DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Pandemic-favorite Etsy beats revenue estimates on demand for bags, gifts
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Granth Vanaik | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 22 (Reuters) - Etsy Inc (ETSY.O) on Wednesday beat estimates for quarterly revenue on steady demand for bags, party products and personalized gifts on its online marketplace, sending the company's shares up more than 5% in extended trading. "Shoppers are coming to us more frequently and spending more with Etsy," said Chief Executive Officer Joshua Silverman on a post-earnings call, adding the company is continuing to build the "Etsy habit." Net revenue in the quarter ended Dec. 31 jumped 12.6% to $807.2 million for Etsy, compared with analysts' expectation of $751.8 million, according to Refinitiv. For the current quarter ending March, Etsy expects GMS to be in the range of $2.95 billion to $3.15 billion. The company forecast revenue between $600 million and $640 million for the January-March period, compared with analysts' expectation of $621.6 million.

☆ Etsy beats revenue estimates on steady demand
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 22 (Reuters) - Etsy Inc (ETSY.O) on Wednesday beat Wall Street expectations for quarterly revenue, helped by demand for home goods, clothes, jewelry and accessories offered on its e-commerce platform, sending its shares up 4% in extended trading. Net revenue rose to $807.2 million in the quarter from $717.1 million a year earlier. Analysts on average had expected revenue of about $751.8 million, as per Refinitiv IBES data. Last week, short seller Citron Research said Etsy had become one of the largest platforms in the world for counterfeit goods. The percentage of counterfeit goods on Etsy has become too large and the company could no longer defend it as a small percentage of revenue, Citron had said.

☆ Etsy shares fall after Citron Research calls out platform for counterfeit goods
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 16 (Reuters) - Citron Research said on Thursday Etsy Inc (ETSY.O) has become one of the largest platforms in the world for counterfeit goods, sending the e-commerce firm's shares down about 6%. Citron Research, which cemented its reputation in the research industry by calling out poor performers and betting against their stock, said the percentage of counterfeit goods on the platform had become too large and Etsy could no longer defend it as a small percentage of revenue. The research firm alleged that Etsy has allowed sellers on the platform to buy "ad words" of the brands and then labeled many of them as trusted websites. In November, the e-commerce platform posted a third-quarter loss for the first time in eight quarters, hurt by higher shipping costs and a strong dollar. Reporting by Ananya Mariam Rajesh in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra EluriOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ FDA advisors recommend over-the-counter use of life-saving opioid overdose treatment Narcan
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Narcan nasal spray quickly reverses an overdose from heroin and prescription painkillers. The Food and Drug Administration's independent advisors on Wednesday unanimously recommended over-the-counter use of the nasal spray Narcan to reverse opioid overdoses, which would significantly expand access to the life-saving treatment. Emergent BioSolutions ' Narcan is the most commonly sold treatment for opioid overdoses. Emergent BioSolutions said Narcan would be available for the over-the-counter market by late summer if the FDA approves it next month. Opioid overdose deaths spiked 17% during the pandemic from about 69,000 in 2020 to nearly 81,000 in 2021.

Nigerians were due to turn in old 1,000, 500 and 200 naira banknotes in exchange for newly designed notes by Friday as part of a central bank initiative to curb cash in circulation and control double-digit inflation. Supreme Court Judge John Inyang Okoro said the decision to suspend the deadline was unanimous, pending a legal challenge from three states who had argued that the note swap plan was causing hardship ahead of the elections. The court is due to hear the states' challenge on Feb. 15. Earlier on Wednesday, the IMF's resident representative in Nigeria urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to consider extending the deadline for notes to be swapped given disruption caused by the shortage of new notes. About 1.3 trillion naira ($2.8 billion) in old notes has been deposited into the bank since the announcement in October, according to the bank.

Abuja, Nigeria CNN —Nigeria was forced Wednesday to delay plans to replace its banknotes with a redesigned currency after chaotic scenes at ATMs as millions of people struggled to get their hands on the new cash. The new naira notes are, however, “fortified with security features that make them difficult to counterfeit,” President Buhari said last year. Across the country, banks have increasingly become targets of mounting anger over the frustrating search for the new naira notes. Angry Nigerians vandalise Bank premises over frenzy of new naira notes. Nigerians are desperately relying on their banks to distribute new bills after the February 10 deadline to exchange the old currency saw many scrambling to deposit their old notes.

☆ New York police abused demonstrators at George Floyd protest, report finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Tyler Clifford | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

More than 600, or 43%, of misconduct allegations were closed after officers could not be identified, raising a big obstacle in the board's review, the report said. The New York Police Department (NYPD) objected to many of the report's findings, saying less than 15% of all allegations were substantiated. Hundreds of officers were injured and the department had already implemented many of the 17 policy changes recommended by the board, NYPD said. Of the 146 officers cited by the report, 89 of them should face internal charges, which can result in termination. The board recommended discipline, which can include the loss of vacation days, for the other 57 officers.

In 2021, banks reported nearly 250,000 cases of check fraud nationwide, according to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, a unit of the U.S. Treasury Department. By last year, that number exploded: nearly 460,000 check fraud cases were reported – an increase of 84%. "Check fraud, and perhaps fraud in general flourishes on Telegram mainly due to its unrestrictive nature," Noriega said. Even so, Q6 was able to find at least 30 channels on Telegram dedicated to providing the latest tips and techniques to commit bank fraud. "Telegram is unfortunately a source for all things check fraud," Noriega said.

☆ $50 AirPods Pro? Nope. Here’s How to Spot Fake Apple Earbuds.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( Dalvin Brown | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Many people hoping to score a deal on Apple Inc.’s top-of-the-line wireless earbuds are winding up with something far less valuable: counterfeit AirPods. Caroline Ballard, 26 years old, was perusing Facebook Marketplace when she came across a pair of new AirPods Pro for $80, less than a third of the $249 list price.

MEMPHIS, Tenn., Jan 27 (Reuters) - The police department in the city of Memphis was set on Friday to release body-camera video of a violent confrontation between a Black motorist and five police officers charged with murder in his death earlier this month. Nichols succumbed to injuries he sustained from his encounter with police and died while hospitalized on Jan. 10, three days after he was pulled over while driving. The last words heard on the video were Nichols calling out for his mother three times, Crump said. Two members of the Memphis Fire Department involved in the response have been relieved of their duties pending a separate inquiry. PUBLIC OUTRAGE EXPECTEDAdditional Memphis police officers remain under investigation for policy infractions, Police Chief Cerelyn Davis said on Thursday in a message posted to YouTube.

A cashier's check (also called an "official" check) is a type of bank-issued check where the bank itself guarantees that the funds will be available when the check is cashed. Here's an overview of how much a cashier's check costs at some of the biggest banks:What to do if your cashier's check is lost or stolenIf your cashier's check is lost or stolen, call your bank as soon as possible to let them know. According to the Office of the Comptroller of Currency, you could ask the person who gave you the cashier's check to buy you another cashier's check. How to avoid cashier's check scamsReal cashier's checks are one of the safest forms of payment, but cashier's check scams do exist. Cashier's check alternativesFor large transactions, like a real estate closing, wire transfers are the main alternative to cashier's checks.

☆ You could be buying shoplifted stuff on Amazon, eBay, or Facebook Marketplace
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Jacob Zinkula | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Many are selling stolen goods on online platforms to unwitting consumers. A Meta spokesperson said Facebook Marketplace prohibits the sale of stolen items and has "specialized teams that work with law enforcement to respond to legal requests." This e-fencing — the selling of stolen goods online — is not a new phenomenon. In recent years, many online platforms have already taken steps to crack down on the selling of stolen goods. To what degree the legislation, along with other measures, reduces the sale of stolen goods across these platforms remains to be seen.

☆ It's a terrible time to be a sneaker reseller
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Lois Sakany | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Adidas' messy breakup with Ye is the latest in a series of complications for sneaker resellers. Sneaker resellers have felt the effects of the end of the stimulus check and the rise of inflation. Sneaker resellers saw a bot crackdownWhile not as lucrative as Nike in the aftermarket, it was easier to buy Yeezys in bulk on Yeezy Supply using bots. The loss of Yeezy sales then combined with Nike's crackdown on bots. I'm working to expand my team to accommodate the online customer, walk-in customer, and sneaker customer," Falcon said.

☆ Apple ramped up lobbying spending in 2022, outpacing tech peers
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Apple ramped up its lobbying spending last year, increasing its total for the year by 44% compared to 2021, according to public disclosures. Though Apple's lobbying spending grew the most in the past year compared to peers in the industry, it still spends far below other tech giants. For Amazon, that was a roughly 2% increase in spend compared to 2021 and it was a 4.6% decrease for Meta. In 2022, tech giants faced the prospect of bipartisan legislation that would be highly disruptive to their business models. Other tech companies engaged on many of the same issues, though some also lobbied on topics more specific to their businesses.

☆ Sneaker resale platform StockX says it turned away $100 million in fake items in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Danni Santana | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

StockX says it rejected $100 million worth of counterfeit products from resellers in 2022. The resale marketplace said in its annual report that it recorded record revenues in 2022. Overall, the resale platform turned away over 330,000 fake items shipped by sellers for verification last year, according to its latest annual marketplace report. StockX currently inspects over 1 million items a month at its 13 authentication centers worldwide. Nike, Jordan Brand, Adidas, New Balance, and Converse once again were the top selling sneaker brands on the platform.

☆ How China planted an FBI mole who was discovered only after gutting the CIA's vast spy network
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( James Bamford | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +25 min

At the time, four years after the handover from Britain to China, much of Hong Kong remained a world of neon and noise. "Five years ago, everyone looked down on you if you spoke Mandarin," said a Beijing executive living in Hong Kong. As soon as the Hong Kong Arts Festival ended, the Hong Kong International Film Festival began. In February 2006, Alex Ma, China's mole in the FBI, sent David photos he received from his handlers of five suspected human sources. Born in Hong Kong like Alex, Lee grew up in Hawaii and became a naturalized U.S. citizen.

Parafin, launched in 2020, works with so-called platform partners, or companies that other small businesses sell their products through. All the cofounders knew was that they wanted to build technology that would help small businesses. And they may not get their first contract payment from the government for as long as 120 days," Reed, the startup's CEO, told Insider. Helping small businesses manage their taxesComplYant's founder Shiloh Jackson wants to help people be present in their bookkeeping. HoneyBookWhile countless small businesses have been harmed by the pandemic, self-employment and entrepreneurship have found ways to blossom as Americans started new ventures.

☆ After a record-breaking 2021, European investors and founders are ready to take it slow
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Jordan Parker Erb | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Our Big Tech team was constantly chasing the biggest stories, from alleged executive misconduct at Microsoft to injuries in Amazon warehouses. After a record-breaking 2021, European startups raised $16 billion in the third quarter — a 44% annual drop. The solo founder joined YC in January 2022, and has since raised millions from investors like Alexis Ohanian. The risk of debilitating muscle and joint injuries at Amazon warehouses is off the charts, workplace regulators have said. Amazon workers shared why they planned to vote against unionizing.

☆ TikTok banned on government devices under spending bill passed by Congress
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

The bill includes an exception for law enforcement, national security and research purposes. TikTok has repeatedly said its U.S. user data is not based in China, though those assurances have done little to alleviate concern. While it fell short of antitrust advocates' hopes, the inclusion of the merger filing fee bill still gained praise. Miller said the bill will "significantly strengthen antitrust law for the first time since 1976." Empowering state AGs in antitrust casesAnother antitrust bill included in the package was a version of the State Antitrust Enforcement Venue Act.

☆ Amazon may be responsible for allowing Louboutin knock-off ads, EU court says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Online retailer Amazon (AMZN.O) may be deemed responsible for advertising of counterfeit Christian Louboutin shoes which found its way on to its platform, Europe's top court said in a preliminary ruling on Thursday. The EU court said it is now up to the two national courts to decide whether this is indeed the case. Louboutin brought two cases against Amazon in a Belgian and a Luxembourg court in 2019, saying the company regularly displayed advertisements for red-soled shoes put on the market without Louboutin's consent. Both courts had sought the guidance of the Luxembourg-based Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). Thierry Van Innis, Louboutin's lawyer, said the European court had followed the designer's arguments "in every detail".

☆ Edgy Campaigns Are Out, TikTok Won’t Stop and Other 2023 Predictions for Marketers
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Patrick Coffee | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +11 min

Newsletter Sign-up WSJ | CMO Today CMO Today delivers the most important news of the day for media and marketing professionals. Most campaigns will focus on discounts to customers or showcase the usefulness of a company’s products, he said. Under this form of marketing, ad firms generally get paid upon completion of a desired end, such as a sale or download. In short, consumers should expect less “vacuous virtue-signaling” from marketers in the coming months, according to Mr. Proulx. But these platforms’ very struggles could result in ad bargains for marketers, said Mr. Solomon of Therabody.

☆ Drug overdose deaths among teenagers surged during the pandemic driven by illicit fentanyl
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Drug overdose deaths among adolescents surged during the Covid-19 pandemic, driven overwhelmingly by illicit fentanyl, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Monthly drug overdose deaths nearly tripled among adolescents ages 10 to 19 during the first two years of the pandemic. But illegally manufactured fentanyl, often consumed as a pill, has become an increasingly common cause of overdose deaths. There was evidence that 25% of adolescent overdose deaths may have involved counterfeit pills that often resemble OxyContin or Xanax but frequently include fentanyl as well. Teens should also be educated about the potential presence of illicit fentanyl in pills that may resemble prescription drugs.

☆ 'I don't trust it:' Vaccine hesitancy lingers even as China COVID cases surge
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( David Kirton | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"I don't trust it," she said, speaking on the condition that only her first name be used. It has also yet to introduce its own version of an mRNA vaccine. "At least a half of doctors and educated people wanted to get the mRNA ones and refused to get the Chinese ones," Lei said. "After a while, people see no hope and also they are kind of forced to get the Chinese ones, so they had to accept it. Lei said many of her friends are looking to visit the neighbouring Chinese territory of Macau, where mainlanders can receive mRNA vaccines.

☆ The CEOs of Walmart and Target are warning of surging theft. Here's how a CVS exec said thieves steal $2,000 from stores in just 2 minutes.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Hannah Towey | Ben Tobin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

CVS Health's director of organized retail crime investigations testified to Congress in 2021 about the topic. According to the National Retail Federation, organized retail crime incidents jumped 26.5% on average in 2021. In congressional testimony, he said organized retail crime-related events are reported in a CVS Pharmacy store every three minutes. He had personally investigated organized retail crime for over 30 years. "Let me just be clear about what organized retail crime is not.

☆ Fentanyl Awareness Campaign Urges Parents to ‘Drop the F-Bomb’ With Their Kids
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Megan Graham | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +2 min

A new campaign from the Ad Council and Meta Platforms Inc. is encouraging parents of teen and young-adult children to speak to them about the dangers of fentanyl. The campaign aimed at parents follows a previous effort speaking to kids directly about fentanyl. The campaign, which is set to roll out Wednesday, includes videos of parents having conversations with children about the risks of fentanyl. The Ad Council also aims to expand the campaign beyond Meta platforms, including with digital display ads on other websites. Next, the Ad Council plans to educate 18-to-24-year-olds about the benefits of carrying naloxone.

Search resuls for: "Counterfeit"

25 mentions found