Category: Software

Analysis, Finance, Software

Stock in Focus: Microsoft (NASDAQ MSFT) Offshore Cash

Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ MSFT) is currently sitting on almost $29.6 billion it would owe in US taxes if it repatriated the $92.9 billion of earnings it is keeping offshore, according to disclosures in the company’s most recent annual filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The amount of money that Microsoft is keeping offshore represents a significant spike from prior years, and the levies the … Continue reading Stock in Focus: Microsoft (NASDAQ MSFT) Offshore Cash

Richard Atkins
Finance, Software

Bitcoin News: 70,000 Residents of Caribbean Island to Have Bitcoins in 2015

All 70,000 residents living on the Caribbean nation of Dominica will be eligible to receive bitcoin as part of The Bit Drop project, an upcoming collaboration between bitcoin businesses, interest groups and local government officials. Scheduled to take place on 14th March, 2015, The Bit Drop will feature an island-wide party boasting ‘celebrities, musicians and supporters of bitcoin’, as well as education booths and free giveaways. The event will also coincide with Pi Day, an annual celebration of the mathematical constant π (pi).

Speaking to CoinDesk, project manager Sarah Blincoe suggested the ambitious project started with a simple question – How do you get bitcoin into the hands of as many people as possible? From there, she explained, a plan was launched to distribute an undisclosed amount of bitcoin to island residents via text messaging.

While the event has serious goals, Blincoe said the group decided to adopt a lighthearted tone for the project, adding:”Who doesn’t like a party? No one in the Caribbean, that is for sure.” Project partners include bitcoin wallet and merchant processing provider Coinapult, international non-profit College Cryptocurrency Network, women’s industry group Bitcoin Beauties and bitcoin-friendly insurance provider Aspen Assurance.

News on Bitcoins

Dominica, with its relatively small population and gross domestic product (GDP), proved an ideal location for the event, according to Blincoe.

The country’s high mobile penetration rates, however, may have been the most compelling factor. Blincoe believes Dominica’s smartphone users will be able to solve real-world problems using bitcoin, adding:”The island has opportunities for remittance due to many islanders moving for work to islands as well as the local medical university with students from around the globe. Dominica citizens also face currency exchange issues when traveling to others nearby islands.”

Data from Eastern Caribbean Telecommunications Authority (ECTEL), a regulatory body overseeing telecommunications in Dominica, bolsters this claim, suggesting there were roughly 100,000 mobile subscriptions active in the country in 2012.

Bitcoin News Video

Watch this video for more “News on Bitcoin”.

Continue reading “Bitcoin News: 70,000 Residents of Caribbean Island to Have Bitcoins in 2015”

Richard Atkins1 Comment
Analysis, BioTech, Commodities, Diversified Tech, Finance, Mergers & Acquisitions, Semiconductors, Services Sector, Software, Tech IPO, Venture Capital

Autoliv Reports 1Q Results, Beats Street Consensus by $0.09; Maintaining our $80 FVE

No-moat, positive-moat-trend rated Autoliv ALV reported first-quarter earnings per share before special items of $1.32, $0.09 ahead of the Street consensus of $1.23. Even so, owing to lackluster European new-car demand and Autoliv’s European customers’ inventory corrections, the $1.32 first-quarter EPS were down $0.24 from $1.56 a year ago. However, management favorably tweaked its full-year 2013 guidance, slightly raising its expectations for revenue growth of … Continue reading Autoliv Reports 1Q Results, Beats Street Consensus by $0.09; Maintaining our $80 FVE

John MeadyLeave a comment
Finance, Software

Bitcoin Update: KnCMiner Embraces Bitcoin

KnCMiner has become the latest bitcoin company to join the ecosystem’s ongoing debate over how bitcoin prices should be displayed. The Sweden-based bitcoin mining company announced on Twitter today that it will now allow users the option to view bitcoin prices in bits on its KnC Wallet app.

The news plays into a growing debate on how bitcoin’s value should be expressed in order to best appeal to mainstream consumers. The price of bitcoin has increased tremendously since bitcoin was introduced five years ago, and as such, early adopters of the digital currency have had to express its values in much smaller units – millibits, microbits or satoshis, for example. 1 BTC is the equivalent of 1,000,000 bits.

As bitcoin has become more and more prominent in the mainstream, some of its users and advocates believe that having a simpler, more comprehensible and more established representation of value could lower the adoption barrier and help put bitcoin skeptics’ fears of price volatility at ease.

News on Bitcoins

In early May, Georgia-based payments processor BitPay announced its plan to introduce prices expressed in bits on both its website and for its merchant customers.

Bitcoin developer Jeff Garzik indicated on the BitPay blog that the transition would make displaying prices more intuitive for consumers and users new to bitcoin, saying:”At a higher level, people are more familiar with prices expressed in numbers extending no more than two decimal places […] This assumption is built into cash registers, spreadsheets, amount input dialogs and basic, person-person real-world transactions.”

Coinbase made the same move the following month, announcing its decision in a June blog post. The San Francisco-based bitcoin financial services startup cited its desire to ensure its platform remains user-friendly as a key reason for the move.

Bitcoin News Video

Watch this video for more “News on Bitcoin”.

Continue reading “Bitcoin Update: KnCMiner Embraces Bitcoin”

Richard Atkins
Microsoft Sharepoint User Analytics
Software

How the Sharepoint User Experience is Now Made Easy

As the challenge simplify the encounter with Office 365 admin persists, many new features and benefits are now available on the SharePoint Online admin center. For those administrators who aren’t SharePoint management gurus, the objective is to enable them to operate the service more smoothly while continuing accessibility to the more popular controls. Due in large part to new features in Office 365 and SharePoint … Continue reading How the Sharepoint User Experience is Now Made Easy

Harvey Dyer
Finance, Software

Bitcoin News: Bitcoin Startup Offers Prepaid Mobile to 100 Nations

Reaching the millions of unbanked consumers worldwide has long been a goal of the wider bitcoin industry, but to date, it has struggled to gain users outside of more developed countries. Crossing this awareness gap is the driving force behind Piiko, a prepaid mobile phone top-up service that currently serves consumers with select phone plans in more than 100 countries worldwide, including major markets such as the US, China, Brazil and India.

Launched in April as the first product from Dubai-based bitcoin startup Umbrellab, Piiko is part of the company’s larger plans to court consumers by allowing them to harness the power of bitcoin for everyday utility purchases.

Umbrellab co-founders Tarik Kaddoumi and Sergey Yusupov said, “We started with mobile recharge as there was already a necessity, and the market was ripe in terms of the bitcoin community spending on various services and products worldwide. The plan is to extend into other services such as TV, Internet providers and other types of utility and bill payments that can be paid online, but are currently not accepting bitcoin.”

News on Bitcoins

Despite its founders’ ambitions, Piiko has faced its share of difficulties, which saw the mobile top-up service relaunch just a few weeks ago after a lengthy blackout period.

Kaddoumi and Yusupov indicated that a third party had previously acted on its behalf, serving as the formal legal partner to the cellphone service providers it works with. In June, however, Umbrellab decided it was time to forge these relationships directly in a bid to cut costs.

With this objective complete, Kaddoumi is optimistic that the service will be able to continue to cater to its already dedicated user base.

Bitcoin News Video

Watch this video for more “News on Bitcoin”.

Continue reading “Bitcoin News: Bitcoin Startup Offers Prepaid Mobile to 100 Nations”

Richard Atkins