Finance – Impact Lab

Finance

The Silent Giant in Finance: How SWIFT and CBDCs Threaten Financial Freedom

October 1, 2023

In the world of finance, one institution reigns supreme, yet it remains largely unknown to the public. This institution processes over $400 billion every day, surpassing the annual GDP of countries like Iran, Denmark, and South Africa. With a network that links over 11,000 banks and financial entities in more than 200 countries, including global central banks such as the U.S. Federal Reserve, it plays a pivotal role in the global financial system. This institution is the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), the backbone of worldwide finance.

SWIFT impacts us all, whether we realize it or not. If you’ve ever sent a wire transfer, it likely flowed through the SWIFT network. Even if you haven’t directly engaged in this process, your bank relies on SWIFT for managing payments on the backend.

Finance

Shifting Dynamics in the VC Accelerator Landscape: Navigating Changes Amidst Tech Transformation

August 25, 2023

Over the past fifteen years, a series of stark contrasts has characterized the financial landscape — from the shattering fallout of a major housing crash to the triumphant rise of the longest bull market, followed by the disruptive onslaught of a global pandemic. Amidst this turmoil, the Venture Capital (VC) accelerator industry has emerged as a steadfast contender, weathering the storms and charting a unique course.

Fueled by the zero-interest terrain of 2020, the VC accelerator realm surged ahead, spawning an ever-expanding assortment of funds. Yet, the horizon seems to be hinting at a broader venture landscape shift, one that could redefine the contours of this ecosystem.

Finance

Morgan Stanley Upgrades Indian Stocks to Overweight Rating, Ranks India as Top Asian Emerging Market

August 7, 2023

Global brokerage firm Morgan Stanley has upgraded Indian stocks to an overweight rating and ranked India as the No. 1 market in its basket of Asian emerging markets ex-Japan, surpassing Korea and UAE. The upgrade comes amid a structural uptrend, strong leadership, and relatively less extreme valuations compared to October.

In its report, Morgan Stanley highlighted India as its core overweight market within APxJ/EM, citing a 12-month forward P/E and trailing P/B standing above historical averages, reflecting the premium investors are willing to pay for higher growth opportunities. The valuation premiums to emerging markets (EM) and China have moderated from previous highs, making India an attractive investment destination.

Finance

Miami wants to become crypto’s financial capital. New York’s response? Bring it on

January 5, 2022

By DAVID GURA

When Blockchain.com was looking for a new home for its U.S. headquarters, it decided to leave New York and move to downtown Miami.

“New York is a great city,” says Peter Smith, the cryptocurrency company’s co-founder and CEO. “But Miami was an easy choice for us.”

Miami’s vibrant nightlife and warmer weather were certainly a draw, but according to Smith, the decision ultimately came down to the city being better aligned with his company’s goals.

“It’s the gateway to Latin America,” he says. “It’s on the East Coast time zone. And more importantly, it’s probably the most excited city in the world about crypto right now.”

Cryptocurrencies are seen by many as the future of finance, and Miami is aggressively angling to become the world’s crypto capital – in a direct threat to New York’s status as the country’s financial hub, threatening New York’s dominance in finance.

Smith credits Mayor Francis Suarez with raising the city’s profile. During his first term, Suarez has gone all in on Bitcoin and blockchain, the technology that underpins it.Article continues after sponsor message

Today, Miami has its own cryptocurrency, called MiamiCoin, and last year, it hosted one of the world’s largest digital currency conferences.

“Crypto is incredibly important to the future of the city, and to how we are positioning ourselves right now,” Suarez told NPR in a recent interview. “We really have created the epicenter for crypto.”

Finance, Science & Technology News

Self-driving truck startup Plus to go public through $3.3 billion SPAC deal

May 19, 2021

(Reuters) -Plus said on Monday it would go public through a merger with blank-check company Hennessy Capital Investment Corp. V in a deal that values the self-driving truck technology startup at $3.3 billion.

The combined company will get proceeds of $500 million from the deal, including a private investment of $150 million. Investors in the deal include BlackRock and D.E. Shaw group, among others.

In February, Plus raised $200 million in a funding round, co-led by brokerage Guotai Junan International and private equity firm CPE, according to data from Pitchbook.

Coronavirus, Finance, Money Talk, Science & Technology News, Startup

The Pandemic Plutocrats : How Covid is creating new fintech billionaires

October 6, 2020

In 2015, Nick Molnar was living with his parents in Sydney, Australia, and selling jewelry from a desktop computer in his childhood bedroom. Hocking everything from $250 Seiko watches to $10,000 engagement rings, the 25-year-old had gotten so good at online marketing that he had become Australia’s top seller of jewelry on eBay, shipping thousands of packages a day.

That same year, he teamed up with Anthony Eisen, a former investment banker who was 19 years his senior and lived across the street. They cofounded Afterpay, an online service that allows shoppers from the U.S., U.K., Australia, New Zealand and Canada to pay for small-ticket items like shoes and shirts in four interest-free payments over six weeks. “I was a Millennial who grew up in the 2008 crisis, and I saw this big shift away from credit to debit,” the now 30-year-old Molnar says today. Either lacking credit cards or fearful of racking up high-interest-rate debt on their credit cards, Molnar’s generation was quick to embrace this new way to buy and get merchandise now, while paying a little later.

Five years later, Molnar and Eisen, who each own roughly 7% of the company, have become billionaires—during a pandemic. After initially tanking at the start of lockdowns, shares of Afterpay—which went public in 2016—are up nearly tenfold, thanks to a surge in business tied to e-commerce sales. In the second quarter, it handled $3.8 billion of transactions, an increase of 127% versus the same period a year earlier.

Continue reading… “The Pandemic Plutocrats : How Covid is creating new fintech billionaires”

Economy, Finance, government, Money Talk, Science & Technology News

Germany is beginning a universal-basic-income trial with people getting $1,400 a month for 3 years

August 24, 2020

Starting this week, 120 Germans will receive a form of universal basic income every month for three years.

The volunteers will get monthly payments of €1,200, or about $1,400, as part of a study testing a universal basic income.

The study will compare the experiences of the 120 volunteers with 1,380 people who do not receive the payments. About 140,000 people have helped fund the study through donations. The concept of universal basic income has gained traction in recent years, and Finland tested a form of it in 2017.

Supporters say it would reduce inequality and improve well-being, while opponents argue it would be too expensive and discourage work.

Continue reading… “Germany is beginning a universal-basic-income trial with people getting $1,400 a month for 3 years”

Coronavirus, Finance, Human Behavior, Money Talk, Science & Technology News

Coronavirus has turned America into a nation of savers. But how long will it last?

July 8, 2020

With a busy life in Los Angeles, Anna McKitrick has trouble saving. The 25-year-old waitress and aspiring actress estimates she spends $200 a month on coffee, snacks, on-the-go meals, and other purchases she could live without.

Now thanks to the coronavirus, McKitrick is stuck in her childhood home in New Jersey, living rent-free for the foreseeable future — and using the opportunity to permanently kick her impulse spending habit.

Without bills to pay and thanks to a surprisingly large tax refund, she’s already saved several thousand dollars. She says she’s also reevaluated what is actually important to her. “I just realized how much money I was wasting instead of putting it towards my priorities, like building a bigger emergency fund and paying for experiences I want to have,” says McKitrick.

It’s no secret that Americans struggle to save for the future. A study from JPMorgan Chase found that about two-thirds of us do not have the recommended six weeks of take home pay set aside for an emergency. And a recent Money/Synchrony Bank study revealed that 36% of people earning between $75,000 and $100,000 still worry about unexpected expenses. But now the coronavirus is forcing millions of people to cut down on unnecessary spending in a way that they’ve never been able to before.

Continue reading… “Coronavirus has turned America into a nation of savers. But how long will it last?”

Banking, Coronavirus, Finance, Money Talk, Science & Technology News

Chime is piloting instant stimulus check disbursals

April 25, 2020

US neobank Chime is running a pilot in which it gives customers their $1,200 federal stimulus checks before the government begins disbursing the payments, CNBC reports.

The neobank selected 1,000 customers who received their payments instantly on Thursday through Chime’s SpotMe feature, which usually acts as an overdraft protection feature, allowing customers to go negative in their accounts without having to pay an overdraft fee.

Chime is using its own capital to front the money to customers until the government pays out the checks, and CEO Chris Britt told CNBC that he is waiting for reassurance from the government that Chime users can’t redirect stimulus payments to other bank accounts before expanding the pilot to other users. Eligible users will largely be those who direct deposit paychecks into their Chime accounts and have previously had their tax refunds deposited into their Chime accounts as well.

Continue reading… “Chime is piloting instant stimulus check disbursals”

Coronavirus, Finance, Higher Education, Science & Technology News

Financial hits pile up for colleges as some fight to survive

April 25, 2020

Colleges across the nation are scrambling to close deep budget holes and some have been pushed to the brink of collapse after the coronavirus outbreak triggered financial losses that could total more than $100 million at some institutions.

Scores of colleges say they’re taking heavy hits as they refund money to students for housing, dining and parking after campuses closed last month. Many schools are losing millions more in ticket sales after athletic seasons were cut short, and some say huge shares of their reserves have been wiped out amid wild swings in the stock market.

Yet college leaders say that’s only the start of their troubles: Even if campuses reopen this fall, many worry large numbers of students won’t return. There’s widespread fear that an economic downturn will leave many Americans unable to afford tuition, and universities are forecasting steep drop-offs among international students who may think twice about studying abroad so soon after a pandemic.

Continue reading… “Financial hits pile up for colleges as some fight to survive”

Finance, Higher Education, Money Talk, Science & Technology News

How An Unlimited Supply Of Borrowed Cash Is Destroying Higher Education

December 31, 2019

Both of us grew up poor. College was our way out of poverty. Now, we see too many young people locked into poverty by a college education.

“You have to go to college” was an article of faith when we were growing up in poor families. Now we wonder if our ticket out of poverty still has the same value. Far too many of this generation are leaving college with substantial debt and few meaningful job opportunities.

Put a little differently, what is the value of a bachelor’s degree in women’s studies or sociology or any other fields that are not science, technology, engineering, mathematics, or business? Ask some of the young people working at your local coffee shop or favorite restaurant. They will probably tell you, “not much.”

Continue reading… “How An Unlimited Supply Of Borrowed Cash Is Destroying Higher Education”

Finance, Hacking, Report, Science & Technology News, security

A sobering 62% of U.S. financial-services entities have been breached, Thales says

December 15, 2019

Despite 96% of U.S. financial-services organizations considering their technology security as adequate, 62% of those responding to a Thales survey said they experienced a breach. That’s according to the recently released 2019 Thales Data Threat Report.

Commissioned by Thales, the survey of 1,200 information technology and data security professionals and the ensuing report was conducted by research firm International Data Corp. Many U.S. financial services organization have strict data-security and similar requirements to contend with, but their breach rate outpaces other industries. Retail, at 42%, was the next highest among those ever experiencing a breach.

Continue reading… “A sobering 62% of U.S. financial-services entities have been breached, Thales says”