Showing posts with label Wirecard. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wirecard. Show all posts

2019-03-02

Tech Review 1) Bank of the Future, 2) How China Created Its Own Internet

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Tech Review (TR 2019-03-02)--Domain Mondo's weekly review of tech investing news: Features • 1) Bank of the Future, 2) How China Created Its Own Internet, 3) Investing: The Week & Investor Notes: China, 4) ICYMI Tech News: Google, Amazon, Nokia, 5G, Ericsson, AT&T, Tesla, Click-and-Collect, Wirecard, Oracle v. Google, Berkshire Hathaway, Gundlach on Facebook $FB. 

1) Bank of the Future

As emerging digital finance platforms launch new and differentiated products, including bespoke, consumer-centric solutions and experiences, they are building scale more efficiently and quickly than ever before, according to Brandon Watkins of the Goldman Sachs Investment Banking Division. In the video above, Watkins explains how the “bank of the future” is being shaped by three trends – a shift from offline to online banking, growing consumer trust for digital-first platforms and consumers’ desire for personalization and tailored product experiences. “You’re seeing these new digital finance platforms… starting to compete with some of the biggest traditional banks in the world,” he says, while some of the traditional financial institutions are turning to “technology platforms to add to the product capabilities and experiences that they’re delivering to their customers today.” Goldman Sachs video above published Feb 20, 2019.

2) How China Created Its Own Internet

From a single email sent to West Germany to restrictions on Winnie the Pooh and the letter N, this is how the Internet took hold in China. Bloomberg.com video above published Feb 19, 2019.

3) Investing
graphic: "INVESTING"  ©2017 DomainMondo.com
The Week: NASDAQ Composite +0.9% | S&P 500 Index +0.4% | DJIA -0.1%
S&P 500 closes above 2,800 for the first time in nearly 4 months on trade optimism--marketwatch.com
Richard Cohen: The Democratic Party is trying to gift reelection to Trump | WashingtonPost.com.
Even After Sanders, Harris, and Others Enter Race, Bookies Have Donald Trump as Massive 2020 Favorite--mediaite.com.
Longview:
Trendline (graphic) ©2018 DomainMondo.com
Investor Notes:

China: Anne Stevenson-Yang, co-founder of J Capital Research, reportedly wrote in a Feb. 18 commentary, that Beijing’s recent exertions have helped banks, but reflation efforts seen in January are insufficient to stem the broad deterioration in financial conditions. China’s economy will likely continue in decline until corporate and financial defaults force the authorities to launch a gigantic stimulus.

A Chinese real estate developer in Shanghai, boarded a flight to Malta last month with no plans to return anytime soon. After landing, Mr. Chen, a former judge and lawyer, shared on social media a 28-page article explaining himself. “Why I Left China,” read the headline, “An Entrepreneur’s Farewell Admonition.” “China’s economy is like a giant ship heading to the precipice,” Mr. Chen wrote. “Without fundamental changes, it’s inevitable that the ship will be wrecked and the passengers will die.” “My friends,” he urged, “if you can leave, please make arrangements as early as possible.”--NYTimes.com.

Imports by China and other emerging Asian economies in December plunged to the lowest level in two years, in the steepest one-month plunge since 2008--wolfstreet.com.

4) ICYMI Tech News:
graphic: "ICYMI Tech News" ©2017 DomainMondo.com
Shaping the future of mobile with Android--Google says Android One activations grew 250% YoY, 50%+ of new entry-level Android devices are Android Go, and Digital Wellbeing tools are coming to more phones. See also: Helping more families set digital ground rules with Family Link--blog.google.

Amazon's Cloud Dominance--cloudchart.png.

Nokia CEO warns 5G implementation 'will be delayed in Europe'--CNBC video. And Nokia says 5G would not be delayed by ban on Chinese suppliers--reuters.com.

5G: Ericsson $ERIC buys antenna and filters business of Germany's Kathrein--reuters.com.

AT&T the Next Kraft Heinz?--SeekingAlpha.com: highest debt load in corporate America, poor earnings growth and has paid over $120 billion for acquisitions in recent years.

Tesla $TSLA moment of truth will arrive in 2020: "Volkswagen’s electric-car onslaught and an economic recession will put Elon Musk’s company to the test"--marketwatch.com Op-ed Feb 22--Until then, Elon Musk has plenty to deal with: SEC problems again; and Consumer Reports recently stopped recommending the Model 3 because of reliability issues.

Click-and-Collect: sales where customers order goods online and pick them up at a nearby store rose 47% in November and December compared with a year earlier, far more than the 16.5% growth in online sales, according to Adobe Analytics.

Germany’s regulator banned short-selling in Wirecard--share price slid after allegations of false accounting surfaced--economist.com.

Amicus Brief (pdf): EFF Asks the Supreme Court to Clean Up the Oracle v. Google Mess--eff.org.

Berkshire Hathaway:  2018 Letter To Shareholders (pdf) (BH owns 5.4% of Apple): 3 Key Takeaways--SeekingAlpha.com.

Facebook:
$FB
Do you still have an opinion on Facebook?" ... I just think that Facebook-- their big problem is obviously their business model. And I talked about things that are safe ended up being unsafe. I think that's Facebook I mean, they sold themselves as comfortable and safe, but they're really just a diabolical data collection monster. And they're unrepentant. And I just saw yesterday they were talking about more regulation in Europe in the UK. And when the regulators show up, usually, the stock prices go down. Health care had a meteoric rise until the regulators showed up a few years ago, and then a big decline. So I don't really trust Facebook. So the fact that I don't trust them makes me not like them, and the fact they don't like them makes me want their stock to go down."--Jeffrey Gundlach extended conversation with Yahoo Finance [Transcript] (pdf).

-- John Poole, Editor, Domain Mondo  

feedback & comments via twitter @DomainMondo


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2018-10-20

Tech Review | Future Finance: Smart Contracts on the Blockchain (video)

graphic "Tech Review" ©2017 DomainMondo.com
Tech Review (TR 2018-10-20)--Domain Mondo's weekly review of tech investing news with commentary, analysis and opinion: Features • 1) Future Finance: Smart Contracts on the Blockchain, 2) Bitcoin Detectives: Cracking the ​Blockchain, 3) Investing: The Week, Investing Notes: US, Europe, China, 4) ICYMI Tech News: Amazon AWS JEDI & HQ2, Facebook, Google, Apple, Twitter, Wirecard.

1) "Future Finance" Forum 2018: Smart Contracts on the Blockchain

A lively panel discussion on the divergence in the blockchain ecosystem between cryptocurrencies and other private permission systems and how smart contracts are evolving, moderated by Ray Chan, Senior Correspondent, FinanceAsia, with Panelists: Paul Sin, Consulting Partner, Deloitte, Angelina Kwan, Managing Director, Head of Regulatory Compliance, HKEX, Joshua Kroeker, Blockchain/DLT Lead, Global Commercial Banking, HSBC, Lawrence Ma, President, HK Blockchain Society, Douglas W. Arner, Professor, Faculty of Law, The University of Hong Kong. The session was filmed at the "Future Finance - Adapting to Disruption" Forum held at Island Shangri-La Hong Kong on Wednesday, 7th February 2018. Thomson Reuters video published Oct 5, 2018.
Blockchain graphic ©2018 DomainMondo.com
See also: From Farm to Blockchain: Walmart Tracks Its Lettuce | NYTimes.com Sep 24, 2018: The giant retailer will begin requiring lettuce and spinach suppliers to contribute to a blockchain database that can rapidly pinpoint contamination.

2) Bitcoin Detectives: Cracking the ​Blockchain

The cryptocurrency Bitcoin has a problem as old as money itself​ -- theft​. And that's giving rise to a new profession: bitcoin detectives like Kim Nilsson, a victim of the massive Mt. Gox exchange hack.

3) Investing
graphic: "INVESTING"  ©2017 DomainMondo.com
The Week: NASDAQ Composite -0.6% | S&P 500 Index +0.02%  | DJIA +0.4%

Wall Street's Charging Bull
graphic of Charging Bull | DomainMondo.com
Investing Notes: US, Europe and China
  • US is the most competitive country in the world--regaining the No. 1 spot for the first time since 2008 in an index produced by the World Economic Forum--WSJ.com. 
  • Eurozone: ECB's "Bubble” Warning--WolfStreet.com: "After it Caused the Most Absurd Bond Bubble Ever." See also: Bavaria election (video) clear signal the center is moving to the fringes in Germany.
  • Brexit: How 4 Experts Think It'll Impact Business (video). Four scenarios (graphic).
  • EU: VC investment in European startups plunged 21% in Q3 2018--even with Brexit looming, startups in the United Kingdom were still number one, raising 43 percent ($2.3 billion) of the total capital in Q3, accounting for 32 percent (215) of the deals. France ranked a distant second in terms of venture capital raised, $679 million, and third in number of deals (78). Germany was third in amount raised, $631 million, and second in number of deals (83).--Dow Jones VentureSource Venture Capital Report - Europe Q3 2018 (pdf).
  • China: "Most surveyed companies are now experiencing unprecedented difficulties and have become increasingly pessimistic about business prospects for the next six months ... For most, business has never been worse."--Li Wei, economics professor at CKGSB. See also: China May Have $5.8 Trillion in Hidden Debt With ‘Titanic’ Risks--Bloomberg.com.

4) ICYMI Tech News:
graphic: "ICYMI Tech News" ©2017 DomainMondo.com
• Amazon $AMZN: Amazon Web Services (AWS) is widely seen as front-runner in the race to win the US DOD $10 billion cloud-computing contract [JEDI]. Alphabet Inc. a/k/a Google withdrew last week, leaving AWS, IBM, Oracle, and Microsoft vying for the contract. Amazon Chairman & CEO Jeff Bezos said Monday at the Wired 25 Summit in San Francisco:
"If U.S. tech companies turn their backs on the Department of Defense, this country is in trouble. This is a great country and it does need to be defended." 
[Editor's note: most likely outcome? AWS wins JEDI contract, and a suburban Washington, D.C., location (northern Virginia) is chosen for Amazon HQ2.]
  • Facebook $FB: Fb.gg online gaming hub expands to mobile with the launch of the beta version of a standalone Android app--techcrunch.com.
  • Google $GOOGL: Google's real-time translations now available on Android phones and all Assistant-optimized headphones, not just Google Pixel Buds--droid-life.com. See also Android is dirty word?  ‘Android’ wasn’t said a single time during the Google Pixel 3 event--9to5google.com.
  • Apple $AAPL reportedly cut Chinese iPhone repair fraud with hidden dyes and software.
  • Wirecard (WDIG.DE), German fintech company expects core profits to grow sixfold by the middle of the next decade thanks to a boom in e-commerce and digital payments--reuters.com.

-- John Poole, Editor, Domain Mondo  

feedback & comments via twitter @DomainMondo


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