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☆ Increasing tech innovation also brings increasing fraud
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Banks are coming under fire for weak security controls which are leaving consumers more vulnerable to spoofs, scams, and hackers. Elsewhere, UK banks aren’t taking full advantage of resources that can prevent their customers from falling victim to authorized push payment (APP) fraud , per FinExtra. APIs power open banking: In partnering with fintechs, banks rely heavily on APIs to create quick and easy connections with third-party providers. The practice is common in the UK, where open banking is part of a national mandate. US banks aren’t yet required to implement open banking solutions, though requirements are likely coming .

☆ 11 VCs working in the payments space investing in the next wave of fintech darlings
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Emilia David | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Payments investments reached $3.9 billion in Q3 2022, a well-performing area despite VC pullback. VCs plan to continue to focus on the payments space as it gets more embedded in other industries. Here are 11 of the top investors in the space searching for the next fintech darling. Insider compiled a list of the top VCs investing in the space based on submissions from VC firms and data on their investing histories. Here are the 11 VCs who are bullish around payments and why they think it's going to gain traction soon, listed alphabetically:

☆ Oil up over $2 on tighter supply while OPEC+ talks limit gains
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Rowena Edwards | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

But the likelihood that OPEC+ will leave output unchanged at its upcoming meeting limited the gains. Brent crude futures rose $2.22, or 2.67% to $85.25 per barrel by 1340 GMT. Support followed expectations of tighter crude supply. U.S. crude oil stocks dropped by 7.9 million barrels in the week ended Nov. 25, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Tuesday. Russia would not supply oil to countries imposing a price cap, Russia's foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

Helping to boost prices, U.S. crude oil stocks were expected to have dropped by about 7.9 million barrels in the week ended Nov. 25, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Tuesday. Gasoline inventories rose by about 2.9 million barrels, while distillate stocks were seen rising about 4.0 million barrels, according to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Thin liquidity and an overall lack of trading volumes towards the year-end could also be propping up the market, according to Virendra Chauhan at Energy Aspects. On the supply side, OPEC+ is likely to keep oil output policy unchanged at a meeting on Sunday, five OPEC+ sources said, although two sources said an additional production cut was also likely to be considered, to support prices. "Oil’s rally ran out of steam after reports that OPEC+ might end up keeping their output steady.

☆ Oil up as U.S. crude stocks seen falling, OPEC+ concerns limit gains
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Laila Kearney | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SummarySummary Companies API shows U.S. crude stocks fall, fuel inventories riseRussian crude to be curbed by 2 mln bpd by end Q1 - IEA's BirolNov 29 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose in early Asian trade on Wednesday as U.S. crude inventories were seen falling, but concerns that OPEC+ would leave output policy unchanged at its upcoming meeting limited gains. Helping to boost prices, U.S. crude oil stocks were expected to have dropped by about 7.9 million barrels in the week ended Nov. 25, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Tuesday. Gasoline inventories rose by about 2.9 million barrels, while distillate stocks were seen rising about 4.0 million barrels, according to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity. read moreThe group meets as slowing economies and Chinese COVD-19 lockdowns hit oil demand, while a nearing European Union ban on Russian crude imports and a G7 price cap on Russian crude raises questions about supply. Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency expects Russian crude production to be curtailed by some 2 million barrels of oil per day by the end of the first quarter next year, its chief, Fatih Birol, told Reuters.

The governors' proposal raised oil industry concerns about fuel regulations differing from state to state. "We have good support," Fischer told Reuters. The legislation also has the support of Senator Kevin Cramer from North Dakota, a co-sponsor of the bill. Cramer's support is significant, as North Dakota is one of the top oil-producing states, Fischer said. Organizations including the API, the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and the National Farmers Union wrote to congressional leaders this month to urge them to adopt legislation to expand nationwide E15 sales.

New York CNN Business —From retailers and computer chip makers to the oil-and-gas industry, businesses are scrambling to find workarounds where possible for a potentially devastating freight rail strike. Retailers, which rely on rail to move cargo from ports to warehouses, are considering shifting the timing of orders and shipments. Critically, the rail strike could disrupt the supply of chlorine and other critical chemicals used to keep drinking water safe. The oil-and-gas industry, for instance, warns a rail shutdown would spark fuel supply crunches and price spikes. “Congress appears likely to intervene in the coming days to avert a rail strike,” economists at Goldman Sachs wrote in a note to clients on Tuesday.

☆ Oil prices climb on big drop in U.S. crude stocks, Russia supply uncertainty
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Oil prices rose in early trade on Wednesday after industry data showed U.S. crude stockpiles fell more sharply than expected last week, highlighting supply tightness ahead of a looming European Union ban and G7 price cap on Russian oil. Uncertainty over how Russia will respond to plans by the Group of Seven (G7) nations to cap Russian oil prices further supported the market, analysts said. Buoying prices on Wednesday, U.S. crude inventories fell by about 4.8 million barrels for the week ended Nov. 18, data from the American Petroleum Institute showed, according to market sources. Analysts polled by Reuters on average had expected a 1.1 million barrel drawdown in crude inventories. However, on a bearish note, API data showed distillate stocks, which include heating oil and jet fuel, rose by about 1.1 million barrels compared with analysts' expectations for a drop of 600,000 barrels.

☆ Oil rises as Saudi comments outweigh recession concerns
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Alex Lawler | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"Crude oil prices are trying to recover their losses," said Avatrade analyst Naeem Aslam. "That Saudi Arabia has denied there was any discussion about an increase in oil supply with OPEC and its allies has supported the market today." On Dec. 5. a European Union ban on Russian crude imports is set to start, as is a G7 plan that will allow shipping services providers to help to export Russian oil, but only at enforced low prices. Concerns over oil demand in the face of the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest rate hikes and China's strict COVID lockdown policies limited the upside. Additional reporting by Laura Sanicola and Isabel Kua Editing by David GoodmanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Drug maker Novo Nordisk invests $744 mln to expand Danish plant
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

COPENHAGEN, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Danish drug maker Novo Nordisk (NOVOb.CO) said on Tuesday it plans to invest 5.4 billion Danish crowns ($744.09 million) to expand its existing facilities in Bagsvaerd, Denmark. Novo, the world's biggest producer of diabetes drugs, said the project is expected to be finalised in 2024 and create about 160 new jobs. "This investment in expanding our clinical API capacity in Bagsvaerd is an important step to ensure the continuous progress of our development pipeline," said senior vice president of Chemistry, Manufacturing and Control Development at Novo Nordisk, Jesper Boving. Novo Nordisk currently produces API at two facilities in Denmark and one in Clayton in the United States, a spokesperson told Reuters. ($1 = 7.2572 Danish crowns)Reporting by Rahat Sandhu and Stine Jacobsen, editing by Terje SolsvikOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Organizations including the American Petroleum Institute (API), Renewable Fuels Association and the National Farmers Union wrote to congressional leaders to urge them to adopt legislation that would effectively lift restrictions on E15 sales. API's support is a win for the biofuel and farm groups because the oil industry has at times resisted efforts to expand the market for ethanol. The governors' proposal raised oil industry concerns about fuel regulations differing from state to state. Expanding national sales of E15 would also resolve long-standing differences among the groups about the fuel regulations, the letter said. Reporting by Stephanie Kelly; Editing by David GregorioOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ JPMorgan decides against prospective investment in open banking startup Yapily, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

JPMorgan has cooled on a deal to back London fintech startup Yapily, Insider understands. Discussions over a $25 million injection into the startup were at an advanced stage, sources say. JPMorgan has opted out of pursuing a strategic investment into London fintech Yapily, Insider understands. Yapily, which is backed by Square and Wise investor Sapphire Ventures, operates in the burgeoning open banking sector. The US financial giant had considered a deal that would have seen the bank inject around $25 million into the startup, one London-based source said.

☆ TikTok is still hiring despite the tech downturn. Here's how much it pays for hundreds of engineering, marketing, and other US jobs.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Ashley Rodriguez | Dan Whateley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +42 min

Insider analyzed US work-visa data to gauge salary levels at TikTok and parent company ByteDance. The data show TikTok and ByteDance offered staffers on US work visas $30 an hour to $400,000 a year. And TikTok has begun to get into its stride with advertisers who are now taking it more seriously as a marketing platform. Based on the data, TikTok and ByteDance offered from late-2020 to mid-2022 base salaries ranging from $30 per hour to $400,000 per year for various roles. TikTok's median annual base salary was roughly $184,000 per year, based on data from 319 foreign-labor certification applications.

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☆ Meta's WhatsApp makes Brazil a key test market for business messaging
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Katie Paul | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 17 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms (META.O) said on Thursday its WhatsApp messaging service will introduce a commercial directory and test a payments tool in Brazil, as it bets on business messaging as a potential fresh source of revenue. The directory will allow users to find companies with business messaging accounts on WhatsApp, enabling easier access to customer service chats, Meta said in a blog post. loadingThe directory service will be introduced in Indonesia, Mexico and the United Kingdom as well via WhatsApp's API, which mainly serves large businesses. Partnering with local companies, Whatsapp will also test a payments tool that would make in-app transactions possible with credit or debit cards. Boosting business messaging has assumed greater urgency this year as Meta's core advertising business has stalled.

☆ Elon Musk is planning a subtle change to Twitter that could make it harder to stop the bots
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Rachel Metz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN Business —Elon Musk has been saying for months that he wants to stamp out spam and fake accounts on Twitter, but a subtle change he’s planning to make to the platform could complicate that goal. In a tweet this week, Musk said Twitter will stop showing notations such as “Twitter for iPhone” and “Twitter Web App” at the bottom of tweets, which are intended to indicate where users’ messages originate. He said researchers can consider it along with other factors, such as the specific tweets accounts post, the time frames in which the posts went up, and the sources they quote. Many academic researchers use Twitter’s API to study bots and misinformation on the social network. If a tweet was marked “Mastodon-Twitter Crossposter”, for instance, it would be clear that the post had been published both on Twitter and social network Mastodon.

☆ Oil prices slide after Druzhba crude pipeline resumes flows
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Ahmad Ghaddar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON (Reuters) -Oil prices fell sharply on Wednesday as Russian oil shipments via the Druzhba pipeline to Hungary restarted, prompting the reversal of earlier gains following an attack on an oil tanker off the coast of Oman. Prices then retreated after Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Wednesday that flows through the Druzhba pipeline which carries Russian oil to Hungary had resumed following a brief outage. Oil supply to parts of Eastern and Central Europe via a section of the Druzhba pipeline were temporarily suspended on Tuesday for technical reasons, according to oil pipeline operators in Hungary and Slovakia. “Oil demand growth in the country is being hampered by its unyielding faith in a zero-tolerance COVID-19 policy and persistent economic weakness,” PVM Oil analyst Stephen Brennock said. Earlier this week, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cut its forecast for 2022 global oil demand growth for a fifth time since April, citing mounting economic challenges.

☆ Oil prices ease as China COVID concerns outweigh supply woes
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Isabel Kua | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Oil prices settled higher on Tuesday after oil supply to parts of Eastern and Central Europe via a section of the Druzhba pipeline was temporarily suspended, according to oil pipeline operators in Hungary and Slovakia. “From all accounts, China is persisting with its zero-COVID policy, which is a natural dampener for oil market sentiment,” said Vandana Hari, founder of Vanda Insights in Singapore. That has dampened the oil demand growth outlook, with the International Energy Agency (IEA) forecasting demand growth to slow to 1.6 million bpd in 2023 from 2.1 million bpd this year. Earlier, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cut its forecast for 2022 global oil demand growth for a fifth time since April citing mounting economic challenges. Industry data showing a bigger-than-expected drop in U.S. crude stockpiles provided some support to oil prices.

☆ Oil prices slip as China COVID worries, firmer dollar outweigh supply concerns
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Isabel Kua | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Oil prices settled higher on Tuesday after oil supply to parts of Eastern and Central Europe via a section of the Druzhba pipeline was temporarily suspended, according to oil pipeline operators in Hungary and Slovakia. U.S. President Joe Biden’s comments that the missile was probably not fired from Russia also helped to ease immediate escalation worries, Innes said. That has dampened the oil demand growth outlook, with the International Energy Agency (IEA) forecasting demand growth to slow to 1.6 million bpd in 2023 from 2.1 million bpd this year. Earlier, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cut its forecast for 2022 global oil demand growth for a fifth time since April citing mounting economic challenges. Industry data showing a bigger-than-expected drop in U.S. crude stockpiles provided some support to oil prices.

☆ Prediction Capital just closed the first tranche of its $30 million fund to back early-stage fintech and consumer startups in the DACH region
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Prediction Capital has launched its first fund to back early-stage fintech and consumer startups. The $30 million fund, backed by Swiss family office Infinitas Capital, will focus on the DACH region. The Malta-based firm, which has reached the first close of its new $30 million early-stage fund, will focus on startups in the DACH region. Its focus is early-stage startups, across pre-seed to Series A, and initial ticket sizes will range from $250,000 to $500,000. With the help of the family office, Prediction Capital has been able to close four deals so far.

ETNEW YORK, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Tuesday along with major stock indexes, after U.S. data signaled that inflation could be starting to subside, which would be a positive for oil demand. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose $1.18, or 1.4%, to $87.05. "The inflation data was positive in a way. In U.S. supply, crude oil stocks are expected to have dropped by about 300,000 barrels in the week to Nov. 11, a Reuters poll showed on Monday ahead of reports from the American Petroleum Institute due at 4:30 p.m. Investment bank JPMorgan cut its quarterly and full-year forecasts for economic growth in China.

☆ Bank of America-backed fintech Banked just raised $15 million in fresh funds. Check out the 21-slide pitch deck used to close the round led by Insight Partners.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Payments fintech Banked has raised $15 million from private equity giant Insight Partners. The London-based startup offers payment options direct from users' bank accounts. Check out Banked's 21-slide pitch deck below:A London-based fintech backed by Bank of America has raised $15 million in fresh funds. Banked, founded in 2018, offers a service called "Pay by Bank" that enables users pay merchants directly through their bank accounts without having to wait for card settlement. This deal takes the company to just over $50 million raised to date.

SummarySummary Companies Russia's Transneft: notified by Ukraine of oil supply suspension to Hungary via Druzhba - RIASlower U.S. producer price growth prompts inflation optimismChina reports increase in COVID-19 infectionsComing up: API data on US crude stocks at 4:30 p.m. ETNEW YORK, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Tuesday more than 1% after news that oil supply to Hungary via the Druzhba oil pipeline has been temporarily suspended due to a fall in pressure. Brent crude futures rose $1.38, or 1.5%, to $94.52 a barrel at 2:22 p.m. EST (1922 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose $1.60, or 1.9%, to $87.47. Russia's state-owned pipeline monopoly Transneft (TRNF_p.MM) has been notified by Ukraine that oil supply to Hungary via the Druzhba oil pipeline is temporarily suspended due to a fall in pressure, the RIA news agency quoted Transneft as saying on Tuesday.

☆ Twitter employees publicly slam Elon Musk for criticizing the app: 'Like did you even bother to learn?'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Several Twitter employees slammed Elon Musk on social media after he criticized the app. In his tweet, Musk appeared to suggest that the app was poorly written — a comment that several current Twitter engineers were quick to address. Eric Frohnhoefer deleted a tweet criticizing Elon Musk TwitterAfter the engineer appeared to question Musk's technical competence, Musk called the engineer out on Twitter. Frohnhoefer said Twitter has done a "bunch of work" to improve the app's performance on Android phones. Sheon Han deleted a tweet in response to Elon Musk.

NEW YORK, Nov 10 (Reuters) - A Republican U.S. senator plans to submit federal legislation with the support of a major oil industry trade group that would expand national sales of E15, a higher ethanol-gasoline blend. If the bill passed, it would be a win for U.S. corn farmers and the ethanol industry. The governors' proposal raised oil industry concerns about fuel supplies. The bill would represent just the latest push to win nationwide, year-round sales. A federal appeals court last year struck down the Trump's administration approval of year-round E15 sales, arguing it did not have the authority.

☆ Twitter is reportedly suspending the ability to purchase $8 verified checkmarks as it grapples with a wave of accounts trolling brands and famous people
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Britney Nguyen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

After launching early this week, some verified accounts started impersonating famous people and companies. Early Friday, iOS Twitter users noticed Twitter Blue sign-ups were no longer available on the app. Early on Friday, Twitter users were saying the sign-up for Twitter Blue was no longer available on the iOS app. Security researcher Jane Manchun Wong tweeted at 1:53AM Friday morning that the social media app "seems to have unlaunched" Twitter Blue. "Checked with Twitter's API and the in-app purchase for Twitter Blue Verified is no longer listed for production," she tweeted.

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