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1,419,356,938 | 2014-12-23 17:48:58+00:00 | {"BTC": [2079, 2133]} | {} | ziftrCOIN Crowdsale Passes $500,000 During First Two Days of Presale | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ziftrcoin-crowdsale-passes-500-000-174858520.html | Marketwired | http://www.marketwired.com/ | BOSTON, MA--(Marketwired - Dec 23, 2014) - Ziftr®, a New Hampshire-based company that develops products, tools and apps to revolutionize the shopping experience, sold 3,611,807 ziftrCOINs™ for a total of $500,000 US during the first 10 days. This includes a purchase of $150,000 of tokens by a New Hampshire-based traditional investment firm, 10X Venture Partners, on the first day of the presale.
"We're very excited about the participation so far in the ziftrCOIN presale, and especially encouraged by the fact that a traditional VC group like 10X Venture Partners has contributed so generously," said Bob Wilkins, CEO of Ziftr and ziftrCOIN. "We've already received so much support from the cryptocurrency and traditional business communities, and I'm excited to see the continued success of our presale."
ziftrCOIN is an innovative altcoin designed to onboard the next 10 million cryptocurrency users and help Ziftr bring cryptocurrency into the mainstream for consumers and retailers. Ziftr has already put millions of dollars into developing a suite of tools and applications that will accomplish this goal, and the funds raised during the ziftrCOIN presale will go directly toward making this happen. The ziftrCOIN presale runs until Jan. 23, 2015, (or sooner, depending on when the coins run out) athttp://www.ziftrCOIN.com/presale.
10X Venture Partners is a seed stage (and beyond) investment group that invests predominantly in mobile, Internet, wireless, security, medical technology and green technology markets in the New England region. Portfolio companies include Nanocomp Technologies, Inc., Coach Up and ApplyKit.
"We believe strongly in the future of cryptocurrency in general and the unique position Ziftr holds to bridge the gap between mainstream consumers and cryptocurrency adoption -- particularly for online commerce," said John Gargasz, manager at 10X Venture Partners. "ziftrCOIN is one component of a comprehensive Ziftr strategy which we look forward to see playing out over the coming year."
During the ziftrCOIN presale, ziftrCOINs start at just 1 BTC for 1,600 ziftrCOINs and will gradually rise to 1 BTC for 533 ziftrCOINs. Participants have the opportunity to receive exclusive rewards in exchange for their contributions, including a limited-edition, cold-storage coin or a ziftrCOIN mining rig. All purchased ziftrCOINs will become available for use in February 2015. In late 2015, Ziftr will give away 300 million ziftrCOINs free of charge (a maximum of 100 ziftrCOINs to each individual) so that everyday consumers can begin familiarizing themselves with cryptocurrency. Each ziftrCOIN will have a minimum redemption value of $1 when used within Ziftr's retailer network, functioning similarly to a coupon.
To purchase ziftrCOINs through the ziftrCOIN presale, visithttp://www.ziftrCOIN.com/presale.
About ziftrCOIN™ziftrCOIN, the first digital currency developed for online shoppers, aims to revolutionize e-commerce by putting cryptocurrency into the hands of consumers and enabling them to conduct simple, secure transactions at their favorite online retailers. For more information about ziftrCOIN, visit:www.ziftrCOIN.com
About Ziftr®Established in 2008 and based in Milford, N.H., Ziftr revolutionizes the online shopping experience through the development of innovative products, tools and apps that make life easier for both consumers and retailers. The company's first tools, a browser add-on and mobile app that connect shoppers with the best deals at their favorite online retailers, have had more than 2.5 million downloads.
Ziftr is a product of myVBO®, a full-service design, marketing and development company that helps businesses turn their ambitions into realities.
For more information about Ziftr, visitwww.ziftr.com.
About 10X Venture Partners10X Venture Partners is a seed stage (and beyond) investment group that commits operational experience and dollars to portfolio companies predominantly in the mobile, Internet, wireless, security, med tech and green tech markets. For more information about 10X Venture Partners, visithttp://www.10xvp.com/.
DisclaimerAll statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts that address future ziftrCOIN availability, or developments that the ziftrCOIN expects are forward looking statements. Although the Corporation believes the expectations expressed in such forward looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward looking statements. Factors that could cause results to differ materially from those in the forward looking statements include, but are not limited to: market volatility; continued availability of capital, financing and personnel; government regulation and laws; and general economic, market or business conditions. |
1,419,370,080 | 2014-12-23 21:28:00+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [2579]} | {} | A Christmas Tree That Puts Out Its Own Fires | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/christmas-tree-puts-own-fires-212800280.html | The Atlantic | http://www.theatlantic.com/ | As long as there have been Christmas trees, there have been Christmas tree fires.
No matter the decade, there are horrific stories. In 1858, six buildings burned and three were totally destroyed in New York’s Bowery neighborhood by “Christmas trees having taken fire.” Half a century later, in 1931,the paper told of a woman trying to throw a “blazing Christmas tree”out of her apartment window in Queens. Two decades after that, in 1951, a Christmas tree fire inTijuana, Mexico, killed 34 people.
By 1930, theTimesmarveled that“the Christmas tree with the old-fashioned candles … the worst fire menace of Yuletide,”had caused only one fire in the city on Christmas Day.
To combat these Christmastide conflagrations, Americans have turned to technology. Electric tree lights,invented in the late 19th century,are probably the biggest success on this front. They eliminated, or at least greatly reduced, open-flames-on-a-tree from the holiday.
But there’s another, lesser-known invention aimed at the same problem: the Christmas tree fire extinguisher.
Make thatinventions, plural. The U.S. Patent Office records multiple inventors who tried inserting a fire extinguisher in a Christmas tree. Many of them follow similar patterns. In 1947,Leonard Deyo proposedrunning a tube of fluid up a tree’s trunk and putting the dispenser at the top—in other words, replacing the star with a star-shaped sprayer.
“The part containing the extinguishing fluid is of ornamental design but fragile to be opened for spreading the fluid over thetree,” he wrote, “the opening of the container being effected automatically when a predetermined temperature, resulting from a flame, has been effected.”
More recent attempts have replaced the fluid with fire-retardant agent (as inJames Hopkins’s 2008 filing) and concealed the nozzles inside the tree. William Dyson III—who filed a patent on a “Christmas Tree Fire Extinguishing and Alert System” this decade—hid nozzles up and down the inside of the tree:
Many recent patents also include a loud alarm to alert people inside the house to the fact their tree has been triggered. So far, no internal Tannenbaum fire prevention method seems to have caught on. But despite the ubiquity of electric lights, tree fires remain a big problem.Between 2007 and 2011, according to the National Fire Protection Association,American fire departments responded to more than 1,000 home fires that began with a dry, blazing Christmas tree.
ReadA Christmas Tree That Puts Out Its Own Fireson theatlantic.com
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1,419,394,140 | 2014-12-24 04:09:00+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [661, 806, 1133, 1326, 1970, 2271, 2411, 2827, 3430, 3544, 3673], "BTC": [1588]} | {"Bitcoin": [9]} | ZeusHash Bitcoin Cloudmining Announces Christmas And New Year Giveaways And Upcoming eCommerce And Payment Platforms | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/zeushash-bitcoin-cloudmining-announces-christmas-040900222.html | ACCESSWIRE | https://www.accesswire.com/ | Cloudmining platform ZeusHash is pleased to announce upcoming eCommerce platform Crazy Wednesday, payment service ZPAY and giveaways for 50 000 current and new customers to celebrate Christmas and the New Year
Hong Kong, China / ACCESSWIRE / December 23, 2014 /ZeusHash was launched on October 3rd 2014. In only 2 months,ZeusHash has successfully signed up over 50,000 users from 190 countries and regions around the world. The number of new customers is growing at a pace of 2,000 every day.
According to Alexa, ZeusHash's official websitehttps://zeushash.com/has ranked up to 10,000+ globally at its peak traffic. ZuesHash has the largest traffic among other Bitcoin and cryptocurrency companies in Asia; following close behind other giants such as Blockchain, Coinbase and Coindesk.
As the world's best Bitcoin and Litecoin cloud mining platform, which provides both SHA-256 and Scrypt cloud hashrates, ZeusHash is working on a comprehensive business plan developing a unique ecosystem. Cloud mining will be the foundation of the ecosystem with more features on the way for its further development and expansion.
While some other Bitcoin cloudmining platforms failed to continue their businesses, ZeusHash has continued to develop its efforts into diversified and quality services; becoming an iconic company in the global Bitcoin and cryptocurrency space.
ZeusHash Ecosystem
1. Cloud Mining - GHS/MHS/TwinHash
Partnering up with well-established brands in the industry including Bitmain, Gridseed, Rockminer and AsicMiner, ZeusHash is able to provide the most affordable and reliable BTC/LTC cloud mining in the world.
2. Crazy Wednesday - E-Commerce Community
Crazy Wednesday has become a heated event and big celebration for all ZeusHash fans. The partnership with Antminer and Rockminer in Crazy Wednesday events has caught great attention and participation.
In the near future, Crazy Wednesday will be developed into an e-commerce platform for businesses in the Bitcoin and cryptocurrency industry and other industries. More features of Crazy Wednesday are under development and will be released soon. Anyone who would like to be a part of this platform can drop an email [email protected] further discussion.
3. ZPAY - Payment & Consumption Platform
ZeusHash Bitcoin payment and consumer platform ZPAY will be launched very soon. ZPAY will offer secure cryptocurrency payment services and integrate Bitcoin businesses for more convenient purchasing of goods or services on the platform.
ZeusHash has been working on the business network of ZPAY so as to provide an integrated payment and consumption platform. The ZPAY site atwww.zpay.iowill be released soon and the current 50,000 ZeusHash users will be among the first users of ZPAY.
Supported by the 3 anchors, ZeusHash will be a more integrated business in the Bitcoin industry and provide more user-friendly and value-added cryptocurrency services.
Seeing the fast development of ZeusHash, several Venture Capitals have contacted ZeusHash to help build out its ecosystem and foster its business expansion. More details will be revealed soon.
ZeusHash Year-End Party:
Since Christmas and New Year is coming, ZeusHash Year-End Party will be unveiled. Promotions and gifts have been prepared for50,000 ZeusHash users and new users as well.
About ZeusMiner and ZeusHash:
Hong Kong based ZeusMiner is one of the largest distributors and retail sellers of Litecoin and Bitcoin ASIC mining hardware worldwide. With datacentres spanning the globe clients worldwide can also cloud mine Bitcoin and Litecoin with ZeusMiner's in-house cloud mining platform ZeusHash.
ZeusHash offers reliable, scalable and affordable Bitcoin and Litecoin industry grade cloud mining infrastructure. Moving forward ZeusHash aims for more industry partnerships, continued scaling of mining infrastructure, and to continue building out their infrastructure with a unique ecosystem in development.
For more information about us, please visithttps://zeushash.com/
Contact Info:
Name: Fei HongEmail:[email protected]: ZeusHash
SOURCE:ZeusHash |
1,419,394,440 | 2014-12-24 04:14:00+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [16, 126, 646, 846, 873, 956, 1004, 1680, 1697, 1882, 1968, 2196, 2220, 2287, 2429, 2863]} | {"Bitcoin": [6]} | Trade Bitcoin For Carats, Diamonds and Diamond Jewelry at iDIAMONDS Established Online Jewelry eCommerce Outlet | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trade-bitcoin-carats-diamonds-diamond-041400302.html | ACCESSWIRE | https://www.accesswire.com/ | More proof that Bitcoin is here to stay: following Microsoft, Dell, and Time Inc, Jewelry eRetailer iDIAMONDS launches pay by Bitcoin option for high quality diamonds and diamond Jewelry with Free FedEx shipping
New York, NY / ACCESSWIRE / December 23, 2014 /After U.S sales hit $1.7 Billion mark in 2013, there is no doubt that buying diamonds with online eRetailers is more than just a way to save a few dollars. However, while ecommerce is finally acknowledged as a key growth engine, the diamond industry as a whole remains old-fashioned when it comes down to keeping up with how consumers shop. While there are dozens of diamond eRetailers, Bitcoin is still considered unknown waters in the world of jewelry.
Understanding the opportunity,established eRetailer iDIAMONDS.com will now allow purchase of all diamonds and diamond jewelry using Bitcoinin partnership with Bitcoin payment gateway BitPay.
According to iDIAMONDS CEO Dan Gildoni, exchanging Bitcoin for diamonds is an excellent choice for Bitcoin investors and here is why:
"First, as the famous quote says: "Diamonds Are Forever." They traditionally increase in value, are a stable product, and are a sought after commodity in their own right." Says iDIAMONDS CEO Dan Gildoni.
Second, iDIAMONDS research found that the main difficulties consumers find with the current diamond retail marketplace is the over-whelming selection and available information. Diamond education alone is covered by over 1,000,000 pages online. To address the consumer problem Dan Gildoni, co-founded iDIAMONDS with one simple goal: make it easier to purchase diamonds and diamond jewelry. In line with this mission, he decided to accept Bitcoin.
In 2014 Bitcoin adoption worldwide has been increasing exponentially; with Microsoft, Greenpeace, Newegg, Overstock, Dell, Wikipedia. Mozilla and many more household names accepting payment in Bitcoin along with tens of thousands of other businesses across the globe.
Currently, Bitcoin owners are forced to rely on online exchanges and ATM machines available only at limited individual locations. The traditional brick and mortar stores, the names that consumers know, are again slow to adopt.
By offering Bitcoin enthusiasts and Bitcoin investors a stable and trusted commodity to exchange their Bitcoin into, iDIAMONDS aspires to further push the eCommerce revolution. For men who are looking forthe perfect gift for their spouses using Bitcoin, iDIAMONDS is the place to go.
About iDIAMONDS
Established in 2013 and with corporate office in New York City's World Diamond Tower, iDIAMONDS eCommerce business model allows the company to cut costs and focus solely on providing the best quality and service, while keeping prices drastically lower than those found in retail stores.
Quick to adopt emerging trends in eCommerce and technology,iDIAMONDS is proud to now accept Bitcoin as a payment method for all carats, diamonds and diamond Jewelry with Free FedEx shipping.
For more information about us, please visithttp://www.idiamonds.com/?utm_source=prbuzz&utm_medium=pr&utm_term=bitcoin&utm_campaign=bitcoinpr
Contact Info:
Name: Dan GildoniEmail:[email protected]: iDIAMONDSAddress: 580 Fifth Avenue, Suite #425 New York, NY 10036Phone: 1 800 501 3312
SOURCE:iDIAMONDS |
1,444,336,342 | 2015-10-08 20:32:22+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [0]} | {"Bitcoin": [0]} | Bitcoin exchange Gemini safe and legal: Founders | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-exchange-gemini-safe-legal-203222823.html | CNBC | http://www.cnbc.com/ | Bitcoin is often associated with illegal activity and the dark corners of the Internet. But the Winklevoss twins believe their new exchange will help investors get involved with the digital currency safely and legally.
Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, famous for their legal spat with Facebook(NASDAQ: FB)founder Mark Zuckerberg, launched bitcoin exchange Gemini on Thursday. While the currency has received criticism for its role in exchanges such as online black market Silk Road, the brothers contend they have established sufficient safeguards to unlock its potential.
"We built with a security mentality from Day One," said Tyler Winklevoss.
Cameron Winklevoss added that Gemini has "the highest regulatory policies and capitalization requirements." The brothers said they implemented background checks and protections against money laundering.
Read MoreNY issues license to Winklevoss bitcoin venture
Specifically, they contended that their platform gives hedge funds and market makers a secure platform to dive into the digital currency.
Tyler Winklevoss also touched on Facebook, saying it is a "great company" and Zuckerberg deserves credit for its growth and success.
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1,419,429,600 | 2014-12-24 14:00:00+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [8110]} | {} | Making Rhino Horns Out of Stem Cells | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/making-rhino-horns-stem-cells-140000758.html | The Atlantic | http://www.theatlantic.com/ | This month a northern white rhinoceros by the name of Angalifu died at the San Diego Zoo. Her death follows that of another member of her species in October, a male rhino by the name of Suni.
I met Suni this past summer in Kenya, where biologists transferred him and three other rhinos from a zoo in 2009 in the hopes he would reproduce. From far away, Suni looked like he was chipped out of rock. His shape was part bovine and part dinosaur. Up close, I could see his skin was textured with ruts and cracks, like the surface of parched earth, and his horns were not perfectly cylindrical but rather like a piece of wood that had been chiseled. His temperament was sweet and stubborn; he jostled for hay with two female southern white rhinos, his evolutionary cousins. When he trotted away in defeat, his stumpy legs sent up comic puffs of dust.
Though both Suni and Angalifu likely passed from natural causes, their deaths are a tragedy, bringing the total number of northern white rhinos left in the world to five and virtually ensuring their extinction. Researchers predict southern white rhinos could also go extinct in 23 years, so soon that stopping poaching in that time may not be possible. Instead, bioengineers are now working on making rhino horns from stem cells—a process that could protect the animals, but also give consumers in Asia what they want.
Protecting rhinos in the wild has proved to be exceedingly difficult. Kes Hillman Smith, a zoologist who probably knows more than anybody in the world about northern whites in their habitat, spent 24 years in eastern Congo on a park called Garamba, trying to save the last population from poachers coming over the borders of Sudan, Rwanda, and Uganda. In that war-torn part of the planet, her job was often a literal battle against rebels and paramilitary groups. “They were just exploiting their neighbor, selling ivory and rhino horn to get weapons and continue their wars,” said Smith. When she left in 2005, there were only four rhinos left and none have been seen since 2007.
Across Africa today, rhino populations are undergoing the same decimation that took place in eastern Congo. For the last couple of years, the rate of poaching in South Africa has approached three animals a day, compared with a decade ago when 15 individuals during a year was average. This epidemic is a direct response to the appetite for rhino horn in Asia, particularly Vietnam, where it is used as medicine and a status symbol. Its trade has been illegal since 1977 but despite the ban, and hundreds of millions of dollars spent on protecting animals, market demand has driven the value of rhino horn to historic heights.
Garrett Vygantas, a San Francisco-based biochemist, knows this and believes he has the solution: Give the market what it wants. “We’re going to run out of time to convince people that this is not an active therapeutic,” he said. “I think we should present another option which is a sustainable, cruelty-free, genetically-identical product that can be purchased through the regular channels. ”
For 10 years Vygantas worked in the biotechnology field helping venture capital firms invest in bringing medical research products to market. He also harbors a deep appreciation for wildlife; he flirted with a career as a veterinarian and once spent 10 weeks traveling by truck across Bostwana, Namibia, Zambia, and Mozambique. In 2012, Vygantas had a stroke of insight that brought these two worlds together. “The thought occurred to me if the main reason these rhinos are getting slaughtered is for the harvesting of their horn,” he said, “there certainly is a way to address the supply problem using biosynthetic engineering.”
A year later, Vygantas filed a patent for a process that takes rhino skin cells and bioengineers them into keratinocytes, the cells that produce the protein keratin that make up rhino horn. The science behind this process relies on what are called induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPSCs, taking mature cells and reprogramming them into an immature state that can develop into any cell of the body. The process was first developed by Japanese scientist Shinya Yamanaka, who won the Nobel Prize in Medicine for his achievement.
Until 2011, however, scientists had focused on creating iPSCs from human or mouse cells. That’s when Jeanne Loring, a respected pioneer in the field of regenerative medicine,made iPSCsfrom the first endangered animal, a northern white rhino named Fatu, potentially enabling scientists to create rhino eggs and sperm that could be used in assisted reproduction methods to create entirely new animals. “If we can capture them as pluripotent cells, it’s like we have the rhinos in the freezer,” Loring told me.
Vygantas doesn’t want to create whole rhinos, he just wants to make their horns. His company, Ceratotech, is currently conducting experiments that grow keratinocyte cells onto scaffolds that mimic the anatomical shape of a rhino horn. The resulting product should have all of the same properties as a horn from the wild. Vygantas calls it a “platform technology” that could also be applied across the endangered species spectrum to manufacture elephant ivory, shark fin, or tiger penis. In November, Ceratotech became a semi-finalist for Richard Branson'sExtreme Tech Challenge, and were offered an invitation to Branson’s private resort Necker Island to discuss the technology.
If Vygantas can produce and sell the horn in Asia, he hopes to avoid legal hurdles posed by the Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species. Flooding the market with the product, he believes, will put poachers and the criminal syndicates that hire them, out of business. “There is an artificial price on rhino horn because of constraints on the market,” he said. “If we can supply this product, the laws of economics say that price should come down.”
The public is often presented with geological and biological engineering schemes that scientists say can fix environmental problems, from cloud seeding to combat global warming or de-extinction to correct biodiversity loss. Our eagerness to embrace them can be troublesome. While technological fixes often seem ingenious, they skirt the very problems—poverty, greed, or war—that created climate change or extinction threats in the first place. Vygantas’ scheme, however, began to strike me as admirably cunning: It subverts international law, exploits superstition, and quite possibly makes piles of money, all towards a highly noble end.
Conservation organizations may find it a flawed and cynical strategy. “I think it would likely increase the value of the real thing,” said Ginette Hemley, a senior vice president at the World Wildlife Fund. Having an abundance of fake Rolex watches on the market, she pointed out, doesn’t decrease the value of real Rolexes.
There is research that indicates Vygantas is on to something: Increasing supply rather than decreasing demand may be the only timely response to the current poaching epidemic. In October, the journalConservation Biologypublisheda paperwhose authors analyzed various policy scenarios and their effects on southern white rhino populations. Legalizing trade and selling a quota of rhino horn each year, they reported, could generate net profits of $1 billion a year. If this money was reinvested in anti-poaching efforts, the population could increase by as much as 75 percent in coming years.
Dr. Michael Knight, chairman of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s African Rhino Specialist Group, told me that so long as profits from Vygantas’ enterprise were also given to protection and management of wild rhinos, it is an idea worth pursuing. “I don’t think it is inherently immoral. You are providing a commodity to people that want it and you are generating it in a way that is not having a negative impact on the environment,” he said. “Who are we to judge a commodity that people have been using in Asia for thousands of years?”
ReadMaking Rhino Horns Out of Stem Cellson theatlantic.com
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1,419,437,968 | 2014-12-24 16:19:28+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [958]} | {} | Brean Capital Says Apple Pay Is A 'Work In Progress' | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/brean-capital-says-apple-pay-161928619.html | Benzinga | http://www.benzinga.com/ | Brean Capital issued a technology industry update Wednesday with a focus on Apple Pay and some of the companies accepting theApple Inc.(NASDAQ:AAPL) payment technology.
Analyst Tom Forte “conducted channel checks at more than 10 McDonald’s locations across four states and compared them against our visits to other retailers accepting Apple Pay to gauge the initial performance of the offering.
“Based on our experience, we believe the market for mobile payments remains wide open and that the service would be best described as a work in progress – we are encouraged by the initial list of retailers willing to try it, but their execution was erratic, and customer adoption is very limited.”
Forte noted in the firm’s October 2014 sector launch that the “most successful retailers will offer consumers the opportunity to pay for merchandise and services with their preferred currency and technology, not only with their debit and credit cards but also with Bitcoins and smartphones, as well as wearable connected devices (such as Google Glass and the Apple Watch). Our experience with Apple Pay is a reminder that the transition from the retail of today to the retail of the future may take a long time – years and not quarters.”
Forte believedEVINE Live Inc(NASDAQ:EVLV),HSN, Inc.(NASDAQ:HSNI) andNordstrom, Inc.(NYSE:JWN) “are best positioned for today’s payment environment as they all offer consumers not only the ability to pay with debit or credit cards but also branded credits to drive customer loyalty.” The firm did not see ApplePay having any impact on sales forGroupon, Inc.(NASDAQ:GRPN) at this time.
The firm maintained Buy ratings on Evine Live with an $8 price target and Groupon with an $11 price target. HSN was also rated a Buy and the firm raised its price target from $74 to $80. Nordstrom was rated Hold.
Shares of all the above companies fell Wednesday expect for HSN, which recently traded at 76.40, up 0.90 percent.
Latest Ratings for AAPL
[{"Dec 2014": "Dec 2014", "Citigroup": "JMP Securities", "Maintains": "Maintains", "": "", "Buy": "Market Outperform"}, {"Dec 2014": "Dec 2014", "Citigroup": "Canaccord Genuity", "Maintains": "Maintains", "": "", "Buy": "Buy"}]
View More Analyst Ratings for AAPLView the Latest Analyst Ratings
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© 2014 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. |
1,388,926,800 | 2014-01-05 13:00:00+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [120, 197, 319, 339, 455, 616, 938, 997, 1095, 1259, 1404, 1458, 1529, 1598, 2002, 2157, 2525, 2563, 2585, 2673, 2875]} | {} | Roger Ver, Erik Voorhees and Vitalik Buterin Join KryptoKit in Ownership Roles | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/roger-ver-erik-voorhees-vitalik-130000864.html | Marketwired | http://www.marketwired.com/ | TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - Jan 5, 2014) - KryptoKit (http://www.kryptokit.com/), the easiest and fastest way to handle Bitcoin transactions, today announced that three of the biggest names in the Bitcoin space have joined the startup in ownership roles. They are Roger Ver, Erik Voorhees and Vitalik Buterin.
Known in Bitcoin circles as "Bitcoin Jesus" for his active efforts in evangelizing and promoting the digital currency (including placing ads for Bitcoin on highway billboards and handing out bitcoins for free), Ver is CEO of MemoryDealers.com and a serial seed investor, having helped such startups as the Bitcoin Store, BitInstant and Blockchain.info.
Voorhees is co-founder of Coinapult, a company which currently specializes in allowing users to send bitcoins via SMS and email, but will soon considerably expand its range of offerings. He has worked as marketing director at BitInstant and is a co-founder of FeedZeBirds, a Bitcoin-based Twitter advertising platform, and Paysius, a Bitcoin payment module.
"We at KryptoKit are thrilled to welcome these important figures from the Bitcoin world onboard to form our amazing team," said Anthony Di Iorio, the company's co-founder along with Steve Dakh. "Roger and Erik are probably two of the top Bitcoin spokespeople in the world and will be working with us on business strategy and other areas."
Buterin is the cofounder and head writer at Bitcoin Magazine, and is also involved in a number of Bitcoin software projects including pybitcointools, multisig.info, the Bitcoin private key secret sharing utility btckeysplit and a fork of BitcoinJS. He is also a heavy supporter of "cryptocurrency 2.0" applications such as user-issued currencies, on-blockchain identity systems and decentralized exchange, and is now actively working on developing an upcoming next-generation cryptographic consensus network known as Ethereum.
"Vitalik rounds out what is becoming a very diverse and capable team," said Dakh. "As one of the top developers in Bitcoin, he will be a huge asset as we continue to develop and perfect our backend and programming."
KryptoKit recently unveiled its plug-in at the Inside Bitcoins West conference, Dec. 10 to 11, in Las Vegas, Nevada. It currently has a five-star rating in the Chrome Web Store.
For more information, please visithttp://www.kryptokit.com/.
About KryptoKitKryptoKit is a Toronto-based company specializing in encryption and digital currencies. One of the company's founders, Anthony Di Iorio, is also the founder of Toronto Bitcoin Meetup (http://www.meetup.com/Bitcoin-Toronto/) and Bitcoin Decentral (http://www.bitcoindecentral.ca) and is the Executive Director of the Bitcoin Alliance of Canada (http://www.bitcoinalliance.ca/), a non-profit dedicated to raising the awareness of bitcoins among Canadian consumers, merchants and policy makers to promote the adoption of Bitcoin and other virtual currencies. |
1,388,937,600 | 2014-01-05 16:00:00+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [86, 814, 892, 975, 1042, 1070, 1159, 1214, 1299, 1413, 1486, 1627], "BTC": [1181]} | {"Bitcoin": [92]} | Fifth Annual Startup Debut at CES(R) Presents Startup Innovation in Mobile, 3D, Gadgets and Bitcoin Companies | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/fifth-annual-startup-debut-ces-160000834.html | Marketwired | http://www.marketwired.com/ | LAS VEGAS, NV--(Marketwired - Jan 5, 2014) -
WHAT:Half a dozen of the world's leading Bitcoin startups join top 3D, mobile and gadget companies to present and demo new products prior to the opening of the CES showfloor.
WHEN:Sunday, January 5, from 7 to 10 p.m.
WHERE:Cili Restaurant, Bali Hai Golf Course and Country Club, 5160 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas, NV 89119. Buses will shuttle media from CES activities taking place at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center (Shark Reef Aquarium entrance parking lot) to Cili beginning at 6:30 pm and will continue shuttles every fifteen minutes through 10:30 pm.
ABOUT:Great food, premium wine and beer, and the elegant golf course setting of Cili set the perfect backdrop to peruse cutting-edge technologies at a leisurely pace. Among the companies presenting will be:
A Bitcoin new products pavilion: (Friday was the fifth anniversary of the first Bitcoin).
• BitAngels(Las Vegas and Austin). Largest angel network of investors in Bitcoin technologies; representatives will be available to discuss Bitcoin investing trends.
• BitcoinShop(Washington, DC). Largest online retailer offering merchandise exclusively in Bitcoins.
• Duty Free BTC(High Point, NC) - E-commerce Bitcoin store for duty free products.
• Kncminer(Stockholm, Sweden). World's leading Bitcoin mining hardware provider, with more than $60 million in sales in past nine months and the world's fastest Bitcoin miner, the 3 Th/s Neptune.
• Kryptokit(Toronto, ON) - An instant Bitcoin wallet and secure instant messaging system that runs right in the browser.
• Lamassu(Manchester, NH) - The smallest, least expensive Bitcoin ATM on the market, which recently shipped its 100thunit.
Traditional consumer electronics products, apps and online services being showcased include:
• Body Bench(Los Angeles). Multi-purpose fitness product launching its Kickstarter at this event.
• Card.Com (Santa Monica, CA).Innovative, branded affinity Visa debit cards.
• Concepter(Donetsk, Ukraine). Fresh from its successful Kickstarter (raising $100,000 more than its goal), Concepter will debut the first prototype for its new LED flash for smartphones and tablets, iBlazr.
• Flm.tv (Austin, TX). A new social pay-per-view site for indie films.
• iBlueOpen(Budapest, Hungary). Bluetooth-enabled, wireless locks and security systems for home and business.
• Lease by Auction(Portland, OR). Innovative new site brings "name your own price" model to real estate leasing.
• Liquipel(Santa Ana, CA). The smash hit of the past two Startup Debuts, Liquipel and its watersafe coatings for mobile devices will introduce more new innovations.
• Storytime Studios(Boston, MA). Makers of the innovative Skit! App for iPhone, iPad and other mobile platforms.
• Sverve(New York, NY). Social media marketing platform for connecting brands and influencers.
• Leonar3do(Budapest, Hungary) - A technology that transforms the 2D flat dimension of desktop computers and other devices into a real 3D work environment and promises real interaction with the computer and with any 3D objects.
• TradeYa (Venice, CA). Social platform for bartering online.
• Walls360 (Las Vegas, NV). Innovative publisher of on-demand wall graphics for designers and brands.
• Wideband Antennas (Temecula, CA). Wideband will announce and debut an exciting new wireless consumer electronics device at Startup Debut.
CONTACT:Interested media should RSVP [email protected] call Martin Stein at702-285-2873. On-site registration for full-time working media (no consultants, advertising personnel or occasional bloggers, please) with CES accreditation will also be available at the event.
Disclaimer: "Consumer Electronics Show," "CES," "CES®" and "International CES®" are registered trademarks of the Consumer Electronics Association. Startup Debut at CES 2014 is not affiliated with or endorsed by CES or the Consumer Electronics Association. |
1,419,560,675 | 2014-12-26 02:24:35+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [1716]} | {} | Who is the richest man in the world? | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/who-is-the-richest-man-in-the-world-171802118.html | Yahoo Finance | http://finance.yahoo.com/ | Yahoo Finance is answering the Internet’smost-asked finance questions of 2014, according to Yahoo Search. The seventh most-searched question was, “Who is the richest man in the world?”
Considering we’re writing this during the holidays and are obviously lovers of film, we’re going to go with George Bailey, of Bedford Falls. OK, we’re sort of kidding. But there’s a problem calculating “richest.” What exactly are you judging buy? Spiritual wealth? Power? If we’re talking about power – Vladimir Putin is probably the richest man in the world. He controls Russia’s army, a vast supply of natural resources and has almost single handedly rattled the economy of Europe.
If you want to talk straight up assets, though, which is what most of you probably do, you're really talking about three people. Microsoft (MSFT) founder Bill Gates – who is currently at the top of the list, along with the “Oracle of Omaha” Warren Buffett who runs Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B), and Mexican telecom giant Carlos Slim.
[Get the Latest Market Data and News with the Yahoo Finance App]
Who's on top can change by the year or even the day depending on how their holdings are doing and how the list is calculated. (The way charitable giving is tallied can cause big variants in these types of lists.) But essentially, you can bet that the richest man in the world by assets at any given time is one of these three. Plus, when you're talking about net worth's topping $60 billion, which is where these guys are all hanging out, really, what's a rotating couple of billion mean?
So we’re sticking with our original answer of George Bailey.
More of your top finance questions answered:
Number 9:Is social security taxable?
Number 10:What is Bitcoin and how does it work? |
1,444,432,080 | 2015-10-09 23:08:00+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [208, 881, 1334, 2588, 2650, 3465]} | {"Bitcoin": [21]} | Identabit Challenges Bitcoin and BitShares | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/identabit-challenges-bitcoin-bitshares-230800847.html | ACCESSWIRE | https://www.accesswire.com/ | SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA / ACCESSWIRE / October 9, 2015 /Australian startup Thinking Active, led by New York software entrepreneur John Underwood, today revealed plans forIDentabit, an identity-based alternative to Bitcoin. Designed to liberate decentralized currencies, IDentabit enables regulatory acceptance and viral adoption by way of user association.
IDentabit has been a year in the making, made possible by a collaboration between Thinking Active and Virginia-based U.S. software partnerCryptonomex, Inc., led by Dan Larimer, principal architect of the Blockchain 2.0 project,BitShares.
BitShares was the first chain to introduce DACs (Decentralized Autonomous Corporations), smart contracts, a decentralized exchange, and DPoS (Delegated Proof of Stake), a highly efficient, rapid, and scalable means of block confirmations.
"With the increased regulatory attention directed at Bitcoin, brought on by the stream of crime empowered by anonymity, we concluded that there was a need for a chain that enabled AML/CTF compliance, enhanced funds security, denial of crimes empowered by anonymity, and ensured security of transfer by way of user association," Underwood explained. "We realize that this is the beginning of a long journey, but believe the time is right to recognize the might and purpose of compliance."
"While we respect Bitcoin and the purpose of anonymity, we see benefits in offering the market a choice between anonymity and identity, a choice that enables growth across a broader range of use cases," Underwood said.
IDentabit is best described as a permission-based ledger that enables proof of reserve without subjecting transactions to public scrutiny. IDentabit addresses P2P/AML/CTF compliance, Privacy (zero public scrutiny), user issued funds transfer, and decentralized transparent governance. It also introduces sustainable funding by way of Proof of Appreciation, enabling progressive issuance that only occurs in conjunction with favorable market conditions.
While the concept of identified transactions is simple to appreciate, actually implementing identity by way of a decentralized blockchain is not a trivial problem. "We could not have found this solution without the combined perseverance of our respective teams," Underwood said.
Of equal importance to compliance is scale: using DPoS the team was able to benchmark transaction capacity that exceeds four times that of Mastercard's claimed 24,000 TPS. Underwood pointed out, "As disruptors, we need scale if we are going to replace existing payment networks with P2P transactions. While we understand Bitcoin can get beyond 7 TPS, none of us has time to wait for Bitcoin's organic crawl to address issues of speed and compliance."
The timing of IDentabit's release has been motivated by growing interest in blockchain technology by institutions collaborating with IBM and Ethereum. These teams are intent on building institutionalized identity-based alternatives.
Ironically to buy time, these projects depend on the crypto-community's loyalty to anonymity. This loyalty has led to widespread acceptance of an assumption that for decentralized currencies to be disruptive, digital currencies must put ideology before security and compliance. This blind assumption has, until now, blocked the innovation required to compete with emerging institutional alternatives.
"We believe that if we don't act now to protect decentralized currencies with an identity-ensured alternative to Bitcoin, we are handing the keys of change to the very organizations we sought to disrupt in the first place," Underwood said.
Contact Thinking Active:
John [email protected] Active 44 Market St , Level 6 Sydney NSW 2000 Australia
SOURCE:Thinking Active |
1,419,624,668 | 2014-12-26 20:11:08+00:00 | {"BTC": [624]} | {} | Technology in 2014: Part 3: IPOs Galore (And Many Are Chinese) - Analyst Blog | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/technology-2014-part-3-ipos-201108089.html | Zacks | http://www.zacks.com/ | This past year has been a solid one for initial public offerings and the total amount raised topped 2013 levels by 49%. Of the $204.8 billion raised in 2014, U.S. markets accounted for 39% with the Alibaba (BABA) IPO being the biggest. Finance, technology and pharma/biotech were the major areas attracting investment.
Alibaba
Alibaba was the biggest IPO in U.S. history, raising $21.8 billion and turning its major shareholders into multi-billionaires overnight. Share prices continued to rise thereafter and stabilized only after the company reported earnings.
Alibaba is the largest online marketplace in China with both BTC (T-mall) and CTC (Taobao) platforms. It also offers a range of payment services that the majority of Chinese customers are accustomed to using. China has the world’s largest population and also one of the fastest-growing Internet populations in the world. The online retail sector in China is booming and offers good growth prospects for investors. Since Alibaba generates huge volumes and is also not a direct retailer, it has solid margins. It generated revenue of $2.74 billion in the last-reported quarter (a 54% jump year over year), but increased investment in mobile, marketing and other new ventures led to a bottom-line miss.
The company has since refinanced $8 billion it owed banks with 10 and 20-year notes at favorable interest rates. This is the highest amount raised in recent history signifying that confidence in this Chinese company’s prospects remains high. Share prices in fact appreciated further following the announcement.
JD.com
Unlike Alibaba, JD (JD) is primarily a Chinese online retailer with a business model similar to Amazon’s (AMZN). And like the online retailer, it generates very low margins, accumulating a loss in its last-reported fiscal year. But the $1.8 billion it raised through the IPO and another $1.3 billion it raised through a private placement of 138 million shares to Tencent should enable it to invest in revenue growth, which has been impressive (68% in 2013 following the 96% growth in 2012). Volumes are the only way online retailers can make profit because investment in technology, merchandise/content and fulfillment results in very high costs.
Weibo
Born of Chinese online media company, Sina Corp, Weibo is a micro-blogging service similar to Twitter but seeing increasing competition from WeChat (which is somewhat similar to Facebook’s (FB) WhatsApp). Weibo generates most of its revenue through advertising and has entered into an agreement with Alibaba to closely link these ads to sales on Alibaba’s web properties. In fact, its ties with Alibaba proved crucial to raising funds from investors who viewed the company largely as a risky bet. As a result, the IPO didn’t quite meet the company’s expectations, and it was able to sell just 16.8 million of the planned 20 million to raise around $285 million in the U.S.
Alibaba-Backed Momo Raised $216 Million
Mobileye
Israeli specialized software maker Mobileye N.V. (MBLY) raised $890 million in its IPO and shares soared in the initial trading session. The company’s specialty is safety-related software for automobiles, which are installed on more than 3 million cars, including those made by Tesla and Honda. Its technology involves a combination of cameras and software algorithms that together detect other vehicles, pedestrians, lane markers and the like to avoid collision. The company turned profitable in 2013 and intends to use some of the IPO proceeds to purchase inventory.
A number of U.S. companies also floated IPOs-
King Digital
Candy Crush maker King Digital (KING) launched its IPO in March to raise around $500 million amid growing concerns about whether it would be able to diversify its revenue sources. As a result, the initial trading session saw shares plunging more than 15%. But the social gaming company proved investors wrong with a successful sequel called Candy Crush Soda Saga (Google Play ranks it as top free app, App Annie says it was the second most downloaded game in its Nov 25 report). While its other games have been less successful, there is a notable growth in related bookings, indicating that the company’s efforts to diversify its revenue source are proving successful. The current challenge is related to user growth, so that is the thing to watch right now.
GrubHub
The online food ordering company that resulted from the merger of Chicago-based Grubhub and New York-based Seamless raised around $200 million through its IPO in March this year. Shares surged following the offering, but dropped back to more reasonable levels since. The company has significant penetration at diners (more than 4 million users) and is tied with a huge network of restaurants (over 30,000) and both these numbers continue to grow. Technology companies targeting dining/restaurants have caught investor attention in recent times with the segment attracting venture capital to the tune of $2.8 billion in 2013, according to media reports. And this year saw restaurant booking service OpenTable being snapped up by online travel booking company Priceline.com and Amazon entering the takeout and delivery business.
But competition aside, GrubHub (GRUB) is also embroiled in a legal tussle with Ameranth, which claims that the company, along with others like OpenTable, Papa John’s, Domino’s, Starbucks, Ticketmaster and Fandango are in violation of some of its patents. Amaranth has had both wins and losses in the past, so this could lead to ongoing battled in court or a licensing of its technology, both of which will be a cash drain for the company. The patent office has confirmed that Ameranth’s patents hold good.
GoPro
GoPro (GPRO), with a mission to help users “capture, manage and share quality content”, raised $427 million from its IPO. The wearable camera maker’s revenue nearly doubled in 2013, as a growing number of consumers started using its devices to record loads of videos. The company currently generates most of its revenue from the devices but also has a content sharing app for Xbox Live. Sharing its content on popular platforms like YouTube for a share of ad revenue seems like a good path to future growth and an option that doesn’t look too difficult for the company. GoPro shares have been on a tear and investors remain excited about its prospects to date.
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E-commerce companies in the U.S. fetch an average of 2.5 times last year’s sales, while Internet services companies trade at over 6 times, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportGOPRO INC-A (GPRO): Free Stock Analysis ReportAMAZON.COM INC (AMZN): Free Stock Analysis ReportFACEBOOK INC-A (FB): Free Stock Analysis ReportGRUBHUB INC (GRUB): Free Stock Analysis ReportJD.COM INC-ADR (JD): Free Stock Analysis ReportKING DIGITL ENT (KING): Free Stock Analysis ReportALIBABA GROUP (BABA): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research |
1,389,035,280 | 2014-01-06 19:08:00+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [280, 449, 582, 659, 1117, 1167, 1238]} | {"Bitcoin": [12]} | BYRON WIEN: Bitcoin Will Collapse In 2014 | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/byron-wien-bitcoin-collapse-2014-190849698.html | Business Insider | http://www.businessinsider.com/ | REUTERS/Sebastien Nogier
Byron Wien, Vice Chairman of Blackstone Advisory Services, attends the GAIM International (Global Alternative Investment Management) hedge fund conference in Monaco, June 15, 2010.
Blackstone Group vice chairman Byron Wien does not have a lot of faith in Bitcoin.
Included on hislist of annual "surprise" predictionsis the possibility that acceptance of the digital currency collapses this year.
"In 2½ years the price of a Bitcoin has increased from $25 to $975," says Wien. "The supply of bitcoins is fixed at 21 million with 11.5 million in circulation. Bitcoins lack gold’s position as a store of value over time. During the year Bitcoin’s acceptance collapses as investors realize that it cannot be used as collateral in financial transactions and its principal utility is for illegal business dealings where anonymity is important."
Wien's 2013 predictionsdid not pan out so well, but perhaps he will have more luck this year.
Clickherefor a list of all of Wien's 2014 predictions.
More From Business Insider
• A Wall Street Analyst Has Identified The Winners And Losers In The Rise Of Bitcoin
• This Texas Congressman Is Now Accepting Bitcoins For His Senate Run
• Fortress Investment Group Is Launching A Bitcoin Fund |
1,389,048,300 | 2014-01-06 22:45:00+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [39, 124, 520, 570, 766, 1292, 1336, 1628, 1704, 1921, 2054, 2290, 2545, 2567, 2656, 2895, 3139, 3244, 3500, 3684, 3729, 3767, 3935]} | {"Bitcoin": [5]} | This Bitcoin Wallet Service Just Added 3 Major Players to its Roster | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-wallet-just-added-3-224500942.html | Entrepreneur | http://www.entrepreneur.com/ | A startup that claims to have built theBitcoinworld's version of the proverbialbetter mousetraphas added three high-profile Bitcoin entrepreneurs to its team, seeking their help with business strategy, programming and other aspects of the business.
Toronto-based KryptoKit announced Sunday that Erik Voorhees, Roger Ver and Vitalik Buterin are joining the company in ownership roles, though it declined to specify their equity shares. All three are prominent in digital currency circles. Buterin, for example, co-foundedBitcoin Magazine, and is also involved in various Bitcoin software projects.
"Vitalik rounds out what is becoming a very diverse and capable team," Steve Dakh, one of KryptoKit's co-founders, said in a statement. "As one of the top developers in Bitcoin, he will be a huge asset as we continue to develop and perfect our backend and programming."
Ver and Voorhees will serve as advisors on business strategy and communications. Although Voorhees expects his time commitment to be limited, he says he wanted to get involved after KryptoKit co-founder Anthony Di Iorio showed him a prototype of the wallet service several weeks ago. "He's an amazing programmer who built this thing really quickly, just one of those genius guys," he says of Di Iorio.
Voorhees is a bonafide Bitcoin millionaire. Last July, he sold his Bitcoin gambling site, SatoshiDice, for 126,315 bitcoins, a sum then worth $12.4 million and worth some $115.8 million on Coinbase, or $129.2 million on Mt. Gox, as of 2 p.m. EST on Monday. Buterinwrote the storyfor his magazine.
Related:India's No. 1 Exchange: Shutdown 'In No Way' Reflects Bitcoin's True Potential
KryptoKit debuted its wallet service at the Inside Bitcoins conference in Las Vegas last month. The wallet is a plug-in for Google Chrome which, once installed, runs constantly. There is no need to log in or out. One of KryptoKit's unique features is that it captures Bitcoin addresses on a web page and makes them available in the plug-in as payment destinations. That way, buying things online with Bitcoin is as simple as pointing and clicking.
This feature is especially convenient when making several small transactions, Voorhees says. In a stroke of good timing, gaming company Zyngaannouncedon Saturday that it is now testing out Bitcoin as a payment option for virtual-good purchases in its "Ville" games -- FarmVille and FarmVille 2, CityVille, CastleVille and others. Zynga, with a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, is now the first major gaming company to accept payments in Bitcoin.
The price of Bitcoin spiked on the news, reaching $917 on Coinbase by midday Monday EST.
Because many Bitcoin users are concerned with security and privacy, KryptoKit also offers an encrypted chat function and backup service for each user's private key. That way, if you lose your computer, you haven't lost your money.
KryptoKit helps move Bitcoin "out of the difficult-to-use camp and makes it better for normal people," Voorhees says.
KryptoKit's new hires not only represent a vote of confidence in the startup's growth potential but also reflect the cameraderie that exists among Bitcoin pioneers. For instance, Buterin is also involved in what would seem to be a competing in-browser Bitcoin wallet, Dark Wallet, which is being developed by Cody Wilson of Defense Distributed, among others.
But Voorhees, who moved to Panama and launched his startup Coinapult after working as the director of marketing for BitInstant in New York, says the Bitcoin ecosystem makes cooperation more attractive than competition.
"It's the first decentralized, open-source company or open-source organization," he says. "There's no one leading Bitcoin, but it ties us all together, and as Bitcoin benefits, we all do."
Related:Bitcoin ATMs Are Spreading Across the World
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1,389,048,829 | 2014-01-06 22:53:49+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [41, 1020, 1476, 1578, 1731, 2375, 2413, 2536, 2785, 3091, 3345, 3712, 3974, 4119, 4242, 4396, 4640, 4979, 5032], "BTC": [309, 3192, 3847]} | {"Bitcoin": [34]} | Okay, Seriously: What The Heck Is Bitcoin, And Why Do So Many People Prefer It To Dollars And Cents? | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/what-is-bitcoin-and-why-do-so-many-people-prefer-it-to-72481405559.html | Yahoo Tech | https://www.yahoo.com/tech/ | LAS VEGAS—It’s easy, oh so easy, to hate Bitcoin. Some of the virtual currency’s more public uses have been to buy drugs or procure hit men . The Winklevoss twins, having graduated from claiming to have invented Facebook, love the virtual currency so much that as of November they bought up 1 percent of all “BTC” in circulation . It’s spawned a host of other made-up currencies, some a lot loopier (“ Dogecoin ” and “Coinye West,” anyone?) than others. And yet: Paying for goods and services is not one of those practices that we humans can claim to have perfected. And it’s not as if we’ve never trafficked in alternative currencies before. Microsoft Points and Facebook Credits didn’t take off, but Amazon gift cards function as an alternative currency , albeit with a fixed 1:1 exchange rate with dollars. Frequent-flyer miles—redeemable not just for air travel but a variety of gifts — represent yet another way besides dollars through which you can pay and be paid . So set aside the libertarian utopianism around Bitcoin. Why is this “crypto currency”—“mined” by solving complex equations on increasingly specialized computers, with transactions confirmed through peer-to-peer math—good for you, the customer? And why should you be wary? More efficient transactions—with a catch. Your credit card may look free to you, but merchants pay a small fee to accept it , historically around 2 to 4 percent, that invisibly pads out your bill. That’s much less of a factor with Bitcoin transactions: One small retailer I talked to at an event last night (Silver Spring, Md.-based BitcoinShop.US ) pays a $30/month flat fee to have BitPay process those purchases. Why? There’s no short-term interest-fee loan involved. On this level, Bitcoins operate like cash—the money goes directly from you to the merchant. That, in turn, means that the transaction doesn’t come with a credit card’s traditional guarantees of security. You can ask nicely for your money back, but by default there’s no third party to step in on your behalf and reverse the transaction. Story continues Credit-card payments have changed a lot in recent years, however—think of how phone- and tablet-based card readers like Square’s have broadened the outdoors utility of plastic. Traditional processing services are getting a lot more competition, which could steadily narrow the gap between credit cards and Bitcoin. And the inexperience of some Bitcoin processors can inflict different costs. At the tech-policy site Techdirt.com, founder Mike Masnick elected to take Bitcoin as payment starting in November , using Bitpay to handle those transactions. “Bitpay’s customer service was dreadful,” he wrote, citing issues getting transactions over $100 to go through. An easier way to send money across borders. Because Bitcoin isn’t run by a central bank, it can cross international boundaries much more easily and quickly . That’s an easy thing to overlook in the U.S., where you could bring suitcases full of cash through customs as long as you fill out a form for sums over $10,000. Central banks aren’t the only obstacle Bitcoin can route around. WordPress.com ( disclosure : my own blog host) began accepting payments in BTC in late 2012 because of all the countries where traditional processing services won’t take locals’ money. But if you want to finish an international Bitcoin transaction by converting those funds back to your own country’s currency, you can hit some usual and unusual roadblocks. It may take longer to complete that triangular transaction than traditional foreign-exchange methods would require. And the very governments that don’t appreciate their citizens moving money out of the country can clamp down on domestic Bitcoin transactions. In December, the Chinese government took that route, forcing major domestic payment processors to stop accepting BTC —which then caused the currency to tumble in value worldwide. A dicey investment. There’s the rub: If you can’t conclude a Bitcoin transaction by moving the proceeds to your own, dollar-denominated bank account, it’s not like forgetting to withdraw money from PayPal. Bitcoin’s exchange rate has soared and swooned to a vomit-inducing degree . For people who timed things right, that’s made Bitcoin a great investment. But in a functioning market, currencies shouldn’t look like investments. Their value is supposed to be boring. “I don’t think Bitcoin is a good store of value, at least not yet,” wrote Jerry Brito, senior research fellow at George Mason University’s Mercatus Center in Arlington, Va.— and one of the more bullish people about the currency. “What will get us there is if Bitcoin delivers on its promise as If it does, it doesn’t matter that many today are speculating that it will. Once it does deliver on the promise, the market won’t see any more huge upside and the price will be what it will be.” I now have a tiny personal stake in that. Over the span of all of three minutes Sunday night, I downloaded a Bitcoin wallet app to my phone, put a $5 bill into a Bitcoin ATM set up at an exhibit here, held the phone up to the ATM so it could scan the QR code generated by the app—and moments later, saw the app report my receipt of the funds. Maybe I just gambled $5 away. If so, it wouldn’t be the first time that’s happened here. |
1,444,647,600 | 2015-10-12 11:00:00+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [154, 317, 425, 1034, 1287, 1422, 1604, 1739, 1826, 1972, 2326, 2481, 3093, 3535, 3635, 3715, 3929, 4039, 4070, 4212, 5230, 5523, 5590]} | {} | MarilynJean Interactive (OTCQB: MJMI) Sets Its Sights on $24B Philippines Remittance Market | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/marilynjean-interactive-otcqb-mjmi-sets-110000661.html | ACCESSWIRE | https://www.accesswire.com/ | HENDERSON, NV / ACCESSWIRE / October 12, 2015 /MarilynJean Interactive (MJMI) today announced it has entered into advanced discussions with a provider of Bitcoin-based remittance services.
The potential remittance partner is a fully licensed money services business on the cutting edge of the remittance space, using Bitcoin to effect low cost transfers, primarily to the Philippines. With a well-established brand, multiple Bitcoin ATMs, solid financial partnerships in the Philippines, MJMI's management is excited about the potential synergies that could result from this relationship.
In 2014, according to Focus Economics, remittances to the Philippines hit a record high, exceeding USD 24 Billion, accounting for roughly 8.5% of that country's GDP. Those funds came primarily from overseas workers sending funds home to their families. Traditional remittance companies charge upwards of 8% fees on the total funds being sent, in addition to less than favorable exchange rates and taking up to 3 days to clear for pick up. Using Bitcoin, transfers can be effected in virtually real time at a fraction of the cost to the user. Funds can be sent directly to the recipient's bank account or made available for pick up at a partner location or even via a card-less ATM withdrawal.
In a Bitcoin based remittance transaction, an overseas worker would deliver funds to a remittance provider. This service provider would buy Bitcoin on behalf of the customer and then transfer the coins, paying less than 1% to do so, to the selling partner in the recipient country. The selling partner would then sell the Bitcoins and then transfer the funds to the final recipient. Because there is a price difference between the buying and selling of the Bitcoins, it is possible for the two transfer partners to profit sufficiently from the Bitcoin trade to offer the transfer service for a significantly lower fee than any traditional currency (known as FIAT) based remittance service.
Bitcoin therefore offers the potential to completely alter the landscape of worldwide money transfers.
The two companies share a vision on the massive opportunities in this space as well as on the future direction of expansion, namely servicing the remittance markets in Mexico and India. In addition, both companies agree that acquiring and operating a Bitcoin exchange would allow the partners to offer a seamless, end to end solution to customers. More sophisticated clients could eventually use their own Bitcoin wallets to move money through a jointly designed system, allowing them to effect transactions from their mobile phone through a licensed and trustworthy remittance system.
Peter Janosi, MJMI's president said: "We are very excited to be in advanced discussions with this potential remittance partner. They are at the forefront what we expect will be a massive shift in the way global remittances are effected. Their team shares our view that remittance fees are exorbitantly high and that current providers profit excessively by offering poor, often hidden, exchange rates. We believe that, in this area, Bitcoin has tremendous promise to disrupt a system that unfairly charges high rates to hard working people who have left their families to work overseas in hopes of providing them with a better life. We believe the growth potential in this sector is massive and that we are on the right track in terms of identifying the right partners who share our vision."
MJMI is in the business of providing safe and accessible services for the users of Bitcoin and other crypto-currencies.
MJMI is currently exploring partnerships with several existing Bitcoin and crypto-currency exchanges as well as manufacturers and operators of Bitcoin ATMs. Such a combination would place the company in an exciting position to offer an end to end solution for trading in various crypto-currencies and potentially capture a share of the lucrative markets of Bitcoin trading and remittance services, just as these markets appear poised to undergo massive growth.
About Bitcoin and Crypto-Currencies:
Bitcoin and other crypto-currencies are a medium of exchange using cryptography to secure transactions and control the creation of new units. Bitcoin became the first decentralized crypto-currency in 2009. Crypto-currency is produced at a rate which is defined when the system is created and publicly known. By contrast, in centralized banking and economic systems, such as the Federal Reserve System, corporate boards or governments control the supply of currency by printing units or demanding additions to digital banking ledgers. However, neither companies nor governments can produce units of crypto-currency and as such the value of crypto-currencies are completely based on supply and demand, free from any governmental control. Many people believe crypto-currencies, and in particular bitcoin, hold the promise of being the most significant advancement in global finance in modern history. The advent of bitcoin creates a secure, easily accessible and transferable transnational currency that is completely liberated from political influence.
Richard Branson, head of the Virgin Group, is quoted on his company's website as saying: "I have invested in Bitcoin because I believe in its potential, the capacity it has to transform global payments is very exciting."
Heavyweight investment bank Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), announced on April 30th 2015 that it had partnered with Chinese investment firm IDG Capital partners to invest $50 million in a Bitcoin start-up. Numerous high-profile firms have begun accepting Bitcoin as a payment method including: Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL), Dish Network Corp. (NASDAQ:DISH), Expedia Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE), and Overstock.com (NASDAQ:OSTK).
MarilynJean Media Interactive is among the first publicly traded companies focused on bitcoin and the crypto-currency space. The company's trading symbol is (MJMI).
Website:http://www.marilynjean.com/
Press Contact:[email protected]
SOURCE:MarilynJean Interactive |
1,389,065,100 | 2014-01-07 03:25:00+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [17, 66, 86, 324, 432, 833, 979, 1131, 1328, 1607, 1616, 2081, 2131, 2151, 2216, 2322, 2534]} | {"Bitcoin": [14, 69]} | Revolutionary Bitcoin Gaming App Has Been Released as Open Source by Bitcoin Video Casino | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/revolutionary-bitcoin-gaming-app-released-032500757.html | ACCESSWIRE | https://www.accesswire.com/ | In a world first Bitcoin Video Casino has released an open source Bitcoin gaming app.
Bitcoin Video Casinois proud to announce that its Android gaming app has now been released as open source, enabling the player to inspect and modify the code in any way. The android app is the only open source gaming app available to the Bitcoin casino market. It will be released January 6th 2014.
The release of the app as open source furthers Bitcoin Video Casino’s strong support of provably fair gaming. Players can verify that the source code creates games that are completely fair. Players can also contribute new features and fix bugs. All source code is licensed under the GNU General Public License.
Developers can also modify and redistribute the app in order to earn a 25% referral bonus on all games played with the app. The app uses Bitcoin Video Casino’s freely available developer’s API, which lets developers quickly develop provably fair casino apps and websites that accept Bitcoins.
The native Android App currently supports four casino games, instant deposits and withdrawals, and integrates directly with a player’s mobile Bitcoin wallet. Users can also scan a QR code to import their web-based account into the Android app. This allows the user to play with the same account online that they play with the Android app.
Bitcoin Video Casino is an online gaming platform that was released in December 2012. The flagship website supports Video Poker, Blackjack, Roulette, Craps, Keno, Dice and Slots. Over 11 million games have been played on the site by users. Utilizing the unprecedented aspects of Bitcoin, Bitcoin Video Casino requires no registration, nor does it collect any data on player identities. All games are provably fair, meaning that it is mathematically impossible for the site to manipulate the shuffle of any games. All games feature an expected return of at least 99.5% and have large progressive jackpots.
The app and web site have been designed in the fashion of old school Las Vegas video poker machines – Classic Fun for Serious Players. As the first Bitcoin gaming platform to release an open source Bitcoin gaming app, Bitcoin Video Casino has proven its innovation and commitment to Bitcoin gaming at its finest once again.
To learn more please go to:http://bitcoinvideocasino.com/
To see Bitcoin Video Casino’s open source app please go to:https://bitbucket.org/tbak/bitcoinvideocasino_android.
Visithttps://bitcoinvideocasino.com/for more information.
Contact InfoName: Nickie GreenleeOrganization: Bitcoin Video CasinoEmail:[email protected] |
1,419,855,071 | 2014-12-29 12:11:11+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [2110]} | {} | Why are gas prices going down? | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-are-gas-prices-going-down-172246389.html | Yahoo Finance | http://finance.yahoo.com/ | Yahoo Finance is answeringyour most-asked finance questions of 2014as searched on Yahoo.com. Coming in at number seven, you asked, “Why are gas prices going down?”
Because oil prices are going down! So the real question is, “Why are oil prices going down?”
Despite a recent swing upwards due to conflict in Libya, the price of crude has essentially been in free-fall since June. We're talking about a roughly 48% drop-- set to be the largest annual drop since 2008. This recent 1% uptick isn't likely to last either, according toBloomberg. Their analysts say that the market has long been aware of the risks in Libya and that they're not enough to reverse any major trends.
The question of “why” is basically a case of economics 101 - supply and demand. On the demand side - global economic activity is weak. We might be in the middle of a comeback here in the U.S., but Europe's back in a recession, Asia isn’t looking particularly solid, and emerging markets aren’t exactly the bright spot they once were.
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On the supply side - no one's paying attention to demand. The world is producing a staggering amount of fuel. The U.S. in the middle of a massive energy boom thanks to shale and fracking and is now the biggest producer of oil in the world. The thing is - OPEC is not so crazy about that. The organization steadfastly refuses to decrease production to accommodate increased US production.
That means there's a heck of a lot of oil out there to buy, and not as much demand for it.
The million dollar question, actually more like the trillion dollar question, really is, “How long will oil (and gasoline) prices keep falling?”
Some analysts predict oil prices will drop as low as $50 a barrel. That would translate to gas prices somewhere below $2.50, where they already are in a handful of states.
Which is to say, there's a good chance we'll still be having this conversation well into 2015.
More of your top finance questions answered:
Number 8:Who is the richest man in the world?
Number 9:Is social security taxable?
Number 10:What is Bitcoin and how does it work? |
1,419,862,360 | 2014-12-29 14:12:40+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [46, 80, 370, 738, 1316, 1805, 1997, 2016]} | {"Bitcoin": [0]} | Bitcoin Shop Adds New Features to Its Ecommerce Beta Platform | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-shop-adds-features-ecommerce-141240306.html | Marketwired | http://www.marketwired.com/ | ARLINGTON, VA--(Marketwired - Dec 29, 2014) - Bitcoin Shop, Inc. (OTCQB:BTCS) ("Bitcoin Shop" or the "Company"), the operator of the digital currency ecommerce marketplacewww.btcs.com, which is undertaking the build-out of a universal digital currency ecosystem, announced today new improvements to its 2.0 Beta ecommerce platform. Since its recent redesign in October, Bitcoin Shop has been gathering consumer feedback in several key areas. The site, which utilizes the "Intelligent Shopping Engine" to find consumers competitive prices on products now includes:
• An expanded number of retailers from 85 to 256;
• Layered navigation to decrease product search time; and
• Curated product offerings based on popularity and availability.
Bitcoin Shop has curated popular products and categories to provide shoppers with a wide variety of in stock items to choose from. Customers can now filter products by color, brand or manufacturer, and related items are displayed for shopping convenience. The 'My Account' page has been redesigned to accommodate customer needs including billing address, recent purchases, and wish list sections. While customers can still shop with bitcoins, dogecoins and litecoins, the website's currency selector now displays product prices in USD for easy conversion.
Charles Allen, CEO of Bitcoin Shop, commented, "Our testing has focused on what it is that customers are looking for: value and reputation when shopping online. Now that we've opened our Beta site, we're getting feedback on the right product mix. We've reduced our offerings to just over a quarter million curated products to enhance efficiency and provide an improved shopping experience. We plan to grow our product offerings in the future by applying what we're learning to our Intelligent Shopping Engine."
Bitcoin Shop is nearing the completion of its digital currency wallet which is built on the technology of our strategic partner Gem.co, and looks forward to opening it for beta testing.
About Bitcoin Shop, Inc.:Bitcoin Shop, Inc. plans to build a universal digital currency platform with the goal of enabling users to engage in the digital currency ecosystem through one point of access. We currently operate our legacy ecommerce website (www.bitcoinshop.us) and are operating our public beta site (www.btcs.com) where consumers can purchase products using digital currency such as bitcoin, litecoin and dogecoin, by searching through a selection of over 250,000 items. We provide our customers competitive pricing options from 256 retailers through our "Intelligent Shopping Engine". All ecommerce customer orders are fulfilled by third party vendors. We plan to use our ecommerce platform as a customer on-ramp for a broader digital currency platform. We have been actively partnering with strategic digital currency companies who have technologies, services or products that are complementary to our business strategy by making investments in them and integrating with them.
Digital currencies use peer-to-peer networks to facilitate instant payments. They are categorized as cryptocurrencies, as they use cryptography as a security measure. Digital currency issuances and transactions are carried out collectively by the network, with no central authority, and allow users to make verified transfers.
Forward Looking Statements:Certain statements in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Words such as "may," "might," "will," "should," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "continue," "predict," "forecast," "project," "plan," "intend" or similar expressions, or statements regarding intent, belief, or current expectations, are forward-looking statements. While the Company believes these forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on any such forward-looking statements, which are based on information available to us on the date of this release. These forward looking statements are based upon current estimates and assumptions and are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including without limitation those set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, not limited to Risk Factors relating to its digital currency business contained therein. Thus, actual results could be materially different. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update or alter statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. |
1,419,863,205 | 2014-12-29 14:26:45+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [1705]} | {} | Should you buy Facebook stock? | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/should-you-buy-facebook-stock-172944632.html | Yahoo Finance | http://finance.yahoo.com/ | We're answering yourtop-searched finance questions of the yearaccording to Yahoo search. The number six most-searched question was: “Should I buy Facebook stock?”
If you're asking, and so many of you did, the answer is probably yes. As always, though, there’s a but, so read on.
Facebook (FB) has been public for a couple years (since May 18, 2012 if we’re being specific) but it was only about 18 months ago that Facebook established itself as a real force to be reckoned with for the long haul.
[Get the Latest Market Data and News with the Yahoo Finance App]
In the summer of 2013, Facebook's IPO was still widely dismissed as a debacle. Mark Zuckerburg was still just a coder in flip-flops and a hoodie with a business model that didn't make much sense. Then suddenly, on July 25th, Facebook announced a huge earnings beat.
That wasn’t exciting in and of itself – companies report “better than expectations” earnings all the time. What Facebook managed to do that quarter was make a ton of money through mobile advertising on its app. In English, the company justified not just its own existence, but the entire mobile space. It's not at all a coincidence that Twitter (TWTR) was public within 6 months.
So, back to the question: “Should you buy Facebook stock?” Probably, but with two caveats. First, this stock is risky and even a “Best of Breed” play like Facebook is going to see some share volatility. Second, only if it's part of a balanced portfolio. Don't bet it all on any single stock. Not even Facebook.
More of your top finance questions answered:
Number 7:Why are gas prices going down?
Number 8:Who is the richest man in the world?
Number 9:Is social security taxable?
Number 10:What is Bitcoin and how does it work? |
1,419,865,792 | 2014-12-29 15:09:52+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [2484]} | {} | The iPhone mafia: What happens to your stolen smartphone | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/what-really-happens-to-your-stolen-iphone-150953367.html | Yahoo Finance | http://finance.yahoo.com/ | 3.1 million smartphones were stolen in the United States in 2013. As the number of smartphones out there continues to climb that number is sure to get higher. So what actually happens to your stolen phone?
Matt Shaer took on that question forthe latest edition of Wiredand for the run-of-the-mill petty thief who steals a phone out of your hand or bag it typically gets resold for profit either at a second hand shop or on eBay (EBAY).
Related:Apple iPhone sales lead to big earnings beat
Manufacturers like Apple (AAPL) and Samsung have beefed up security features like “Activation Lock” that, in theory, make it harder for someone to take your phone, reset it and resell ready to use. These are software-based fixes. What the Apple’s and Samsungs' of the world haven’t done is find a way to make the hardware itself a theft deterrent, thus putting a stop to the real problem in the rapidly growing smartphone industry: large scale organized crime.
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“The thief who steals your phone with you coming out of the subway is stealing one or two phones maybe every month,” Shaer told Yahoo Finance, “where as organized crime rackets - those are big numbers - pallets of smartphones that are being shipped overseas.”
Those phones usually end up in Asia or Africa, markets where smartphones aren’t always available. The contraband fetches a hefty sum in these markets and the organizations that steal the phones stand to make a lot of money from the transaction.
“There was a network that was disturbed in October by ICE - immigration - and they thought they had disrupted a ring that was generating about two million dollars a year,” Shaer explains.
These phone mafias usually get phones in large numbers either by hijacking a store shipment or setting up an elaboratenetwork of credit mules, in which they pay unsuspecting consumers to buy a phone on contract and then cancel that contract. What the “mules” don’t realize is that they are expected to give the phone back when they cancel the contract. By then the phones are in the hands of the thieves and the consumers are on the hook for a sizable chunk of cash.
Related:iPhone 6 most popular gadget of 2014
Shaer says the structure of these criminal organizations are akin to traditional drug running operations. “There’s somebody at the top - a kingpin if you will - and then there are lower level folks who deal with obtaining the phones.”
More from Yahoo FinanceWhat is Bitcoin and how does it work?Gas prices stay low as Saudis try to "smoke out" USThe 10 top-searched stocks of 2014: Google is No. 6 |
1,419,866,160 | 2014-12-29 15:16:00+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [1209]} | {} | 10 Things In Tech You Need To Know Today | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/10-things-tech-know-today-101600740.html | Business Insider | http://www.businessinsider.com/ | Sony/"The Interview"
Good morning! It's another cold day in London. Here's 10 things in tech you need to know this Monday.
1. "The Interview" has become the biggest online movie ever released by Sony, pulling in more than £9.6 million from over 2 million downloads.Sony Pictures Entertainment originally said it would not release the film over terrorism fears following a suspected North Korea cyberattack on the company.
2. Variety has compiled a list of the top 10 most pirated movies of 2014 by using piracy-tracking firm, Excipio.The "Wolf of Wall Street," "Frozen," and the new "Hobbit" release are among the biggest illegal downloads.
3.Google's email service, Gmail, was blocked in China on Friday and it appears to still be down on Monday.Some believe the country's Great Firewall is to blame.
4. Normality is resuming to Android's Twitter app after a malfunction caused users to be kicked out of their accounts.Tweetdeck was also affected with new posts showing up as being over a year old.
5. The cyber gangs that attacked PlayStation and Xbox services on Christmas Day have called a ceasefire on the event.A group called The Lizard Squad claimed responsibility for the hack.
6. Bloomberg has named Bitcoin the worst currency of the year, calling it a "catastrophic 2014" for the virtual currency.Its value has plunged 56% in the last 12 months.
7. North Korea accused the United States on Saturday of being responsible for Internet outages it has experienced last week.In the statement, North Korea's National Defence spokesman criticized the internet outages as a "laughable" and cowardly attack.
8. The Yahoo Directory, the core part of the Yahoo first started in 1994, closed on Sunday, 5 days earlier than expected. People trying to access the page will be directed to a webpage with a static logo.
9. A leading UK professor says today's young generations can't mend gadgets or fix broken appliances.Danielle George, a professor of radio frequency engineering at Manchester University, says under-40s expect things to "just work."
10. Facebook has said sorry for oversights in its new "Year in Review" feature.It prompted users to look back on past photos and "algorithmic cruelty" led some people to view pictures of their dead relatives.
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• South Korea Might Resume Talks With North Korea In Light Of Hacking Accusations
• Sony Is Still Trying To Restore Service To Its PlayStation Network After Hacking Attack
• This Korean Singer Is Suing Sony For Using Her Music In ‘The Interview’ |
1,389,101,800 | 2014-01-07 13:36:40+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [1664, 2102]} | {} | Overstock CEO: Why we're accepting bitcoins | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/overstock-ceo-why-were-accepting-133640241.html | CNBC | http://www.cnbc.com/ | George Frey | Bloomberg | Getty Images Overstock.com ( OSTK ) has become the first major online shopping retailer to accept the digital currency bitcoin as payment in exchange for any of our million products. We are doing this for both business and philosophical reasons. First, the business reasons: There are large numbers of holders of bitcoin who are eager to patronize firms that will accept this form of payment, but so far, their options have been limited. I believe that by being the first major online retailer to accept bitcoin, we will tap into a significant group of loyal consumers, and as a result our share of the overall market will grow. In addition, the cost of carrying out credit-card transactions is roughly 2 percent. Given that our net margin is also approaching 2 percent, the avoidance of such fees will make bitcoin sales that much more profitable. ( Read more : Buzzfeed COO: How I mined for bitcoins ) And, while it's true that the value of bitcoin has proven more volatile than that of gold, this will not be a risk to Overstock.com; we will either immediately convert bitcoin to dollars or hedge our bitcoin risk through bitcoin-dollar derivatives (should such a market develop). Now, the philosophical reasons: I believe limited government is a better business model for our nation than is unlimited government (and limited government has the additional benefit of being consistent with our Constitution). Among the many vices of authoritarianism is that it can sustain itself only by offering more things to more people than it can actually deliver, and one way it makes up the difference is by debasing its currency. ( Read more : Bitcoin breaks $1,000 after Zynga opts in ) People who share my belief in limited government often favor gold-back money, because for millennia, mankind's stock of gold has increased at a rate of 2-3 percent per year, and no government mandarin has the power to will additional gold into existence. As a digital currency, bitcoin is, of course, suited to online transactions. In addition, however, it possesses those key virtues of gold: Bitcoin is mathematically constrained such that there can be no more than 21 million (infinitely divisible) units, and the supply will grow in a predictable manner. Story continues ( Read more : Here's what should bolster bitcoin in 2014 ) I am agnostic regarding the future value of bitcoin. I merely feel bitcoin is a viable medium of exchange that Overstock.com should embrace to better serve our customers, and that the U.S. should embrace to create a robust, viable alternative to our current monetary institutions. - By Patrick M. Byrne - Patrick M. Byrne is chairman and CEO of online retailer Overstock.com. Follow him on Twitter @overstockceo . More From CNBC The most stressful jobs for 2014 US failed over Syria: Saudi prince Colorado pot prices double as demand soars |
1,444,734,131 | 2015-10-13 11:02:11+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [540]} | {} | Blockchain For Banks Could Be A Big Business | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/blockchain-banks-could-big-business-110211947.html | Benzinga | http://www.benzinga.com/ | Cryptocurrencies have received a lot of attention over the past few years as more and more people took an interest in the technology. However, much of the buzz surrounding cryptocurrencies like bitcoin was negative after a spate of high profile scams and criminal cases involving the currency painted it as a tool for illicit activities.
While bitcoin may never become a mainstream payment method, blockchain, the ledger-like technology that it runs on, has been touted as one of the most important developments of the decade.
Related Link:Bitcoin May Be Flailing, But Blockchain Is On The Rise
Banks On Board
Traditional finance firms have been reluctant to embrace bitcoin as a currency, but blockchain is another story. Banks around the world includingBank of America Corp(NYSE:BAC),Morgan Stanley(NYSE:MS) andDeutsche Bank(NYSE:DB) have alltaken an interest in blockchain, saying they could see the technology improving how they do business. Blockchain provides a secure way to facilitate transactions without involving a third party intermediary. Banks say this could be useful for everything from sending payments to setting up a smart contracts system.
Implementing Blockchain
While many banks are studying blockchain using task forces set up within their own company, several startups have emerged to help banks study the impact of blockchain on their operations. Blockstack, Eris Ltd and Coin Sciences are all private firms that offer companies blockchain solutions. They offer banks the ability to experiment with blockchain systems that meet their specific needs, rather than providing them with something that needs to be modified.
See more from Benzinga
• Can Social Media Firms Compete With Amazon In The E-Commerce Space?
• Cyberweapons Replace Nuclear Threats In Global Arms Race
• Things Are Looking Brighter For Europe
© 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. |
1,419,937,140 | 2014-12-30 10:59:00+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [1251]} | {} | Major Silk Road Drug Dealer Known As 'CALIGIRL' Sentenced To Nearly 6 Years In Prison | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/major-silk-road-drug-dealer-105900039.html | Business Insider | http://www.businessinsider.com/ | Broward County JailMatthew Verran Jones. A Dallas man has been sentenced to five years, 10 months in prison after pleading guilty in August to selling illegal drugs on the deep-web drug marketplace The Silk Road.
The Orlando Sentinel reports thatMatthew Verran Jones was the CTO of the Texas-based software company Data Paradigm. But in his spare time he worked as one of the internet's biggest drug dealers.
Jones sold drugs on The Silk Road,the website seized by the FBI in November. He was best known as CALIGIRL, a vendor in the top 5% of sellers on The Silk Road.
The DEA says Jones often traveled to Colombia to buy drugs, taking them back to the US before selling them online. He was arrested on a return trip from Colombia and was found to be in possession of 8,500 oxycodone pills.
When federal agents searched Jones' Dallas home they found $75,000 in cash, as well as cocaine, methamphetamine, hash, prescription drugs, and a makeshift drug lab.
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1,419,939,000 | 2014-12-30 11:30:00+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [3074, 3323, 3406, 3508, 3575, 5975, 6405, 6475, 6849, 10633]} | {} | 2014: The Year of the Hack | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/2014-hack-113000647.html | The Fiscal Times | http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/ | Gaining the tools necessary to pull off a massive hack is getting easier and easier. When you add the inexplicable resistance some companies have shown to upgrading their security infrastructure, it’s no wonder 2014 saw the staggering amount of high-profile hacks that it did.
Between the international political drama surrounding the Sony Pictures attack and the sheer audacity of“The Fappening”celebrity leaks, there were a host of other hacks that you’ve probably forgotten about. Even if they weren’t as memorable, they still had widespread ramifications for the companies involved, not to mention their customers.
Here is our list of the worst hacks of the year.
1. Sony Pictures: You know the story: Sony Pictures’ computers froze up, and a now-infamous ‘90s skull image along with thinly veiled threats appeared across every computer on the network. Before long, huge caches of information from Sony’s hard drives started to hit the web, including private e-mails between executives Scott Rudin and Amy Pascal, the personal information and Social Security numbers of a host of celebrities and early versions of Sony movies likeFury.
The massive fallout is still playing out. Journalists combed through the leaked documents to find a variety of tidbits that prompted both fascination and outrage -- from Channing Tatum’s emails that resembled those of a drunken frat boy, to racist comments shared between executives regarding President Obama.
Had things stopped there, it would have been egg on Sony’s face and nothing more. However, the Guardians of Peace — the hacking group that claimed responsibility for the attack — escalated the situation by threatening terrorist attacks on theaters showing the Seth Rogen/James Franco film “The Interview.”
The fact that this film, which revolves around killing North Korea’s Kim Jong-un, was expressly targeted led many, including the FBI, to believe that North Korea was responsible. That idea has since been called into question bymany independent analysts.
2. JPMorgan Chase: One of the largest intrusions ever, this hack put 76 million households at risk of having their names, phone numbers and email addresses exposed. JPMorgan insists there is no evidence that anything more sensitive was taken, however.
Related: The New Heartbleed? ‘Shellshock’ Threatens 500m Computers
Amazingly, the hackers didn’t take the opportunity to loot any JPMorgan accounts, prompting some security officials to suggest that the hack had been pulled off for political reasons. Many experts suggested that the hackers were Russian or were sponsored by parts of the Russian government.
Wherever they came from, one of the most disturbing elements of the attack was how mundane it was. JPMorgan uses two-factor authentication, meaning one password won’t gain someone access to the system. Unfortunately, one of the bank’s servers didn’t have that higher level of security. AsThe New York Timesreported, the hack “might have been thwarted if the bank had installed a simple security fix to an overlooked server in its vast network.” Ouch.
3. Bitcoin/Mt. Gox: If you’re a fan of BitCoin, and that JPMorgan story had you crowing something to the effect of, “Oh, that’s what they get for using acorporatebank! That kind of thing wouldneverhave happened with a decentralized cryptocurrency like Bitcoin,” now would be a good time to check your words.
Back in March, the primary Bitcoin exchange, known as Mt. Gox, was hit by a series of hacks that ultimately cost $460 million in Bitcoins and set the cryptocurrency’s economy spiraling. Even now, Bitcoin is still feeling the residual effects of the devastating hack.
Mt. Gox, of course, fell into bankruptcy after the hack, with CEO Mark Karpeles being subpoenaed by the Treasury Department in April to provide testimony on the matter. He declined to appear.
4. DarkHotel: This super-effective series of hacks targetedexecutives in luxury hotel suitesin whatWiredcalled “surgical strikes.” After getting comfortable in his hotel room, an executive would open up his laptop, connect to the hotel WiFi and be greeted with an innocuous-looking prompt to update his Adobe software. However, rather than helping the hapless exec read his .pdf files, the “update” would install a sophisticated keylogger in the bowels of his system and set about seeing what personal information it could glean, including passwords, bank account information, and private emails. The extremely targeted nature of these hacks distinguished them from so many others this year.
5. Heartbleed and ShellshockThis wasn’t so much a directed hack but rather the discovery of a systems vulnerability that could redefine the way we approach network security for a long time. Heartbleed was a vulnerability in a Windows security library that allowed for more data to be read than would typically be allowed to a user. This results in potential hackers having wide access to system output and database queries that also could hide personal information and passwords. The webcomicXKCD illustrated how it worksfar better than I could put it into words. While a patch has since been released, it could still take a while for every administrator to get things up to speed. Until that happens, everyone is at risk.
Related: Why Your Favorite Social Network Will Probably Die
Shellshockwas a similar vulnerability that instead lurked inside a small piece of software called the BASH terminal. BASH is a fundamental part of the operating system for many computers — more specifically, those running certain versions of Linux or Mac OSX. It’s the terminal in which commands essential for the operation of the machine are run. Shellshock allowed a potentially malicious actor to execute his own commands on almost any system — essentially giving them top-tier access. The vulnerability has since been patched, but as with Heartbleed, it might take a while to get everyone up to speed.
6. The Silk RoadIt wasn’t just the “legitimate” side of Bitcoin (“legitimate” being a very, very subjective term) that was hacked this year. After the initial version of The Silk Road, the notorious underground black market website that sold everything from herbs to hit men, was taken down by the U.S. government, a new version sprung up, titling itself “The Silk Road 2.0.” This new version of the website quickly found itself to be a target, as hackers used a newly found bug in the Bitcoin protocol to bankrupt the site, draining it of $2.6 million in Bitcoin from its escrow account.
RELATED: Porn, Drugs, Hitmen, Hackers: This is the Deep Web
“I am sweating as I write this… I must utter words all too familiar to this scarred community: We have been hacked,” wrote Defcon, the site’s administrator, following the hack. “Our initial investigations indicate that a vendor exploited a recently discovered vulnerability in the Bitcoin protocol known as ‘transaction malleability’ to repeatedly withdraw coins from our system until it was completely empty.”
7. The FappeningWe all remember this. Leaked personal photographs were stolen from celebrities’ phones and iCloud accounts. Nude photos and videos of prominent actors like Jennifer Lawrence, Kate Upton and Aubrey Plaza were leaked, along with those of hundreds of less-famous TV and movie stars.
While it’s not been absolutely proven, most of the blame has been pointed at a website calledAnon-IB. This website allegedly housed a secretive group that traded and shared celebrity nude pictures, and “The Fappening” was a case of the images being shared more widely. Others still blame vulnerabilities in Apple’s iCloud service for the intrusions. Whatever the case may be, many women were hurt by the leak. Jennifer Lawrence decried the hack as a “sex crime,” and similar accusations have been leveled at the perpetrators by other victims, too.
8. The Snapchat HackRight on the heels of The Fappening came “The Snappening.” Snapchat, the social media application that has found itself to be the center of many a sexting scandal, has always prided itself on its relative anonymity and privacy. As the very purpose of the app is to only display photos for a short period of time, not keep them on any servers, and to not allow screenshots, Snapchat seemed about as private as users could get.
However, hackers find a way, and even the most secure application has its weak link. In this case, the weak link was a third-party app called SnapSaved, which integrated into Snapchat, allowing users to save photos and videos. SnapSaved was slightly less dedicated to privacy than the Snapchat team; it stored all of the saved photos on its own web server. This web server was hacked, leading to leaks of 98,000 photos and videos, most of them pornographic.
As an aside: In case this entry has piqued your curiosity to go hunting down these pictures, it would be prudent of me to advise you not to. Bear in mind that at least half of Snapchat’s users are minors and, as such, downloading a trove of stolen Snapchat pictures has astrong chance of landing you in prison. Plus, it’s just super,superskeevy.
9. ‘Lizard Squad’ and the raids on PSN and Xbox LiveThe Lizard Squad hacking group’s Grinch-like attempts to ruin Christmas for millions of new game console owners garnered widespread media attention. The hackers performed widespread DDoS (distributed denial of service) attacks on the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live online gaming services.
Related: The Internet Scam That Hijacks Your Hard Drive
Timing their attacks over Christmas Day with the obvious goal of making hundreds of thousands of newly unwrapped PlayStation 4s and Xbox Ones unusable, the group hit these services with an attack ofunprecedented proportions, three times that of the last record.
Things got a little more ludicrous when Kim Dotcom, the billionaire owner of the Mega.co.nz file hosting site (formerly MegaUpload, the site that was taken down by the U.S. in a highly publicized raid), offered the hackers millions of dollars of vouchers for VIP access to Mega.co.nz. The hackers accepted, temporarily halting the barrage, butstarted hitting the services again a short while later.
10. The Rise of RansomwareRansomware’s been around for a while, but 2014 saw the appearance of a few particularly malicious strains. For ages, spyware and malware makers have been trying to extort users out of their money. One of their favorite tactics has been a fake “virus scan” that promises to clean a user’s system...for a price. Ransomware ratcheted things up a few steps, locking up a user’s hard drive, encrypting their files and threatening deletion until they paid. Mostly trafficking in Bitcoins, these bad actors made an untold amount of money — several billion, at the last count. To their credit, the people behind the virus at least kept to their word, unlocking the majority of hard drives belonging to people that paid up.
Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:
• 10 Stories That Really Grabbed Your Attention in 2014
• Quantifying the Power of Kim Kardashian’s Butt
• 12 Comic Books That Brought Big Bucks |
1,419,943,306 | 2014-12-30 12:41:46+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [2247]} | {} | Should you buy Apple stock? | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/should-you-buy-apple-stock-175927155.html | Yahoo Finance | http://finance.yahoo.com/ | Yahoo Finance is answering your top 10,most-asked finance question of 2014based on Yahoo search. The number one thing you wanted to know was, “Should I buy Apple stock?”
I’m not surprised you’re interested in owning a piece of Apple (AAPL). It's the most valuable company on earth. It might actually be the single most valuable non-governmental entity in the history of mankind. And I’m only sort of kidding.
At the time of this writing, Apple has a $650 billion market cap. For some perspective, if you combine the GDPs of Greece and Egypt… you’re still more than $100 billion shy of Apple’s market cap. And keep in mind that we’re not talking about hypothetical value. Apple has more than $150 billion dollars of cash on hand.
[Get the Latest Market Data and News with the Yahoo Finance App]
But none of this gets at your original question: Should you buy the stock. Apple stock gained more than 40% in 2014.
This was the year during which CEO Tim Cook (finally) stamped his name on the company and moved to distinguish himself from Steve Jobs. The iPhone 6 and 6+ came to market. The iWatch didn't.
Whether or not you should buy Apple shares, then, depends on how important you think the lack of anything particularly earth-shatteringly new out of Cupertino is.
To quote the terrorist Hans Gruber from Die Hard, "When Alexander saw the breadth of his domain he wept for there were no worlds left to conquer.” He could easily have traded “Alexander” for “Apple.” The company simply owns the consumer space. There's nothing left for them to do.
I love Apple, I own shares, but I'm not sure I would add to them here. Even dynasties need a breather. History suggests patience is a virtue, even on Apple. If the shares get back under $100 it'll be a more than 10% correction. Then you'll have my blessing. Until that day... it probably won't kill you to wait.
More of your top finance questions answered:
Number 2:What's your 2014 tax bracket?
Number 3:How to start a business
Number 4:Should you refinance your mortgage?
Number 5:Can you buy a house with bad credit?
Number 6:Should you buy Facebook stock?
Number 7:Why are gas prices going down?
Number 8:Who is the richest man in the world?
Number 9:Is social security taxable?
Number 10:What is Bitcoin and how does it work? |
1,389,174,600 | 2014-01-08 09:50:00+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [34, 226, 322, 704, 771, 1121, 1261, 1369]} | {"Bitcoin": [45]} | China's E-Commerce Giant Alibaba Just Banned Bitcoin | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/chinas-e-commerce-giant-alibaba-095039071.html | Business Insider | http://www.businessinsider.com/ | Nicholas Carlson
Another blow for Bitcoin in China.
Alibaba — the e-commerce giant — will no longer allow bitcoin use on its site.
From the FT:
Alibaba said that as of January 14 it wouldstop its users from doing any deals in Bitcoinsor other virtual currencies such as Litecoins, and would bar merchants from selling any Bitcoin mining software or offering any related products.
The decision was taken to “promote the healthy development of Taobao Marketplace and to more effectively protect the interests of Taobao members,” Alibaba said in a statement. It added that the ban stemmed from thecentral bank’s rulingin December that prohibits any payment companies or financial institutions from handling Bitcoins.
The whole press releaseis here(in Chinese).
The price of Bitcoin dropped precipitously late last year after the first signs that China would crack down.
But it hasn't really mattered. The price has proved resilient,and as the FT noted yesterday, trading is springing back to life, as people find a way around the government ban. Given that circumventing government regulations is one of the main appeals of Bitcoin, it was probably naive to think that China's crackdown would have major ramifications.
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1,389,175,967 | 2014-01-08 10:12:47+00:00 | {"BTC": [2409, 2587, 3166]} | {} | Alibaba division bans bitcoin after China crackdown as IPO looms | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/alibaba-division-bans-bitcoin-china-101247063.html | Reuters | https://www.reuters.com/ | BEIJING (Reuters) - China's biggest online marketplace, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd's Taobao, will ban the sale of bitcoins on the heels of a government crackdown against the virtual currency to plug a potential gap in its tight controls on capital flows. The move comes as Alibaba, China's biggest e-commerce company, seeks the smoothest of rides toward a giant initial public offering of stock expected later this year. In a statement posted on its website late on Tuesday, Taobao said the ban is effective from January 14. Taobao's move to fall in line with the government's wishes also comes as Alibaba presses on with efforts to stamp out the sale of fake goods on the online marketplace ahead of the IPO. Alibaba has been conservatively estimated to be worth over $100 billion. "The central bank clearly has required third-party payment services to close bitcoin...trading channels," Taobao said in its statement, without disclosing any details on bitcoin sales through its platform up to now. Backed by neither a government nor a bank, bitcoin has attracted currency speculators in recent months. Alibaba spokeswoman Florence Shih said, "In the interest of consumer protection, Taobao has banned the sale of bitcoins on the platform." Taobao uses Alibaba's online payment affiliate Alipay to process transactions across the world's second-biggest economy, handling over 1 trillion yuan ($165 billion) in annual sales volume together with its sister shopping portal T-Mall. The Taobao ban, which covers other virtual currencies, also includes the sale of any guides, computer hardware or software related to bitcoin "mining". In the mining process users can mint new bitcoins of their own by having a computer solve complex mathematical problems. Most bitcoin sales take place on specialized electronic platforms, rather than online marketplaces like Taobao, that are designed to trade the virtual currency for various physical currencies. In December, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) banned financial institutions from trading in bitcoins, saying the government would act to prevent money laundering risks from bitcoin, which is not backed by a government or central bank. It did not ban individual trading. Story continues Later the same month, the Chinese Business News reported that the government had asked third-party payment services to stop handling bitcoin transactions, forcing Shanghai-based BTC China, the world's largest bitcoin exchange platform by volume, to stop taking Chinese yuan deposits. "I think it's overreaching," said Bobby Lee, Chief Executive Officer of BTC China, referring to Taobao's ban on bitcoin-related accessories. "I think they're trying to just win favors from the government." The PBOC stance reflects the fact that the bitcoin trade represents a potential hole in the country's capital controls. They are minted anonymously, untraceable, and can be carried on memory sticks or transmitted electronically. However, analysts say that given the total value of bitcoins in circulation remains tiny relative to other currencies, the trade is unlikely to have much impact on the wider economy for now. The price of bitcoins on BTC China fell 15 percent on Tuesday to 4718.51 yuan, but had bounced back 4.5 percent by late afternoon on Wednesday. ($1 = 6.0512 Chinese yuan) (Reporting by Adam Rose; Additional reporting by Paul Carstens in BEIJING; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell) |
1,389,184,080 | 2014-01-08 12:28:00+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [4043]} | {} | 10 Things You Need To Know This Morning | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/10-things-know-opening-bell-122800396.html | Business Insider | http://www.businessinsider.com/ | REUTERS/Eric Miller
Patrick O'Brien jogs around Lake Harriet in south Minneapolis in a Spiderman wind suit, January 6, 2014.
Good morning! Here's what you need to know.
— The Eurozone may be backsliding.Italian unemploymenthas now hit a 37-year high of 12.7%, while youth unemployment climbed 20 bps to 41.6%. Eurozone-wide unemployment has been at 12.1%literally since April. We're also seeing signs of deflation, as price growth has nowslowed for the past six months. It's not all bad — retail saleshave picked up a bit, and Ireland hasjust rejoined the bond market— but if you want to be concerned there's plenty of evidence for you to be so.
— Ford CEO Alan Mulallyis now vehemently denyinghe will become Microsoft's next head, as the software giant says it is now close to announcing Steve Ballmer's successor. Reuters: "Sources familiar with the process have told Reuters that Microsoft is down to a "handful" of candidates, including one or more outsiders from the tech industry, former Nokia CEO Stephen Elop and insiders Satya Nadella and Tony Bates."
— Netflix, shares of which fell more than 5.5% yesterdayafter a Morgan Stanley downgrade, is banking on the success of the latest season House of Cards to erase doubters.Marketwatch: "...no network may have more riding on a show in terms of its prestige or how its reception could affect its programming efforts than Netflix. 'There is some risk that if it doesn’t live up to the quality of season one, people will perceive more risk in Netflix’s original content effort,' said Andy Hargreaves, an analyst with Pacific Crest Securities. 'That doesn’t necessarily put more pressure on the other shows. It’s just a reflection of the high bar they’ve set and the reality that sub-par shows or seasons are inevitable.'"
— Yahoo is making a huge bet on digital magazines focused on food and tech. " We found our inspiration in magazines," CEO Marissa Mayer said at CES yesterday. "They are elegant, beautiful and have a distinctive voice." The tech mag, simply called Yahoo Tech,will be run by former New York Times columnist David Pogue.
— Twitterannouncedit would hold its first-ever earnings call Feb. 5.It got another downgrade this morning from Cantor Fitzgerald. "While historically we've reserved our "SELL" rating to business models with structural challenges, we find TWTR's valuation to be excessive and currently see materially more downside than upside," analyst Youssef Squali said.
— Markets in Asia mostly surged on Wednesday, while European markets were falling. U.S. futures were pointing lower. Silver is down more than 1%.
— Fifteen Turkish police chiefs were relieved of their duties in the latest chapter of that country's corruption probe. The Borsa Istanbul erased yesterday's gains, falling 1%.Reuters reportsFitch is now warning "strains on institutional integrity" caused by tensions between the government and judiciary could eventually lead to a downgrade. "In the latest move by the ruling AK Party, it sent plans seeking more say over the appointment of judges and prosecutors to parliament late on Tuesday. 'This is the latest sign that things are not about to calm down ahead of March local elections,' a research note from Commerzbank said,'" according to Reuters.
— December ADP payrolls beat expectations, coming in at 238,000 versus 200,000 expected and 215,000 in November. At 3 p.m. we get November consumer credit, with an increase of $14.2 billion expected.
— At 2 p.m. we'll get the latest FOMC minutes. "Economists have many questions,"Marketwatch's Greg Robb writes. "They want to know if the taper pace is on auto-pilot, continuing at $10 billion per meeting, and therefore ending by the fourth quarter. Another question is why did the Fed choose not to lower its rate-hike threshold from 6.5% ... ? And on inflation, they’re looking for whether the Fed will change its story that inflation will pick up over the next several months, despite all evidence to the contrary."
— Alibaba, China's largest e-commerce website, announced it hadbanned Bitcoin payments. The price on the Mt. Gox exchange is now back down to $952 after breaching $1,000 over the weekend.
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1,419,982,200 | 2014-12-30 23:30:00+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [2741]} | {} | EMV, CNP, OMG: Big Things Are on the Way in 2015 for Financial Tech | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/emv-cnp-omg-big-things-233000531.html | Entrepreneur | http://www.entrepreneur.com/ | This year,PwC’s retail bankingreport revealed that 71 percent of senior U.S. retail banking executives view non-traditional new market entrants as a top threat. Financial tech startups are the talk of the town. I have a few ideas about what you should expect from the industry next year.
In the past six months, EMV (integrated circuit cards, or “chipped” cards) technology adoption has managed to become a mainstream topic of conversation. A technology that has been in use throughout Europe for nearly a decade now brings the promise of better security practices to more consumers.
Throughout 2015, EMV will continue to become the standard for consumer transactions, drastically reducing the number of fraudulent events from in-person retail purchases.
Related:The Future of Ecommerce Will Focus on Creating Experiences
Because EMV technology does nothing to address card-not-present fraud, CNP fraud numbers will continue to grow at a rapid rate, as more and more purchases are made online. As that growth in transaction volume continues, online merchants and payment portals will grow as a target for payment information and personal information data theft.
While not officially announced (yet), Apple’s previous trend of initially launching locked chips in phones, and slowly opening them up for developer access, is well known. The iPhone 6/6+ is currently locked down to only Apple applications. Once all iOS developers get access to the NFC chip, new direct peer-to-peer interactions and non-payment functions, from a mobile-first economy, will seize the day.
Mobile payments are starting to get the awareness and love that they deserve, but mass scale adoption of mobile payments, especially in card-present transactions, is likely at least five years out as a result of the infrastructure needed for merchants.
This goes beyond the battle with Walmart and CurrentC, but extends also to the cost of implementing new point-of-sale systems. Currently, only 2 to 5 percent of card-present merchants accept Apple Pay -- there’s still a long way to go. Merchant adoption for NFC transactions will remain below 33 percent in 2014.
Starbucks has shown there is a large and growing opportunity in pairing mobile payments with loyalty, but few others are seeing the same success. IBeacon technology could open this up, but needs wider adoption to make a difference. Apple Pay, CurrentC and others will need to focus on unique and valuable loyalty programs to drive customer interest. Chime is taking a potentially more compelling angle -- building loyalty into the card itself.
Related:Forget the Credit Card. The Way We Pay May Be About to Change.
However, due to their open nature, cryptocurrencies will continue to find killer use cases. Bitcoin will stay the dominate player in the crypto world, but other players such aszerocashwill make some headway once in-person, secure offline peer-to-peer transactions can be made.
Transaction mining will continue to fly below the radar as the cost of operating miners on all networks will remain higher than the payoff of processing transactions (a currency that incentivizes transaction mining would counteract this, but none exists with any broad uptake yet).
There are still many great opportunities in lending that will take market share away from traditional banks.
Wunder is unlocking solar for business rooftops. SoFi and others are attacking student lending by enabling alums to invest in the education of new students. Earnest helps individuals get access to funds for important life events, such as engagement rings. Kabbage analyzes merchant data from Square transactions to better assess and provide loan funding for small businesses.
We’ve only just begun to see this industry gain momentum.
Although ignored now by a majority of financial institutions because of their relatively light spending power, millennials will dictate the future of banking. Currently, 63 percent of millennials possess a credit card, while just 36 percent of millennials own a home. This disparity presents a great opportunity to build financial products that allow millennials to safely use credit cards and build a credit history for larger, long-term purchases.
With Snapchat introducing Snapcash to its 30 million monthly active users, and Whatsapp entering the fray, these companies (and many more) will fight for transaction volume and long-term user retention -- something that will likely be decided by a combination of accessibility, user experience, and peer adoption.
If you think I missed the mark or just want to weigh in, feel free to drop me a line directly or leave a comment below.
Related:Plastc Wants to Reinvent the Wallet with All-In-One Smart Card |
1,389,189,840 | 2014-01-08 14:04:00+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [247, 680]} | {"Bitcoin": [15]} | BLDW to Accept Bitcoins and Manufacture Cryptocurrency Mining Products | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bldw-accept-bitcoins-manufacture-cryptocurrency-140400213.html | Marketwired | http://www.marketwired.com/ | AUSTIN, TX--(Marketwired - Jan 8, 2014) - Building Turbines, Inc. (PINKSHEETS:BLDW), through its wholly owned subsidiary, Green City Planet, is pleased to announce that it is entering the cryptocurrency arena, and will immediately begin accepting Bitcoin and potentially other cryptocurrencies such as Litecoin, as a form of payment for all products and services.
"We are pleased to be one of the first Green Energy companies to support, and accept cryptocurrency as a form of digital payment. We have a system in place to accept cryptocurrency for payment and to convert to USD,"stated John Graham Sr., CEO of Building Turbines.
Mr. Graham added, "Mining for cryptocurrency like Bitcoin or Litecoin is done 24 hours a day, on specialized computers, running specialized software.We have designed and built our own cryptocurrency mining rigs, which are currently in operation. We will be offering our systems for sale in the near future.Our Rooftop Wind Turbines, Solar, LED and other Green Energy Products, are a perfect complement to these devices."
About Building Turbines,Inc.:www.BuildingTurbines.comBased in Austin, Texas, Building Turbines, Inc. is focused on the design and manufacture of patented rooftop wind turbines; as well as, vertically integrating into other renewable energy solutions to complete a total Green Energy Solution for any urban environment. Building Turbines, Inc. is a publicly traded company, (PINKSHEETS:BLDW).
About Green City Planet:www.GreenCityPlanet.comGreen City Planet, a wholly owned subsidiary of Building Turbines, Inc., is a premier provider of LED lighting, Solar and comprehensive commercial energy efficient solutions.
The foregoing press announcement contains forward-looking statements that can be identified by such terminology such as "believes," "expects," "potential," "plans," "suggests," "may," "should," "could," "intends," or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. In particular, management's expectations could be affected by, among other things, uncertainties relating to our success in completing acquisitions, financing our operations, entering into strategic partnerships, engaging management and other matters disclosed by us in our public filings from time to time. Forward-looking statements speak only as to the date they are made. The Company does not undertake to update forward-looking statements to reflect circumstances or events that occur after the date the forward-looking statements are made. |
1,420,033,560 | 2014-12-31 13:46:00+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [200]} | {} | New Yorkers May Soon Be Able To Pay Parking Tickets Through Their iPhones | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/soon-enough-yorkers-may-able-134629872.html | Business Insider | http://www.businessinsider.com/ | AP A customer makes a purchase with a MasterCard using Apple Pay on the iPhone 6.
New York City's finance department is looking into new methods of payment for parking tickets that include Apple Pay, Bitcoin, and PayPal transactions,MarketWatch reports.
There's no timeline for when such a system would actually launch, and no set plans have been made.
However, according to MarketWatch, the city envisions a payment method that would allow New Yorkers to snap a photo of their tickets or scan a barcode on a ticket to initiate a payment transaction.
As it stands, drivers can currently pay their tickets online, in person, or through the mail, but the online payment system in place isn't mobile friendly. The idea is to create a mobile system that's "aesthetically pleasing," the report says.
Offering New York City drivers the option to pay through their phone may cut down on late fees and penalties on unpaid violations, too. The city accumulates up to $600 million in these types of fines each year, according to MarketWatch.
Apple Pay, the company's first mobile payments platform, seems to be catching on fairly quickly. Earlier this month, The New York Times reported that "dozens" of additional banks, retail stores, and start-ups have agreed to adopt Apple Pay. In October, Apple said it had already partnered with 220,000 retailers that would adopt its mobile payments system. It's even coming togas pumps.
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1,420,034,340 | 2014-12-31 13:59:00+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [217, 770, 1755, 2286]} | {} | Avra Inc. Finalizes Technology Partnership With T2M International Inc. | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/avra-inc-finalizes-technology-partnership-135900060.html | Marketwired | http://www.marketwired.com/ | GREENVILLE, SC--(Marketwired - Dec 31, 2014) -Avra Inc.(OTCQB:AVRND) ("Avra" or the "Company"), a development stage company pioneering product innovation and activation of merchant and consumer commerce in the global Bitcoin-related digital currencies market, today announces entry into an agreement with its technology partner T2M International, Inc.
The agreement positions T2M International Inc. ("T2M") as the Company's primary technology partner tasked with the development of the Avra product line-up, systems management, data security, integration and operational planning strategy.
T2M is developing a digital currency gateway that enables users to create virtual wallets through text messaging that can be managed online. With this new technology, transferring Bitcoin with the AvraPay wallet will be as easy as sending a text message. T2M has over two decades of experience in design and development of enterprise applications for the payment industry. The T2M platform is built from the ground up following data security best practices and is available on the cloud as well as Apps for smartphones.
"The T2M group possesses extensive experience in the development of technologies specific to the payment processing industry, along with a prodigious understanding of traditional and mobile platform protocols and trend data. Their broad knowledge base makes them an ideal complement to the growing team of professionals at Avra," states Steve Shepherd, CEO of Avra Inc.
"We are excited about the Avra business model, as their product lines create a user-friendly bitcoin ecosystem," said Jamie Zimmerman, Vice President for T2M. "The platform provides a unique solution by enabling payment acceptance from EMV® (Europay, MasterCard and Visa) to Bitcoin while protecting the customers [merchants] from costly data security breaches," concluded Mr. Zimmerman.
For more information please visitwww.avraglobal.com
About Avra Inc.(OTCQB:AVRND)The Company is focused on solutions in the cryptocurrency and digital currency markets, particularly in offering payment solutions to businesses worldwide. The Company's business model can be broken down into four distinct categories. They are as follows: AvraPay: To develop a complete, turn-key and painless way for merchants to accept Bitcoin as Payment; AvraATM: To promote usage and acceptance of digital currencies through the Company's proposed network of ATMs; AvraTourism: To provide cryptocurrency payment processing solutions for merchants such as hotels and casinos; AvraNews: To provide a news portal focusing on digital currency news. Further information on the Company and its filings can be found atwww.sec.gov.
About T2M International Inc.T2M is an information technology consultancy firm specializing in payment processing, website development and mobile marketing. The Company's decades of experience and expertise, strong partnerships and Intellectual property enable clients to scale their businesses and accelerate their "time to market" without the worry of managing multiple carrier relationships, regulatory certifications, and data security. For more information about the Company please visit their website atwww.t2mgroup.com.
Forward Looking StatementsSome information in this document constitutes forward-looking statements or statements which may be deemed or construed to be forward-looking statements, such as the closing of the share exchange agreement. The words "plan", "forecast", "anticipates", "estimate", "project", "intend", "expect", "should", "believe", and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve, and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause the Company's actual results, performance (financial or operating) or achievements to differ from the future results, performance (financial or operating) or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The risks, uncertainties and other factors are more fully discussed in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements attributable to Avra Inc., herein are expressly qualified in their entirety by the above-mentioned cautionary statement. Avra Inc., disclaims any obligation to update forward-looking statements contained in this estimate, except as may be required by law. |
1,389,210,524 | 2014-01-08 19:48:44+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [110, 308, 388, 590, 878, 985, 1552, 1778, 1947]} | {"Bitcoin": [15]} | North American Bitcoin Conference Coming to Miami | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/north-american-bitcoin-conference-coming-194844108.html | Marketwired | http://www.marketwired.com/ | MIAMI, FL--(Marketwired - Jan 8, 2014) - Triple Zero Media today announced that the first-ever North American Bitcoin Conference (http://btcmiami.com/) will be occurring in Miami, Jan. 24 through 26, 2014. The event will be held at the Miami Beach Convention Center. The NABC follows the successful European Bitcoin Conference in Amsterdam in September 2013.
More than 500 members of the Bitcoin international community will be attending to discuss and make plans involving this radically new digital currency that operates without governments or banks. As part of its mission to encourage Bitcoin use and growth, merchants will be admitted for free on Saturday, Jan. 25, and be able to take part in full-day educational workshops.
A pre-conference networking party will take place at 8 p.m., Friday, Jan. 24, at the Clevelander South Beach Hotel & Bar, which will be accepting Bitcoins for payment throughout the property via BitPay. (If out-of-town attendees wish, they may also use Bitcoin to pay for their flights via BTCTrip.com.)
Five panels will address issues of interest to startups, venture capitalists and angel investors, and businesses, and there will be two dozen speakers, including:
Charles Shrem, BitInstantMichael Terpin, BitAngelsMarc van der Chijs, CrossPacific CapitalCarol van Cleef, Patton BoggsMatthew Roszak, SilkRoad EquityJeffrey Tucker, Liberty.meJacob S. Farber, Perkins CoieJason King, Sean's OutpostGabriel Caballero, Gunster, Yoakley & StewartTony Gallippi, BitpayRoger Ver, Memorydealers/bitcoinstoreElizabeth Ploshay, Bitcoin MagazineChris Odom, OpenTransactionsAlan Safahi, ZipZapCharlie Lee, LitecoinCharles Evans, BitcountantGeorge Papageorgiou, Neo & Bee, Neo EasycoinDavid Aylor, Silk Road lawyerRyan Charleston, BitcoratiVitalik Buterin, Bitcoin MagazineEric Spano, ByllsKennth Metral, CoinGigWendell Davis, HiveJoseph Vaughnperling, New Liberty Dollar
For more information and ticket pricing, please visit Bitcoin Miami's website,http://btcmiami.com/. |
1,389,216,600 | 2014-01-08 21:30:00+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [1258]} | {} | The Hottest Ecommerce Businesses to Start in 2014 (Infographic) | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/hottest-ecommerce-businesses-start-2014-213000423.html | Entrepreneur | http://www.entrepreneur.com/ | Being the big guy has its moments. Football, for example, tends to favor the larger fellows. But on the digital playing field, being little - as long as you're fast and nimble - can be a win.
If you are looking for blockbusterecommercebusiness ideasthat favor the small, check out this infographic (below) from Austin, Texas-based ecommerce platform-making companyBigcommerce. Analyzing data provided by 50,000 of its own clients for the past year, Bigcommerce determined that auto, jewelry, toys and games and pet care are fast-growing areas where one-of-a-kind merchants are outperforming their big-box or chain store peers.
For example, auto e-tailers are beating the pants off the likes of AutoZone, independent sporting goods e-tailers are growing faster than REI and Cabela and ecommerce craft stores are hopscotching over big names like Jo-Ann and Hobby Lobby. By the same token, Toys-R-US and American Girl web stores are not growing as quickly as their smaller toy ecommerce counterparts, Bigcommerce data shows.
Here is the infographic with more granular data breaking down growth of revenue per store, size of order and number of stores in various online industries.
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1,389,216,600 | 2014-01-08 21:30:00+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [1258]} | {} | The Hottest Ecommerce Businesses to Start in 2014 (Infographic) | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/finance.yahoo.com/news/hottest-ecommerce-businesses-start-2014-213000423.html | Entrepreneur | http://www.entrepreneur.com/ | Being the big guy has its moments. Football, for example, tends to favor the larger fellows. But on the digital playing field, being little - as long as you're fast and nimble - can be a win.
If you are looking for blockbusterecommercebusiness ideasthat favor the small, check out this infographic (below) from Austin, Texas-based ecommerce platform-making companyBigcommerce. Analyzing data provided by 50,000 of its own clients for the past year, Bigcommerce determined that auto, jewelry, toys and games and pet care are fast-growing areas where one-of-a-kind merchants are outperforming their big-box or chain store peers.
For example, auto e-tailers are beating the pants off the likes of AutoZone, independent sporting goods e-tailers are growing faster than REI and Cabela and ecommerce craft stores are hopscotching over big names like Jo-Ann and Hobby Lobby. By the same token, Toys-R-US and American Girl web stores are not growing as quickly as their smaller toy ecommerce counterparts, Bigcommerce data shows.
Here is the infographic with more granular data breaking down growth of revenue per store, size of order and number of stores in various online industries.
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1,389,217,807 | 2014-01-08 21:50:07+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [272, 924]} | {"Bitcoin": [12]} | Zynga Tests Bitcoin | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/zynga-tests-bitcoin-215007090.html | Zacks | http://www.zacks.com/ | Gaming companyZynga Inc.(NASD:ZNGA) has taken an innovative approach by testing bitcoin for facilitating in-game payments. The gaming company recently made an official statement that it is working with BitPay to facilitate acceptance of the currency in some of its games.
Bitcoin is a digital currency platform, which has a decentralized payment system. This means that there is no central regulating authority involved in the transactions. In this particular type of electronic currency, transactions are carried out directly between the involved parties. It is also called crypto currency because it utilizes military-grade cryptography to protect against fraud.
Since bitcoin is a widely accepted electronic currency platform, so the usage of bitcoin will use the gaming enthusiast into an impulsive buyer. Moreover, the acceptability of the bitcoin platform will help the end users to accept the safety of the platform.
Bitcoin payments can be conducted easily using different apps on a smartphone, with the help of software or through its online version. There is no need for a credit card or a PIN or for any documents to be signed. This is generally required for transferring funds electronically.
Zynga has been trying to boost its competitive position in the mobile gaming segment through the launch of mobile games forApple’s (NASD:AAPL) iOS platform. This kind of payment facility will help the company to facilitate the whole process of online payment for subscription of games.
Zynga posted mediocre third quarter results, with revenues falling considerably compared to the year-ago period. Although Zynga is expected to grow in the near term based on its innovative product pipeline and its dominant position in the social and mobile gaming sector, sales of the company’s online games have taken a major hit due to increased competition from other players such asInternational Game Technology(NYSE:IGT) andElectronic Arts(NASD:EA).
Moreover, we note that barriers to entry are low in the social gaming market and this will attract new entrants, thereby increasing competition for Zynga over the long term.
Currently, Zynga has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Read the Full Research Report on ZNGARead the Full Research Report on EARead the Full Research Report on IGTRead the Full Research Report on AAPLZacks Investment Research |
1,420,043,264 | 2014-12-31 16:27:44+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [73, 981, 1348, 1554]} | {"Bitcoin": [14]} | NYC considers Bitcoin, Apple Pay as options to pay parking fines | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/nyc-considers-bitcoin-apple-pay-162744933.html | Gigaom | http://gigaom.com/ | You can buy an increasing number of goods of services withcryptocurrency Bitcoin and Apple’s new mobile payments platformPay, but soon their reach could expand to fines as well – specifically parking tickets. New York City is contemplating a mobile service that will let parking scofflaws pay their tickets right where they are issued using a number of different mobile payment methods,according to MarketWatch.
In a city where it’s notoriously difficult to park legally, NYC issues as many as 10 million parking tickets each year, many of which rack up further fines after they go unpaid for 30 days. But the city is hoping that by making it easier for busy New Yorkers to pay their fines will lead to more timely collection of that ticket revenue, MarketWatch reported.
The city is weighing creating a mobile app that would let you snap a picture of your ticket from the phone or scan a barcode and then produce a payment interface that could includePayPalas well asApplePay and Bitcoin. While there are no set plans or timeline in place to introduce that app, MarketWatch said, the city has issued a request for information (RFI) to gather more data on how such an instant payment system would work.
Image copyrightShutterstock / bikeriderlondon.
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1,420,063,520 | 2014-12-31 22:05:20+00:00 | {"BTC": [2797]} | {} | Chinese stocks and dollar were stars, oil big loser in 2014 | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/asia-closing-cautious-note-001206738.html | Reuters | http://www.reuters.com/ | By Rodrigo Campos
NEW YORK (Reuters) - China and the United States headed the list of 2014 top-performing equity markets among larger economies while crude oil prices closed in the red to cap a massive yearly slump.
The U.S. dollar on Wednesday added slightly to gains that have made it the year's star major currency.
On Wall Street, stocks fell on Wednesday but the S&P 500 closed 2014 near its record high. The index hit records in more than 50 sessions throughout the year.
"Markets put in a solid year in spite of significant headwinds that could have easily derailed a multi-year bull market," said Peter Kenny, chief market strategist at Clearpool Group in New York. "The most the bears got out of this year was a 10 percent correction on an intraday basis, and the markets stubbornly moved higher, and for good foundational reasons."
The S&P 500 ended its third straight year of double-digit percentage gains. The benchmark added 11.4 percent this year. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 7.5 percent, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 13.4 percent for the year.
On a total return basis, the S&P 500 gained 13.7 percent this year.
On the day, the Dow fell 160 points, or 0.89 percent, to 17,823.07, the S&P 500 lost 21.45 points, or 1.03 percent, to 2,058.9 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 41.39 points, or 0.87 percent, to 4,736.05.
In Latin America, Argentina's benchmark stock index (.MERV) added 59 percent in 2014 and Brazil's Bovespa (.BVSP) shed nearly 3 percent. Colombia's IGBC (.IGBC) fell 11 percent and Mexico's IPC (.MXX) was little changed, up less than 1 percent.
The stand-out equity performer among top economies this year was China, where the CSI300 indexended 2014 with gains of near 52 percent. The index added more than 25 percent in December alone, its best month since April 2007, in part as foreigners won wider access to Chinese stocks.
"China stocks have done really well this year and the dollar move has also been very interesting," said Alvin Tan, an FX strategist at Societe Generale in London. "It barely moved against the other major currencies in the first (half) of the year and all the big gains came in the second."
The dollar ended 2014 up 12.8 percent against a basket of major currencies (.DXY), its best performance since 1997. An expected start to a Federal Reserve tightening cycle may strengthen the dollar's appeal in the new year.
The euro, undermined by bets that the European Central Bank will have to start buying government bonds to avert deflation, was down 0.5 percent at $1.2098 (EUR=), having touched a 2-1/2-year low of $1.2095.
The Russian rouble (RUB=) was down 5 percent on the day as a more than 76 percent plunge for the year marked its worst performance since Russia defaulted in 1998. [EMRG/FRX]
The young bitcoin currency (BTC=BTSP) is closing the year only slightly better than the rouble, falling 57 percent at about $318. It peaked at $995 last January.
U.S. government debt that matures in 20 years and beyond booked a 27 percent return, according to Barclays. That would be its biggest annual gain since 2011, when it generated a 33 percent return.
On its last session of the year, the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury notewas up 6/32, the yield at 2.1703 percent.
Crude oil prices (LCOc1)(CLc1), already down by half from this year's peak, slumped again on Wednesday. Brent fell as much as 3.7 percent to trade below $56 a barrel and U.S. crude was down 3 percent at its session low. Weak Chinese manufacturing data and demand concerns weighed on prices.
Brent was last down 0.6 percent at $57.55 a barrel and WTI fell 0.6 percent to $53.80 a barrel. For the year Brent is down 48 percent and WTI is down 46 percent. [O/R]
Copper (CMCU3), of which China is the biggest consumer, looked set to post its biggest annual decline in three years at 14.4 percent, while traditional safe-haven gold (XAU=) was to close the year just shy of 2 percent lower. Silver (XAG=) fell 19.4 percent in 2014 after a more than 35 percent drop in 2013.[GOL/]
(Additional reporting by global financial markets teams; Editing by Dan Grebler, Leslie Adler and Meredith Mazzilli) |
1,420,063,520 | 2014-12-31 22:05:20+00:00 | {"BTC": [2808]} | {} | Chinese stocks and dollar were stars, oil big loser in 2014 | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/asia-closing-cautious-note-001206754--finance.html | Reuters | https://www.reuters.com/ | By Rodrigo Campos
NEW YORK (Reuters) - China and the United States headed the list of 2014 top-performing equity markets among larger economies while crude oil prices closed in the red to cap a massive yearly slump.
The U.S. dollar on Wednesday added slightly to gains that have made it the year's star major currency.
On Wall Street, stocks fell on Wednesday but the S&P 500 closed 2014 near its record high. The index hit records in more than 50 sessions throughout the year.
"Markets put in a solid year in spite of significant headwinds that could have easily derailed a multi-year bull market," said Peter Kenny, chief market strategist at Clearpool Group in New York. "The most the bears got out of this year was a 10 percent correction on an intraday basis, and the markets stubbornly moved higher, and for good foundational reasons."
The S&P 500 ended its third straight year of double-digit percentage gains. The benchmark added 11.4 percent this year. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 7.5 percent, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 13.4 percent for the year.
On a total return basis, the S&P 500 gained 13.7 percent this year.
On the day, the Dow fell 160 points, or 0.89 percent, to 17,823.07, the S&P 500 lost 21.45 points, or 1.03 percent, to 2,058.9 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 41.39 points, or 0.87 percent, to 4,736.05.
In Latin America, Argentina's benchmark stock index <.MERV> added 59 percent in 2014 and Brazil's Bovespa <.BVSP> shed nearly 3 percent. Colombia's IGBC <.IGBC> fell 11 percent and Mexico's IPC <.MXX> was little changed, up less than 1 percent.
The stand-out equity performer among top economies this year was China, where the CSI300 index <.CSI300> ended 2014 with gains of near 52 percent. The index added more than 25 percent in December alone, its best month since April 2007, in part as foreigners won wider access to Chinese stocks.
"China stocks have done really well this year and the dollar move has also been very interesting," said Alvin Tan, an FX strategist at Societe Generale in London. "It barely moved against the other major currencies in the first (half) of the year and all the big gains came in the second."
The dollar ended 2014 up 12.8 percent against a basket of major currencies <.DXY>, its best performance since 1997. An expected start to a Federal Reserve tightening cycle may strengthen the dollar's appeal in the new year.
The euro, undermined by bets that the European Central Bank will have to start buying government bonds to avert deflation, was down 0.5 percent at $1.2098 <EUR=>, having touched a 2-1/2-year low of $1.2095.
The Russian rouble <RUB=> was down 5 percent on the day as a more than 76 percent plunge for the year marked its worst performance since Russia defaulted in 1998. [EMRG/FRX]
The young bitcoin currency <BTC=BTSP> is closing the year only slightly better than the rouble, falling 57 percent at about $318. It peaked at $995 last January.
U.S. government debt that matures in 20 years and beyond booked a 27 percent return, according to Barclays. That would be its biggest annual gain since 2011, when it generated a 33 percent return. <.BCUSATSY20P>
On its last session of the year, the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note <US10YT=RR> was up 6/32, the yield at 2.1703 percent.
Crude oil prices <LCOc1><CLc1>, already down by half from this year's peak, slumped again on Wednesday. Brent fell as much as 3.7 percent to trade below $56 a barrel and U.S. crude was down 3 percent at its session low. Weak Chinese manufacturing data and demand concerns weighed on prices.
Brent was last down 0.6 percent at $57.55 a barrel and WTI fell 0.6 percent to $53.80 a barrel. For the year Brent is down 48 percent and WTI is down 46 percent. [O/R]
Copper <CMCU3>, of which China is the biggest consumer, looked set to post its biggest annual decline in three years at 14.4 percent, while traditional safe-haven gold <XAU=> was to close the year just shy of 2 percent lower. Silver <XAG=> fell 19.4 percent in 2014 after a more than 35 percent drop in 2013.[GOL/]
(Additional reporting by global financial markets teams; Editing by Dan Grebler, Leslie Adler and Meredith Mazzilli) |
1,389,286,137 | 2014-01-09 16:48:57+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [1275]} | {"Bitcoin": [8]} | Gold or Bitcoins: Which Will Perform Better in 2014? | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/gold-bitcoins-perform-better-2014-164857665.html | Zacks | http://www.zacks.com/ | Gold prices experienced a pretty rough 2013, with the yellow metal plunging more than 25% on the year. This marked the first time in more than a decade that gold produced a calendar year loss, and it has led some to think that the glory days of the precious metal are over.Yet, while gold struggled, a newcomer to the ‘safe haven’ market stole the show in 2013, bitcoins. This new type of currency—which is ‘mined’ by supercomputers—has attracted a huge following.The currency is out-of-reach from inflating-prone central banks, and since there are only a finite number of bitcoins available, worries over devaluations are non-existent. Thanks to these features, bitcoins became extremely popular last year, while the performance of bitcoins didn’t hurt its popularity either.After all, bitcoins started the year tradingaround $14for each bitcoin, and soon spiked to over $238 by the start of the second quarter. And following a big drop in April and May, bitcoins took off, finishing the year around the $800 mark, representing a huge gain for investors.2014 OutlookSo far in 2014, gold, as represented by ETFs likeGLDand AMEX:IAU, has been pretty much flat. Meanwhile, gold miners, represented by AMEX:GDX, have faced some turbulence too, losing about 2% to start the year.Bitcoins on the other hand, have already added more than 10% in the year, soaring past the $1,000 level before falling back a bit lately. So already this year bitcoins are off to a good start once again.And with some concerns over production amounts for gold, we might see further losses in the precious metal market, especially if the economy continues to chug along and investors remain in stock investments instead.However, after such a horrendous year in 2013, I think the metal is due for a bit of a bounce back, especially if gold bugs look to get in a better price for the long haul, or for miners that can hold on in this difficult time.Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX)is actually at a 9.5 forward PE, while the gold mining industry, although still depressed, has moved out of the bottom bracket from aZacks Industry Rank perspective, suggesting it is may be due for a rebound soon.Meanwhile, after bitcoin’s incredible run and huge amount of press last year, it is bound to attract some attention from governments around the world. Legal issues seem likely to creep up this year, and that could drag down bitcoin’s value, or at least increase volatility.We have already seen a preview of this thanks to a crackdown in what is thought to be a key market for bitcoins, China. In fact, just this week, China’s biggest e-commerce company, Alibaba,banned the sale of bitcoins on its Taobaomarketplace.If others follow suit or if more legal worries hit bitcoins in key markets, it might prompt some to cash in their huge winnings, and stay on the sidelines for the near term.Given this, I think that the much-hyped crypto-currency takes a step back this year, and that gold finds a way to rebound. But what about you?Are you betting on gold or bitcoins in 2014?Let us know in the comments section below!Want more insights from Zacks? See our latest free report5 Stocks to Double.Click here to receive this free report now >>>Read the analyst report on GLDRead the analyst report on IAURead the analyst report on GDXRead the analyst report on ABXZacks Investment Research |
1,389,286,137 | 2014-01-09 16:48:57+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [1275]} | {"Bitcoin": [8]} | Gold or Bitcoins: Which Will Perform Better in 2014? | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/finance.yahoo.com/news/gold-bitcoins-perform-better-2014-164857665.html | Zacks | http://www.zacks.com/ | Gold prices experienced a pretty rough 2013, with the yellow metal plunging more than 25% on the year. This marked the first time in more than a decade that gold produced a calendar year loss, and it has led some to think that the glory days of the precious metal are over.Yet, while gold struggled, a newcomer to the ‘safe haven’ market stole the show in 2013, bitcoins. This new type of currency—which is ‘mined’ by supercomputers—has attracted a huge following.The currency is out-of-reach from inflating-prone central banks, and since there are only a finite number of bitcoins available, worries over devaluations are non-existent. Thanks to these features, bitcoins became extremely popular last year, while the performance of bitcoins didn’t hurt its popularity either.After all, bitcoins started the year tradingaround $14for each bitcoin, and soon spiked to over $238 by the start of the second quarter. And following a big drop in April and May, bitcoins took off, finishing the year around the $800 mark, representing a huge gain for investors.2014 OutlookSo far in 2014, gold, as represented by ETFs likeGLDand AMEX:IAU, has been pretty much flat. Meanwhile, gold miners, represented by AMEX:GDX, have faced some turbulence too, losing about 2% to start the year.Bitcoins on the other hand, have already added more than 10% in the year, soaring past the $1,000 level before falling back a bit lately. So already this year bitcoins are off to a good start once again.And with some concerns over production amounts for gold, we might see further losses in the precious metal market, especially if the economy continues to chug along and investors remain in stock investments instead.However, after such a horrendous year in 2013, I think the metal is due for a bit of a bounce back, especially if gold bugs look to get in a better price for the long haul, or for miners that can hold on in this difficult time.Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX)is actually at a 9.5 forward PE, while the gold mining industry, although still depressed, has moved out of the bottom bracket from aZacks Industry Rank perspective, suggesting it is may be due for a rebound soon.Meanwhile, after bitcoin’s incredible run and huge amount of press last year, it is bound to attract some attention from governments around the world. Legal issues seem likely to creep up this year, and that could drag down bitcoin’s value, or at least increase volatility.We have already seen a preview of this thanks to a crackdown in what is thought to be a key market for bitcoins, China. In fact, just this week, China’s biggest e-commerce company, Alibaba,banned the sale of bitcoins on its Taobaomarketplace.If others follow suit or if more legal worries hit bitcoins in key markets, it might prompt some to cash in their huge winnings, and stay on the sidelines for the near term.Given this, I think that the much-hyped crypto-currency takes a step back this year, and that gold finds a way to rebound. But what about you?Are you betting on gold or bitcoins in 2014?Let us know in the comments section below!Want more insights from Zacks? See our latest free report5 Stocks to Double.Click here to receive this free report now >>>Read the analyst report on GLDRead the analyst report on IAURead the analyst report on GDXRead the analyst report on ABXZacks Investment Research |
1,420,199,050 | 2015-01-02 11:44:10+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [1949]} | {} | Raise a glass and toast the U.S. Economy in 2015! | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/jobs--jobs-and-more-jobs-expected-in-2015-135521040.html | Yahoo Finance | http://finance.yahoo.com/ | As investors ring in the New Year they should also raise a glass to toast the U.S. economy which is finally on solid footing. “We go into 2015 and put the very bitter memory of 2007, 2008 behind us.” saidMark Hamrick, Washington Bureau Chief, at Bankrate.com.
With the national unemployment rate down to 5.8%, Hamrick also notes many Americans will begin the new year gainfully employed. “The economy has really done a great job of damage repair, with acceleration here recently with the quality of jobs being added.” Employers are expected to continue adding workers in 2015 at a monthly pace of 219,000, according to economists surveyed by Bankrate.com.
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More jobs will likely bring the unemployment rate down to 5.5%, while boosting U.S. economic growth by nearly 3% over the next 12-months, as detailed in this snapshot from Bankrate.com’s survey of economists.
85% of those economists also expect the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates. “They do expect a rate hike around June 2015,” says Hamrick who also notes consumers should brace for higher borrowing costs. “Which in some ways is counter intuitive because Treasury yields have remained so low.” On average, economists see the yield on the 10-Year Treasury note, the benchmark for interest rates charged to consumers, rising to 3.17%.
That being said,Bloomberg Newsreminds us in an article strategists had predicted higher yields in 2014 but that never happened. Global turmoil in Russia, Japan’s recession and weaker economic growth in Europe propped up demand for the safety of U.S. government debt driving yields down to2.19%.
As a result, U.S. government securities have returned5.9% this year, according to theBloomberg U.S. Treasury Bond Index,now on pace for the biggest annual gain since 2011. There is a good chance bond investors will stick with the U.S. as we begin the new year.
More from Yahoo FinanceWhat is Bitcoin and how does it work?Gas prices stay low as Saudis try to "smoke out" USThe 10 top-searched stocks of 2014: Google is No. 6 |
1,420,214,096 | 2015-01-02 15:54:56+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [0, 380, 500, 759, 1679], "BTC": [2046]} | {"Bitcoin": [3]} | Is Bitcoin Poised For Success In 2015? | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-poised-success-2015-155456873.html | Benzinga | http://www.benzinga.com/ | Bitcoin is coming off a turbulent year.
The cryptocurrency's value sunk below $350 per coin, a hefty increase from its beginnings around $10, but a far cry from its highs around $1,200.
Additionally, the currency was wracked with scandals, most notably the collapse of Tokyo's Mt. Gox exchange. Unstable prices -- and the public's hesitance to get on board -- have many expecting Bitcoin to fade away in the coming year. But enthusiasts disagree.
New Developments
In order to evaluate the success of Bitcoin, some say that price is only a small part of the equation.
While it's true the Mt. Gox scandal shed a negative light on the currency, 2014 also brought about several new developments that made the currency more user-friendly.
Related Link:Who Accepts Bitcoin?
Some cities around the globe installed “bitcoin ATMS,” where people can buy and sell the currency without an intermediary, making it more accessible. The adoption of the currency by big businesses also helped spur confidence in its stability.
Microsoft Corporation(NASDAQ:MSFT) was perhaps the largest company to announce that customers could use bitcoins to pay for some of its games and services, but others, likePayPal(NASDAQ: PYPL) andVirgin Galactic LLC,also decided to allow the currency.
With that in mind, many see 2015 as an exciting year for growth in bitcoin popularity. Some US states are working to regulate the use of bitcoins, something that will likely increase the public's confidence.
In New York, for example, lawmakers are working to create a “BitLicense” plan, which is designed to protect consumers.
A New Index
On January 5, BitMEX, a cryptocurrency exchange, is slated to unveil a30-Day Bitcoin Historic Volatility Index. The index will calculate the currency's volatility based on a 30-day period, allowing traders to bet on the currency's uncertainty, rather than whether it will go up or down.
The new index suggests the bitcoin market is maturing, and it could give traders a new way to participate in the currency's growing popularity.
Image Credit:BTC Keychain, Flickr
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• Euro Steady Above .21 To Finish The Year
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© 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. |
1,389,314,580 | 2014-01-10 00:43:00+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [28, 225, 440]} | {"Bitcoin": [31]} | One step closer to legitimacy: Bitcoin payment live on Overstock | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/2014-01-09-overstock-accepts-bitcoin.html | Engadget | https://www.engadget.com/ | While it's legal topay with Bitcoinin the US, the digital currency hasn't been very useful for mainstream shoppers. However, that's changing today -- Overstock has justbecomethe first major American online retailer to accept Bitcoin. You'll still see prices listed in old-fashioned dollars, but you can choose the newer payment method at checkout. CEO Patrick ByrnetellsWiredthat he made the move for both pragmatic and idealistic reasons: Bitcoin doesn't cost as much to accept compared to credit cards or PayPal, and itsnationless naturereduces the chances that a failed bank or country will create problems. It's tough to tell whether other big e-retailers will follow suit, but we can't imagine that competing shops will want to leave that much virtual money on the table. |
1,420,218,000 | 2015-01-02 17:00:00+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [768]} | {} | How a Bullied, Dyslexic 16-Year-Old Entrepreneur Fought Back and Found His Way | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bullied-dyslexic-16-old-entrepreneur-170000409.html | Entrepreneur | http://www.entrepreneur.com/ | Ollie Forsyth didn’t fit in at school. Bullies picked on him for being dyslexic, for being different. They said he was a nobody and always would be. He’d never succeed in life.The Northamptonshire, U.K. teen could have let their cruel cut-downs crush his spirit, his self-esteem and his motivation. But he didn’t. Instead, he looked to self-made billionaire SirRichard Branson-- who alsostruggled with dyslexiaat school -- for direction and strength. Then, just as Branson gutsily did, he used his doubters’ venom to fuel his budding entrepreneurial fire.“Branson really has inspired me,” Ollie told Entrepreneur.com. “He was very dyslexic and when I watched a program on him, I was determined to become like him.”Related:How a Teenage Entrepreneur Built a Startup on Bitcoin RichesOllie was also determined to prove his haters wrong before they graduated from school and went their separate ways. And that’s exactly what he did. After learning about how Bransonturned a “disadvantage” Ollie knew painfully all too well into an advantage, he launched his first business at only 13, three years younger than Branson was when braved his first venture.Even before he was a teen, Ollie caught the entrepreneurial bug. As a kid growing up in a relatively affluent area, he fetched his parents’ coffee and tea for 20 pence (about 34 cents) per cup. “If they wanted it reheated, I would charge another 20 pence.” Between brewing caffeine jolts for his parents, walking his family’s dogs and cutting the grass, he eventually earned 20 pounds ($33.74) per week.Ollie’s first official foray into entrepreneurship is simply calledOllie’s Shop. It’s an online gift boutique that sells trendy jeweled bracelets, novelty cufflinks, leather belts and wallets and other “Perfect Prezzies” (presents) for teens and their parents. With the help of family and friends, Ollie fulfills several orders a day from his home, where he stores his stock, some of which he sources from China.Related:Rampant Bullying Found Across WorkplacesHe says Ollie’s Shop sales rolled in from day one and haven’t stopped since. Ollie garnered a profit of more than 2,500 pounds, he claims, in the first six months alone.“When I hit my first 10,000 [$16,870], I knew I had something here. That’s when the light went off! I knew I was on the journey to success, and, so far, I’ve been lucky. I have never lost a penny.”Ollie suspects he was bullied by his classmates at the prestigious Oxfordshire boarding schoolBruern Abbey, his country’s only preparatory school for boys with learning difficulties, possibly because they were “jealous” of his commitment and drive to achieving his business goals.“I never got the answer why they did it to me. It’s a shame that I didn’t get on with the boys, or they didn’t get on with me, but you have to move on in life."Related:4 Ways to Prevent Office BulliesHis advice to kids who are bullied in school, due to insensitivity toward a learning difference or otherwise, is to flat-out ignore their harassers. “Things like this happen in life, but you have to crack on with life. Onwards and upwards!” Better to channel your anger and upset from being bullied into pursuing your dreams and to helping others enduring a similar plight, specifically through volunteering, Ollie says."Making a difference to someone can mean changing someone's life. I’ve always been very passionate about helping others, not just for PR, but from the heart, too."He’s volunteered for a variety of charities, including East Anglia’s Children’s Hospice, the Army Benevolent Fund's The Soldiers' Charity, and he’s currently the U.K. Ambassador forWinners Win, an online inspirational publication that connects readers with philanthropic organizations. Using his own money, he’s also establishing a charity to help young entrepreneurs start their own businesses while they’re still in school.Related:Richard Branson on Turning a Disadvantage to Your AdvantageOllie also suggests that all kids, especially teen entrepreneurs, talk about their hopes, dreams and challenges with successful adults they trust and admire. If you don’t have access to a mentor -- aside from his parents, Ollie didn’t when first started out -- connect with a mentor through a local youth-oriented mentorship program. Or seek out entrepreneurial success stories on YouTube, like he did. ("My mentor was YouTube!" he says.)Now 16, Ollie has opened his second online shop,Charmou. Launched just four months ago, the fashion-focused ecommerce site already features some 23 up-and-coming apparel brands, 250 products in all from across the globe. Ollie’s goal is to offer 365 brands in all by early next year.With school behind him, Ollie’s deepening his focus on making it big in business, specifically at thePeter Jones Enterprise Academy. The school is owned by Peter Jones, a serial entrepreneur and former panelist onDragon’s Den, the British equivalent of ABC'sShark Tank.Related:9 Ideas For Teen BusinessesBy making it big, Ollie means becoming a millionaire.“If I can become a millionaire either by 20 or in my 20s, or before I die, I would be a happy chap. Money does matter to me, but there’s no point in earning millions if you hate your job. I would much rather be self-employed. How far off am I [from getting rich]? Look at the rich list in a few years' time.”
Related:Young Millionaire: Inside the Mind of Yahoo's Teen Sensation Nick D'Aloisio |
1,444,930,663 | 2015-10-15 17:37:43+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [279, 1762, 1831]} | {} | Barclays Partnership With Chainalysis Ushers In New Era For Fintech | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/barclays-partnership-chanalysis-ushers-era-173743067.html | Benzinga | http://www.benzinga.com/ | On Wednesday, at the culmination of the Barclays Accelerator program,Barclays PLC (ADR)(NYSE:BCS)announceda new partnership with startup Chainalysis.
The partnership is seen as an opportunity with the potential to further open up the traditional finance sector to bitcoin firms.
Bitcoin businesses have long found it difficult to engage with banks, as traditional finance has been wary of the risks that come with dealing in cryptocurrencies. However, with one of the UK's largest banks onboarding Chainalysis to its compliance department, many see a union between cryptocurrencies and traditional finance on the horizon.
Mitigating Risks
Barclays' partnership with Chainalysis is expected to help the bank better understand and cope with the risks of dealing with bitcoin firms.
The startup is expected to work together with Barclays to find ways for firms within the cryptocurrency industry to meet traditional banks' strict compliance standards.
Related Link:Blockstream To Launch Sidechain
Worries about money laundering and illegal transactions have kept many banks from dealing with the industry, but Chainalysis says it has developed several products that make it easier for banks to perform checks on bitcoin customers.
Mutual Benefit
The partnership between Barclays and Chainalysis is a big step for both firms. For Barclays, working with Chainalysis gives the bank a leg up against competitors as the firm is able to stay on top of evolving trends in the finch space.
Chainalysis has gained major exposure from the deal, and the company says it hopes other finance institutions will follow suit and use some of Chainalysis' products as the cryptocurrency space continues to grow.
Image Credit: Public Domain
See more from Benzinga
• AXA Interested In Bitcoin's Potential
• Barclays Becomes First Big U.K. Bank To Accept Bitcoin
• Emerging Market Shares Battered: Is It Time To Buy?
© 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. |
1,444,937,400 | 2015-10-15 19:30:00+00:00 | {"BTC": [4130]} | {} | Caribbean's Next Top Model Set for Season 2 Premiere | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/caribbeans-next-top-model-set-193000533.html | Marketwired | http://www.marketwired.com/ | MIAMI, FL--(Marketwired - Oct 15, 2015) - On October 19, young women from all over the Caribbean will begin chasing their dreams of success as career models, when the second season of Caribbean's Next Top Model (CNTM) makes its premiere on Flow TV. Cable and Wireless, which operates both the Flow and LIME brand, is the premium sponsor for the show's sophomore season, which will run for 11 episodes, starting on October 19.
The Caribbean reality show is based on the successful original production -- America's Next Top Model. This regional program follows the stories of young women seeking to launch a career in the competitive world of modelling, and is produced and presented by Wendy Fitzwilliam, a former Miss Universe, successful model and entrepreneur.
"We are extremely excited to be partnering with Wendy Fitzwilliam and her Caribbean's Next Top Model team," said John Reid, President of the C&W Communications, Consumer Group. "We are not just committed, but we are also proud to support Caribbean producers who generate quality local content for the region." Reid also noted that customers now have more options to access the exciting regional programme across multiple platforms, including their TV and other smart devices, where the mobile option was available. Customers in Jamaica, Trinidad, Barbados, Cayman, and Curacao will also be able to access the show at their convenience using Flow's Video on Demand (VOD) feature. Aside from the many viewing options, Flow customers, will also be able to participate in other exciting promotions including weekly SMS competition to win a new iPad, tablet, or other great prizes.
Commenting on the partnership, Fitzwilliam said, "It is so refreshing when a corporate entity recognises the need for support and undertakes the responsibility of enabling the development of Caribbean talent and content -- Flow has definitely got it right. With Flow you get more -- CNTM's fans will get a wholesome entertainment experience, one that is as interactive and engaging as possible. With Flow's quad play technology, viewers can truly enjoy the upcoming season to the fullest extent."
Caribbean Next Top Model will be broadcast simultaneously on the Flow TV platform across the region on Monday nights from October 19 at 7:30 p.m. in Curacao, Jamaica, Cayman Islands and at 8:30 p.m. -- in Trinidad, Jamaica, Barbados, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, St. Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda and The Bahamas. As the season unfolds, each CNTM episode will first air on Flow TV and will then air on other stations, five days after the initial Flow airing.
Season Two of Caribbean's Next Top Model will premiere with a star-studded fashion event at the Betsy Hotel on South Beach, Miami on October 19.
About C&W Communications
Cable & Wireless Communications Plc (CWC) is a full service communications and entertainment provider, operating in the Caribbean and Latin America. With annual sales of over US$2.4 billion, it operates both mobile and fixed networks, supported by submarine and terrestrial optical fibre backhaul capacity. Through the acquisition of Columbus International Inc on 31 March 2015, C&W now delivers superior high-speed mobile data, broadband and TV/video services. It has leading market positions in Mobile, Fixed Line, Broadband and TV consumer offers.
Through its business division, C&W provides data centre hosting, domestic and international managed network services, and customised IT service solutions, utilising cloud technology to serve business and government customers.
The company also operates a state-of-the-art subsea fibre optic cable network that spans more than 48,000 km -- the most extensive in the region -- as well as 38,000 km of terrestrial fibre providing wholesale and carrier backhaul capacity and a growing suite of wholesale managed services.
C&W has more than 7,500 employees serving over 6 million customers (Mobile 3.8m; Fixed Line 1.1m; Video 460k and Broadband 665k) as well as over 125k corporate clients and 225 wholesale customers across 42 countries. The Company's leading brands include: LIME and Flow in the Caribbean; BTC in The Bahamas; Mas Movil in Panama; C&W Business and C&W Networks. C&W is the market leader in most products offered and territories served. It is a major contributor to local communities through its corporate social responsibility programs.
Cable & Wireless Communications' shares are quoted on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker CWC. The company is headquartered in London with its operational hub located in Miami, within close proximity to the Caribbean and Latin America. For more information visit:www.cwc.com. |
1,389,363,060 | 2014-01-10 14:11:00+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [23, 221, 573, 967, 1282, 1586, 2231, 2588, 2782, 3371, 4398, 4466, 4599, 4645, 4723, 4733], "BTC": [3602, 3726, 4043]} | {"Bitcoin": [37]} | A Group Of Miners Has Exposed One Of Bitcoin's Fatal Flaws | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/finance.yahoo.com/news/group-miners-exposed-one-bitcoins-141147899.html | Business Insider | http://www.businessinsider.com/ | Lots of people believe Bitcoin is impregnable.
Yesterday showed it may not be.
GHash.io, the world's largest collective of bitcoin miners, gained control of more than 42% of all of the computer processing that powers the Bitcoin network. (Because of the expense now involved for a single miner to create bitcoin, lots of people now pool their computing power.) It's the first time they came close controlling more than 50% of the entire network. Were that 50% threshold ever crossed, a host of problems have the potential to occur. We'll get to what those are in a moment.
Bitcoin miners exist to make a buck. But the price they pay to do so is to confirm other people's transactions. This makes sure the same bitcoins, which of course don't physically exist, aren't spent twice.
When they perform such a confirmation, by unscrambling an encrypted string of letters and numbers, they're rewarded with bitcoins. This is what the "Confirmations" button you see in your Bitcoin wallet after you've made a transaction refers to. Here is one of the larger ones :
Blockchain.info
Below the 50% threshold, there are enough independent miners who can separately confirm whether your transaction is legit.
But a collective that breaks the 50% threshold would have the ability to confirm all Bitcoin transactions on their own — and thus the capacity to start messing with the transactions' reliability. For instance, they could send out false confirmations, reverse the direction of transactions, or block them from occurring entirely. And you wouldn't even know it was happening.
As soon as the Bitcoin community realized what was happening at GHash, "independent" miners who'd subscribed to the collective removed their computers from the pool. Plus GHash, despite its opaque management (its equipment is rumored to be sited in Ukraine, but no one knows much about its leadership),later released a statement saying they would" take all necessary precautions to prevent reaching 51% of all hashing power, in order to maintain stability of the B itcoin network."Quartz' Chris Mimswas the first to report the story.
Indeed, getting to more than 50% without anyone noticing is quite difficult. Blockchain.info, the principal site tracking the Bitcoin network, keeps a running tally of which groups have what share of the system. GHash's share has come back down to 40%. But it jibeswith a chart we recently publishedshowing control of bitcoin wealth is heavily concentrated. Here's what the network control chart looks like now: GHash still enjoys the plurality of all hashing power:
Blockchain.info
Bitcoin observers agree that there wouldn't be more than a temporary disruption to the network once 50% was breached. A s soon as anyone realized this had occurred, most people would stop using Bitcoin, sending prices crashing and making it unprofitable for the "bully pool" to maintain majority control.
But there are even more extreme scenarios. Benjamin Gorlick, the COO of Cloud Hashing, a collectiverecently profiled in The New York Times, did not rule out the possibility that some unknown group could one day take control of the entire network with a giant leap in processing power. "If someone was developing the technology behind the scenes, then launched it all at once, it would be bad," he told us by phone recently.
That remains a remote possibility, he said, since the Bitcoin community remains small enough that someone would eventually take notice.
This is not the first time a mining collective has approached the 51% threshold. Last spring,the Reddit community went ballisticafter a group called BTC Guild, which at the time controlled many of the most powerful miners in existence, called ASICs, nearly hit the figure.
BTC Guild owner Michael Marsee told us in a note today that the problem has not become any less acute since then. While many pools consist of a large majority of "independent miners" not directly affiliated with the pools' founder, GHash was heavily weighted toward its own proprietary miners.
"It almost happened to BTC Guild in the early days of ASIC mining, where almost all existing ASICs were on my pool because it was the only one that worked for them," he said. "GHash.io's problem is different in that half of their speed is owned by themselves. It's self-inflicted, and without that private speed they would not even be the largest pool, let alone near 51%."
The Bitcoin community remains convinced that anyone who participates in Bitcoin automatically has its best interests at heart.
But this kind of power concentration would seem to strike at the heart of the Bitcoin mission.
More From Business Insider
• Bitcoin Is On A Gigantic Tear
• Zynga Has Begun Testing Accepting Payments In Bitcoin
• Bitcoin Is On A Huge Tear Again |
1,389,363,060 | 2014-01-10 14:11:00+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [23, 221, 573, 967, 1282, 1586, 2231, 2588, 2782, 3371, 4398, 4466, 4599, 4645, 4723, 4733], "BTC": [3602, 3726, 4043]} | {"Bitcoin": [37]} | A Group Of Miners Has Exposed One Of Bitcoin's Fatal Flaws | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/group-miners-exposed-one-bitcoins-141147899.html | Business Insider | http://www.businessinsider.com/ | Lots of people believe Bitcoin is impregnable.
Yesterday showed it may not be.
GHash.io, the world's largest collective of bitcoin miners, gained control of more than 42% of all of the computer processing that powers the Bitcoin network. (Because of the expense now involved for a single miner to create bitcoin, lots of people now pool their computing power.) It's the first time they came close controlling more than 50% of the entire network. Were that 50% threshold ever crossed, a host of problems have the potential to occur. We'll get to what those are in a moment.
Bitcoin miners exist to make a buck. But the price they pay to do so is to confirm other people's transactions. This makes sure the same bitcoins, which of course don't physically exist, aren't spent twice.
When they perform such a confirmation, by unscrambling an encrypted string of letters and numbers, they're rewarded with bitcoins. This is what the "Confirmations" button you see in your Bitcoin wallet after you've made a transaction refers to. Here is one of the larger ones :
Blockchain.info
Below the 50% threshold, there are enough independent miners who can separately confirm whether your transaction is legit.
But a collective that breaks the 50% threshold would have the ability to confirm all Bitcoin transactions on their own — and thus the capacity to start messing with the transactions' reliability. For instance, they could send out false confirmations, reverse the direction of transactions, or block them from occurring entirely. And you wouldn't even know it was happening.
As soon as the Bitcoin community realized what was happening at GHash, "independent" miners who'd subscribed to the collective removed their computers from the pool. Plus GHash, despite its opaque management (its equipment is rumored to be sited in Ukraine, but no one knows much about its leadership),later released a statement saying they would" take all necessary precautions to prevent reaching 51% of all hashing power, in order to maintain stability of the B itcoin network."Quartz' Chris Mimswas the first to report the story.
Indeed, getting to more than 50% without anyone noticing is quite difficult. Blockchain.info, the principal site tracking the Bitcoin network, keeps a running tally of which groups have what share of the system. GHash's share has come back down to 40%. But it jibeswith a chart we recently publishedshowing control of bitcoin wealth is heavily concentrated. Here's what the network control chart looks like now: GHash still enjoys the plurality of all hashing power:
Blockchain.info
Bitcoin observers agree that there wouldn't be more than a temporary disruption to the network once 50% was breached. A s soon as anyone realized this had occurred, most people would stop using Bitcoin, sending prices crashing and making it unprofitable for the "bully pool" to maintain majority control.
But there are even more extreme scenarios. Benjamin Gorlick, the COO of Cloud Hashing, a collectiverecently profiled in The New York Times, did not rule out the possibility that some unknown group could one day take control of the entire network with a giant leap in processing power. "If someone was developing the technology behind the scenes, then launched it all at once, it would be bad," he told us by phone recently.
That remains a remote possibility, he said, since the Bitcoin community remains small enough that someone would eventually take notice.
This is not the first time a mining collective has approached the 51% threshold. Last spring,the Reddit community went ballisticafter a group called BTC Guild, which at the time controlled many of the most powerful miners in existence, called ASICs, nearly hit the figure.
BTC Guild owner Michael Marsee told us in a note today that the problem has not become any less acute since then. While many pools consist of a large majority of "independent miners" not directly affiliated with the pools' founder, GHash was heavily weighted toward its own proprietary miners.
"It almost happened to BTC Guild in the early days of ASIC mining, where almost all existing ASICs were on my pool because it was the only one that worked for them," he said. "GHash.io's problem is different in that half of their speed is owned by themselves. It's self-inflicted, and without that private speed they would not even be the largest pool, let alone near 51%."
The Bitcoin community remains convinced that anyone who participates in Bitcoin automatically has its best interests at heart.
But this kind of power concentration would seem to strike at the heart of the Bitcoin mission.
More From Business Insider
• Bitcoin Is On A Gigantic Tear
• Zynga Has Begun Testing Accepting Payments In Bitcoin
• Bitcoin Is On A Huge Tear Again |
1,420,238,512 | 2015-01-02 22:41:52+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [196, 262, 419, 498, 575, 676, 1162, 1443, 1637, 1682, 2085, 2267, 2629]} | {"Bitcoin": [48]} | Police Are Investigating Whether A $730 Million Bitcoin Heist Was Actually An Inside Job | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/police-investigating-whether-730-million-224152441.html | Business Insider | http://www.businessinsider.com/ | REUTERS/Mike Blake A bitcoin ATM machine is shown at a restaurant in San Diego, California September 18, 2014.
Japanese police are reportedly investigating whether people connected to the Mt. Gox Bitcoin exchange were behind the loss of hundreds of thousands of Bitcoin.
Pando is reporting that Japanese newspaper the Yomiuri Shimbun has publishedan update on the police investigation into the theft of vast amounts of Bitcoin from online exchange Mt. Gox.
Mt. Gox was a central part of the global Bitcoin-trading world. At its peak in 2013 the site was handling over 70% of Bitcoin transactions, serving as the backbone for the cryptocurrency industry.
The wildly successful Bitcoin exchange was based in Japan, with a team of contractors working under enigmatic CEO Mark Karpelès. As Pando reports, the site's owner only employed contractors, and kept important parts of the site's encryption to himself. Despite the secrecy, though, the company thrived.
It was a far cry from the origins of the site, which started life as a website for people to exchange Magic The Gathering trading cards. In its news form, Mt. Gox was handling billions of dollars worth of Bitcoin transactions.
But everything came crashing down for Mt. Gox in February 2014 when the site suddenly halted all withdrawals. That alarmed customers, who bombarded it with queries. No solid information was forthcoming, with the site blaming a problem in the core code behind Bitcoin for the loss of a vast amount of the digital currency. At its peak value, the amount lost was over $730 million.
By March 2014,Mt. Gox had filed for bankruptcy and Karpelès resignedfrom Bitcoin's board. The majority of the missing Bitcoin was never found, however. 200,000 bitcoin was found in one of Mt. Gox's old accounts, but most customers still lost out. Karpelès has refused to travel to the US to face charges, meaning that the Japanese police investigation could be the last hope for Mt. Gox customers.
Now, it looks like the police investigation is turning its focus onto people involved with Mt. Gox, not vulnerabilities in Bitcoin or hackers from outside the company. The Japanese newspaper report cites sources close to the investigation who claim that someone involved with Mt. Gox may have transferred Bitcoin around the exchange, repeating the process and earning a profit margin.
If the Mt. Gox bitcoin was stolen by routing the money through the online exchange, that could be related to "Willy" and "Markus" — two of Mt. Gox's automated trading accounts which conducted suspicious transfers.
Sources close to the police investigators claim that only 1% of the Bitcoin ever left Mt. Gox as a result of a hack, with an overwhelming amount staying inside the company.
Despite what seems to be a significant advancement in the police investigation, there's still little hope that Mt. Gox's customers will see their cryptocurrency again.
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• Japan Approves $29 Billion Stimulus Package
• Apple Will Offer Mystery Bags At Its Japanese Stores
• New Yorkers May Soon Be Able To Pay Parking Tickets Through Their iPhones |
1,389,366,919 | 2014-01-10 15:15:19+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [201, 678, 1192, 1249, 1855]} | {"Bitcoin": [36]} | SmartMetric to Launch World's First Bitcoin Card With Biometric Fingerprint Protection | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/smartmetric-launch-worlds-first-bitcoin-151519662.html | Marketwired | http://www.marketwired.com/ | NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - Jan 10, 2014) - SmartMetric, Inc. (OTCQB:SMME), a developer of patented biometric products, announced today it has developed and will soon launch the SmartMetric Biometric Bitcoin Card, the world's first biometric, fingerprint secured, off-line storage platform for bitcoins.
"SmartMetric's bitcoin card can significantly accelerate the growth and rate of adoption for bitcoins as the new global currency. By applying our patented biometric technologies to a bitcoin payment card, we offer the world's first fingerprint-secured method to safely store and use bitcoins," stated SmartMetric President and CEO Chaya Hendrick.
The SmartMetric Biometric Bitcoin Card uses the Company's patented biometric fingerprint technology, the world's smallest fingerprint reader. The card offers the benefits of bitcoins such as peer-to-peer transactions and card-to-card direct bitcoin sending anywhere in the world, while enabling real-time, in-person standard payment transactions at merchants and compatibility with standard ATMs around the world. Advanced patented fingerprint technology uses the cardholder's unique biometrics to lock and unlock the SmartMetric Biometric Bitcoin Card, providing safety and discrete portability.
Bitcoins are becoming more widely used around the world, driven by government non-intervention and merchant and consumer demand. In the U.S., Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke recently sent a letter to the Senate noting that bitcoin may "hold long-term promise... if the innovations promote a faster, more secure and more efficient payment system." Japan, Germany, and Singapore have also recently taken an open stance on bitcoin, choosing to keep the digital currency unregulated for the time being.
According towww.blockchain.infothere are an estimated 12 million bitcoins in circulation today. With Bitcoins trading at approximately $925 per bitcoin on January 6, 2013, there is an estimated $11 billion worth of bitcoins in circulation.
About SmartMetric
SmartMetric, Inc. (OTCQB:SMME) develops patented biometric technologies used for security and identification, including the world's smallest fingerprint reader. The Company's proprietary advanced miniature electronics technology uses sub-micro computers to create fingerprint and security applications that were not previously possible. The world's smallest fingerprint reader is designed to fit inside standard payments cards as well as ID cards. Because of the miniature size of the electronics it is ideal for use in a broad array of products requiring an enhanced identification system. SmartMetric's products include biometric credit card and biometric debit card technologies, a medical emergency biometric card, and a MedicalKeyring™. For information on SmartMetric and its technology please go towww.smartmetric.com.
Safe Harbor StatementCertain of the above statements contained in this press release are forward looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Such forward looking statements are within the meaning of that term in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Readers are cautioned that any such forward looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. |
1,420,297,253 | 2015-01-03 15:00:53+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [2365, 3933]} | {} | 10 pieces of tech speak we should trash in 2015 | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/10-pieces-tech-speak-trash-150053141.html | Gigaom | http://gigaom.com/ | Time to circle back, tear down silos and pivot on those deliverables: 2014 was a banner year for the tech industry — at least when it came to spouting jargon. And while everyone has finally dropped the dreaded “open the kimono,” a whole new series of cliches are on the march.
So for the good of tech types everywhere, here’s a ranked list of overused phrases from last year that we can all stop saying (or say a little less) in 2015. Feel free to add any of your own in the comments below.
10) We take users on a journey
Unless your company sells cars, boats orhoverboards, it’s a good bet your company doesn’t take users far beyond their living rooms. So skip the cliched travel metaphors and just say what the damn product does.
9) “Like peanut butter and chocolate”
This phrase is popping up as a way for big tech company execs to describe the serendipitous discovery of complementary business units. It’s a tasty metaphor the first time you hear it — but goes over more like curdled spinach the 10th time.
8) Tech company X’s terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day
Applehad one. So didUber. So didSony. The rest of us will too if tech reporters don’t stop riffing on the title of Judith Viorst’s 1974 children book in a failed stab at hilarious hyberbole.
7) Startup “story tellers”
Expertssayyoung companies need to hire “story tellers” to share their vision/shake money from VC’s. The term is smarmy and the act is unnecessary. Yes, a narrative is important, but start-ups looking for the right words can just turn to the PR firms they’re already paying. Or in the case of AOL, keep paying the company’s “digital prophet”Shingyto do whatever the hell he does.
6) Ninjas and gurus
There a still handful of diehards out there who think this is a witty way to convey expertise. If you’ve somehow forgotten to remove “ninja” and “guru” from your Twitter or LinkedIn profiles, do so quietly before you get sent back to 2010 where you belong.
5) “We see around corners”
Hey marketers, if you want customers to think your client can see into the future, better stop using a cliche from the past.
4) Cloud/cloud-based/in-the-cloud
In 2014, a deluge of corporate rebranding meant the end of any meaningful distinction between “in the cloud” and “on the internet.” In 2015, let’s see how the jargon slingers parse the mainstream adoption of SaaS, PaaS and IaaS.
3) Bitcoin is like the internet in 1994
In the award for crummy currency of the year, bitcoinbeat outeven the plummeting ruble. Meanwhile, bitcoin boosterslike Circleand the boys atAndreessen Horowitzkeep trotting out Netscape and other cusp-of-the-internet analogies in a bid to keep the faith. They’re going to need a new metaphor — or better yet some actual bitcoin adoption — if they want this thing to still going to be around in 2016.
2) Disrupt/Disruption
Most startups and even PR people got the memo that these terms are not just obnoxious, but stale, stale, stale. VC Benedict Evans might be on to something when he points to a possible successor term:
Note for 2015: destabilise is a more useful term than 'disrupt', which is now drained of all meaning.
— Benedict Evans (@BenedictEvans)December 30, 2014
Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images
1) Sharing economy
Sharing is a positive term to describe free, benevolent acts among friends. Paying for the temporary use of cars, homes or labor is not sharing — no matter how much the likes of Uber and Airbnb invoke the phrase to score points in theirPR battle with regulators. While “sharing economy” is still common currency in tech circles, 2015 should be the year it gets chucked. Let’s follow Fred Wilson’sexampleand use a grown-up term (“rental economy”) as a proper description for this white hot part of the tech sector.
Image copyrightNick Harris via Flickr CC.
Related research and analysis from Gigaom Research:Subscriber content.Sign up for a free trial.
• 4 frameworks for understanding industry change
• Bitcoin: why digital currency is the future financial system
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• 10 pieces of tech speak we should trash in 2015 |
1,389,370,345 | 2014-01-10 16:12:25+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [36, 573, 842, 1188, 1257]} | {} | 5 Intriguing Things: Friday, 1/10 | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/finance.yahoo.com/news/5-intriguing-things-friday-1-161225117.html | The Atlantic | http://www.theatlantic.com/ | 1.Perhaps the strangest thing about Bitcoin is that it's made chip development more exciting than it's been since Bob Noyce was still at Intel.
"At the heart of the computers made by HashFast and similar startups such as KnCMiner and Butterfly Labs is a chip known as an ASIC, or an application specific integrated circuit. Unlike the general purposeIntel(INTC)chip powering a PC or anARM(ARMH)processor in a smartphone, an ASIC typically performs a single function extremely well. A security company might make an ASIC to speed up the encryption of data, for example. For Bitcoin-mining toolmakers like HashFast, the goal is to make an ASIC that is precisely tuned to crunch Nakamoto’s algorithms. 'It would take 70,000 of Intel’s fastest chips to match one of ours,' de Castro says...
In August, Austin (Tex.)-based CoinTerra announced two Bitcoin computer designs, which it dubbed GoldStrike and TerraMiner. So far the company has $20 million in presales. Ravi Iyengar, a veteran chip designer, runs the startup. Iyengar has worked at Intel,Nvidia,Qualcomm, and, most recently,Samsung, where he led a team that developed chips for the company’s phones and tablets. After hearing about Bitcoin, Iyengar quit his job to use his experience to outrace other Bitcoin-mining startups. Iyengar has watched Intel,IBM,Apple, Samsung, and other heavyweights slug it out in the chip business for years. 'No arms race in the history of the chip industry even comes close to this,' he says."
2.Define prosopography.
"Inhistorical studies,prosopographyis an investigation of the common characteristics of a historical group, whose individual biographies may be largely untraceable, by means of a collective study of their lives, in multiple career-line analysis.Prosopographical research has the aim of learning about patterns of relationships and activities through the study of collective biography, and proceeds by collecting and analysing statistically relevant quantities of biographical data about a well-defined group of individuals. This makes it a valuable technique for studying many pre-modern societies."
3.There are a bunch of tiny figurines sitting on the streets of Singapore right now. 144 have been found; 264 are still waiting.
"Bringing art from exhibition spaces to urban streets, the figurines disrupt one's preoccupation in the metropolis and ask city dwellers to be more aware of their surroundings and notice the small details. All figurines in Foundin are individuals seeking to be found in one way or another, just like every one of us. By shrinking human figures to miniature plastic models, the project places a miniature city within a city and explores how we, the higher and larger beings, interact with much smaller counterparts."
4.Massive, colorful isometric drawings of the world's nuclear plants.
5.The lawyer who has singlehandedly kept the most ethically questionable telemarketing firms calling on behalf of duped or duplicitous charities.
"Copilevitz was on hand again in 2001, when Florida lawmakers made their own attempt to crack down in high-cost fundraising. They passed a law forcing charities to declare on mailers and fliers how much they spend on solicitors.
Copilevitz filed suit on behalf of two charities, including the Committee for Missing Children, No. 13 on the Times/CIR list... He won yet again. Copilevitz convinced a federal judge that spending 86 percent of donations on professional solicitors – as the Committee for Missing Children had done that year – does not make a charity unworthy of support."
Today's 1957 Language Tip:
-AL NOUNS. There is a tendency to invent or revive unnecessary verbal nouns of this form. The many that have passed into common use (astrial, arrival, refusal, acquittal, proposal) have thereby established their right to exist. But when words of some age (asrevisal, refutal, appraisal [q.v.], accusal) have failed to become really familiar & remained in the stage in which the average man cannot say with confidence offhand that they exist, the natural conclusion is that there is no work for them that cannot be adequately done by the more ordinary verbal nouns in -ion(revision),-ation(refutation), &-ment(appraisement). When there is need on an isolated occasion for a verbal noun that shall have a different shade of meaning from those that are current (e.g.accusalmay suggest itself as fitter to be followed by an objective genitive thanaccusation; cf.the accusal of a murder, the accusation of a murder), or that shall serve when none already exists (there is e.g. no nounbeheadment), it is better to make shift with the gerund (theaccusing,thebeheading) than to revive an unfamiliaraccusalor inventbeheadal. The use of new -alnouns, however, is due only in part to a legitimate desire for the exactly appropriate form. To some writers the out-of-the-way word is dear for its own sake, or rather is welcome as giving an air of originality to a sentence that if ordinarily expressed would be detected as commonplace. They are capable of writingbequeathalforbequest, orallowalforallowance. Except for this dislike of the normal word, we should have hadaccountinstead ofrecountalinOf more dramatic interest is therecountalof the mission imposed upon Sir James Lacaita. Surprisal, supposal, decrialmay be among the hundreds of needless -alwords that have been actually used.
Observe thatappraisalhas now established its right to exist.
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Seeking to Be Found in One Way or Another
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• The Long-Haired, Wild-Eyed, Trash-Talking CEO Radical Who Saved T-Mobile
• Can Uncle Sam Sell Americans on Marriage?
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1,389,370,345 | 2014-01-10 16:12:25+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [36, 573, 842, 1188, 1257]} | {} | 5 Intriguing Things: Friday, 1/10 | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/5-intriguing-things-friday-1-161225117.html | The Atlantic | http://www.theatlantic.com/ | 1.Perhaps the strangest thing about Bitcoin is that it's made chip development more exciting than it's been since Bob Noyce was still at Intel.
"At the heart of the computers made by HashFast and similar startups such as KnCMiner and Butterfly Labs is a chip known as an ASIC, or an application specific integrated circuit. Unlike the general purposeIntel(INTC)chip powering a PC or anARM(ARMH)processor in a smartphone, an ASIC typically performs a single function extremely well. A security company might make an ASIC to speed up the encryption of data, for example. For Bitcoin-mining toolmakers like HashFast, the goal is to make an ASIC that is precisely tuned to crunch Nakamoto’s algorithms. 'It would take 70,000 of Intel’s fastest chips to match one of ours,' de Castro says...
In August, Austin (Tex.)-based CoinTerra announced two Bitcoin computer designs, which it dubbed GoldStrike and TerraMiner. So far the company has $20 million in presales. Ravi Iyengar, a veteran chip designer, runs the startup. Iyengar has worked at Intel,Nvidia,Qualcomm, and, most recently,Samsung, where he led a team that developed chips for the company’s phones and tablets. After hearing about Bitcoin, Iyengar quit his job to use his experience to outrace other Bitcoin-mining startups. Iyengar has watched Intel,IBM,Apple, Samsung, and other heavyweights slug it out in the chip business for years. 'No arms race in the history of the chip industry even comes close to this,' he says."
2.Define prosopography.
"Inhistorical studies,prosopographyis an investigation of the common characteristics of a historical group, whose individual biographies may be largely untraceable, by means of a collective study of their lives, in multiple career-line analysis.Prosopographical research has the aim of learning about patterns of relationships and activities through the study of collective biography, and proceeds by collecting and analysing statistically relevant quantities of biographical data about a well-defined group of individuals. This makes it a valuable technique for studying many pre-modern societies."
3.There are a bunch of tiny figurines sitting on the streets of Singapore right now. 144 have been found; 264 are still waiting.
"Bringing art from exhibition spaces to urban streets, the figurines disrupt one's preoccupation in the metropolis and ask city dwellers to be more aware of their surroundings and notice the small details. All figurines in Foundin are individuals seeking to be found in one way or another, just like every one of us. By shrinking human figures to miniature plastic models, the project places a miniature city within a city and explores how we, the higher and larger beings, interact with much smaller counterparts."
4.Massive, colorful isometric drawings of the world's nuclear plants.
5.The lawyer who has singlehandedly kept the most ethically questionable telemarketing firms calling on behalf of duped or duplicitous charities.
"Copilevitz was on hand again in 2001, when Florida lawmakers made their own attempt to crack down in high-cost fundraising. They passed a law forcing charities to declare on mailers and fliers how much they spend on solicitors.
Copilevitz filed suit on behalf of two charities, including the Committee for Missing Children, No. 13 on the Times/CIR list... He won yet again. Copilevitz convinced a federal judge that spending 86 percent of donations on professional solicitors – as the Committee for Missing Children had done that year – does not make a charity unworthy of support."
Today's 1957 Language Tip:
-AL NOUNS. There is a tendency to invent or revive unnecessary verbal nouns of this form. The many that have passed into common use (astrial, arrival, refusal, acquittal, proposal) have thereby established their right to exist. But when words of some age (asrevisal, refutal, appraisal [q.v.], accusal) have failed to become really familiar & remained in the stage in which the average man cannot say with confidence offhand that they exist, the natural conclusion is that there is no work for them that cannot be adequately done by the more ordinary verbal nouns in -ion(revision),-ation(refutation), &-ment(appraisement). When there is need on an isolated occasion for a verbal noun that shall have a different shade of meaning from those that are current (e.g.accusalmay suggest itself as fitter to be followed by an objective genitive thanaccusation; cf.the accusal of a murder, the accusation of a murder), or that shall serve when none already exists (there is e.g. no nounbeheadment), it is better to make shift with the gerund (theaccusing,thebeheading) than to revive an unfamiliaraccusalor inventbeheadal. The use of new -alnouns, however, is due only in part to a legitimate desire for the exactly appropriate form. To some writers the out-of-the-way word is dear for its own sake, or rather is welcome as giving an air of originality to a sentence that if ordinarily expressed would be detected as commonplace. They are capable of writingbequeathalforbequest, orallowalforallowance. Except for this dislike of the normal word, we should have hadaccountinstead ofrecountalinOf more dramatic interest is therecountalof the mission imposed upon Sir James Lacaita. Surprisal, supposal, decrialmay be among the hundreds of needless -alwords that have been actually used.
Observe thatappraisalhas now established its right to exist.
Subscribe to 5 Intriguing Things
Seeking to Be Found in One Way or Another
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• The Long-Haired, Wild-Eyed, Trash-Talking CEO Radical Who Saved T-Mobile
• Can Uncle Sam Sell Americans on Marriage?
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1,420,386,111 | 2015-01-04 15:41:51+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [0, 180, 207, 1170]} | {"Bitcoin": [0]} | Bitcoin Is Getting Smoked To Start The New Year | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-getting-smoked-start-154151501.html | Business Insider | http://www.businessinsider.com/ | Bitcoin is under $300 for the first time since November of 2013. It's down ~16% to start 2015.
After peaking at $1,147.25 in December of 2013, it's been one long, slow descent for Bitcoin.
It's not good for Bitcoin, which had tremendous hype when its price was exploding. But, it's not necessarily the worst thing in the world, either.
Fred Wilson, a startup investor who is bullish on bitcoin,said the following in a blog post about what he thinks happens in 2015:
8/ The horrible year that bitcoin had in 2014 will be a wakeup call for all stakeholders. Developers will turn their energy from creating the next bitcoin (all the alt stuff) to creating the stack on top of the bitcoin blockchain. Real decentralized applications will start to emerge as the platform matures and entrepreneurial energy is channeled in the right direction.
In theory, as the price continues to drop, it could push developers to build applications.
Here's achart of the price from CoinDesk:
Screenshot
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1,420,433,160 | 2015-01-05 04:46:00+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [1945]} | {"Bitcoin": [57]} | SpaceBIT Introduces First Ever Space Banking Program For Bitcoin And Cryptocurrencies | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/spacebit-introduces-first-ever-space-044600698.html | ACCESSWIRE | https://www.accesswire.com/ | Untitled Document SpaceBIT, The First Decentralized Space Company, Is Pleased To Announce The Unprecedented Space Banking Project For Digital Currencies LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / January 4, 2015 / The company is set to launch a constellation of nano-satellites that will act not only as depositories for digital cash, but also as a platform to provide global and universal access to remote areas around the globe where payment infrastructures are non-existent. "Our goal is to establish a secure decentralized banking system with common banking services for current and future crypto-currency users around the world", said Pavlo Tanasyuk, one of the SpaceBIT founders. Furthermore he added that the company will support the expansion of crypto-currency markets and establish their ongoing presence in the world economy. In the short term, SpaceBIT will focus on building a transparent, secured and affordable blockchain based payment system to ‘un-banked’ populations. Different currencies are suited for different applications. For example bitcoin can be used as a universal ledger and other reliable financial instruments to be used for different services depending on use case and jurisdiction. The program is currently forming a committee of high profile specialists from various industries, including finance, space, law and technology. In addition, SpaceBIT is in the process of partnering with land-based banks and exchanges to comply with local regulations and jurisdictions, while simultaneously creating borderless transaction systems. "We believe that is important to stay fully compliant and transparent, while providing global access to our future users. Partnerships with banks will give us the possibility of providing traditional financial services with convenient and simple crypto payments on a global scale", said Pavlo Tanasyuk. "Crypto currency in itself is a science fiction becoming a reality" Brock Pierce, Member of The Bitcoin Foundation The SpaceBIT team is to make appearances at multiple venues around the world throughout 2015 to give more in-depth presentations on logistics, engage interested parties and create a discourse around the implementation. Ian Angell, Emeritus Professor at the London School of Economics and a co-founder of SpaceBIT, is available for interviews About SpaceBIT: SpaceBIT is the first decentralized space company , currently undergoing the stage TRL5 of the first-ever space banking project. The main goal of the company is to establish a secure decentralised banking system with common banking services for current and future crypto-currency users around the world. Story continues SpaceBIT was founded by Pavlo Tanasyuk, who holds degree in Technology Policy from Cambridge University and Ian Angell, Emeritus Professor at the London School of Economics, internationally renowned as a 'futurologist', in particular for his views on the future of money, and a speaker on space bank programmes since 1998. For more information about us, please visit http://www.firstspacebank.com/ Contact: Pavlo Tanasyuk [email protected] SpaceBIT Source: SpaceBIT View comments |
1,345,679,880 | 2012-08-22 23:58:00+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [395]} | {} | MasterCard denies BitCoin card rumors, BitInstant says it's still on track | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/2012-08-22-mastercard-denies-bitcoin-card-rumors.html | Engadget | https://www.engadget.com/ | Well, BitInstant is insistent that it will launch aBitCoin debit card, butMasterCardis claiming it willnotbe part of the plans. After a mock up of the plastic made the rounds featuring the company's logo, the financial powerhouse felt it necessary to reach out to us, clarifying its non-involvement.
"MasterCard has no relationship with BitInstant. There are issuers who allow the conversion of Bitcoins to US dollars and other currencies, delivered on prepaid cards. However, we're not aware of this particular programme from BitInstant."
Of course, if you read the transcript of Charlie Shrem's chat announcing the plans, he never actually names MasterCard. The logo was likely meant as a placeholder -- one that some outlets took a little too literally.
Interestingly, this doesn't actually mean that MasterCard won't be involved... just that the company isn't at this point in the process. BitInstant released its own statement, just hours after the card house contacted us, saying that it has been working with MasterCard affiliates, but had yet to submit to the financial firm directly.
"The card program is moving forward and the arrangement with MasterCard will be handled in due time at the proper stage of the process by the partners who work directly with that company."
So, what have we learned today? Not a whole heck of a lot actually, other than the fact that putting out a debit card is a complicated business. You'll just have to stay tuned to see how this shakes out. |
1,420,454,460 | 2015-01-05 10:41:00+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [1063]} | {} | 10 Things In Tech You Need To Know Today | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/10-things-tech-know-today-104158980.html | Business Insider | http://www.businessinsider.com/ | (Kimberly White/Getty Images)Twitter CEO Dick Costolo.
Good morning! Here's the tech news you need to know to start off the week.
1.Mark Zuckerberg's New Year's resolution is to read a book every other week.He's going to be running a virtual book club on Facebook.
2.Uber had a huge New Year's Eve.At the evening's peak, there were more than 58 trips per second.
3.The US will impose sanctions on North Korea over the Sony hack.But because we don't know who is behind it, the businesses targeted probably weren't involved with the hack.
4.Uber has hired Governor Cuomo's former press secretary.Matthew Wing is joining Uber's policy and communications team.
5.Las Vegas Airport is adding thousands of power outlets for CES.It spent $400,000 on the devices.
SPONSORED BY Bitdefender BOXBitdefender BOX is an all-inclusive cybersecurity solution packed into one smartphone-controlled device. The first 300 people to respond will receive one for free.Click here now.
6.Twitter looks set to launch a new video upload service.It should launch sometime in early 2015.
7.Bitcoin is having a bad start to the new year, down around 16%.Its value peaked at $1,147.25 in December 2013, now it's under $300.
8.Samsung has shown a new device that looks similar to leaked phone images.The Galaxy S6 may be coming soon.
9.A crowdfunding campaign for a satirical video game about North Korea has raised over $17,000.It lets you play as Kim Jong-un.
10.Smart thermostat company Nest is adding integration with a bunch of other "internet of things" companies.It announced at CES that it's working with LG and Philips, among others.
NOW WATCH:The ‘Tesla of scooters’ is finally available and it looks incredible
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1,389,414,573 | 2014-01-11 04:29:33+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [236, 412, 485, 1165, 1340, 1685, 1874, 2300, 2623, 2710]} | {} | GoCoin First to Enable Merchants to Accept Litecoin on the International Alt-Currency Payment Platform | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/gocoin-first-enable-merchants-accept-042933567.html | Marketwired | http://www.marketwired.com/ | SINGAPORE--(Marketwired - Jan 10, 2014) - GoCoin, a leading digital currency payment platform, announced today its ability to accept the alternative digital currency Litecoin. GoCoin clients will now have the flexibility to accept both Bitcoin and Litecoin payments all through one succinct platform.
GoCoinis the first payment platform to incorporate the growing alternative currency market. In earlier days of Bitcoin, many found themselves wondering, "Where can I actually spend my Bitcoins?" With this new feature, merchants can preventLitecoinholders from facing that same dilemma by giving them a place to spend their Litecoins.
"GoCoin's platform was specifically designed from the beginning to easily accommodate emerging digital currencies, such as Litecoin, because we saw the massive potential of the digital currency market," said GoCoin's Founder & CEO, Steve Beauregard. "Our goal is to create a one-stop payments solution for merchants to streamline checkout and expand sales with digital currency payments."
"In the past we had to turn away customers requesting to purchase KnCMiner computers with Litecoin," said Sam Cole, President of the leading Bitcoin mining hardware manufacturer and a client of Gocoin. "Through this new alliance with GoCoin, for the first time, our worldwide customers will be able to pay with both Bitcoin and Litecoin."
The GoCoin platform has been built by top-tier eCommerce experts to allow merchants to claim an advantage in the quickly adapting digital currency arena. With the ability to penetrate this untapped market, merchants who use GoCoin can be among the first to easily accept Litecoin, the leading alternative currency, behind Bitcoin.
For more information, please visithttp://www.gocoin.com/.
ABOUT GOCOINThe GoCoin international payment platform makes it easier than ever for online and retail merchants to accept Bitcoin and Litecoin as payment methods. While payments infrastructure over the last half-century was designed to hold funds for as long as possible, while extracting maximum fees from consumers and merchants, GoCoin enables merchants to reap the benefits of accepting digital currency. GoCoin takes all of the perceived risk of accepting the digital currency on behalf of merchants. Founded in July 2013, GoCoin will process Bitcoin and Litecoin payments for online and brick and mortar retailers, bypassing the often cumbersome and insecure options of virtual exchanges and other third parties. For more information, please visithttp://www.gocoin.com.
Official Website|Facebook|@GOCOIN
ABOUT KnCMinerKnCMiner AB are the market leading producer of Bitcoin mining hardware. Based Stockholm, Sweden, they design, develop and manufacture Bitcoin Mining devices based on 28 and 20nm silicon production processes. Today over half of all bitcoin transactions worldwide are secured using equipment from KnCMiner. For more information, please visithttps://www.kncminer.com/. |
1,389,414,573 | 2014-01-11 04:29:33+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [236, 412, 485, 1165, 1340, 1685, 1874, 2300, 2623, 2710]} | {} | GoCoin First to Enable Merchants to Accept Litecoin on the International Alt-Currency Payment Platform | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/finance.yahoo.com/news/gocoin-first-enable-merchants-accept-042933567.html | Marketwired | http://www.marketwired.com/ | SINGAPORE--(Marketwired - Jan 10, 2014) - GoCoin, a leading digital currency payment platform, announced today its ability to accept the alternative digital currency Litecoin. GoCoin clients will now have the flexibility to accept both Bitcoin and Litecoin payments all through one succinct platform.
GoCoinis the first payment platform to incorporate the growing alternative currency market. In earlier days of Bitcoin, many found themselves wondering, "Where can I actually spend my Bitcoins?" With this new feature, merchants can preventLitecoinholders from facing that same dilemma by giving them a place to spend their Litecoins.
"GoCoin's platform was specifically designed from the beginning to easily accommodate emerging digital currencies, such as Litecoin, because we saw the massive potential of the digital currency market," said GoCoin's Founder & CEO, Steve Beauregard. "Our goal is to create a one-stop payments solution for merchants to streamline checkout and expand sales with digital currency payments."
"In the past we had to turn away customers requesting to purchase KnCMiner computers with Litecoin," said Sam Cole, President of the leading Bitcoin mining hardware manufacturer and a client of Gocoin. "Through this new alliance with GoCoin, for the first time, our worldwide customers will be able to pay with both Bitcoin and Litecoin."
The GoCoin platform has been built by top-tier eCommerce experts to allow merchants to claim an advantage in the quickly adapting digital currency arena. With the ability to penetrate this untapped market, merchants who use GoCoin can be among the first to easily accept Litecoin, the leading alternative currency, behind Bitcoin.
For more information, please visithttp://www.gocoin.com/.
ABOUT GOCOINThe GoCoin international payment platform makes it easier than ever for online and retail merchants to accept Bitcoin and Litecoin as payment methods. While payments infrastructure over the last half-century was designed to hold funds for as long as possible, while extracting maximum fees from consumers and merchants, GoCoin enables merchants to reap the benefits of accepting digital currency. GoCoin takes all of the perceived risk of accepting the digital currency on behalf of merchants. Founded in July 2013, GoCoin will process Bitcoin and Litecoin payments for online and brick and mortar retailers, bypassing the often cumbersome and insecure options of virtual exchanges and other third parties. For more information, please visithttp://www.gocoin.com.
Official Website|Facebook|@GOCOIN
ABOUT KnCMinerKnCMiner AB are the market leading producer of Bitcoin mining hardware. Based Stockholm, Sweden, they design, develop and manufacture Bitcoin Mining devices based on 28 and 20nm silicon production processes. Today over half of all bitcoin transactions worldwide are secured using equipment from KnCMiner. For more information, please visithttps://www.kncminer.com/. |
1,420,463,864 | 2015-01-05 13:17:44+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [2208, 2264, 2389]} | {} | Your top 10 money questions of 2014 answered | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/your-top-10-money-questions-of-2014-answered-131745690.html | Yahoo Finance | http://finance.yahoo.com/ | Yahoo Finance rounded up the top-searched questions you wanted to know about money and finance in 2014 and answered them for you. We've been revealing the answers over the past two weeks, but here is a roundup of everything you wanted to know, in one place.
1. Should I buy Apple stock?
The short answer, according to our resident investing reporter Jeff Macke is yes, but maybe not at this price. Check out what he has to say in the video below, or read the full articlehere.
2. What's my 2014 tax bracket?
This is a bit complicated to answer in one sentence, so check out this video, or click here to get our personal finance reporter Mandi Woodruff's take on how to make sense of the IRS.
3. How to start a business
You guys weren't just asking simple questions in 2014! Mandi gives you a step by step look at how to make this daunting task a bit easierhere.
4. Should I refinance my mortgage?
According ot Mandi - this depends what you're hoping to acheive, and whether your savings would cover any new closing costs. Her full story ishere.
5. Can I buy a house with bad credit?
Mandi says yes - but it's going to cost you a lot more. In thisarticle, and the below video, she walks you through your different options, and explains how much you could save if you wait until your credit is better.
6. Should I buy Facebook stock?
We asked Jeff Macke and he said if you're asking this question, the answer is probably yes. But there are some caveats. Check out the video below to hear what they are, or clickhere.
7. Why are gas prices going down?
Well, because oil prices are! The answer to why that is is slightly more complicated, so check out the explainer below, or read about ithere.
8. Who is the richest man in the world?
If you're going by straight up assets, the answer right now is Bill Gates. But caculating the answer by assets can be kind of boring since it's been the same 3 contenders for years. Watch below or clickherefor our take on the question.
9. Is social security taxable?
Is any tax question simple? This one isn't, the answer is "sometimes." Mandi breaks down when your benefits are taxed, when they aren't, and all of your other questionshere, and in the video below.
10. What is Bitcoin and how does it work?
The simple answer is that Bitcoin is a digital money. But it's more than that too. We explain everything you could want to know - including how to use Bitcoin if you're not a computer genius - in the video below andarticle.
Get the Latest Market Data and News with the Yahoo Finance App |
1,420,465,158 | 2015-01-05 13:39:18+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [1729]} | {} | How to start a business | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/how-to-start-a-business-174620330.html | Yahoo Finance | http://finance.yahoo.com/ | Yahoo Finance is answering yourmost-searched finance questions of the year. The number three thing you wanted to know was, "How to start a business."
It's a big topic but we'll try to boil it down for you. Every business begins with same first step: an idea. Once you’ve got an idea of what type of business you’d like to start, your next step is to come up with your business plan — this is where you lay out your roadmap for your company three to five years down the line. It’s what most people call a “living document” because business owners are constantly revising their business plans to make sure they are staying on track.
[Get the Latest Market Data and News with the Yahoo Finance App]
Another important step is, of course, finding money! Unless you’ve got the cash on hand to get your business off the ground, you’ll need to find financing — that can come from traditional sources like small business loans, private investors, or grants. But these days, some businesses are getting funding from some alternative places, like Lending Club, a peer-to-peer lender, or crowdfunding sites like GoFundMe and Kickstarter. If you’re just starting out, I highly recommend checking out theSmall Business Administration’s website. They’ve got all the tools and resources any entrepreneur would need to get started.
Have a personal finance question you’d like answered? Drop us a line [email protected].
More of your top finance questions answered:
Number 4:Should you refinance your mortgage?
Number 5:Can you buy a house with bad credit?
Number 6:Should you buy Facebook stock?
Number 7:Why are gas prices going down?
Number 8:Who is the richest man in the world?
Number 9:Is social security taxable?
Number 10:What is Bitcoin and how does it work? |
1,445,016,335 | 2015-10-16 17:25:35+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [4225]} | {} | October Treat: Junk Bonds and Gold ETFs Pop | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/etf-losers-come-roaring-back-172535490.html | etf.com | https://www.etf.com/ | The stock market rebound continued this week as the S&P 500 touched its highest level in nearly two months. TheSPDR S&P 500 (SPY | A-99)is now up 5.8 percent in October, a strong performance in a month that has historically been the second-worst of the year (after September).
Gold & Silver Miners Dominate Jump
On Monday, we highlighted thebest-performing exchange-traded funds of October. Those funds, comprising mostly copper and energy producers, are still doing well in the month.
However, a new group of ETFs have bullied their way into the top 10: gold and silver miners. In fact, precious-metals-related funds now make up six of the top 10 positions for October, as can be seen from the table below.
Top 10 ETF Of October
[{"Ticker": "SILJ", "Fund": "PureFunds ISE Junior Silver (Small Cap Miners/Explorers)", "Return (%)": "27.86"}, {"Ticker": "COPX", "Fund": "Global X Copper Miners", "Return (%)": "25.61"}, {"Ticker": "PLTM", "Fund": "First Trust ISE Global Platinum", "Return (%)": "25.30"}, {"Ticker": "CU", "Fund": "First Trust ISE Global Copper", "Return (%)": "25.23"}, {"Ticker": "SLVP", "Fund": "iShares MSCI Global Silver Miners", "Return (%)": "25.07"}, {"Ticker": "SGDM", "Fund": "Sprott Gold Miners", "Return (%)": "24.04"}, {"Ticker": "KWT", "Fund": "Market Vectors Solar Energy", "Return (%)": "23.29"}, {"Ticker": "RING", "Fund": "iShares MSCI Global Gold Miners", "Return (%)": "23.28"}, {"Ticker": "GDX", "Fund": "Market Vectors Gold Miners", "Return (%)": "22.60"}, {"Ticker": "SIL", "Fund": "Global X Silver Miners", "Return (%)": "22.41"}]
Considering the big jump in gold prices this month, the performance of these ETFs hasn't been surprising. The yellow metal hit the highest point since mid-June this week, leading theSPDR Gold Trust (GLD | A-100)to a gain of 5.7 percent in October.
Miners tend to be much more volatile than the underlying metal, which explains their significant outperformance. Yet even as these ETFs rally, investors haven't been too keen on buying into them.
None of the top 10 price performers saw significant inflows, and in fact, investors pulled out $429 million from theMarket Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX | C-79)during the first half of the month.
Investors Buying BondsWhile ETF investors haven't been too enthusiastic about miners, they did show interest in gold itself. So far this month, GLD has attracted $483 million in inflows, putting it just outside the top 10 inflows list for the month.
One salient theme that has emerged during October is the idea that the Federal Reserve will hold off on hiking interest rates this year due to global slowdown concerns and the recent string of weak U.S. economic data.
That's propelled gold higher, as well as bonds. In fact, bonds are the asset class that's attracted the most capital this month.
As can be seen from the table below, generated using theETF.com fund flows tool, a number of bond ETFs made the top 10 inflows list:
Source: ETF.com Fund Flows Tool
TheiShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF (IEF | A-51)was a big winner, with nearly $1 billion in inflows. To the extent that the Fed's overnight interest rate stays lower for longer, that puts pressure on the longer end of the yield curve as well (supporting bond prices).
Even more popular than IEF were corporate bond ETFs like the SPDR BarclaysHigh Yield Bond ETF (JNK | B-68)and theiShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF (LQD | A-77). In addition to support from low interest rates, corporate bonds benefited from speculation that defaults may not be as high as feared.
That's particularly true for the junk bond space, which was hammered in August and September, sending yields to their loftiest level since 2011. Investors may be seeing those yields as attractive now that the stock market has stabilized and the Fed looks to be on hold.
In addition to the bond ETFs, other funds that saw notable inflows were the tech-heavyPowerShares QQQ (QQQ | A-66)and the large-capiShares Russell 1000 Value (IWD | A-90).
In terms of sectors, investors liked theIndustrial Select SPDR (XLI | A-92)and theConsumer Discretionary Select SPDR (XLY | A-91).
Contact Sumit Roy [email protected].
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Permalink| © Copyright 2015ETF.com.All rights reserved |
1,445,017,190 | 2015-10-16 17:39:50+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [2428]} | {} | Is The Video Subscription Space Saturated? | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/video-subscription-space-saturated-173950240.html | Benzinga | http://www.benzinga.com/ | The way consumers watch TV has changed drastically over the past few years as the popularity of Internet video sites like YouTube have skyrocketed.
Dedicated streaming services likeNetflix, Inc.(NASDAQ:NFLX) and Hulu emerged and their warm reception from American viewers caused traditional broadcasters to rethink their own operations.
Now, several big name networks have created their own online, subscription-based services in an effort to give customers more choices for web-based viewing. However, with so many fragmented viewing options out there, many are wondering if the space is starting to become crowded.
The All Important Millennial
The younger generation is increasingly switching to online viewing, a troublesome sign for traditional cable. Services like Netflix and Amazon offer a wide range of content geared toward that demographic and have become popular choices for Millennials who are cutting the cord.
Related Link:Why Netflix's Initial Selloff Was "Correct"
However, in an effort to maintain a youthful audience, firms like NBC Universal andCBS Corporation(NYSE:CBS) have launched their own subscription services with content aimed at younger viewers.
Stiff Competition
NBC Universal recentlyunveileda new streaming offering called Seeso, which will focus on comedy programming. The firm has been working together with non-traditional media companies like BuzzFeed and Vox to attract younger viewers, but the firm will have to compete with a host of other networks that are all doing the same thing.
Dish Network's Sling TV, CBS' All Access service and Time Warner's HBO Now are just some of the many online subscription services that Seeso will have to compete with.
Cutting The Cord
While online viewing is gaining popularity, most agree that at the present moment there is no good way to cut the cord completely.
Subscribing to the many online services that have saturated the streaming space would typically cost more than paying a traditional cable bill, so most consumers are choosing one or two online services to enhance their programming. That makes it difficult for new entrants like Seeso as more established names like Netflix are often a top choice.
Image Credit: By Taro the Shiba Inu [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
See more from Benzinga
• Virtual Reality Becomes An Actual Reality With New Oculus Headset
• Netflix Viewing Stats Reveal That All Shows Aren't Created Equally
• 21 Inc's Bitcoin Computer Seeks To Redefine The Internet
© 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. |
1,389,542,685 | 2014-01-12 16:04:45+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [255, 333, 558, 933, 1160, 1276, 1740, 1824, 2101, 2140, 2211, 2289, 2381, 2647, 2763, 2862, 3030, 3095, 3183, 3224, 3627, 3705, 3715]} | {"Bitcoin": [4]} | How Bitcoin Is Like North Korea | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-north-korea-160445742.html | Business Insider | http://www.businessinsider.com/ | North Korea's Korean Central News Agency/AP
Citigroup currency analyst Steven Englander is out with a long Sunday note talking about everyone's favorite topic: digital currency.
In it, he makes an important observation about the extreme inequality in the Bitcoin world:
Best estimates are that there are about one million holders of Bitcoin; 47 individuals hold about 30 percent, another 900 hold a further 20 percent, the next 10,000 about 25% and another million about 20%, with 5% being lost. So 1/10th of one percent represent about half the holdings of Bitcoin and 1 percent close to 80 percent (http://www.businessinsider.com/927-people-own-half-of-the-bitcoins-2013-12). The concentration of Litecoin ownership is similar (http://litecoin-rich-list.blogspot.com). Most of the big wallets have been in place from early on, so sitting back and watching your capital grow has been a very successful strategy.
The distribution of Bitcoin holdings looks much like the distribution of wealth in North Korea and makes the China’s and even the US’ wealth distribution look like that of a workers’ paradise. There are estimates of a Gini coefficient of 0.88 for Bitcoin, but if anything the estimates are low if big holders own multiple wallets and the overall concentration of Bitcoin wealth is greater than in the sample used to estimate the coefficients (http://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/86/is-it-possible-to-estimate-the-gini-coefficient-for-bitcoins-and-if-the-trend-is). The most recent estimate of Gini coefficients of wealth concentration does not show any country above 0.85 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_distribution_of_wealth), but this sample did not include North Korea.
The uneven distribution of Bitcoin wealth may be the price to be paid for getting a rapid dissemination of the Bitcoin payments and store of value technology. If you build a better mousetrap, everyone expects you to profit from your invention, but users benefit as well, so there are social benefits even if the innovator grabs a big share.
How problematic is the unequal distribution of Bitcoin?
If you harbor the notion that Bitcoin is an alternative to the US Dollar/Fed system (as many diehard Bitcoin true believers do) then this seems very problematic, as a world where Bitcoin became the primary unit of exchange would be a severely unequal one.
But if you see Bitcoin as just a payment system that augments the US Dollar — but doesn't replace it – then it's not clear how bad it is. Severe inequality in any given country has social problems because there's no easy escape from that world. Nobody is forced to live within the Bitcoin system, so it's not going to create the same kinds of social problems. This is a bit like the concerns that Bitcoin is deflationary, because the supply is fixed. This would be a problem if a country adopted Bitcoin and everyone were forced to use it... then that would create an incentive for everyone to horde, and commerce would grind to a halt. But since participation in Bitcoin is a fluid things (you can quickly enter into and out of Bitcoin participation) the deflationary aspect is there.
As we've argued before,holding Bitcoin is in some sense holdingequityin Bitcoin (even though it's not exactly a company). Thus talking about the Gini coefficient might make as much sense as talking about the Gini coefficient of, a public company, which has a combination of ultra-large individual and institutional shareholders and then a series of irrelevantly tiny minnow shareholders. Does that unequal distribution matter? Eh, not that much.
More From Business Insider
• Bitcoin Is On A Gigantic Tear
• Zynga Has Begun Testing Accepting Payments In Bitcoin
• Bitcoin Is On A Huge Tear Again |
1,389,542,685 | 2014-01-12 16:04:45+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [255, 333, 558, 933, 1160, 1276, 1740, 1824, 2101, 2140, 2211, 2289, 2381, 2647, 2763, 2862, 3030, 3095, 3183, 3224, 3627, 3705, 3715]} | {"Bitcoin": [4]} | How Bitcoin Is Like North Korea | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-north-korea-160445742.html | Business Insider | http://www.businessinsider.com/ | North Korea's Korean Central News Agency/AP
Citigroup currency analyst Steven Englander is out with a long Sunday note talking about everyone's favorite topic: digital currency.
In it, he makes an important observation about the extreme inequality in the Bitcoin world:
Best estimates are that there are about one million holders of Bitcoin; 47 individuals hold about 30 percent, another 900 hold a further 20 percent, the next 10,000 about 25% and another million about 20%, with 5% being lost. So 1/10th of one percent represent about half the holdings of Bitcoin and 1 percent close to 80 percent (http://www.businessinsider.com/927-people-own-half-of-the-bitcoins-2013-12). The concentration of Litecoin ownership is similar (http://litecoin-rich-list.blogspot.com). Most of the big wallets have been in place from early on, so sitting back and watching your capital grow has been a very successful strategy.
The distribution of Bitcoin holdings looks much like the distribution of wealth in North Korea and makes the China’s and even the US’ wealth distribution look like that of a workers’ paradise. There are estimates of a Gini coefficient of 0.88 for Bitcoin, but if anything the estimates are low if big holders own multiple wallets and the overall concentration of Bitcoin wealth is greater than in the sample used to estimate the coefficients (http://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/86/is-it-possible-to-estimate-the-gini-coefficient-for-bitcoins-and-if-the-trend-is). The most recent estimate of Gini coefficients of wealth concentration does not show any country above 0.85 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_distribution_of_wealth), but this sample did not include North Korea.
The uneven distribution of Bitcoin wealth may be the price to be paid for getting a rapid dissemination of the Bitcoin payments and store of value technology. If you build a better mousetrap, everyone expects you to profit from your invention, but users benefit as well, so there are social benefits even if the innovator grabs a big share.
How problematic is the unequal distribution of Bitcoin?
If you harbor the notion that Bitcoin is an alternative to the US Dollar/Fed system (as many diehard Bitcoin true believers do) then this seems very problematic, as a world where Bitcoin became the primary unit of exchange would be a severely unequal one.
But if you see Bitcoin as just a payment system that augments the US Dollar — but doesn't replace it – then it's not clear how bad it is. Severe inequality in any given country has social problems because there's no easy escape from that world. Nobody is forced to live within the Bitcoin system, so it's not going to create the same kinds of social problems. This is a bit like the concerns that Bitcoin is deflationary, because the supply is fixed. This would be a problem if a country adopted Bitcoin and everyone were forced to use it... then that would create an incentive for everyone to horde, and commerce would grind to a halt. But since participation in Bitcoin is a fluid things (you can quickly enter into and out of Bitcoin participation) the deflationary aspect is there.
As we've argued before,holding Bitcoin is in some sense holdingequityin Bitcoin (even though it's not exactly a company). Thus talking about the Gini coefficient might make as much sense as talking about the Gini coefficient of, a public company, which has a combination of ultra-large individual and institutional shareholders and then a series of irrelevantly tiny minnow shareholders. Does that unequal distribution matter? Eh, not that much.
More From Business Insider
• Bitcoin Is On A Gigantic Tear
• Zynga Has Begun Testing Accepting Payments In Bitcoin
• Bitcoin Is On A Huge Tear Again |
1,389,591,000 | 2014-01-13 05:30:00+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [37, 250, 853, 1650]} | {"Bitcoin": [4]} | New Bitcoin Alternative UFO is Out of This World- Designed For Interplanetary Transactions | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-alternative-ufo-world-designed-053000229.html | ACCESSWIRE | https://www.accesswire.com/ | New digital currency UFO is based on Bitcoin but has some key differences; such as a focus on interplanetary transactions.
January 13th, 2014 / On the 5th January 2014 UFO was launched; a blockchain based, decentralized digital currency based on the Bitcoin protocol with a very fast blocktime of just 1.5 minutes. The mission behind the currency is simple: “UFO is a new type of decentralized currency. Not minted or endorsed by any nation, but by users across the globe.
Anywhere there is internet, you can send or receive UFO. Even in outer space”. The new digital currency is designed to be fast, with increased security and cost efficient mining – and is designed to be used for future “interplanetary transactions”.
The new digital currency has received widespread support on the forums, with over 100 fans voting to see UFO traded on Cryptsy for Bitcoin. A number of famous UFO publications have already contacted the UFO dev team; expressing an interest in writing articles about the coin. There are also plans for a community website similar to abovetopsecret.com, which will pay users in UFO for contributing stories, news, sightings and videos.
UFO is the first serious sci-fi digital currency and is receiving widespread exposure in China, due to many Chinese supporters aiding the growth of the community. UFO is available on Windows, Linux and Mac; UFO clients are available for download from the UFO official website at ufocoin.cc. UFO has seen rapid adoption by cryptocurrency miners, perhaps due to the fact that the dev team has not “told aliens we are launching the coin, so start mining before they setup their own rigs.”. Unlike Bitcoin, UFO mining is accessible to anyone worldwide: UFO can be minted with consumer grade hardware.
Like Litecoin, UFO uses Scrypt as a proof-of-work algorithm. Security is also a prime concern of the UFO dev team; as the UFO website states “We don’t know how advanced aliens are technologically, but we surely don’t want our wallets to be compromised.”.
While the dev team certainly has a sense of humour, they are also serious about the security, longevity and professionalism of UFO. With its unique sci-fi vision and branding, its early widespread support from the community and its innovative plans for collaborating with the UFO community worldwide – UFO may be the first coin that really does go to the Moon. As the unique coin is still in its infancy, early adopters may be well positioned to potentially reap great rewards.
To learn more please go to:http://ufocoin.cc/
UFO Coin on bitcointalk:https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=399937.0
UFO Coin Protocol Details:PoW algorithm: ScryptBlock reward: 5000 UFOBlock time: 1.5 minutesStarting difficulty: 0.00024414Diff retarget: each 960 blocksMax supply: 4 billionSource code:https://github.com/ufocoin/ufo
This press release is for informational purposes only and should not be taken as investment advice.
Visithttp://ufocoin.cc/for more information.Contact InfoName: GabrielOrganization: UFO |
1,420,474,279 | 2015-01-05 16:11:19+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [1593]} | {} | What's your 2014 tax bracket? | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/what-s-your-2014-tax-bracket-174741755.html | Yahoo Finance | http://finance.yahoo.com/ | Yahoo Finance is answering yourmost-asked financial questions of the year, as asked on Yahoo.com. The second most asked thing was: "What's my 2014 tax bracket?"
Your tax bracket, which determines your federal income tax rate, is based on two major factors — your annual income and your filing statu (for example, if you’re filing together with your spouse or on your own as an individual).
[Get the Latest Market Data and News with the Yahoo Finance App]
Since your income and filing status can change over time, so can your tax bracket. On top of that, the IRS makes its own adjustments to federal income tax brackets each year to account for inflation.
For these reasons, it can sometimes be confusing to determine what bracket you’re in. To figure it out, you can use this free tool fromTaxAct.com, which calculates it for you. We likethis chart from Bankrate, too, because it gives you the big picture while also helping you find out which bracket you’re in.
Figuring out your tax bracket is especially important for people who are self-employed, because you have to decide each how much to set aside for taxes at the beginning of each year.
Have a personal finance question you’d like answered? Drop us a line [email protected].
More of your top finance questions answered:
Number 3:How to start a business
Number 4:Should you refinance your mortgage?
Number 5:Can you buy a house with bad credit?
Number 6:Should you buy Facebook stock?
Number 7:Why are gas prices going down?
Number 8:Who is the richest man in the world?
Number 9:Is social security taxable?
Number 10:What is Bitcoin and how does it work? |
1,389,591,000 | 2014-01-13 05:30:00+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [37, 250, 853, 1650]} | {"Bitcoin": [4]} | New Bitcoin Alternative UFO is Out of This World- Designed For Interplanetary Transactions | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-alternative-ufo-world-designed-053000229.html | ACCESSWIRE | https://www.accesswire.com/ | New digital currency UFO is based on Bitcoin but has some key differences; such as a focus on interplanetary transactions.
January 13th, 2014 / On the 5th January 2014 UFO was launched; a blockchain based, decentralized digital currency based on the Bitcoin protocol with a very fast blocktime of just 1.5 minutes. The mission behind the currency is simple: “UFO is a new type of decentralized currency. Not minted or endorsed by any nation, but by users across the globe.
Anywhere there is internet, you can send or receive UFO. Even in outer space”. The new digital currency is designed to be fast, with increased security and cost efficient mining – and is designed to be used for future “interplanetary transactions”.
The new digital currency has received widespread support on the forums, with over 100 fans voting to see UFO traded on Cryptsy for Bitcoin. A number of famous UFO publications have already contacted the UFO dev team; expressing an interest in writing articles about the coin. There are also plans for a community website similar to abovetopsecret.com, which will pay users in UFO for contributing stories, news, sightings and videos.
UFO is the first serious sci-fi digital currency and is receiving widespread exposure in China, due to many Chinese supporters aiding the growth of the community. UFO is available on Windows, Linux and Mac; UFO clients are available for download from the UFO official website at ufocoin.cc. UFO has seen rapid adoption by cryptocurrency miners, perhaps due to the fact that the dev team has not “told aliens we are launching the coin, so start mining before they setup their own rigs.”. Unlike Bitcoin, UFO mining is accessible to anyone worldwide: UFO can be minted with consumer grade hardware.
Like Litecoin, UFO uses Scrypt as a proof-of-work algorithm. Security is also a prime concern of the UFO dev team; as the UFO website states “We don’t know how advanced aliens are technologically, but we surely don’t want our wallets to be compromised.”.
While the dev team certainly has a sense of humour, they are also serious about the security, longevity and professionalism of UFO. With its unique sci-fi vision and branding, its early widespread support from the community and its innovative plans for collaborating with the UFO community worldwide – UFO may be the first coin that really does go to the Moon. As the unique coin is still in its infancy, early adopters may be well positioned to potentially reap great rewards.
To learn more please go to:http://ufocoin.cc/
UFO Coin on bitcointalk:https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=399937.0
UFO Coin Protocol Details:PoW algorithm: ScryptBlock reward: 5000 UFOBlock time: 1.5 minutesStarting difficulty: 0.00024414Diff retarget: each 960 blocksMax supply: 4 billionSource code:https://github.com/ufocoin/ufo
This press release is for informational purposes only and should not be taken as investment advice.
Visithttp://ufocoin.cc/for more information.Contact InfoName: GabrielOrganization: UFO |
1,420,474,315 | 2015-01-05 16:11:55+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [1379]} | {} | Should you refinance your mortgage? | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/should-you-refinance-your-mortgage-173334383.html | Yahoo Finance | http://finance.yahoo.com/ | Yahoo Finance is answering yourmost-searched finance questions of the year. The fourth most-searched questions was: "Should I refinance my mortgage?"
There are a few solid reasons to refinance your mortage. If interestrates are lowerthan they were when you first financed, you may want to move fast to lock in that lower rate.
[Get the Latest Market Data and News with the Yahoo Finance App]
A lot of people also refinance their loan by cashing in on equity in their house in order to pay down debts -- basically like a debt consolidation loan.
Another reason to refinance is if you’re looking to change the terms of your loan. For example, you might want to switch from a 30-year loan to a 15-year loan or from an adjustable rate mortgage to a fixed rate mortgage.
But before you pull the trigger, don’t forget that a new mortgage also means new closing costs. Sit down with a financial planner to figure out how many months of lower mortgage payments it will take to recoup those costs before you refinance.
Have a personal finance question you’d like answered? Drop us a line [email protected].
More of your top finance questions answered:
Number 5:Can you buy a house with bad credit?
Number 6:Should you buy Facebook stock?
Number 7:Why are gas prices going down?
Number 8:Who is the richest man in the world?
Number 9:Is social security taxable?
Number 10:What is Bitcoin and how does it work? |
1,420,474,344 | 2015-01-05 16:12:24+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [1678]} | {} | Can you buy a house with bad credit? | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/can-you-buy-a-house-with-bad-credit-173131102.html | Yahoo Finance | http://finance.yahoo.com/ | Yahoo Finance is answering yourmost-searched finance questions of 2014. The fifth most-asked question was: "Can I buy a house with bad credit?"
The short answer is yes — butit won’t be easy.If your credit score isn’t great (say, lower than 650) you’ll likely have a much harder time getting approved for a mortgage.
You’ve got three options: you can get a traditional loan through mortgage servicers like Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac; you can apply for an FHA-backed loan; or you can turn to private subprime mortgage lenders, which may be more willing to take on risky borrowers.
[Get the Latest Market Data and News with the Yahoo Finance App]
Fannie and Freddie loans are great because they require a low down payment of only 3 to 5%. BUT they only lend to people with credit scores above 620. If yours is lower than 620, you’ll have better luck with an FHA loan, but you’ll have to put twice as much down -- 10%.
If those options don’t pan out, private lenders may take you on. Just be warned -- they can have crazy high interest rates, like 8-9% and you’ll have to put down 20% or more for a down payment.
But take it from us -- try improving your credit before applying for a home loan. According to FICO, someone with a credit score lower than 640 will wind up paying $32,000 more over the lifetime of their mortgage than someone with a score of 760.
Have a personal finance question you’d like answered? Drop us a line [email protected].
More of your top finance questions answered:
Number 6:Should you buy Facebook stock?
Number 7:Why are gas prices going down?
Number 8:Who is the richest man in the world?
Number 9:Is social security taxable?
Number 10:What is Bitcoin and how does it work? |
1,420,474,366 | 2015-01-05 16:12:46+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [1194]} | {} | Is Social Security taxable? | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/is-social-security-taxable-164151510.html | Yahoo Finance | http://finance.yahoo.com/ | Yahoo Finance is answering yourmost-searched finance questions of 2014as searched on Yahoo. The ninth most-searched question was, "Is Social Security taxable?"
It all depends on yourincome and filing status. If you file taxes as an individual and your combined income — that’s your adjusted gross income plus one half of your annual Social Security benefit — is less than $25,000, you won’t pay federal income taxes on your benefits.
Get the Latest Market Data and News with the Yahoo Finance App
But once you get past that $25,000 mark, that’s when you start seeing taxes. People who earn between $25,000 and $34,000 could have up to half of their benefits taxed, and people who earn more than $34,000 could see up to 85% of their benefits taxed.
Things areslightly different if you’re married. Married couples with a combined income of less than $32,000 won’t see their benefits taxed at all. You can find lots of amazing information about your Social Security benefits by visiting SSA.gov.
Have a personal finance question you’d like answered? Drop us a line [email protected].
Watch Yahoo Finance this week for more of your most-asked finance questions on Yahoo:
Number 10:What is Bitcoin and how does it work? |
1,420,477,458 | 2015-01-05 17:04:18+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [713]} | {} | ziftrCOINs to Be Listed on Cryptsy and Melotic Cryptocurrency Exchanges | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ziftrcoins-listed-cryptsy-melotic-cryptocurrency-170418084.html | Marketwired | http://www.marketwired.com/ | BOSTON, MA--(Marketwired - Jan 5, 2015) - New Hampshire-based cryptocurrency startupziftrCOIN(https://www.ziftrcoin.com/) is excited to announce that ziftrCOINs will be listed on popular cryptocurrency exchangesCryptsyandMeloticin 2015 when the coins are released. Cryptsy will also work with ziftrCOIN to integrate with ziftrPAY, Ziftr's secure API that enables retailers to accept all types of cryptocurrency in addition to credit card payments.
ziftrCOIN, the gateway coin to mainstream cryptocurrency adoption, was designed to onboard the next 10 million cryptocurrency users. Ziftr, the company behind ziftrCOIN, has developed a suite of tools and applications, including ziftrPAY, which will integrate with Bitcoin, ziftrCOIN and other altcoins to make cryptocurrency highly accessible and easily adoptable for both consumers and retailers.
"We're honored that Cryptsy and Melotic have agreed to list ziftrCOINs on their exchanges," said Bob Wilkins, CEO of Ziftr and ziftrCOIN. "We believe that ziftrCOIN is the gateway coin to mainstream cryptocurrency adoption, so it will be great to see it listed alongside popular altcoins like Litecoin and Dogecoin."
Cryptsy is a United States-based cryptocurrency exchange that currently has over 270,000 registered users from all over the world with a volume of over 300,000 trades per day. Cryptsy's mission is to provide a safe, simple, and efficient environment for users to trade crypto-currencies with each other.
"The partnership with ziftrPAY is an exciting, new foray into a market that we have been wanting to get into for a while," said Paul Vernon, CEO of Cryptsy. "Our expertise in crypto coupled with Ziftr's business expertise makes for an exciting future."
Melotic is a Hong Kong-based exchange that curates a selection of digital assets and works with issuers and companies to incorporate digital assets into their businesses. Melotic offers low fees, a clean interface, easy-to-use API and strong security, as well as tools for digital asset businesses. There are currently nine strategically selected coins listed on Melotic, including Litecoin, Dogecoin, Ripple and Stellar.
"We're incredibly excited to work with Ziftr and add ziftrCOIN to our platform," said Jack Wang, CEO of Melotic. "Not only have Bob and his team developed a unique business model that has tremendous potential to drive cryptocurrency adoption, they've invented an innovative new coin in the process."
ziftrCOIN launched the ziftrCOIN presale on Dec. 9, giving interested parties the opportunity to purchase ziftrCOINs at a low rate and earn rewards ranging from a limited-edition cold storage coin to a ziftrCOIN mining rig. Proceeds from the ziftrCOIN presale will fund Ziftr's goal of bringing cryptocurrency to the mainstream, and all purchased ziftrCOINs will become available for use in February 2015. In late 2015, Ziftr will give away 300 million ziftrCOINs (a maximum of 100 ziftrCOINs to each individual) so that everyday consumers can begin familiarizing themselves with cryptocurrency. Each ziftrCOIN will have a minimum redemption value of $1 when used within Ziftr's retailer network, functioning similarly to a coupon.
To participate in the ziftrCOIN presale before the coins run out, visithttp://www.ziftrCOIN.com/presale.
About ziftrCOIN™ziftrCOIN, the first digital currency developed for online shoppers, aims to revolutionize e-commerce by putting cryptocurrency into the hands of consumers and enabling them to conduct simple, secure transactions at their favorite online retailers. For more information about ziftrCOIN, visit:www.ziftrCOIN.com
About Ziftr®Established in 2008 and based in Milford, New Hampshire, Ziftr revolutionizes the online shopping experience through the development of innovative products, tools and apps that make life easier for both consumers and retailers. The company's first tools, a browser add-on and mobile app that connect shoppers with the best deals at their favorite online retailers, have had more than 2.5 million downloads.
Ziftr is a product of myVBO®, a full-service design, marketing and development company that helps businesses turn their ambitions into realities.
For more information about Ziftr, visitwww.ziftr.com.
About Cryptsy
Cryptsy is a cryptocurrency exchange that currently has over 270,000 registered users from all over the world with a volume of over 300,000 trades per day. Cryptsy's mission is to provide a safe, simple and efficient environment for users to trade cryptocurrencies with each other.
For more information about Cryptsy, visithttps://www.cryptsy.com/.
About Melotic
Melotic is a Hong Kong-based exchange that curates a selection of digital assets and works with issuers and companies to incorporate digital assets into their businesses. Melotic offers low fees, a clean interface, easy-to-use API and strong security, as well as tools for digital asset businesses.
For more information about Melotic, visitwww.melotic.com.
DisclaimerAll statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts that address future ziftrCOIN availability, or developments that the ziftrCOIN expects are forward looking statements. Although the Corporation believes the expectations expressed in such forward looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward looking statements. Factors that could cause results to differ materially from those in the forward looking statements include, but are not limited to: market volatility; continued availability of capital, financing and personnel; government regulation and laws; and general economic, market or business conditions. |
1,389,612,851 | 2014-01-13 11:34:11+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [45]} | {"Bitcoin": [38]} | Overstock CEO says saw $130K worth of Bitcoin orders on first day | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/finance.yahoo.com/news/overstock-ceo-says-saw-130k-113411469.html | theflyonthewall.com | http://beta.theflyonthewall.com/?referrer=yahoo | In a tweet, Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne said Bitcoin's first full day on overstock.com saw 840 orders and $130,000 in sales. |
1,389,612,851 | 2014-01-13 11:34:11+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [45]} | {"Bitcoin": [38]} | Overstock CEO says saw $130K worth of Bitcoin orders on first day | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/overstock-ceo-says-saw-130k-113411469.html | theflyonthewall.com | http://beta.theflyonthewall.com/?referrer=yahoo | In a tweet, Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne said Bitcoin's first full day on overstock.com saw 840 orders and $130,000 in sales. |
1,389,613,523 | 2014-01-13 11:45:23+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [1671, 1961]} | {} | Yahoo ad malware attack far greater than anticipated | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/yahoo-ad-malware-attack-far-greater-anticipated-114523608.html | BGR News | http://www.bgr.com/ | The malware attack that took advantage of Yahoo’s Java-based ad network around Christmas Eve was far greater than anticipated, the company confirmed in a post (via CNET ) on its help web pages. Initially believed to have affected only European users on January 3, 2014, the malware ad attacks were then said to have occurred during December 31, 2013 – January 3, 2014. But Yahoo on Friday revealed the attack actually took place between December 27, 2013 – January 3, 2014, and affected users outside of the European Union as well. It’s not clear how many users may have been affected by the hack, although initial estimates from security companies said that up to 2 million machines might have been compromised during a four-day attack. Yahoo says that the attack happened after an account was compromised, without revealing more details about said account. However, the company says the account has been shut down, and it’s currently investigating the incident with help from law enforcement. Yahoo isn’t offering specific help resources to users that “think” they may have been affected by the hack. Instead, it’s offering standard tips to Windows users, advising them to make sure that the latest Windows patches are installed, update to the latest version of Java and Adobe, and use an antivirus program that’s updated regularly. Apparently, only Windows users have been targeted by the ad hack. According to previous reports, users that visited Yahoo sites including Yahoo Mail and Yahoo IM may have been served with malware ads that could have installed malicious code on their PCs for different purposes. Some of the programs installed turned those machines into Bitcoin miners , while others could have been used to steal personal information. More from BGR: Google just made it so strangers can email your Gmail account – here’s how to stop them This article was originally published on BGR.com Related stories Yahoo ad malware hijacked computers for Bitcoin mining Mayer on mail issues: Yahoo 'really let you down this week' Yahoo struggles to properly acknowledge, fix ongoing Yahoo Mail service issues |
1,389,616,147 | 2014-01-13 12:29:07+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [76]} | {} | Overstock CEO sees Amazon pushed to take bitcoin in future, BI says | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/finance.yahoo.com/news/overstock-ceo-sees-amazon-pushed-122907945.html | theflyonthewall.com | http://beta.theflyonthewall.com/?referrer=yahoo | Overstock.com (OSTK) CEO Patrick Byrne said the company took $130K worth of Bitcoin orders on the first day it began accepting them and also said he thinks Amazon.com (AMZN) will be forced to accept the fast-growing alternative currency at some point, reported Business Insider, citing an interview with Byrne. |
1,389,616,147 | 2014-01-13 12:29:07+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [76]} | {} | Overstock CEO sees Amazon pushed to take bitcoin in future, BI says | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/overstock-ceo-sees-amazon-pushed-122907945.html | theflyonthewall.com | http://beta.theflyonthewall.com/?referrer=yahoo | Overstock.com (OSTK) CEO Patrick Byrne said the company took $130K worth of Bitcoin orders on the first day it began accepting them and also said he thinks Amazon.com (AMZN) will be forced to accept the fast-growing alternative currency at some point, reported Business Insider, citing an interview with Byrne. |
1,420,485,168 | 2015-01-05 19:12:48+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [0, 4136], "BTC": [248, 2488, 2952]} | {} | Security breach and price crash mark bad start to 2015 for bitcoin | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/security-breach-price-crash-mark-191248535.html | Gigaom | http://gigaom.com/ | Bitcoin is not having the best start to 2015. Bitstamp, the second-largest USD bitcoin exchange, suspended its operations early Monday morning after discovering one of its wallets has been “compromised”. (Update: Bitstamp has confirmed that 19,000 BTC, or $5 million, is missing — see full note at bottom.)
AReddit user spotted the problemafter trying to send bitcoins to his account, which then never arrived. An e-mail from Bitstamp support said that “You should STOP SENDING bitcoin deposits to your Bitstamp account IMMEDIATELY as private keys of your deposit address may be lost. Your bitcoins already deposited with us are stored in a cold wallet and can not be affected.”
Bitstamp has since updated its site with an acknowledgement of the problems and has suspended its operations entirely:
We have reason to believe that one of Bitstamp’s operational wallets was compromised on January 4th, 2015.As a security precaution against compromises Bitstamp only maintains a small fraction of customer bitcoins in online systems. Bitstamp maintains more than enough offline reserves to cover the compromised bitcoins.IN THE MEANTIME, PLEASE DO NOT MAKE DEPOSITS TO PREVIOUSLY ISSUED BITCOIN DEPOSIT ADDRESSES. THEY CANNOT BE HONORED!Customer deposits made prior to January 5th, 2015 9:00 UTC are fully covered by Bitstamp’s reserves. Deposits made to newly issued addresses provided after January 5th, 2015 9:00 UTC can be honored.Bitstamp takes our security and soundness very seriously. In an excess of caution, we are suspending service as we continue to investigate. We will return to service and amend our security measures as appropriate.
For now, it appears unlikely the Bitstamp situation is aMtGox level meltdown. As CEO Nejc Kodric explained on Twitter, the exchange holds the majority of its bitcoin in cold wallet storage (where the keys to the walletr are stored offline, often on a USB drive or even on pieces paper), which is generally considered more secure. Kodric also that Bitstamphad passed an independent auditin May 2014.
To restate: the bulk of our bitcoin are in cold storage, and remain completely safe.
— Nejc Kodrič (@nejc_kodric)January 5, 2015
Bitstamp’s suspension of service is another early blow to bitcoin in 2015. The price started the year at $318, but has already fallen $50 dollars toaround $268as of 11a.m. PT. Not a great start for the currency that was already labeled the “worst investment of 2014“.
Update as of 3:10p.m. PT: It looks like 19,000 BTC (or approximately $5 million) was stolen from Bitstamp. Kodric released a new statement, promising to honor balances held prior to the suspension of services.
Bitstamp customers can rest assured that their bitcoins held with us prior to temporary suspension of services on January 5th (at 9am UTC) are completely safe and will be honored in full.
On January 4th, some of Bitstamp’s operational wallets were compromised, resulting in a loss of less than 19,000 BTC. Upon learning of the breach, we immediately notified all customers that they should no longer make deposits to previously issued bitcoin deposit addresses. As an additional security measure, we suspended our systems while we fully investigate the incident and actively engage with law enforcement officials.
This breach represents a small fraction of Bitstamp’s total bitcoin reserves, the overwhelming majority of which are held in secure offline cold storage systems. We would like to reassure all Bitstamp customers that their balances held prior to our temporary suspension of services will not be affected and will be honored in full.
We appreciate customers’ patience during this disruption of services. We are working to transfer a secure backup of the Bitstamp site onto a new safe environment and will be bringing this online in the coming days. Customers can stay informed via updates on our website, on Twitter (@Bitstamp) and through Bitstamp customer support at [email protected].
Image copyrightFlickr/antanacoins.
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1,389,618,000 | 2014-01-13 13:00:00+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [144, 579]} | {} | Grand Pacaraima Gold Corp to Change Name and Ticker Symbol | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/grand-pacaraima-gold-corp-change-130000659.html | Marketwired | http://www.marketwired.com/ | VANCOUVER, BC--(Marketwired - Jan 13, 2014) - Grand Pacaraima Gold Corp (PINKSHEETS:BITC) today announced that it is changing its name to First Bitcoin Capital Corp as it prepares to enter booming BITCOIN markets.
In preparation for moving into this new field of endeavor to consolidate these industries, the company changed its symbol to BITC. Company began trading under new symbol on December 27, 2013.
"We decided to make this change to better reflect the activities of our company. Also, we believe the Company is now positioned to aggressively pursue crypto-currencies and Bitcoin opportunities, and think it is appropriate that the Company do so under this new name. We expect to have confirmation today of the reserved name change to First BITCoin Capital Corp. Between this new name and symbol we expect to be the first public company to enter this space exclusively," said Chairman S. Rubin. The prior name change to Embassy Oil was first reversed as a past acquisition was not consummated.
Rubin continued, "We have acquired intellectual properties including a number of URLs that we intend to capitalize on, such as:www.coinqx.comto serve as a unique, universal exchange,www.otccoin.comto serve as a new dual crypto currency for which we are filing a provisional patent,www.icin.ccwhich will serve as the international coin identifier numbering system for all crypto and e-currencies."
The company's accountant is in the process of preparing year-end financial statements covering 2012 and 2013 which will bring the company into compliance with OTC Markets and expects to have these published within the coming week. These statements should substantially be similar to the 2010 financials, however, we intend to write off our oil and gas assets and write down our gold mining claims with nominal expenses during the past 3 years and no change in shares outstanding.
The company denounces the rumors spreading about its executives owning over 500,000 bitcoins and wishes to make it clear that there is no association between BITC and the Winklevoss twins.
About the company.
Grand Pacaraima Gold Corp. is a developing Canada based mining company currently holding concessions of Gold in Venezuela.
SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: This press release includes various "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which represent the Company's expectations or beliefs concerning future events. Statements containing expressions such as "believes," "anticipates," "intends," or "expects," used in the Company's press releases and in Disclosure Statements and Reports filed with the Over the Counter Markets through the OTC Disclosure and News Service are intended to identify forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Although the Company believes its expectations are based upon reasonable assumptions within the bounds of its knowledge of its business and operations, there can be no assurances that actual results will not differ materially from expected results. The Company cautions that these and similar statements included in this report are further qualified by important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date thereof. |
1,389,618,000 | 2014-01-13 13:00:00+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [144, 579]} | {} | Grand Pacaraima Gold Corp to Change Name and Ticker Symbol | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/finance.yahoo.com/news/grand-pacaraima-gold-corp-change-130000659.html | Marketwired | http://www.marketwired.com/ | VANCOUVER, BC--(Marketwired - Jan 13, 2014) - Grand Pacaraima Gold Corp (PINKSHEETS:BITC) today announced that it is changing its name to First Bitcoin Capital Corp as it prepares to enter booming BITCOIN markets.
In preparation for moving into this new field of endeavor to consolidate these industries, the company changed its symbol to BITC. Company began trading under new symbol on December 27, 2013.
"We decided to make this change to better reflect the activities of our company. Also, we believe the Company is now positioned to aggressively pursue crypto-currencies and Bitcoin opportunities, and think it is appropriate that the Company do so under this new name. We expect to have confirmation today of the reserved name change to First BITCoin Capital Corp. Between this new name and symbol we expect to be the first public company to enter this space exclusively," said Chairman S. Rubin. The prior name change to Embassy Oil was first reversed as a past acquisition was not consummated.
Rubin continued, "We have acquired intellectual properties including a number of URLs that we intend to capitalize on, such as:www.coinqx.comto serve as a unique, universal exchange,www.otccoin.comto serve as a new dual crypto currency for which we are filing a provisional patent,www.icin.ccwhich will serve as the international coin identifier numbering system for all crypto and e-currencies."
The company's accountant is in the process of preparing year-end financial statements covering 2012 and 2013 which will bring the company into compliance with OTC Markets and expects to have these published within the coming week. These statements should substantially be similar to the 2010 financials, however, we intend to write off our oil and gas assets and write down our gold mining claims with nominal expenses during the past 3 years and no change in shares outstanding.
The company denounces the rumors spreading about its executives owning over 500,000 bitcoins and wishes to make it clear that there is no association between BITC and the Winklevoss twins.
About the company.
Grand Pacaraima Gold Corp. is a developing Canada based mining company currently holding concessions of Gold in Venezuela.
SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: This press release includes various "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which represent the Company's expectations or beliefs concerning future events. Statements containing expressions such as "believes," "anticipates," "intends," or "expects," used in the Company's press releases and in Disclosure Statements and Reports filed with the Over the Counter Markets through the OTC Disclosure and News Service are intended to identify forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Although the Company believes its expectations are based upon reasonable assumptions within the bounds of its knowledge of its business and operations, there can be no assurances that actual results will not differ materially from expected results. The Company cautions that these and similar statements included in this report are further qualified by important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date thereof. |
1,389,623,400 | 2014-01-13 14:30:00+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [1622, 1683]} | {} | Reddit Is Now A Much Less Important Source Of Traffic Than It Used To Be | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/reddit-become-much-less-important-143009321.html | Business Insider | http://www.businessinsider.com/ | Reddit saw an83% increase in traffic, to731 million unique visitors in 2013, the company said, but "the front page of the internet" has become a much less crucial source of traffic over the same period,according to data from Shareaholic, which measures social media sharing traffic.
Reddit's share of outgoing traffic to publishers dropped 36% year-over-year, Shareaholic says:
Shareaholic
The data measures traffic coming from Reddit (and other sites) to other web sites. Shareaholic's data covers 200,000 sites and 250 million-plus unique visitors per month.
Although that red line doesn't look like it has gone down by much, the proportional decline is big: Reddit went from providing 0.33% of the web's traffic in December 2012 to 0.21% in December 2013 — a 36% drop.
What is jarring here is that Reddit — a site dedicated to sharing stuff — only got bigger in terms of total traffic in 2013, but appears to have become less important in terms of shared traffic over the same period.
Reddit may be hoarding more of its own traffic, in other words.
A few things changed on Reddit in 2013, Shareaholic's Danny Wong tells us. More of Reddit's top posts are discussions that feature few links, such as its "ask me anything" series in which famous people like Bill Gates or President Obama take questions from the public. And one of Reddit's more infamous 2013 posts wasthis thread on the Boston Marathon bombing, which contained a bunch of incorrect information.
Plus, news organizations — Business Insider included — now more frequently use Reddit as a source of news rather than a source of traffic. One example wasthis Bitcoin theft, which was described mostly on Reddit by other Bitcoin users — very few outgoing links were involved.
So other publishers are linking in to stuff that is already on Reddit; previously, Reddit users linked out to things they found elsewhere.
Reddit also got greater social sharing competition in 2013. Sites like Upworthy and Viral Nova became huge alternatives to Reddit in 2013 for people who like weird or heartwarming stories.
And Facebook also tweaked its algorithm to feature more useful news and fewer meme (think funny pictures of cats).
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1,420,492,531 | 2015-01-05 21:15:31+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [0], "BTC": [10]} | {} | Marc Andreessen: I still stand behind bitcoin | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/marc-andreessen-still-stand-behind-211531516.html | CNBC | http://www.cnbc.com/ | Bitcoin(: BTC=)the cryptocurrency has had a rough couple days, but Silicon Valley venture capitalistMarc Andreessensaid Monday he is not worried.
The same day that Bitstamp-the second-largest dollar-bitcoin exchange-suspended operationsfor what it said was a security issue, the Andreessen Horowitz co-founder took to Twitter to tout his continued belief in the technology.
Read MoreMajor bitcoin exchange suspended after price plunge
This ishardly the first timethat Andreessen has expressed his belief in the future of bitcoin, but on Monday he specifically addressed criticism's about the cryptocurrency's potential use cases and its price volatility.
The price of bitcoin dropped into the $250-range on Sunday after trading for weeks in the mid-$300s. By Monday afternoon its value was about $269, depending on the exchange.
Below, find Andreessen's 26-tweet manifesto on the merits of the technology. |
1,420,537,521 | 2015-01-06 09:45:21+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [3064]} | {} | New mobile payment contender looms as Rocket and PLDT team up | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/mobile-payment-contender-looms-rocket-094521801.html | Gigaom | http://gigaom.com/ | A few months before itslukewarm IPOlate last year, Germany’s Rocket Internet took a$446 million investmentfrom the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), the largest telecoms operator in the Philippines. At the time, Rocket and PLDT said they were going to work together on mobile and online payment technologies – and now we know more about that arrangement.
On Tuesday, the companies said they will set up a payment services joint venture, with a 50-50 split and a focus on emerging markets. This is already a big area for Rocket, which now touts itself as “the leading internet platform outside the U.S. and China.” The firm made its name as a uniquely aggressiveclone factory, rapidly copying established business models from the U.S. and elsewhere and rolling them out in new markets before the original companies had a chance to blink. That’s not to say that the clones don’t sometimes go on to follow their own path, though, and Rocket chief executive Oliver Samwer is these days talking about China’s rapidly growing web services company Alibaba asbeing the model.
Apart from providing its sprawling network of web firms across 100 countries, Rocket will contribute its “participations” in two of the payment operations it helped set up: Stripe clonePaymill, for giving e-commerce developers a simple way to integrate payments functionality, and Square clonePayleven, which provides mobile point-of-sale terminals. For its part, PLDT will throw in the operations and intellectual property of its Smart e-Money mobile banking and mobile wallet platform, which already has five million active customers and represents the largest “branchless banking” network in the Philippines.
Once the joint venture is created this quarter, subject to regulatory approval, Rocket and PLDT say it will be in a unique position to tackle mobile-first payment services worldwide, and particularly in emerging markets. I would take that as a plausible threat.
The genius of Rocket’s operation has always been the way in which it established operations in various spots around the world, then constantly rolled out new business models in them, seeing what stuck and quickly abandoning what didn’t. By doing so, it became the ultimate internationalization company – a field where rivals from developed markets typically struggle, and where Chinese companies such as Alibaba and Tencent (each of which has a budding payment service of its own) are only starting to dabble.
The combined financial services portfolio of Rocket and PLDT sounds fairly comprehensive, and PLDT has been in the mobile payment game for 14 years – long enough to develop a good understanding of how to use mobile to pull inpeople without traditional bank accounts(see theSmart Moneyservice pictured above.) If this joint venture scales at typical Rocket speed, it will be formidable.
Image copyright PLDT.
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1,420,537,740 | 2015-01-06 09:49:00+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [32, 193, 634], "BTC": [261, 1108]} | {"Bitcoin": [0]} | Bitcoin exchange loses $5 million in security breach | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/2015-01-06-bitstamp-bitcoin-exchange-hack.html | Engadget | https://www.engadget.com/ | Bitstamp has just suspended its Bitcoin exchange services, because some of its operational wallets have been compromised. And, while it's nowhere near the scale of the Mt. Gox debacle (850,000 Bitcoins gone), the company says hackers still made off with 19,000 BTC or roughly $5 million. The service clarifies on its website (which now showsa splash page) that the stolen money came from its online wallets only and that the "overwhelming majority" of its reserves are stored safely offline. According toZDNet, the service had $96.9 million store in offline storage in May 2014, but the amount might have gone down due to fluctuating Bitcoin values.
Bitstamp says it will honor any transaction made before January 5th, 4AM Eastern, but it warns users (in bold and all caps)not to transfer anything to "previously issued bitcoin deposit addresses" anymore as those transactions cannot be honored. It also promises to go back to business in a few days once it's done moving to a more secure server.
Some users believethis pagelists the illegal transactions that's crippled Bitstamp, since they're worth 18,868 BTC in all made over the weekend. But we still don't know what exactly went down, especially since no group of hackers has stepped forward to claim the security breach. Seeing as authorities stilldon't havea clear picture of the Mt. Gox fiasco in 2014, we might have wait a long while before we find out what happened to Bitstamp.
[Image credit: Getty Images] |
1,420,541,387 | 2015-01-06 10:49:47+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [2114]} | {} | For Investors, There Are Several Ways To Play The Personal Surveillance Trend | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/investors-several-ways-play-personal-104947096.html | Benzinga | http://www.benzinga.com/ | Last year brought about a great deal of mistrust between police and civilians after the events in Ferguson, MI. In the wake of that tragedy, President Obama pledged to invest $75 million in government funds to provide police around the country with personal body cameras.
The cameras were meant to protect both police and civilians, as they would record and store the officers’ activities for review if needed.
Who's Benefiting?
TASER International (NASDAQ: TASR) andVievu, a private Seattle business, have snapped up the majority of gains from Obama’s $75 million investment, but the space is expected to continue growing as more professionals adopt the new technology.
TASER shares gained nearly 65 percent in 2014, while Vievu reported sales of more than 30,000 personal cameras since the announcement.
Related Link:Why GoPro Makes This Analyst Nervous
Camera sales are only a small part of the revenue stream for these companies, though; TASER has developed its own software program to accompany its cameras calledEVIDENCE.com. The program logs the recorded data and allows officers to link their camera to their smartphone or tablet for $99 per month.
Microsoft Corporation(NASDAQ:MSFT) is also looking to get in on the action by partnering with Vievu to create a similar cloud service to support the technology.
The decision has sparked a nationwide frenzy for personal recording devices and their cloud-based software in order to protect workers in other professions from being falsely accused.
Sales for body mounted cameras have seen a marked increase since the Ferguson shootings, as people working in everything from home repairs to delivery services try to protect themselves.GoPro Inc.(NASDAQ:GPRO) shares have gained 62.12 percent over the past six months whileDigital Ally Inc.(NASDAQ:DGLY) is up nearly 360 percent.
Though some believe the trend toward personal surveillance is disturbing, jobs that have a high probability of consumer complaints are embracing it as a way to settle disputes quickly and inexpensively.
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© 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. |
1,389,650,520 | 2014-01-13 22:02:00+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [28, 417, 717, 6410, 6476, 6538]} | {"Bitcoin": [50]} | This Map Shows The States Where Buying Stuff With Bitcoin Is The Most Popular | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/map-shows-states-where-buying-220258597.html | Business Insider | http://www.businessinsider.com/ | Overstock.combegan acceptingBitcoin last Thursday.
We'd previously reported they weren't going to start taking the digital currency as payment for another few months, so the announcement surprised a bunch of people.
But reaction was swift: $130,000 worth of merchandise flew off the retailer's e-shelves on the first day.
Now, Overstock shares with us some data about the purchases.
Most popular items purchased with Bitcoin:
• Sheets
• Mobile phone cases
• USB flash drives
• Bath towels
Overstock also provided us with data for all 50 states. We threw it into a spreadsheet and re-calculated to adjust by population stats (transactions per million residents). Then we created a map.
Here's the states with the most Bitcoin transactions (on Overstock) per capita:
1. New Hampshire
2. Utah (where Overstock.com is based)
3. Oregon
4. Vermont
5. Washington
Of course, this is just the beginning so there aren't tons of transactions yet, and it's just on one site (albeit a mass market one). But it's not surprising that the state whose motto is Live Free Or Die is t he most into the currency.
Rob Wile, data via Overstock.com and U.S. Census
[{"State": "New Hampshire", "#transactions": "19", "Transactions per million residents": "14.3563193117429"}, {"State": "Utah", "#transactions": "29", "Transactions per million residents": "9.99699400731918"}, {"State": "Oregon", "#transactions": "39", "Transactions per million residents": "9.92349999300266"}, {"State": "Vermont", "#transactions": "6", "Transactions per million residents": "9.57502832612546"}, {"State": "Washington", "#transactions": "66", "Transactions per million residents": "9.4672437668958"}, {"State": "Massachusetts", "#transactions": "55", "Transactions per million residents": "8.21775680938271"}, {"State": "Alaska", "#transactions": "6", "Transactions per million residents": "8.16179951355675"}, {"State": "New Mexico", "#transactions": "15", "Transactions per million residents": "7.1932544537035"}, {"State": "Virginia", "#transactions": "57", "Transactions per million residents": "6.90038805603357"}, {"State": "Montana", "#transactions": "7", "Transactions per million residents": "6.89543079203873"}, {"State": "Idaho", "#transactions": "11", "Transactions per million residents": "6.82324568150578"}, {"State": "California", "#transactions": "228", "Transactions per million residents": "5.94795213182039"}, {"State": "Connecticut", "#transactions": "20", "Transactions per million residents": "5.56161153255767"}, {"State": "Nevada", "#transactions": "15", "Transactions per million residents": "5.37608202610912"}, {"State": "Wisconsin", "#transactions": "29", "Transactions per million residents": "5.04987799320635"}, {"State": "Minnesota", "#transactions": "27", "Transactions per million residents": "4.98120058003313"}, {"State": "Colorado", "#transactions": "26", "Transactions per million residents": "4.93511556806882"}, {"State": "Kansas", "#transactions": "14", "Transactions per million residents": "4.83766690382753"}, {"State": "South Dakota", "#transactions": "4", "Transactions per million residents": "4.73441696246909"}, {"State": "Maryland", "#transactions": "28", "Transactions per million residents": "4.72269833393323"}, {"State": "Arizona", "#transactions": "31", "Transactions per million residents": "4.6780985310167"}, {"State": "Maine", "#transactions": "6", "Transactions per million residents": "4.51704506957002"}, {"State": "Pennsylvania", "#transactions": "57", "Transactions per million residents": "4.46225833641842"}, {"State": "Florida", "#transactions": "87", "Transactions per million residents": "4.44947695631227"}, {"State": "Georgia", "#transactions": "43", "Transactions per million residents": "4.30337083037143"}, {"State": "New York", "#transactions": "84", "Transactions per million residents": "4.27456399828875"}, {"State": "Illinois", "#transactions": "54", "Transactions per million residents": "4.19185173886161"}, {"State": "North Carolina", "#transactions": "41", "Transactions per million residents": "4.16325651955817"}, {"State": "North Dakota", "#transactions": "3", "Transactions per 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1,420,547,400 | 2015-01-06 12:30:00+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [28880]} | {} | How White Flight Ravaged the Mississippi Delta | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/white-flight-ravaged-mississippi-delta-123000791.html | The Atlantic | http://www.theatlantic.com/ | In the Mississippi Delta town of Tchula, there’s a fading columned mansion that once belonged to Sara Virginia Jones, the daughter of a local plantation dynasty. Its walls were lined with nearly 400 works by artists as prominent as Paul Cezanne, Marc Chagall, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Salvador Dali, and Andy Warhol.
Then, in the 1990s, the house changed hands. Today, it is filled with framed photos of the current owner—Tchula’s controversial first black mayor, Eddie Carthan, who was in office from 1977 to 1981—posing with U.S. presidents Carter, Clinton, and Obama and the Nation of Islam’s Louis Farrakhan.
The irony of this set change is not lost on Carthan, who, as he puts it, went “from being a second-class citizen to staying in a house where the slave-owners used to live.” Carthan grew up in a shack outside Tchula, on property his family purchased in the 1930s as part of aNew Deal project. The land was located on a former plantation, which the government bought and divided among several black tenants. His community became a relatively safe haven for African Americans and later formed an important staging ground during the civil-rights era.
When Carthan was a young boy, he says he’d have risked punishment for simply walking past the Jones mansion without a proper reason. “I look at the house now, how beautiful it is and well-built it is. I was told slaves built it,” Carthan said, sitting at his desk in the central hall, surrounded by his political memorabilia. “And I think about how well they lived back then, and how we lived back then. This house is huge. There are five bedrooms. It has three full bathrooms. We didn’t have bathrooms at all.” He pauses to let the contrast sink in. “It’s something to focus on,” he says.
But as the mansion’s flaking paint makes clear, the transformation was about a transfer of local power, not wealth. Families like the Joneses have long since left Tchula, taking their business and money with them. The remaining community is 97 percent black and achingly poor.
In the Delta flatlands and the hillier country to the east, the landscape is dotted with towns and cities that figured prominently in the civil-rights era. Like Tchula, many of those places are now languishing.
Greenwood, 80 miles north of Tchula, was one of the main organizing bases for voter registration during the 1964 Freedom Summer. For a while, the town’s fortunes seemed to improve, especially after a large Viking Range manufacturing facility opened there in 1990. But Viking was sold in 2012 and the new owners laid off a large part of the local workforce. Today, the town is two-thirds black and, in important ways, still deeply segregated. Most of the white students go toprivate academieswhile black students attend public schools, and its residential areas are divided between two extremes: the leafy boulevards of the affluent white section and the historically poor, black Baptist Town, which is so little changed that it stood in for a 1960s Jackson neighborhood in the movieThe Help.
Nearby Clarksdale, where Martin Luther King held the first major meeting of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1958, dwindled in population beginning in the 1970s. It underwent a brief renaissance in 1995 after its former resident Morgan Freeman opened an upscale restaurant and the Ground Zero Blues Club next to Clarksdale’s storied blues museum. But the restaurant has since closed and entire blocks of the downtown area currently stand abandoned.
As for Tchula, it’s currently listed as the fifth-poorest town in the nation with a population of more than 1,000. Its last two industries—a sawmill and an apparel factory—closed long ago, and more than 15 percent of its residents are unemployed. Carthan said he has sought help from foundations and state and federal agencies, but his proposals for economic development projects have all been rejected.
“Businesses don’t want to come to a town like Tchula,” observed Anthony Mansoor, who owns a hardware store downtown. “That bothers me. The people in this town worked so hard to get to where we are today, and in a lot of ways, things are better. But the town is broke. That’s the bottom line.”
The situation is impossible to ignore: Among the key towns of the civil-rights era, those with the largest black majorities are frequently in the most economic trouble.
“The richest land this side of the valley Nile!” The plantation owner Big Daddy Pollitt used those words to describe the Mississippi Delta in Tennessee Williams’ playCat on a Hot Tin Roof. The fertile soils stretching from near Memphis to Vicksburg along the Mississippi River once supported a lucrative cotton economy; before the Civil War, the city of Natchez, farther south along the river, had more millionaires per capita than any other city in the U.S.
After emancipation, plantation owners relied upon sharecroppers to grow and harvest their crops. To keep the system in place, white leaders studiously kept out industries that might lure their laborers away from agriculture, as historian James Cobb reported in his seminal book about the Delta,The Most Southern Place on Earth.
Carthan saw that resistance firsthand. In Tchula, he said, “We couldn’t get factories—the power structure would block it. They didn’t want folks leaving the plantations.”
State Senator David Jordan, who grew up in Greenwood, observes that employment opportunities in the Delta have always been tightly interwoven with politics and race. His family lived and worked as field laborers on one of several plantations owned by the family of U.S. Representative Will Whittington, and the school year ran from December to April to enable children to help with the crops. As a teenager, Jordan worked at a white-owned store, where his tasks included learning the types and brands of various illegal liquors. (Mississippi remained a dry state for more than 30 years after Prohibition was repealed.) Once, Jordan said, a customer asked the store owner, “‘What you educatin’ that nigger for? I need him for a tractor driver.’”
“We just accepted it,” said Jordan, who graduated from high school with Morgan Freeman in the 1950s and went on to attend Mississippi Valley State University. “Wasn’t anything we could do about it.”
In those days, the Delta’s plantations were plowed by mules, cultivated by workers with hoes, and harvested by hand. After farming became increasingly mechanized in the 1960s, local workers had little to do, and no new jobs were available to fill the void. Jordan said the loss of even the most basic plantation labor helped the civil-rights movement gain traction in the Delta.
“Field hands were being replaced,” he said. “They were being paid $9 a day, and they paid $20 a month in rent, but when the cotton picker came, there was less work. People had no other trade. They got laid off, and the landowners pushed the shanties down, and those people had nowhere to go. There was a lot of dissatisfaction.”
Dissatisfaction was nothing new in the Mississippi Delta; this was, after all, the birthplace of the Blues. But when the plantation jobs disappeared and no new industries rose to take their place, the dissatisfaction turned into desperation. Many blacks migrated to Northern cities like Chicago, but Jordan refused to budge. “I said, ‘I’ll never leave Mississippi. I’m gonna do something—I’m gonna get even some kind of way.’” Jordan eventually sued the city of Greenwood, forcing it to adopt a more representative system of government. After that, he was elected to the city council and then to the state legislature.
Throughout Freedom Summer, these activists ran into fierce resistance from white business leaders. Mansoor, who was born in Honduras of Lebanese descent and arrived in Mississippi as an exchange student in the 1950s, recalled that blacks who took part in the voter registration drives were often fired from their jobs or denied credit at stores and banks.
Whites who opposed segregation were likewise targeted. Hazel Brannon Smith, then the fiery publisher ofThe Lexington Advertiser, editorialized against the segregationist white Citizens’ Council in 1964. In the process, she said, her offices were “bombed, burned and boycotted,” and she was later bankrupted by a rival Citizens Council-backed newspaper.
“My life had always been comfortable in Lexington,” Smith wrote in aneditorialpublished in 1984, on the 20th anniversary of Freedom Summer. “My two papers in Holmes County were paid for. I wore good clothes, and drove a Cadillac convertible. I went to Europe on vacation for four months and had more money in my bank account when I returned than I did when I left. But the boycott and the hate campaign wore my business down. The Council-backed newspaper depleted my advertising revenues, and I fell into deep debt.”
Mansoor’s business suffered after 1967, when one of his Tchula stores was the setting for a showdown between the Ku Klux Klan and a black activist named Edgar Love. According to Love’saccountin the bookThunder of Freedom: Black Leadership and the Transformation of 1960s Mississippi, Klan members cornered him on a dark street and pursued him into the store. Love hid behind a counter and drew his pistol, and when the first Klansman entered, Love trained his gun on him. Other Klansmen followed and began turning over counters and racks, “just demolishing the store,” says Mansoor, who remembers telling his pregnant wife to run home. “I called the sheriff—his name was Andrew Smith—and he said, ‘There’s nothing I can do about it.’” The standoff ended when Love turned himself over to a trusted white police officer who took him to jail in Lexington, the county seat, “for protection,” Mansoor said.
Love was later released, and Mansoor took some of the Klansmen to court for demolishing his store. He lost the case and his defense of the activist led to a boycott of his business. The bad feelings persisted for decades: Twenty years later, when his store caught fire, arson was suspected though never proven. “My wife wanted to move to California,” he recalled. “But I said, ‘No way I’m going to let them drive me away.’”
In the early years of the civil-rights era, most of Tchula’s white residents remained, including Sarah Virginia Jones, who was described in a MemphisCommercial Appealarticle as a member of “the leading family of Tchula.” She operated Refuge plantation with her brother and lived out her life in the mansion, even after her neighborhood became racially mixed. Jones was known for her garden-club work, her civic and beautification projects, the parties she hosted for high school seniors, and the artwork, which covered every eye-level wall space in her home. (She acquired most of it from a New Orleans art dealer, a Tchula native who regularly visited her home to offer pieces for her review.)
Throughout the 1970s, theHolmes County Heraldgave ample space to white society news, down to minute details like the time Jones wentshoppingin Memphis with a friend. There was little mention of life on the black side of town.
But if they lacked social clout, black residents were gaining political power. After the passage of the Civil Rights Act, and the accompanying voter-registration drives, blacks comprised the majority of the electorate in many Mississippi towns and counties. In 1967, Robert Clark became the state’s first black state representative since the Reconstruction era, and over the decade that followed, black politicians were elected into more and more local leadership positions.
When Carthan became mayor in 1977, one of his primary goals, he says, was to “bring the other side up.” “Tchula was like most southern towns, with the whites on one side and blacks on the other,” he recalls. “On the white side, where I am now, there were sidewalks, manicured lawns and beautiful homes like this one. But on the other side was dirt roads, shacks, and 75 percent of the houses had no plumbing.”
Carthan and the board of aldermen set about getting federal grants to make much-needed improvements: “Put in a sewer system, one of the first day-care centers in the state, paved streets, built houses and a free clinic, started a transportation system and a feeding program for the elderly.” These changes were a boon to Tchula’s poorer residents, but they produced few jobs. For the most part, black residents were left to grapple with an economic system that had been designed specifically to keep them in low-wage agricultural jobs.
White residents continued to control most of the town’s wealth and business connections, and Carthan says they “didn’t take kindly” to his efforts: “Tchula’s a plantation town, and they just rejected me.”
Carthan’s detractors often say that the town’s troubles are directly linked to his tenure as mayor, but he claims that white residents launched an elaborate campaign against him. “I stayed in court the entire time I was in office. They were accustomed to blacks who’d bow, say ‘yes-sir, boss,’ that sort of thing.”
Throughout his tenure, theHeraldfrequently ran front-page stories about his political and legal troubles, which were legion. He feuded with the former mayor, who was white, and with the then-biracial board of aldermen. In 1980, the aldermen tried to replace the black police chief Carthan had appointed with a white one. There was an altercation at City Hall, and Carthan was charged with assault. In April 1981, he was forced to leave office.
Two months after his resignation, Carthan was charged with allegedly hiring two hit men to murder one of his political rivals, Alderman Roosevelt Granderson. Though Granderson was black, Carthan—who defended himself—argued that the charges were racially motivated, that he was being framed by whites. Black farmers raised $115,000 for his bail and the actor and playwright Ossie Davis traveled to 66 cities to proclaim his innocence.
Carthan was acquitted of murder in 1982 but returned to jail on charges stemming from the 1980 fight at City Hall. A 1986 NBCsegmentabout Carthan’s trials noted that he was seen by his opponents as “a conniving troublemaker” and by his supporters as “a folk hero.” The local district attorney, Frank Carlton, acknowledged on camera that he had struck a deal with Granderson’s alleged murderers: After serving two years in prison, the two men claimed that Carthan had hired them to do the job. Carlton offered to drop the charges against them if they would testify against Carthan in court.
By the time Carthan’s legal battles were over, Tchula’s white population had dwindled away to almost nothing. “Whites felt threatened,” he says. And new businesses didn’t want to fill the void: “People don’t want to come where there’s division and conflict and animosity.” The growing sense of desperation brought an increase in drug use and a corresponding uptick in crime, which led even Mansoor and his wife to move to a Jackson suburb, though he continues to commute an hour each way to operate his hardware store.
Today, Carthan’s vision for Tchula has partially come to pass. The town of about 2,000 residents is governed entirely by black elected officials, and every house has running water. No one in Tchula gets fired from their jobs or is denied credit for upsetting the status quo, as happened frequently during the civil-rights era. The problem is, few people have jobs. Where local workers once harvested cotton or drove tractors on white-owned plantations, or toiled in the local sawmill or coat factory, there is today no visible means of economic support. Dwindling government grants and long commutes to jobs elsewhere are all that’s left.
Carthan makes no secret of his disdain for whites who decamped for other locales, as well as those who continue to avoid moving their businesses to black-majority towns. But he also blames the current, majority-black population. “Three or four generations of people raised on welfare—everybody knows the problem,” he said. “Single-family homes, drug-infested neighborhoods, the youth always on social media, exposed to everything. Ear rings, nose rings, lip rings, baggy pants. I’d expect they’d show some appreciation, but a lot of them don’t know their history. That’s a challenge. It’s very difficult for the teachers to even teach school. They’re rebellious. They have the freedom, the resources. They don’t have the restraints we had in the ’60s.” He shakes his head. “What goes around comes around. We’ve come a long ways, but we’ve got a long ways to go.”
Eighty miles to the southeast, the town of Philadelphia, Mississippi, stands in stark contrast with Tchula. Philadelphia was the site of Freedom Summer’s most brutal event: On June 21, 1964, three young civil rights workers were killed by Klansmen after being apprehended by local law-enforcement officials. James Earl Chaney, a black man from nearby Meridian, was beaten and shot three times; two Jewish New Yorkers, Andrew Goodman and Michael “Mickey” Schwerner, were shot through the heart. All three bodies were discovered two months later, buried in an earthen dam.
But after decades of public notoriety and internal strife, Philadelphia has become one of the most successful towns in the region. The economy is diverse, drawing on a mix of farming, manufacturing, forestry, and service industries, with the added boon of a nearby Choctaw Indian casino. The county has also set up an enterprise incubator to provide office, manufacturing, and warehouse space to startup businesses.
James Young, the town’s black mayor, says this economic expansion was possible only because white residents faced the shame of their past. “People didn’t turn away,” Young said. “They didn’t move away.”
The self-examination didn’t start immediately. “During that season when the civil rights workers were missing, there was heavy tension in the air, a lot of frustration and disbelief,” recalled Young, who was a child at the time. “It sent shockwaves through the community that no one was safe. I remember lying on the floor of our living room with my father and a gun.”
Philadelphia’s prominent white families were chagrined by the way their city and county were being portrayed by the media. In particular, one December 1964article, written byNew York Timesreporter (and later executive editor) Joseph Lelyveld, reported negatively on the city’s “business class” and its reaction to the murders.
Former Mississippi Secretary of State Dick Molpus was 14 at the time, and he remembers that his father invited theTimes’s editor, a Philadelphia native named Turner Catledge, to meet with the local businesses community. Influential locals turned out from the hospital, the newspaper, the lumber industry, and the glove factory. “The Klan and the Citizens Council were essentially running the county,” Molpus recalled. “The question was, where was the white leadership?”
As in Tchula, whites who supported integration were being openly targeted. “They threatened to burn my father’s lumber mill down if he didn’t fire a list of employees they gave him who had gone to NAACP meetings,” said Molpus. “But he hired three guys with deer rifles who were as bad as they were to stand watch, and they didn’t burn him out.”
Catledge had met with President Lyndon Johnson the night before the meeting in Philadelphia. Molpus remembers sitting on the floor next to the visiting editor: “He was drinking scotch, and now and then he’d hold his glass down and tinkle it around and I’d take it to my mother to make him another.”
Throughout the evening, the group’s grievances centered more on the town’s negative portrayal than on the murders themselves. “The business guys were furious,” Molpus said. “They wanted him to get rid of Lelyveld. We’d had churches burned, homes burned, a guy got his skull broke, there were three kidnapped, and the discussion in the business class was just about how the press is making us look like hicks.” After listening to their complaints, Catledge turned the discussion back to the larger issues. He told the local leaders, “‘There’s a moment in your life to step up and demand this stop,’ which offended everyone in there. Somebody said, ‘You’re from here, Turner, but you’re not one of us anymore.’”
Another moment of reckoning came in August 1965, when a local white woman named Florence Mars was pulled over on her way home from a party. As Molpus put it, Mars was “a very outspoken, courageous woman from a well-thought-of family—a very gutsy woman” who supported Martin Luther King and the protesters who marched with him through town. When she and her sister were stopped on the road, Mars had reportedly had too much to drink.
“The way things were done then, when someone like her was pulled over, they’d let her go,” Molpus said. “But they threw her and her sister into the drunk tank. And the community got together on a Sunday night and said, ‘This has got to stop,’ and it did stop. It took something happening to one of their own, from a prominent family.”
Even then, there was a lingering sense of denial about the civil rights murders. “Preachers were saying of the civil rights workers, ‘They came looking for trouble, and they found it.’ I heard that from the pulpit of the First Baptist Church,” Molpus said. “The murderers were in control. They were still in law enforcement. These were killers.” Even state officials refused to prosecute. In 1967, seven men were convicted in federal court and sent to prison, but the longest any served was six years.
Over time, Molpus said, the white community became more circumspect about the crime and what it meant for the future of the city. When federal court-ordered school integration came during the 1969–70 school year, Philadelphia chose not to establish all-white private academies as other nearby towns and cities had done. “I think the people had examined their souls, really, and the decision was made to keep the schools integrated,” Molpus said. Louisville, 30 miles down the road, was culturally and economically similar to Philadelphia, but its white residents decided to send their children to private academies, Molpus said. Today, Louisville is economically depressed.
Molpus partly credits the crusading editor of theNeshoba Democrat, Stanley Dearman, for helping change Philadelphia’s outlook. In the late 1980s, he ran a series of articles that humanized Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner, the three men killed by Klansmen in 1964, for local residents. “He went to New York City and sat down with Dr. Goodman. She told him about her son sending her a postcard saying people were friendly in Philadelphia, the day before he was killed.”
Then, in 1989, Molpus and Dearman decided to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the murders by holding a memorial at Mt. Zion Church, which had been used as a voter registration site during Freedom Summer. The building had been torched by the Klan, and the three civil rights workers had been returning from it at the time of their murder. The families of the three murdered men attended the gathering in 1989, along with a crowd of several hundred—including Molpus, who apologized for what happened on behalf of the state.
In 2000, Philadelphia held a multi-racial leadership conference, where Molpus was keynote speaker. “I said until we remove this shadow or at least attempt redemption, nothing is going to happen. They wanted an industrial park, to plant roses at the visitors center. I said we’re known for one thing: as the place where these three kids were killed for doing a patriotic duty.”
In 2004, Dearman invited Carolyn Goodman to speak to the Philadelphia Coalition, an interracial group cofounded by theDemocrat’s new editor, Jim Prince, and the head of the Neshoba County NAACP, Leroy Clemons. Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood attended and listened to Goodman’s moving personal account. The following year, he reopened the case and Edgar Ray Killen, the 80-year-old Baptist preacher who had orchestrated the murders, was convicted of three counts of manslaughter and sentenced to 60 years in prison.
In 2009, when the majority-white electorate voted in Young as Philadelphia’s first black mayor, national news outletsreportedthat the town had finally risen above its history. Young was invited to the White House for Christmas that year, and then to a meeting with Vice President Joe Biden. And in 2010, he received a civil rights award from CORE, the Congress On Racial Equality, which was one of the organizers of Freedom Summer. Because he was only a child during Freedom Summer, Young asked the group why he was given the award. “They said to think of Goodman, Chaney and Schwerner: ‘You’re the manifestation of their effort.’”
Today, unemployment in Philadelphia is lower than in most Mississippi cities (5.8 percent as of December 2013, compared to 7.3 percent statewide) and its per capita income is higher. Its schools are strong, despite the fact that Philadelphia is as geographically isolated as Tchula, located about 50 miles from the nearest interstate highway. Along with its other industries, the town is benefitting from a new influx of tourism. “The chamber of commerce now does civil rights tours,” Young said. “They’ve got a little brochure. We’ve had people come from London, South America, Australia.”
Still, Philadelphia is exceptional among Mississippi’sformer civil-rights battlegrounds. The state as a whole has more black elected officials than any other, but the ongoing segregation and economic decline in so many places is evidence of persistent, deep-seated problems.
“Businesses are not going to go to a place where there are not strong public schools,” Molpus said. “That says the community is ill. If the poor are in public schools and the affluent go to private, that community is ill. The public schools in virtually every town in the Delta were abandoned by the whites. That will take decades to fix—it’s a historical legacy. The poverty cycle hasn’t been broken.”
When Eddie Carthan bought the Jones mansion in the late 1990s, the house had been sitting vacant for years and its legendary artwork had been moved to the Mississippi Museum of Art. He also bought the formerly white church across the street, whose congregation, he says, refused to speak to him when he showed up, unbidden, one Sunday after his election as mayor. Now he’s the pastor of that church, which is all black.
On a recent afternoon, as Carthan ruminated about the future of Tchula at his desk, his wife, Shirley, tutored a group of young girls at the mansion’s long dining room table. The girls were members of the church Carthan pastors; only two of the congregation’s adult members have jobs. “They’re the poorest of the poor,” Carthan said.
Carthan also owns a century-old, formerly white-owned hardware store that anchors the downtown. Business is typically slow there, and most of his wares are covered in dust. There is more activity in Mansoor’s store, though much of it centers on the free doughnuts he provides each day to the city’s seniors. Though he now lives an hour away, Mansoor said he refuses to give up on Tchula. “For the most part, it’s better in Mississippi than a lot of places,” he said. “People know each other. They try to get along. People change.”
As evidence of the latter, Mansoor recalled an episode involving one of the Klansmen who demolished his store. After he died, Mansoor said, “his mother reached out to me and I took care of her for years. I’d go by and see about her, pick up her groceries. She’d cook me the best biscuits and sausage, and when she died she left me an old Ford car and a .38-calibre pistol. It was amazing. She wanted to be friends to make up for what they did.”
But such changes of heart have done little to improve Tchula’s economic fortunes. The majority of white residents fled town without making amends or doing anything to reverse the decades of economic oppression. For that reason, Tchula, unlike Philadelphia, must rely heavily on outside assistance.
Near Mansoor’s store on a recent morning, unemployed men lingered under shade trees behind the modest town hall, where Zula Patterson, the current mayor, was preparing to attend the ribbon cutting for two federally subsidized low-income houses. According to Patterson, such grants are few and far between. Asked what the town needs most, she replied, “What do we need? We need everything. But now we need police cars foremost. Our streets need to be redone. We need to try to find somebody to open some businesses. Nobody is really coming in until we get our infrastructure improved.”
Meanwhile, the subsidized houses represent the first new construction in a long time. They might not seem like much, but as Patterson said, “We’re trying to make things better. We’re doing what we can.”
ReadHow White Flight Ravaged the Mississippi Deltaon theatlantic.com
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• USB flash drives
• Bath towels
Overstock also provided us with data for all 50 states. We threw it into a spreadsheet and re-calculated to adjust by population stats (transactions per million residents). Then we created a map.
Here's the states with the most Bitcoin transactions (on Overstock) per capita:
1. New Hampshire
2. Utah (where Overstock.com is based)
3. Oregon
4. Vermont
5. Washington
Of course, this is just the beginning so there aren't tons of transactions yet, and it's just on one site (albeit a mass market one). But it's not surprising that the state whose motto is Live Free Or Die is t he most into the currency.
Rob Wile, data via Overstock.com and U.S. Census
[{"State": "New Hampshire", "#transactions": "19", "Transactions per million residents": "14.3563193117429"}, {"State": "Utah", "#transactions": "29", "Transactions per million residents": "9.99699400731918"}, {"State": "Oregon", "#transactions": "39", "Transactions per million residents": "9.92349999300266"}, {"State": "Vermont", "#transactions": "6", "Transactions per million residents": "9.57502832612546"}, {"State": "Washington", "#transactions": "66", "Transactions per million residents": "9.4672437668958"}, {"State": "Massachusetts", "#transactions": "55", "Transactions per million residents": "8.21775680938271"}, {"State": "Alaska", "#transactions": "6", "Transactions per million residents": "8.16179951355675"}, {"State": "New Mexico", "#transactions": "15", "Transactions per million residents": "7.1932544537035"}, {"State": "Virginia", "#transactions": "57", "Transactions per million residents": "6.90038805603357"}, {"State": "Montana", "#transactions": "7", "Transactions per million residents": "6.89543079203873"}, {"State": "Idaho", "#transactions": "11", "Transactions per million residents": "6.82324568150578"}, {"State": "California", "#transactions": "228", "Transactions per million residents": "5.94795213182039"}, {"State": "Connecticut", "#transactions": "20", "Transactions per million residents": "5.56161153255767"}, {"State": "Nevada", "#transactions": "15", "Transactions per million residents": "5.37608202610912"}, {"State": "Wisconsin", "#transactions": "29", "Transactions per million residents": "5.04987799320635"}, {"State": "Minnesota", "#transactions": "27", "Transactions per million residents": "4.98120058003313"}, {"State": "Colorado", "#transactions": "26", "Transactions per million residents": "4.93511556806882"}, {"State": "Kansas", "#transactions": "14", "Transactions per million residents": "4.83766690382753"}, {"State": "South Dakota", "#transactions": "4", "Transactions per million residents": "4.73441696246909"}, {"State": "Maryland", "#transactions": "28", "Transactions per million residents": "4.72269833393323"}, {"State": "Arizona", "#transactions": "31", "Transactions per million residents": "4.6780985310167"}, {"State": "Maine", "#transactions": "6", "Transactions per million residents": "4.51704506957002"}, {"State": "Pennsylvania", "#transactions": "57", "Transactions per million residents": "4.46225833641842"}, {"State": "Florida", "#transactions": "87", "Transactions per million residents": "4.44947695631227"}, {"State": "Georgia", "#transactions": "43", "Transactions per million residents": "4.30337083037143"}, {"State": "New York", "#transactions": "84", "Transactions per million residents": "4.27456399828875"}, {"State": "Illinois", "#transactions": "54", "Transactions per million residents": "4.19185173886161"}, {"State": "North Carolina", "#transactions": "41", "Transactions per million residents": "4.16325651955817"}, {"State": "North Dakota", "#transactions": "3", "Transactions per million residents": "4.14712334788974"}, {"State": "Texas", "#transactions": "105", "Transactions per million residents": "3.97002547584253"}, {"State": "Missouri", "#transactions": "23", "Transactions per million residents": "3.80531920754724"}, {"State": "Rhode Island", "#transactions": "4", "Transactions per million residents": "3.80404960100275"}, {"State": "Nebraska", "#transactions": "7", "Transactions per million residents": "3.74628849846616"}, {"State": "Indiana", "#transactions": "23", "Transactions per million residents": "3.50028047899664"}, {"State": "New Jersey", "#transactions": "31", "Transactions per million residents": "3.48340477871446"}, {"State": "Michigan", "#transactions": "33", "Transactions per million residents": "3.33480805956412"}, {"State": "West Virginia", "#transactions": "5", "Transactions per million residents": "2.69642949591868"}, {"State": "Ohio", "#transactions": "31", "Transactions per million residents": "2.6791560278245"}, {"State": "Oklahoma", "#transactions": "10", "Transactions per million residents": "2.59701945271451"}, {"State": "South Carolina", "#transactions": "12", "Transactions per million residents": "2.51317374261205"}, {"State": "Iowa", "#transactions": "7", "Transactions per million residents": "2.2650672271953"}, {"State": "Delaware", "#transactions": "2", "Transactions per million residents": "2.16041281168006"}, {"State": "Hawaii", "#transactions": "3", "Transactions per million residents": "2.1366699571384"}, {"State": "Alabama", "#transactions": "10", "Transactions per million residents": "2.06879915725398"}, {"State": "Kentucky", "#transactions": "9", "Transactions per million residents": "2.0476441285511"}, {"State": "Tennessee", "#transactions": "12", "Transactions per million residents": "1.84729689663358"}, {"State": "Wyoming", "#transactions": "1", "Transactions per million residents": "1.71627266767126"}, {"State": "Louisiana", "#transactions": "7", "Transactions per million residents": "1.51335972344432"}, {"State": "Mississippi", "#transactions": "4", "Transactions per million residents": "1.33725282135272"}, {"State": "Arkansas", "#transactions": "2", "Transactions per million residents": "0.675818830542821"}]
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1,420,552,721 | 2015-01-06 13:58:41+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [1429], "BTC": [1659]} | {"Bitcoin": [0]} | Bitcoin exchange Bitstamp suspends service after security breach | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-exchange-bitstamp-suspends-security-104454367.html | Reuters | http://www.reuters.com/ | LJUBLJANA (Reuters) - Bitstamp, one of the largest exchanges for trading the digital bitcoin currency, said it has suspended its service after a security breach on Sunday, resulting in loss of around 19,000 bitcoins.
The breach represented a small fraction of its total bitcoin reserve and the majority was held in secure offline systems, the Slovenia-based firm posted on its website on Tuesday.
Reuters was unable to contact Bitstamp officials in Slovenia or the United Kingdom, but one of the company's founders, Damijan Merlak, told Slovenian state-owned news agency STA that Bitstamp has enough liquid assets to meet its short-term obligations.
"At present we are setting up a duplicate of the whole infrastructure with experts in San Francisco which should be finished within 24 hours. Then we will be able to resume our services," Merlak told STA.
He said he could not give further details on the breach due to an investigation.
Bitstamp said it believed one of its wallets, which store the digital credentials for a customer's bitcoin holdings, had been compromised.
Bitstamp said it had notified all customers after learning of the breach, requesting them not to make any deposits to previously issued bitcoin deposit addresses.
"We would like to reassure all Bitstamp customers that their balances held prior to our temporary suspension of services will not be affected and will be honored in full," the exchange said.
Bitcoin, the best-known virtual currency, started circulating in 2009. Unlike conventional money, bitcoin is generated by computers and is independent of control or backing by any government.
A bitcoin is currently worth $276.80 (BTC=BTSP).
In February, Bitstamp claimed that developers had come up with a solution to thwart cyber attacks against its platform after Mt. Gox, once the world's biggest bitcoin exchange, lost an estimated $650 million worth of customer bitcoin when its faulty computer system was hacked.
(Reporting By Shivam Srivastava in Bengaluru and Marja Novak in Ljubljana; Editing by Savio D'Souza and Louise Heavens) |
1,420,552,855 | 2015-01-06 14:00:55+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [1455]} | {"Bitcoin": [0]} | Bitcoin exchange Bitstamp suspends service after security breach | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-exchange-bitstamp-suspends-security-111957195.html | Reuters | https://www.reuters.com/ | LJUBLJANA (Reuters) - Bitstamp, one of the largest exchanges for trading the digital bitcoin currency, said it has suspended its service after a security breach on Sunday, resulting in loss of around 19,000 bitcoins. The breach represented a small fraction of its total bitcoin reserve and the majority was held in secure offline systems, the Slovenia-based firm posted on its website on Tuesday. ( http://bit.ly/1eTIPEt ) Reuters was unable to contact Bitstamp officials in Slovenia or the United Kingdom, but one of the company's founders, Damijan Merlak, told Slovenian state-owned news agency STA that Bitstamp has enough liquid assets to meet its short-term obligations. "At present we are setting up a duplicate of the whole infrastructure with experts in San Francisco which should be finished within 24 hours. Then we will be able to resume our services," Merlak told STA. He said he could not give further details on the breach due to an investigation. Bitstamp said it believed one of its wallets, which store the digital credentials for a customer's bitcoin holdings, had been compromised. Bitstamp said it had notified all customers after learning of the breach, requesting them not to make any deposits to previously issued bitcoin deposit addresses. "We would like to reassure all Bitstamp customers that their balances held prior to our temporary suspension of services will not be affected and will be honored in full," the exchange said. Bitcoin, the best-known virtual currency, started circulating in 2009. Unlike conventional money, bitcoin is generated by computers and is independent of control or backing by any government. A bitcoin is currently worth $276.80. In February, Bitstamp claimed that developers had come up with a solution to thwart cyber attacks against its platform after Mt. Gox, once the world's biggest bitcoin exchange, lost an estimated $650 million worth of customer bitcoin when its faulty computer system was hacked. (Reporting By Shivam Srivastava in Bengaluru and Marja Novak in Ljubljana; Editing by Savio D'Souza and Louise Heavens) |
1,389,690,000 | 2014-01-14 09:00:00+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [201, 351, 371, 806]} | {"Bitcoin": [57]} | Rostock Continues Investigating Opportunities Within the Bitcoin Industry | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/rostock-continues-investigating-opportunities-within-090000643.html | Marketwired | http://www.marketwired.com/ | SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA--(Marketwired - Jan 14, 2014) - Rostock Ventures Corp. (ROSV) wishes to report that the company has continued to engaged in discussions to look into the opportunities within the Bitcoin Industry from different aspects within this exciting area ranging from the possibilities of creating or participating in an exchange to trade Bitcoins to various Bitcoin mining opportunities. The company's board at this time has not secured a deal and may not find a viable opportunity going forward. Management will update shareholders as any progress is made on this front.
President and CEO, Greg Rotelli, stated, "We continue to look for opportunities that will add value for our shareholders. Therefore we will investigate any and all opportunities that we feel could add value including the Bitcoin industry."
Recently the company's Board of Directors has voted to initiate a 5-for-1 forward split of the Company's common shares payable to our shareholders of record. At this time the Board has not selected the record a firm date to implement the forward stock split, but once a final record date is established, it will be announced. The Company anticipates that the forward stock split will occur early in 2014. Once we have implemented the 5-for-1 forward stock split, the Company's common stock will begin trading on a split-adjusted basis and the shareholders of record as of the selected record date will then own five shares for every one share previously owned. For example, if you owned 50,000 shares at the close of the record date you will be entitled to 250,000 shares after the split occurs.
Presently the Company has approximately 41,000,000 shares of its common stock issued and outstanding giving the company a market cap of just over $1 million currently. The Board and management feel that forward splitting the shares will increase liquidity in the Company which will give our shareholders added value and thus enable the Company to seek potential new projects.
Forward-looking Statements:
Some of the statements contained in this press release are forward-looking statements which involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the company, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward looking statements, including the risks and uncertainties related to the progress, timing, cost, and results of exploration programs; competition from other exploration or mining companies; and the company's ability to obtain additional funding required to conduct its exploration activities. Please refer to the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a comprehensive list of risk factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements of the company to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward looking statements. The company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements. |
1,389,690,000 | 2014-01-14 09:00:00+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [200, 350, 370, 805]} | {"Bitcoin": [57]} | Rostock Continues Investigating Opportunities Within the Bitcoin Industry | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/rostock-continues-investigating-opportunities-within-090000078.html | Marketwired | http://www.marketwired.com/ | SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA--(Marketwired - Jan. 14, 2014) -Rostock Ventures Corp. (ROSV) wishes to report that the company has continued to engaged in discussions to look into the opportunities within the Bitcoin Industry from different aspects within this exciting area ranging from the possibilities of creating or participating in an exchange to trade Bitcoins to various Bitcoin mining opportunities. The company's board at this time has not secured a deal and may not find a viable opportunity going forward. Management will update shareholders as any progress is made on this front.
President and CEO, Greg Rotelli, stated, "We continue to look for opportunities that will add value for our shareholders. Therefore we will investigate any and all opportunities that we feel could add value including the Bitcoin industry."
Recently the company's Board of Directors has voted to initiate a 5-for-1 forward split of the Company's common shares payable to our shareholders of record. At this time the Board has not selected the record a firm date to implement the forward stock split, but once a final record date is established, it will be announced. The Company anticipates that the forward stock split will occur early in 2014. Once we have implemented the 5-for-1 forward stock split, the Company's common stock will begin trading on a split-adjusted basis and the shareholders of record as of the selected record date will then own five shares for every one share previously owned. For example, if you owned 50,000 shares at the close of the record date you will be entitled to 250,000 shares after the split occurs.
Presently the Company has approximately 41,000,000 shares of its common stock issued and outstanding giving the company a market cap of just over $1 million currently. The Board and management feel that forward splitting the shares will increase liquidity in the Company which will give our shareholders added value and thus enable the Company to seek potential new projects.
Forward-looking Statements:
Some of the statements contained in this press release are forward-looking statements which involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the company, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward looking statements, including the risks and uncertainties related to the progress, timing, cost, and results of exploration programs; competition from other exploration or mining companies; and the company's ability to obtain additional funding required to conduct its exploration activities. Please refer to the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a comprehensive list of risk factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements of the company to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward looking statements. The company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements. |
1,420,562,340 | 2015-01-06 16:39:00+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [18903]} | {} | What the Recession Did to American Fathers | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/recession-did-american-fathers-163900950.html | The Atlantic | http://www.theatlantic.com/ | Today the vast majority of children in single-parent families live with their mothers, but not their fathers. Until the late 1990s, Americans relied upon welfare payments from taxpayers and child-support payments from nonresident fathers to reduce the poverty rate among these children, which is twice as high as the poverty rate among children who live with both their fathers and mothers. Since then we have required single mothers to work, supplemented their meager wages by a $50 billion program called the Earned Income Tax Credit, and strengthened efforts to ensure that nonresident fathers pay their child support.
As many recent studies have shown, however, except for the very highest earners, the wages of most men are stagnant or falling, making it extremely difficult for some nonresident fathers to pay all the child-support expected of them. For men with lower earnings this had been occurring for two and a half decades before the 1990s economic boom, when wages grew modestly. But with the 2001 recession, wages stagnated or began to fall again and have been doing so ever since. As a result of the increasing number of economically vulnerable nonresident fathers, the late 1990s strategy—which held so much promise—is becoming increasingly less effective.
Once primarily the consequence of divorce, single-parent families have grown mostly because increasing proportions of adults—especially those who are young and without college training—forgo marriage entirely and instead have children while cohabiting or in romantic relationships. As a result, non-marital births—now over 40 percent of all births—have soared. Because cohabiting and romantic parental relationships do not last as long in the U.S. as they do in Europe, the number of nonresident fathers has also soared to about 9 million. More than half of these fathers are economically vulnerable and they are a much more diverse population than the poor, inner-city, mostly minority fathers, who have been the focus of most studies on this subject.
On top of the long-term erosion of male earnings, the recession that started in 2007 was like a full blast of wind in the face of a biker already peddling furiously to climb up a long and steep hill. Male joblessness rose more than female joblessness during every recession since the early 1980s. However, the Great Recession had the twin distinction of creating the largest postwar male jobless rate and the largest male-female jobless rate gap. Because of the disproportionate harm the recession caused men, Mark Perry, in his testimony before the members of Congress,coined the term “mancession.”One reason for this disproportionate harm is that manufacturing and construction—traditionally fields that have been male dominated—were hit particularly hard by the Great Recession. Unfortunately, these industries have also been particularly slow to recover and may never achieve their pre-recession employment levels.
Not only was the increase in male joblessness larger than in previous recessions, but its effects are far from over. According to labor economists at the Federal Reserve, the male unemployment rate rose fromjust over four percent to 11 percent between December 2007 and August 2009. As ofNovember 2014, nearly one out of three male adults and young adults looking for work reported that they had been unemployed for at least six months. Unemployed workers have been without work for an average of 34 weeks, the highest rate of long-term joblessness since the federal government began collecting such data.
Long-term joblessness has been particularly high among men between the ages of 20 and 44, who are likely to be the fathers of young children. Jobless men in this age group have been looking for work for an average of26 to 33 weeks. These long jobless spells eat into their savings, destroy credit worthiness, and, in some cases, result in the loss of their homes. Thus, the low-wage path on which young men have traveled for four decades has been compounded by long-term unemployment.
According toa survey by the Pew Research Centerconducted 30 months after the recession, the downturn caused layoffs, pay cuts, reduced hours, or involuntary part-time employment for more than half of the American workforce. About a third of the adult workforce was laid off at least once during the recession. Carl Van Horn and his colleagues at Rutgers University’s Heldrich Center have been surveying the job-related attitudes of American workers over the last 15 years. Three-fourths of Americans who responded to theHeldrich Center Surveyin September 2010 had lost a job, or had a friend or family member who lost a job since the recession began. Although no nationally representative sample exists, many vulnerable nonresident fathers we interviewed were laid off because of what they described as a “slowdown” in the business of their former employer.
Finding a new job was difficult for most Americans who were laid off during the recession. National data show that in 2010, it took the average laid-off worker 33 weeks to find a job. The Heldrich Center’s record of the consequences of the recession began in March 2009, just three months before the recession officially ended. Nevertheless, two years later, they found that a third of workers who had lost their jobs by March 2009 were still looking for work, and more than one in six had become discouraged and hadstopped looking for work altogether.Later snapshotsshow that just over one in five workers who had been displaced by August 2009 had found new jobs almost 18 months later, and just over one in eight found full-time jobs. Just as the unemployment rate of men rose to higher levels than the unemployment rate of women, men who were laid off also found it more difficult to find new jobs than women.
Similarly, some laid-off working-poor fathers found another job not long after being laid off, only to be laid off again within a few months. Princeton University economist Henry Farber, who has been studying displaced workers during every recession since the early 1980s, found that aboutone in five displaced workers experienced such repeated layoffs between 2007 and 2009. Similarly, more than one in three workers interviewed by the Pew Research Center Survey had at least two layoffs during the recent recession, and two in eight had been laid off three or more times.
Among the working-poor fathers who were still employed, many also suffered a slowdown or cut in pay because of the recession. Almost a quarter of currently employed workers who responded to the Pew Research Center Survey took a pay cut, with full time workers only slightly less likely to do so than part-time workers, men more likely than women, and workers in families with income less than $30,000 more likely to take pay cuts than those in families with higher incomes.
Experts are just coming to grips with the consequences of the recession for American workers and their families, including the characteristics of workers (and families) who were hurt most. We know, for example, that the recession was harder on men than women. In particular, the increase in the unemployment rate was higher for men than it was for women, and this has been truein every recession since the early 1980s. After being laid off, more men left the labor force than women, and ittook longer for unemployed men to find new jobsthan it took unemployed women. We also know that employment and earnings of younger workers and minorities fell more sharply than employment and earnings among older and white workers. Studies also show that the lower-income and less-educated workers suffered more-severe consequences than higher income and more-educated workers.
But we do not know if nonresident fathers and their families suffered more or less than other fathers or other men. One way to answer this question is to focus on the characteristics of nonresident fathers in relation to those of other fathers or other men. Even this is difficult because collecting data on nonresident fathers is so difficult.
Society expects (and the law requires) nonresident fathers to support their children financially. Therefore, men who fail to support their children tend to deny that they are nonresident fathers. This results in three kinds of distortions in the picture of nonresident fathers that emerges from large surveys: first, the surveys miss nonresident fathers; second, those surveyed tend to be better off with those hidden who are more economically vulnerable; third, the accounts of nonresident fathers are sometimes tainted by a mother's feelings. For all these reasons, interviews conducted by researchers who persuade nonresident fathers that they will not be criticized or penalized for their failure to support their children financially are important ways to fill out what we learn about nonresident fathers from large national surveys and census data.
Researchers at the University of Bowling Greentried to assessthe most accurate source of large survey information about nonresident fathers. They looked at three large national surveys, two of which asked men two questions: (1) if they were nonresident fathers, and (2) if they provided financial support for their nonresident children. In both surveys the second question immediately follows the first question. The third survey, called the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG), asked men the same two questions, but at very different points in the survey interview. Estimates of the number of nonresident fathers from NSFG were substantially larger than estimates from the two other surveys. According to the survey, which was undertaken between 2006 and 2010, there were almost nine million nonresident fathers in the United States in the years bracketing the recent recession. After reproducing this estimate, we analyzed NSFG data on men to understand how nonresident fathers differed from resident fathers and other men in terms of the characteristics likely to influence how vulnerable they were to the recession.
Almost one in three men was a resident father; just over one in nine was a nonresident father. The average nonresident father was about 35 years old, about six years older than the average man, but about the same age as the average resident father. In other respects, however, nonresident fathers were more economically vulnerable than resident fathers and other men. More than five of every eight nonresident fathers had a high school diploma or less, while fewer than four of every nine resident fathers, and the total population of all men, completed this little schooling. Finally, more than half of nonresident fathers were black or Latino, while less than one in three resident fathers were men of color.
Because they were more likely to be men of color and less likely to have post-secondary schooling, the recession probably took a bigger toll on nonresident fathers than it did on resident fathers. For example, more resident fathers were employed than their nonresident counterparts, and of those nonresident fathers who were employed, more than half earned less than $40,000 annually. Only a third of resident fathers had such low earnings.
Focusing our attention on this lower-earnings group underscores how vulnerable they were to the recession and the trends in play over the prior four decades resulting in declining earnings and labor force participation, especially among less-educated men and men of color. While fewer nonresident fathers earning less than $40,000 were white, white men made up more than a third of nonresident fathers earning $40,000 or more. Employment rates among nonresident fathers earning less than $40,000 were high, but employment rates among nonresident fathers earning $40,000 or more were even higher. Longer hours were partly responsible for the higher earnings of the latter group since almost all worked full-time, while fewer nonresident fathers earning less than $40,000 were full-time workers.
Family ties compounded the difficulties faced by more economically vulnerable nonresident fathers. Fewer of the more vulnerable group were married or living with a female partner, and were therefore unable to share household expenses. Despite having less money coming in, the more vulnerable group also had as many resident children and more nonresident children to care for. That’s right, more than two out of five nonresident fathers who supported their kids through the courts were the family men working in low- and moderate-wage jobs with pictures of their wives (or partners) and children on their walls. Unless the mother of the child in the picture worked, his job paying less than $40,000 a year was barely enough to sustain the family at twice the poverty level. However, counting the child support owed for his kid (or kids), the family’s financial picture looked a lot less rosy. What’s more, nonresident fathers with lower earnings were more likely to be responsible for three or more nonresident children than nonresident fathers with higher earnings.
These five million economically vulnerable nonresident fathers (about nine percent of adult males between 15 and 44 years old in the United States) are a far larger group than the inner-city fathers who have been the focus of much research over the past few decades. The overwhelming majority worked full-time before, during, and after the recession, though many had higher paying jobs before the recession. Further, though men of color and less-educated men were overrepresented in this group, four of 11 vulnerable nonresident fathers, by our designation, were white, and more than six of 11 had some post-secondary education. Given their characteristics, particularly those that are known to affect employment and earnings (e.g., race and education) we suspect that nonresident fathers experienced more hardship than most men and most fathers, but perhaps not drastically so.
Another way to gauge the relative impact of the recession on nonresident fathers is to estimate whether their employment is lower than the employment of resident fathers, when two otherwise identical fathers live in the same city (and therefore are subject to the same labor-market conditions). We made such estimates using data on resident and nonresident fathers from a relatively new Fragile Families and Child Well-Being Survey. Our estimates show that nonresident fathers who live in cities with high unemployment rates are four percent less likely to be employed than resident fathers living in the same city.
Many of the fathers we interviewed described a gradual downward spiral of their employment status and earnings after first being laid off. Such cascading was also evident among many workers who responded to national surveys about the Great Recession. Princeton University economist Henry Farber notes that among the 50 percent of job losers who found new jobs after being laid off during the recession, there was a substantial increase, as compared with previous recessions, in the proportion of full-time job losers who were working part-time in their new job at least six months after the recession. The Pew Research Center Survey shows that just over a quarter of workers who lost and found a job during the first 30 months of the recent recession replaced a full-time job with a part-time job. Of course, moving from a full-time job to a part-time job usually meant lower pay and losing benefits, such as pensions and health insurance. The Heldrich Center Survey shows that over half of the workers who were able to find new jobs after being laid off took a pay cut; others found jobs paying the same, but offering fewer hours than the jobs they had prior to the Great Recession.
Beside reduced earnings, job satisfaction was generally lower for workers who lost and found a job during the recession. Additionally for many who had been unemployed for long periods,more than three-quarterssaid they would be willing to change careers in order to find a job. Among re-employed workers interviewed by the Pew Research Center, three out of five had already changed careers or had thought out about doing so, and more than one in three enrolled in a job-training programs or went back to school.
Although unemployed workers cut back on expenses, bills still mounted. According to the Pew Research Center Survey at the beginning of the recession, in 2008, only one out of 15 American workers said they could not meet their basic expenses. By May 2010, one of nine Americans admitted having such trouble. So they depleted their savings and unemployment insurance, if any, and doubled up or borrowed from friends and family. Some even applied for food stamps to help them get by. Almost a quarter of Americans earning under $30,000 had little money to meet daily expenses.Many unemployed workersdoubled up in more affordable housing arrangements with friends and relatives, and borrowed money from friends and family.
The working-poor fathers we interviewed who found no comparable work after losing their regular jobs during the recession experienced the same hardships and tried to recover in the same ways. For example, Franco, a working-poor father we interviewed, would like to follow in the footsteps of his children and go to college to get a business degree. Then, he would start a business of his own, a limousine service. But his more immediate concern is to find a regular job after being unemployed for four months. His family is on a very tight budget. To make ends meet, he and his wife are doubling up with her daughter and son-in-law, and Franco is using his unemployment benefits to contribute to household expenses.
However, Franco’s experience looking for work differs from the typical experiences reported by the Pew and Heldrich Center studies in several important ways. When Franco had been unemployed in the past, his child-support debts would mount and become one of his chief concerns. So he worked off the books to pay his child support debt. However, his employer took advantage of him, and he does not want that experience again. He learned to reduce his child-support debt whenever he was unemployed. He was also afraid that he might be injured or be laid off, but off-the-books work did not provide workman’s compensation or unemployment insurance. Now that his children were no longer minors, he no longer had to pay child support, so he avoided off the books work. From our research, we saw that these are typical experiences for working-poor fathers during the Great Recession.
This post has been adapted from Ronald Mincy, Monique Jethwani, and Serena Klempin's new bookFailing Our Fathers.
ReadWhat the Recession Did to American Fatherson theatlantic.com
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1,389,708,660 | 2014-01-14 14:11:00+00:00 | {} | {"Bitcoin": [55]} | Dogecoin Accounts For More Cryptocurrency Trading Than Bitcoin, Litecoin, And All Others Combined | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/dogecoin-accounts-more-cryptocurrency-trading-141130966.html | Business Insider | http://www.businessinsider.com/ | Dogecoin, the cryptocurrency that started as a jokebut has sincegone on to play a far more important rolethan anyone could've predicted, is on a total tear in transaction volume.
There are more Dogecoins in existence than there are all other cryptocoins combined.According to this chart from BitinfoCharts, the next-most-plentiful currency is Quarkcoin, with almost 250 million coins in circulation.
But this doesn't stack up against Dogecoin for a minute — it boasts almost 28 billion coins.
Screenshot
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1,389,708,660 | 2014-01-14 14:11:00+00:00 | {} | {"Bitcoin": [55]} | Dogecoin Accounts For More Cryptocurrency Trading Than Bitcoin, Litecoin, And All Others Combined | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/finance.yahoo.com/news/dogecoin-accounts-more-cryptocurrency-trading-141130966.html | Business Insider | http://www.businessinsider.com/ | Dogecoin, the cryptocurrency that started as a jokebut has sincegone on to play a far more important rolethan anyone could've predicted, is on a total tear in transaction volume.
There are more Dogecoins in existence than there are all other cryptocoins combined.According to this chart from BitinfoCharts, the next-most-plentiful currency is Quarkcoin, with almost 250 million coins in circulation.
But this doesn't stack up against Dogecoin for a minute — it boasts almost 28 billion coins.
Screenshot
More From Business Insider
• BEACONS: What They Are, How They Work, And Why Apple's iBeacon Technology Is Ahead Of The Pack
• GOOGLE BUYING NEST FOR $3.2 BILLION
• CONFIRMED: The DEA Struck A Deal With Mexico's Most Notorious Drug Cartel |
1,389,713,914 | 2014-01-14 15:38:34+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [219, 660, 1017, 2007, 2331, 2427, 2466, 3029]} | {"Bitcoin": [26]} | In-Person P2P Transfer of Bitcoins via Payment Card Now Possible With SmartMetric's Invention | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/person-p2p-transfer-bitcoins-via-153834708.html | Marketwired | http://www.marketwired.com/ | NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - Jan 14, 2014) - SmartMetric, Inc. (OTCQB:SMME), a developer of patented payment card technology and in-card biometric products, announced today that its soon-to-launch SmartMetric Biometric Bitcoin Card, the world's first biometric, fingerprint secured, off-line storage platform for bitcoins, will enable in-person Peer-to-Peer (P2P) transfer of bitcoins through its payment card.
"We believe our card will be the world's first to enable in-person, P2P transfer of bitcoins through a payment card. This is made possible by our patented nano-computing technology that puts the power of PC's computing capacity onto a payment card. Bitcoins can be stored and transferred, all on the card, and with a level biometric fingerprint security never before possible. We're very excited about the possibilities for bitcoin use and adoption powered by SmartMetric's nano-computing and biometric security capabilities," stated SmartMetric President and CEO Chaya Hendrick.
The SmartMetric Biometric Bitcoin Card has taken a quantum leap beyond smartcards. This is an intelligent card that combines patented nano-computing technology, an internal ARM 9 processor, processing power equal that of a PC, and up to 128 gigabytes of memory, matching the maximum memory capacity of current iPads.
The card comes equipped with a Near Field Communication (NFC) chip, which is the key to enabling the in-person P2P transaction. NFC chips are used in smartphones and similar devices to establish radio communication with each other by touching them together or bringing them into proximity. Cards are able to be connected to a computers USB or following the fingerprint scan and subsequent activation of the NFC (Near Field Communication) chip following the match of the card holders fingerprint, the SmartMetric bitcoin card can communicate directly with NFC smartphones and tablets. In order to protect the card owners privacy their fingerprint is stored inside the card and never leaves the card.
Bitcoins have grown to a global circulation of $11 billion driven by the digital currency's appeal as a P2P currency without a central bank, financial institution, or central server at its core. SmartMetric takes bitcoin one step further by enabling in-person P2P transfers through a payment card. The SmartMetric Biometric Bitcoin Card is slated for launch during the first quarter of 2014.
About SmartMetric Biometric Bitcoin Card
The SmartMetric Biometric Bitcoin Card is the world's first biometric, fingerprint secured, off-line storage platform for bitcoins. The card offers the benefits of bitcoins such as peer-to-peer transactions and card-to-card direct bitcoin sending anywhere in the world, while enabling real-time, in-person standard payment transactions at merchants and compatibility with standard ATMs around the world. Advanced patented payments card technology combines with the world's first fingerprint technology to use the cardholder's unique biometrics to lock and unlock the SmartMetric Biometric Bitcoin Card, providing safety and discrete portability.
About SmartMetric
SmartMetric, Inc. (OTCQB:SMME) develops patented biometric technologies used for security and identification, including the world's smallest fingerprint reader. The Company's proprietary advanced miniature electronics technology uses sub-micro computers to create fingerprint and security applications that were not previously possible. The world's smallest fingerprint reader is designed to fit inside standard payments cards as well as ID cards. Because of the miniature size of the electronics it is ideal for use in a broad array of products requiring an enhanced identification system. SmartMetric's products include biometric credit card and biometric debit card technologies, a medical emergency biometric card, and a MedicalKeyring™. For information on SmartMetric and its technology please go towww.smartmetric.com.
Safe Harbor Statement Certain of the above statements contained in this press release are forward looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Such forward looking statements are within the meaning of that term in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Readers are cautioned that any such forward looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. |
1,389,713,914 | 2014-01-14 15:38:34+00:00 | {"Bitcoin": [219, 660, 1017, 2007, 2331, 2427, 2466, 3029]} | {"Bitcoin": [26]} | In-Person P2P Transfer of Bitcoins via Payment Card Now Possible With SmartMetric's Invention | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/finance.yahoo.com/news/person-p2p-transfer-bitcoins-via-153834708.html | Marketwired | http://www.marketwired.com/ | NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - Jan 14, 2014) - SmartMetric, Inc. (OTCQB:SMME), a developer of patented payment card technology and in-card biometric products, announced today that its soon-to-launch SmartMetric Biometric Bitcoin Card, the world's first biometric, fingerprint secured, off-line storage platform for bitcoins, will enable in-person Peer-to-Peer (P2P) transfer of bitcoins through its payment card.
"We believe our card will be the world's first to enable in-person, P2P transfer of bitcoins through a payment card. This is made possible by our patented nano-computing technology that puts the power of PC's computing capacity onto a payment card. Bitcoins can be stored and transferred, all on the card, and with a level biometric fingerprint security never before possible. We're very excited about the possibilities for bitcoin use and adoption powered by SmartMetric's nano-computing and biometric security capabilities," stated SmartMetric President and CEO Chaya Hendrick.
The SmartMetric Biometric Bitcoin Card has taken a quantum leap beyond smartcards. This is an intelligent card that combines patented nano-computing technology, an internal ARM 9 processor, processing power equal that of a PC, and up to 128 gigabytes of memory, matching the maximum memory capacity of current iPads.
The card comes equipped with a Near Field Communication (NFC) chip, which is the key to enabling the in-person P2P transaction. NFC chips are used in smartphones and similar devices to establish radio communication with each other by touching them together or bringing them into proximity. Cards are able to be connected to a computers USB or following the fingerprint scan and subsequent activation of the NFC (Near Field Communication) chip following the match of the card holders fingerprint, the SmartMetric bitcoin card can communicate directly with NFC smartphones and tablets. In order to protect the card owners privacy their fingerprint is stored inside the card and never leaves the card.
Bitcoins have grown to a global circulation of $11 billion driven by the digital currency's appeal as a P2P currency without a central bank, financial institution, or central server at its core. SmartMetric takes bitcoin one step further by enabling in-person P2P transfers through a payment card. The SmartMetric Biometric Bitcoin Card is slated for launch during the first quarter of 2014.
About SmartMetric Biometric Bitcoin Card
The SmartMetric Biometric Bitcoin Card is the world's first biometric, fingerprint secured, off-line storage platform for bitcoins. The card offers the benefits of bitcoins such as peer-to-peer transactions and card-to-card direct bitcoin sending anywhere in the world, while enabling real-time, in-person standard payment transactions at merchants and compatibility with standard ATMs around the world. Advanced patented payments card technology combines with the world's first fingerprint technology to use the cardholder's unique biometrics to lock and unlock the SmartMetric Biometric Bitcoin Card, providing safety and discrete portability.
About SmartMetric
SmartMetric, Inc. (OTCQB:SMME) develops patented biometric technologies used for security and identification, including the world's smallest fingerprint reader. The Company's proprietary advanced miniature electronics technology uses sub-micro computers to create fingerprint and security applications that were not previously possible. The world's smallest fingerprint reader is designed to fit inside standard payments cards as well as ID cards. Because of the miniature size of the electronics it is ideal for use in a broad array of products requiring an enhanced identification system. SmartMetric's products include biometric credit card and biometric debit card technologies, a medical emergency biometric card, and a MedicalKeyring™. For information on SmartMetric and its technology please go towww.smartmetric.com.
Safe Harbor Statement Certain of the above statements contained in this press release are forward looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Such forward looking statements are within the meaning of that term in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Readers are cautioned that any such forward looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. |
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