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Forter Raises $125M Series E; Rapid Growth and Market Demand for Real-Time Fraud Prevention Platform Elevates Valuation to More than $1.3B
Forter, the leader in e-commerce fraud prevention, today announced it has raised $125 million in Series E funding. Led by Bessemer Venture Partners, Felix Capital and Itai Tsiddon, with participation from Sequoia Capital, NewView Capital, Scale Venture Partners, March Capital Partners and Commerce Ventures, the round propels Forter’s valuation to over $1.3 billion.
The funding will allow Forter to accelerate its vision of establishing an ecosystem of trust across online merchants, banks and payment providers to block fraud and give consumers the trust and convenience to shop freely. The company will continue to expand its suite of solutions and global data network, which has doubled in size over the last 12 months to exceed $200 billion in annual online transactions protecting over 800 million shoppers.
“We set out to create a global coalition of merchants, banks and payment providers that fight fraud together. We continue on our mission to expand the online network of trust and will continue investing in our platform in collaboration with our customers and partners,” said Michael Reitblat, CEO and Co-founder, Forter. “This year we have doubled our team across eight global offices, doubled our revenue and enjoyed our first cash flow positive quarter. The market traction we have experienced allows us to invest even more into our platform and drive more significant impact for our customers and partners. We will remain an independent company as we continue to grow our footprint across the commerce ecosystem.”
Forter’s real-time, fully automated fraud prevention platform is trusted by numerous top merchants from all commerce verticals including ASOS, Boohoo, Sephora, Hugo Boss and Adobe. The company’s global network provides a comprehensive view of both fraudulent and legitimate customer behaviors, allowing incredibly accurate fraud decisions with enhanced customer experience.
Over the past year, Forter has driven product innovation and extended its partner ecosystem to protect merchants and consumers across the entire e-commerce experience, including:
- Loyalty Program Fraud Protection that secures against account takeover (ATO), new account fraud, transactional fraud and policy abuse; Returns Abuse Protection to identify and stop returns abusers; and Smart Routing, which provides automated payment routing decisions to eliminate false declines and reduce lost revenue by 50%.
- Fraud Prevention Platform for Payment Service Providers (PSPs), enabling PSPs including FreedomPay, FIS Worldpay, Global Payments and Checkout.com to provide the best fraud prevention to their merchants.
- Partnerships and integrations with leaders in the broader e-commerce ecosystem including Mastercard, SAP, Salesforce and Adobe to increase approval rates and eliminate fraud throughout the entire consumer journey.
“Companies that can allow global organizations to safely embrace and accelerate their digital transformation and increase the lifetime value of their online consumers are invaluable as e-commerce continues to climb,” said Elliott Robinson, a partner at Bessemer Venture Partners. “Forter has turned fraud prevention into a business enabler by uniting the entire digital economy ecosystem to fight fraud together and let people shop safely.”
The impact customers experience with Forter includes:
- 75% reduction in false positives
- 60% reduction in fraud
- Fully automated, real-time decisions across the entire consumer journey
"Working with Forter has changed our approach to fraud management, drastically improving our approval rate, and helping build greater trust in our fraud capabilities,” said Kristina Blahnik, CEO, Manolo Blahnik. “We can now provide a more positive, seamless experience for our clients as well as strengthening our e-commerce; priorities which are paramount for Manolo Blahnik."
Forter is the leader in e-commerce fraud prevention, processing over $200 billion in online commerce transactions and protecting over 800 million consumers globally from credit card fraud, account takeover, identity theft, and more. The company’s identity-based fraud prevention solution detects fraudulent activity in real-time, throughout all online consumer experiences.
Forter’s integrated fraud prevention platform is powered by its rapidly growing Global Data Network, underpinned by predictive fraud research and modelling, and the ability for customers to tailor the platform for their specific needs. As a result, Forter is trusted by Fortune 500 companies to deliver exceptional accuracy, a smoother user experience, and elevated sales at a much lower cost. Forter was recently named the Leader in e-Commerce Fraud Prevention by Frost & Sullivan.
fama PR for Forter
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Falling interest rates will benefit the auto sector
Interest rates are one of the major drivers of any economy, affecting the investment and consumer spending decisions, especially for big ticket items like automobiles and consumer durables. On the domestic scene, over the past couple of years, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has hiked the interest rates in the economy in its war against inflation. In the short span of about 19 months (March 2010 and October 2011) alone, rbi has hiked repo rates 13 times, by 350 basis points (bps), from 5 per cent to 8.5 per cent, before finally bringing it down to 8 per cent in April 2012.
The Indian automobile industry, like any other interest-rate-sensitive industry, is bearing the brunt of these sharp interest rate hikes. Most automobile sales in India take place on credit. The interest rate hikes have resulted in a significant increase in the borrowing costs for the consumers especially at a time when the economy has contracted sharply. The increase in fuel prices has further dampened the demand.
The impact is clearly visible by way of a slowdown in domestic sales growth. The domestic automobile sales in the year 2011-12 grew at just 12.2 per cent after two years of over 25 per cent growth in 2009-10 and 2010-11. During April-October 2012 period, domestic auto sales growth slowed to just 5.3 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y). The Society of Indian Automotive Manufacturers (SIAM) has further scaled down its 2012-13 growth forecasts for the industry to just 5-7 per cent.
The demand for the automotive industry is generally seen to be higher during the festive season. This year’s festive season has brought some cheers to the auto industry, where most of the auto companies showed strong growth in sales. Overall automobile sales volumes increased by 14.8 per cent in October 2012.
Historically, the Indian auto industry has shown tremendous growth during the low interest rates periods. Recently, RBI has indicated that the interest rate cycle may have peaked. It is keeping constant vigil on the growth rates and the inflation in the economy. It is just a matter of time before interest rates starts falling. With significant slowdown in fixed capital formation in the economy, recent GDP growth slowing to sub 6 per cent levels and WPI inflation number moderating, there is mounting pressure from various industry bodies and the government to cut interest rates. This will drive the growth in auto sector albeit with some time lag.
This period of high interest rate cycle provides an opportunity for genuine long term investors to take exposure to the sector to benefit from the fall in interest rates.
This article was originally published in Business India Magazine.
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Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are personal and the author is not responsible in any manner for the use which might be made of the above information. None of the contents make any recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security and should not be construed as offering investment advice.

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BMW X1 has been a popular micro luxury SUV for many inner city Australian car owners. We have analysed over 2,000 X1 prices.
From this, we can see that the average prices being paid by recent owners have stayed high during the Covid-19 pandemic. In recent months of 2021, the prices being paid at the car dealers have continued to stay high but have come down slightly as more people chose to buy it in June. Dealer stock levels are on the low end for a few models and some owners are waiting over 4 months to get their new car delivered.
BMW X1 Model
BMW X1 Models
To see why we are doing this – see our story here: carloop story


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The firm was founded in 1955 by two high school friends, Edward W. Wedbush and Robert Werner, in Los Angeles, California. They each contributed $5,000 to capitalize their new company, Wedbush & Company. The company was named after Wedbush because neither partner wanted a possible business failure named after them and Wedbush lost a coin toss.
Having trouble streaming Disney+? Amazon or its products like Alexa or Ring security cameras? Tinder? Venmo? What's up with your Roomba? ... "It’s a scary reminder of the double-edged sword around the digital transformation," said Daniel Ives, managing director of equity research at Wedbush Securities.
Pending any specific use, the Company may use any remaining net proceeds to invest in short-term interest-bearing accounts, securities or similar investments ...Riley Securities, Inc ...AegisCapital Corp., Boenning & Scattergood, Inc., Huntington Securities, Inc., InspereX LLC and Wedbush Securities, Inc.
Image... The Securities and ExchangeCommission is preparing rules for Chinese company stocks in order to remain on US exchanges ... AnalystDaniel Ives at Wedbush Securities calls the Didi situation “another cautionary tale” and “another black eye for Chinese tech stocks, which continue to face many regulatory challenges both domestically and globally.”.
CHICAGO, Dec ... "Wedbush continues to support the evolution of cryptocurrency derivatives," said Bob Fitzsimmons, Executive Vice President at Wedbush Securities ... "The demand for micro contracts and Ether only continues to grow, so offering this futures product to our customers from day one was a given." ... dollar price of Ether ... SOURCE CMEGroup ... ....
On Wednesday, Wedbush Securities raised its price target on ZScaler Inc. (NASDAQ.ZS) shares to $400 from $320, following the cybersecurity company’s solid FQ1 results ... Wedbush analyst Dan Ives was particularly impressed by the astronomical quarterly revenue growth ... ZScaler also issued FQ2 and FY2022 revenue guidance above Street forecasts ... ....
Docusign (DOCU) opened 35% lower on Friday, its biggest drop ever amid concerns of slowing demand for e-signatures as businesses return to the office ... BRAZIL - 2021/03/24 ... Wedbush Securities’ Dan Ives categorized the period as a ‘debacle quarter’ and cut his recommendation to Neutral from Outperform. Story continues ... .
(Bloomberg) -- With SoftBank Group Corp.’s sale of Arm Ltd. to Nvidia Corp. in severe jeopardy, the company faces the prospect of losing a jackpot of roughly $74 billion ... Most Read from Bloomberg ... U.S ... Given Arm’s vital role at the center of it all, Nvidia’s hefty price may not be that high after all, said Matt Bryson, an analyst at Wedbush Securities ... .
U.S ...Business...Nvidia Corp ... Advertisement ... Qualcomm was one of the companies that raised competition concerns about the purchase, which is also facing a national security review in the United Kingdom, where Arm is based ... Business ... “We have said for some time that it is unlikely this deal gets approved,” said Matt Bryson, an analyst at Wedbush Securities.
When Nvidia Corp. announced plans to buy Arm Ltd ... “We have said for some time that it is unlikely this deal gets approved,” said Matt Bryson, an analyst at Wedbush Securities ...Qualcomm has been one of the key companies raising competition concerns about the purchase, which is also facing a national security review in the U.K., where Arm is based ... Tags.


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Creators monetisation features
The head of Instagram Adam Mosseri went live with Mark Zuckerberg to talk about adding more tools to help Instagram creators make more money from their audience, brands and their content.
They outlined three features:
* Creator shops
* Creator marketplace
They want to create a creators middle class. Not a world where all the big creators get huge sums and the rest get crumbs.
I think it’s a new era for Instagram and creators, it’s growing up and now becoming a place where you’ll be able to make a living much more easier. I went into more detail about here
Instagram Reels Stitch
They also aren’t done copying Tik Tok features and are working on the stitch feature where you can essentially edit someones video with yours. It’s a really big feature of Tik Tok and really creative should be good for creators on Instagram Instagram are also working on a collaborative post, there isn’t much details on it yet but sounds very interesting.
Go Instagram Live with no video
All the apps are now copying Clubhouse and Instagram are no different so they just launched a feature on Live whee you can turn off your camera and mute yourself, which not only competes with Clubhouse but Zoom as well this will definitely take the pressure off from going live.
Get tipped on Twitter
Twitter announced a few weeks ago that they want to increase their revenue as well as monthly active users, so they will be rolling out monetisation features very soon one of those will be tips and you’ll be able to tip tweeters from their profile.
Linkedin Learning hub
Due to the pandemic a lot of people have lost their jobs and may want to up skill and Linkedin want to help so they will be launching a learning hub and using their data of their 750m+ users to suggest the best things to lear for your career.


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November 16, 2022: Amazon announced it would set up virtual clinics in 32 states in the US, for more than 20 common health conditions, and acquire One Medical.
With Amazon Pharmacy, the company will deliver medicines to customers’ doors in two days for its Prime members. The Amazon Clinic will treat health conditions virtually, including allergies, acne, and hair loss.
“We’ve also agreed to acquire One Medical, a technology-powered provider of primary care,” according to a company statement.
Amazon acquired another drug delivery company PillPack in 2018. PillPack delivers medications in pre-sorted dose packaging and coordinates refills and renewals.
“One Medical members benefit from a dedicated relationship with their provider, a friendly and convenient in-office experience, and ongoing engagement via a dedicated app.”
To make healthcare more convenient and accessible, Amazon Pharmacy and One Medical, after the acquisition, will open Amazon Clinic, where patients can interact with a clinician.
Through message-based virtual care, these clinics connect customers with affordable virtual care options when and how they need it — at home, after dinner, at the grocery store, or on the go.
Amazon’s healthcare store lets customers choose from a network of leading telehealth providers based on their preferences.
Every telehealth provider on Amazon Clinic has gone through rigorous clinical quality and customer experience evaluations by Amazon’s clinical leadership team, according to the statement. It also compares the prices of medicines.
After the message-based consultation, the clinician will send a personalised treatment plan through the portal, including any necessary prescriptions, to the customer’s preferred pharmacy. Amazon Clinic does not accept health insurance.


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Buying groceries in large Chinese cities can be a nightmare for busy professionals. After a long day at work, shoppers often don’t want to deal with overcrowded supermarkets, impossibly long lines at the payment counter, and the trek home with heavy grocery bags.
E-commerce players in China, always quick to smell a business opportunity, are trying to take the sting out of grocery shopping for these busy urbanites. They are devising solutions to give shoppers the convenience of ordering groceries online to be delivered to their doorsteps within days and sometimes hours.
Entering the fray
Yihaodian, China’s first online supermarket, launched 1,000 augmented reality stores across the country in October 2012. These “stores” are open public spaces where shoppers can use their smartphones to view a virtual supermarket with 1,200 meters of floor space and 1,000 items in stock. They can fill virtual shopping baskets by scanning the item codes before checkout. The company then delivers their purchases directly to their homes in a day or two. Yihaodian’s virtual supermarkets have attracted attention in China and abroad. The company won a Silver Lion for the best use of mobile devices at the 2013 Cannes Media Lions awards.
The company’s chairman, Yu Gang, says that the virtual supermarkets are less about actual sales and more about helping Yihaodian build its brand. When he and his partner Liu Junling founded Yihaodian in 2008, the company was China’s first online supermarket. (Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. purchased a controlling stake of Yihaodian in August 2012.) But today the field is getting increasingly crowded—with everyone from e-commerce companies to players in the logistics industry jumping into the fray—and it is becoming important to build a strong brand to rise above the noise. Yu estimates that online purchases of food and drink stand at just 1-2 percent of purchases at physical supermarkets. He believes the figure will eventually grow to 20-30 percent.
Others are taking note, too. Online retailer Jingdong Mall (until recently called 360Buy), which specializes in computers, communications and consumer electronics (3C) products, recently added fast-moving consumer goods—products like groceries or toiletries that are sold quickly and at a relatively low cost—to its array of products. In April, the company launched a new online supermarket service.
Not to be left behind, Alibaba Group’s Taobao, China’s leading consumer-to-consumer (C2C) site, launched 24 Taobao as an experimental C2C supermarket platform. When Alibaba Vice President Tao Ran, launched 24 Taobao in January 2013, he said it was because the company had identified a need among local grocery suppliers to have a platform to sell their products nationwide and help them reach more customers. Still in early stages, the company has limited its operations to Beijing and Hangzhou, where Alibaba’s headquarters are based. But the company has plans to expand to more than 10 cities in the coming months.
Oceanne Zhang, leader of market insights at Kantar Retail, says selling groceries online is increasingly becoming a key differentiator for China’s online retailers, who are struggling to attract new shoppers and gain market share in an increasingly overcrowded sector. “(Online retailers) want to sell everything online, but they are still not attractive to people because they have lots of competitors. Since people do grocery shopping on a more frequent basis, this can help the e-commerce companies drive more traffic and build customer loyalty,” she says.
Competing in a new arena
“Selling fast-moving products, like supermarkets do, is the biggest thing for Jingdong,” says Shi Tao, Jingdong’s vice president for retail. Since its launch in 1998, Jingdong Mall has been continuously expanding the categories on offer, and grocery was the only one left, says Shi. This category-expansion strategy has worked for Jingdong so far. The company is the second-largest business-to-consumer (B2C) company in China, with a 16 percent share of the market in 2012, according to China Internet Watch.
Reactions to Jingdong’s expansion have been mixed. Will Tao, analysis director at iResearch, an internet industry research firm, says Jingdong is trying to differentiate itself from competitors. At the same time, “they can attract new buyers through new categories because people can (now) buy everything from the same place,” he says. Zhang of Kantar is less optimistic and believes that Jingdong seems to be losing focus by “opening to all categories.”
Jingdong has one advantage, though. The company owns a logistics system, which gives it an edge over other online grocery shopping platforms that rely on third-party logistics providers. Jingdong had to invest in improving its facilities to store and distribute perishable products. Shi is confident about this new venture and says the brand can rely on its strong distribution network and its wide reach in big cities. “The customer (base) is huge there, and it allows us to test the market and see which aspects we should improve,” he says.
A practical move?
But will expanding into groceries really help Chinese online retailers achieve market supremacy?
iResearch’s Tao doubts there is a large consumer base in China for online grocery shopping, but he says that it might be a sustainable strategy “as long as these companies limit their operations to major cities” where they have well-established supply chains in place.
When people go grocery shopping, they typically like to browse and sift through products before picking what they want. Given this consumer trait, companies need to give shoppers a compelling reason to shop for groceries online. A recent report by Kantar Retail compares the pricing strategies of China’s online and offline supermarkets. The study concludes that consumers who shop for groceries online save just 4 percent compared to shopping at brick-and-mortar stores. Yihaodian is the only online grocery retailer that stands out, according to the report, because of its low prices on imported food.
As Zhang from Kantar Retail explains, Yihaodian has the highest level of customer loyalty among online grocery retailers because it started with groceries before expanding into new categories like apparel and cosmetics. “Shoppers who decide to buy groceries online usually have higher loyalty,” she says. The company has also developed its own logistics system and infrastructure to optimize product distribution and to ensure its 20 million registered users have good shopping experiences.
“Our business model might be easy to copy, but the supply chain management is very difficult to copy,” Yihaodian’s Yu Gang says. “It’s been specially designed to ensure low operation costs that really pass the benefits to customers and ensures (the) success of e-commerce companies.”
Other online retailers selling groceries face a greater challenge. Jingdong, for example, enjoys a good reputation among its customers for its 3C products. But it will be difficult for the company to transfer this trust to its new grocery operations.
The last frontier
According to Xu Yong, senior consultant at China Express Consulting, the real competition between China’s online grocery retailers will start in the next few years with the delivery of frozen food. Currently, China’s logistics infrastructure cannot ensure a seamless cold chain. Players who manage to advance in this field will enjoy a unique advantage. “Online supermarkets like Yihaodian will need to build refrigerator warehouses, equip delivery branches with freezers, and own a fleet of refrigerator trucks,” Xu says.
This is an opportunity SF Express, a Shenzhen-based logistics provider that launched online grocer SF Best, doesn’t want to miss. Launched in 2012 in Beijing, SF Best quickly expanded to other major cities, including Shanghai and Shenzhen. Its mission is to offer healthy and high quality imported produce with the best shopping experience. It also guarantees an “unbroken” cold-chain. iResearch’s Tao says the company is confident that people will trust their service because of SF Express’ reputation in shipping goods. “They have the advantage and they have the shipment infrastructure. So why not use the extra room and make money from that? They can get extra stock on a plane, so everything (they get) will be a profit,” he adds.
Companies are still experimenting with new ways of attracting customers, reducing costs, and earning a profit, according to a recent McKinsey report. Profitability requires innovation especially for China’s online retailers, who are already struggling with intense competition and squeezed profit margins. But many companies see opportunity. As Jingdong’s Shi Tao says, “With e-supermarkets (in the picture), the real battle with offline stores has begun.”
[box] This article has been reprinted with permission from CKGSB Knowledge, the online research journal of the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business (CKGSB), China’s leading independent business school. For more articles on China business strategy, please visit CKGSB Knowledge. [/box]


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19th International Annual Congress of the Automotive Industry in Zwickau
“The German automotive supply industry with its many medium-sized companies is well placed in an international comparison, but it will have to expect great challenges. The successful value chain is in a state of upheaval. The innovative products of German suppliers are becoming increasingly more attractive for foreign automobile manufacturers too. In this scenario, the East German suppliers must press ahead with internationalization”, announced Klaus Bräunig, Managing Director of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) at the 19th International Annual Congress of the Automotive Industry in Zwickau. The Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) Chemnitz/Zwickau and the Automotive Supplier Network (AMZ) were hosting the event for the first time. “In July 2015, sales by the German automotive suppliers at EUR 44.8 billion were just under 3 per cent higher than the previous year’s level. Export earnings grew by 5 per cent to EUR 16.8 billion and domestic sales by 2 per cent to EUR 27.9 billion. With a workforce of over 300,000, the suppliers are building their strengths to new levels”, said Bräunig.
However, only those who operate worldwide and supply worldwide can profit from the strong-growth markets and be successful in the long term. “The global purchasing policy of the automobile manufacturers requires that suppliers must be able to deliver worldwide – with constant quality and at competitive prices. That is why even small and medium-sized suppliers are now laying the foundations for successful growth strategies with local operations. Many smaller medium-sized companies without any foreign manufacturing capacities are faced with the decision of whether to invest in the growth markets. They regularly have to review their business model in order to be able to remain part of the international, intensely competitive value chain”, stressed Bräunig.
He went on to point out that pressure was rising along the entire value chain. “Today, suppliers contribute 75 per cent to the automotive value chain and now already account for 50 per cent of development spending. The medium-sized suppliers in East Germany especially can secure their domestic business locations with technical innovations and reinforce the good reputation of Germany as an automotive production base”, added the VDA Managing Director.


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The technicals hint there won't be the arrival of Santa to the stock markets this year.
Yahoo Finance Live's Brian Sozzi, Brian Cheung, and Julie Hyman take a look at Tesla and review CEO Elon Musk's comments about President Biden's infrastructure plan.
(Bloomberg) -- In March, Herbert Diess enthralled investors with his vision for turning Volkswagen AG into the global leader in electric cars. VW would deliver 1 million battery-powered and plug-in hybrid vehicles this year, and soon build half a dozen factories in Europe alone, the chief executive officer proclaimed. The stock shot up by 29% on a single day.Most Read from BloombergThe World’s Relentless Demand for Chips Turns Deadly in MalaysiaSand and Soldiers Mix as Troops Move In to Protect


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Will Donald Trump's Protectionist Policies Impact on Indonesia?
Frederic Neumann, Managing Director and Co-Head of Asian Economics Research at HSBC, says Indonesia is well positioned to feel limited impact only of US president-elect Donald Trump's (looming) protectionist policies as Indonesia's export performance contributes a mere 21.1 percent to the nation's gross domestic product (GDP). It is in fact domestic consumption that forms the backbone of the Indonesian macroeconomy, accounting for about 56 percent of GDP, and thus provides a buffer against global turmoil.
The strong consumer force in Indonesia (a 255 million population that is equipped with an expanding middle class) and rising government spending in combination with the country's low dependency on foreign trade is what makes Indonesia well-positioned to face the protectionist measures that are expected to be implemented under the Trump administration. Neumann added that the subdued debt level is also something that makes Indonesia a strong emerging market economy. He also mentioned that India shares these features with Indonesia.
Meanwhile, economic growth in Indonesia is expected to continue accelerating. After a five-year slowdown in the 2011-2015 period, Indonesia's GDP growth is estimated to have accelerated to a growth pace of 5.0 percent (y/y) in 2016, from 4.8 percent (y/y) in the preceding year. In 2017 accelerating growth is expected to continue in Southeast Asia's largest economy. This should imply that bank credit and domestic consumption (boosted by improving purchasing power) should rise accordingly.
"Toyota Motor said will build a new plant in Baja, Mexico, to build Corolla cars for US NO WAY! Build plant in US or pay big border tax"
A new example of Trump's eagerness to "protect" the USA in terms of trade occurred overnight when the US presidential-elect threatened - through a Twitter message - Japanese car manufacturer Toyota with heavy import duties for cars that are built in a new factory in Mexico. As a result of the Tweet, shares of Toyota Motor Corp fell 2 percent in early Friday morning trading.


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eBay's (EBAY) PayPal online payment service today launched a new service specifically designed for Chinese Internet users called PayPal China.
A free service, PayPal China offers payments in the local currency and integration with 15 Chinese banks and more than 20 different debit cards. Additionally, PayPal China is the only direct online payment service that offers a buyer protection program for purchases made on popular Internet portal sites Netease (NTES) and TOM Online (TOMO). PayPal will offer buyer protection on China-based eBay EachNet starting September 1, 2005.
In addition to offering buyer protection, PayPal never shares buyers' financial information with sellers, and customers are fully protected against unauthorized use of their accounts.
"PayPal China is an extremely efficient online payment network that will improve the payment experience and increase the velocity of ecommerce in China," said Mathias Entenmann, vice president of PayPal International. "As a pioneer of online payments, we are proud to bring our global payments expertise and local business knowledge to China."
The new site can be found at http://www.paypal.com.cn


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Walgreens will be closing 200 shops in the US to reduce costs, the pharmacy’s parent firm mentioned in a regulatory filing Tuesday.
The corporate projects the transfer will save more than $1.5 billion by the fiscal year 2022.
In Could, Walgreens Boots Alliance revealed that 200 shops in the United Kingdom had been slated for closure, and stated they’d be reviewing the company’s “actual property footprint” in the United States.
The corporate has greater than 18,500 stores in 11 countries, in response to the Walgreens Boots Alliance.
After June experiences of a 24% decline in quarterly internet revenue, the company’s inventory has plunged virtually 25% this year.


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With the ongoing electrification of cars, there are less and less cars offered with a manual gearbox, and for car enthusiasts this can ruin part of the experience of the car, how it feels and how it drives. Don’t get me wrong, the need for an alternative fuel source is long overdue, and its good to have a rough date on when petrol and diesel cars will be banned from sale. But until then, new cars are being released and a lot are still without manual gearboxes.
One case is the Alpine A110 from Renault Sport, this car was crying out for a manual gearbox but unfortunately Apline could only offer one option for the transmission and automatic with paddles is what they chose. The latest Polo GTI was supposed to be offered with both a DSG gearbox and a six speed manual. But unfortunately the manual hasn’t shown up yet.
However, despite the mishap with the Polo, Volkswagen is one of the only manufacturers to announce they are staying committed to manual gearboxes, so long as there is sufficient demand. Matthias Rabe from VW who is head of tech spoke to Autocar recently and said:
“Some people enjoy going back to their roots and changing gear manually, and so as long as there is demand, we will continue to offer them.”
Even with recent car announcements, this is already apparent. The new 2020 Golf GTI has a manual gearbox as standard and no hybrid technology, with a traditional 2.0-litre turbocharged engine with 291bhp. Also in the VW lineup is the new up! GTI city car, which has a six speed gear box as standard and no DSG option.


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HMRC has reassured farmers that VAT returns may still be submitted on paper following the announcement that the current system was moving online.
Farmers Weekly reported that Making Tax Digital would go live from 1 April 2019 and require businesses operating above the VAT threshold of £85,000 to keep digital records and submit VAT returns through HMRC financial software.
However, HMRC has confirmed that businesses that currently submit offline returns will be able to continue to do so, as long as they fall under one of the approved exemptions.
Who qualifies for digital VAT return exemptions?
- Those who object to using computers on religious grounds
- Those who don’t use the internet because of age, a disability or because of where they live, e.g. no internet access
- Businesses that are subject to an insolvency procedure – if a Company Voluntary Arrangement exists or an Individual Voluntary Arrangement exists then submitting a return online is optional
“The current provision remains that businesses who currently submit VAT on paper, exempt for reasons outlined [in the box above], can continue to submit on paper,” said a spokesperson for HMRC.
“HMRC will ensure that clear guidance is widely provided and easily accessible for digitally excluded customers about the exemption process and will ensure that a mechanism is provided for an exemption to Making Tax Digital to be easily applied for through non-digital means.”
The HMRC initiative is part of a plan to move all tax submissions online by April 2020 at the earliest, and has already been subject to delays to give businesses more time to adapt to the changes.


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Pete Simpson, Clearswift Corporation: Web developers in a Web 2.0 World
March 2008 by Pete Simpson, ThreatLab Manager, Clearswift Corporation
Recent reports that web developer pay has risen by 26 per cent in the past year should come as no surprise; after all, the popularity of social networking sites seems ever-increasing. In just one year, Facebook has grown by 270 per cent and now boasts over 52 million users worldwide. This zeal for all things interactive has seeped into the online community’s consciousness and as a result, organisations and businesses are clamouring to implement their own Web 2.0 functionality.
Yet while such an increase in web traffic is a boon for the industry, it does have its downsides. Interactive sites use open source Ajax coding, which gives malware writers many more points of entry than with traditional HTML coding. The problem is further exacerbated when web developers do not have adequate security knowledge to deal with new advances in the industry and so unwittingly leave sites and, as a result, the end user open to attack.
So what threats are web developers now facing? As mentioned, Ajax is a key cause of increased security breaches on the web. A traditional web application can be compared to a house with just one front door and no windows, in that it offers only one point of attack. On the other hand, an Ajax application constantly exchanges small amounts of data between the browser and the server, which create many points of input. The inputs provide more opportunities for attack - it is as though as well as the front door, the house has numerous windows - all providing a point of break and entry. Of course, it is this open source technology that allows the interactive functions on a website to exist and it would be ridiculous to suggest erasing such functions to retain a secure website. Instead, the security industry must share its knowledge with web developers so that precautions are taken to prevent Ajax-based sites being hijacked.
A key issue is that Web 2.0 technology has exploded so fast it has been hard for the IT industry to keep up. Seventy-one per cent of UK office workers aged 18-29 access Web 2.0 Internet sites at least a few times a week and it is these sites that have gained popularity with phishers and hackers. In March 2007, Google’s Online Security blog noted that the number of page views generated on phishing sites increased five-fold, with 95 per cent targeting MySpace. Holes in security mean that sites like MySpace have become goldmines - the injection of a simple CSS code into a profile is all it takes to infect the page so that wherever a user clicks, even on what appears to be a legitimate link, they are redirected to a phishing page. Many users have the same login credentials for social networking accounts as for banks and web-based mail, allowing for a domino effect with a user’s online identity being fully compromised. If web developers are unaware of how to prevent such security breaches, the web will grow increasingly unsafe and as a result the positive aspects of the Web 2.0 revolution will be undermined.
One successful hacker named ‘Lithium’ has been quoted as saying: “Lazy web developers are the reason I’m still around phishing”. However, the blame cannot be laid solely at the door of web developers. On the contrary, it is the training they receive which is part of the problem - it seems the provision of security training varies from course to course, with some teaching very little on the subject at all. Web development courses should teach would-be developers that the key to ensuring consumer confidence in the web is to make a site as invulnerable as possible from its conception. To do this developers should ensure all input is sanitised and all points of input are as secure as possible. Up-to-date best security practice advice, technical documentation and free, secure source code can be found at the Open Web Application Security Project (owasp.org).
Within the next year it is likely the IT community will see more incidents of Ajax-borne threats, which should hopefully be enough to raise developers’ awareness of this issue. For most web developers, all they need to know initially to produce safe, secure websites can be taught in two days, but after this it is up to the developers themselves to keep tabs on the latest security threats and developments.


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xsmn xsmn th? 6
xsmn xsmn th? 6 Bitcoins rally from December lows after the FTX collapse surprised many investors, Glassnode says in its weekly report.Bitcoin could see further upside but a fresh buy signal is likely at prices around .3k.Selling pressure above .3k is more likely given short-term holders and miner push for exit liquidity.Bitcoin price remains poised near ,000 after a breakout pushed the leading cryptocurrencys value above the psychological k level.As highlighted ove the weekend, Bitcoins surge to prices above ,000 did surprise many people, and while optimism is high among bulls, a potential liquidity exit from profit booking is likely. Particularly, this could be the outlook given how brutal the 2022 bear market was for short term holders and miners.On-chain data platform Glassnode has highlighted this possibility.The recent market rally has pushed #Bitcoin prices above k, surprising many investors. However, with higher prices comes an increased motivation for network participants to take exit liquidity, especially after the prolonged bear of 2022Read here 👇https://t.co/D5QY9n5dp7 glassnode (@glassnode) January 23, 2023Glassnodes outlook after latest BTC price actionAccording to on-chain data firm Glassnode, Bitcoin looks almost out of the woods, but the price action to levels in the k to k region also reclaimed several on-chain pricing models.A look at the Investor Price (currently at .4k) and Delta Price (.4k), signifies a similar price action at the bear market bottom of 2018-2019. Investor Price is the average price at which investors acquired all the spent and miner distributed coins, while Delta Price is derived from Realized Cap minus Bitcoins all-time Average Cap to get a technical pricing model.At the base of this outlook is the price discovery phase, which during that 2018 bear market bottom lasted 78 days. The current market is at a similar level, with BTC above the Realized Price of .7k.This suggests an equivalency in durational pain across the darkest phase of both bear markets, Glassnode wrote in its weekly market report.Still on the Investor Price/Delta Price metrics, the on-chain platform points to a measure called compression, which takes into account the spot price to determine the intensity of the markets undervaluation. The metric also correlates with the scale of change in an assets Realized Cap or capital inflow volume, with a threshold zone of 0.15-0.2.Given the current BTC price and compression value, Glassnode estimates a bullish confirmation signal could be triggered if Bitcoin bulls reclaim .3k.More optimism for bullsAlso helping the bull case is the Supply in Profit measure, which spiked 12% in the last two weeks to rise from 55% to 67%. The spike in percent of coins in profit is the sharpest of all prior bear markets, suggesting a lot more coins changed hands below the .3k level.Key to bulls case is also the fact that Bitcoin price at current levels is above all the three cost basis of long-term holder, short-term holder and BTC Realized Price. This is the first time spot price has pierced the three Realized Prices and sustained momentum above the levels would be positive.The recent surge in #Bitcoin price action has resulted in an initial breakout above all three cost-basis for the first time since the 2018/19 bear market and the March 2020 Covid crisis.A sustained duration above these key psychological levels would be considered constructive. pic.twitter.com/kyzuwSPenv glassnode (@glassnode) January 24, 2023A bull trap caseWhile Glassnode points to potential bull case scenarios, its report also highlights probable cases of fresh sell-off pressure.According to the on-chain data report, one of these is the substantial spike in profitability, which the platform says raises the possibility of selling pressure triggered by short-term holders.Miners are also likely to be motivated by the price action and might look to liquidate some of their holdings, adding to a potential retreat for BTC price.
- xsmn xsmn th? 6 AdvertisementNow, there鈥檚 nothing wrong with a 鈥渄umb鈥 coffee maker. And I鈥檓 sure that for most folks, the utility of a timer is plenty if you鈥檙e getting up at the same time most days. I also realize it鈥檚 not that hard to walk into the kitchen and hit the 鈥渂rew鈥 button. But especially recently, my internal alarm clock goes off as early as 5 a.m. and sometimes as late as 7 a.m. So even with a timer, my coffee maker is potentially brewing my coffee too early or, worst of all, too late, which isn鈥檛 the biggest deal in the world but makes getting out of bed on a cold winter morning a little more of a chore.I already use an Echo Dot as my alarm clock because the chime is the least offensive I鈥檝e managed to find on a device so far on days when I do need one. So when I was shopping for a coffee maker back in January, I ended up buying one from Hamilton Beach () that had Alexa compatibility. In the Alexa app, I was able to create a routine for Alexa to 鈥渕ake coffee.鈥 Now, when I wake up in the morning before my alarm clock, I鈥檓 able to ask my bot assistant to start my brew while I check my email on my phone. And by the time I鈥檓 ready to be a person, my coffee is ready to go.AdvertisementAdvertisementUltimately, the reason I opted for the Hamilton Beach over others really came down to the front-fill water reservoir since it gets tucked under a cabinet in my kitchen. It鈥檚 kind of a no-frills smart device, to be honest. There are plenty of other smart coffee makers with a much better range of features and brew settings, but I鈥檓 pretty happy with the one I picked for my own purposes.Again, I鈥檓 not saying you should rush out to swoop up a smart coffee maker to replace the one you have if it does its job just fine. But if you鈥檙e a weird early riser like I am and happen to be shopping for one anyway, all I鈥檓 saying is that having a smart assistant-enabled coffee maker has been an unexpected delight. And especially in quarantine, I鈥檒l take all the creature comforts I can get.


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Over the last couple of weeks, Kanye West has dominated the news — especially social media.
The Chicago-bred rapper has an album that is set to debut Feb. 11, got into a Twitter beef with Wiz Khalifa, and now, he is gracing the cover of The Rolling Stone.
On Wednesday evening he took to Twitter to release the cover photo with the caption, “ROLLING STONE COVER SHOT BY TYLER THE CREATOR.”
The photo boasts bold pink letters spelling out Kanye with what seems to be a random tagline asking the question “Does he like mustard?”
Kanye will be premiering his new album and fashion line at Madison Square Garden next week during New York Fashion Week — the show will also be live streamed globally.
PHOTO SOURCE: Twitter


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Automotive News reports that more than a third of BMW's US sales were crossovers in 2015, and crossovers will be 40 percent of BMW's US sales in 2016.
2015 BMW X3: Geneva 2014
- Steven J. Ewing
- Mar 5, 2014
The second-generation BMW X3 launched in late 2010, and while it's never really wowed us, it's still a solid offering in a highly competitive class. In an effort to keep things fresh, BMW has given its X3 a nip/tuck for the 2015 model year, but perhaps the biggest news (for the US market, anyway) involves what's found underhood.
- Most and least efficient car companies
- Fastest-depreciating cars in the United States
- Find and compare 2017 Models


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Streaming services like Hotstar, Netflix, Prime Video and ZEE5 have been working with the government for a long time to come up with a self-regulation code. But the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, which gave the industry a 100 day deadline to come up with this code, doesn't seem to want to acknowledge it. In a parliamentary response dated September 14, the government sidestepped a question on regulating streaming services by saying that content over the internet is governed by the Information Technology Act, 2000. This response is interesting, as it doesn't at all cover the ministry's own efforts over the past few months, and also seems to step away from its stated stand on the subject that it has spoken about in parliament before. Over 2019, the I&B Ministry held two invite-only seminar-cum-consultation events where the ministry said that self-regulation has to happen among streaming services. In March this year, the ministry said that it had called a meeting of OTT streaming platforms to come up with a self-regulation code. I&B secretary Amit Khare has also said that a proposal is in the works to transfer jurisdiction of online content from the IT Ministry to his. The streaming industry, under the aegis of the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), eventually complied, releasing a "Universal Self-Regulation Code" on September 4. But the I&B Ministry's silence on the code, even after being pointedly asked about regulating streaming services in Parliament, seems to indicate that they don't yet support it.…
- Indian crypto exchanges plan to collect identity details for crypto transfers to private wallets: Report June 3, 2023
- Jugalbandi, A Chatbot for Rural India by Microsoft and EkStep: What to Know and Think About? June 3, 2023
- Hopeful to See Action Against E-Pharmacies Selling Medicines Online Without Licenses: Pharmacy Body Writes to States and UTs June 3, 2023
- Meta to give advertisers more control using AI and content filters June 2, 2023
- Transparency Report: Here’s all Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Google had to say about user complaints in April June 2, 2023
MediaNama’s mission is to help build a digital ecosystem which is open, fair, global and competitive.
Is it safe to consider all "publicly available data" as public?
PhonePe launched an e-commerce buyer app for ONDC called Pincode. We, however, believe that it should also launch a seller app.
Amazon announced that it will integrate its logistics network and SmartCommerce services with the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC).
India's smartphone operating system BharOS has received much buzz in the media lately, but does it really merit this attention?
After using the Mapples app as his default navigation app for a week, Sarvesh draws a comparison between Google Maps and Mapples
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Commission Junction Report Shows Affiliate Channel Well-Positioned To Reach Back To School Shoppers
Commission Junction, the leading affiliate marketing network, today
released its annual Back to School report for online retailers,
providing insights on consumer trends and key shopping dates for the
Commission Junction, the leading affiliate marketing network, today released its annual Back to School report for online retailers, providing insights on consumer trends and key shopping dates for the season. In analyzing past sales data, Commission Junction found that Back to School shoppers are inclined to use all the tools at their disposal to research and purchase online, including consulting search and price comparison engines, and coupon and cash-back websites. Consumers are increasingly conducting product discovery and shopping on content websites, which saw 30 percent yearly growth in sales last season. “Given its broad distribution, the affiliate channel provides advertisers with the opportunity to effectively reach Back to School consumers throughout their decision-making process, which lasts late into the summer,” said Heather Pilat, Commission Junction’s VP of Analytics. For the past two years, Back to School sales peaked the fourth week of August, with a second peak the first week of September. The corresponding weeks this year are August 19 – 25 and September 2 – 8. Consumer Electronics, Hardware and Software retailers saw a sales peak during mid-August, and also realized a secondary bump in late September along with Bed & Bath retailers. Apparel purchases, on the other hand, were heavily concentrated in late August and early September. “The overall number of sales affiliate sites referred to Commission Junction advertisers last September grew by 27 percent over the prior year,” said Pilat. “These purchases may have been school or early winter holiday-related, so we believe a ‘stay late’ affiliate strategy is a good one to maximize sales.” The full report is available at this link. About Commission Junction Commission Junction, a division of ValueClick, Inc. (Nasdaq: VCLK), facilitates and supports equitable, lucrative relationships between advertisers and publishers. Many of the world’s most widely recognized and highly specialized brands run their pay-for-performance programs on CJ’s platform.


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Union-based Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. announced Monday some leadership changes.
Mary Winston, who recently joined the company’s board, has been named interim CEO, effective immediately. Steven Temares has stepped down as CEO and resigned as member of the board.
The board said it has formed a CEO search committee and retained an executive search firm to find a permanent CEO.
“Bed Bath & Beyond has a significant opportunity to drive value creation by building on its great brands and strong customer affinity. As the company continues its efforts to improve its financial performance and enhance its competitive position, the board determined that now is the right time to identify the next generation of leadership. We are fortunate to have someone of Mary’s caliber to serve as interim CEO while the board conducts a search for a permanent successor, and are confident in her ability to lead the company forward during this transition period,” Patrick Gaston, independent chairman of the Bed Bath & Beyond board, said.
Winston previously served as executive vice president and chief financial officer at Family Dollar Stores Inc., senior vice president and chief financial officer at Giant Eagle Inc., EVP and CFO at Scholastic Corp., vice president and controller at Visteon Corp., and VP, global financial operations at Pfizer Inc. She began her career as a certified public accountant and auditor at Arthur Andersen & Co. She currently serves as president at WinsCo Enterprises Inc., a financial and board governance consulting firm.
In addition, the board appointed Andrea Weiss as chair of the Business Transformation and Strategy Review Committee.
“This is an important time for Bed Bath & Beyond and we are committed to being the leading omnichannel retailer of choice for the home and heart-felt life events. Together with the board, including the members of the Business Transformation and Strategy Review Committee, the leadership team and our more than 60,000 associates, I look forward to building an even stronger future for Bed Bath & Beyond. As we continue to review our business initiatives, we will be focused on driving continued margin improvement, enhancing the in-store and online experience, and accelerating our transformation to the benefit of our shareholders, customers and other stakeholders,” Winston said.
Weiss currently serves as the founding partner of The O Alliance LLC and CEO and founder of Retail Consulting Inc. She’s held executive roles at dELiA*s Inc., The Limited Inc., GUESS Inc., Ann Taylor Stores Inc. and The Walt Disney Co.
“It has been a privilege to serve with my fellow associates for these past twenty seven years. It has always been, and will always be, about our people. There are truly no words to adequately express my gratitude to them and I will miss them immensely. I continue to trust in them and look forward to great accomplishments in the years to come,” Temares said.
On May 1, the company also said five new independent directors joined the board. Upon completion of the leadership transition, Bed Bath & Beyond’s board will have nine members, eight who are independent, its said.


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Llamasoft released this Tempest 2000-like game for the PlayStation Vita.
TxK was planned for ports to the PC and PS4, after being released for the Vita. However, it was struck down by Atari in March 2015, due to similarities between this and the original Tempest games. The game was held in limbo until Llamasoft and Atari came to terms in 2017. Tempest 4000 is the result of the collaboration, set to release in Spring 2018.


text: On Monday, July 10, 2000, AtomFilms announced the finalists for their recently launched event, Flash.Beat. Organized by AtomFilms and Swatch, Flash.Beat is a competition in which Flash artists created a commercial advertising Swatchs new Internet time system. Atom received over 1,000 submissions from over 30 countries. The ten finalists in both the short form and long form categories can be seen at AtomFilms Finalists Page. Visiting Net surfers can vote for their favorite entry. On July 31, 2000 the winner will be announced. The audience vote and a judging panel, featuring Internet pioneer Joe Shields, actor Peter Fonda, AtomFilms founder and CEO Mika Salmi and Swatch president Nick Hayek Jr., will determine the winning submission. "Atom's community-powered innovations represent the core of our business and encompass our desire to unite consumers and filmmakers in the entertainment process," said Matt Hulett, chief marketing and on-line officer at AtomFilms. "By taking the community's interests and creativity into consideration, Atom has developed a successful interactive entertainment experience that is exceeding expectations."


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7-Eleven to Open Six New Stores in Metro Detroit
DETROIT -- 7-Eleven Inc. plans to open six new Metro Detroit stores in the next month as part of its plan to expand in urban areas where the chain already has a strong presence, The Detroit News reported.
The new stores in Southfield, Farmington, Livonia, Warren and Eastpointe, Mich., will further solidify the region as one of 7-Eleven's most successful markets. Metro Detroit has more than 200 locations and is the highest-selling market for the retailer's popular < a href="http://www.csnews.com/search-slurpee.html">Slurpee beverage, the report stated.
"We already have a significant presence here," 7-Eleven spokeswoman Margaret Chabris told the newspaper. "We've built a following and a big fan base."
7-Eleven succeeds in working-class areas such as Metro Detroit because it's more accessible than many grocery stores, and cleaner and safer than nearby party stores, according to Ken Dalto, a retail analyst in Farmington Hills, Mich.
"The key is being in the blue-collar areas of town," he said. "Those areas are under-served by big chains. But the fact of life is that poor people have to live as well, and need the necessities of life. Somebody has to serve that market."
7-Eleven's convenient locations at hundreds of corners around the city make it an easy choice for consumers who have limited transportation and "can't get around," Dalto added. Especially for families with only one car, when the father goes to work, the mother is stuck at home taking care of the kids and can't go across the city to find a grocery store. But she can walk down the street to 7-Eleven, according to Dalto. The store also has many locations near high schools, so it has become a popular hangout for students, he noted.
Chabris said it all comes down to the location of the stores. "By adding more stores, 7-Eleven continues to be more accessible," she said. "It's all about being convenient for the customer."
7-Eleven also sells a variety of low-priced products for customers concerned with value. Its 300 or so generic brand products, known as 7-Select, are 10 percent to 20 percent less expensive.
"We give customers a choice," Chabris told the newspaper. "If they're loyal to a brand, that's fine. But we find in these recessionary times, they want value."


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The California town of Berkeley has passed a resolution that forces mobile phone companies to print the radiation dangers of cell phone usage “prominently” so that consumers will see them.
Current radiation warnings are printed in small print on user manuals, where many people do not see them. The new law will mean that separate flyers that explicitly and prominently state the dangers of cell phone usage will be handed to all consumers who purchase a phone.
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“To assure safety, the Federal Government requires that cell phones meet radio frequency (RF) exposure guidelines,” reads the mandated safety information warning. “If you carry or use your phone in a pants or shirt pocket or tucked into a bra when the phone is ON and connected to a wireless network, you may exceed the federal guidelines for exposure to RF radiation.”
“This potential risk is greater for children. Refer to the instructions in your phone or user manual for information about how to use your phone safely.”
190 scientists from 39 countries affirm that mobile phones increase the risk of cellular stress, genetic damage and cancer
The mandate came about after a poll of Berkeley residents found that 66 percent of respondents who regularly carry mobile phones in their pockets reported being unaware of the FCC’s safety guidelines concerning the dangers associated with keeping one’s mobile phone too close to the body.
“… while 74% of respondents carried their phones in a pocket — considered close contact — 66% were unaware that cell phone manufacturers recommend the products be carried away from the body or used in conjunction with hands-free devices,” explains The Guardian.
“The Berkeley ordinance would require sellers to post the safety information in public view and hand out a separate flyer to buyers who purchase or lease a phone.”
There’s nothing all that novel about the requirement other than the fact that it reiterates what the FCC has already determined concerning mobile phone safety. CTIA – The Wireless Association, a trade organization that represents key wireless industry players, has condemned the move as failing to provide information “grounded in science or sound policy.”
CTIA has an agenda to promote the interests of wireless carriers, phone manufacturers and others within the industry that face increased scrutiny if more users become aware of the proven dangers associated with mobile devices. This industry group, along with various others, hold heavy influence over media and government when it comes to how much the public is told about cell phone risks.
The fact of the matter is that the mandated warning is based on sound science, contrary to what CTIA claims, and an open letter penned by 190 scientists from 39 countries reiterates this.
“Numerous recent scientific publications have shown that EMF affects living organisms at levels well below most international and national guidelines,” reads the letter, which calls for the United Nations and the World Health Organization (WHO) to conduct an impartial study on the subject.
“Effects include increased cancer risk, cellular stress, increase in harmful free radicals, genetic damages, structural and functional changes of the reproductive system, learning and memory deficits, neurological disorders, and negative impacts on general well-being in humans.”
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A rapper cameo has a Ja Morant rookie trending again while the Miami Grand Prix has helped lift some sealed wax prices in recent months.
Read about Morant, the F1 market, and other trending cards in this week’s Top 5 Hottest Sports Cards.
Jordan Poole has been the Warriors guard featured here recently, but it’s important to make sure Thompson gets some shine, too. Multiple injuries have limited Thompson over the last two seasons, but collectors seem to have been reminded recently that he’s probably the second best shooter ever behind only his teammate Steph Curry.
Thompson doesn’t have a super popular card market, but he maintains solid prices with relatively low populations compared to other ultra-modern cards. His 2012 Prizm Base PSA 10 has a pop of 805 and is up 71% over the last 14 days.
4. Aaron Judge
Judge reportedly turned down a 7-year, $213.5 million extension this offseason, and his hot start may earn him an even bigger deal. The Yankees star is playing at an MVP level with nine home runs and 19 RBI already this season, resulting in his market jumping 7% as a whole in Market Movers over the last 30 days.
The key card right now is his 2017 Topps Chrome Base PSA 10, though, which is up 82% over the last 30 days across 60 sales.
A broken foot has ended McKennie’s club season with Juventus and guaranteed he won’t be around for the USMNT’s World Cup qualifying matches either, but some transfer rumors have made his market heat up a bit.
Tottenham has reportedly shown serious interest in signing the midfielder, and some collectors are expecting his cards to rise if he’s moved to the Premier League. McKennie’s 2018 Donruss Base PSA 10 is up 111% over the last 30 days.
2. 2020 Topps Chrome Formula 1 Racing Hobby Box
Sunday’s inaugural Miami Grand Prix was a big moment for Formula 1 racing in the United States, and F1 cards have been trending up a bit leading up to it. Miami winner Max Verstappen has seen solid movement while hobby star Lewis Hamilton has seen some price growth too recently.
Sealed wax has been the biggest winner recently, though, with 2020 Topps Chrome Formula 1 Racing Hobby Boxes up 63% over the last 90 days. With few F1 products available and a growing market, this hobby box recently sold for $3,500 and shows potential to go even higher.
1. Ja Morant
Sometimes pop culture intersects with the hobby, and this Ja Morant card is one of the most popular examples in recent years. The card itself is nice, with Morant flexing after a play. A cameo from rapper Young Dolph, who passed away last year, in the background has pushed this card to super-high prices, though.
Collectors noticed the cameo last year, too, but the music community has rallied around the card again recently thanks to increased exposure on social media. Many Chronicles sets don’t sell super well, but this 2019 Chronicles Panini PSA 10 is up 110% over the last seven days on 87 sales.
Track your collection and maximize your profit with Market Movers, the hobby’s most powerful sports card pricing platform! Learn more here.
Note to readers: If you purchase something through one of our affiliates, we may earn a commission.


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Oracle is losing business because it’s bad at looking after its business customers.
That’s according to Kevin Cunningham, president and founder of identity and access management solutions provider SailPoint, which he claimed is attracting customers from the ranks of those disillusioned with out-of-date services offered by bigger vendors, and Oracle in particular.
“We’re seeing a big turnover in customers from the decisions that were made to acquire older products 10 or 12 years ago. Some of the large vendors in our space – the Oracles, the IBMs, the CAs – have some aging technologies that are not designed for what companies need today,” he said.
Cunningham argued that enterprises today are crying out for tools that can be used by business people, adding that “modern identity management actually requires people from line of business to participate in that process, which is a whole different paradigm”.
He said such solutions have to be “intuitive, simple, with things translated from IT gobbledegook into meaningful descriptions for business users”.
Cunningham said SailPoint was luring customers from Oracle because its systems fail to cater for modern needs and because its customer service is poor.
“[Oracle’s software] is not designed well for the modern use of identity management, so we’re seeing a huge turnover of customers, especially in the Oracle customer base. Oracle doesn’t do an especially great job of taking care of its customers so there’s a lot of frustration,” he told Computing, adding “a week doesn’t go by” where he doesn’t hear of someone wanted to ditch Oracle in favour of SailPoint.
Referring to SailPoint customers who were previously clients of bigger vendors like Oracle, IBM and CA, Cunningham said “they’re tired of the big guys promising and not delivering”.
The SailPoint president also believes that as a result, rival firms are starting to take notice of the Austin, Texas-based firm.
“We have a big target on our backs, especially when you’re the leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant, everyone notices that,” he said.
“We’ve got good relations with analysts, they meet with all the vendors and they’ll tell us ‘Oracle wants to kill you’ and we’re very aware of that,” Cunningham added.
Computing contacted Oracle for a response but at the time of writing none had been received.


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Kevin Hamm over at YourHub.com wrote up the Balistreri family from Balistreri Vineyards. Under the headline, "Balistreri Vineyards a Family Affair," Hamm says:
"Julie Balistreri swirls the garnet-colored Syrah around in the glass and then holds it up to her nose for a sniff.
"'Wow,' she says, her eyes widening. 'Do you smell that black pepper?'
"Julie and her father, John, are in the storage room of Balistreri Vineyards engaged in a barrel tasting -- that's when they sample some wine from the oak barrels the wine is aging in to see which ones are ready for bottling. Over the next few weeks, they'll sample nearly 200 barrels of wine. When it's all said and done, they will end up with about 50,000 bottles of wine.
You can read the full article here.


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With Venezuela firmly in the grip of hyperinflation, a large local department store, akin to Wal-Mart, has begun to accept Bitcoin for goods.
Cryptocurrencies: A viable alternative
More and more cryptocurrencies are establishing themselves as a real alternative to Venezuela’s designated national currency Bolivar. TRAKI, a large local department store, has reportedly begun to accept cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. According to a reddit thread published by the user ImVito, you can buy “884 articles for school supplies and clothing” in Bitcoin at only $ 260. Allegedly, the money was donated by the Reddit community and the purchased items are distributed to needy children in the country.
The financial disaster in Venezuela
The country has undoubtedly failed to maintain its control over financial sovereignty with fiat money, as the International Monetary Fund expects local inflation to reach one million percent by the end of 2018.
However, the pressure is increasing as the country recently introduced payments via the state-introduced petro-crypto petro for passports. In the midst of the financial crisis, however, there is a clear trend: peer-to-peer crypto currency trading is rising rapidly as state-issued currencies fail.
We already reported that trading volume in November exceeded all previous highs. Just a few months ago, another Reddit user shared his story of how he managed to provide a whole community with NANO donations. At that time, Nano was still at $ 2.71 per coin:
“0.5 Nano is almost a full month’s salary in my country. It’s more than I earned last month.”
In addition, the country’s oldest newspaper – El Impulso – has publicly recommended selling cars for Bitcoin to protect its money from inflation. The article emphasized that users do not need foreign accounts and do not have to keep large amounts of other currencies in cash when using Bitcoin.
Image by Shutterstock
Virtual currency is in many countries not legal tender, or is not backed by the government, and accounts and value balances are not subject to consumer protections. The information does not constitute investment advice or an offer to invest.
VoiceofBitcoin.com is is not responsible for the content of external sites and feeds. Guest posts, articles or PRs are not always flagged as this!


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Home Tags Blackberry
The BlackBerry brand isn't ready to go away just yet. Indeed, a new phone is on the horizon for 2021 with 5G support and a physical keyboard.
BlackBerry is unveiling a brand new limited Key2 Red Edition for Mobile World Congress 2019.
BlackBerry has been on a comeback tour with its Key series phones that last few years. Unfortunately, the latest Key2 LE may not live up to its siblings.
In today's edition of In Brief, Verizon launches its 5G Home service, Google releases the October security update, and more renders show up for upcoming devices.
In this episode we chat about some new leaks that give us a good look at the Pixel 3 and some new phones announced at IFA 2018
BlackBerry and TCL are back with a new midrange phone the BlackBerry Key 2 LE that shares the same style as the KEY 2 except with more colors and at a cheaper price.
BlackBerry just announced two new midrange phones the Evolve and Evolve X phones for India.
Can BlackBerry build on the very solid KeyOne or will it take a step back? We give our thoughts on the BlackBerry Key2, the businessman's best friend.
Matt and Andrew take on the BlackBerry Key2, the new smartphone just announced from TCL. What makes it so special, if anything at all? Tune in to find out!
BlackBerry has announced that the Key2 will be unveiled at an event in New York City on June 7th. The handset is expected to sport a hardware keyboard, and mid-range specs.
An interesting rumor just surfaced online fueling dreams of a Nokia e6 comeback. You see according to an anonymous tipster Nokia could be in...
BlackBerry teamed up with Samsung more than three years ago for the SecuSUITE for Knox – a service meant to add another layer of...
BlackBerry has taken the wraps off its latest smartphone called the BlackBerry Motion. Despite the company being famous for its keyboards, the Motion looks...
Last year iconic Canadian smartphone maker, BlackBerry licensed its intellectual properties to Chinese company TCL who is now in charge of building and selling...
Remember Palm, maker of the iconic Pre smartphone? Well after being on hiatus for the past half-decade, Palm is reportedly going to be making...


text: We know how serious Apple protects their upcoming releases and have always been aggressive in going after those who divulge what they feel is too much information about unannounced products. Earlier this year they sued the long-running Apple rumor site Think Secret for divulging such advance information. Think Secret, a site that has been in existence since 1999, announced recently that they have settled the suit with Apple and will no longer be publishing. That’s right, a popular Apple rumor fan site has been shut down by the lawyers in Cupertino for fanning the fanboy flames for Apple. We all lose in this scenario, what the hell is Apple thinking?


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A stay of the “arbitration rule” by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) will not be sought by the comptroller of the currency, given that Congress is considering use of the “Congressional Review Act” to overturn the rule, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announced today.
Acting Comptroller Keith Noreika said in the statement that he would not ask the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) to stay the effective date of Sept. 18 for the rule, which was announced earlier this month by consumer bureau. “I hope Congress will act on this opportunity to preserve effective alternatives for consumers to resolve their disputes without lengthy and costly litigation and to reduce the “piling on” of legal and regulatory burden that I discussed in my testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, on June 22, 2017.
Noreika stated that the OCC has “only begun its review” of the CFPB’s data and analysis underlying the agency’s final rule. “It is important that the OCC economists take the time necessary to conduct their independent review of the data and analysis used to support and develop the Final Rule,” Noreika stated. “Unfortunately, since the CFPB published the rule in the Federal Register prior to providing its data for our analysis and we have requested additional data in order to conduct a thorough review, the OCC cannot complete our thorough review in the limited time before a petition must be filed with the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC).”
The “arbitration rule” would ban mandatory arbitration clauses in loan agreements, such as clauses covering consumer financial products, including credit cards and bank accounts, and which block consumers from joining in class actions to sue for alleged wrongdoing.
Statement by the Acting Comptroller of the Currency Regarding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Final Rule on Arbitration Agreements


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Magners’ owner C&C Group is remaining cautiously upbeat despite reporting an 11.9% fall in UK cider volumes in the three months to 30 November.
The group revealed that volumes of Magners in the UK fell 11.7% during the quarter. Gaymers also saw a volume drop of 12.3%, while revenue from UK ciders declined 19.1% during the same period.
However, in its interim management statement, C&C said the fall in cider volume represented a “moderate improvement on the first half”, reflecting increased levels of off-trade promotional activity. However, price/mix deflation was 7.2% in the quarter.
C&C Group, which recently acquired the Gleeson Group and Vermont Hard Cider Company, said its Tennent’s UK performance remained solid despite a third quarter volume decline of 3.6%, with net revenue up 7.5%.
The company admitted there had been little “discernible improvement” in the trading environment for the UK long alcoholic drink category in the third quarter, and added that the market remained “tough” for brand owners, with “increased competition in cider is adding to pricing pressure.”
The firm described trading over Christmas as mixed between different markets. “Retail data in the UK off-trade suggests a more muted festive trading period in general and for LAD specifically. Tennent’s trading over Christmas was resilient,” the statement added.


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Operators are facing a “Kodak moment” in their competitive response to the threat posed by over the top (OTT) players, according to Mark Mortensen from Analysys Mason.
The challenge presented to telcos by OTTs is similar to the threat that the camera specialist faced from the digitization of photography. In essence Kodak, which was listed in the top five most valuable brands in the 1990s, missed the digital boat, and ultimately filed for bankruptcy in 2012.
“There are opportunities for operators in the digital economy and it’s time that you started placing a few bets,” Mark said to an audience of operators and vendors at Thursday’s (9 October) Analysys Mason Summit.
“We wouldn’t be standing here talking about this topic if we didn’t think that you would be interested, or that there was money to be made. But do we as an industry have the guts to do something about it?”
The Kodak comment followed a presentation, geared towards the predominantly European and US audience, which discussed the opportunities for operators in the growing Digital Economy.
Operators were told that they had the assets and experience to contribute to the Digital Economy, and that a handful of telcos were entering multiple verticals to experiment with these new services. As there was no “obvious” market that would move the needle, operators were creating digital subsidiaries that could play with new services and see what works.
Of course, advancing into the Digital Economy may be new territory for operators in Europe and the US but not every region is playing catch up in this way.
Taking the lead on Innovation
The stats coming out of China over the past two weeks remind us of the sheer scale of the country’s mobile market. The latest GSMA rankings put all three of China’s operators (China Telecom, China Unicom and China Mobile) in the top ten mobile operators, for reported mobile connections and mobile revenue.
But sheer numbers aside, what is it that makes China a market worth paying serious attention to?
The fact is that China’s mobile industry is leading the way in getting to grips with the Digital Economy. Its mobile stars are gaining on its Western counterparts, thanks in part to their marketing prowess and innovation.
Take China messaging service WeChat as an example. With 4.4 million monthly users, WeChat is not only a rival to Viber and WhatsApp, it’s turned into the extended operating system of China’s mobile millions. Starting from messaging, it’s now extended to e-commerce, gaming, socializing, and picture sharing.
You can even order a taxi, haggle with the driver over the fare and make payment through WeChat (via native app DiDi).
Historically, the West has tended towards a certain level of naval-gazing when it came to analyzing the market and forecasting trends. However, China’s operators are ahead of the West in terms of developing sophisticated propositions that go far beyond basic connectivity.
It’s time that industry players, from analyst houses to media, start to reflect this balance shift.


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Bugbear Entertainment, the developer behind the FlatOut racing series and Ridge Racer Unbounded, is turning to Kickstarter to help fund the development of its next game, currently titled Next Car Game. The Finnish studio promises its next project will be a "demolition racing game with spectacular crashes, realistic driving physics and intense car building from the makers."
The developer is seeking $350,000 to complete Bugbear Entertainment's Next Car Game, which has been up for community voting on Steam Greenlight since September and available for pre-order from the game's official website since August.
The developer says its new game is being created in the spirit of titles like Destruction Derby, FlatOut and Street Rod, integrating dynamic damage, extensive upgrading and an advanced racing engine. The title is being developed primarily for Windows PC at this stage, but Bugbear lists next-gen console versions as a $1.5 million stretch goal.
Bugbear's Next Car Game is pegged for a May 2014 release and potential backers can watch the developer's pitch — and see some gameplay footage — in their Kickstarter video.


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Jim Palmquist (left), Volunteer Chairman of Lower Macungie Walkways, oversees a press conference commemorating the completion of a walkway in Macungie Township that connects 7,500 township residents to services and retailers on Route 100 through the Borough of Macungie. The walkway system opened today connects a quarter of the township residents to a mile long stretch of retailers and other service providers from. The walking network was installed by developers over the past decade and is now connected for 2 1/2 miles. (DOUGLAS KILPATRICK / SPECIAL TO THE MORNING CALL)
Improvements mean 7,500 residents will be able to walk to stores on Route 100.


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The winds of change
With major luxury brands like Prada, Chanel, and Salvatore Ferragamo adopting the culture of green bonds, moving their funds to have survival strategies, and coming out openly to declare their contribution towards global warming related issues the planet is facing, the feeling inside the industrial patrons is growing multifaceted than expected. Asia is predicted to become the leading fashion market in the coming years; Europe and the USA are yet to completely recover from the political and health crises of the previous year. In such scenarios, the only way to maintain bold bulletin releases is to keep long lasting, earthy, yet organic and beneficial goals in mind.
Adapt and grow
The big brands have been making lavish efforts to keep their stature and brand awareness intact. Take for instance Gucci’s innumerable collaborations with brands like ‘Disney’, ‘The North Face’, the newly launched ‘Doraemon’, and many more; although, the latter does put the brand at risk of a “Pierrecardinisation”. Bottega Veneta initiated an “Enjoy the Silence” mode recently and shut down its Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts. Surprisingly though, their Chinese counterparts Weibo and WeChat were kept active. This predicts the course such brands might lean towards in the future. In other developments, LVMH beat all the odds with the takeover of Tiffany & Co.; Victoria’s Secret shut down its major shops around the world. In the times ahead, many big fashion houses and corporations are gearing up for some bold moves and planning to recover from the current waves affecting the landscape of major brands with decades of historical surveys.
The organic shift in fashion and luxury
Pioneering a sustainable luxury fashion movement, Stella McCartney has revealed what she calls the “Most Sustainable Collection”, saying that luxury has a waste-problem; she’s shifting from the convention in high gear, spinning every last button, lace, and fabric scrap into new collections.
Indian fashion houses like Anita Dongre owned ‘GrassRoot’ is an initiative to empower and sustain craft communities in rural India, going back to the roots in the olden traditional way. Sabyasachi collaborated with Bergdorf Goodman for an exclusive collection of saris and bridal wear, ready-to-wear, shawls, scarves, accessories, and jewellery that resemble the olden traditional values and craftsmanship from Kutch – Gujarat, giving their artisans an international platform to contribute to the global momentum. Even Christian Louboutin has used the oldest Indian techniques in his latest collection of ‘Spring Summer 2021’, printing the effect of tie-&-dye – an ancient bandhani or Indian tie-&-dye that began 5000 years ago in the Indian states of Rajasthan and Gujarat. Many believe and attribute the ‘Khatri’ community of Kutch as one of the first to have used this form of colouring fabrics. Today, tie-&-dye techniques have been trending the hottest amongst new collections of many upcoming brands. Bollywood’s favourite power couple Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan, the brand ambassadors of the home decor and upholstery brand ‘D’Decor’, came up with their prêt line of home decor pieces under the name of ‘SanSar’ which has been created mainly by women, specifically utilising their craftsmanship and skills by making a difference in supporting the earthy and organic culture. Furthermore, Cartier unveiled its most recent campaign on the ‘Culture of Design’ and around the ‘Magnificent 7’ – the iconic creations of the French maison. The campaign focuses on maison’s best hits and evergreens: the Cartier Santos, Tank, Panthère and Ballon Bleu watches, Love and Juste Un Clou nail bracelets, and the Trinity ring only shows the royalty and richness of vintage.
Many courageous and traditional moves are expected by the most relevant brands in India and by the global industries of fashion and luxury in 2021. Changing times do require drastic, bold steps to be taken for the future and risking the evolution the industry is offering. This transition has definitely shaken and woken many experts to make their mindsets more adapting towards changing with the time and riding with the waves.