasts of 0.6%, but has now turned to a decline of 9.4%. Key stocks that have seen earnings estimates reduced include Amazon, Ford and General Motors. It's murky, but the trend is lower Put it all together, and the overall picture appears to be for lower earnings. "EPS growth will continue to decelerate over the next two quarters," Raich said in a recent note to clients. "For stock prices to justifiably go higher, 2Q22 & 3Q22 EPS estimates will need to hold steady. Our research indicates this is not likely." He is recommending that his clients stay underweight stocks. Others are arguing that one piece of the earnings puzzle — the worries over an economic slowdown, and worse, a recession — are being exaggerated. "The consumer balance sheet is in great shape ... we are still in a very sound footing," Gary Cohn, former director of the National Economic Council, said on CNBC's " Closing Bell " Wednesday, arguing that recession talk is way overblown. Others think that it could be farther out on the horizon. "I don't have a base case for a recession this year, but I do think we will probably get one in 2023," DoubleLine's Jeffrey Gundlach said Wednesday on CNBC's " Closing Bell: Overtime ." Cohn has an ally in Fed Chair Jerome Powell. At his press conference, Powell said the probability of a recession was "not particularly elevated" and emphasized the strong economy. After initially weakening, the markets seemed to take comfort in those assurances and ended higher for the day. FedEx Thursday night We may get an early guidance picture from FedEx, which reports after the bell Thursday. Investors are particularly interested on cost pressures the company has previously discussed. CNBC's Robert Hum notes that the shipper has talked about supply chain issues causing air cargo capacity limitations and recently announced related "peak surcharges" for many FedEx Express and freight shipments. "But how about the surging fuel costs? Any additional surcharges coming there?" Hum asked. "The company will probably also talk about the impact of suspending shipments into Russia.
A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., March 16, 2022.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
With inflation at decades-high levels and the war in Ukraine continuing to rage, stock analysts are nervously looking at earnings estimates for the next several quarters, and many do not like what they see.


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As part of their initiative to add more professional, scheduled programming to the video site, YouTube has been announcing partnerships with production studios, networks and celebrities over the past few months. They are now looking to print publishers to take their content off the page and onto the screen.
In this episode of “Cubes,” we take a behind-the-scenes tour of Hearst Tower, home to the likes of Esquire, Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, and Elle. The LEED-certified building contains an exclusive health club, a top-secret app lab, and a dining room that has hosted several U.S. presidents, among many other amazing features.
Five years ago, publisher Hearst dipped its toes into the online shopping waters with its launch of Kaboodle, which it describes as a “social shopping platform for connecting people and products.” Five years later, with online shopping and social media exploding, Kaboodle celebrated its fifth anniversary with a host of new features.
Hearst Magazines president and marketing and publishing director Michael A. Clinton spoke with AdAge.com regarding Monday’s announcement that Avi Zimak had been named to the newly created post of advertising director, tablet media, saying:
There’s a lot of interest from advertisers and agencies about what they can do on iPad and tablet editions. It’s an emerging business, obviously, so there are a lot of unknowns. So his job will be to keep the internal world and the external world up to speed on what’s happening on the advertising side of tablets.
(Hearst Magazines Digital Media vice president of digital editions and audience development) Chris Wilkes runs our tablet initiatives and our e-reader initiatives, but we believe that the integration of print, digital, and tablets is very exciting to advertisers as they build cross-platform buys from us. Avi will be the advertising liaison on that side of the platform.
The individual publishers and their teams will sell their own vertical apps as part of their initiatives, but then we’ll have corporate initiatives, as well.
Hearst Magazines Creates Post of Ad Director, Tablet Media, Fills It with Town & Country’s Avi Zimak
Hearst Magazines named Avi Zimak to the newly created post of advertising director, tablet media, where he will serve as the liaison between the advertising community and the mobile and tablet versions of Hearst’s brands, including apps for the iPhone, iPad and other devices.
His new responsibilities also include overseeing sales and marketing activities for new Hearst Magazines initiative The App Lab, which will launch in October and provide educational sessions on topics including emerging mobile content, apps and platforms, as well as new ad formats and consumer insights.
Zimak had served as advertising manager at Town & Country since July 2007. Prior to that, he held positions as wine and spirits and automotive director at Gourmet; luxury, automotive and wine and spirits director at Details; and technology account manager at Business 2.0.


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The release of Apple's rumoured smaller iPad is not a question of "if" but rather, "when." According to recent information, Apple might employ thin-film touch technology for the device.
Tech writers have agreed that Apple is going to introduce a more affordable 7.85 in iPad with a price tag of just under $300. The device is expected to make its appearance sometime before the end of this year.
The favoured name for the device is "iPad mini," but undoubtedly, Apple has its own plans on this matter. The latest rumours on the subject come from DigiTimes and its anonymous industry sources, usually from Apple's supply chain.
The Taiwanese website believes Apple is going to employ G/F2 thin-film touch technology for the iPad mini. The iPad maker will rely on "Nitto supplying the key thin-film materials, and Nissha Printing and TPK producing the touch screens," says the report.
Moving to G/F2 will allow Apple to kill two birds with one stone. First, the device will be thinner than the current iPad models and secondly, Apple will save money on materials - allowing the device to be more affordable and compete in a different market.


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Samsung took over Intel's throne as the biggest chipmaker by revenue in the last quarter of 2017, and it isn't showing any signs of slowing down. The Korean conglomerate has released its earnings guidance for Q1 2018, and while the figures include Ga… Engadget RSS Feed
Samsung is giving owners of its recent smartphones even more personalization options for the Always-On Display. According to Android Police, now you can showcase GIFs on the screen when your phone is asleep. The Always-On Display appears whenever you lock your phone and it shows the time, your notifications, remaining battery percentage, and other critical info. Users can change the colors, clock style, and other aspects of the AOD to make it feel a little more customized to their own liking.
For the past couple years, Samsung has also let customers choose between preloaded images or pick their own photo to appear alongside those indicators. It’s a good place to stick a picture of your partner, a family member, your kid, or maybe just a…
Samsung has released a new software update for its Tizen-based Gear S2 smartwatch that offers new fitness features, new control options for the Gear VR and powerpoint presentations, and more detailed daily morning weather forecasts. The company says the updates will make the three-year-old smartwatch more convenient to use. The software update also features what Samsung describes as a cleaner user interface so content can be viewed more easily, though we always found the S2’s bezel-controller UI to be its best feature.
The update adds a new App Shortcuts widget to the Gear S2, which automatically places your recently used and favorite apps in one place. You can now swipe down from any screen to access a quick panel, which displays…
Samsung’s chameleon TVs, as I’ve started calling them, now have price tags. The 2018 QLED lineup includes the Q9, Q8, Q7, and Q6, each of which will be available in different sizes and in both curved and flat versions. They all also have an “Ambient Mode,” that uses your phone to capture a photo of the environment behind it to then create a matching look on screen. It’s supposed to blend into a room, even when it’s off.
You can see some of the full pricing on Samsung’s website. Some models, like the 49-inch Q6 TV aren’t listed yet. The 55-inch QN55Q6F is the cheapest model of the bunch so far at $ 1,499.99, while the most expensive will be the 82-inch QN82Q6F, which will cost $ 4,499.99. The rest of the line slots into the price points in…
Samsung's Galaxy Tab Active2 is available starting today for $ 420 if you go the WiFi route; there's also an LTE option available on AT&T and Verizon. Whether you're on the shop floor or working outdoors, the slate's unique build should be up to t… Engadget RSS Feed
Last year we compared the speakers on the newly launched iPhone X to Samsung’s then-current flagship and the iPhone destroyed in loudness, bass, mids, and highs. Will it do the same against the all new Galaxy S9+? AppleInsider – Frontpage News
I wasn’t alone in suggesting that Samsung’s Animoji competitors were, well, creepy. AR Emojis sit firmly in the uncanny valley between face scans and cartoon characters — generally lacking the adorableness of Apple’s offering. They have, however, had one saving grace: Disney, the entertainment company that essentially owns all of your best childhood memories.
Samsung teased the partnership this month at Mobile World Congress, during the big Galaxy S9 launch, but didn’t offer much in the way of specifics. There is, however, some good news on the front. Disney’s AR Emojis will be available at launch for the S9 and S9+ — which, as it so happens, is today.
Right now, only Mickey and Minnie are available, accessible to phone buyers as a free download.More character offerings from such blockbuster films as The Incredibles, Zootopia and Frozen will be made available before the end of the year.
The decision to go with Samsung is no doubt a sore spot for Apple, which has had a tight partnership with Disney for decades, including numerous product crossovers and shared board members. But the entertainment giant is no doubt looking to spread the love. The company also recently licensed Star Wars characters for some very Porg-y Pixel 2 AR stickers.
“By extending our characters and stories to new digital platforms,” Disney VP John Love said in a release tied to the announcement, “we are creating daily Disney experiences everywhere our audience goes, and we are able to draw in new generations of fans.”
The S9 hits the market today, priced starting at $ 720.
Apple’s huge lead over Samsung in mobile facial recognition won’t be threatened anytime this year. Samsung is supposedly working on adding a 3D mapping facial recognition sensor to its next flagship smartphone, but according to a report from Asia, the supplier won’t have it ready until 2019. Israeli startup Mantis Vision is allegedly collaborating on […]
In the first of a series of comparison video, AppleInsider pits Samsung’s Galaxy S9+ against Apple’s iPhone X in a barrage of benchmarking tests. Read on to find out which flagship came out on top. AppleInsider – Frontpage News
Apple’s Animoji are enabled through the TrueDepth camera system, which is Apple’s 3D facial recognition feature that maps out a user’s facial features. The TrueDepth camera analyzes more than 50 muscle movements in different areas of the face for Animoji, detecting movement of the eyebrows, cheeks, chin, eyes, jaw, lips, eyes, and mouth to create super realistic representations of facial expressions.
Samsung’s AR Emoji, while similar to Animoji, don’t have the same kind of underlying technology powering them, so the facial expressions AR Emoji can replicate are far more rudimentary. While Animoji on the iPhone X can mimic subtle expressions, on the Galaxy S9, AR Emoji have trouble with anything that isn’t exaggerated, better recognizing movements like a blink or an open mouth than something more subtle like a wink or an angry face.
There are a limited number of Animoji available, though, and that’s where Samsung has Apple beat. There are more AR Emoji character options to work with, and in fact, you can even create a custom Bitmoji-style character modeled after your own face.
Characters can be customized with unique facial features, clothing, skin tone, and more, plus your recordings with AR Emoji aren’t limited to 10 seconds — you can record for as long as you want. You can also add stickers, and there are Bitmoji-like pre-made GIFs to send to people.
All in all, AR Emoji seems to have more in common with Snapchat than with Animoji. Those aforementioned stickers are similar to the Snapchat filters that let you add sunglasses, cute animal faces, and more to your own face and can’t be compared to anything offered natively by Apple.
It’s worth noting that third-party apps like Snapchat on iPhone X can also take advantage of the TrueDepth camera for filters that better fit the face, while on Samsung devices, Snapchat filters and AR Emoji stickers look much less natural.
As is typical, Samsung wins out in customizability, but Apple has the edge when it comes to the underlying technology. What do you think of AR Emoji compared to Animoji? Let us know in the comments.


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Beijing, Jan 4 (IANS) China’s express delivery sector grew steadily during 2015 despite a slowing economy, data showed on Monday.
In 2015, businesses made 20.65 billion deliveries — 48 percent up from 2014, according to the State Post Bureau (SPB).
The total revenue of the courier market hit 276 billion yuan ($42.44 billion) in 2015, up 35 percent year on year, the Global Times reported.
Over the past five years, the amount of express packages and the business revenue have increased 7.8 times and 3.8 times, respectively.
Courier services delivered to 70 percent of Chinese towns and villages by the end of 2015.
The country plans to build an efficient and safe delivery system with nationwide coverage, advanced technology and services and international connections by 2020.


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I watched this segment on Dr. Oz last week. Have a wonderful weekend! Pamela Healing Essence Massage.
Foods That Fight Cancer
Anti-angiogenesis, the starving of cancers by cutting off its blood supply, now a proven cancer-fighting strategy in cancer clinics supported by a growing body of scientific research, is migrating to the grocery store and farmer’s market. Many healthy foods contain bioactive compounds – specific substances that affect the body in certain ways, such as lowering blood pressure or cholesterol, or mopping up cancer-promoting free oxygen radicals, or inhibiting angiogenesis. In addition to the foods Dr. Oz and I discussed on the show (airing Friday, September 10, 2010), some other good examples of cancer fighting, anti-angiogenesis foods include:
We now know that all fruits and vegetables are not created equal – some are much more potent than others, based on their anti-angiogenesis profiles.
Read more at doctoroz.com


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You can’t wear sunglasses on the open ocean, even when the sun is shining.
You can, however, wear them to keep yourself cool, according to a new study from researchers at The University of Queensland.
Read moreNews_Image_File: The study by Dr Kevin McGovern and colleagues at The Royal Queensland Institute of Technology (RQIT) found that children, teenagers and adults in the study wore sunglasses on average when they surfed, surfed their own surfboard or rode a bike.
Dr McGovern said it was important for people to know that their safety depended on their own behaviour.
“It’s not just a matter of wearing sunglasses, it’s a matter the way you surf, ride or bike,” Dr McGovern told the ABC.
“When you ride, you don’t have any protective gear, so it’s not that you’re not wearing it, but you’re just wearing it for the surfers to see that you are wearing it and to know how much you need to wear it.”
“I think people should be cautious in the way they wear them and the way that they use them,” he said.
“We found that wearing sunglasses while surfing was associated with a reduced risk of injury, and that was for both kids and adults.”
In terms of children, we found that those wearing sunglasses were more likely to have a protective helmet on and were less likely to be involved in collisions.””
We also found that when people surfed on their surfboard, they were more at risk of colliding with a wave than those who didn’t surf.
“Dr McKing said people could wear sunglasses while riding, but they had to be careful not to get too close to waves.”
The only way you’re going to be able to see what’s going on, is if you’re looking directly into the waves,” he explained.”
You can’t look directly into them, so you’ve got to be really close to the wave.
“Dr Leena Naidoo, a surf instructor at the University of South Australia, said the findings suggested people should wear glasses if they wanted to protect themselves against waves.
Dr Naidoon said people wearing sunglasses would be more likely not to be swept off their board.”
There are some people that are very protective of their board, so they’ll be wearing a helmet, but I don’t think that’s the best way to protect yourself,” she said.
Dr Kevin McQueen, a lecturer in marine biology at The Queensland University of Technology, said sunglasses were one of the few things that would keep surfers safe.”
I’m not going to say that everyone should wear sunglasses but I think the evidence suggests that you can wear sunglasses, if you need them to do something that you need,” he told the BBC.”
So wearing sunglasses is one of those things that are really good for your health and good for surfing.
“Dr Nanaoo said it would be important for children and teenagers to wear protective goggles to protect their eyes, as it was a safer choice than wearing sunglasses.”
If they have goggles, it may be easier to use them, but if they don’t, it will be more difficult to see,” she explained.


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Today a team of local workmen in Panama will start to dig a hole partfunded by Japan, aided by Latin American cash and big enough to hold the world’s biggest Danish-owned, South Korean-built megaships. The ultimate winner, though, will be China.
The work, which coincides with the start of Panama’s dry season, is the latest phase in a $5.25 billion (£3.3 billion) project to widen the country’s famous canal — an expansion plan that could comprehensively reshape the flow of world trade and could even scupper Warren Buffett’s $34 billion “all-in” bet on American railways.
Work on deepening the Panama Canal begins amid more evidence of China’s roaring recovery from the global slump. Over the weekend, the closely watched Centre for Forecasting Science at the Chinese Academy of Sciences predicted that the country would return to double-digit rates of GDP growth this year. More critically for world trade, imports and exports are expected to grow by 19 per cent and 17 per cent, respectively.
These are precisely the sort of figures that have given new momentum to the Panama project — mooted a decade ago when Panama took possession of the canal from the United States. The aim is to increase vastly the canal’s capacity, in terms of both size and number of vessels. By doing so, shipping industry veterans say, it will re-establish the global importance of the isthmus.
The idea for an expansion began before China’s economic growth had truly begun to boom. The plans were drawn up in expectation of steady growth in Japanese exports to the United States and a rising tide of raw materials heading across the Pacific from Brazil.
It is clear, however, that the widened canal, as both an import and export route, will become a prime conduit for Chinese-driven global trade. One effect will be to make transport costs of finished goods from China to the East Coast of America much cheaper — perhaps by 30 per cent, according to the canal’s operating company.
When the work is finished, the canal will be navigable by tankers with capacity of a million barrels of crude oil. That, in turn, will open new routes whereby oil and mineral resources from West Africa can be taken directly to China — deepening political bonds that Beijing has carefully fostered in that region. The same dynamic could also bolster China’s influence in the Caribbean, expected to develop as a storage hub for oil before it heads west through the canal and on to China.
Economists at Goldman Sachs believe that the new canal could play a pivotal role in its Bric (Brazil, Russia, IndIa, China) investment story — as a channel more directly linking the Chinese and Brazilian markets.
By the time that the expansion work is finished in 2014, the canal will be able to take ships capable of holding 12,600 containers — more than double the capacity of the “Panamax” ships that represent the canal’s present size limit. Moreover, the new canal will also be large enough for the gas industry’s existing fleet of liquefied natural gas carriers, most of which are too big to make the Panama crossing and are forced to take the longer, more hazardous route around Cape Horn.
The reshaping effects have already begun. At the moment, the largest container ships leaving Asia for the US dock in one of the big West Coast ports, with Los Angeles the largest of those. Their journey is completed by freight train, much of it run by the Burlington Northern rail company, in which Mr Buffett has invested so lavishly.
However, anticipation of the wider Panama canal has shifted the focus: the combination of West Coast and rail may be quicker, but with potential cost savings of $1,000 per container, the sea route may prevail as China’s favourite.
Ports in New York and nearby New Jersey have begun work to increase capacity and deepen their channels to accommodate even larger ships. Big retailers, such as Wal-Mart and Home Depot — voracious importers of Chinese goods — are building hundreds of thousands of square metres of new storage space around the ports of Houston, Texas.
Chinese consumer demand
• China’s growing role in the global economy is to stretch to the shopping basket, within four years (Marcus Leroux writes).
According to IGD, the food industry analysts, China will replace the United States as the world’s largest grocery market by 2014.
Consumers in China are tipped to spend €761 billion (£666 billion) on groceries in 2014, against €529 billion this year. Spending in China — where chicken feet are a speciality and ready meals are unheard-of — will grow at nearly three times the rate in America and Britain, IGD believes.
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LinkedIn's guidance for the current quarter also beat views, and shares were up 9% in after-hours trading, after its report.
"The numbers are very good," said Martin Pyykkonen, an analyst at Wedge Partners. "Their user base continues to grow strong, and there is a lot of potential in the international markets still to be tapped.
The company said revenue jumped 101% from the year-earlier quarter to $188.5 million, past estimates of $178.6 million and the seventh straight quarter of triple-digit revenue growth. The U.S. accounted for 64% of sales.
Earnings minus items soared 150% to 15 cents, vs. the estimates of 9 cents by analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.
For Q2, LinkedIn expects revenue of $210 million-$215 million, above consensus estimates of $208 million. The midpoint would be a 75% increase. It projected earnings minus items of $40 million-$42 million, vs. consensus estimates of $40 million.
LinkedIn said it has 161 million members, up 11% from Q4.
LinkedIn was the first U.S.-based social networking firm to come public, last May. The stock popped 109% its first day, to 94.25, leading the way for other Internet IPOs to follow, from Pandora (NYSE:P) and Yelp (YELP - News) to TripAdvisor (TRIP - News) and Splunk (SPLK - News). LinkedIn closed Thursday's regular session at 109.41, up 2.8%.
In the wings is the biggest Internet IPO of them all, Facebook, expected this month.
Late Thursday Facebook filed plans to sell 337.4 million shares at a proposed price range of $28 of $35 each. At the high end, the IPO would bring in more than $13 billion and value the company near $90 billion.
LinkedIn, which focuses solely on business users, has a market value near $11 billion.
Facebook last week reported Q1 revenue of $1 billion, up 45%. It says 526 million users log in daily.
As an 800-pound gorilla, Facebook has the potential to thunder into most any market, but it has not indicated any plans to go after the professional networking field LinkedIn dominates.
"So far Facebook has not come out and said they will target the professional networking market," Pyykkonen said.
LinkedIn members can sign up for free and post their work history, skills and more.
Founded in 2003 and based in Mountain View, Calif., LinkedIn makes money three ways. Its hiring solutions group involves subscribers that use the site to find new hires. This unit's revenue jumped 121% in Q1, LinkedIn said, to $102.6 million.
The company's marketing solutions group sells ads. Its sales rose 73% to $48 million.
And the premium subscriptions unit — where users pay a fee for services that include internal emails, enhanced search results and profiling — saw sales rise 91% to $37.9 million.
"We saw strength across all key metrics from member signups and engagement to significant revenue growth across our three product lines," LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner said in a statement.