Mastercard To Help Banks Offer , Cryptocurrency Trading to Their Clients.
CNBC reports that Mastercard is announcing a new program where it will serve as a "bridge" between crypto trading platform Paxos and banks.
The two companies will oversee regulatory compliance
and security, which many banks have previously cited
as reasons for not wanting to delve into crypto.
According to Mastercard's chief digital officer, 60% of consumers who are considering crypto would feel more comfortable exploring options with their existing banks.
.
There’s a lot of consumers out there that are really interested in this, and intrigued by crypto, but would feel a lot more confident if those services were offered by their financial institutions.
, Jorn Lambert, Mastercard’s chief digital officer, to CNBC.
It’s a little scary to
some people still, Jorn Lambert, Mastercard’s chief digital officer, to CNBC.
CNBC reports that if banks take Mastercard up on its offer, it could mean more competition for exchanges such as Coinbase.
CNBC reports that if banks take Mastercard up on its offer, it could mean more competition for exchanges such as Coinbase.
Mastercard intends to pilot its
crypto services in Q1 of 2023.
If everything goes as planned, the company will "crank the handle" and expand the service
Visa and Mastercard Settle , Antitrust Suit Over Swipe Fees.
The two companies have reached a settlement with American merchants which could "save consumers tens of billions of dollars," NBC News reports.
Credit card companies collect
swipe fees to enable transactions.
These fees are passed on
by merchants to consumers.
The settlement is a result of a 2005 lawsuit
alleging that merchants pay exorbitant fees
to accept the companies' credit cards. .
In 2018, the credit card companies agreed to pay $6.2 billion in response to the lawsuit,
but two issues still needed to be resolved.
Those issues pertained to rules imposed by Visa
and Mastercard to accept their cards, and merchants who decided not to be included in the settlement. .
As part of the recent settlement, credit
interchange fees will now be capped into 2030.
The fees must also be negotiated
with merchant buying groups.
Over 90% of the merchants included in the settlement are small businesses, Visa said. .
The settlement must be approved by
the Eastern District Court of New York
but will likely take effect by early 2025
Credit: Wibbitz Top Stories Duration: 01:30Published
Key Federal Reserve Inflation Gauge , Rose 2.8% in March.
According to Commerce Department
data released on April 26.
the personal consumption expenditures
(PCE) price index, not including food or energy, rose 2.8% year-over-year in March. .
That exceeded Dow Jones
estimates of 2.7%, CNBC reports. .
When also accounting for food and energy, the all-items PCE measure rose 2.7%,
which was above the 2.6% estimate.
Inflation reports released this morning
were not as a hot as feared, , George Mateyo, chief investment officer at Key Wealth, via CNBC.
... but investors should not get
overly anchored to the idea that
inflation has been completely
cured and the Fed will be cutting
interest rates in the near-term, George Mateyo, chief investment officer at Key Wealth, via CNBC.
The prospects of rate cuts remain,
but they are not assured, and the
Fed will likely need weakness in
the labor market before they
have the confidence to cut, George Mateyo, chief investment officer at Key Wealth, via CNBC.
Consumers continue to spend despite
higher prices, CNBC reports.
Personal spending increased 0.8% in March, while personal income rose 0.5%.
The personal saving rate dropped to 3.2% as more people are having to dip into their savings to cover the cost of living.
The Fed continues to target 2% inflation, which the core PCE has exceeded for
the last three years, CNBC reports.
Credit: Wibbitz Top Stories Duration: 01:30Published
Netflix Exceeds Earnings Estimates , As Subscribers Increase.
Netflix Exceeds Earnings Estimates , As Subscribers Increase.
Netflix released a Q1 earnings report on April 18, indicating that its number of subscribers jumped 16% year-over-year to reach 269.6 million.
Analysts only expected the streamer to have about 264.2 million subscribers, CNBC reports. .
The company also brought in $9.37 billion in revenue versus analysts' expectations of $9.28 billion. .
However, Netflix said that its membership numbers are no longer the main factor contributing to the company's growth.
As a result, the company will stop providing "quarterly membership numbers or average revenue per user" beginning in 2025, CNBC reports. .
Instead, it will divulge "major subscriber milestones as we cross them.".
Price hikes, terminating password sharing
and offering an ad-supported tier are all tactics that have boosted revenue.
Netflix is also seeking to gain traction within the video game space and recently partnered with TKO Group Holdings to offer WWE on the platform.
We’re in the very early days of
developing our live programming and
I would look at this as an expansion of
the types of content we offer, the way
we expanded to film and unscripted and
animation and most recently games, Ted Sarandos, co-CEO of Netflix, via earnings call.
We believe that these kind of event cultural
moments like the Jake Paul and Mike Tyson
fight are just that kind of television, and we
want to be part of winning over those
moments with our members as well, so that
for me is the excitement part of this, Ted Sarandos, co-CEO of Netflix, via earnings call.
As of the morning of April 18,
Netflix's stock was up 27%
Credit: Wibbitz Top Stories Duration: 01:30Published
Google Fires Employees , for Protesting Israel Contract.
28 Google workers have been fired for protesting
a $1.2 billion contract that the company has with
the Israeli government and military to provide
cloud and AI services, NBC News reports. .
The firings follow an April 16 sit-in at
Google's offices in California, New York and Seattle in which nine workers were arrested.
The group that coordinated the demonstration
is known as No Tech for Apartheid. .
Google issued a statement about the recent firings.
A small number of employee
protesters entered and disrupted
a few of our locations. , Google spokesperson, via statement.
Physically impeding other employees’
work and preventing them from
accessing our facilities is a clear
violation of our policies, and
completely unacceptable behavior. , Google spokesperson, via statement.
We have so far concluded
individual investigations that
resulted in the termination of
employment for 28 employees,
and will continue to investigate
and take action as needed, Google spokesperson, via statement.
No Tech for Apartheid claims that the
workers were fired "indiscriminately.".
This excuse to avoid confronting
us and our concerns directly,
and attempt to justify its illegal,
retaliatory firings, is a lie, No Tech for Apartheid, via statement.
Meanwhile, many of Google's workers have
reportedly quit after experiencing "mental health consequences of working at a company that is using their labor to enable a genocide," No Tech for Apartheid said.
On a personal level, I am opposed
to Google taking any military
contracts — no matter which
government they’re with or what
exactly the contract is about. , Cheyne Anderson, a Google Cloud software engineer based
in Washington who was arrested during a sit-in, to CNBC
Credit: Wibbitz Top Stories Duration: 01:31Published
Amazon Cuts Hundreds , of Cloud Computing Jobs.
An Amazon Web Services (AWS)
spokesperson issued a statement about
the job cuts on April 3, CNBC reports. .
We’ve identified a few targeted areas of
the organization we need to streamline
in order to continue focusing our efforts
on the key strategic areas that we
believe will deliver maximum impact, AWS spokesperson, via statement.
We didn’t make these decisions
lightly, and we’re committed
to supporting the employees
throughout their transition to new
roles in and outside of Amazon, AWS spokesperson, via statement.
Cuts are being made to the store technology division “as a result of a broader strategic shift in the use of some applications in Amazon’s owned as well as in third-party stores,” the spokesperson said.
The layoffs come after Amazon announced that it was ending its Just Walk Out technology in Fresh stores.
The cashierless technology is overseen
by teams within the AWS unit. .
Beginning in 2022, Amazon started
its largest layoffs in history by letting
go of 27,000 roles company-wide. .
So far in 2024, the retail behemoth has cut jobs at Audible, Buy with Prime, Prime Video, MGM Studios and Twitch, CNBC reports. .
This latest round of cuts will
allow U.S. employees to collect pay
and benefits for a minimum of 60 days.
They will also be offered a severance package.
Credit: Wibbitz Top Stories Duration: 01:30Published
UPS to Become US Postal Service’s , Main Air Cargo Provider.
On April 1, United Parcel Service announced
that it will replace FedEx as the primary air
cargo provider for the USPS, CNBC reports. .
On April 1, United Parcel Service announced
that it will replace FedEx as the primary air
cargo provider for the USPS, CNBC reports. .
FedEx is walking away from a
22-year partnership after failing to
secure a better contract with the agency. .
FedEx is walking away from a
22-year partnership after failing to
secure a better contract with the agency. .
In fiscal year 2023, USPS paid FedEx $1.73 billion
for its services, down from the $2.4 billion
FedEx received in fiscal year 2020.
The decrease in payments was partially due
to the postal service using more economical
trucks in place of planes, CNBC reports. .
The parties were unable to reach
agreement on mutually beneficial
terms to extend the contract, FedEx, via securities filing.
Since FedEx will lose nearly $2 billion in annual
business from letting go of the contract, .
hundreds of pilots will likely
lose their jobs, CNBC reports .
Following the announcement, UPS shares
increased 1.4% while FedEx stock dropped 1.6%.
FedEx's current contract is
set to expire on Sept. 29
Credit: Wibbitz Top Stories Duration: 01:30Published
SEC Permitted to Sue Coinbase , for Offering Unregistered Securities.
U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla
has ruled that the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) lawsuit against Coinbase
can proceed, The Verge reports. .
The SEC has sufficiently pleaded
that Coinbase operates as an exchange,
as a broker, and as a clearing agency
under the federal securities laws, , U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla, via ruling.
... and, through its Staking Program,
engages in the unregistered
offer and sale of securities, U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla, via ruling.
The judge rejected arguments that existing laws are inadequate when it comes to crypto. .
The judge rejected arguments that existing laws are inadequate when it comes to crypto. .
The ‘crypto’ nomenclature may be
of recent vintage, but the challenged
transactions fall comfortably within the
framework that courts have used to identify
securities for nearly eighty years, U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla, via ruling.
Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal
took to X to respond to the ruling. .
Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal
took to X to respond to the ruling. .
Early motions like ours
against a government agency
are almost always denied. , Paul Grewal, Coinbase chief legal officer, via X.
But clarity is the ultimate
goal and today’s decision
continues us on that path, Paul Grewal, Coinbase chief legal officer, via X.
Looking ahead, we remain confident
in our legal arguments, we look
forward to proving we’re right, , Paul Grewal, Coinbase chief legal officer, via X.
... we are eager for the opportunity to
take discovery from the SEC for the first
time, and we appreciate the Court’s
continued consideration of our case. , Paul Grewal, Coinbase chief legal officer, via X
Credit: Wibbitz Top Stories Duration: 01:31Published
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