Tag: Fintech

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Tidbits #88 – Taiwan Aftermath, Jobs, Tiffany Pendants, Small Nuclear Reactors + More

Hello, hello! 👋🏻👋🏻

Welcome back to another edition of Tidbits covering all the recent things worth talking about in business, media, and technology.

🗺 World Affairs + Geopolitics

#1 – China Tests Taiwan Defense Zone, Cuts Off US Military Talks

China continued its most provocative military drills in decades on Friday and cut off defense talks with the US, as relations between the world’s biggest economies deteriorate in the wake of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan.

… Read the rest “Tidbits #88 – Taiwan Aftermath, Jobs, Tiffany Pendants, Small Nuclear Reactors + More”
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Tidbits #87 – Recession, Crypto Securities?, AlphaFold, Regenerating Limbs + More

Hello, hello! 👋🏻👋🏻

Welcome back to another edition of Tidbits covering all the recent things worth talking about in business, media, and technology.

🗺 World Affairs + Geopolitics

#1 – Pelosi Confirmed Details Of Her Trip To Asia, But Did Not Say If She’ll Visit Taiwan

The speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, confirmed Sunday she will visit four Asian countries this week but made no mention of a possible stop in Taiwan that has fueled tension with Beijing, which claims the island democracy as its own territory.

… Read the rest “Tidbits #87 – Recession, Crypto Securities?, AlphaFold, Regenerating Limbs + More”
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Tidbits #83 – Inflation, Apple WWDC, and Sentient Google AI?

Hello, hello! 👋🏻👋🏻

Welcome back to another edition of Tidbits covering all the recent things worth talking about in business, media, and technology.

🤑 Economics + Markets

#1 US Inflation Quickens to 40-Year High, Pressuring Fed and Biden

US inflation accelerated to a fresh 40-year high in May, a sign that price pressures are becoming entrenched in the economy. That will likely push the Federal Reserve to extend an aggressive series of interest-rate hikes and adds to political problems for the White House and Democrats.

… Read the rest “Tidbits #83 – Inflation, Apple WWDC, and Sentient Google AI?”
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Tidbits #82 – Tech Layoffs, Crypto Insider Trading, Stripe Apps + More

Hello, hello! 👋🏻👋🏻

Welcome back to another edition of Tidbits covering all the recent things worth talking about in business, media, and technology.

A New Emergent Business Model: Platform + App Marketplace

One of the articles in this edition discusses Stripe’s launch of an apps marketplace. This could fundamentally transform the scope of Stripe’s product and the infrastructure they have built.… Read the rest “Tidbits #82 – Tech Layoffs, Crypto Insider Trading, Stripe Apps + More”

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How Shifting Consumer Preferences Could Threaten “Buy Now, Pay Later”

This is part of an on-going series exploring the “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) space.

Part 1 “Buy Now Pay Later” and What Might Be Coming Next discusses why BNPL adoption is likely to surprise to the upside…and why BNPL must ultimately merge with commerce to survive.

Part 2 “Buy Now, Pay Later” and the Coming “Closed Loop” discusses Square’s acquisition of Afterpay…and why BNPL is a credible threat to the current payment network landscape.… Read the rest “How Shifting Consumer Preferences Could Threaten “Buy Now, Pay Later””

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“Buy Now, Pay Later” and the Coming “Closed Loop”

This is part of an on-going series exploring the “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) space.

Part 1 “Buy Now Pay Later” and What Might Be Coming Next discusses why BNPL adoption is likely to surprise to the upside…and why BNPL must ultimately merge with commerce to survive.

This is Part 2.

Part 2 “Buy Now, Pay Later” and the Coming “Closed Loop” discusses Square’s acquisition of Afterpay…and why BNPL is a credible threat to the current payment network landscape.… Read the rest ““Buy Now, Pay Later” and the Coming “Closed Loop””

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Tidbits #36 – New Business Surge, Changing Date Nights, and a Whole New Reality

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Here’s what I found interesting recently.

🗺 Geopolitics

#1 Microsoft Attack Blamed on China Morphs Into Global Crisis

A sophisticated attack on Microsoft Corp.’s widely used business email software is morphing into a global cybersecurity crisis, as hackers race to infect as many victims as possible before companies can secure their computer systems.

The attack, which Microsoft has said started with a Chinese government-backed hacking group, has so far claimed at least 60,000 known victims globally, according to a former senior U.S.

… Read the rest “Tidbits #36 – New Business Surge, Changing Date Nights, and a Whole New Reality”
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“Buy Now, Pay Later” and What Might Be Coming Next

This is part of an on-going series exploring the “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) space.

This is Part 1.

Part 1 “Buy Now Pay Later” and What Might Be Coming Next discusses why BNPL adoption is likely to surprise to the upside…and why BNPL must ultimately merge with commerce to survive.

Part 2 “Buy Now, Pay Later” and the Coming “Closed Loop” discusses Square’s acquisition of Afterpay…and why BNPL is a credible threat to the current payment network landscape.… Read the rest ““Buy Now, Pay Later” and What Might Be Coming Next”

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Square, Fintechs, and Our Changing Economy

Despite the size and robustness of the US banking system, banks haven’t really been functioning well for quite a while.

The banks have gotten bigger and more profitable, but the banks have largely become disconnected from the vast majority of the population that they once served.

Banks have gone from largely local institutions (e.g. your local community bank) to globe-spanning titans that can hardly locate 99% of the cities or customers in which they now “serve”.… Read the rest “Square, Fintechs, and Our Changing Economy”

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The Coming Ecosystem War Over Your Wallet and Payments

This post is part of a series. This is part 1.

In part 1 – The Coming Ecosystem War Over Your Wallet and Payments – I argue that tech is entering payments because in a world of walled gardens, it is now the last channel that allows one ecosystem to collect data from another ecosystem. The point of payments is no longer money but data.… Read the rest “The Coming Ecosystem War Over Your Wallet and Payments”

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Apple Card’s Strategic Value

Apple Card launched earlier this week to wide interest and seems to be generating more consumer buzz than I would have guessed from the reward structure (which looks average). But I’m glad the company has launched such a product because it gives me an opportunity to write about Apple, a company that holds a special place in my heart not least because I have been an Apple product user for almost 3 decades.… Read the rest “Apple Card’s Strategic Value”

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Emerging E-commerce Franchises / Sea Limited

Today, Alibaba and Amazon are likely household names and for good reason. Both of them are giants straddling a number of industries and likely touch close to 2 billion consumers annually. Both of them also tend to be trendsetters that determine the evolution of markets / industries (or at least in thought).

While Alibaba and Amazon get most of the attention, there are other giants in the making that I think get less attention than they rightfully deserve.… Read the rest “Emerging E-commerce Franchises / Sea Limited”