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Insurtech Research Report: The trends & technologies allowing insurance startups to compete

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Insurtech 2.0

Tech-driven disruption in the insurance industry continues at pace, and we're now entering a new phase — the adaptation of underlying business models. 

That's leading to ongoing changes in the distribution segment of the industry, but more excitingly, we are starting to see movement in the fundamentals of insurance — policy creation, underwriting, and claims management. 

This report from Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, will briefly review major changes in the insurtech segment over the past year. It will then examine how startups and legacy players across the insurance value chain are using technology to develop new business models that cut costs or boost revenue, and, in some cases, both. Additionally, we will provide our take on the future of insurance as insurtech continues to proliferate. 

Here are some of the key takeaways:

  • Funding is flowing into startups and helping them scale, while legacy players have moved beyond initial experiments and are starting to implement new technology throughout their businesses. 
  • Distribution, the area of the insurance value chain that was first to be disrupted, continues to evolve. 
  • The fundamentals of insurance — policy creation, underwriting, and claims management — are starting to experience true disruption, while innovation in reinsurance has also continued at pace.
  • Insurtechs are using new business models that are enabled by a variety of technologies. In particular, they're using automation, data analytics, connected devices, and machine learning to build holistic policies for consumers that can be switched on and off on-demand.
  • Legacy insurers, as opposed to brokers, now have the most to lose — but those that move swiftly still have time to ensure they stay in the game.

 In full, the report:

  • Reviews major changes in the insurtech segment over the past year.
  • Examines how startups and legacy players across distribution, insurance, and reinsurance are using technology to develop new business models.
  • Provides our view on what the future of the insurance industry looks like, which Business Insider Intelligence calls Insurtech 2.0.

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Three untapped opportunities wearables present to health insurers, providers, and employers

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  • After a shaky start, wearables like smartwatches and fitness trackers have gained traction in healthcare, with US consumer use jumping from 9% in 2014 to 33% in 2018.
  • More than 80% of consumers are willing to wear tech that measures health data — and penetration should continue to climb.
  • The maturation of the wearable market will put more wearables in the hands of consumers and US businesses.

The US healthcare industry as it exists today is not sustainable. An aging patient population and rising burden of chronic disease have caused healthcare costs to skyrocket and left providers struggling to keep up with demand for care. 

FORECAST: Fitness Tracker and Health-Based Wearable Installed Base

Meanwhile, digital technologies in nearly every consumer experience outside of healthcare have raised patients’ expectations for good service to be higher than ever.

One of the key mechanisms through which healthcare providers can finally evolve their outdated practices and exceed these expectations is wearable technology.

Presently, 33% of US consumers have adopted wearables, such as smartwatches and fitness trackers, to play a more active role in managing their health. In turn, insurers, providers, and employers are poised to become just as active leveraging these devices – and the data they capture – to abandon the traditional reimbursement model and improve patient outcomes with personalized, value-based care.

Adoption is going to keep climbing, as more than 80% of consumers are willing to wear tech that measures health data, according to Accenture — though they have reservations about who exactly should access it.

A new report from Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider’s premium research service, follows the growing adoption of wearables and breadth of functions they offer to outline how healthcare organizations and stakeholders can overcome this challenge and add greater value with wearable technology.

For insurers, providers, and employers, wearables present three distinct opportunities:

  • Insurers can use wearable data to enhance risk assessments and drive customer lifetime value. One study shows that wearables can incentivize healthier behavior associated with a 30% reduction in risk of cardiovascular events and death.
  • Providers can use the remote patient monitoring capabilities of wearable technology to improve chronic disease management, lessen the burden of staff shortages, and navigate a changing reimbursement model. And since 90% of patients no longer feel obligated to stay with providers that don't deliver a satisfactory digital experience, wearables could help to attract and retain them.
  • Employers can combine wearables with cash incentives to lower insurance costs and improve employee productivity. For example, The Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority yielded $5 million in healthcare cost savings through a wearable-based employee wellness program.

Want to Learn More?

The Wearables in US Healthcare Report details the current and future market landscape of wearables in the US healthcare sector. It explores the key drivers behind wearable usage by insurers, healthcare providers, and employers, and the opportunities wearables afford to each of these stakeholders. 

By outlining a successful case study from each stakeholder, the report highlights best practices in implementing wearables to reduce healthcare claims, improve patient outcomes, and drive insurance cost savings, as well as how the evolution of the market will create new, untapped opportunities for businesses.

 

 

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The 10 most important things in the world right now

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James Mattis and Donald Trump

Hello! Here's everything you need to know on Friday.

1. Secretary of Defense James Mattis resigned.In a letter to President Donald Trump, Mattis suggested that their views are not "aligned."

2. Trump has ordered more than 7,000 troops out of Afghanistan, according to reports.This move will cut troop levels in Afghanistan in half. 

3.  The Dow touched its lowest level in over a year, and the Nasdaq came close bear territory.The Federal Reserve raising interest rates, and a potential government shutdown are worrying investors.

4.  Defense Secretary James Mattis' resignation letter is a rebuke of President Donald Trump's "America first" philosophy.Mattis tore into the president's approach to foreign affairs.

5. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had a strong response to Mattis' resignation.The Republican from Kentucky said the resignation of Defense Secretary James Mattis left him "particularly distressed." 

6. Trump's new acting Attorney General Matthew Whittaker won't be recusing himself from the Russia probe.A source told Reuters that Whittaker is not planning on recusing himself from the prove the way his predecessor Jeff Sessions did.

7. Facebook is reportedly trying to build a cryptocurrency for WhatsApp. Bloomberg says the tech-giant is trying to build a "stablecoin," which will be pegged to the US dollar.

8. Chinese authorities have reportedly denied legal access to a Canadian national held in Beijing. Chinese state security agents are not admitting legal representation in to counsel Michael Kovrig, the Canadian who has been detained in Beijing since December 10, a source has told FT.com. 

9. The disgraced former Nissan chairman just got re-arrested.Japanese prosecutors say Carlos Ghosn faces fresh allegations of making Nissan shoulder $16.6 million in personal investment losses. He'll be in jail for Christmas.

10. Don't panic! We have a pretty definitive hack for your last-second shopping spree.Not quite gift-wrapped, but this mega-list has options for every budget.

And finally...Meet the Ambanis, the richest family in Asia, who live in a $1 billion skyscraper and mingle with royals, politicians, and Bollywood stars.

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US Defense Secretary James Mattis left a stark message for his successor in his resignation letter: Wake up and smell the threat

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Mattis

  • James Mattis, the US defense secretary is resigning from the Trump administration. His pending departure could create a vacuum of experience at the highest levels of US domestic and foreign policy.
  • In his resignation letter on Thursday, Mattis chided President Donald Trump, saying the US should be "treating allies with respect," and also be "clear eyed about both malign actors and strategic competitors."
  • But it was his warning and his clarity about the growing great-power threat that Trump will be hoping the new secretary studies closely.

US Defense Secretary James Mattis announced his resignation from the Trump administration on Thursday, setting in motion the end of what has been a tumultuous tenure working with President Donald Trump.

In his resignation letter, Mattis told Trump, without saying his name, that the president has a "right to have a Secretary of Defense whose views are better aligned" with his own.

Mattis’ resignation follows Wednesday's controversial announcement of a plan to pull American troops out of Syria.

But it was the outgoing defense secretary's warning about the shifting nature of great-power relations he hopes his successor will study closely.

Under Mattis' watch, the administration has drawn an unambiguous line in the sand. Beginning with Russia and, historically, moving out of engagement with China, and into confrontation.

"I believe we must be resolute and unambiguous to those countries whose strategic interests are increasingly at odds with our own," Mattis wrote in his resignation letter.

"It is clear that China and Russia, for example, want to shape a world consistent with their authoritarian model — gaining veto authority over other nations' economic, diplomatic and security decisions — to promote their own interests at the expense of their neighbours, America and our allies."

Russia, under its President Vladimir Putin, has already shown its capacity and willingness to reach into the heart of US democracy.

The latest twin reports to front the Senate show in excruciating detail how even the smallest manipulation of social media platforms can meddle in US public life with just a single troll farm— the unit called the Internet Research Agency — tucked away somewhere in a Moscow warehouse.

Opaque and unsettling

russia nuclear weapons

While the Trump administration has appeared in an unflattering light amid what US policy expert believe is an unsettling relationship with Russia, Putin has been steadily picking at the edges of Crimea, presenting the greatest military threat to Ukraine in years.

But it is with China where Mattis and the administration have barged into a new period of strategic competition— and where the slide toward conflict is most acute.

That confrontation has been encouraged by the Trump administration itself, with the tearing down of so many aspects of the rules-based order that has governed global politics in the post-World War II era.

"My views on treating allies with respect and also being clear eyed about malign actors and strategic competitors are strongly held and informed by over four decades of immersion in these issues," Mattis wrote in his resignation letter to Trump.

The Trump effect has isolated allies and invigorated adversaries, former Australian Prime Minister and noted sinologist Kevin Rudd said in November.

Speaking at the Hudson Institute in October, US Vice President Mike Pence delivered a landmark address signaling the US's intent to challenge an increasingly assertive and belligerent China, directly accusing it of “meddling in America’s democracy."

Pence accused China of stealing American intellectual property, eroding US military positions, and driving the US out of the Western Pacific.

Read more: Russia and China's new missiles could scare the US away from deploying aircraft carriers.

It was only on Tuesday, when China's President Xi Jinping, the country's strongest autocratic leader since Mao Zedong, made a gloating speech marking China's furious economic progress, with more daunting promises of "miracles that will impress the world."

Delivered with slumped shoulders in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Xi spoke for 90 minutes before touching momentarily on a vision for a new kind of Chinese expansion aimed at exporting its model of technocratic dictatorship to other like-minded nations.

"The past 40 years eloquently prove that China’s development provides a successful experience and offers a bright prospect to other developing countries, as they strive for modernization," Xi said, about 40 minutes into his speech.

This is exactly where China is now placed as it looks across the Pacific and into Central Asia to covertly or overtly use the One Belt One Road initiative to expand its industrial, technical, and digital prowess into developing neighbors that are vulnerable to the authoritarian siren song of, for example, surveillance techniques now being rolled out in the beleaguered western province of Xinjiang.

China's vast data-collection platforms — WeChat alone has more than a billion users, and are harvesting ever-deeper data on behalf of the state — would be happy to do the same for other nations.

Earlier this week Danielle Cave, a senior analyst at the Australian Security Policy Institute's International Cyber Policy Centre, told Business Insider that developing nations that do not share the US's aversion to unreliable actors like the embattled telecommunications giant Huawei, are ready and willing to marry into China's cheap, buy-now-pay-later model of total autocratic technocracy.

The person Trump chooses to replace Mattis will need to see, with the same clarity that "Mad Dog" could, the chasm between the words of America's strategic adversaries and their actions in this new, dangerous, fragmented — and increasingly lonely — global theater.

SEE ALSO: Defense Secretary James Mattis quits, says his views aren't 'aligned' with Trump as the president upends major US policies

DON'T MISS: A timid Huawei has emerged from its global PR storm to see what's left to salvage

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How smart is your fridge? Smart appliances have built-in sensors to tell consumers when to buy more groceries — or even buy them automatically (AMZN, TGT, GOOGL, WMT, GE)

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This is a preview of a research report from Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service. To learn more about Business Insider Intelligence, click here. Current subscribers can read the report here.

Smart speakers in shoppingConsumers are finally starting to adopt smart home devices, with nearly 60% owning at least one device. This presents an opportunity for e-commerce companies to enter the smart home and encourage purchasing through the devices.

The smart speaker has become the face of the smart home in many ways, attracting the lion’s share of attention as companies look for ways to take advantage of the growing platform. But there’s a problem: Consumers aren’t using the smart speaker to actually buy products very often.

Instead, one of the clearest opportunities outside of the smart speaker is home goods and grocery replenishment through large appliances. Smart devices in the home — especially appliances — can take advantage of built-in sensors to either tell consumers when they need to buy more of a product, or make that purchase autonomously. This will create an opportunity for appliance manufacturers, e-commerce vendors, and product suppliers to ink supply agreements to meet consumers' needs.

In this report, Business Insider Intelligence examines several areas of opportunity for e-commerce companies to leverage smart home technologies to provide new and better services to their customers. First, we explore how smart appliances, including connected dishwashers and laundry machines, are building on one-click purchasing systems to enable automated replenishment. We then discuss the smart fridge and detail how apps, cameras, and voice assistants are enabling takeout and grocery delivery through these appliances. Finally, we examine the role of the voice interface beyond smart speakers as it relates to purchasing products in the home, and how omnipresent voice will be used to organize and interact with automated services.

The companies mentioned in this report are: Amazon, Blue Apron, Costo, GE, Google, Instacart, Keurig, KitchenAid, LG, Ocado, P&G, Plated, Reynolds, Samsung, Target, Walmart, Whirlpool.

 Here are some key takeaways from the report:

  • Companies have a clear opportunity to leverage sensors, cameras, and connectivity in a variety of home appliances to revolutionize the way consumers buy home goods.
  • Smart appliance manufacturers, e-tailers, and CPG companies will be able to collaborate and partner to develop new methods of resupplying consumers' homes.
  • The smart fridge will transform into the hub of the kitchen and become the autonomous organizing device that oversees grocery purchasing and food delivery.

In full, the report:

  • Provides an overview of the key players and types of products in the smart appliance space.
  • Highlights the models that companies can adopt to take advantage of the developing sector.
  • Identifies the key services that will boost automated e-commerce engagement in the home.

 

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A Republican lawmaker invoked Paul Manafort's adult children in a bizarre defense of Homeland Security secretary Kirstjen Nielsen

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Louie Gohmert Eric Holder asparagus

  • A Republican lawmaker likened the Trump administration's discontinued child separation policy at the US-Mexico border to the children of Paul Manafort, Donald Trump's former campaign chairman.
  • Manafort, who faces increased scrutiny after allegedly breaching his plea agreement to charges of conspiracy and obstruction of justice in the special counsel's investigation, is the father of two adult children.
  • Manafort's children include Jessica, an independent filmmaker who reportedly changed her last name to distance herself from an unwanted "public perception," and Andrea, who described her father as someone with "no moral or legal compass" and a "a sick f---ing tyrant."

A Republican lawmaker likened the Trump administration's discontinued child-separation policy at the US-Mexico border to the fate of President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, who faces increased scrutiny after allegedly breaching his plea agreement to charges of conspiracy and obstruction of justice.

"I'm always glad to fill in the gaps of people's knowledge or ignorance in a particular area," Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas said during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on immigration and border security. "So let me just state for those who are not aware ... parents are separated from children every single day of every year, year after year."

"And parents who have probable cause, they committed a crime, are separated from their children and those are usually US citizens," Gohmert added. "It's what happens when a parent is believed to have committed a crime. [Special counsel Robert Mueller] did it, I know he's a hero to some folks around here, he did it to Manafort, separated him from his two beautiful children. It happens."

Manafort is the father of two adult daughters: Jessica, an independent filmmaker who reportedly changed her last name to distance herself from an unwanted "public perception," and Andrea, who described her father as someone with "no moral or legal compass" and a "a sick f---ing tyrant," according to hacked text messages.

Manafort was initially indicted in October 2017 as part of Mueller's probe, and has been in prison since June.

Paul Manafort

Read more: Migrant father contradicts US officials, says his 7-year-old daughter who died in Border Patrol custody was given no water for 8 hours

Earlier this year, Trump faced fierce backlash against the so-called "zero-tolerance" immigration policy, which because parents were being prosecuted for crossing the border illegally, automatically separated parents from their children if they crossed the border illegally. In June, Trump reversed course and allowed them to remain together in federal custody until their trial in court.

Speaking to Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen on Thursday, Gohmert added that he was disgusted by the characterization of the Department of Homeland Security from his Democratic colleagues and some media reports.

"It grieves me, for anyone that's part of this committee, to slander you and be remorseless when they make ... comments about you or ... people in the administration that simply want to enforce the law," Gohmert said. "I don't hear any of that kind of outrage on behalf of victims of crime, including children who are victims of crime."

Recent reports at the border sparked public outrage after a 7-year-old child from Guatemala died while in the custody of US Border Patrol. Initial reports suggested he died of dehydration; however, her father disputed the case, saying his child received no water while in custody.

Homeland Security described the death as unfortunate and reportedly said the child was in custody for around eight hours before she began having seizures. According to US Customs and Border Protection, she "reportedly had not eaten or consumed water for several days."

SEE ALSO: Hacked text messages allegedly sent by Paul Manafort's daughter discuss 'blood money' and killings, and a Ukrainian lawyer wants him to explain

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NOW WATCH: Anthony Scaramucci claims Trump isn't a nationalist: 'He likes saying that because it irks these intellectual elitists'

Uber employees working on self-driving cars feel their cars are safer but their careers are stuck, according to leaked employee survey

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Uber self-driving car

  • Every six months, Uber conducts an employee survey.
  • Business Insider has seen the results of the latest survey for the 1,100-employee self-driving car unit released to employees earlier this week.
  • Most employees praised the unit's renewed focus on safety as the company puts its cars back on the public road for testing this week in Pittsburgh, after a fatal accident in 2018 benched the cars for most of the year.
  • But they also complained of being stressed and feeling like they had no future there.

 

Uber is sending its self-driving cars back on the public road this week in Pittsburgh, with a whole new set of revamped safety procedures and a lot of public promises to further fix its safety culture after one of their autonomous cars killed a pedestrian back in March.

Last month, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi responded to Business Insider's investigation into that fatal accident by telling employees at an all-hands meeting, "We have screwed up," as Business Insider was first to report.

So, it may comfort you to know that as Uber's self-driving cars hit the streets again, employees internally are feeling good about their company's current commitment to safety and their own ability to build a safer car, according to a leaked employee culture survey seen by Business Insider.

Read more: Uber employees describe a stressful and 'ridiculous' culture at the self-driving car unit under its current leader Eric Meyhofer

In October, 91% of employees at the unit, known internally as the Advanced Technologies Group or ATG, took the survey, according an email sent to the troops by the head of the division, Eric Meyhofer seen by Business Insider.

Their biggest praise about ATG's culture was about safety. Employees were asked how much they agree or disagree with this statement: "I believe ATG values safety when it comes to the development of self driving technology" and 83% of them indicated they agreed. 14% of them were neutral, neither agreeing or disagreeing, which means only 3% disagreed. That was the highest scoring response in the survey, Meyhofer discussed in his email.

82% also agreed with the statement "I feel empowered to report safety concerns and/or suggestions without fear of retaliation" with 15% neutral, leaving 3% who disagreed.

The other very positive topic of feedback involved trust, with 82% agreeing with "I trust my team" (16% neutral). 80% also said they trusted their managers, with 16% neutral. Meyhofer said that trust was up 4% compared to the previous six-month survey.  

We've heard ongoing tales of how political, backstabbing, and dysfunctional this unit is from a growing list of employees and former employees, so it's good to know that most people who work there aren't feeling that way about their own teams and supervisors.

Not that employees are delirious. The overall satisfaction score was 70%, with 26% neutral. Meyhofer also indicated that this was 1% lower than overall satisfaction at Uber's main division, the one that hosts its active commercial businesses like ridesharing and Uber Eats.

There were several red flags about ATG's culture in the survey as well. The scores on questions concerning how well people feel supported to do their jobs were abysmal. When asked, "Most Uber wide systems and processes help me get work done effectively," only 43% of people agreed.

And only about half of employees reported feeling like they had growth opportunities at the company.

Most telling of all was the question about stress. Employees who felt like they were doing a good job managing work stress were down by 6%, although Meyhofer didn't share the specific number.

Here's a rundown of the ATG employee survey results we saw, not all the numbers were shared:

  • 91% participation of ATG's 1,100 employees.
  • Overall satisfaction 70% positive, 26% neutral
  • "I believe ATG values safety when it comes to the development of self driving technology": 83% positive, 14% neutral.
  • "I feel empowered to report safety concerns and/or suggestions without fear of retaliation": 82% positive, 15% neutral.
  • "I feel good about Uber's mission": 81% positive
  • "I feel good about Ubers company performance": 82% positive 
  • Uber is in a position to succeed: % not shared but positive responses were up 10%
  • "I trust my team": 82% positive, 16% neutral
  • "I trust my manager": 80% favorable, 16% neutral
  • "Most Uber-wide systems and processes help me get work done effectively": 43% positive
  • "I have good opportunities for professional growth": 51% positive, 38% neutral
  • "I am able to manage my work stress in a healthy way": positive responses were down by 6% over the previous survey.  

SEE ALSO: 70-hour weeks and 'WTF' emails: 42 employees reveal the frenzy of working at Tesla under the 'cult' of Elon Musk

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The Global E-Commerce Landscape: How emerging markets will transform the future of online shopping

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This is a preview of a research report from Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service. To learn more about Business Insider Intelligence, click here.

Emerging markets are going to be essential for e-commerce growth, as retailers in developed markets may soon reach saturation in terms of consumer growth.

APAC CAGR

For example, almost half of US households now have a Prime membership, diminishing Amazon's growth potential in the country. Meanwhile, in China, the world's largest e-commerce market, nearly half of the population is actively making online purchases, leaving little room for growth. 

However, India, Southeast Asia, and Latin America are worth keeping an eye on. E-commerce penetration rates in these areas hover between 2-6%, presenting a huge opportunity for future growth as online sales gain traction. Moreover, these regions are expected to grow at compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) of 31%, 32%, and 16%, respectively, through 2021.

This report compiles several e-commerce snapshots, which together highlight the most notable emerging markets in various regions. Each provides an overview of the e-commerce industry in a particular country, discusses influential retailers, and provides insights into the opportunities and challenges for that specific domestic industry.

Here are some of the key takeaways:

  • Emerging markets are going to be essential for e-commerce growth, as retailers in developed markets may soon reach saturation in terms of consumer growth.
  • India is the clear overall leader in e-commerce potential, but countries in Southeast Asia and Latin America are also worth keeping an eye on. Within Southeast Asia, Indonesia shows the most promise for retailers, as the government is loosening restrictions on foreign investments, and its massive population is gaining spending power and more access to internet. Meanwhile, Mexico is a retailer's best bet for expansion in Latin America, due to its stable economy and rising middle class, but Brazil may be gearing up to steal the top spot.
  • However, doing business in these regions can be difficult. In most of these emerging markets, infrastructure is underdeveloped and the population is largely unbanked, making digital payments a challenge.
  • If retailers can build a brand presence in these markets while online shopping is still in its nascent stages, they may become market leaders as e-commerce takes off in the regions. Moreover, these markets could provide new sources of growth for companies that would otherwise stagnate in more mature e-commerce markets.

 In full, the report:

  • Explores the e-commerce industry in India, Southeast Asia, and Latin America.
  • Highlights the leading country in each region, as well as key e-commerce players there. 
  • Outlines the challenges and opportunities each region faces.
  • Gives insight into how these emerging markets may shape the future of e-commerce.

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MoviePass's parent company is in dire danger of having its stock delisted by the Nasdaq (HMNY)

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PARK CITY, UT - JANUARY 20: CEO of MoviePass Mitch Lowe attends 'An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn' Dinner presented by MoviePass on January 20, 2018 in Park City, Utah.

  • The Nasdaq warned MoviePass's parent company that it would move to delist its stock as soon as December 28.
  • Shares of Helios and Matheson have traded below $1 a share for nearly the entire time since May, violating Nasdaq's listing standards.
  • The company had until Tuesday to boost its stock price above that threshold, but failed, and the Nasdaq doesn't think it will be able to ever do it.
  • Helios and Matheson plans to appeal the decision, which would delay and possibly avert the delisting.

The parent company of MoviePass may soon no longer have its shares trading on the Nasdaq market.

The Nasdaq warned Helios and Matheson on Wednesday that it plans to suspend trading in the company's shares on December 28 and will move to have them delisted, Helios and Matheson disclosed Friday in a document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company plans to delay and potentially head off the delisting by appealing the exchange's decision.

But the company's chances of winning an appeal could be slim. The Nasdaq already decided that it won't give Helios and Matheson a 180-day extension to get its stock back above $1 a share, the standard which it has failed to meet since May of this year. 

Helios and Matheson "received a written notice from [Nasdaq's] staff that the company has not regained compliance with [Nasdaq's listing standards] and is not eligible for a second 180-day period because the staff determined that it does not appear that it is possible for the company to cure the deficiency," the company said in its regulatory filing.

The MoviePass owner indicated in the document that it still believes it can boost its stock above $1 a share and regain compliance. It said it would appeal the decision and ask for a delay so that it can reverse split its stock a second time. It also said it would "continue considering all available options to resolve the company’s noncompliance" with the listing standard.

Read this: MoviePass' parent company just bought itself more time to live, but it's still in imminent danger of being kicked off the stock exchanges

Helios and Matheson's stock has been stuck below $1 a share

Nasdaq's rules require it to put the delisting process on hold when a company appeals the delisting decision. Appeals are typically held within 45 days of their filing, according to the document. Should Helios and Matheson not actually appeal the delisting decision or lose its appeal, its shares would likely end up on the over-the-counter markets where they would be more difficult to trade and would likely decline even further than they already have. The company's stock has lost more than 99% of its value this year as its burned through more than $300 million in cash and sold off billions of shares to stay in business.

In June, after Helios and Matheson's stock had been below $1 a share for more than a month, the Nasdaq sent the company a letter warning that it was not in compliance with the market's listing standards. Nasdaq gave Helios and Matheson 180 days to boost its share price and solve the problem.

After getting approval from shareholders, it reverse split its stock by a 250-to-1 ratio in July, temporarily boosting its stock price above $20 a share. But the shares quickly plummeted below $1 a share again as the company issued and sold massive quantities of new shares to fund its ongoing losses

Helios and Matheson proposed reverse splitting its stock again this fall, but it ended up abandoning the effort in the face of widespread investor opposition

The Nasdaq cited that history in explaining why it wouldn't give Helios and Matheson a second 180-day period to get back in compliance with its listing standards, according to the regulatory document. 

SEE ALSO: MoviePass' parent company has boosted its share count by an unbelievable 80,000% since July — but it's run out of room to issue new stock

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The world's most popular video game chat app is now worth more than $2 billion, as it gears up to take on the makers of 'Fortnite'

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Discord Store

  • Discord is the world's largest chat platform for gaming, with more than 200 million users.
  • The company is now valued at more than $2 billion after raising $150 million in a new round of funding. It was last valued at $1.65 billion as recently as this summer. 
  • Recently, Discord's ambitions have expanded into selling games, as it gears up to take on the leading Steam PC gaming platform, as well as Epic Games — the new online storefront from the creators of "Fortnite." 
  • In its time, Discord has also courted controversy: White supremacist groups reportedly used the platform in 2017 to plan the infamous "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville.

Discord, the most popular group chat program for video gamers, is now valued at $2.05 billion after raising $150 million in a new funding round, it announced on Friday. The round was led by Greenoaks Capital and also includes participation from Firstmark, Tencent, IVP, Index Ventures, and Technology Opportunity Partners.

Since its launch in 2015, Discord has drawn in more than 200 million users worldwide. The chat program offers a variety of impressive features for free, and lets users create and customize their own voice and text chat channels. It's become one of the premiere places for online communities to gather. The company was last valued at $1.65 billion in a funding round earlier this year. 

Having established a huge userbase, Discord launched a new online store within the chat platform earlier in October. The majority of the games offered in the store come from independent developers, and Discord recently announced that creators would earn 90% of the revenue generated from each sale. Those who subscribe to Discord's "Nitro" service pay $99/year or $9.99/month to gain unlimited access to more than $1,000 worth of games from the store, and gain additional chat features.

Notably, this new store places into competition with some industry heavyweights: The Discord Store goes right up against Steam, far and away the largest PC digital games store, as well as the new Epic Games, from the creators of "Fortnite." In a bid to win developer support, Discord and Epic alike are offering developers more favorable terms than Steam, which usually takes a 30% cut of all sales. 

At the same time, Discord has courted controversy. The open and relatively anonymous nature of the platform has led white supremacists and other problematic groups to gather on Discord. It was reported that the white supremacist group behind the infamous Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017 used Discord to organize and plan.


Read more:A popular chat app just shut down a major online hangout for the alt-right after Charlottesville


Discord has tried to fight back against bad actors on the platform, banning known servers associated with white supremacy and hate speech, while also working to enforce terms of service that prohibit those behaviors. Still, those communities are said to still linger on the service.

Though the platform started as a niche app for gamers, Discord has secured a foothold as one of the most popular chat services in the world. As the platform continues to grow, the company will be challenged by a welcoming wider range of communities while working to stay true to its core userbase.

As for the future of Discord: It's been reported that the company has been exploring a sale, though it's unclear how raising this funding would affect its intentions in that regard. 

SEE ALSO: The world's biggest chat platform for gaming is taking aim at Steam, the world's biggest gaming storefront

SEE ALSO: A popular chat app just shut down a major online hangout for the alt-right after Charlottesville

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NOW WATCH: Why NASA blasts half a million gallons of water during rocket launches

22 affordable grooming gifts he'll want to use year-round

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The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you'll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships, so we get a share of the revenue from your purchase.

Scotch Porter

Holiday shopping for men — whether it be your dad, sibling, or significant other — can sometimes feel futile. His list is short, and so is your patience when it comes to gift hunting.

Instead of buying him another tie or a pair of socks that he doesn't need, we recommend going with a quality grooming gift instead.

Since every man does some form of grooming on a regular basis, these are gifts he'll get to appreciate year-round. Shaving kits, razors, body washes, facial cleansers, and colognes are just some of the many products guys use to stay looking, feeling, and smelling their best — and these are the best ones to gift this holiday season.

Most of these items are available with expedited shipping, and some should arrive within a few days' time, so don't stress too hard about your last-minute shopping — just remember that the sooner you order, the better your chances of a timely arrival.

Still shopping for more gifts? Check out all of Insider Picks' holiday gift guides for 2018 here.


SEE ALSO: All of Insider Picks' holiday gift guides, in one place

A high-end electric shaver

Braun Series 7 Electric Shaver and Trimmer, $169.94 (Originally $289.99) [You save $120.05]

The Braun Series 7 uses Sonic and AutoSense Technology to read their beard's thickness and adjust the power of the shaver's motor to deliver a close shave with just one stroke. By figuring out the optimal shave settings on its own, they'll never experience another bad shave again. In addition to being a highly effective and precise shaver, it's self-cleaning and lubricating.

Check out my full review of the Braun Series 7 Shaver here.



A durable Dopp kit from Patagonia

Patagonia Black Hole Small Cube, $29, available in eight colors

Although it can be used to store a number of small items, the Patagonia Black Hole Cube is the ideal size for a traveling Dopp Kit — and it's super durable. 



An electric toothbrush

Goby Brush Kit, $50, available at Goby

Most people don't swap out their toothbrush as often as they should simply because they forget to do so. With the Goby Brush Kit, they'll never have to worry about using an old toothbrush. For just $50, the kit includes a state-of-the-art of the art oscillating toothbrush, a hygienic stand, USB charger and a monthly subscription for brush heads. 

Order by December 26, 2018 for guaranteed delivery before Christmas.

Read our full review of the Goby toothbrush here.



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Here are the three types of problems edge computing solutions are helping to combat across industries

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This is a preview of a research report from Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service. To learn more about Business Insider Intelligence, click here.

Edge computing solutions are key tools that help companies grapple with rising data volumes across industries. These types of solutions are critical in allowing companies to gain more control over the data their IoT devices create and in reducing their reliance on (and the costs of) cloud computing.

edge popularity

These systems are becoming more sought-after — 40% of companies that provide IoT solutions reported that edge computing came up more in discussion with customers in 2017 than the year before, according to Business Insider Intelligence’s 2017 Global IoT Executive Survey. But companies need to know whether they should look into edge computing solutions, and what in particular they can hope to gain from shifting data processing and analysis from the cloud to the edge.

There are three particular types of problems that edge computing solutions are helping to combat across industries:

  • Security issues. Edge computing can limit the exposure of critical data by minimizing how often it’s transmitted. Further, they pre-process data, so there’s less data to secure overall.
  • Access issues. These systems help to provide live insights regardless of whether there’s a network connection available, greatly expanding where companies and organizations can use connected devices and the data they generate.
  • Transmission efficiency. Edge computing solutions process data where it’s created so less needs to be sent to the cloud, leading to lower cloud storage requirements and reduced transmission cost.

In this report, Business Insider Intelligence examines how edge computing is reducing companies' reliance on cloud computing in three key industries: healthcare, telecommunications, and the automotive space. We explore how these systems mitigate issues in each sector by helping to efficiently process growing troves of data, expanding the potential realms of IoT solutions a company can offer, and bringing enhanced computing capability to remote and mobile platforms.

Here are some key takeaways from the report:

  • In healthcare, companies and organizations are using edge computing to improve telemedicine and remote monitoring capabilities.
  • For telecommunications companies, edge computing is helping to reduce network congestion and enabling a shift toward the IoT platform market.
  • And in the automotive space, edge computing systems are enabling companies to increase the capabilities of connected cars and trucks and approach autonomy.

In full, the report:

  • Explores the key advantages edge computing solutions can provide.
  • Highlights the circumstances when companies should look into edge systems.
  • Identifies key vendors and partners in specific industries while showcasing case studies of successful edge computing programs.

    Subscribe to a Premium pass to Business Insider Intelligence and gain immediate access to:

    This report and more than 250 other expertly researched reports
    Access to all future reports and daily newsletters
    Forecasts of new and emerging technologies in your industry
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Crowdsourced delivery explained: making same day shipping cheaper through local couriers

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Retailers and their logistics partners have been pushed to meet growing customer demands for increasingly speedy shipping. And the steady rise of e-commerce has caused the daily volume of parcel shipments to skyrocket — two trends that, for the foreseeable future, are only going to continue.

With fulfillment giants like Amazon constantly nipping at their heels, e-tailers have to fight to figure out a way to offer same-day shipping at low prices. To do so, they’re experimenting with nontraditional logistics strategies and startup partners to see what sticks.

Enter crowdsourced delivery — the Uber model for package fulfillment. In this article, we’ll take a look at what it is, why it’s growing, and the future of same-day shipping.

crowdsourced delivery

What is crowdsourced delivery?

Crowdsourced delivery, also known as crowdsourced shipping, is an emerging method of fulfillment that leverages networks of local, non-professional couriers to deliver packages to customers’ doors. While most common in meal and grocery delivery, this model seems to be springing up everywhere as traditional retailers look for ways to cut costs and maximize supply chain efficiency.

Why crowdsourced delivery?

Crowdsourced delivery is beneficial for both retailers and their customers, with the primary advantage simply being that companies can get online orders to their customers faster — sometimes in less than an hour. And with the option of on-demand or scheduled delivery, companies can meet their customers’ demands for instant gratification (which is particularly prevalent among younger, digital-first consumers), while also ensuring that packages are delivered when someone is home — eliminating the additional time and costs involved with multiple delivery attempts.

A secondary benefit of crowdsourced delivery is that it is tech-heavy and asset-light. Contracted couriers provide their own transportation to make deliveries, often from a retailer’s store location, and are typically paid per delivery or per shift. For companies, this means not worrying about warehouse operations, fleet management, or employee benefits — thereby offsetting some of the high costs and complex logistics associated with on-demand delivery.

For customers, crowdsourced delivery provides greater control over the shopping experience; it satisfies their need for speed while offering more visibility into the delivery process. Customers can select a desired time slot to ensure they won’t miss a delivery and, perhaps most importantly, they can track their packages along the way. Instead of repeatedly checking a tracking code for a status update, customers can choose to receive SMS text alerts, push notifications, or even GPS tracking on their smartphones.

Despite these benefits, the startup nature of many crowdsourced delivery services comes with inherent challenges, such as the high per-delivery costs of ad-hoc shipments, which are often absorbed by the retailer as customers become less and less willing to cover delivery fees.

As with other startups tapping into the gig economy, other major challenges of crowdsourced delivery include workforce issues — more specifically, courier shortages and retention rates. Couriers are often signed up for multiple gigs, which can make localized labor hard to come by at times. When contractors toggle among delivery, ride hailing, and other on-demand service apps looking for the next available job, they can quickly cause churn for the company from burnout, particularly when regular wages and benefits are not guaranteed.

Solving the last mile problem

In traditional shipping, the last mile problem is the inefficiency of final delivery. The “last mile” of delivery refers to the final leg of shipment, when a package arrives at the customer’s doorstep. This step of the journey is the most expensive and the most time consuming, as there are typically multiple stops along a given route — slowed down by either long distances between stops in rural areas or heavy traffic in urban settings.

Crowdsourced delivery attempts to skirt these bottlenecks by tasking someone local to both the package’s origin and customer’s door to expedite fulfillment and elevate customer satisfaction.

Future of same-day shipping

To date, crowdsourced delivery has been most commonly seen in meal delivery services in urban markets, with apps such as Postmates, Doordash, and Grubhub, but even giants like Walmart and Aldi have begun dabbling with this model for same-day grocery delivery.

instacart groceries crowdsourced delivery

Crowdsourced delivery is not limited to the food and restaurant industries either. A growing number of retailers is now experimenting with crowdsourcing as a solution to same-day shipping — an expectation of 56% of millennials, according to a survey from fraud prevention startup Trustev.

And startups like Deliv have been answering their calls. Since 2014, the crowdsourced delivery startup has been processing same-day deliveries for Macy’s, using the retail titan’s existing ship-from-store program to pick and pack orders.

These types of startups have been eliciting a response from traditional delivery providers such as DHL which launched a same-day scheduled delivery pilot for retail shipping in Germany, or FedEx, which has expanded same-day urban delivery in over 30 markets. Unlike emerging startups, these legacy providers have the advantage of leveraging their extensive logistics operations (traditionally used for non-retail deliveries), and shifting them to compete in the retail space.

And as we continue to see advancements in drone technology and artificial intelligence, it’s likely that in the future, same-day delivery will no longer depend on local couriers, but rather automation.

More to Learn

Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has writtena detailed report on crowdsourced delivery that:

  • Details the factors driving investment and growth in crowdsourced delivery startups.
  • Examines the benefits and drawbacks of using crowdsourcing to deliver online orders.
  • Explains how crowdsourced delivery startups can improve their cost efficiencies to tackle greater delivery volumes
  • Explores the role that crowdsourcing will play in the future of delivery once automated delivery options, like drones and robots, arrive.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:

  • Retailers are looking for ways to deliver goods faster to consumers' doorsteps to stave off Amazon's threat and meet customer expectations.
  • To accomplish that, retailers and delivery providers are zeroing in on the "last mile" of fulfillment, the most expensive and time-consuming part of the delivery process, which is when a package reaches the customer's address.
  • Startups like Postmates, Instacart, and others are looking to disrupt the last mile delivery space by leveraging the "Uber model," and connecting businesses to non-professional couriers who can deliver goods instantly.
  • Crowdsourcing can drastically speed up deliveries in urban areas, where there is a high density of deliveries and potential couriers to be matched.
  • However, as delivery volumes increase, crowdsourced delivery startups will need to further optimize their deliveries to improve cost efficiencies.
  • Many of the deliveries these startups perform today will likely be automated in the future, raising the possibility that these startups may eventually look to incorporate new technologies like delivery drones or self-driving delivery vehicles.

     

 

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How and why the payments industry will experience massive growth over the next five years

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  • The payments ecosystem is undergoing a period of digital transformation, which will spur tremendous growth in money moved around the globe in the next five years.
  • Consumers and businesses will make 841 billion noncash transactions worldwide in 2023, up from 577 billion in 2018.
  • The next five years will mark a pivotal transformation in how companies and consumers handle payments.

The impact of payments’ digital transformation is rippling around the world, in both advanced economies and developing countries.

Payments Forecast Book Cover

Across major global regions, the total volume of e-commerce transactions is expected to rise 91% over the next five years to hit $5.7 trillion by 2023.

With such impending immense growth, it’s crucial for any business that even touches the payments industry to understand what’s ahead.

Take, for example, noncash transactions, which include debit card, credit card, direct debit, and credit transfer transactions that are conducted either online or offline. Consumers and businesses will make 841 billion noncash transactions globally in 2023, a 46% surge from 577 billion in 2018. The rise in global card and terminal penetration, coupled with increasing digital payments volume, will will be the key drivers in this growth.

To successfully navigate this changing landscape, individuals and organizations must understand the full extent to which digital transformation will affect the payments industry, the key drivers of this growth, and how it all relates to the work they do every day.

Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider’s premium research service, has forecasted the future of the payments ecosystem in The Payments Forecast Book 2018— and the next five years will be critical for the following four areas:

  • Global Payments: Asia, North America, and Europe will be the three main growth regions in the next five years, and will make up 70% of all noncash transaction growth by 2023.
  • US Payments: In the US, P2P and retail payments combined will still be less than a quarter of the size of the B2B payments market by 2023 ($6.3 trillion vs. $27.3 trillion).
  • US E-Commerce:Total e-commerce spending in the U.S. will surpass $1 trillion by 2023, and the average consumer will spend $2,959 online.
  • US Emerging Payments: By 2023, 67% of US adults will have used BOPIS (Buy Online Pickup In Store) at least once in the last 12 months.

Want to Learn More?

People, companies, and organizations all over the world are racing to adopt the latest payments solutions and prevent growing pains amidst a technological transformation. The Payments Forecast Book 2018 from Business Insider Intelligence is a detailed four-part slide deck outlining the most important trends impacting the payments ecosystem around the world — and the key drivers propelling each segment forward.

Representing thousands of hours of exhaustive research, our multipart forecast books are considered must-reads by thousands of highly successful business professionals. These informative slide decks are packed with charts and statistics outlining the most influential trends on the leading edge of your industry. Keep them for reference or drop the most valuable data into your own presentations to share with your teams.

Whether you’re newly interested in a topic or you already consider yourself a subject matter expert, The Payments Forecast Book 2018 can provide you with the actionable insights you need to make better decisions.

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Chef José Andrés says he'll feed government workers affected by the government shutdown

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chef Jose Andres

  • Chef José Andrés tweeted early Friday morning that if there's a partial government shutdown, he would feed federal government workers impacted.
  • "And I will offer again Free Sandwiches to the poor men and women of the federal government, republicans and democrats (sic), at every restaurant of mine in DC for lunch until they get paid again!"
  • Congress and the president are closing in on a deadline to fund nine government agencies prior to the holidays. House lawmakers adjourned on Friday night without a spending deal, making a partial shutdown virtually inevitable.
  • Some 800,000 federal government workers will go without pay as long as the government remains closed.

Chef José Andrés tweeted out early Friday morning that if there's a partial government shutdown, he would feed federal government workers impacted.

"And I will offer again Free Sandwiches to the poor men and women of the federal government, republicans and democrats (sic), at every restaurant of mine in DC for lunch until they get paid again!" he tweeted in response to a tweet from President Donald Trump about the shutdown.

Congress and the president are closing in on a deadline to fund nine government agencies prior to the holidays. House lawmakers adjourned on Friday night without a spending deal, making a partial shutdown virtually inevitable.

Some 800,000 federal government workers will go without pay as long as the government remains closed.

The roadblock is roughly $5.7 billion in funding for a border wall. After initially signaling that he would sign a stopgap bill without funding for the wall that was passed unanimously in the Senate, Trump has said that he will not sign a bill to fund the government if it does not include funding for the border wall. The House passed a bill that funds the wall on Thursday, however, it needs 60 votes to pass in the Senate, which the bill does not have.

Trump initially said he'd own responsibility for a partial government shutdown, but now he is blaming Democrats for the shutdown — and he shared these feelings on Twitter, Friday morning.

"The Democrats, whose votes we need in the Senate, will probably vote against Border Security and the Wall even though they know it is DESPERATELY NEEDED," Trump tweeted. "If the Dems vote no, there will be a shutdown that will last for a very long time. People don’t want Open Borders and Crime!"

Andrés, the Spanish-American, Michelin-starred chef, has been an outspoken critic of Trump. He is also notable for his humanitarian work (and was nominated for a 2019 Nobel Peace Prize). He started the World Central Kitchen after the 2010 earthquake devastated Haiti, to feed those impacted by disasters.

Following the destruction of Hurricane Maria, Andrés and WCK fed more than 2 million people in Puerto Rico.

Andrés pulled out of a contract to have a restaurant in Trump's hotel in Washington, DC, after then-candidate Trump called Mexican immigrants "rapists" and drug dealers. In his Friday tweet, he suggested that Trump go to Tijuana with him to "feed good people, meet them, learn to love them and realize they are not the enemy you are claiming they are."

Trump campaigned on tough immigration policies, including building a wall along the US-Mexico border. His policies included instituting a travel ban, shortly after entering office, a short-lived "zero tolerance" policy at the southern border earlier this year, and trying to implement stricter asylum policies (which the courts have struck down).

SEE ALSO: Trump tweeted a design for 'steel slats' along the border with spikes on top — and called it 'totally effective while at the same time beautiful'

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Anthony Scaramucci claims Trump isn't a nationalist: 'He likes saying that because it irks these intellectual elitists'


'You go under, you go around, you go through it': Trump's newest chief of staff poked holes in the president's border-wall plan in 2015 interview

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Trump Mick Mulvaney

  • Mick Mulvaney, the latest White House chief of staff, was discovered to have once called President Donald Trump's plans for a wall on the US-Mexico border "absurd and almost childish."
  • During an interview in 2015, Mulvaney suggested Trump's rhetoric and his rallying cry to "build a wall" were predicated on a misunderstanding of the barrier's efficacy.
  • "The bottom line is, the fence doesn't stop anybody who really wants to get across," Mulvaney said. "You go under, you go around, you go through it."
  • Mulvaney made other unflattering remarks about Trump during the 2016 election cycle.

Newly discovered audio recordings of acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney reveal how he felt about a key policy promise from Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential election, according to CNN.

The former Republican representative weighed in on Trump's campaign promise to build a wall on the US-Mexico border during an interview with the WRHI radio show in South Carolina, two months after Trump announced his candidacy for president.

"The fence is an easy thing to sell politically," Mulvaney said in August 2015. "It's an easy thing for someone who doesn't follow the issue very closely."

"The fence doesn't solve the problem," Mulvaney added. "Is it necessary to have one? Sure. Would it help? Sure. But to just say 'build the darn fence' and have that be the end of an immigration discussion is absurd and almost childish for someone running for president to take that simplistic of [a] view."

Mulvaney suggested Trump's rhetoric and his rallying cry of "build a wall" were predicated on a misunderstanding of a barrier's efficacy.

"The bottom line is, the fence doesn't stop anybody who really wants to get across," Mulvaney said. "You go under, you go around, you go through it."

"So it's easy to tell people what they want to hear, 'build the darn fence, vote for me,'" he added.

President Donald Trump and Mick Mulvaney

The discovery of Mulvaney's interview comes as a partial government shutdown is expected to commence at midnight. Trump, who has dug in on the issue and demanded $5 billion in federal funding for the border wall, faces an impasse as he lacks the 60 votes in the Senate — that would need to include the votes of at least nine Democrats — to pass a short-term funding extension that includes $5.7 billion for border security.

Mulvaney was found to have made unflattering remarks about Trump in other recently discovered audio recordings, which have offered a glimpse of his thoughts on the Republican candidate prior to his presidency.

Six days before the presidential election, Mulvaney described Trump and Hillary Clinton as "two of the most flawed human beings running for president in the history of the country," and he said he was supporting Trump — despite the fact that he considered him to be "a terrible human being."

In 2016, Mulvaney also floated the suggestion that there may have been "more video tapes" with "atrocious things" Trump could have been caught saying after the release of the bombshell "Hollywood Access" audio recording.

Trump has reportedly bristled at Mulvaney's comments and asked one trusted adviser if he knew Mulvaney had "called me 'a terrible human being.'" Mulvaney's spokeswoman downplayed the news reports and said his remarks were "old news" that were made prior to meeting Trump.

SEE ALSO: Trump's newest chief of staff called him a 'terrible human being' days before he won the presidency

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Anthony Scaramucci claims Trump isn't a nationalist: 'He likes saying that because it irks these intellectual elitists'

The downfall of US brick-and-mortar commerce is overblown — but merchants need to evaluate their point-of-sale terminals

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pos terminals graphicThis is a preview of a research report from Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service. To learn more about Business Insider Intelligence, click here.

The downfall of US brick-and-mortar commerce is overblown — despite sharp gains in e-commerce, which will nearly double between now and 2021, the lion’s share of purchasing continues to take place in-store. And that’s unlikely to change anytime soon, since the online environment can’t yet compensate for the reasons customers like brick-and-mortar shopping.

That means the point-of-sale (POS) terminal, which merchants use to accept payments of all types and to complete transactions, isn’t going anywhere. But that doesn’t mean it’s not changing. As merchants look to cut costs amidst shifts in consumer shopping habits, POS terminals, which were once predominantly hardware offerings used exclusively for payment acceptance, are evolving into full-service, comprehensive solutions. These new POS terminals are providing an array of business management solutions and connected offerings to complement payment services. 

This is where the smart terminal, a new product that’s part-tablet, part-register, comes in. Merchants are increasingly seeking out these offerings, which afford them the connectivity, mobility, and interoperability to run their entire business. And that’s shaking up the space, since it’s not just legacy firms, but also mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) players and newer upstarts, that offer these products. 

As merchants begin demanding a wide variety of payment solutions, terminal providers are scrambling to meet their needs in order to maintain existing customers and attract new ones. This is leading to rapid innovation and increased competition in both the POS terminal hardware and software spaces.

Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider’s premium research service, has put together a detailed report on the shifts in this landscape, how leading players can meet them, and who’s doing it most effectively.

Here are some key takeaways from the report:

  • Evolving merchant needs are impacting POS terminal players’ strategies. Merchants select terminal providers based on four key areas: payment functionality, user experience (UX), over-the-top (OTT) offerings, and distribution/customer service. Terminal firms need to innovate in these areas, or risk falling behind.
  • Larger players need to double down on existing success. Smaller players can often be more nimble, which gives them the opportunity to innovate more quickly and build in-demand solutions. That’s a disadvantage to market leaders; however, they can, and should, leverage their massive distribution networks when upgrading or updating their offerings. Meanwhile, smaller players can win by focusing on niches instead.
  • It’s all about the platform. No single feature is likely to make or break a merchant’s decision to pursue a specific provider. Above all, they want a robust ecosystem that can evolve over time. 

In full, the report:

  • Explains the current state of in-store retail and why terminal firms need to evolve to meet it.
  • Groups features that matter to merchants and explains why they’re important and what terminal providers stand to gain from focusing on them.
  • Determines the leading players in the space.
  • Assesses how the leading players stack up, and which offerings are the most comprehensive.
  • Issues recommendations about how to develop an attractive platform that best serves merchants' needs as the market continues to shift. 

Subscribe to an All-Access pass to Business Insider Intelligence and gain immediate access to:

This report and more than 250 other expertly researched reports
Access to all future reports and daily newsletters
Forecasts of new and emerging technologies in your industry
And more!
Learn More

Purchase & download the full report from our research store

 

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Slack apologizes after users who travelled to Iran had their accounts shut down

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Stewart Butterfield Slack

  • On Wednesday, many users who had traveled to Iran found that their Slack accounts shut down because of U.S. sanctions, even though they did not live in Iran, nor did they have professional links to Iran.
  • On Friday, Slack sent out an apology to its users and clarified that it did not have information about users' ethnicities, but used location information.
  • Slack is working on restoring mistakenly blocked accounts and will soon start blocking accounts with IP addresses in an embargoed country.

$7 billion workplace chat app Slack apologized on Friday for mistakenly shutting down the accounts of several users this week in its efforts to comply with US sanctions towards countries like Iran. 

Slack said that it uses location information such as IP addresses to block users from countries affected by US trade embargoes and economic sanctions, and that in doing so it "inadvertently de-activated" the accounts of certain users. The company did not specify how the mistake was made, but stressed that it did not block any users based on nationality or ethnicity. 

Read more: It looks like Slack, the $7 billion chat app, is banning some users because of Iran sanctions — even if they don't live or work in Iran

Earlier this week, several ethnically Iranian users tweeted their concerns that their accounts were abruptly shut down even though they didn't live in Iran or have any professional ties to the country. One PhD student in British Columbia wondered on Twitter what Slack's basis was for determining his ethnicity. 

"We do not collect, use, or possess any information about the nationality or ethnicity of our users," Slack said on Friday. 

Several of the affected users had said they recently travelled to Iran, which may have caused Slack to flag their IP addresses.

Slack said it's working on restoring mistakenly blocked accounts, and apologized for not handling the communication well. The company also noted that it will soon begin blocking accounts with IP addresses associated with an embargoed country and said that users traveling to a sanctioned country may temporarily not be able to access their account.

Below is Slack's full apology:

Two days ago, we updated our system for applying location information to comply with U.S. trade embargoes and economic sanctions regulations.

Soon after updating, we discovered that we made a series of mistakes and inadvertently deactivated a number of accounts that we shouldn’t have. We recognize the disruption and inconvenience this caused and we sincerely apologize to the people affected by our actions. In fact, we also apologize to the people whose accounts we intended to disable in order to comply with these regulations. We did not handle the communication well and in both cases we failed to live up to our own standards for courtesy and customer-centricity.

We did not block any user based on their nationality or ethnicity. As is standard in the enterprise software industry, Slack uses location information principally derived from IP addresses to implement these required blocks. We do not collect, use, or possess any information about the nationality or ethnicity of our users.

We have restored access to most of the mistakenly blocked accounts, and we are working hard to restore any remaining users whose access was blocked in error. If you think we’ve made a mistake in blocking your access, please reach out to feedback@slack.com and we’ll review as soon as possible.

We would also like to notify our users that as we continue to update our systems over the next several weeks, we will soon begin blocking access to our service from IP addresses associated with an embargoed country. Users who travel to a sanctioned country may not be able to access Slack while they remain in that country. However, we will not deactivate their account and they will be able to access Slack when they return to countries or regions for which no blocking is required.

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NOW WATCH: The world's largest cruise ship just landed in Miami — here's what it's like on board

These were the biggest developments in the global fintech ecosystem over the last 12 months

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This is a preview of a research report from Business Insider Intelligence,  Business Insider's premium research service. To learn more about Business Insider Intelligence, click here.

mobile banking features

In recent years, we've seen a ballooning of activity in fintech — an expansive term applied to technology-driven disruptions in financial services. And 2018 has been no different, with fintechs' staggering influence on the market evidenced by record funding levels for the industry — by Q3 2018, overall funding was already up 82% from 2017’s total figure, according to CB Insights.

Additionally, this year marked a watershed moment for the industry, with the once clear distinction between fintechs and financial services proper now blurred significantly. Virtually every incumbent financial institution (FI) is now looking inward and engaging in an innovation drive, spurred on by competition from fintechs. As such, incumbents are now actively investing in, acquiring, and collaborating with their fintech rivals.

In this report, Business Insider Intelligence details recent developments in fintech funding and regulation that are defining the environment these startups operate in. We also examine the business model changes being employed among different categories of fintechs as they strive to embed themselves further in mainstream finance and prove sustainability. Finally, we consider which elements of the fintech industry are rapidly rubbing off on incumbent financial services providers, and what the future of fintech will look like.

The companies mentioned in this report are: Funding Circle, GreenSky, Transferwise, Ant Financial, Nubank, Cellulant, Oscar Health, Stripe, One97, UiPath, LianLian Pay, Wacai.com, Gusto, Toast, PingPong, Flywire, Deposit Solutions, Root, Robinhood, Atom, N26, Revolut, OneConnect, PolicyBazaar, WeCash, Zurich, OneDegree, Dinghy, Vouch Insurance, Laka, Cleo, Ernit, Monzo, Moneybox, Bud, Tandem, Starling, Varo Money, Square, ING, Chase, AmEx, Amazon, Monese, Betterment, Tiller Investments, West Hill Capital, Square, Ameritrade, JPMorgan, eToro, Lendy, OnDeck, Ripple, Quorom, Chain, Coinbase, Fidelity, Samsung Pay, Google Pay, Apple Pay, Bank of America, TransferGo, Klarna, Western Union, Veriff, Royal Bank of Scotland, Royal Bank of Canada, Facebook, ThreatMetrix, Relx, Entersekt, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, Gemalto, Lloyd's of London, Kingdom Trust, Aviva, Symbility LINK, eTrade, Allianz, AXA, Broadridge, TD Bank, First Republic Bank, BBVA Compass, Capital One, Silicon Valley Bank, Credit Suisse, Ally, Goldman Sachs.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:

  • Fintech funding has already reached new highs globally in 2018, with overall funding hitting $32.6 billion at the end of Q3.
  • Some new regions, including South America and Africa, are emerging on the fintech scene.
  • We've seen considerable scaling in older corners of the fintech ecosystem, including among neobanks and alt lenders.
  • Some fintechs, including a number of insurtechs, have dipped into new markets to escape heightened competition.
  • Emergent areas like blockchain and distributed ledger technology (DLT), as well as digital identity, are gaining traction.
  • Many incumbents are undertaking business transformations that aim to reimagine everything from products and services to front-end systems and back-end processes.

 In full, the report:

  • Details the funding and regulatory landscape in the US, Europe, and Asia.
  • Gives an overview into a number of fintech segments and how they've changed over the past year.
  • Discusses how incumbents are reacting to fintechs in order to stay relevant in the changing financial services sector.
  • Evaluates what the future of fintech will look like and what trends to look out for in the coming year.

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SEE ALSO: How the largest US financial institutions rank on offering the mobile banking features customers value most

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How the Internet of Things will transform consumerism, enterprises, and governments over the next five years

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  • The Internet of Things is fueling the data-based economy and bridging the divide between physical and digital worlds.
  • Consumers, companies, and governments will install more than 40 billion IoT devices worldwide through 2023.
  • The next five years will mark a pivotal transformation in how companies and jurisdictions operate, and how consumers live.

Being successful in the digital age doesn’t just require knowing the latest buzzwords; it means identifying the transformational trends – and where they’re heading – before they ever heat up.

IoT Forecast BookTake the Internet of Things (IoT), for example, which now receives not only daily tech news coverage with each new device launch, but also hefty investments from global organizations ushering in worldwide adoption. By 2023, consumers, companies, and governments will install more than 40 billion IoT devices globally. And it’s not just the ones you hear about all the time, like smart speakers and connected cars.

To successfully navigate this changing landscape, individuals and organizations must understand the full extent and functionality of the “Things” included in this network, the key drivers of each market segment, and how it all relates to the work they do every day.

Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider’s premium research service, has forecasted the start of the IoT’s global proliferation in The IoT Forecast Book 2018— and the next five years will be transformational for consumers, enterprises, and governments.

  • Consumer IoT: In the US alone, the number of smart home devices is estimated to surpass 1 billion by 2023, with consumers dishing out about $725 per household — a total of over $90 billion in spending on IoT solutions.
  • Enterprise IoT: Comprising the most mature segment of the IoT, companies will continue pouring billions of dollars into connected devices and automation. By 2023, the total industrial robotic system installed base will approach 6 million worldwide, while annual spending on manufacturing IoT solutions will reach about $450 billion.
  • Government IoT: Governments globally are ushering in IoT devices to spur the development of smart cities, which would be equipped with innovations like connected cameras, smart street lights, and connected meters to provide a real-time view of traffic, utilities usage, crime, and environmental factors. Annual investment in this area is expected to reach nearly $900 billion by 2023.

Want to Learn More?

People, companies, and organizations all over the world are racing to adopt the latest IoT solutions and prevent growing pains amidst a technological transformation. The IoT Forecast Book 2018 from Business Insider Intelligence is a detailed three-part slide deck outlining the most important trends impacting consumer, enterprise, and government IoT — and the key drivers propelling each segment forward.

Representing thousands of hours of exhaustive research, our multipart forecast books are considered must-reads by thousands of highly successful business professionals. These informative slide decks are packed with charts and statistics outlining the most influential trends on the leading edge of your industry. Keep them for reference or drop the most valuable data into your own presentations to share with your teams.

Whether you’re newly interested in a topic or you already consider yourself a subject matter expert, The IoT Forecast Book 2018 can provide you with the actionable insights you need to make better decisions.

 

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