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Greater Capitalism: How the pandemic is currently reshaping America’s economic system for the better

May 26, 2020

Forbes | Randall Lane | May 26, 2020 In a matter of weeks, Covid-19 spurred seismic shifts in how we work, learn and transact, and it helped usher in a new era that is smarter and fairer. The surreal year 2020 produces a personal Groundhog Day effect. The clock moves at one-quarter speed as the time-numbing diversions and necessities of a century ago, from jigsaw puzzles to yeast, fly off the virtual shelves. Simultaneously, though, the world is transforming at a pace unlike any experienced since World War II. In a matter of weeks, seismic, permanent shifts have occurred in how we work, learn and transact. The most significant shift is taking place in our economic system itself. See:  OpEd: IT’S TIME TO BUILD Capitalism, the greatest engine for prosperity and innovation ever created, was already under strain before the coronavirus pandemic. Despite a decade of impressive economic growth and job creation, a plurality of Americans still reported feeling as though the system was rigged, that hard work and playing by the rules no longer ensured success. “It is scary when you had the lowest unemployment, the lowest African-American unemployment, the lowest Hispanic unemployment, the lowest women’s unemployment,” says Michael Milken, ...
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Why AI-driven financial advice is getting regulators’ attention

May 25, 2020

The Globe and Mail | Patricia Chisholm | May 22, 2020 The emerging use of artificial intelligence (AI) to support or even replace human financial advisors is attracting the attention of regulators – mainly in Britain but also in Canada. While they’re broadly supportive of AI as a cost-efficient tool to broaden the reach of financial advice, they’re also monitoring the potential risks and challenges, trying to ensure that this advice remains both suitable and transparent for clients. The current crisis is certainly putting the usefulness of the new technology to the test. Tony Vail, chief advice officer at Wealth Wizards, a fwell-known provider of AI-assisted financial advice in Britain, says: “We’re finding increasing demand for our technology solutions [as a result of the crisis]. For example, our digital financial advisor, MyEva, had an unprecedented response to an [online] nudge offering help and guidance with finances related to the impacts of COVID-19.” See:  WealthBar rebrands as CI Direct Investing Given the increased attention on AI-assisted advice, Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is taking a proactive approach on the matter. Last autumn, the FCA and the Bank of England conducted a survey of more than 100 financial services firms on their ...
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WealthBar rebrands as CI Direct Investing

May 23, 2020

Wealth Professionals | David Kitai | May 21, 2020 CEO tells WP why the firm is rebranding and what new opportunities lie in the company's future Robo-advisor WealthBar is rebranding as CI Direct Investing with parent company CI financial increasing their ownership stake from 75 per cent to 100 per cent. Tea Nicola, founder and CEO of WealthBar, says that in terms of day to day operations nothing will change for their advisors and their clients. While she admits a bit of melancholy saying goodbye to the brand she built, she accepts that this is the logical next stage for her company and looks forward to the new challenges and opportunities she and her team will be taking on as CI Direct Investing. WealthBar will eventually be combined with Virtual Brokers, CI’s discount broker. See:  Why Partnerships Are the Future for Fintech “We're currently not making any major changes aside from the rebrand itself,” Nicola says. “We're simply fully focused on supporting our customers, growing with the current demand we're seeing and launching this rebrand.” Nicola explained that the rebrand fits in a wider strategy on the part of CI financial, unifying their group of companies under a shared banner ...
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20-year-old Dubliner lands €14.6m funding round from top Silicon Valley firms

May 23, 2020

Independent.ie | Adrian Weckler | May 21, 2020 A 20-year-old former BT Young Scientist winner has landed $16m (€14.6m) in new funding from some of Silicon Valley’s most prestigious US venture capital firms The famous former data security chief for Yahoo and Facebook, Alex Stamos, has come on as a new investor, as have Eventbrite CEO Kevin Hartz and (French firm) Datadog’s CEO Olivier Pomel.  The heavy-hitting Silicon Valley firms backing the venture are led by Index Ventures with participation from Sequoia Capital and Kleiner Perkins and assistance from Dublin-based venture firm Frontline. “We’re aiming to distill what GDPR did in 99 Articles down to a line of code,” said Mr Curran. Seven years ago, Sequioa invested in the payments firm created by another former Young Scientist winner, Patrick Collison and his brother John. Stripe has gone on to become one of the world’s most valuable private companies, valued at $35bn (€31.7bn). See:   Cyber security world first as unique guide is launched Evervault hosts a network of hardware-secured data processing ‘enclaves’ which allows developers to deploy their applications in privacy ’cages’.  These cages allow information to be processed securely with strictly controlled access but without changing the way that developers ...
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How This Billionaire-Backed Crypto Startup Gets Paid To Not Mine Bitcoin

May 23, 2020

Forbes | Christopher Helman | May 21, 2020 It’s everyone’s dream to get paid to do nothing. Bitcoin miner Layer1 is turning that dream into reality — having figured out how to make money even when its machines are turned off.  Layer1 is a cryptocurrency startup backed by the likes of billionaire Peter Thiel. In recent months, out in the hardscrabble land of west Texas, the company has been busy erecting steel boxes (think shipping containers) stuffed chockablock with high-end processors submerged inside cooling baths of mineral oil. Why west Texas? Beause thanks to a glut of natural gas and a forest of wind turbines, power there is among the cheapest in the world — which is what you need for crypto. See:  Bitcoin’s “halvening” is upon us “Mining Bitcoin is about converting electricity into money,” says Alex Liegl, CEO and co-founder. By this fall Layer1 will have dozens of these boxes churning around the clock to transform 100 megawatts into a stream of Bitcoin. Liegl says their average cost of production is about $1,000 per coin — equating to a 90% profit margin at current BTC price of $9,100. So it’s odd how excited Liegl is about the prospect ...
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Useful Tips to Handle Bulk Flash Drives

May 23, 2020

Guest Post | May 23, 2020 Over the years, the many forms of data storage and transfer devices have failed due to one reason or another. Floppy disks used to get spoiled too quickly, and CDs were an inconvenience when having to burn data on to them just to make it portable. However, after the introduction of USB flash drives to the market, numerous problems faced by almost anyone who had a job working with computers were solved. They are known by many names; flash drives, thumb drives, USB drives, pen drives etc. and come in many shapes and sizes but their main function is storage and transfer of digital data from one location to another. The biggest benefit of these devices is that they are USB (meaning they connect via universal serial bus terminals) and the fact that they are plug-and-play (meaning that they do not require any external software to be installed before use). However, as with anything on the market, certain precautions need to be taken while making a purchase for a USB drive as well as during its use. Some Things to Know When Purchasing a Flash Drive: Avoid buying a USB drive that requires any ...
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Introducing Plaid Exchange

May 22, 2020

Plaid blog | Niko Karvounis & Jesse Dhillon  | May 20, 2020 The financial ecosystem is undergoing an unprecedented digital transformation due to new realities brought on by COVID-19. Consumers and businesses have turned to fintech to manage their finances in record numbers. Digital transformation that was expected to take years is now predicted to take place over a matter of months. Now, financial institutions everywhere must be prepared to meet their customers’ rising demand for digital connectivity. See:  With Plaid Acquisition, Visa Makes a Big Play for the ‘Plumbing’ That Connects the Fintech World Today, Plaid is launching Plaid Exchange to accelerate consumer-permissioned data access strategies for financial institutions. As fintech adoption has grown, so have the needs of financial institutions that must now manage unprecedented customer connections across thousands of fintech apps. Plaid Exchange gives financial institutions, from banks to wealth management firms, an open finance platform that includes critical tools required to manage the secure and reliable data connectivity their customers’ financial lives demand, today and for years to come. At the heart of this platform is the ability for consumers to maintain control and transparency into where and how their financial information is permissioned and shared, ...
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Remote Working Cybersecurity Checklist

May 21, 2020

Cyber Management Alliance | Aditi Uberoi | May 21, 2020 Established in 2015, Cyber Management Alliance is one of the world’s leading cyber incident & crisis management service providers offering advisory, executive training and bespoke workshops in all aspects of cyber crisis management, incident planning, incident response testing and tabletop exercises. Cyber Management Alliance (CM-Alliance) is the creator of the internationally-acclaimed NCSC-Certified, Cyber Incident Planning and Response (CIPR) course. Previous attendees of the NCSC-Certified CIPR course and tabletop exercises include organisations including the United Nations, UK Ministry of Defence, several UK Police Forces, NHS Trusts, European Central Bank, Swiss National Bank, Microsoft, Ernst and Young, BNP Paribas and many others. See: Accenture: Fintech, Cybersecurity and Methods to Handle Threat Cyber security world first as unique guide is launched Remote Working Cybersecurity Checklist Some areas of risk - note this is not a comprehensive list but a list to help you prepare for cybersecurity attacks: Cybersecurity Passwords Mobile Equipment Privileged Users Phishing Emails and Scams Policy and Illegal Activity Working remotely, Online Meetings & Calls Exceptions and Change Privacy Cyber Attack and Incident Response Backup Backup Backup HR and Mental and Occupational Health Video and Audio Conferences Helpdesk & Support Download ...
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Shopify Balance Brings Banking and Cash Flow to Merchants

May 21, 2020

Digital | May 20, 2020 The huge e-commerce company also unveiled buy now, pay later and local delivery tools at its annual conference. Need to Know At Shopify’s annual conference, Unite, the e-commerce platform announced a number of new features. Shopify Balance Account is a “one-stop-shop” account for small business owners and a feature several employees are referring to as Shopify’s bank. The online platform also announced Shop Pay Installments, Fulfillment Network expansion, and Local Delivery products. The conference emphasized the importance of strong digital tools and local commerce in COVID-19 retail climate. See:  Shopify displaces RBC to become Canada’s most valuable company Analysis E-commerce giant Shopify announced a number of new tools and programs at its online Reunite event on Wednesday, the biggest of which is Balance, a banking account tailored to the particular needs of small business owners and entrepreneurs. Balance, which will be made available to Shopify merchants in the US later this year, is a one-stop-shop within Shopify’s platform admin allowing sellers to track cash flow, pay bills, and monitor expenses. According to a press release from Shopify, 40% of merchants are currently using personal accounts for some business needs; Balance aims to provide tools that ...
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Quantum Computers Challenge Blockchain’s Invincibility: What To Do Now

May 20, 2020

Forbes | Susan Galer | May 19, 2020 Timelines for the emergence of quantum computers may be fuzzy, but the threat they pose to the vaunted security of blockchain technology is profoundly real. Originally popular as fail-safe security for bitcoin enthusiasts, blockchain is making inroads across numerous industries, most notably as a track and trace tool proving the provenance of goods across vast supply chains. Blockchain-based security may be even more valuable in managing supply and demand shocks during the pandemic and after. However, as blockchain services grow and quantum computers begin to emerge, now is the time to start thinking about quantum-resistant blockchain. “Once quantum computers can break the cryptography being used today, blockchain loses its immutability,” said Cedric Hebert, senior researcher at SAP Security Research. “We wouldn’t be able to trust new transactions on a blockchain that wasn’t meant to resist quantum-fueled attacks. Companies will need to adopt new protocols to resist quantum attacks.” See:  The research frontier: where next for AI and collective intelligence? Right now, it’s difficult to go backwards on a blockchain’s immutable ledger and change original information in each block of the chain. This is especially the case as blocks are added with more ...
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