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The emerging economic power within the growing markets is set to open up opportunities for innovation and growth, causing transformation of the payments industry, a PricewaterhouseCoopers report has indicated.
Titled “Emerging Markets – Driving the Payments Transformation”, the report states, this will set the pace for markets worldwide.
The multinational accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers‘ report that evaluates dynamic nature of emerging markets, especially payments, which creates challenges that have never confronted the developed world but also opens up opportunities for innovation and growth, was released on Tuesday. It states the payments landscape in emerging markets, including India, is expected to transform on the backbone of accelerating growth in electronic payments.
The key factors shaping this transformation will be impact of technology, shifting customer expectations, the rise of e-commerce, changing global demographics, and the growing regulatory supervision.
This transformation will also be characterised by convergence across markets focusing on products and solutions and by technology and business/ operating models linked to payments, which will be global in nature and reach.
According to Vivek Belgavi, FinTech Leader, PwC India, given the underlying infrastructural issues in emerging markets, “there needs to be a focus on developing the infrastructure both for issuing and acceptance of payments products and instruments”.
“Alternate payment instruments and modes like mobile wallets, virtual cards and accounts, social media and contactless payments are gaining traction for specific use cases, especially the unbanked customer base, driven by technology, customer needs and declining margin.”
In India, the new payments banks (who cannot lend but can borrow up to a limit) are expected to commence operations in 2016.
As the focus of these banks will be on transactions, they will look at offering seamless transaction options for payments such as utility bills, mobile bills, and school or college fees, either electronically or through the banking touch points created by these players.
At the core of this change will be technology, which in addition to maintaining current standards of reliability, is likely to also reduce transaction times, improve security, increase acceptance channels (especially physical), and – in the case of merchants – lower transaction costs.
Leveraging enabling infrastructure and standards such as Unified Payment Interface (UPI) and Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) would be critical for success.
Hugh Harley, Financial Services Leader for Emerging Markets, PwC, stated: “Given the large unbanked population and the growing regulatory agenda to engage these people into the financial system, emerging markets are in a unique position to drive growth in the payments industry.”
He said: “FinTech companies can work as a catalyst in the growth story, enabling these new platforms to be leveraged for the benefit of the wider populations.”
Cutting-edge technology will reshape the next-generation payment systems, with both FinTech and established players driving innovation.
The payments ecosystem will also be redefined by regulatory interventions, which are balancing the disruption of alternative payment service providers (PSPs) with the reliability of traditional players.


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LG Electronics said May 8 it will release its first 5G smartphone, the V50 ThinQ, this week, after working for weeks to ensure its performance under the new network standard.
The tech giant had initially planned to launch the V50 in South Korea in late April but pushed back the schedule to optimize the phone‘s functions and network interoperability with the existing LTE network.
It will be the second 5G phone in the domestic market, following Samsung’s Galaxy S10 that hit shelves April 5.
The company said it is accepting preorders and will offer a free detachable second screen for those who buy the device by the end of June.
LG has been exploring ways to reverse the fate of its sluggish mobile business, which has posted operating losses for eight consecutive quarters.
The V50 uses the US tech giant Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 855 chipset and its X50 5G modem. Its 128-gigabyte model costs 1.2 million won ($1,054) in the domestic market.
By Ram Garikipati and newswires (firstname.lastname@example.org)

domain: news


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December 30, 2020
Morton Grove Pharmaceuticals Inc. is pulling 127,392 bottles of hydroxyzine hydrochloride oral solution after impurities were detected during routine testing, according to the December 30, 2020, US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Enforcement Report.
The recall affects hydroxyzine hydrochloride oral solution (syrup), 10 mg/5 mL, packaged in:
- 4-ounce (118 mL) bottles (NDC 60432-150-04) from lot UU1328 (Exp. 10/21), and
- 1-pint (473 mL) bottles (NDC 60432-150-16) from lots UU1207 (Exp. 7/21), UU1326 (Exp. 9/21), and UU1327 (Exp. 10/21).
The product was distributed throughout the United States and Puerto Rico.
Morton Grove Pharmaceuticals voluntarily initiated the recall December 9, 2020. The FDA designated the recall Class II on December 23, 2020. Drugs affected by Class II recalls may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences if used. While remote, a possibility of serious harm also exists.
Hydroxyzine hydrochloride syrup is a prescription antihistamine used to relieve anxiety and tension.


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DOT’s Voluntary Guidance For Airlines And Airports Leaves Travelers At Risk
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Consumer Reports delivered over 62,000 petition signatures to Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao today calling on her to establish mandatory health and safety standards for airlines and airports to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. While the DOT issued COVID-19 health and safety recommendations in July, airlines and airports are not required to follow them and practices can vary widely across the industry.
“Americans are already wary about traveling during a global pandemic and deserve to know that strict COVID-19 safety precautions will be followed if they choose to fly,” said William J. McGee, Aviation Adviser for Consumer Reports. “We need mandatory, enforceable health and safety rules so that every airline, airport and passenger can be held accountable to help stop the spread of this potentially deadly virus. Mandatory standards will ultimately help the airlines recover from the current crisis by giving Americans more confidence that they will be safe when flying.”
In a letter accompanying the petition signatures, Consumer Reports noted that Americans encounter a confusing patchwork of conflicting health and safety policies at hundreds of U.S. airports and every airline. Travelers cannot be sure, when they make a reservation, what the airline’s policies on healthy travel will be on the date when their flight takes off.
While some airlines are currently leaving middle seats open on flights, other carriers are booking passengers on every seat on their planes. CR has heard from travelers concerned about overcrowded flights and that mask requirements are not being enforced consistently.
CR urged Secretary Chao to work with other key administration officials to establish requirements for airlines, airports, and travelers to protect against the transmission of COVID-19 during air travel. Secretary Chao has the authority to make COVID-19 safety protocols mandatory using the same emergency authority the DOT used to require airlines to adopt stronger security measures following the September 11th terrorist attacks.
Consumer Reports also reiterated its call for Secretary Chao to ensure airlines treat passengers fairly by providing cash refunds for flights disrupted by the pandemic. CR’s letter notes that a record 55,000 Americans filed complaints with the DOT in the first four months of the crisis after being unfairly denied refunds for canceled flights.
PLEASE NOTE: Consumer Reports can connect reporters with consumers who have flown during the pandemic and shared their concerns about the need for stricter safety measures. For more information, contact Michael McCauley at Michael.email@example.com.
Michael McCauley, Michael.firstname.lastname@example.org, 415-902-9537


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It is no longer a news that Linda Ikeji just launched a social network, the story is already all over the internet, this innovation by Linda is long awaited and a very creative and plausible one by the way. The gist about Linda Ikeji Social (LIS) has been trending for a while, there has been a buzz online by Linda Ikeji on what LIS is all about, but finally, the puzzle has been unraveled by the initiator herself.
This is what the LIS platform looks like
LIS is considered a social networking website but according to Linda, it’s not just any social networking site as it combines blogging with social networking. What this implies is that users can enjoy the features of blogging and social networking on just one platform, but that is not all.
The site has the feature similar to that of a classified website, where users can list their products. This means you can buy directly from the platform, for me this is more than social, buying and selling is involved, anyway in addition to this, Linda has decided to add some extra features to the platform to make it more exciting and enterprising, for every unique news and gist sent to LIS you get rewarded monetarily and you can monitor your earnings through a wallet.
I see blogging, social networking, affiliate marketing, classified ads and much more on this platform, more like a jack of all trade, I hope LIS will be able to master all these add-ons effectively. Congrats to Linda Ikeji on the launch of this innovative idea, it is quite laudable.Share This


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According to the report, the big product-attribute-related trends in 2012 will be raw and cultured foods, gluten-free body care, vegan, nontoxic packaging and nonGMO labeling. Organic supplements and energy shots will be hot, and the key health condition will be cognitive health, according to the report.
The most-popular ingredients in 2012 will be chia, garbanzo beans, quinoa, argan oil, African mango, fruit stem cells, dairy alternatives and probiotics.
Consumers will want to shop at the specialty gourmet retail and the local producer while buying artisanal/artisan products. They will also continue to self-diagnosis and give themselves self-care with alternatives to conventional and over-the-counter medicine.
From the January 20, 2012, Prepared Foods' Daily News.


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01 de marzo de 2016
Univision Communications Inc. (UCI) announced the launch of a new marketing campaign, United We Stand, Together We Grow, to showcase the multimedia Companys position of standing united with its growing, influential, multicultural audience and will serve as its message platform across the company for the year, as well as the theme for UCIs Upfront presentation to advertisers at 11am on Tuesday, May 17th, 2016 at the Lyric Theatre in NY. Aimed at reaching the Companys distribution, advertising and marketing partners, the campaign highlights UCIs core differentiators: young and influential viewers, massive unduplicated reach and commitment to serving the needs of its multicultural viewers bilinguals, millennials, die-hard novela devotees, sports fans, political and news junkies or just lovers of entertaining multiplatform content. The Univision story is a unique one that no other media company has. Our campaign illustrates our ability to reach high value, multicultural consumers in the U.S. by delivering on our unyielding mission to inform, entertain and empower our audience anywhere, anytime. With fun and inspirational creative, this campaign demonstrates Univisions unique ability to help our marketing partners deliver sustained business growth, said Jessica Rodríguez, EVP and Chief Marketing Officer, UCI. Hispanics are one of the fastest growing demographics of the U.S. population, and we are the best partner for advertisers seeking to reach this audience today and in the future, added Keith Turner, UCIs president of Advertising Sales and Marketing. The campaign, which was led by UCIs EVP of Marketing and Content Partnerships, Jennifer Ball, and features concepts developed by the Our Man In Havana agency and designs by Blanco Lorenz, will include out of home billboard displays in key markets, as well as print, digital and e-newswire advertisements.


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Street Fight Daily: Amazon Cuts Out Google Shopping Ads, Advertisers Question Facebook ROI
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology…
Amazon Stops Buying Prized Shopping Ads on Google (Bloomberg)
Amazon has stopped buying a popular type of Google ad, according to people familiar with the decision. The move deepens the rift between the technology titans and signals Amazon’s growing ambition in the digital advertising market.
Adsquare Leverages Quality Guarantee to Boost Marketer Confidence (Street Fight)
The mobile data exchange adsquare believes it has finally cracked the code on data accuracy with a new product that aggregates first-party data from publishers and combines it with validated third-party data from the company’s own exchange.
Facebook’s Big Threat Isn’t Cambridge Analytica — It’s Advertisers Questioning ROI (Digiday)
Advertisers are unhappy about how expensive it’s gotten to advertise on a platform that has openly admitted it hasn’t always charged the correct amount for ads.
Foreshadowing Future of Food Delivery, Delivery.com Launches Product for Workplace Orders (Street Fight)
The team at delivery.com believes there are still holes in the workplace food ordering market waiting to be filled. Its attempt to meet those needs is debuting this morning, as the company adds new group ordering functionality to its platform.
Google’s DoubleClick Ad ID Change Presents Challenges and Opportunity for Attribution Vendors (AdExchanger)
James Hercher: It’s hard to make sweeping statements about the DCM policy’s impact on attribution vendors because the ramifications depend on which clients those measurement companies work for and whether the attribution tech is owned by an ad platform or data provider.
Marketers Struggle to Agree on Viewability Definitions (eMarketer)
The CMO Council surveyed 233 senior marketers worldwide in the first quarter of 2018 and found that few respondents are completely fine with the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s viewability guidelines, which rate video ads as viewable as long as 50% of the ad is on screen for at least 2 consecutive seconds.
HubSpot Adds Customer Service Tools to Its Marketing Platform (TechCrunch)
HubSpot is expanding beyond sales and marketing with the official launch of its Service Hub for managing customer service. The product was first announced last fall, but now it’s moved out of beta testing.
TV Viewers Have Been Disappearing, But TV Ad Spending Keeps Chugging Along (Recode)
You know what’s been happening to TV viewers: They’ve been disappearing, year after year. But TV advertisers haven’t followed suit: They’ve kept their spending the same — or even increased it — year after year after year.


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IOWA (KCAU) — Proposition 12 is a California policy that states any pork sold in the state would need to come from pigs whose mothers were raised in at least 24 square feet of space with the ability to lie down and turn around. Pork producers say this new law would cause industry-wide changes and raise the cost of bacon and other pork products across the U.S.
The Iowa Pork Producers Association said the proposition would make most pork producers make costly changes in their operations.
“It’s expensive to meet the rules that they set in Proposition 12 and a lot of farmers do not have the capital and will not borrow the money to go forth and change their facilities to match up with Proposition 12,” said Trish Cook, Iowa Pork Producers Association President.
Pork producers argue that 72 percent of farmers use individual pens or larger group pens that would not meet the proposition’s space requirements
Meanwhile in Senator Joni Ernst sent out a tweet saying:
Extremists in liberal states like California shouldn’t be allowed to BAN OUR BACON and punish hardworking Iowa pork producers with overreaching policies. Disappointed in SCOTUS decision on Prop 12. I’ll keep fighting for #Iowa farmers!
Likewise Senator Chuck Grassley sent out a series of tweets criticizing the decision.
“Iowa is the nation’s top pork producer California comes nowhere close yet its proposed regulations put restrictions on how pork producers in all other states raise hogs. 2day SCOTUS upholds California’s radical regs its HOGWASH”
“Disappointing news the Supreme Court upheld 9th circuit decision to allow California to regulate how pork reaches ur plate Prop 12 is an attack on your breakfast U can expect to pay more for bacon California’s liberal regulations impact pork producers nationwide.”
Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig released a statement on the ruling saying, in part, “This disappointing decision sets a concerning precedent and opens the door for the largest states to dictate the laws and regulations for consumers and businesses to the rest of America. This sets the stage for a state-by-state patchwork of ever-changing and costly requirements that will increase the cost of production and drive higher costs for food and other consumer products.”


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According to WSJ, Gianni Versace SpA CEO, Giancarlo Di Risio is expected to resign. Apparently, there has been months of clashes between Giancarlo Di Risio and Donatella Versace over how to cut costs as a result of this insane recession. “A statement issued by the company says the professional relationship between Versace and CEO Giancarlo Di Risio has not been terminated.”
“The Versace family issued a statement Thursday saying that “the professional relationship between Versace and its CEO” hasn’t been terminated. Versace is focusing on “measures it should adopt to confront the effects of the economic downturn on the luxury sector,” the statement said.
Ms. Versace owns a 20% stake in the company, which was founded by her brother, the late Gianni Versace. Her brother Santo Versace owns 30%. Ms. Versace’s 22-year-old daughter, Allegra Versace Beck, owns 50%. Ms. Beck has backed her mother in the designer’s clashes with Mr. Di Risio, the person familiar with the matter said.
A resignation by Mr. Di Risio, which would come as Versace’s profit is suffering, would highlight the pressure faced by Europe’s many family-owned fashion houses. Such companies are suffering more than their larger, financially sturdier peers amid the global economic slump.”
credit: wsj, shopping blog


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Samsung has announced it could refurbish and sell some of the millions of Note 7 smartphones that were recalled for safety reasons.
The company is trying to manage its stockpile in an “environmentally friendly” manner.
The world’s largest smartphone maker said it would sell Note 7s as “refurbished phones or rental phones” after consulting regulators in various markets.
Samsung recalled an estimated four million of the phones over concerns that batteries could overheat and burst into flames.
Authorities in the US and elsewhere banned them from use on planes and even from being placed in checked luggage.
After an investigation, Samsung in January blamed faulty batteries.
The recalled phones could pose an environmental hazard if handled as waste.
A Samsung statement said that the devices would be “recycled and processed in an environmentally friendly manner” with any salvageable components detached for reuse and metals extracted by specialist recycling companies.


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"Names, credit card data, addresses, and information on transactions as recent as yesterday are being sold online.
The personal information of what could be hundreds of thousands of Instacart customers is being sold on the dark web. This data includes names, the last four digits of credit card numbers, and order histories, and appears to have affected customers who used the grocery delivery service as recently as yesterday.
As of Wednesday, sellers in two dark web stores were offering information from what appeared to be 278,531 accounts, although some of those may be duplicates or not genuine. As of April, Instacart had "millions of customers across the US and Canada," according to a company spokesperson.
The company denied there had been a breach of its data."


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The global food shortages brought about by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine may be serving the desire of the globalists to bring about the Great Reset.
The impact of the food shortages and other supply chain issues is also being felt by American farmers.
“The cost of fertilizer is up as much as 500 percent in some areas,” said Indiana Farm Bureau President Randy Kron. “It would be unbelievable if I hadn’t seen it for myself as I priced fertilizer for our farm in southern Indiana. Fertilizer is a global commodity and can be influenced by multiple factors.”
Among the factors that have influenced the price of fertilizer in the United States, Kron includes the ongoing inflation and supply chain crisis and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “All of these are helping to drive up costs,” he said. (Related: Ukraine invasion may be a preemptive strike against the Great Reset, says Glenn Beck.)
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Nathan Carson, head of supply chain operations for Florida-based fertilizer supplier Chemical Dynamics, noted that the price of NPK fertilizer (nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium fertilizer) has risen since Dec. 2020. The increase in the cost of producing food has naturally affected how much consumers pay for food items at the store.
“Food prices are going to continue to go up dramatically,” said Carson. “I was expecting food prices to go up about 10 percent in the U.S. before midterms, so around August, another five or so percent to follow by the end of the year.”
The situation is much worse for parts of the country that use fertilizer imported from outside the United States. Bob White, director of national government relations for the Indiana Farm Bureau, noted that the conflict and the massive reduction in fertilizer exports coming out of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus will likely cause a ripple effect in food prices that will hurt consumers the most and force many to purchase fewer food items.
“Once you have shortages, you have rationing. Once you have rationing, especially for … things like food, medicine, which they’re also rationing now, you have basically total control,” commented Harrison Hill Smith during an episode of “American Journal” on InfoWars. “The shortage will be used to, once again, determine who does and who does not get the food they need to survive. It’s pretty simple.”
Food shortages will only benefit the globalists
The food shortages created by the war will benefit the globalists, especially in one particular industry: the synthetic biology industry.
This is according to a special correspondent writing for Winter Oak, who wrote that the desire of nations around the world to shore up their dwindling food supplies will force them to rely on plant-based and lab-grown alternatives “on a global scale.”
“Russia and Ukraine are both breadbaskets of the world and critical shortages in grains, fertilizers, vegetable oils and essential foodstuffs will catapult the importance of biotechnology to food security and sustainability,” the author wrote.
This will then lead to the massive growth of globalist-controlled and funded corporations that offer plant-based alternatives and imitation meats, like Impossible Foods Inc., which creates plant-based meat substitutes and one of the principal investors of which is tech giant and billionaire Bill Gates.
“One can therefore expect more government regulation to usher a dramatic overhaul to industrial food production and cultivation, ultimately benefiting agribusiness and biotech investors, since food systems will be redesigned through emerging technologies.”
Winter Oak further warned that the reshaping of the world’s food industries could be used as an attempt to get more people to consume crops that have been put through CRISPR gene-editing processes.
“This is the Great Reset coming down,” said Smith. “So, if you want to eat food that [the globalists are] rationing out, you better be a good little boy and you better support their mass starvation program and their total technocratic panopticon establishment, or else you will have to be put at the back of the line for the increasingly rare, basic staples of survival that they have.”
“This is a mass attack against humanity,” he added. “It’s all coming together to enslave us all.”
Learn more about how the war in Ukraine may be serving the Great Reset agenda at GreatReset.news.
Watch this clip from an episode of “American Journal” on InfoWars as host Harrison Hill Smith talks about how the fertilizer shortage and food shortages will bring about the Great Reset.
This video is from the InfoWars channel on Brighteon.com.
More related stories:
- Is the Russian invasion of Ukraine a Trojan Horse for the financial reset?
- World Economic Forum wants everyone who resists Great Reset to be forced into China-style “reeducation camps.”
- World Alternative Media: Global food shortage is part of Great Reset agenda.
- Scott Kesterson: World finance system will collapse and dollar will crumble in Great Reset – Brighteon.TV.
- Alex Jones: War in Ukraine advances the GREAT RESET desired by globalists.
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Tesla will be working with its first pilot clients for its all-electric Semi truck to manufacture charging stations at their transportation offices, Reuters reports. We know generally minimal about how Tesla will pilot its truck up to this point, yet this new data reveals some insight into the charging segment of the perplex.
Tesla will work with Anheuser-Busch, Pepsi and UPS at any rate to work out these source point chargers, the report cases, and after that the underlying courses which the Semis will run will be sufficiently short that the trucks can go out and back again on a solitary charge. Pepsi revealed to Reuters that it’ll investigate possibly collaborating with different organizations utilizing Tesla trucks to make consolidated charging offices.
The trucks, which clearly have far more noteworthy battery limit than Tesla’s buyer vehicles, would require charging stations that can convey more power, all the more rapidly, and Musk has beforehand proposed Tesla may construct a system of purported “uber chargers” that accumulate control utilizing sun oriented boards, and that can convey a full charge to a Semi in as meager as 30 minutes utilizing high-limit control conveyance.
Tesla affirmed to Reuters that it’s in dialogs with bigger customers in regards to development of charging framework for the vehicles, and pilot customer Loblaws additionally said it’s planning to utilize sun oriented vitality, and is likewise taking a gander at other potential accomplices past Tesla to make charging offices work.
The Tesla Semi, divulged a year ago, will have a maximum scope of upwards of 500 miles, per the organization, and begins at $150,000 for a lower-run rendition. The automaker is wanting to have the first of these vehicles working on streets by at some point one year from now.


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Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands Gets Special Operation 3 Teaser
Ubisoft has released a teaser trailer for Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands’ Special Operation 3.
Special Operation 3 will bring with it a new PvE mission, along with additional PvP classes and maps. A new Photo Mode will also be included, along with tweaks to the Prestige Economy that have been based on community feedback. More information will be unveiled on December 10.
You can view the trailer below:
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands: Special Operation 3 Teaser | Ubisoft [NA]
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands is a tactical shooter in an open world environment, and has players taking the role of Delta Company, First Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group. The game is now available for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
Source: Press Release
Posted Mar 10, 2023
Ahead of its full release on March 24, get up to speed with Capcom’s Resident Evil 4 Remake with the Chainsaw Demo of the game, available now.
Players will be able to suit-up and face the dino swarms when Capcom’s Exoprimal launches July 14.
Announced during LEVEL5 VISION 2023, Level-5’s Fantasy Life series is making its return on the Nintendo Switch with FANTASY LIFE i: The Girl Who Steals Time.
Players can set out to protect the innocent and uphold the law with the latest gameplay trailer for Teyon and Nacon’s RoboCop: Rogue City.


text: Hewlett-Packard has dropped plans to offer Microsoft's next version of Windows Home Server OS, code-named Vail, in its products, after retiring a line of servers carrying the current version of the OS, Microsoft said on Tuesday.Microsoft said in a blog entry that HP's decision to not support the upcoming Windows Home Server OS is tied to its decision of retiring MediaSmart Server products, which run the current version of Windows Home Server."As such, HP has told us they do not plan to provide a platform for Windows Home Server code name 'Vail'. HP has told us they will continue to sell the existing version of MediaSmart Server through the end of the calendar year 2010 and will honor service and support agreements," Microsoft wrote on the Windows Team Blog.However, Microsoft said it is working with partners such as Acer and Tranquil to bring products with Vail to the market. Vail is due out in 2011.HP's MediaSmart servers are generally used in homes to serve multimedia files across a network, and also used as a data backup device. The EX490 and EX495 servers are listed as being out of stock on the company's retail website.HP officials did not respond to requests for comment. However, the company has said it wants to put more focus on bringing out a range of new products based on the WebOS operating system, including smartphones, tablets and printers. The company got WebOS after it bought Palm earlier this year.


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Staying Ahead with XRP News: The Latest in Ripple’s Journey
Get the latest updates and insights into XRP, Ripple’s digital currency, as we explore its evolving landscape and potential impacts on the financial industry.
In the ever-changing world of cryptocurrency, staying updated with the latest XRP news is essential for investors, traders, and enthusiasts alike. XRP, the digital currency created by Ripple Labs, has consistently made headlines for its innovative approach to facilitating real-time, cross-border payments for banks and financial institutions. This article dives into the recent developments surrounding XRP, the challenges it faces, and its potential to transform the financial sector.
XRP has distinguished itself from other cryptocurrencies by focusing on solving real-world problems in the international banking and payments industry. Its underlying technology, the Ripple protocol, is designed to enable secure, instant, and nearly free global financial transactions of any size with no chargebacks. This focus on utility and efficiency has garnered the attention of financial institutions worldwide, with several banks and payment providers adopting Ripple’s technology to improve their transaction processes.
However, XRP’s journey has not been without its hurdles. One of the most significant challenges has been the ongoing legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which alleges that Ripple conducted an unregistered securities offering through its sale of XRP. This lawsuit has led to considerable volatility in XRP’s price and has sparked widespread debate within the cryptocurrency community about the regulation of digital assets.
Despite these challenges, recent XRP news has shown positive developments for Ripple and its digital currency. Ripple Labs has been making strategic partnerships and technological advancements that could enhance XRP’s utility and adoption. For instance, the company’s efforts to expand its RippleNet network, which uses XRP for liquidity in cross-border transactions, have seen significant growth. These partnerships not only demonstrate XRP’s practical use cases but also strengthen its position in the competitive cryptocurrency market.
The potential impact of XRP on the financial industry cannot be understated. By providing a more efficient and cost-effective solution for international payments, XRP has the potential to disrupt traditional banking systems. Its ability to facilitate instant payments across borders with minimal fees presents a compelling alternative to the slow and expensive processes currently in place.
Looking ahead, the future of XRP hinges on several factors, including the outcome of its legal challenges, continued adoption by financial institutions, and the overall growth of the cryptocurrency market. Investors and industry watchers are keenly observing how Ripple navigates these challenges and capitalizes on opportunities to expand its reach and influence.
In conclusion, XRP news continues to captivate the cryptocurrency community, offering a blend of technological innovation, regulatory drama, and market dynamics. As Ripple strives to redefine the landscape of financial transactions, the journey of XRP is one to watch closely. Whether you are a seasoned investor or new to the world of cryptocurrency, keeping abreast of the latest developments in XRP news is crucial for understanding the potential shifts in the digital currency space and the broader financial ecosystem.


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Nintendo will slash the price of its 3DS handheld gaming device in Japan from mid August.
Sony reported a net loss for the three month period from April to June as the company dealt with unfavorable exchange rates, cut-throat competition in the consumer electronics business, and a hacking attack on its online gaming network.
Optus claims to have launched Australia's first national femtocell service, and will offer unlimited phone calls Australia-wide for $5 a month as part of the package.
The U.S. Department of Justice has asked Google for more information on its proposed acquisition of display advertising optimization firm, Admeld, Google said on Wednesday.
Almost anyone can snoop the secure data traffic of unpatched iPhones and iPads using a recently-revised tool, a researcher said today as he urged owners to apply Apple's latest iOS fix.
It's been a rough time of late for global business travelers who need to stay in touch.
If you get an e-mail message telling you a hotel has erroneously charged your credit card account, be careful. The odds are that it's part of a new spam campaign that could infect your computer.
A just-published standard for using the "white spaces" between TV channels could offer as much as 22M bps (bits per second) over distances as great as 100 kilometers (62 miles).
The hacking group LulzSec may have just lost its mouthpiece.
Where are the users? That's what popular websites including Yahoo, Google and Facebook are asking the Internet engineering community when they are questioned about their long-range plans to deploy IPv6.
After weeks of explosive growth, the Google+ social networking site saw its traffic and usage drop last week, according to Hitwise.
Google yesterday updated Chrome to work better in Apple's Lion, adding support for the operating system's default two-fingered page-swiping gesture.
The success Apple has had with its MacBook Air refresh will likely lead the company to completely redesign its MacBook Pro line in favor of a thinner and lighter form factor.
The former CTO of NASA and co-founder of OpenStack on Wednesday unveiled a new appliance designed to make it easy for enterprises to build private clouds.
A group of 29 US universities has banded together in an effort to accelerate ultra-high-speed broadband deployment to their campuses and surrounding communities, organiSers announced on Wednesday.
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GSM mobile handset MQ3500 also named "Quran Mobile" has been launched in India on Monday 21, November 2011. This product is a joint venture between Tolmol.com, an online product comparison company and ENMAC Engineering, a Malayasian Digital Islamic products maker.
'Quran mobile', which is priced Rs 3,950 is a dual SIM phone. Apart from basic features like GPRS and FM Radio, this product has inbuilt features like complete Quran recitation in voices of top seven recitors of the world, Auto silent mode during prayer times,Quran translationin 29 languages, prayers, Tafseer (Commentaries on Quran) and Hadith (Sayings of the Prophet).
"This product is the first of its kind being launched in India", Anuj Kanish co-founder of Tolmol said.The company also plans to bring a range of other Digital Islamic products including Digital Quran Reader and Islamic e-books to India.


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The NFT ecosystem designed by DraftKings for mainstream accessibility, DraftKings Marketplace, is now live and will feature its first Preseason Access Collection, which will drop later this week.
The exclusive debut content, provided by Autograph, includes Preseason Access Passes from athletes such as Tom Brady, Wayne Gretzky, Tony Hawk, Naomi Osaka, Derek Jeter, Tiger Woods and more to be announced.
NFTs will be available on Autograph.io and on DraftKings Marketplace. Customers within the U.S. can join the first drops starting on August 11th, which will feature Tom Brady. The Signature editions are set to drop during August 13th, and will contain authentic digital signatures from the seven-time Super Bowl champion.
Fans and collectors across the country with a DraftKings account can now access the company’s Marketplace both on desktop or mobile formats, either through the DraftKings’ apps or its website.
Each featured athlete will begin by dropping a limited number of NFT collectibles categorized as the Premier drops and signature drops within the Preseason Access Collection.
These NFTs will be available for USD purchase at a range of prices with the aim of lowering the barriers to entry for fans who want to become collectors while still appealing to seasoned collectors.
While the supply of inaugural Tom Brady NFTs on DraftKings Marketplace is limited, fans will have opportunities to acquire certified authentic content of other athletes and collections yet to be released. Owners of a Preseason Access Pass, regardless of edition, will also be granted preferential access to a future drop from Autograph.
All DraftKings Marketplace NFTs are minted on an eco-friendly Ethereum Layer 2 solution for customers to then store within their DraftKings Marketplace portfolio, where they can also view it. The platform will eventually have the ability to transfer these NFTs to their own wallets on Ethereum Mainnet.
NFT owners can leverage the secondary-sale market on DraftKings Marketplace by listing their digital collectibles for sale at their chosen price for others to see within the community.
In an official press release published on DraftKings website, Matt Kalish, co-founder and president of DraftKings spoke about the company’s new product.
"Autograph’s Advisory Board includes some of the most iconic athletes ever, and we could not imagine a more fitting figure than Tom Brady to headline our first ever NFT drop on DraftKings Marketplace. The overall NFT market has already surged to over $2.5 billion in sales volume for the first half of 2021, and so whether someone is well-versed or barely familiar with digital collectibles, we envision DraftKings Marketplace being a premier platform for all within a trend that is decidedly here to stay.”
Tom Brady, co-founder of Autograph added “NFTs bring an entirely new dimension to the collector experience, and I cannot wait for people to discover and engage with this first ever drop of Autograph’s official digital collectibles. We created Autograph as a way for fans and collectors to own a piece of iconic moments in sports and entertainment through authenticated and official digital collectibles and we are just getting started!”
The launch and ongoing development of DraftKings Marketplace includes leveraging the expertise of Scarcity Labs, which was recently acquired by DraftKings to support expansion into NFTs and related technologies.
DraftKings has also hired Beth Beiriger, former chief product officer at Invaluable, to join the team as senior vice president of operations for DraftKings Marketplace where she will oversee content strategy and the long-term roadmap.


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he winner of “Best Brands 2016” award was announced by Europe´s largest independent communications agency, The Service plan Group, in collaboration with GFK, the world renowned market research organization, at an awards ceremony which held in Shanghai. At the event, Huawei was named “Best Consumer Electronics Brand”, beating other brands competing in the category including Apple and Canon. The Best Brands title was designed to recognize the most successful and powerful brands. The marketing awards were introduced in China in 2014, it was the first brand ranking in China to take a comprehensive view of the consumer’s opinions, evaluating it based on both emotional and behavioral factors, while assuring transparency and objectivity.
Glory Zhang, Chief Marketing Officer of Huawei Consumer Business, delivered a keynote speech at the ceremony. In her speech, she touched on important milestones in mobile history. She stated that Time Magazine ranked the 100 most important photos in human history, noting that Huawei also is part of that history and has worked with Leica to redefine smartphone photography with the world’s first Leica dual-camera design, in the Huawei P9. Due to the success of the P9 and being named the best smartphone camera, Huawei partnered with Leica again to create an even more powerful camera in the recently released Mate 9 which has helped over 10 million people around the world to capture the wonderful moments in their life and turn them into artistic photos Commenting on how the brand has made so much possible in such as a short period of time? Zhang said “Innovation is at the core of our business. We focus on meaningful innovations, which are vitally important to the consumer experience. This is why we have provided a breakthrough in performance and power consumption, with Huawei Mate 8, and we introduced the world’s fastest chipset Kirin 960”.
Zhang added: “the latest Mate 9 Porsche Design, is so hot worldwide because consumers are excited to see the best combination of fine craftsmanship and powerful performance in a flagship smartphone”. Huawei as a smartphone manufacturer is growing fast. In only five years, they have grown into one of the world’s top three smartphone brands. Interbrand ranked Huawei as one of the top 100 brands since 2014.
The company has stated that innovation leads their business while passion fuels the brand. It is the passion to aim high and to make a difference that unifies Huawei employees worldwide. Huawei also announced that the Huawei Mate 9 will be available in the Nigerian Market very soon.


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They call them “chips” across the pond—or French fries if you reside stateside. Whatever you call them, KFC fans in the UK are excited about a big recipe change.
But the change was a longtime coming and a painful revelation for KFC UK. However, as the brand does, it heard the outcry, took it to heart—and its kitchen—and responded with its British-style sense of humor.
It all began with a rather brutal August 2014 tweet from @charliejburnessie that read, “I’ve got to say, KFC are riding solely on their chicken because Christ, those are crap fries.” And there were plenty of other tweets like this daunting one by @upgrade_music, “Dear KFC, No one likes your fries. Yours sincerely, the entire world.”
In turn, KFC began work on a new recipe and this week, “promised the new chips will be thicker, crispier, taller, rustic fries with the skin left on so they are better for dipping in ketchup,” EssexLive News reported.
To alert all the haters, KFC made what can only be called a clever move. KFC UK & Ireland paid to promote Charlie Burnessie’s 2014 tweet across social and on bus shelters with the message, “You told us no one liked our fries. So new ones are coming soon. Yours sincerely, KFC.”
Jack Hinchliffe, innovation director at KFC UK & Ireland, told EssexLive News: “We don’t change things on a whim—the Colonel’s Original Recipe chicken hasn’t changed since he finalized it in 1940. This was different though. We heard the nation’s outcry. We read the brutal tweets.”
Excitement erupted across western Europe from Belfast to Yorkshire to London. Twitter lite up and news sites covered the announcement of the new fries.
KFC UK has a plucky sense of humor, as we can see from this campaign, but also from an earlier one. It was forced to close down a bunch of restaurants after a chicken shortage hit. Customers were showing up at restaurants only to find them closed. KFC quickly rans ads that rearranged the letters of its name to spell out “FCK” on a chicken bucket, with text below that read, “We’re sorry.”


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The Importance of Small Business Saturday
ELMIRA, N.Y.(WENY)-- If you did not get enough shopping in on Black Friday, Saturday November 30th, Small Business Saturday kicks off all over the country. This day traditionally occurs after Black Friday to promote shopping locally and finding gifts that you may not be able to find a the big box stores. Local business owners encourage community members to shop locally, so their money will go right back into the community and help support their friends and neighbors.
"Small businesses are people from the town that live here, work here, spend money here and care about the community, you know like the parade this morning, it was all small business's people that did that," say Paul Kingsbury, Owner of Kingsbury's Cyclery in Downtown Elmira.
Kingsbury told WENY News that days like Small Business Saturday are important to highlight those in the local community who put their life into their businesses.
"Small business Saturday is important just to remind that there are small businesses that are local businesses and support our community and spend our money in our community so it's an important day," says Kingsbury.
Kingsbuy said that his store will be open tomorrow and he will have hot chocolate waiting for anyone looking to get out of the cold.


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Airbnb, the popular travel website, is the target of a new campaign against its listings of accommodation in the settlements built by Israel in the occupied West Bank.
Five organizations launched a campaign called Stolen Homes on Wednesday calling on Airbnb “to immediately stop listing vacation rentals in Israeli settlements, all of which were built on stolen Palestinian land and deemed illegal under international law.”
A petition notes that “through earning fees from settlement vacation rentals, Airbnb is directly profiting from the continuing occupation and dispossession of Palestinians.”
Earlier this month, +972 Magazinereported that not only does Airbnb list accommodation in Israeli settlements, but that without exception the listings do no mention that they are located on occupied land.
The California-based Airbnb has declined to comment, apart from releasing a short statement which read: “We follow laws and regulations on where we can do business and investigate concerns raised about specific listings.”
The Palestinian Boycott Divestment and Sanctions National Committee (BNC) has denounced Airbnb. Omar Barghouti, a founder of the BNC, said recently that “Airbnb can and should immediately exclude all Israeli settlements from its offerings as a significant first step towards complying with its human rights obligations under international law.”
Also this week, Human Rights Watch released a report calling on international businesses to cease all cooperation with Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
Airbnb earns a 3 percent fee from its hosts and a further fee — usually 6-12 percent — from guests. So the company profits every time someone makes a reservation using its settlement listings.
Human Rights Watch this week argued that companies cannot mitigate their contribution to Israel’s human rights violations so long as they operate in settlements. It stated that companies must cease working with the settlements in order to honor their human rights obligations.
Sensitive to bad publicity?
As it promotes the concept of “community-driven hospitality,” Airbnb may be sensitive to publicity that harms the company’s reputation.
The company depicts itself as environmentally friendly and has claimed to care about people in need bylaunching a “disaster response initiative.”
The wider campaign for boycott, divestment and sanctions has persuaded a number of firms to cease their activities in Israel and the occupied West Bank lately.
As Barghouti told Al Jazeera, “much larger corporations — of the caliber of Orange, Veolia and CRH — have been eventually compelled by BDS campaigning to end their complicity in Israel’s human rights violations after losing massive contracts.”
Airbnb is likely to come under a great deal of pressure until it ceases trying to profit from Israel’s illegal activities.
*Ryan Rodrick Beiler is a freelance photojournalist and member of the ActiveStills collective who lives in Oslo, Norway.
The Stolen Homes campaign is calling on Airbnb to stop listing vacation rentals in Israeli settlements. (Ryan Rodrick Beiler /ActiveStills)
NOBODY IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WOULD GO TO ISRAEL
EXCEPT A NUT JOB
LOOK WHAT HAPPENED TO ANDREA PESCI
THE POOR FOOL NEVER MADE IT OUT OF THE AIRPORT
HE IS LUCK TO HAVE BEEN LET TO GO BACK TO ITALY
google AND READ HIS STORY
ANDREA PESCI COULD HAVE VANISHED
AND IT WOULD HAVE BEEN THE OFFICIAL STORY OF THE ISRAELI GOVERNMNET THAT WOULD HAVE TOLD
THE OFFICIAL STORY OF HOW IT WAS WITH HIM.


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A hacker group has released a cache of 13,000 passwords, usernames, and credit cards purporting to belong to users of popular web services including Amazon, Xbox Live and PlayStation Network.
The group says it is affiliated to the Anonymous internet movement, which has no central leadership, structure, or official membership.
The information was uploaded in a text file to a filesharing site called Ghostbin; it is no longer accessible.
Users of Amazon, Walmart, PlayStation Network and Xbox Live, as well as a number of pornography websites, are among those who could be affected.
In a message posted on Twitter, the group said it “did it for the lulz”, an online slang expression implying something which was done for general amusement.
The Independent approached Microsoft, Sony, and Amazon for comment but did not receive an immediate response from any of the companies.
Anyone who believes they are at risk should change their password on the suspect service and contact their credit card issuer.
The incident comes hours after the resolution of outages caused by cyber attacks on PlayStation Network Xbox Live system.
The systems had been down since Christmas Eve when a group known as Lizard Squad began a DDOS (distributed denial of service) attack on the gaming platforms.
Film company Sony Pictures was also targeted by hackers suspected of having links to the North Korean government.
Internet connections across North Korea itself have also been having major problems, which the country's government has blamed on the US government.Reuse content


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"We would like people to be able to express themselves more appropriately sexually without fear of condemnation or handcuffs coming upon them," he said. "I don't mean out in public, but why not resorts like this on American soil, for example? Why not?"
Despite the fact that swing clubs are free to operate legally in the United States, many of the couples at Desire described a level of hostility from those who disapprove of the lifestyle, which can be a downer.
But that might not stop McGinley. He sees almost limitless opportunity in the business of swing. He expects his revenue to double in the next year.
"What I hope to accomplish is a chain of high-quality resort hotels all over the place that couples like this can experience -- not just one or two but a number of them so they can have different locations, but also open the experience up to many people. But only those people that want the experience."
So would he like to see resorts with outdoor love beds dotted across America?
"Well, not across America, but at least on beaches," he said, with his trademark chuckle.


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Although Ford says it is proud to be the first automaker to introduce a hybrid sport-utility vehicle, the company faces shortages of crucial parts from components manufacturers, including Toyota and , the Detroit News reported.
suspects it may be getting squeezed out by its Japanese rivals, the story said. For example, its transmission supplier, Aisin Seiki Co. Ltd., can increase deliveries by only 20 percent, to 24,000 transmissions annually.
But officials of , which owns 23 percent of Aisin, say the company has no desire or motive to limit hybrid component supplies. "It's good for us, and good for the industry, not just Toyota, if hybrid technology expands and is more widely accepted," said Dennis Cuneo, senior vice president of Toyota Motor North America, according to the News.
"We wouldn't stop any automaker, or hurt any competitor's program," he said. "We don't involve ourselves in Aisin's relationship with other automakers."


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DriveWealth, a U.S.-based global digital trading technology and Chaka, a global trading platform in Nigeria, say they have partnered to allow Nigerians trade U.S. stocks.
Nigeria’s Chaka Technologies Limited says its Chaka’s technology-enabled platform launched October 15 is offering customers access to Nigerian and global financial assets.
DriveWealth says with the deal with Chaka, this year alone, it has increased access to the U.S. markets with new partnerships in Nigeria, India and Nigeria in addition to a major new partnership with Revolut throughout Europe.
Tosin Osibodu, CEO of Chaka, says “we are excited to partner with DriveWealth to provide our customers with access to U.S. markets. The company offers best-in class technology for international trading to Nigerian investors, including the ability to start investing in an easy, affordable manner with fractional shares. Traditionally, international investing has been a daunting task for Nigerians. Through our partnership, Chaka and DriveWealth are helping to fill this gap. Integration of our technologies has gone very smoothly, and we see this as an important long-term partnership for Chaka.”
Citi Investment Capital Limited, a licensed Nigerian stockbroking firm, is facilitating the brokerage transactions for Chaka clients, according to a company statement.
Robert Cortright, DriveWealth CEO adds that “Chaka has developed outstanding technology that we’ve integrated with our customizable APIs to make it easy for clients in Nigeria to participate in the U.S. stock market. At a time when many Nigerians are seeking foreign investment opportunities for diversification purposes, this partnership fulfills an important component of Chaka’s global offering with access to the largest and most liquid stock markets in the world.”
DriveWealth says it has launched partnerships with firms on six continents offering its innovative investing technology and a customizable suite of application programming interfaces (APIs) that partners can use to provide major new investment capabilities to their clients.
“Through these partnerships, the firm has pioneered bringing digital access to the U.S. securities market for individuals around the world, enabling investors of any size to gain affordable access to the U.S. stock market with a straightforward online user experience”, the company says.
Seun Oluwole, CEO of Citi Investment Capital Limited, said: “Chaka has been catalyst for expanding our digital efforts, bringing new markets to our customers. Through its collaboration with DriveWealth, we are ensured that local investors can own a stake in U.S. based companies. By marrying their technology with our personal touch for customers, we are excited at the possibilities these partnerships bring to the Nigerian market.”


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DETROIT—For General Motors Co., some suppliers stand above the rest. And when it came time to recognize the best supply partners, rubber industry firms were among them.
Three industry companies—Cooper Standard Automotive Inc., DuPont Mobility & Materials and Faurecia S.E.—were among those receiving the auto maker's highest designation: the Overdrive Award.
Companies receiving the Overdrive Award show "outstanding achievement" in areas such as sustainable value streams, total enterprise cost and profitability, safety, launch excellence, accelerating innovation and nurturing relationships, Cooper Standard noted in a news release.
Supplier of the Year recognition, meanwhile, highlights global suppliers that distinguish themselves by exceeding GM's requirements, the vehicle maker said. This provides GM customers with innovative technologies and among the highest quality in the automotive industry.
Industry companies receiving Supplier of the Year honors included Hella KGaA Hueck & Co., Tenneco Powertrain, Cooper Standard, Dana Inc., Magna International Inc., Denso, ExxonMobil Fuels and Lubricants, Faurecia, Nippon Seiki Co. Ltd. and ZF Friedrichshafen A.G.
Five tire makers—Bridgestone Corp., Goodyear, Hankook Tire & Co., Maxxis International and Group Michelin—also are among 122 companies recognized by GM as 2020 Suppliers of the Year.
"As GM works to achieve a future with zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion, we are proud to have innovative and dedicated suppliers around the world as partners in this mission," Shilpan Amin, GM vice president, Global Purchasing and Supply Chain, said in a statement.
"Throughout a challenging year, our suppliers have showed resilience and dedication in working toward our shared goal of long-term sustainability for our planet and the communities we serve while meeting our present needs,"Amin said. "We are pleased with what we've accomplished together in the past year and we are excited by the opportunity that lies ahead."
Supplier of the Year award winners were selected by a global team of GM purchasing, engineering, quality, manufacturing and logistics leaders. Winners were chosen based on performance criteria in product purchasing, global purchasing and manufacturing services, customer care and aftersales, and logistics.
Recipients of Supplier of the Year awards for 2020 represented 16 countries.


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Leading single malt Scotch whisky Glenfiddich has raised £150,000 (US$187,000) to help with the long-term support of the people of Ukraine.
As reported, Glenfiddich offered 460 bottles of its Spirit of Speyside 2022 edition (The Cooper’s Cask) on Whisky Auctioneer earlier this month, with all proceeds going to the Disasters Emergency Committee’s Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.
The Glenfiddich Spirit of Speyside is a long-established bottling which honours the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival. The expression features whisky from three oak barrels: virgin American oak, ex bourbon oak and refill American oak. It is bottled at cask strength, has a 60% ABV and each bottle is numbered and signed by Glenfiddich Malt Master Brian Kinsman.
Bottle number one was the highest value at the auction, raising £5,601 (US$6,700).
Glenfiddich Global Brand Director Claudia Falcone said: “We are so happy that this year’s Spirit of Speyside exclusive bottling has succeeded in raising such a significant sum of money for such an important cause.
“The Disasters Emergency Committee are doing invaluable work in the region, and we hope that this contribution will assist in providing some relief to the families impacted by the conflict.”
To ensure as much as possible was raised from the auction to support those affected, Whisky Auctioneer waived their selling fees and are donating the 10% buyer’s commission in addition to the hammer price raised.
Note. The Moodie Davitt Report published Travel Retail United, a fundraising initiative to help the Ukraine relief effort earlier this month.
A strictly humanitarian rather than political project, the initiative was generously supported by individuals and companies involved in the travel retail industry worldwide. Click here to open Travel Retail United.


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Facebook hit back at a report which said it enabled device makers to access “vast amounts of its users’ personal information”, as a result of earlier deals intended to extend the reach of the social networking giant.
A report by The New York Times said Facebook took the view the device makers are “not outsiders”, meaning they could obtain data about a user’s Facebook friends, including those who denied permission to share information with third parties. The newspaper said this had been flagged internally as an issue as far back as 2012, although it is only recently such relationships with device makers are being wound-down.
Ime Archibong, VP of product partnerships at Facebook, said the company disagrees with the issue raised, stating: “friends’ information, like photos, was only accessible on devices when people made a decision to share their information with those friends”.
“We are not aware of any abuse,” he continued.
Archibong said its agreements with device makers stemmed from a time when “the demand for Facebook outpaced our ability to build versions of the product that worked on every phone or operating system”. While the company cited “household names such as Amazon, Apple, BlackBerry, HTC, Microsoft and Samsung” as having access to device-integrated APIs, in total around 60 companies have used them.
With Android and iOS dominating the smartphone market, “fewer people rely on these APIs to create bespoke Facebook experiences”. As a result, the scheme is being wound-down, with 22 such partnerships having ended already.
While there was no suggestion of wrongdoing, the timing could not be much worse for Facebook, coming shortly on the heels of the Cambridge Analytica data harvesting scandal. The company’s management has come under pressure from shareholders and regulators.


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John Lewis and Primark have together furloughed more than 80,000 staff. John Lewis said it feared department store sales could fall by one third. It is furloughing 14,000 staff and slashing hundreds of millions of pounds from its spending plans.
The employee-owned group, which also owns the Waitrose supermarket chain, said it was planning for a “worst-case scenario” in which John Lewis would experience steep sales declines until June, followed by a period of weak demand.
Associated British Foods (ABF), the owner of Primark, said it had furloughed 68,000 workers around the world. It has also written off £284m of stock, including Euro 2020 merchandise and spring fashions, which it is unlikely to ever sell.
The fashion chain has also rented nearly a third more warehouse space to help store £1.5bn of stock already ordered from suppliers which it cannot sell because its entire global network of 370 stores is closed during the crisis. It does not sell online.
The group has cancelled its interim dividend, worth £95m last year, while executive directors will halve their pay during the crisis. The company said Primark was losing £650m in sales and paying out £100m in cash for every month its stores remained closed.
George Weston, the chief executive of ABF, said he was keen to reopen Primarks stores but urged the government not to lift restrictions too early as a second lockdown would be the “worst thing”.
The company said it had the necessary finances to survive even its worst forecasts, under which stores would remain closed until next May. Weston said: “In time we can rebuild the profits. We cant replace the people we lose.”
Sharon White, who was installed as the John Lewis groups chairman in February, said it was a time of “great uncertainty and volatility” with the full-year picture for its finances “impossible to predict”.
“Over the course of the full year, this worst case would result in a sales decline of around 35% in John Lewis – around double the current level – while at Waitrose it would result in a more modest decline of less than 5%.”
The store groups financial performance has been hit hard by the lockdown which forced the closure of John Lewiss 50 stores. Online sales have soared 84% since the middle of March – as Britons established home offices, schools and gyms – but that has not offset sales lost through shop closures.
Shoppers were “buying more Scrabble but fewer sofas”, White explained, which was resulting in a profit squeeze. Over the past five weeks John Lewis sales were 17% down on 2019.
In common with other food retailers, Waitrose has seen a huge pick up in sales, up 8% over the last three months, as shoppers stockpiled rice, pasta and frozen foods. However, running costs have also increased as it installed safety gear in stores, such as plastic shields, and expanded its online grocery service.
Last year, the group started merging the Waitrose and John Lewis management teams to cut costs, eliminating the posts of managing director for both Waitrose and the John Lewis department stores chain. The annual report, published on Tuesday, revealed that the Waitrose boss, Rob Collins, and his counterpart at John Lewis, Paula Nickolds, would collect a pay off of about £900,000 each.
News of the big payouts came as the group said it was giving staff – barring senior managers – a one-off award of £200 each. The senior management team, including White, is taking a 20% cut in pay.
The chancellors business rates holiday would save it £135m this year, the company said, while deferring its VAT bill until 2021 would also help its short-term cashflow. Although some John Lewis staff have been redeployed to Waitrose, the retailer said more than 14,000 department store staff were being transferred into the governments emergency wage support scheme.
Other cost-saving measures announced by the group included buying less stock and shaving £100m off its marketing spend. The company, which is owned by its employees, known as “partners”, is also slashing more than £200m from its spending plans.


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Dutton Farm is spinning off part of the social enterprise it launched three years ago to provide job training and jobs for its developmentally disabled clients and a source of revenue to support programs.
The nonprofit's clients or "farmers" make all-natural soap, body products and candles that Dutton Farm sells under the "Dutton Farm Market" brand at the Rochester farm through one of several programs aimed at giving clients skills they can take into workplaces.
The products have attracted a following at local farmers' markets and retailers, especially in Oakland County, and businesses including Morgan Stanley, Busch's Fresh Food Market and the Detroit Athletic Club, Dutton Farm's co-founder and CEO Jenny Brown said.
And this year Dutton Farm will be among the vendors featured at the Bedrock Holiday Market in downtown Detroit, said Brown, whose sister Rebecca "Becca" Smither, has Down syndrome. Inspired by her sister, Brown passed on law school to launch the nonprofit with their mother, Michele Smither, a decade ago.
But the social enterprise still hasn't generated the revenue needed to cover its costs.
Operating it as part of job training for clients also meant sacrificing some production efficiencies, Brown said. And because it's a service provider, Dutton Farm has been denied the approved employer status that would entitle its employees with disabilities to job coach benefits through Medicaid that could help fund the services.
By spinning off marketing and distribution of the products, to start, to a new, low-profit, limited liability company, employees with disabilities working at the new company will be able to attract federal entitlements to support job coach benefits, said Brown, who will also serve as CEO of the new L3C.


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We have already seen a number of photos of the new LG Nexus 4, and now we have another photo of the device along with some more specifications, the latest leak comes from @evleaks which has been a source of a number of leaked devices over the last few months.
The photo below was posted to Twitter by @evleaks, as well as some specifications for the handset which include a quad core APQ8064 processor clocked at 1.5GHz.
Other rumored specifications on the LG Nexus 4 include a 4.7 inch multi-touch display with a resolution of 1280 x 768 pixels, plus 2GB of RAM and 16GB of built in storage.
The LG Nexus 4 is also rumored to come with an 8 megapixel rear camera for photos and video, plus a front facing 1.3 megapixel camera for video chat, the device is also rumored to feature a 2,100 mAh battery.
We are expecting Google to announce the new LG Nexus 4 at their special event on the 29th of October, where they are rumored to be unveiling Android 4.2 Key Lime Pie, which we are expecting the handset to come with.
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Demonetisation: Cane farmers survive on credit but it is a crisis for farm, factory labourers
MEERUT: At Modi Sugar Mills in Modi Nagar, Krishan Kumar is waiting to unload sugarcane from his buffalo cart. He is concerned about the cash crunch but says farmers are resilient.
“I have yet to get Rs 3 lakh for sale of sugarcane sold last December but sill surviving on credit. We will manage this phase too,” says Kumar, who has come with 20 quintals of cane at 3am.
He is happy with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to discontinue old higher denomination currency notes but is struggling to strike a balance between cutting his sugarcane crop and standing in queue at bank.
Things are much worse for small and tenant farmers and daily labourers in the rural belt towards Meerut, an ancient city in western Uttar Pradesh. Those who grow seasonal vegetables, flowers and other crops in an area less than 1-2 acre have seen sales halve.
Surinder has rented over 1 acre (6 bigha) of land in Niwari village near Modinagar town in Ghaziabad district of Uttar Pradesh for an annual rent of Rs 30,000 to grow sugarcane and marigold. He has not received money from the sugar mills for the previous year and says demand and price for flowers has come down for temples and weddings. Unable to sell 3,000 kg of the marigold in Delhi, he says if he can get some money, his priority will be to buy fertiliser and wheat seed.
“I will make a partial payment to my labourers and buy sugar and oil for my family,” he says. Like other landless farmers, Surinder is also unable to borrow money from the organised financial sector for seeds, pesticides and fertilisers.
However, Surinder’s neighbour Manoj Tyagi, who owns 10 acre, feels there was no challenge in the rural market. “I have 200 quintal (1 quintal=100 kg) wheat and 1 quintal rice in my house. I will accept sugar from the mill instead of cash this time against my sugarcane sale. Our need for milk and dairy products is met by our two buffaloes,” says Tyagi, who is in favour of demonetisation to get black money and fake currency out of the system.
For small and landless farmers, long queues at banks and disbursement of less currency than stipulated by the RBI are proving dampener in the sowing season. Those who are able to withdraw cash are also suffering since banks offer Rs 2,000 note rather than the lesser denomination currencies and coins instead of cash. In rural areas, banks often do not follow regular banking hours, especially when they run out of cash.
The labourers in farm and factory who get Rs 300-500 per day are not getting credit from shopkeepers, who are not confident about repayments even after a month in view of cash crunch in the market. It has compelled many to reduce their consumption of milk and chicken or mutton and even sell household items, says Bijendra, who works as a daily labourer in Modi Nagar.
Farmers are even cutting costs of cattle feed, says farm labour Rajendri from village Jagatpuri, who cuts sugarcane in exchange of green stock instead of wages. She is unable to find dairy farmers to purchase a bunch of green stock at Rs 10 for 2-3 kg.
On a normal winter day, fresh gur from Mangu Singh Tyagis kolu (jaggery making unit) would sell like a hot cake. He is unable to sell his produce to retailers in neighbouring villages and Muradnagar’s jaggery mandi that is on strike to protest against demonetisation.
With rural banks unable to dispense the stipulated amount suggested by the RBI to farmers, the village economy is being impacted, says Virendra Singh, a farmer from Rohta village on the outskirts of Meerut city. “I have postponed wedding of my son, who was get married on December 8, since I am unable to withdraw either from the cooperative bank or the local public sector banks (PNB and Syndicate). I had kept a budget of Rs 15-20 lakh to entertain 1,000-1,200 people and buy jewellery for my daughter-in-law,” he says.
According to Bajaj Auto sub-dealer Rajeev Shandilya, sale of bikes has not taken off despite the wedding season due to the cash crunch. Since the beginning of this month, he has been able to sell only five bikes, of which two were sold on credit. Shandilya is not hopeful to achieve his target of 20 bikes for November.
Irshad, a furniture shop owner, says he has never seen such a slump during the wedding season.
In Meerut city, fertilizers, pesticides and seed traders say bulk sales have slumped even as the peak season of sowing has set in.
“So much time is wasted to get your own money,” says Suresh Chand Gupta of Kaiser Ganj Road in Meerut city, who had sent his son to the bank to withdraw money. “80% of the products being sold are on credit to dealers in villages. In the current scenario, we are just making daily need purchases and nothing extra.”
The Rs 7 a cup of tea is also proving to be costly in the Kaiser Ganj market, which is the main arterial business road of the city. Tea vendor Vijay Kumar quips that from an average purchase of 5 litre milk to make tea, he is now only getting 1.5 litre, as customers—shopkeepers, farmers to labourers—have cut down their tea intake. “I have no money left to buy biscuits, chips, and for once, consumers are not complaining,” he says.
SOURCE; ECONOMIC TIMES


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PETALING JAYA: External economic conditions are stoking concerns about the future of the semiconductor industry but analysts are still calling a “buy” on compelling companies which offer longer-term prospects.
In its report on the sector, TA Research said lingering macroeconomic headwinds have added to recession worries and downside risk to chip sales.
“In view of this, we have taken the opportunity to trim our semiconductor sector stocks’ – which mainly comprises outsourced semiconductor assembly and test providers Inari Amertron Bhd, Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd (MPI) and Unisem Bhd – 2022 and 2023 revenue and earnings estimates,” it said.
However, corresponding to the earnings revisions, it has maintained its recommendations of “buy” on Inari and MPI and has downgraded its recommendation on Unisem from “buy” to “hold” given its reduced risk-reward potential.
“All in all, we downgrade our stance on the semiconductor sector to ‘neutral’,” it said.
TA Research said it continued to favour players which offered near-term resilience and mid-to-long term growth prospects, backed by their robust sales pipeline with exposure to secular trends, expansion roadmap and robust balance sheet.
“Our top pick is MPI, which we like for its automotive-centric strategy as it seeks to capitalise on the promising prospects for content gains within vehicles, catalysed by the global transition to electric vehicles (EVs) and autonomous driving, among others,” it said.
Citing information from the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS), CGS-CIMB Research said that in August, WSTS revised downward its 2022/2023 global semiconductor sales growth forecasts to 13.9% and 4.6% versus 16.3% and 5.1% in June, respectively, mainly due to a reduction in memory prices.
“While most industry research groups still expect positive semiconductor sales growth in 2022, most project an average of 4% year-on-year decline for semiconductor industry sales in 2023, mainly due to an anticipation of a slowdown in the global economy and inventory correction.
“Moreover, we expect softer quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) industry sales in the third quarter of 2022 (3Q22) due to the weak guidance from 15 global semiconductor chip manufacturers (ex-memory) – on average, they project a tepid 1% sequential sales growth in 3Q22,” it said.
The research house said it also expected the Malaysian semiconductor sector – automated test equipment (ATE) and outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) firms – to register a q-o-q decline of 5% in sales and 8% in net profit on aggregate in 3Q22.
This is due to a slowdown in consumer electronics demand, especially for mobile and tablets, and the impact of China’s zero-Covid policy which continues to disrupt supply chains and customers’ qualification processes.
In the same report, CGS-CIMB Research said it was downgrading the Malaysian semiconductor sector from “overweight” to “neutral” in view of the weaker industry demand and sluggish earnings prospects over the next six to 12 months.
“Malaysian OSAT and ATE sectors trade at 19 times and 23 times 2023 price-to-earnings.
“Inari is our sector top pick for Malaysian OSAT due to its higher exposure to the premium smartphone segment and better order visibility from key customer Broadcom.
“Moreover, we see potential commercialisation of new projects like transceiver modules and high-power light-emitting diodes going into automotive and industrial applications as potential catalysts,” said the research house.
It has downgraded Unisem from an “add” to “hold” with a lower target price in view of a sluggish earnings outlook in 2023 and weaker sentiment in the tech sector.
“Despite the softer demand outlook, we believe Unisem stands to benefit from its customers’ diversification plan under the China Plus One strategy beyond the next 12 months in light of the ongoing trade war.”
In its report, MIDF Research also said its top pick for the technology sector was Inari, given that the group’s future as Malaysia’s OSAT remains intact.
It is slightly more positive on the entire technology sector, saying that although the industry was still under pressure from rate hikes and other macroeconomic challenges, it remained “positive” on the sector since the demand for 5G, artificial intelligence and EV-related products and services still strong, and these are the essential enablers to ignite the digital economy globally.
“The semiconductor industry is significantly reliant on developing technologies for computational power.
“As a result, we maintain our positive stance on this sector due to its sturdy mid-to-long term outlook in combination with the expanding acceptance and integration of smart technologies, which encompass a wide range of industries and applications,” said the research house.


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Outlook is bleak
for wool prices
FARMERS cannot rely on their wool cheques to bolster incomes much in the year ahead.
With the first auction of the new season taking place in Bradford next Wednesday (Jun 24), the outlook for prices is at its worst since 1991.
The British Wool Marketing Board announced an average wool cheque for next season of 62p/kg. This is based on a 28p/kg average balance payment from last year – when the total was 87p/kg – plus the advance for the coming period.
BWMB chairman Alun Evans acknowledges this will be a "great disappointment" to many producers. Hill producers have been particularly hard hit, he says, by a drop in demand for carpets and fierce competition from overseas suppliers.
With 60% of the UK clip exported – either in its raw state or as product – the march upwards of sterlings value has taken its toll, says Mr Evans: "Wool is a world commodity."
The £ has strengthened against the NZ$, Britains major supplier competitor, as well as the German DM, the French franc and the Japanese Yen. Uncertainty in the worlds money markets, particularly in south-east Asia, has complicated sales, says the BWMB.
However, there are 150m fewer sheep in the world than five years ago, reducing annual production by 700m kg.
And there will only be a small carryover of wool into this season, says Mr Evans. By Christmas, 64% of last years clip had been sold. After the final auction of last season on June 3, the clearance rate was up to 94%. That final auction saw some wools making more money than previous offerings.
This, says Mr Evans, is "encouraging". About 3m kg have also been sold forward, the highest ever figure, creating something of a "famine" among buyers, he adds.
The hope is that the 62p/kg price turns out to be a "conservative" estimate. "With so many factors affecting price, there is no alternative but to be very cautious in our pricing policy," Mr Evans adds.
Currency movements hold the key to values. Competition from New Zealand will remain strong, with its annual promotional spend of about £25m, compared with £0.5m in the UK.
Stuart Oldroyd, an auctioneer with BWMB, is not confident about the outlook. "Everyone says the £ is going to weaken, but when?" And with bigger penalties to be imposed for contaminated wool this year, farmers should make extra effort to avoid baler twine getting in the wool, he says.
Andrew Todd, a wool buyer, reckons the wool trade is in for a rough ride if the £ stays where it is. The recent rise in base rates marked a step in the wrong direction, increasing as it did the likelihood of sterling remaining strong.
"The government seems hell-bent on keeping inflation down at the cost of everything else," says Mr Todd.
John Thorley, chief executive of the National Sheep Association, notes that the wool price has dropped more, in percentage terms, than sheepmeat values.
"Before World War Two, the wool cheque was looked upon as a means of paying the shepherd. It does not even pay pocket money now." *
Inspecting wool prior to a sale… but farmers have been warned not to expect much from this years clip. Sterlings strength has been blamed.


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A new boss is coming to town — upscale fashion brand Hugo Boss.
BOSS, a Hugo Boss brand outlet, will open in the Legends Outlets in Kansas City, Kan. The new store — the area’s only Hugo Boss outlet — is set to open around Dec. 4, according to a release.
Hugo Boss offers a selection of designer suits and coats, casual wear and sportswear, and footwear and accessories.
The line has a connection with another “boss” in Kansas City. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes does a turn as fashion model in advertising for the brand’s Fall/Winter collections.
Keep reading in the Kansas City Business Journal.


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Amazon is giving shoppers another chance to experience its highly anticipated sales event.
Amazon Prime Day 2021 is back later this month, offering customers big discounts on virtually all categories the e-commerce giant offers. Following last year’s iteration, which took place in October, Amazon Prime Day 2021 will be a two-day event starting on June 21 that will offer big sales and Lightning Deals.
Although the company postponed its Amazon Prime Day last year to October due to the pandemic, the sales event brought in over $3.5 billion in sales from third-party sellers, marking an increase of 60 percent from the previous year’s Prime Day. In 2019, Amazon sold roughly 175 million products, which analysts estimated generated $7.16 billion in revenue.
Here, WWD breaks down everything you can expect on Amazon Prime Day 2021. Read on for more.
When is Amazon Prime Day 2021?
Amazon Prime Day 2021 will be held on June 21 and 22 for a 48-hour period. Some deals will go live prior to Prime Day for Amazon Prime members.
Do I need an Amazon Prime membership to participate in Prime Day?
Amazon Prime Day 2021 is only available to Amazon Prime members.
What is Amazon Prime Day?
Amazon Prime Day started in 2015 as a way for the company to celebrate its 20th anniversary. It’s since transformed into an annual sales event that typically takes places in July. Due to the pandemic, last year’s Amazon Prime Day was postponed to October.
What deals will be offered on Amazon Prime Day?
Amazon Prime Day is a site-wide sales event, so virtually all categories offered on the e-commerce site will include discounts. The company hasn’t released its full sales offerings yet, but has included some discounts on the Amazon Prime Day landing page.
Like previous years, the company is offering discounts on its own Amazon devices, including $35 off on the Amazon Echo Show 5, $30 off on the Amazon Halo and $40 off Amazon Echo ear pods. Other deals currently on the web site include saving $10 on Prime Day when you spend $10 with a small business and 10 percent back on select LG and Sony TVs with an Amazon Prime credit card.
Are there any early Amazon Prime Day deals?
Amazon has released some of its Prime Day discounts in the weeks leading up to the sales event, including the deals on its Amazon products as well as up to 40 percent off on select smart TVs.
Fashion and beauty brands like Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, L’Oréal Paris, Maybelline, Izod, Kate Somerville, Bliss, Anne Klein and many others are participating in Amazon Prime Day, offering discounts up to 60 percent off.
What other discounts can I expect on Amazon Prime Day?
Amazon is offering Lightning Deals throughout Prime Day. These deals are quick, limited-time discounts that last from four to 24 hours. The deals will be revealed throughout the Prime Day event.
READ MORE HERE:


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COVID-19 – Update on consumer debt
For one Ontario-based organization, the pandemic has provided an opportunity to shed new light on indebtedness in low- and moderate-income households, revealing some interesting data and some possible solutions.
When COVID-19 first appeared, consumer debt levels had already reached disturbing heights. Since then, there have been massive job losses, with more than 5.5 million Canadians seeing their incomes reduced. The assistance programs offered by the federal government have helped consumers keep their heads above water, but those programs will not go on for ever. What will happen afterwards?
To find out, Prosper Canada, a non-profit organization based in Toronto, conducted a study called Roadblock to Recovery: Consumer debt of low- and moderate-income Canadian households in the time of COVID-19. “We looked at the situation of people living on low incomes and those living on moderate incomes,” says CEO Elizabeth Mulholland. “…because, depending on their budget, many people go back and forth between the two categories.”
According to the expert, the study was needed because generally reliable data can be deceptive. “The figures include mortgage debt,” she says, “but people living on low incomes don’t have a mortgage. Besides, the data don’t show the disparities between various groups of Canadians. Visible minorities and indigenous peoples are among those most likely to have financial problems.”
A worrying situation
Mulholland notes that half of those living on a low or moderate income have no debts. But for those who do, the amount can be considerable: in many cases, these consumers are spending one-third of their incomes just on repaying their debts. “This situation is extremely worrying,” she says.
People living on low incomes have just enough money to meet their needs, or not quite enough. So if a high proportion of their income goes to repay their debts, how can they also pay the rent and put food on the table?”
Elizabeth Mulholland, CEO of Prosper Canada
Government support designed to help consumers during the pandemic has certainly been beneficial; in fact, the expert notes that the programs have even left some people in better financial shape than before. But the support programs have created a false sense of security. “Some people may have the impression that their personal finances haven’t suffered from the pandemic,” says Mulholland. “But their debts are still there, and they will have to repay them one day. They may also have taxes to pay on the sums received from the government. That could be quite a challenge for them.”
Who’s to blame?
You might think that credit card debt causes the most problems. While that is the most common form of debt, it only accounts for a small proportion of total indebtedness. By contrast, student debt, found almost exclusively among low- and moderate-income people, is very high: the median is $12,000 for people living on low incomes and $15,000 for those on moderate incomes. So it’s very hard to pay it back, even you’ve finished your studies. “Also, the problem is that loans and bursaries provide money for tuition, but not for all the related expenses,” Mulholland points out. “The amount isn’t high enough, so many people have to drop out before they get their degrees. So they find themselves in debt, but they have no credit to improve their job prospects.”
Long-term car loans – seven or eight years – also pose a problem. “With that type of loan, the consumer runs a real risk of having a debt that’s higher than the value of the vehicle after a few years,” says Mulholland. “And he or she may also have to keep on paying for a car that no longer runs.” For workers from rural areas or suburbs with poor public transit, a car is essential. No longer having a car can even mean losing your job.
How to bring about change
Mulholland believes it’s important for governments to focus on problems related to student debt and long-term car loans.
Over the past three years, most of the provinces have improved consumer protection by passing legislation on payday loans,” says Mulholland. “And that has produced results. Now it’s time to pay attention to other types of high-interest loans. To bring that about, governments, financial institutions and consumer groups will need to work together.”
Mulholland is optimistic because she knows solutions do exist. The report published by Prosper Canada mentions various decisions made in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. Among these is microcredit – giving small low-interest loans for the purchase of essential goods. Here in Quebec, Option consommateurs offers just such a product, in conjunction with Desjardins, to replace payday loans, which are prohibited in Quebec, as well as tools based on consumers’ needs to help them find the financial products that suit them best.
The report also suggests that new studies are needed, notably on why consumers fall into debt. “We need to think about what we can do now, and also what we need to do in the future,” says Mulholland. Because many people still need help – and that’s not about to change any time soon.
The study, Roadblock to Recovery: Consumer debt of low- and moderate-income Canadian households in the time of COVID-19, looked at debt levels among lower-income consumers. Zeroing in on why, how much and what kind of debt consumers have, the researchers found information that can be used to help Canadians to maintain or rebuild a certain level of financial stability once the economy recovers.
The researchers analyzed data from Statistics Canada’s 2016 Survey of Financial Security (SFS), which does not include households living in the territories, on reserves or in seniors’ residences. They also looked at relevant Canadian studies and data overall. Finally, they examined initiatives in effect in the UK, Australia and New Zealand to help consumers avoid getting into debt or get out of debt.


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Cybertonica and Credit Kudos announced at Money20/20 a new partnership using their combined platforms to automate credit scoring, harnessing Open Banking.
Credit Kudos is an FCA-authorised challenger Credit Bureau and Account Information Service Provider (AISP) that uses financial behaviour to measure creditworthiness. Partnership with Cybertonica, and the use of their new ScreenWiZe™ product will enable new features and behavioural analytics, improving scores and speed by more than 30%.
Joshua Bower-Saul, CEO of Cybertonica stated:
“Working together with Freddy and the Credit Kudos team we will disrupt the future of real-time credit scoring and lending and make consumers’ and merchants’ experiences seamless.”
Using Open Banking standards, transaction data combined with biometric and behavioural modelling means rapid approval of an application and near zero fraud and default rates. The Cybertonica-Credit Kudos team will reduce non-paying lenders by 50% or more, while actually growing approval levels across a portfolio that grows 20% faster. Ruling out bad applicants in real-time and providing credit decisions real time changes the game.
Alan Nagle, Chief Commercial Officer of Cybertonica said:
“Credit Kudos is a new kind of Credit Bureau that uses financial behaviour to measure creditworthiness, their way of scoring e-commerce applications in a digital world significantly disrupts today’s more process-heavy underwriting services. The Cybertonica team are really excited to be aligned with this cutting-edge technology by adding our ScreenWiZe™ product to enhance their already new age technology for years into the future, ScreenWiZe™ is a biometric mouse movement monitoring technology that works symmetrically with Credit Kudos adding value in different verticals.”
Freddy Kelly, CEO and Co-Founder of Credit Kudos said:
“We’re thrilled to partner with the team at Cybertonica, combining the power of transaction data, alongside biometric and behavioural modelling to further advance the measurement of creditworthiness. Our platform takes the pain out of scoring e-commerce applications for both the applicant and lender, and now teamed with Cybertonica’s ScreenWiZe™ product we look forward to seeing the advancements that can be made through this partnership.”