With the current outlook for crop yields, who can blame them? Droughts across most of Europe have caused deep concern in the agricultural industry this spring.
Over the past three months, rainfall has been 50pc lower than usual, so even if June has a downpour, yields will still be lower.
And as the healthy fields begin to wilt, grain prices have soared in anticipation of poor harvests – by more than 70pc over 12 months in the case of wheat.
Partly due to Russia's drought and low harvests last year, the cost of a Hovis soft white loaf is already up 11.7pc in the past year, from £1.03 to £1.15.
The lack of rainfall is now being particularly keenly felt in the main producing areas of Germany, France, Britain and Poland, which account for more than two-thirds of European harvests.
Most worries are about the staple crop of wheat, with the International Grains Council cutting its forecast for world production in 2011 to 2012 by 5m tonnes to approximately 667m tonnes.
Arvalis, the grain institute, is forecasting damage of 5pc to 10pc of France's soft wheat crop, the region's biggest. It could be even worse in the UK, with estimates of a 10p to 15pc reduction.
A vast array of other produce has also been hit. One of the worst affected grains is malting barley in the UK, which has reached record price highs this week. Gleadell, a grain merchant, said on Friday that brewers are expecting serious impact on supply into 2012.
There is further concern about oilseed yields. As Jonathan Lane, trading manager at Gleadell, said in a weekly market report: "The weather continues to diminish world rapeseed prospects and the market is concerned as to where it will source imports. Traders are on edge about threats to output after weather disasters."
Dry conditions are jeopardising beet crops as the plants need moisture to access key minerals for growth. Meanwhile, livestock farmers are facing higher feed prices and grain shortages. Although Europe is the most seriously affected area, other parts of the world are also suffering, with Chinese authorities firing more than 4,000 cloud seeding rockets into the sky to try to bring rain to its river regions.
Wheat and corn are also drying out in the southern US. It was therefore a relief when Russia decided on Saturday to lift its ban on wheat exports, which should somewhat ease pressure on global supply.
"We are lifting the grain export ban on July 1," Prime Minister Vladimir Putin announced.
Ukraine, known as the bread basket of Europe, already lifted its export quota earlier in the week, causing a sigh of relief in the markets.
"Additional grain supply from Russia and the Ukraine should ease supply fears in the global market somewhat, as substantial crop losses are likely in other main export regions such as the US and the EU because of the drought," said analysts from Commerzbank, the German investment bank.
"This is likely to take the upward pressure off wheat prices."
Some more pressure may be eased if high prices make it uneconomic for biofuel producers to use wheat.
The UK's Ensus site near Teesside was last week mothballed for at least four months because of high grain prices.
Speculative investment in wheat has also dropped this week, indicating funds are not confident that prices will increase further from their current high levels.
A report from Rabobank notes that: "Managed money more than halved their net long position in wheat this week from 24,136 contracts to 11,206 contracts, the lowest level since November 2010."
All this may not be enough to puncture the high prices, maybe just to arrest their climb. Analysts say the best hope of lower prices would be a bout of rain in June – but dampening the price of grain has no easy solution.
And the cotton is high
The cotton price moved higher last week as exceptional drought conditions continued in Texas, the biggest cotton producing US state.
May is typically the wettest month in the Lone Star State, but parts of Texas haven't seen any significant rainfall since August last year, damaging crops.
Yet again the unusual weather has been blamed on the unusual patterns of La Nina, a cooling of the Pacific waters near the equator.
China braced for fall in metal output
Summer energy shortages in China will hit the country's production of metals and bolster global prices, Commerzbank said.
"It is often forgotten that China is not only the world's largest metal consumer but also its largest producer," analysts at the German bank state said. "Consequently, electricity rationing in the country in the next few months should also hit the metals industry hard and support prices."
Commerzbank believes falls in China's metal output on the back of likely electricity shortages are not yet sufficiently priced into metal prices.
"While the China Electricity Council had initially expected an electricity deficit of 30 gigawatts, the electricity provider State Grid now expects a shortage of up to 40 gigawatts, if coal shipments do not pick up soon," it said.
Rising thermal coal prices coupled with government caps on the price of energy is making electricity generation unprofitable in many parts of China.
Coal accounts for more than 70pc of the fuel requirements of power plants in the Asian nation, Commerzbank notes.
Some coal-fired power stations in provinces such as Gansu, Hubei, Hunan, Shanxi and Shaanxi have closed, resulting in the worst electricity deficit since 2004, the official Xinhua News Agency said last week.
2011年5月29日 星期日
Science can't design away tornadoes' deadly threat
Storm science has greatly improved tornado warnings in recent years. But if that's led anyone into a sense of security, that feeling has taken a beating in recent weeks.
Super Outbreak 2011, on April 25-28, killed more than 300 people in the South and Midwest. Less than a month later, a devastating tornado took more than 120 lives around Joplin, Mo. This now could be the deadliest year for tornadoes since 1950, based on an assessment of National Weather Service figures.
This despite warnings of as much as 20 minutes, thanks to improved weather radar installed across the country in the 1990s. Before that, tornado warnings often weren't issued until a twister was sighted on the ground.
Scientists see a variety of factors that helped make this year's twisters deadlier — from La Nina to public complacency, from global warming to urban sprawl.
"We thought for the longest time physical science could get us by ... that we could design out of disaster," said meteorology professor Walker Ashley of Northern Illinois University. Now scientists are finding they need to take human nature into account.
What is clear is that certain factors add to the risk of death. The most vulnerable folks are those living in mobile homes and houses without basements. For a variety of reasons, a lot of homes don't have basements.
Twisters occurring on weekends — like the Joplin tornado — and at night tend to be greater killers because they catch people at home. At night, twisters are harder to see and sleeping people may not hear a warning.
Those less likely to be killed in a storm tend to be more educated and to have a plan in place beforehand.
In Sedalia, Mo., 30-year-old Sean McCabe had the right idea when the tornado struck, heading to the basement. He said the storm shoved him down the final flight of steps. He had scrapes and cuts on his hands, wrists, back and feet. Blood was visible in the house, and much of the roof of the house was gone.
"I saw little debris and then I saw big debris, and I'm like OK, let's go," said McCabe.
Having a plan was a lifesaver for Tuscaloosa's LaRocca Nursing Home in Alabama. As the storm howled, four dozen residents massed in the hallways as trees crashed down and a cloud of dust rained upon them. When the dust settled, the staff realized their drills had paid off. Not one patient was killed, and the worst injury among them was a bruise.
Hundreds have not been so lucky. The death toll reported Saturday by the city of Joplin stands at 139, which if correct puts this year's tornado death toll at 520 — exceeding the previous highest recorded death toll in a single year of 519 in 1953. But Missouri state officials counted 126 dead, a discrepancy that left unclear whether 2011 has yet set the modern record for tornado fatalities.
There were deadlier storms before 1950, but those counts were based on estimates and not on precise figures
The National Weather Service said 58 tornadoes touched down in Alabama on April 27, killing 238 people in that state alone and injuring thousands. Scores died in other states from twisters spawned by the same storm system. Put together, emergency management officials say the twisters left a path of destruction 10 miles wide and 610 miles long, or about as far as a drive from Birmingham to Columbus, Ohio.
Statewide, Alabama officials estimate there was enough debris to stack a football field a mile high with rubble.
Contributing to the massive loss of life is the growth of urban areas, suggested Marshall Shepherd, a professor of atmospheric science at the University of Georgia.
"Historically, the central business districts of cities have not been hit that frequently," he explained. But as you increase the land area covered by homes and businesses, he said, "you're increasing the size of the dartboard."
An expanding population does increase exposure to the danger, agreed Ashley, who fears deaths could begin to rise in the future as a result of sprawl and more people living in vulnerable residences such as mobile homes.
If the Tuscaloosa and Joplin tornadoes had each been a few miles to the south, on farmland, little would be heard about them, Ashley said, but when extremely violent tornadoes mingle with urban sprawl "you're going to have a disaster."
"I hope this will be an outlier year, very much like Katrina was to hurricanes," he said in a telephone interview from a field trip to chase tornadoes.
But no one can guarantee that, and weather experts are becoming increasingly concerned about how people respond to tornado warnings.
"A lot of it is complacency," Ashley said. "The population seems to be becoming desensitized to nature. I don't know why."
Studies have shown that 15 to 20 minutes is the most effective amount of warning time, and longer warning times can increase deaths. Weather experts aren't sure why, but worry that people think that if a twister hasn't appeared in a certain amount of time, it must have been a false alarm.
Yet a long-track tornado can be on the ground for 30 miles.
"If you have a basement, you don't need 20 minutes warning, but if you are in a mobile home park you may need more than 20 minutes to find a shelter," commented Alan W. Black, a University of Georgia doctoral student and co-author with Ashley of a recent study of tornado and wind fatalities.
Jerry Brotzge, a research scientist at the Center for Analysis & Prediction of Storms, University of Oklahoma, said many people who hear warnings will look outside to see if they can see the tornado — "they need some kind of confirmation, they want to see it."
But the Joplin tornado was at least partly rain-wrapped, meaning that a powerful rainstorm obscured it from some directions and "they wouldn't have seen it coming."
"Even when people are sheltered in their homes, if they are not underground they can die," Brotzge added.
But asking people to evacuate an area is also a difficult decision, he said, "what if you have a traffic jam and the tornado hits that."
Ashley concluded: "The take-home is, people have to take personal responsibility for their lives."
Why there have been so many tornado threats this year is harder to say.
Viewing pictures of the tornado aftermath it's hard to overestimate the power of such storms, and records bear out how strong they can be.
"You see pictures of World War II, the devastation and all that with the bombing. That's really what it looked like," said Kerry Sachetta, the principal of a flattened Joplin High School. "I couldn't even make out the side of the building. It was total devastation in my view. I just couldn't believe what I saw."
And that movie image a few years ago was no joke: A cow was transported 10 miles by a twister in Iowa in 1878 and a tornado in Minnesota moved a headstone three miles in 1886.
One Joplin resident said a picture that was sucked off his house's wall was found in Springfield, 70 miles away. An insurance policy was found more than 40 miles from its original residence in Oklahoma in 1957 and a 210-mile trip was taken by a canceled check in Nebraska in 1915, according to a study several years ago by researchers at the University of Oklahoma and St. Louis University.
Typically, tornadoes spawn in the clash between warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico and cooler, dry air from the north and west — conditions that mark Tornado Alley in the Midwest and South, the most common breeding grounds for twisters.
Factors in this year's excess may include La Nina, a periodic cooling of the tropical Pacific Ocean which can affect weather worldwide. In a La Nina year there tend to be more tornadoes than average. If that is a factor, the good news is that La Nina is weakening and is expected to end in a month or so.
The meandering jet stream high in the atmosphere that directs the movements of weather also has been in a pattern that encourages warm Gulf air to move in and clash with drier air masses.
While studies of global warming have suggested it could cause more and stronger storms, National Weather Service Director Jack Hayes isn't ready to blame climate change — at least not yet — saying it's too soon to link individual events with the ongoing warming.
Tornado researcher Howard B. Bluestein of the University of Oklahoma says his best guess is this unusual outburst of twisters is due to natural variability of the weather.
"Sometimes you get a weather pattern in which the ingredients for a tornado are there over a wide area and persist for a long time. That's what we're having this year," he said.
"If we see this happen next year and the following year and the following year," then maybe climate change could be to blame, he said.
Whatever the reasons it's an extraordinary year for tornadoes and the worst may not be over. May is usually the peak month, but June traditionally gets lots of twisters, and they can occur in any month.
"You can never completely breathe easy," concluded Russell Schneider, director of the government's Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla.
Super Outbreak 2011, on April 25-28, killed more than 300 people in the South and Midwest. Less than a month later, a devastating tornado took more than 120 lives around Joplin, Mo. This now could be the deadliest year for tornadoes since 1950, based on an assessment of National Weather Service figures.
This despite warnings of as much as 20 minutes, thanks to improved weather radar installed across the country in the 1990s. Before that, tornado warnings often weren't issued until a twister was sighted on the ground.
Scientists see a variety of factors that helped make this year's twisters deadlier — from La Nina to public complacency, from global warming to urban sprawl.
"We thought for the longest time physical science could get us by ... that we could design out of disaster," said meteorology professor Walker Ashley of Northern Illinois University. Now scientists are finding they need to take human nature into account.
What is clear is that certain factors add to the risk of death. The most vulnerable folks are those living in mobile homes and houses without basements. For a variety of reasons, a lot of homes don't have basements.
Twisters occurring on weekends — like the Joplin tornado — and at night tend to be greater killers because they catch people at home. At night, twisters are harder to see and sleeping people may not hear a warning.
Those less likely to be killed in a storm tend to be more educated and to have a plan in place beforehand.
In Sedalia, Mo., 30-year-old Sean McCabe had the right idea when the tornado struck, heading to the basement. He said the storm shoved him down the final flight of steps. He had scrapes and cuts on his hands, wrists, back and feet. Blood was visible in the house, and much of the roof of the house was gone.
"I saw little debris and then I saw big debris, and I'm like OK, let's go," said McCabe.
Having a plan was a lifesaver for Tuscaloosa's LaRocca Nursing Home in Alabama. As the storm howled, four dozen residents massed in the hallways as trees crashed down and a cloud of dust rained upon them. When the dust settled, the staff realized their drills had paid off. Not one patient was killed, and the worst injury among them was a bruise.
Hundreds have not been so lucky. The death toll reported Saturday by the city of Joplin stands at 139, which if correct puts this year's tornado death toll at 520 — exceeding the previous highest recorded death toll in a single year of 519 in 1953. But Missouri state officials counted 126 dead, a discrepancy that left unclear whether 2011 has yet set the modern record for tornado fatalities.
There were deadlier storms before 1950, but those counts were based on estimates and not on precise figures
The National Weather Service said 58 tornadoes touched down in Alabama on April 27, killing 238 people in that state alone and injuring thousands. Scores died in other states from twisters spawned by the same storm system. Put together, emergency management officials say the twisters left a path of destruction 10 miles wide and 610 miles long, or about as far as a drive from Birmingham to Columbus, Ohio.
Statewide, Alabama officials estimate there was enough debris to stack a football field a mile high with rubble.
Contributing to the massive loss of life is the growth of urban areas, suggested Marshall Shepherd, a professor of atmospheric science at the University of Georgia.
"Historically, the central business districts of cities have not been hit that frequently," he explained. But as you increase the land area covered by homes and businesses, he said, "you're increasing the size of the dartboard."
An expanding population does increase exposure to the danger, agreed Ashley, who fears deaths could begin to rise in the future as a result of sprawl and more people living in vulnerable residences such as mobile homes.
If the Tuscaloosa and Joplin tornadoes had each been a few miles to the south, on farmland, little would be heard about them, Ashley said, but when extremely violent tornadoes mingle with urban sprawl "you're going to have a disaster."
"I hope this will be an outlier year, very much like Katrina was to hurricanes," he said in a telephone interview from a field trip to chase tornadoes.
But no one can guarantee that, and weather experts are becoming increasingly concerned about how people respond to tornado warnings.
"A lot of it is complacency," Ashley said. "The population seems to be becoming desensitized to nature. I don't know why."
Studies have shown that 15 to 20 minutes is the most effective amount of warning time, and longer warning times can increase deaths. Weather experts aren't sure why, but worry that people think that if a twister hasn't appeared in a certain amount of time, it must have been a false alarm.
Yet a long-track tornado can be on the ground for 30 miles.
"If you have a basement, you don't need 20 minutes warning, but if you are in a mobile home park you may need more than 20 minutes to find a shelter," commented Alan W. Black, a University of Georgia doctoral student and co-author with Ashley of a recent study of tornado and wind fatalities.
Jerry Brotzge, a research scientist at the Center for Analysis & Prediction of Storms, University of Oklahoma, said many people who hear warnings will look outside to see if they can see the tornado — "they need some kind of confirmation, they want to see it."
But the Joplin tornado was at least partly rain-wrapped, meaning that a powerful rainstorm obscured it from some directions and "they wouldn't have seen it coming."
"Even when people are sheltered in their homes, if they are not underground they can die," Brotzge added.
But asking people to evacuate an area is also a difficult decision, he said, "what if you have a traffic jam and the tornado hits that."
Ashley concluded: "The take-home is, people have to take personal responsibility for their lives."
Why there have been so many tornado threats this year is harder to say.
Viewing pictures of the tornado aftermath it's hard to overestimate the power of such storms, and records bear out how strong they can be.
"You see pictures of World War II, the devastation and all that with the bombing. That's really what it looked like," said Kerry Sachetta, the principal of a flattened Joplin High School. "I couldn't even make out the side of the building. It was total devastation in my view. I just couldn't believe what I saw."
And that movie image a few years ago was no joke: A cow was transported 10 miles by a twister in Iowa in 1878 and a tornado in Minnesota moved a headstone three miles in 1886.
One Joplin resident said a picture that was sucked off his house's wall was found in Springfield, 70 miles away. An insurance policy was found more than 40 miles from its original residence in Oklahoma in 1957 and a 210-mile trip was taken by a canceled check in Nebraska in 1915, according to a study several years ago by researchers at the University of Oklahoma and St. Louis University.
Typically, tornadoes spawn in the clash between warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico and cooler, dry air from the north and west — conditions that mark Tornado Alley in the Midwest and South, the most common breeding grounds for twisters.
Factors in this year's excess may include La Nina, a periodic cooling of the tropical Pacific Ocean which can affect weather worldwide. In a La Nina year there tend to be more tornadoes than average. If that is a factor, the good news is that La Nina is weakening and is expected to end in a month or so.
The meandering jet stream high in the atmosphere that directs the movements of weather also has been in a pattern that encourages warm Gulf air to move in and clash with drier air masses.
While studies of global warming have suggested it could cause more and stronger storms, National Weather Service Director Jack Hayes isn't ready to blame climate change — at least not yet — saying it's too soon to link individual events with the ongoing warming.
Tornado researcher Howard B. Bluestein of the University of Oklahoma says his best guess is this unusual outburst of twisters is due to natural variability of the weather.
"Sometimes you get a weather pattern in which the ingredients for a tornado are there over a wide area and persist for a long time. That's what we're having this year," he said.
"If we see this happen next year and the following year and the following year," then maybe climate change could be to blame, he said.
Whatever the reasons it's an extraordinary year for tornadoes and the worst may not be over. May is usually the peak month, but June traditionally gets lots of twisters, and they can occur in any month.
"You can never completely breathe easy," concluded Russell Schneider, director of the government's Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla.
2011年5月25日 星期三
mopay Launches Groundbreaking New Mobile Payments Platform
mopay, a global leader in innovative payment solutions for online merchants, today announced the release of its next-generation mobile payments platform. A newly developed technological base and advanced new features now enable merchants to run mopay on virtually every Internet-connected device and across most operating systems such as Android, Samsung’s bada, iOS and Windows Phone 7. mopay also ramped up its spectrum of payment methods, adding third-party solutions to support every payment scenario from stationary Internet purchases and mobile Internet shopping to in-app billing on virtually all platforms.
“Most mobile payments providers focus on Web purchases and in-app billing on the Android platform,” said Kolja Reiss, Managing Director of mopay. “With our brand new mobile payments platform, we are the first provider to offer a state-of-the-art billing solution that features the flexibility to be customized for every platform, be it desktop PCs, notebooks, smartphones, tablets, TVs, game consoles, in-car entertainment systems, kiosks and even appliances. This flexibility gives merchants endless opportunities to reach their customers in new and exciting ways and to make any Internet-connected device a sales channel.”
mopay’s new platform is integrated with more than 250 network operators, including T-Mobile, Telefonica O2 and Vodafone, totaling almost one third of the platform’s 3.3 billion consumer reach. The new platform will be used by long-time mopay clients Bigpoint, Gameforge, Travian and Innogames, just to name a few. "mopay continues to be on the forefront of innovation when it comes to mobile payments," said Heiko Hubertz, CEO of Bigpoint. “This innovation, drive and true commitment to making mobile payments seamless and simple for consumers is why we have selected mopay as one of our partners."
“We have invested more than $25 million to develop the most flexible, easy-to-use and applicable payment experience available today,” Reiss continues. “We are dedicated to providing our clients with the most robust and comprehensive solutions that offer best-in-class user experiences. We are proud that mopay is the first provider capable of supporting all platforms and operating systems, providing customers with an unparalleled mobile payments solution.”
About mopay:
mopay is a global leader in innovative payment solutions for online merchants. mopay’s core platform enables merchants of virtual, digital and physical goods to bill charges directly to consumers’ cell phone and land line accounts. mopay operates in more than 80 countries across the globe, reaching more than 3.3 billion consumers. The company has a blue-chip customer base including major brands such as Bigpoint, Gameforge, Innogames, Sulake and Travian.
“Most mobile payments providers focus on Web purchases and in-app billing on the Android platform,” said Kolja Reiss, Managing Director of mopay. “With our brand new mobile payments platform, we are the first provider to offer a state-of-the-art billing solution that features the flexibility to be customized for every platform, be it desktop PCs, notebooks, smartphones, tablets, TVs, game consoles, in-car entertainment systems, kiosks and even appliances. This flexibility gives merchants endless opportunities to reach their customers in new and exciting ways and to make any Internet-connected device a sales channel.”
mopay’s new platform is integrated with more than 250 network operators, including T-Mobile, Telefonica O2 and Vodafone, totaling almost one third of the platform’s 3.3 billion consumer reach. The new platform will be used by long-time mopay clients Bigpoint, Gameforge, Travian and Innogames, just to name a few. "mopay continues to be on the forefront of innovation when it comes to mobile payments," said Heiko Hubertz, CEO of Bigpoint. “This innovation, drive and true commitment to making mobile payments seamless and simple for consumers is why we have selected mopay as one of our partners."
“We have invested more than $25 million to develop the most flexible, easy-to-use and applicable payment experience available today,” Reiss continues. “We are dedicated to providing our clients with the most robust and comprehensive solutions that offer best-in-class user experiences. We are proud that mopay is the first provider capable of supporting all platforms and operating systems, providing customers with an unparalleled mobile payments solution.”
About mopay:
mopay is a global leader in innovative payment solutions for online merchants. mopay’s core platform enables merchants of virtual, digital and physical goods to bill charges directly to consumers’ cell phone and land line accounts. mopay operates in more than 80 countries across the globe, reaching more than 3.3 billion consumers. The company has a blue-chip customer base including major brands such as Bigpoint, Gameforge, Innogames, Sulake and Travian.
Singapore's Nets facilitates direct debits from Chinese accounts
From today, Chinese nationals will be able to pay for their purchases on Singapore websites offering the service by directly debiting their domestic bank accounts without having to own a credit card or share sensitive information online.
NETS Managing Director, EFTPOS, Internet Business & Merchant Network, Jocelyn Ang said, "eNETS China Payment is a natural extension of our merchant service offerings. We were the first in Singapore to offer merchants the opportunity to tap into the growing Chinese national market with the launch of our NETS-CUP service in 2005 and today, we are delighted to be able to offer them the ability to reach out to millions of Internet users in China."
Figures from iResearch Consulting Group, a consulting services company focused on China's internet industry, reveal an upward trend in the online payments market. Third-party online payment transactions for the first quarter of 2011 reached RMB365 billion (or S$71.6 billion), an increase of 102.6% year-on-year. In 2010, third-party online payment transactions totalled RMB1,010.5 billion (or S$198.1 billion).
The number of Internet users in China numbers about 457 million according to digital marketing solutions company, Incitez Pte Ltd, of which 35 per cent (or 160 million) regularly shop online.
Singapore continues to be a favoured tourist destination for the Chinese - some 1.17 million Chinese nationals visited the island last year, an increase of 25 per cent over 2009. The NETS-CUP service, enabling Chinese nationals to use their domestic ATM card for purchases in Singapore, has seen exponential growth in transaction volumes since it was launched in 2005.
"We know that Chinese consumers are very familiar with and enjoy shopping in Singapore. What eNETS China Payment does is to introduce the joys of shopping in Singapore to the millions of Chinese consumers who haven't yet had the opportunity to visit our country," added Ms Ang.
Consumers from China wanting to make online purchases on Singapore websites need only key in their User ID and Internet Banking Personal Identification Number, both of which are obtained from their domestic banks. A secure payment gateway, eNETS links directly to China's domestic banks and does not require financial information to be divulged online.
For added convenience, prices listed in Singapore dollars on the website will be converted to Reminbi at the point of payment so Chinese consumers know exactly what they will be charged. eNETS will continue to pay its merchants in Singapore dollars.
eNETS China Payment is available to customers of more than 30 banks in China including the country's biggest banks, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Bank of Communications and China Merchants Bank.
NETS Managing Director, EFTPOS, Internet Business & Merchant Network, Jocelyn Ang said, "eNETS China Payment is a natural extension of our merchant service offerings. We were the first in Singapore to offer merchants the opportunity to tap into the growing Chinese national market with the launch of our NETS-CUP service in 2005 and today, we are delighted to be able to offer them the ability to reach out to millions of Internet users in China."
Figures from iResearch Consulting Group, a consulting services company focused on China's internet industry, reveal an upward trend in the online payments market. Third-party online payment transactions for the first quarter of 2011 reached RMB365 billion (or S$71.6 billion), an increase of 102.6% year-on-year. In 2010, third-party online payment transactions totalled RMB1,010.5 billion (or S$198.1 billion).
The number of Internet users in China numbers about 457 million according to digital marketing solutions company, Incitez Pte Ltd, of which 35 per cent (or 160 million) regularly shop online.
Singapore continues to be a favoured tourist destination for the Chinese - some 1.17 million Chinese nationals visited the island last year, an increase of 25 per cent over 2009. The NETS-CUP service, enabling Chinese nationals to use their domestic ATM card for purchases in Singapore, has seen exponential growth in transaction volumes since it was launched in 2005.
"We know that Chinese consumers are very familiar with and enjoy shopping in Singapore. What eNETS China Payment does is to introduce the joys of shopping in Singapore to the millions of Chinese consumers who haven't yet had the opportunity to visit our country," added Ms Ang.
Consumers from China wanting to make online purchases on Singapore websites need only key in their User ID and Internet Banking Personal Identification Number, both of which are obtained from their domestic banks. A secure payment gateway, eNETS links directly to China's domestic banks and does not require financial information to be divulged online.
For added convenience, prices listed in Singapore dollars on the website will be converted to Reminbi at the point of payment so Chinese consumers know exactly what they will be charged. eNETS will continue to pay its merchants in Singapore dollars.
eNETS China Payment is available to customers of more than 30 banks in China including the country's biggest banks, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Bank of Communications and China Merchants Bank.
2011年5月22日 星期日
IMO's MSC issues counter-piracy guidelines concerning armed security
The guidance to shipowners notes that flag State jurisdiction and any laws and regulations imposed by the flag State concerning the use of private security companies apply to their vessels. Port and coastal States’ laws may also apply to such vessels.
The guidance notes that the use of privately contracted armed security personnel (PCASP) should not be considered as an alternative to the Best management practices to deter piracy off the coast of Somalia and in the Arabian Sea area (BMP) and other protective measures. MSC says that placing armed guards on board as a means to secure and protect the vessel and its crew should only be considered after a risk assessment has been carried out. It is also important to involve the Master in the decision making process. The guidance includes sections on risk assessment, selection criteria, insurance cover, command and control, management and use of weapons and ammunition at all times when on board and rules for the use of force as agreed between the shipowner, the private maritime security company and the Master.
The interim recommendations for flag States recommend that flag States should have in place a policy on whether or not the use of PCASP will be authorized and, if so, under which conditions. A Flag State should take into account the possible escalation of violence which could result from the use of firearms and carriage of armed personnel on board ships when deciding on its policy. The recommendations are not intended to endorse or institutionalize the use of PCASP and do not address all the legal issues that might be associated with their use onboard ships.
The MSC also adopted an MSC resolution on Implementation of Best Management Practice guidance, which strongly urges all parties concerned to take action to ensure better implementation of these important measures, recognising the urgent need for merchant shipping to take every possible measure to protect itself from pirate attack and that effective self-protection is the key to avoiding, evading and deterring pirate attacks.
The resolution strongly urges all those concerned to take action to ensure that as a minimum and as recommended in the Best Management Practices: ships' masters receive updated information before and during sailing through the defined High Risk Area; ships register with the Maritime Security Centre Horn of Africa and report to United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) Dubai; and ships effectively implement all recommended preventive, evasive and defensive measures.
The MSC also agreed Guidelines to assist in the investigation of the crimes of piracy and armed robbery against ships, which are intended to be used in conjunction with resolution A.1025(26) Code of Practice for the Investigation of the Crimes of Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships. The guidelines are intended to assist an investigator to collect evidence, including forensic evidence, to support the submission of written reports which may assist in the subsequent identification, arrest and prosecution of the pirates that held the vessel and crew captive. Formats for crew statements and logging of evidence are included, as well as guidelines on recovery and packaging of exhibits such as blood, clothing and weapons.
IMO Secretary-General Mr. Efthimios E. Mitropoulos welcomed the progress made by the Committee in addressing the piracy issue. “I am pleased with the progress the Committee was able to make on all the piracy related items it had set out to consider during the session and, in particular, on the development of guidance to the industry and recommendations to flag States on the use of privately contracted armed security personnel on ships scheduled to sail through Indian Ocean areas exploited by pirates launching their operations from Somalia or mother ships. The decision of the Committee to convene an intersessional working group in September to draft guidance to flag, port and coastal States shows its determination to deal with this sensitive issue in the most expeditious and effective manner,” he said. “I also welcome the Committee’s decision to promote wider compliance of merchant ships with the industry Best Management Practice guidance, as I believe that their diligent implementation will contribute substantially to keeping pirates at bay.”
The number of acts of piracy and armed robbery against ships reported to IMO and which occurred in 2010 was 489, against 406 during the previous year, an increase of 20.4% from the figure for 2009. The areas most affected (i.e. five incidents reported or more) in 2010 were East Africa and the Indian Ocean followed by the Far East and, in particular, the South China Sea, West Africa, South America and the Caribbean. During the year, it was reported that two crew members were killed and 30 crew members were reportedly injured/assaulted, while 1,027 crew members were reportedly taken hostage or kidnapped. Fifty-seven vessels were reportedly hijacked, with one vessel reportedly still unaccounted for.
The guidance notes that the use of privately contracted armed security personnel (PCASP) should not be considered as an alternative to the Best management practices to deter piracy off the coast of Somalia and in the Arabian Sea area (BMP) and other protective measures. MSC says that placing armed guards on board as a means to secure and protect the vessel and its crew should only be considered after a risk assessment has been carried out. It is also important to involve the Master in the decision making process. The guidance includes sections on risk assessment, selection criteria, insurance cover, command and control, management and use of weapons and ammunition at all times when on board and rules for the use of force as agreed between the shipowner, the private maritime security company and the Master.
The interim recommendations for flag States recommend that flag States should have in place a policy on whether or not the use of PCASP will be authorized and, if so, under which conditions. A Flag State should take into account the possible escalation of violence which could result from the use of firearms and carriage of armed personnel on board ships when deciding on its policy. The recommendations are not intended to endorse or institutionalize the use of PCASP and do not address all the legal issues that might be associated with their use onboard ships.
The MSC also adopted an MSC resolution on Implementation of Best Management Practice guidance, which strongly urges all parties concerned to take action to ensure better implementation of these important measures, recognising the urgent need for merchant shipping to take every possible measure to protect itself from pirate attack and that effective self-protection is the key to avoiding, evading and deterring pirate attacks.
The resolution strongly urges all those concerned to take action to ensure that as a minimum and as recommended in the Best Management Practices: ships' masters receive updated information before and during sailing through the defined High Risk Area; ships register with the Maritime Security Centre Horn of Africa and report to United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) Dubai; and ships effectively implement all recommended preventive, evasive and defensive measures.
The MSC also agreed Guidelines to assist in the investigation of the crimes of piracy and armed robbery against ships, which are intended to be used in conjunction with resolution A.1025(26) Code of Practice for the Investigation of the Crimes of Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships. The guidelines are intended to assist an investigator to collect evidence, including forensic evidence, to support the submission of written reports which may assist in the subsequent identification, arrest and prosecution of the pirates that held the vessel and crew captive. Formats for crew statements and logging of evidence are included, as well as guidelines on recovery and packaging of exhibits such as blood, clothing and weapons.
IMO Secretary-General Mr. Efthimios E. Mitropoulos welcomed the progress made by the Committee in addressing the piracy issue. “I am pleased with the progress the Committee was able to make on all the piracy related items it had set out to consider during the session and, in particular, on the development of guidance to the industry and recommendations to flag States on the use of privately contracted armed security personnel on ships scheduled to sail through Indian Ocean areas exploited by pirates launching their operations from Somalia or mother ships. The decision of the Committee to convene an intersessional working group in September to draft guidance to flag, port and coastal States shows its determination to deal with this sensitive issue in the most expeditious and effective manner,” he said. “I also welcome the Committee’s decision to promote wider compliance of merchant ships with the industry Best Management Practice guidance, as I believe that their diligent implementation will contribute substantially to keeping pirates at bay.”
The number of acts of piracy and armed robbery against ships reported to IMO and which occurred in 2010 was 489, against 406 during the previous year, an increase of 20.4% from the figure for 2009. The areas most affected (i.e. five incidents reported or more) in 2010 were East Africa and the Indian Ocean followed by the Far East and, in particular, the South China Sea, West Africa, South America and the Caribbean. During the year, it was reported that two crew members were killed and 30 crew members were reportedly injured/assaulted, while 1,027 crew members were reportedly taken hostage or kidnapped. Fifty-seven vessels were reportedly hijacked, with one vessel reportedly still unaccounted for.
Interfax Ukraine Business Daily
Ukraine's economy will grow 4.5% in 2011 and in 2012, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said in its regional economic forecast, which was released on Friday.
In January, the EBRD forecast 4% growth of Ukraine's GDP in 2011.
At the same time, the bank expects that the country's economy will grow by 4.4% in the fourth quarter of 2011 compared to the fourth quarter of 2010, and by 6% in the fourth quarter of 2012 year-over-year.
According to its estimates, average annual inflation will decline this year to 7.8%, down from 9.4% in 2010, while the fiscal deficit will decrease from 5.8% of GDP to 2.8% of GDP.
At the same time, the bank expects that the current account deficit in 2011 will grow to 3.6% of GDP from 1.9% of GDP last year, with the net foreign direct investments falling from 4.2% of GDP to 3.9% of GDP.
The EBRD also said that the crucial reforms of fiscal and energy sector in Ukraine are facing political resistance, which delays the implementation of the programs of cooperation with the International Monetary Fund.
Kyiv, May 20 (Interfax-Ukraine) - Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov has said that there must be no cases of there being a rise in the cost of tickets for children's recreation establishments.
"There is the objective procedure, and we must prevent an unfair rise in the cost of tickets," he said at an extended meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers in Kyiv on Friday.
According to Azarov, the Social Policy Ministry and the Finance Ministry must oversee these issues.
At the same time, the premier said that a rise in the cost of tickets for children's recreation establishments is inadmissible, as a significant part of these funds are reimbursed from the local budget.
Azarov also said there was the need to conduct the state certification of all establishments where children would go for holidays.
Kyiv, May 20 (Interfax-Ukraine) - Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov has charged Ukrainian Education, Science, Youth and Sports Minister Dmytro Tabachnyk and Head of the State Committee on Science, Innovation and Information Volodymyr Semynozhenko with holding talks with Belarus on the creation of a joint innovation center.
"I charge Semynozhenko and Tabachnyk with getting in touch [with the sides] as soon as possible. We will prepare the necessary legislative basis," the Ukrainian premier said during an event on the occasion of Science Day in Kyiv on Friday.
Azarov noted that on May 19, during talks with the leadership of Belarus, he proposed to create a joint innovation center, and stressed that Ukraine needs new, active science and technology development.
Kyiv, May 20 (Interfax-Ukraine) - Ukraine and Russia are in a continuous dialog on various cooperation projects, National Security and Defense Council Secretary Raisa Bohatyriova has said.
When asked at a briefing in Kyiv on Thursday, which countries are the principal partners of Ukraine, she said: "I think we are interesting to all of them."
"You know that Russia is a strategic partner of Ukraine. And the programs, especially government ones, which were worked out a year ago, are currently either being discussed or actually implemented," Bohatyriova said.
So the process of negotiations with Russia and the cooperation haven't been interrupted, she said.
Speaking about cooperation with the European Union, Bohatyriova stressed the intensity of such contacts also depends on Ukraine.
"It is impossible to say who is paying us more attention, and who is paying less attention [Russia or the West], I think we are getting exactly the amount of attention that is needed to pursue our national interests, the national development plan and our reforms, and the intensity of these processes depends not always on partners, but on the activity of Ukraine as well," the NSDC secretary said.
As reported on Wednesday, Bohatyriova said that Russia's interest in Ukraine was growing, while the United States and the European Union were gradually losing interest in the country.
Kyiv, May 20 (Interfax-Ukraine) - The total volume of money transfers to Ukraine through international non-resident money transfer systems in 2010 was $2.615 billion, which is 16% up on 2009.
The head of the department for monitoring money transfer systems at the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), Olena Makhaeva, said at the third international conference entitled "The market of money transfers, banking metals and cash currency" held in Kyiv on Friday that this figure last year reached the pre-crisis level seen in 2008.
Makhaeva also noted that the volume of urgent money transfers sent from Ukraine through international money transfer systems created by non-residents in 2010 grew by 27%, to $378 million.
The average sum of transfers exceeded $500.
The largest amounts were sent to Ukraine through the following international money transfer systems: Western Union - 41%, UNIStream - 13%, and MoneyGram - 10%.
There are 22 money transfer systems in Ukraine created by non-residents.
Kyiv, May 20 (Interfax-Ukraine) - The total sum of subsidies to compensate for the expenses of families in paying for utility services in January-April 2011 in Ukraine came to UAH 73 million, which is UAH 48.6 million or 2.29 times up year-over-year, the State Statistics Service has reported.
The service said that in January-April subsidies were approved for 463,800 families, which is 93.6% of the total number of families that asked for subsidies and 2.2 times up year-over-year.
The average subsidy per family in April 2011 grew by 1.6 times compared to April 2010, to UAH 107.10. Some 60.8% of families that obtained subsidies in April 2011 consist of one person.
The largest subsidies in April 2011 were registered in Sevastopol and Kyiv (UAH 494.70 and UAH 243.6 respectively), and the lowest were in Kirovohrad, Ternopil and Kherson regions (UAH 13.90-31.70).
As reported, subsidies to compensate for the expenses of families to pay for utility services in 2010 came to UAH 237.4 million, which is 1.7 times up year-over-year.
Simferopol, May 20 (Interfax-Ukraine) - The Crimean parliament has sent an appeal to President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych with a request to assist in the extension until 2015 of the program of resettlement and rehabilitation of the deported Crimean Tatars and other nationalities, who have returned to Ukraine, their adaptation and integration into Ukrainian society.
This decision was supported by 83 out of 86 members of the Crimean parliament who took part in the vote. The program was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers on May 11 2006 for the period until 2010.
The Crimean deputies recalled that the presidential decree dated May 14, 2010 instructed the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine to take steps to accelerate the adoption of a program for resettlement of deportees for the period until 2015.
However, the state program for resettlement and rehabilitation of deportees has not been extended yet, and Ukraine's state budget for 2011 assigned only UAH 23.3 million for these purposes.
In January, the EBRD forecast 4% growth of Ukraine's GDP in 2011.
At the same time, the bank expects that the country's economy will grow by 4.4% in the fourth quarter of 2011 compared to the fourth quarter of 2010, and by 6% in the fourth quarter of 2012 year-over-year.
According to its estimates, average annual inflation will decline this year to 7.8%, down from 9.4% in 2010, while the fiscal deficit will decrease from 5.8% of GDP to 2.8% of GDP.
At the same time, the bank expects that the current account deficit in 2011 will grow to 3.6% of GDP from 1.9% of GDP last year, with the net foreign direct investments falling from 4.2% of GDP to 3.9% of GDP.
The EBRD also said that the crucial reforms of fiscal and energy sector in Ukraine are facing political resistance, which delays the implementation of the programs of cooperation with the International Monetary Fund.
Kyiv, May 20 (Interfax-Ukraine) - Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov has said that there must be no cases of there being a rise in the cost of tickets for children's recreation establishments.
"There is the objective procedure, and we must prevent an unfair rise in the cost of tickets," he said at an extended meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers in Kyiv on Friday.
According to Azarov, the Social Policy Ministry and the Finance Ministry must oversee these issues.
At the same time, the premier said that a rise in the cost of tickets for children's recreation establishments is inadmissible, as a significant part of these funds are reimbursed from the local budget.
Azarov also said there was the need to conduct the state certification of all establishments where children would go for holidays.
Kyiv, May 20 (Interfax-Ukraine) - Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov has charged Ukrainian Education, Science, Youth and Sports Minister Dmytro Tabachnyk and Head of the State Committee on Science, Innovation and Information Volodymyr Semynozhenko with holding talks with Belarus on the creation of a joint innovation center.
"I charge Semynozhenko and Tabachnyk with getting in touch [with the sides] as soon as possible. We will prepare the necessary legislative basis," the Ukrainian premier said during an event on the occasion of Science Day in Kyiv on Friday.
Azarov noted that on May 19, during talks with the leadership of Belarus, he proposed to create a joint innovation center, and stressed that Ukraine needs new, active science and technology development.
Kyiv, May 20 (Interfax-Ukraine) - Ukraine and Russia are in a continuous dialog on various cooperation projects, National Security and Defense Council Secretary Raisa Bohatyriova has said.
When asked at a briefing in Kyiv on Thursday, which countries are the principal partners of Ukraine, she said: "I think we are interesting to all of them."
"You know that Russia is a strategic partner of Ukraine. And the programs, especially government ones, which were worked out a year ago, are currently either being discussed or actually implemented," Bohatyriova said.
So the process of negotiations with Russia and the cooperation haven't been interrupted, she said.
Speaking about cooperation with the European Union, Bohatyriova stressed the intensity of such contacts also depends on Ukraine.
"It is impossible to say who is paying us more attention, and who is paying less attention [Russia or the West], I think we are getting exactly the amount of attention that is needed to pursue our national interests, the national development plan and our reforms, and the intensity of these processes depends not always on partners, but on the activity of Ukraine as well," the NSDC secretary said.
As reported on Wednesday, Bohatyriova said that Russia's interest in Ukraine was growing, while the United States and the European Union were gradually losing interest in the country.
Kyiv, May 20 (Interfax-Ukraine) - The total volume of money transfers to Ukraine through international non-resident money transfer systems in 2010 was $2.615 billion, which is 16% up on 2009.
The head of the department for monitoring money transfer systems at the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), Olena Makhaeva, said at the third international conference entitled "The market of money transfers, banking metals and cash currency" held in Kyiv on Friday that this figure last year reached the pre-crisis level seen in 2008.
Makhaeva also noted that the volume of urgent money transfers sent from Ukraine through international money transfer systems created by non-residents in 2010 grew by 27%, to $378 million.
The average sum of transfers exceeded $500.
The largest amounts were sent to Ukraine through the following international money transfer systems: Western Union - 41%, UNIStream - 13%, and MoneyGram - 10%.
There are 22 money transfer systems in Ukraine created by non-residents.
Kyiv, May 20 (Interfax-Ukraine) - The total sum of subsidies to compensate for the expenses of families in paying for utility services in January-April 2011 in Ukraine came to UAH 73 million, which is UAH 48.6 million or 2.29 times up year-over-year, the State Statistics Service has reported.
The service said that in January-April subsidies were approved for 463,800 families, which is 93.6% of the total number of families that asked for subsidies and 2.2 times up year-over-year.
The average subsidy per family in April 2011 grew by 1.6 times compared to April 2010, to UAH 107.10. Some 60.8% of families that obtained subsidies in April 2011 consist of one person.
The largest subsidies in April 2011 were registered in Sevastopol and Kyiv (UAH 494.70 and UAH 243.6 respectively), and the lowest were in Kirovohrad, Ternopil and Kherson regions (UAH 13.90-31.70).
As reported, subsidies to compensate for the expenses of families to pay for utility services in 2010 came to UAH 237.4 million, which is 1.7 times up year-over-year.
Simferopol, May 20 (Interfax-Ukraine) - The Crimean parliament has sent an appeal to President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych with a request to assist in the extension until 2015 of the program of resettlement and rehabilitation of the deported Crimean Tatars and other nationalities, who have returned to Ukraine, their adaptation and integration into Ukrainian society.
This decision was supported by 83 out of 86 members of the Crimean parliament who took part in the vote. The program was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers on May 11 2006 for the period until 2010.
The Crimean deputies recalled that the presidential decree dated May 14, 2010 instructed the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine to take steps to accelerate the adoption of a program for resettlement of deportees for the period until 2015.
However, the state program for resettlement and rehabilitation of deportees has not been extended yet, and Ukraine's state budget for 2011 assigned only UAH 23.3 million for these purposes.
2011年5月18日 星期三
DOREL REPORTS FIRST QUARTER RESULTS
Dorel Industries Inc. (TSX: DII.B)(TSX: DII.A) today released results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2011. Revenue reached US$607.8 million, up 1.9% from US$596.3 million a year ago. Net income was US$31.2 million or US$0.94 per diluted share, compared to last year's US$38.2 million or US$1.15 per diluted share. Upon transition to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), previously issued earnings per diluted share for the first quarter of 2010 which was reported as US$1.12, have been restated to US$1.15.
"A highlight of the first quarter results is the momentum of the Company's bicycle business, particularly in the IBD channel. Improved earnings in that segment were offset by a challenging retail environment for our U.S. juvenile products business. Home Furnishings revenues were stronger both year-over-year and particularly sequentially, but factors including high commodity prices and freight rates, as well as the weakening US dollar resulted in lower earnings compared to last year's first quarter. I am pleased to report that the high 2010 year-end inventories have started to come down and this will convert into improved cash flow as we move through the year," stated Dorel CEO and President Martin Schwartz.
Summary of Financial Highlights First Quarters Ended March 31 All figures in thousands of US $, except per share amounts 2011 2010 Change % Total revenues 607,783 596,313 1.9% Net income 31,164 38,206 -18.4% Per share - Basic 0.95 1.16 -18.1% Per share - Diluted 0.94 1.15 -18.3% Average number of shares outstanding - diluted weighted average 33,007,150 33,241,496
Juvenile Segment
First Quarters Ended March 31 2011 2010 $ % of rev. $ % of rev. Change % Total revenues 269,620 285,793 -5.7% Gross profit 71,620 26.6% 83,099 29.1% -13.8% Operating profit 23,672 8.8% 33,131 11.6% -28.6%
The first quarter revenue decrease of 5.7% was in most of the Company's Juvenile operating divisions, but was most pronounced in the United States, where consumer spending in this category continues to be down at the retail level. In local currencies, European sales decreased by less than 2% from last year. As foreign exchange rates were relatively consistent year-over-year, revenues in local currencies were down by a similar percentage. Sales of mid-price point Safety 1(st) products have been well received by consumers in Europe and car seats will be offered later this year in the opening-price point category.
Earnings were affected by lower sales as well as higher input costs, a less profitable product mix at Dorel Juvenile Group USA and higher costs in Europe due to less favourable foreign exchange rates on that division's US dollar purchases. However, recent strength in the Euro will help the Juvenile segment going forward if the trend continues. The current US retail environment is making the acceptance of price increases difficult, a situation which is being closely monitored and addressed with new product introductions scheduled throughout the balance of the year.
Recreational/Leisure
First Quarters Ended March 31 2011 2010 $ % of rev. $ % of rev. Change % Total revenues 200,427 181,677 10.3% Gross profit 50,995 25.4% 46,123 25.4% 10.6% Operating profit 17,771 8.9% 15,071 8.3% 17.9%
The US$18.8 million or 10.3% increase in Recreational/Leisure sales was entirely organic with operating profit improving by 17.9%. Revenue growth was above 25% in the IBD channel as the momentum created last year with the introduction of the well received 2011 new model year product line continued into this year's first quarter. Sales growth was in all markets, but was strongest for the Cannondale and GT brands in Europe and Australia. The Cannondale dealer base continues to grow due to innovation and brand building. Sales in the segment's mass merchant category declined mid-single digits, due in part to poor weather and the late Easter holiday period.
The Liquigas-Cannondale pro-cycling team is currently competing in the Giro d'Italia which runs until May 29(th). The Giro is one of the world's three Grand Tours and will provide outstanding visibility for the Cannondale brand. As announced last year, Dorel is now a Co-Title sponsor of the renamed "Liquigas-Cannondale" race team. The team came first in the 2010 Giro.
"A highlight of the first quarter results is the momentum of the Company's bicycle business, particularly in the IBD channel. Improved earnings in that segment were offset by a challenging retail environment for our U.S. juvenile products business. Home Furnishings revenues were stronger both year-over-year and particularly sequentially, but factors including high commodity prices and freight rates, as well as the weakening US dollar resulted in lower earnings compared to last year's first quarter. I am pleased to report that the high 2010 year-end inventories have started to come down and this will convert into improved cash flow as we move through the year," stated Dorel CEO and President Martin Schwartz.
Summary of Financial Highlights First Quarters Ended March 31 All figures in thousands of US $, except per share amounts 2011 2010 Change % Total revenues 607,783 596,313 1.9% Net income 31,164 38,206 -18.4% Per share - Basic 0.95 1.16 -18.1% Per share - Diluted 0.94 1.15 -18.3% Average number of shares outstanding - diluted weighted average 33,007,150 33,241,496
Juvenile Segment
First Quarters Ended March 31 2011 2010 $ % of rev. $ % of rev. Change % Total revenues 269,620 285,793 -5.7% Gross profit 71,620 26.6% 83,099 29.1% -13.8% Operating profit 23,672 8.8% 33,131 11.6% -28.6%
The first quarter revenue decrease of 5.7% was in most of the Company's Juvenile operating divisions, but was most pronounced in the United States, where consumer spending in this category continues to be down at the retail level. In local currencies, European sales decreased by less than 2% from last year. As foreign exchange rates were relatively consistent year-over-year, revenues in local currencies were down by a similar percentage. Sales of mid-price point Safety 1(st) products have been well received by consumers in Europe and car seats will be offered later this year in the opening-price point category.
Earnings were affected by lower sales as well as higher input costs, a less profitable product mix at Dorel Juvenile Group USA and higher costs in Europe due to less favourable foreign exchange rates on that division's US dollar purchases. However, recent strength in the Euro will help the Juvenile segment going forward if the trend continues. The current US retail environment is making the acceptance of price increases difficult, a situation which is being closely monitored and addressed with new product introductions scheduled throughout the balance of the year.
Recreational/Leisure
First Quarters Ended March 31 2011 2010 $ % of rev. $ % of rev. Change % Total revenues 200,427 181,677 10.3% Gross profit 50,995 25.4% 46,123 25.4% 10.6% Operating profit 17,771 8.9% 15,071 8.3% 17.9%
The US$18.8 million or 10.3% increase in Recreational/Leisure sales was entirely organic with operating profit improving by 17.9%. Revenue growth was above 25% in the IBD channel as the momentum created last year with the introduction of the well received 2011 new model year product line continued into this year's first quarter. Sales growth was in all markets, but was strongest for the Cannondale and GT brands in Europe and Australia. The Cannondale dealer base continues to grow due to innovation and brand building. Sales in the segment's mass merchant category declined mid-single digits, due in part to poor weather and the late Easter holiday period.
The Liquigas-Cannondale pro-cycling team is currently competing in the Giro d'Italia which runs until May 29(th). The Giro is one of the world's three Grand Tours and will provide outstanding visibility for the Cannondale brand. As announced last year, Dorel is now a Co-Title sponsor of the renamed "Liquigas-Cannondale" race team. The team came first in the 2010 Giro.
An online bank scam worthy of a spy novel
One moment of weakness — a single click on a bogus e-mail link or website — has cost many U.S. companies nearly $1 million apiece, the FBI said. And it has transported them into a world of international intrigue worthy of a spy novel, connecting them to a crime ring linked to six Chinese port cities near the Russian border.
In a sternly worded warning that included a remarkable level of detail for an FBI press release, the agency is warning U.S. businesses and banks to be wary of wire transfers headed to Chinese cities of Raohe, Fuyuan, Jixi City, Xunke, Tongjiang and Dongning.
It’s unclear if the stolen funds remained in China or were transported elsewhere, and U.S. security firms are currently debating the significance of the notice. But the high-dollar value of the thefts, combined with their high-profile destination — any government cybercrime warning that involves China raises eyebrows — has attracted unusual attention in the banking community.
Transactions headed to those Chinese cities should be “heavily scrutinized, especially for clients that have no prior transaction history with companies in the Heilongjiang province,” the FBI said.
Wire transfers — often in the $900,000 range — were repeatedly sent from U.S. firms to legitimate Chinese trading companies in Heilongjiang. Sending the money through international trade firms — which are believed to be victims, also — helped minimize suspicion. In a release dated April 26, the FBI said criminals had recently attempted to steal $20 million and got away with $11 million, a staggering success rate.
Online criminals have shifted their focus away from consumer accounts and onto larger business accounts, experts say. Commercial accounts have larger balances, involve more frequent transactions and the destinations for payment are much more varied, making hacker theft much harder to detect.
“These are small- and medium-sized businesses at the heart of the economic recovery who are devastated by this. In many cases banks do chose to share in losses, but it’s still devastating,” said Terry Austin, CEO of Guardian Analytics, which provides security to banks. He said his firm detected several attempted transactions that fit the scenario laid out by the FBI, including the Chinese destination cities. “This notion that banks and credit unions are under relentless attack — this is just one more example of the size and boldness of attacks — is a story that needs to keep getting told.”
Even if China is merely an intermediary step in the heists, it’s significant that the FBI chose to call out Chinese cities in its release, said Avivah Litan, a bank security analyst for Gartner.
“I have never seen a fraud alert with this much specificity,” Litan said. “It makes you think. There is definitely a Chinese connection, though we don’t really know what it is.”
She speculated that the criminals could be behind other well-publicized computer break-ins that have been blamed on Chinese hackers.
“You would think it could be the same spies for the Chinese government who have been wreaking havoc, and they need to pay for their efforts. Usually bad guys rob accounts to fund other activities. But that’s just speculation,” she said. “It also strikes a familiar chord since perpetrators originating in China are rumored to be behind the recent spate of (advanced persistent threat) attacks against security companies like RSA Security and others, some of which I hear have not been publicly disclosed. It makes you wonder if our intelligence and law enforcement agencies are closing in on loosely organized criminal Chinese rings that perpetrate various types of fraud for financial and political gain, and if the same rings are involved in multiple activities.
The highly-skilled hackers in the FBI warning managed to control computers on both ends of the transactions — hijacking computers than can access small business accounts on the U.S. side, and also computers in China that can access accounts belonging to legitimate trading firms there. That helped them cleverly cloak their activities. It also might be the reason the FBI called out Chinese cities by name, said Mickey Boodaei, CEO of Israel-based Trusteer, a security firm.
“The main reason the FBI issued a release was because they had actionable intelligence about how to ID these transactions and block them and wanted to reach a wide audience of banks and online bankers and let them know they should be really careful,” he said.
The criminals were smart enough to rotate destinations for the money quickly in an effort to further evade suspicion, the FBI said. So there’s no reason to believe hackers haven’t already moved on to other cities. All experts interviewed for this story said they thought the $11 million value of this specific heist represented just the tip of the iceberg. Litan said she believed it’s a $1 billion global problem.
“This is just a very common occurrence now at banks, with criminals robbing small business accounts and moving the money offshore,” she said.
In each case, the FBI said, the money was sent to one of three Chinese banks: “Agricultural Bank of China, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, (or) the Bank of China.”
Guardian Analytics’ monitoring software, which Austin says spotted and stopped fraudulent transactions headed to those six Chinese cities, offer a rare detailed glimpse into how the criminals operated.
The target “could be a construction company, a real estate company, a school, a church. Any business that has a commercial account that it uses that to pay suppliers and vendors,” he said.
An employee inside the firm who has the ability to wire funds through those accounts is targeted with an attack. Once he or she takes the bait — perhaps laid through a booby-trapped e-mail, or an infected website — the criminals gain access to a computer and an account at the firm authorized to wire money.
In some cases, the theft involves simply logging into an online merchant account and initiating a wire transfer. But even companies with far more sophisticated security protections have been victimized, Austin said. Some firms require dual authorization for a financial transfer, or at least a phone call for verification. The criminals are smart enough to arrange for a bypass approval, or to reroute the approval phone calls to numbers they control, he said. They even spent weeks observing an account to find out when the balance is highest and watch transaction patterns so criminal wire transfers won’t raise alarm bells, Austin said.
“They often go through a multi-step setup before the crime,” he said.
In a sternly worded warning that included a remarkable level of detail for an FBI press release, the agency is warning U.S. businesses and banks to be wary of wire transfers headed to Chinese cities of Raohe, Fuyuan, Jixi City, Xunke, Tongjiang and Dongning.
It’s unclear if the stolen funds remained in China or were transported elsewhere, and U.S. security firms are currently debating the significance of the notice. But the high-dollar value of the thefts, combined with their high-profile destination — any government cybercrime warning that involves China raises eyebrows — has attracted unusual attention in the banking community.
Transactions headed to those Chinese cities should be “heavily scrutinized, especially for clients that have no prior transaction history with companies in the Heilongjiang province,” the FBI said.
Wire transfers — often in the $900,000 range — were repeatedly sent from U.S. firms to legitimate Chinese trading companies in Heilongjiang. Sending the money through international trade firms — which are believed to be victims, also — helped minimize suspicion. In a release dated April 26, the FBI said criminals had recently attempted to steal $20 million and got away with $11 million, a staggering success rate.
Online criminals have shifted their focus away from consumer accounts and onto larger business accounts, experts say. Commercial accounts have larger balances, involve more frequent transactions and the destinations for payment are much more varied, making hacker theft much harder to detect.
“These are small- and medium-sized businesses at the heart of the economic recovery who are devastated by this. In many cases banks do chose to share in losses, but it’s still devastating,” said Terry Austin, CEO of Guardian Analytics, which provides security to banks. He said his firm detected several attempted transactions that fit the scenario laid out by the FBI, including the Chinese destination cities. “This notion that banks and credit unions are under relentless attack — this is just one more example of the size and boldness of attacks — is a story that needs to keep getting told.”
Even if China is merely an intermediary step in the heists, it’s significant that the FBI chose to call out Chinese cities in its release, said Avivah Litan, a bank security analyst for Gartner.
“I have never seen a fraud alert with this much specificity,” Litan said. “It makes you think. There is definitely a Chinese connection, though we don’t really know what it is.”
She speculated that the criminals could be behind other well-publicized computer break-ins that have been blamed on Chinese hackers.
“You would think it could be the same spies for the Chinese government who have been wreaking havoc, and they need to pay for their efforts. Usually bad guys rob accounts to fund other activities. But that’s just speculation,” she said. “It also strikes a familiar chord since perpetrators originating in China are rumored to be behind the recent spate of (advanced persistent threat) attacks against security companies like RSA Security and others, some of which I hear have not been publicly disclosed. It makes you wonder if our intelligence and law enforcement agencies are closing in on loosely organized criminal Chinese rings that perpetrate various types of fraud for financial and political gain, and if the same rings are involved in multiple activities.
The highly-skilled hackers in the FBI warning managed to control computers on both ends of the transactions — hijacking computers than can access small business accounts on the U.S. side, and also computers in China that can access accounts belonging to legitimate trading firms there. That helped them cleverly cloak their activities. It also might be the reason the FBI called out Chinese cities by name, said Mickey Boodaei, CEO of Israel-based Trusteer, a security firm.
“The main reason the FBI issued a release was because they had actionable intelligence about how to ID these transactions and block them and wanted to reach a wide audience of banks and online bankers and let them know they should be really careful,” he said.
The criminals were smart enough to rotate destinations for the money quickly in an effort to further evade suspicion, the FBI said. So there’s no reason to believe hackers haven’t already moved on to other cities. All experts interviewed for this story said they thought the $11 million value of this specific heist represented just the tip of the iceberg. Litan said she believed it’s a $1 billion global problem.
“This is just a very common occurrence now at banks, with criminals robbing small business accounts and moving the money offshore,” she said.
In each case, the FBI said, the money was sent to one of three Chinese banks: “Agricultural Bank of China, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, (or) the Bank of China.”
Guardian Analytics’ monitoring software, which Austin says spotted and stopped fraudulent transactions headed to those six Chinese cities, offer a rare detailed glimpse into how the criminals operated.
The target “could be a construction company, a real estate company, a school, a church. Any business that has a commercial account that it uses that to pay suppliers and vendors,” he said.
An employee inside the firm who has the ability to wire funds through those accounts is targeted with an attack. Once he or she takes the bait — perhaps laid through a booby-trapped e-mail, or an infected website — the criminals gain access to a computer and an account at the firm authorized to wire money.
In some cases, the theft involves simply logging into an online merchant account and initiating a wire transfer. But even companies with far more sophisticated security protections have been victimized, Austin said. Some firms require dual authorization for a financial transfer, or at least a phone call for verification. The criminals are smart enough to arrange for a bypass approval, or to reroute the approval phone calls to numbers they control, he said. They even spent weeks observing an account to find out when the balance is highest and watch transaction patterns so criminal wire transfers won’t raise alarm bells, Austin said.
“They often go through a multi-step setup before the crime,” he said.
2011年5月15日 星期日
31 New APIs: Google Tasks, Website Screenshots and MapQuest Static Maps
This week we had 31 new APIs added to our API directory including a music festival data lookup service, online collectibles marketplace, cloud based document conversion service, online payment processing service, text messaging service, content curation platform and electric vehicle charging point database. Additionally, we covered in more details location-aware gaming platform and Google’s to-do service’s API. Below is more details on each of these 31 new APIs.
AppDirectAppDirect API: AppDirect offers a platform that allows businesses to find web based software solutions for their needs through application marketplaces. The AppDirect API allows developers to integrate their applications into the Business Application Network for distribution. The API uses RESTful calls and responses are formatted in XML.
bidStartbidStart API: bidStart is an online marketplace and community connecting buyers and sellers of collectibles; including stamps, coins, comics, sports cards and more; offering auction & store items. The bidStart API allows different programs and applications on any operating system, written in any programing language to work together with bidStart. Developers can use the API to allow their program or application to retrieve information from bidStart related to listings, or ask bidStart to list new items, or perform various tasks on existing items. The API uses RESTful calls with responses formatted in CSV.
BraintreeBraintree API: BrainTree offers online merchants a payment gateway to enable the processing of credit card payments. Additionally, merchants are offered a merchant account, recurring billing and credit card storage.
The Braintree Gateway API can be used two ways: either Server-to-Server or Transparent Redirect. In the Server-to-Server scenario customers submit their credit card data on the developer website to their server. The Transparent Redirect API eliminates the handling and processing of credit card data from the developer’s environment.
Company Data Trees Mobile Website DetectionCompany Data Trees Mobile Website Detection API: Company Data Trees is a search engine for company data, linking companies with their various data points scattered around the web. Company Data Trees uses a system that uses a tree-like structure to store and retrieve data.
The Mobile API reports whether a URL shows a mobile-formatted website and Adobe Flash across 10 different mobile devices. It is used by ad networks to check for mobile inventory across their publisher networks. Marketing technology companies also use it to calculate the likelihood their prospects will purchase related mobile advertising services.
The API uses RESTful calls and responses are formatted in JSON.
Company Data Trees Parked DomainCompany Data Trees Parked Domain API: Company Data Trees is a search engine for company data, linking companies with their various data points scattered around the web. Company Data Trees uses a system that uses a tree-like structure to store and retrieve data.
The Parked Domain API detects if a given domain is parked. B2B data companies use it to purge dead businesses from marketing lists. Search engines and content analysis companies use it to remove unwanted web content from their databases.
The API uses RESTful calls and responses are formatted in JSON.
DoStuffMediaDoStuffMedia API: DoStuff Media is a company that helps local media companies and music festivals monetize their web sites by providing a technology that aggregates, organizes and displays critical information about the festival, all while incorporating social networking, sharing and interactive features.
The DoStuffMedia API is designed to allow access to the schedules for festivals and music events. Their API gives users access to the data for a specific festival and year. Users can cross reference data on bands and events. The API uses RESTful calls and responses are formatted in XML or JSON.
AppDirectAppDirect API: AppDirect offers a platform that allows businesses to find web based software solutions for their needs through application marketplaces. The AppDirect API allows developers to integrate their applications into the Business Application Network for distribution. The API uses RESTful calls and responses are formatted in XML.
bidStartbidStart API: bidStart is an online marketplace and community connecting buyers and sellers of collectibles; including stamps, coins, comics, sports cards and more; offering auction & store items. The bidStart API allows different programs and applications on any operating system, written in any programing language to work together with bidStart. Developers can use the API to allow their program or application to retrieve information from bidStart related to listings, or ask bidStart to list new items, or perform various tasks on existing items. The API uses RESTful calls with responses formatted in CSV.
BraintreeBraintree API: BrainTree offers online merchants a payment gateway to enable the processing of credit card payments. Additionally, merchants are offered a merchant account, recurring billing and credit card storage.
The Braintree Gateway API can be used two ways: either Server-to-Server or Transparent Redirect. In the Server-to-Server scenario customers submit their credit card data on the developer website to their server. The Transparent Redirect API eliminates the handling and processing of credit card data from the developer’s environment.
Company Data Trees Mobile Website DetectionCompany Data Trees Mobile Website Detection API: Company Data Trees is a search engine for company data, linking companies with their various data points scattered around the web. Company Data Trees uses a system that uses a tree-like structure to store and retrieve data.
The Mobile API reports whether a URL shows a mobile-formatted website and Adobe Flash across 10 different mobile devices. It is used by ad networks to check for mobile inventory across their publisher networks. Marketing technology companies also use it to calculate the likelihood their prospects will purchase related mobile advertising services.
The API uses RESTful calls and responses are formatted in JSON.
Company Data Trees Parked DomainCompany Data Trees Parked Domain API: Company Data Trees is a search engine for company data, linking companies with their various data points scattered around the web. Company Data Trees uses a system that uses a tree-like structure to store and retrieve data.
The Parked Domain API detects if a given domain is parked. B2B data companies use it to purge dead businesses from marketing lists. Search engines and content analysis companies use it to remove unwanted web content from their databases.
The API uses RESTful calls and responses are formatted in JSON.
DoStuffMediaDoStuffMedia API: DoStuff Media is a company that helps local media companies and music festivals monetize their web sites by providing a technology that aggregates, organizes and displays critical information about the festival, all while incorporating social networking, sharing and interactive features.
The DoStuffMedia API is designed to allow access to the schedules for festivals and music events. Their API gives users access to the data for a specific festival and year. Users can cross reference data on bands and events. The API uses RESTful calls and responses are formatted in XML or JSON.
People in Business: May 15, 2011
Cathy Calfo has been named executive director of California Certified Organic Farmers in Santa Cruz, which certifies 2,400 organic farmers, processors, retailers and private labelers.
She has been executive director of the national Apollo Alliance, based in San Francisco, working to promote clean energy and good jobs. She was California's deputy state treasurer between 1999 and 2004, leading strategic initiatives and overseeing the department's legislative and communications programs.
Calfo is a founding member of the Santa Cruz Commission for the Prevention of Violence against Women and served on the city planning commission and the board of directors of a local homeless shelter for teens. She graduated from UC Santa Cruz with a bachelor's degree in American Studies. Calfo has lived in Santa Cruz since 1975 and has three sons: Kris, Kaj and Elijah.
Matthew Swinnerton has joined a local credit card processing company, Transaction.SC in Santa Cruz. His main role will be to acquire new clients and promote and market Transaction.SC's Santa Cruz brand. A 13-year veteran of the credit card processing/merchant account industry, he formerly was with Cruzio.
Matthew O'Brien, a Santa Cruz resident, has qualified as a "championship" agent by Farmers Insurance for his outstanding overall performance. He achieved a high sales volume for auto, home, life and business policies while maintaining high client retention and profitability. O'Brien will attend a conference in San Francisco May 22-26 to discuss new business strategies and issues affecting customers; only 199 earned the honor of attending out of more than 17,000 agents.
Eric J Costello, an Edward Jones financial adviser in Aptos, qualified for the firm's inaugural 2011 Financial Advisor Leaders Conference this month in St. Louis. Costello was one of only 290 financial advisers to qualify out of more than 10,000.
J.J. Kaye of Santa Cruz has been named to the HALO Branded Solutions President's Club for sales achievement. He is in the top 10 percent of the company's 800-person nationwide sales force. Kaye has been an accounting executive for HALO for nearly two decades.
Earthbound Farm in San Juan Batista has filled three new positions. Judy Chen was named chief marketing officer, Sandy Whitehouse was named chief human resources officer and Will Daniels was named senior vice president of operations and organic integrity.
Chen has more than 15 years of marketing experience. She was group leader, marketing and business development for Chiquita Brands. Before that, she was with Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream and Clorox.
Whitehouse has more than 15 years experience in human resources. She was vice president of human resources for Orchard Supply Hardware, and before that she was with Sears.
Daniels formerly was senior vice president quality, food safety and organic integrity.
VirnetX Holding Corp. in Scotts Valley has promoted three employees. Victor Larson was named vice president of research and development, Jon Weaklend was named vice president of finance and Greg Wood was named vice president of corporate communications.
Larson will continue to direct VirnetX's research and development efforts as it moves toward securing the emerging 4G mobile markets. He is a co-inventor of VirnetX's technology.
Weaklend has been VirnetX's controller since 2008 and has more than 30 years of financial experience.
Wood has more than 15 years of brand experience that includes McDonald's, Safeway, Nissan, Burger King, Taco Bell, Nutri-System, Supercuts and Pacific Gas & Electric Co.
Also, Dustan Sheehan has been hired as webmaster. A graduate of UC Santa Cruz, he has more then 11 years of design experience and will be responsible for VirnetX's web services and technical communications.
She has been executive director of the national Apollo Alliance, based in San Francisco, working to promote clean energy and good jobs. She was California's deputy state treasurer between 1999 and 2004, leading strategic initiatives and overseeing the department's legislative and communications programs.
Calfo is a founding member of the Santa Cruz Commission for the Prevention of Violence against Women and served on the city planning commission and the board of directors of a local homeless shelter for teens. She graduated from UC Santa Cruz with a bachelor's degree in American Studies. Calfo has lived in Santa Cruz since 1975 and has three sons: Kris, Kaj and Elijah.
Matthew Swinnerton has joined a local credit card processing company, Transaction.SC in Santa Cruz. His main role will be to acquire new clients and promote and market Transaction.SC's Santa Cruz brand. A 13-year veteran of the credit card processing/merchant account industry, he formerly was with Cruzio.
Matthew O'Brien, a Santa Cruz resident, has qualified as a "championship" agent by Farmers Insurance for his outstanding overall performance. He achieved a high sales volume for auto, home, life and business policies while maintaining high client retention and profitability. O'Brien will attend a conference in San Francisco May 22-26 to discuss new business strategies and issues affecting customers; only 199 earned the honor of attending out of more than 17,000 agents.
Eric J Costello, an Edward Jones financial adviser in Aptos, qualified for the firm's inaugural 2011 Financial Advisor Leaders Conference this month in St. Louis. Costello was one of only 290 financial advisers to qualify out of more than 10,000.
J.J. Kaye of Santa Cruz has been named to the HALO Branded Solutions President's Club for sales achievement. He is in the top 10 percent of the company's 800-person nationwide sales force. Kaye has been an accounting executive for HALO for nearly two decades.
Earthbound Farm in San Juan Batista has filled three new positions. Judy Chen was named chief marketing officer, Sandy Whitehouse was named chief human resources officer and Will Daniels was named senior vice president of operations and organic integrity.
Chen has more than 15 years of marketing experience. She was group leader, marketing and business development for Chiquita Brands. Before that, she was with Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream and Clorox.
Whitehouse has more than 15 years experience in human resources. She was vice president of human resources for Orchard Supply Hardware, and before that she was with Sears.
Daniels formerly was senior vice president quality, food safety and organic integrity.
VirnetX Holding Corp. in Scotts Valley has promoted three employees. Victor Larson was named vice president of research and development, Jon Weaklend was named vice president of finance and Greg Wood was named vice president of corporate communications.
Larson will continue to direct VirnetX's research and development efforts as it moves toward securing the emerging 4G mobile markets. He is a co-inventor of VirnetX's technology.
Weaklend has been VirnetX's controller since 2008 and has more than 30 years of financial experience.
Wood has more than 15 years of brand experience that includes McDonald's, Safeway, Nissan, Burger King, Taco Bell, Nutri-System, Supercuts and Pacific Gas & Electric Co.
Also, Dustan Sheehan has been hired as webmaster. A graduate of UC Santa Cruz, he has more then 11 years of design experience and will be responsible for VirnetX's web services and technical communications.
2011年5月10日 星期二
American National Bank Chooses Clearent as Merchant Services Provider
Today Clearent announced a partnership with American National Bank to provide merchant services to the bank’s commercial customers in North Central Texas.
American National Bank embarked on a search for a new merchant account service provider to help them grow and manage their program. “Because of the issues we experienced in the past, finding a partner that was dedicated to providing superior customer service was at the top of our list,” remarked Roy Olsen, SVP/Cashier of American National Bank. “Our customers expect their questions to be answered quickly and accurately, and Clearent helps us do just that. It’s easy to see that their experienced team is committed to providing the same level of service that our customers have come to know and expect.”
Clearent’s innovative technology was another driving factor behind American National Bank’s decision to change providers. “We now have access to an intuitive, graphical interface for boarding our merchants. Clearent’s system is so easy to use that we’ve been able to get merchants up and processing faster, and even reduce the amount of time it takes to train our employees,” said Olsen.
In addition, American National Bank now has access to a suite of online tools that makes it easier to manage their program and provide better service to their merchants. Olsen continued, “With our last provider, it was very difficult to get the data we were looking for. Clearent’s online reporting tools are unlike any in the industry. We get the answers we’re looking for quickly and easily.”
American National Bank was also extremely pleased with their conversion to Clearent, including how quickly it was completed and the hands-on support they received throughout the process. Olsen commented, “Thanks to Clearent, we were able to convert 95% of our merchants in just a few weeks. They were right here, helping us manage the process and reaching out to our customers to make sure each step of the plan was executed smoothly.”
“We’re excited to have the opportunity to support American National Bank as their merchant account service provider,” remarked Dan Geraty, CEO of Clearent. “Now more than ever, providing superior customer service is a critical focus for banks. We’re committed to delivering exceptional support, along with a full range of products and services to support American National Bank’s growing portfolio.”
American National Bank embarked on a search for a new merchant account service provider to help them grow and manage their program. “Because of the issues we experienced in the past, finding a partner that was dedicated to providing superior customer service was at the top of our list,” remarked Roy Olsen, SVP/Cashier of American National Bank. “Our customers expect their questions to be answered quickly and accurately, and Clearent helps us do just that. It’s easy to see that their experienced team is committed to providing the same level of service that our customers have come to know and expect.”
Clearent’s innovative technology was another driving factor behind American National Bank’s decision to change providers. “We now have access to an intuitive, graphical interface for boarding our merchants. Clearent’s system is so easy to use that we’ve been able to get merchants up and processing faster, and even reduce the amount of time it takes to train our employees,” said Olsen.
In addition, American National Bank now has access to a suite of online tools that makes it easier to manage their program and provide better service to their merchants. Olsen continued, “With our last provider, it was very difficult to get the data we were looking for. Clearent’s online reporting tools are unlike any in the industry. We get the answers we’re looking for quickly and easily.”
American National Bank was also extremely pleased with their conversion to Clearent, including how quickly it was completed and the hands-on support they received throughout the process. Olsen commented, “Thanks to Clearent, we were able to convert 95% of our merchants in just a few weeks. They were right here, helping us manage the process and reaching out to our customers to make sure each step of the plan was executed smoothly.”
“We’re excited to have the opportunity to support American National Bank as their merchant account service provider,” remarked Dan Geraty, CEO of Clearent. “Now more than ever, providing superior customer service is a critical focus for banks. We’re committed to delivering exceptional support, along with a full range of products and services to support American National Bank’s growing portfolio.”
The Real Enemy of Unions
Last August, on a blazing-hot Nebraska evening, I sat in a cool hotel bar in downtown Omaha and listened as a team of Dockers-clad union organizers joked, drank, and argued their way into an alliance with a group of southern and western ranchers. The organizers, from the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), made a simple argument: Meat-packing houses like JBS and Smithfield — their already immense power swelled from years of mergers — are using their dominance of cattle markets to hammer down what they pay for beef and for in-house unionized meatcutters. So rather than “scrap over nickels,” perhaps the ranchers and workers should lock arms and fight for bigger stakes.
Cowboys and labor? Plotting together? Polo shirt and bolo tie? In recent years, the two groups have, on occasion, signed the same statements against foreign trade. But closer to home, ranchers and unions have tended to view one another as rivals for the same wafer-thin slice of the retail dollar — and as parties on opposite ends of a gaping cultural divide. “It wasn’t easy,” one union organizer summed it up recently. “In recent years, we have not been friends.”
Yet half a year on, it’s evident that the alliance was no momentary fling, no mere “enemy of my enemy” excuse to clink a few beer bottles before stumbling back to opposite ends of the political corral. When the Justice Department held a series of hearings last year on concentration in agriculture markets, including cattle, the UFCW helped to pack the room for the cattlemen’s testimony, one of the only times in recent decades that an American labor union has promoted stronger enforcement of anti-monopoly law.
And in exchange? While in that room, the UFCW got a chance to make the case that the trustbusters should take on Walmart. The union views the retailing goliath as the main force smashing down the wages and benefits of the retail workers the union represents. More to the point, the union has also come to view Walmart as the real power driving the big meatpackers’ assault on both cattlemen and packing- house workers. (The basic thinking here is that Walmart now controls such a giant swath of the U.S. marketplace that it can dictate prices even to the biggest of suppliers, which leaves less money in the system for the people who actually produce goods and provide labor.)
Ever since Scott Walker and the Republican Party of Wisconsin set out to bust the public-sector unions in that state, one of the biggest questions in American politics has been whether organized labor, seventy-five years after winning a seat at the mahogany table, is about to get the bum’s rush. And if so, what does this mean for the Democratic Party and for popular politics in general?
Yet the future may be brighter than even the most optimistic of union members hope. If, that is, the UFCW’s example inspires the rest of organized labor to open its eyes to the political and economic dangers posed by the radical consolidation evident in most sectors of America’s political economy over the last generation. Doing so would give organized labor a far more complete and sophisticated grasp of how the few exert power over the many in America today. And it would arm organized workers with a message that enables them to reach out to all sorts of economic groups that now tend to oppose labor politically—not least America’s independent entrepreneurs.
In a recent editorial, the Wall Street Journal urged GOP operatives to attack the “monopoly power” of unions to win votes and undermine popular political structures. If organized workers respond in kind, and attack the monopoly power of actual monopolists—the people who pose real threats to the economic and political well-being of the great majority of Americans—maybe they too would win some votes. Better yet, maybe they could begin to undermine the ideological and institutional foundations of the very groups that are now using both major parties to organize the assault against labor.
Cowboys and labor? Plotting together? Polo shirt and bolo tie? In recent years, the two groups have, on occasion, signed the same statements against foreign trade. But closer to home, ranchers and unions have tended to view one another as rivals for the same wafer-thin slice of the retail dollar — and as parties on opposite ends of a gaping cultural divide. “It wasn’t easy,” one union organizer summed it up recently. “In recent years, we have not been friends.”
Yet half a year on, it’s evident that the alliance was no momentary fling, no mere “enemy of my enemy” excuse to clink a few beer bottles before stumbling back to opposite ends of the political corral. When the Justice Department held a series of hearings last year on concentration in agriculture markets, including cattle, the UFCW helped to pack the room for the cattlemen’s testimony, one of the only times in recent decades that an American labor union has promoted stronger enforcement of anti-monopoly law.
And in exchange? While in that room, the UFCW got a chance to make the case that the trustbusters should take on Walmart. The union views the retailing goliath as the main force smashing down the wages and benefits of the retail workers the union represents. More to the point, the union has also come to view Walmart as the real power driving the big meatpackers’ assault on both cattlemen and packing- house workers. (The basic thinking here is that Walmart now controls such a giant swath of the U.S. marketplace that it can dictate prices even to the biggest of suppliers, which leaves less money in the system for the people who actually produce goods and provide labor.)
Ever since Scott Walker and the Republican Party of Wisconsin set out to bust the public-sector unions in that state, one of the biggest questions in American politics has been whether organized labor, seventy-five years after winning a seat at the mahogany table, is about to get the bum’s rush. And if so, what does this mean for the Democratic Party and for popular politics in general?
Yet the future may be brighter than even the most optimistic of union members hope. If, that is, the UFCW’s example inspires the rest of organized labor to open its eyes to the political and economic dangers posed by the radical consolidation evident in most sectors of America’s political economy over the last generation. Doing so would give organized labor a far more complete and sophisticated grasp of how the few exert power over the many in America today. And it would arm organized workers with a message that enables them to reach out to all sorts of economic groups that now tend to oppose labor politically—not least America’s independent entrepreneurs.
In a recent editorial, the Wall Street Journal urged GOP operatives to attack the “monopoly power” of unions to win votes and undermine popular political structures. If organized workers respond in kind, and attack the monopoly power of actual monopolists—the people who pose real threats to the economic and political well-being of the great majority of Americans—maybe they too would win some votes. Better yet, maybe they could begin to undermine the ideological and institutional foundations of the very groups that are now using both major parties to organize the assault against labor.
2011年5月8日 星期日
The foolishness of Civil War reenactors
Last month, the Civil War sesquicentennial began with a bang with a "living history" event in Charleston, S.C., that commemorated the firing on Fort Sumter, the momentous act of violence that started the war.
If you’re not familiar with what "living history" means, this is a term that Civil War reenactors use to describe their hobby of dressing up in Union and Confederate uniforms and acting out battles and other significant events that occurred between 1861 and 1865. On April 12, 1861, Confederate forces fired (for real) on Fort Sumter, a military installation manned by federal troops, and continued the bombardment for more than 30 hours, when, outgunned and almost out of supplies, the Union commander, Major Robert Anderson, surrendered the fort and its garrison. It was the fall of Fort Sumter that began the Civil War, and modern reenactors pretended to do it all over again, only this time they did not use live ammunition, did not keep modern Charlestonians from getting their sleep by sustaining the thunder of cannons through the night, and presumably did no damage to the preserved stone walls of the Fort Sumter National Monument, which is located on an island in the middle of Charleston harbor.
In fact, the "living historians" at Charleston fudged the history more than a little by firing their first shot at the fort at 6:45 in the morning rather than at the very famous historical time of 4:30 a.m. Presumably, this enabled the reenactors to sleep a little later than their historical counterparts did 150 years ago. Then, when the mortar shot was finally fired to begin the reenactment, it barely sailed up 40 yards or so into the sky, although the noise it made was, according to the Charleston Post and Courier, "thunderous." But the newspaper also reported that the pyrotechnics left something to be desired: Rather than the "star shell" of a century and a half ago, the explosion seemed more like a "bottle rocket." The fireworks technician in charge of the mortar shot explained that the burst was "intentionally weak, as a safety precaution to the crowds of people on hand to witness the waterfront ceremony." So much for historical accuracy.
If you’re not familiar with what "living history" means, this is a term that Civil War reenactors use to describe their hobby of dressing up in Union and Confederate uniforms and acting out battles and other significant events that occurred between 1861 and 1865. On April 12, 1861, Confederate forces fired (for real) on Fort Sumter, a military installation manned by federal troops, and continued the bombardment for more than 30 hours, when, outgunned and almost out of supplies, the Union commander, Major Robert Anderson, surrendered the fort and its garrison. It was the fall of Fort Sumter that began the Civil War, and modern reenactors pretended to do it all over again, only this time they did not use live ammunition, did not keep modern Charlestonians from getting their sleep by sustaining the thunder of cannons through the night, and presumably did no damage to the preserved stone walls of the Fort Sumter National Monument, which is located on an island in the middle of Charleston harbor.
In fact, the "living historians" at Charleston fudged the history more than a little by firing their first shot at the fort at 6:45 in the morning rather than at the very famous historical time of 4:30 a.m. Presumably, this enabled the reenactors to sleep a little later than their historical counterparts did 150 years ago. Then, when the mortar shot was finally fired to begin the reenactment, it barely sailed up 40 yards or so into the sky, although the noise it made was, according to the Charleston Post and Courier, "thunderous." But the newspaper also reported that the pyrotechnics left something to be desired: Rather than the "star shell" of a century and a half ago, the explosion seemed more like a "bottle rocket." The fireworks technician in charge of the mortar shot explained that the burst was "intentionally weak, as a safety precaution to the crowds of people on hand to witness the waterfront ceremony." So much for historical accuracy.
Towards a Cashless Economy
Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, announces new policy measures designed to reduce excessive use of cash in the economy
In recent times, the bankers, committee meeting has become a forum where the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, unveils its monetary policies, especially those affecting the banking sector. It was at that forum that Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, governor of the CBN, announced the sacking of chief executives of eight banks that were pronounced technically distressed. It was, therefore, not surprising that Sanusi chose the April 28, monthly meeting of the bankers’ committee to announce new guidelines on cash withdrawals from banks.
Under the new CBN policy contained in a circular titled: ‘Industry Policy on Retail Cash Collection and Lodgement; signed by Mohammed Nda, CBN director, Currency Operations Department, individuals can only withdraw or lodge a maximum of N150,000 cash per day while the limit for companies is put at N1 million per day with effect from June I, 2012.
The guidelines spell out sanction, for individuals and companies that flout the new cash policy. For individuals that make cash transactions above the daily limit, they would be surcharged N100 per every N1000 while the penalty for a corporate organisation that exceeds the one million daily withdrawal limit is pegged at N200 per every N1000.
The new policy also directs banks to cease cash-in-transit lodgement services hitherto rendered to merchant customers. The banks are, instead, to engage the services of the CBN licenced cash-in-transit,CIT, companies to aid cash movements to and from their banks at mutually agreed terms. The sanction for any bank that flouts the ban on cash-in-transit lodgement services is one million Naira per specie movement.
To achieve effective inter-operation ability of local currency point of sales, POS, transactions, the CBN has removed the exclusivity clause by any financial services providers. What this implies is that no card scheme, whether foreign or local, shall be permitted to operate exclusive acquirer agreement or contract in Nigeria with effect from the stipulated implementation date.
The CBN also spelt out penalties for defaulting payments scheme, processors and switching companies that would fail to adhere strictly to the new order. According to the apex bank, any payment scheme, processors, switching company, service provider or banks that contravenes the no-exclusivity policy, risks suspension for a minimum of one month in the first instance and a possible withdrawal of its licence if the contravention is repeated.
Also third party cheques above N150, 000 shall not be eligible for encashment over the counter as from June 1, 2012 as the value for such cheques shall be received through the clearing house. The policy says where any bank that allows third party cheque encashment above the limit, shall be liable to a sanction of whichever is higher of 10 percent of the face value of the cheque or N100 ,000.
The new policy shall apply to both public and private sector transactions and ,therefore, the CBN directs all financial institutions including Mortgage and Microfinance Banks as well as cash-in-transit companies, payments system service providers, interswitch, card acquirers, issuers and providers to take appropriate measures to ensure compliance. The apex bank has instructed the Banking Supervision Department and other Financial Institutions Supervision Department to monitor compliance with the policy by the relevant institutions. Banks are also advised to carry out public awareness programmes to enlighten their customers about the policy and to also educate them on alternative electronic payment channels available to them.
Under the implementation guidelines, the pilot phase of the policy shall be in force in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Kano, Aba and the Federal Capital Territory before its extension to other parts of the country.
According to the CBN, the policy is aimed at reducing high usage of cash, moderate its cost management and encourage the use of electronic channels. It explained that the new policy was premised on the increasing dominance of cash in the economy with its implication for cost of cash management to the banking industry, security and money laundering.
Expectedly, the new CBN policy is currently generating sharp reactions from Nigerians. Businessmen, private and public servants see the new policy as a bitter pill to swallow. Chinedu Ozor, who deals in electronics in Alaba market, feels the new policy would hurt traders more given the fact that their business is on a cash-and-carry basis. “My brother, on a daily basis we need lots of cash to transact our business and so that means I cannot withdraw more than N150,000 when, in some occasions, I need up to N5 million to take delivery of my products.”
Edwin Asemota, managing director of Esaco Ventures, is equally worried over the new policy. He said his staff emolument alone takes more than four million Naira and in most cases, he needs up to N10 million to transact business. With the new policy on cash withdrawal, he laments that doing business would be difficult since he would be surcharged for any time he withdraws more than the stipulated amount.
Joseph Chibundu, a trader at Ladipo market, Lagos, has also found the policy unrealistic. His quarrel is not really with the merit of the policy but with the stipulated limits for individuals and corporate account holders which he described as too low. He would want the CBN to raise the limit for individual from N150, 000 to N500, 000 and corporate account from one to two million Naira.
Another area of concern by many Nigerians is the electronic money transfer scheme that was introduced into the country almost a decade ago. Bamidele Olusegun, a former bank examiner, foresees a problem in the area of money transfer. He argues that eventhough the CBN stated that the policy is aimed at checking money laundering and also to add value to Naira in the face of the growing two digit inflationary ratio in the country, the policy could be abused as is the case with beneficiaries of Western Union who end up being short-changed by operating banks.
Those who have also frowned at the policy argue that the high level of illiteracy in the country, low level of banking population and porous e-banking system are factors that would work against its success of the scheme. For instance, many have argued that if the idea is to promote e-banking by encouraging the use of e-payment channels like Automated Teller Machines, ATM, the wide-scale fraud associated with its use would make the policy counter productive. Olufemi Timothy, president, Renaissance Shareholders’ Association, said the policy could further dampen the savings culture in the country.
Bismark Rewane, managing director of Financial Derivatives Company Limited, wants Sanusi to tread with caution because if the policy is rushed like the way it is done now with just a year before implementation, it would turn out to be counter productive. He noted that the transformation from a cash-centric to a plastic economy, which is the intention of CBN, it will need a longer period than one year. He prefers a gradual introduction to enable the fundamental structures to be put in place.
However, some Nigerians have applauded the policy. Akin Akeredolu, public relations officer, Association of Stock broking Houses of Nigeria, ASHON, says the policy is laudable and healthy for the nation’s development. He faults insinuations that the policy would discourage saving culture.
Since his appointment, Sanusi, a renowed risk management expert, has not hidden his desire to make Nigeria a cashless economy as one of the strategies to reduce inflation in the country. Before the new policy was announced, the CBN had disclosed its intention to introduce a mobile payment scheme in the country by next month. Mobile payment is the means of payment for goods and services with such mobile devices such as phones.
In recent times, banks have encouraged their customers to use ATM cards. And in order to enforce the use of e-payment cards for transactions so as to discourage congestion in the banking halls, some banks have even introduced surcharge on withdrawals over the counter.
In recent times, the bankers, committee meeting has become a forum where the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, unveils its monetary policies, especially those affecting the banking sector. It was at that forum that Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, governor of the CBN, announced the sacking of chief executives of eight banks that were pronounced technically distressed. It was, therefore, not surprising that Sanusi chose the April 28, monthly meeting of the bankers’ committee to announce new guidelines on cash withdrawals from banks.
Under the new CBN policy contained in a circular titled: ‘Industry Policy on Retail Cash Collection and Lodgement; signed by Mohammed Nda, CBN director, Currency Operations Department, individuals can only withdraw or lodge a maximum of N150,000 cash per day while the limit for companies is put at N1 million per day with effect from June I, 2012.
The guidelines spell out sanction, for individuals and companies that flout the new cash policy. For individuals that make cash transactions above the daily limit, they would be surcharged N100 per every N1000 while the penalty for a corporate organisation that exceeds the one million daily withdrawal limit is pegged at N200 per every N1000.
The new policy also directs banks to cease cash-in-transit lodgement services hitherto rendered to merchant customers. The banks are, instead, to engage the services of the CBN licenced cash-in-transit,CIT, companies to aid cash movements to and from their banks at mutually agreed terms. The sanction for any bank that flouts the ban on cash-in-transit lodgement services is one million Naira per specie movement.
To achieve effective inter-operation ability of local currency point of sales, POS, transactions, the CBN has removed the exclusivity clause by any financial services providers. What this implies is that no card scheme, whether foreign or local, shall be permitted to operate exclusive acquirer agreement or contract in Nigeria with effect from the stipulated implementation date.
The CBN also spelt out penalties for defaulting payments scheme, processors and switching companies that would fail to adhere strictly to the new order. According to the apex bank, any payment scheme, processors, switching company, service provider or banks that contravenes the no-exclusivity policy, risks suspension for a minimum of one month in the first instance and a possible withdrawal of its licence if the contravention is repeated.
Also third party cheques above N150, 000 shall not be eligible for encashment over the counter as from June 1, 2012 as the value for such cheques shall be received through the clearing house. The policy says where any bank that allows third party cheque encashment above the limit, shall be liable to a sanction of whichever is higher of 10 percent of the face value of the cheque or N100 ,000.
The new policy shall apply to both public and private sector transactions and ,therefore, the CBN directs all financial institutions including Mortgage and Microfinance Banks as well as cash-in-transit companies, payments system service providers, interswitch, card acquirers, issuers and providers to take appropriate measures to ensure compliance. The apex bank has instructed the Banking Supervision Department and other Financial Institutions Supervision Department to monitor compliance with the policy by the relevant institutions. Banks are also advised to carry out public awareness programmes to enlighten their customers about the policy and to also educate them on alternative electronic payment channels available to them.
Under the implementation guidelines, the pilot phase of the policy shall be in force in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Kano, Aba and the Federal Capital Territory before its extension to other parts of the country.
According to the CBN, the policy is aimed at reducing high usage of cash, moderate its cost management and encourage the use of electronic channels. It explained that the new policy was premised on the increasing dominance of cash in the economy with its implication for cost of cash management to the banking industry, security and money laundering.
Expectedly, the new CBN policy is currently generating sharp reactions from Nigerians. Businessmen, private and public servants see the new policy as a bitter pill to swallow. Chinedu Ozor, who deals in electronics in Alaba market, feels the new policy would hurt traders more given the fact that their business is on a cash-and-carry basis. “My brother, on a daily basis we need lots of cash to transact our business and so that means I cannot withdraw more than N150,000 when, in some occasions, I need up to N5 million to take delivery of my products.”
Edwin Asemota, managing director of Esaco Ventures, is equally worried over the new policy. He said his staff emolument alone takes more than four million Naira and in most cases, he needs up to N10 million to transact business. With the new policy on cash withdrawal, he laments that doing business would be difficult since he would be surcharged for any time he withdraws more than the stipulated amount.
Joseph Chibundu, a trader at Ladipo market, Lagos, has also found the policy unrealistic. His quarrel is not really with the merit of the policy but with the stipulated limits for individuals and corporate account holders which he described as too low. He would want the CBN to raise the limit for individual from N150, 000 to N500, 000 and corporate account from one to two million Naira.
Another area of concern by many Nigerians is the electronic money transfer scheme that was introduced into the country almost a decade ago. Bamidele Olusegun, a former bank examiner, foresees a problem in the area of money transfer. He argues that eventhough the CBN stated that the policy is aimed at checking money laundering and also to add value to Naira in the face of the growing two digit inflationary ratio in the country, the policy could be abused as is the case with beneficiaries of Western Union who end up being short-changed by operating banks.
Those who have also frowned at the policy argue that the high level of illiteracy in the country, low level of banking population and porous e-banking system are factors that would work against its success of the scheme. For instance, many have argued that if the idea is to promote e-banking by encouraging the use of e-payment channels like Automated Teller Machines, ATM, the wide-scale fraud associated with its use would make the policy counter productive. Olufemi Timothy, president, Renaissance Shareholders’ Association, said the policy could further dampen the savings culture in the country.
Bismark Rewane, managing director of Financial Derivatives Company Limited, wants Sanusi to tread with caution because if the policy is rushed like the way it is done now with just a year before implementation, it would turn out to be counter productive. He noted that the transformation from a cash-centric to a plastic economy, which is the intention of CBN, it will need a longer period than one year. He prefers a gradual introduction to enable the fundamental structures to be put in place.
However, some Nigerians have applauded the policy. Akin Akeredolu, public relations officer, Association of Stock broking Houses of Nigeria, ASHON, says the policy is laudable and healthy for the nation’s development. He faults insinuations that the policy would discourage saving culture.
Since his appointment, Sanusi, a renowed risk management expert, has not hidden his desire to make Nigeria a cashless economy as one of the strategies to reduce inflation in the country. Before the new policy was announced, the CBN had disclosed its intention to introduce a mobile payment scheme in the country by next month. Mobile payment is the means of payment for goods and services with such mobile devices such as phones.
In recent times, banks have encouraged their customers to use ATM cards. And in order to enforce the use of e-payment cards for transactions so as to discourage congestion in the banking halls, some banks have even introduced surcharge on withdrawals over the counter.
2011年5月5日 星期四
Updated: CCAvenue Payment Gateway Hacked: Report
Additionally, Anon, in the comments, says that “its still possible that someone accessed this backup somewhere in their file system on their server; and asks “if there was no hack, how is company confidential schema, employee data out in the public domain?” Note that Patel told us that it’s not “real live database schema”.
Akash Mahajan points out “Sorry for nitpicking but, Passwords need to be hashed. Hashing means one way encryption. This means once hashed there is no way of getting the original value back. Ideally secure passwords are salted and hashed. This helps in avoiding a dictionary attack against hashed passwords.”
More questions in the comments from asdf
Update 5: Hetal R on Twitter says that when he tried resetting a CCAvenue password, he got the plaintext password, and that is a security hole. He says that “By encrypted, it means non-decryptable. When you click on forgot password, a link should be sent, allowing password reset”. Sounds reasonable enough.
Update 4: Also read this Q&A with Patel, where he addresses some of the questions we received, and some claims made in that hacking report.
Update 3: the account of HackerRegiment.com, it appears, has been suspended. Details, last we checked, were still up at Pluggd.in and ClubHack. We’ve just got more details from Vishwas Patel, who says that the information that was published as ‘hacked’ was incorrect, and there is misinformation being spread. He’s pointed out a few things that point towards incorrect information.
Note that MediaNama is not in a position or qualified to determine hacker intent/claims or CCAvenue claims. We’ll let sides be represented. Take your pick.
Update 2: Patel further clarifies that “More than 85-90% of our transactions are netbanking and non-credit cards related transactions. Those transactions go through the bank server, where the end customer enters usernames and passwords, and we don’t store those. They are entered on the bank servers. There is no payment related info on our servers. CCAvenue is just a redirector in this case.”
Update 1: An initial response from Vishwas Patel, CEO of Avenues India, which owns CCAvenue, who says that he’ll get back to us after they’ve looked into this in detail. On the face of it, this is what he has to say: “From our side, we’ll have to look into it. It is not possible, because of the kind of application level firewalls that we have put up. We don’t store credit card numbers or any other kind of payment details because of the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards, and there is no credit card or payment related info on our servers. There are new standards that have come in, that is PCI DSS 2.0, which are more stringent than the earlier standards, and we have just completed the assessment under that last week.”
Earlier: CCAvenue, among India’s largest online payment gateway services, has been hacked using “Hidden SQL injection”, according to a report on HackerRegiment.com. Apparently, all admin passwords at CCAvenue have been leaked. HackerRegiment has published a copy of some if the information it received via email from a hacker called d3hydr8 (leetspeak for dehydrate), including a list of databases, some information on tables within the databases, and more importantly, screenshots that suggest that administrator passwords may have leaked. Please note that MediaNama is unable to confirm the veracity of this report – calls, SMS’ and emails to Avenues India CEO Vishwas Patel await a response.
A MediaNama reader informs us that they’ve just made a payment via CCAvenue, so it appears that it is still active. HackerRegiment says it has informed India’s Computer Emergency Response Team. We’ll update in case we get a response from CCAvenue.
Akash Mahajan points out “Sorry for nitpicking but, Passwords need to be hashed. Hashing means one way encryption. This means once hashed there is no way of getting the original value back. Ideally secure passwords are salted and hashed. This helps in avoiding a dictionary attack against hashed passwords.”
More questions in the comments from asdf
Update 5: Hetal R on Twitter says that when he tried resetting a CCAvenue password, he got the plaintext password, and that is a security hole. He says that “By encrypted, it means non-decryptable. When you click on forgot password, a link should be sent, allowing password reset”. Sounds reasonable enough.
Update 4: Also read this Q&A with Patel, where he addresses some of the questions we received, and some claims made in that hacking report.
Update 3: the account of HackerRegiment.com, it appears, has been suspended. Details, last we checked, were still up at Pluggd.in and ClubHack. We’ve just got more details from Vishwas Patel, who says that the information that was published as ‘hacked’ was incorrect, and there is misinformation being spread. He’s pointed out a few things that point towards incorrect information.
Note that MediaNama is not in a position or qualified to determine hacker intent/claims or CCAvenue claims. We’ll let sides be represented. Take your pick.
Update 2: Patel further clarifies that “More than 85-90% of our transactions are netbanking and non-credit cards related transactions. Those transactions go through the bank server, where the end customer enters usernames and passwords, and we don’t store those. They are entered on the bank servers. There is no payment related info on our servers. CCAvenue is just a redirector in this case.”
Update 1: An initial response from Vishwas Patel, CEO of Avenues India, which owns CCAvenue, who says that he’ll get back to us after they’ve looked into this in detail. On the face of it, this is what he has to say: “From our side, we’ll have to look into it. It is not possible, because of the kind of application level firewalls that we have put up. We don’t store credit card numbers or any other kind of payment details because of the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards, and there is no credit card or payment related info on our servers. There are new standards that have come in, that is PCI DSS 2.0, which are more stringent than the earlier standards, and we have just completed the assessment under that last week.”
Earlier: CCAvenue, among India’s largest online payment gateway services, has been hacked using “Hidden SQL injection”, according to a report on HackerRegiment.com. Apparently, all admin passwords at CCAvenue have been leaked. HackerRegiment has published a copy of some if the information it received via email from a hacker called d3hydr8 (leetspeak for dehydrate), including a list of databases, some information on tables within the databases, and more importantly, screenshots that suggest that administrator passwords may have leaked. Please note that MediaNama is unable to confirm the veracity of this report – calls, SMS’ and emails to Avenues India CEO Vishwas Patel await a response.
A MediaNama reader informs us that they’ve just made a payment via CCAvenue, so it appears that it is still active. HackerRegiment says it has informed India’s Computer Emergency Response Team. We’ll update in case we get a response from CCAvenue.
Square gets backing from Visa…and adds encryption
San Francisco startup Square which makes tiny card readers for smartphones that enable virtually anyone to process credit card transactions, has received an undisclosed strategic investment from Visa. Visa is the top credit card company on the planet: Visa’s investment in Square amounts to an endorsement of Square’s technology and ideas, which were recently very publicly challenged by Verifone for suffering from a fundamental security flaw.
Launched by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey in 2009, last year Square began offering free credit card readers to merchants and individuals on very simple 2.75 percent terms, with no merchant account or other complicated banking setup required to process credit card transactions. The Square reader pops into an Android or iOS smartphone via an audio port, and Square’s application software processes the rest of the transaction. Square has signed up hundreds of thousands of individuals and businesses, and the technology is widely seen as disruptive to the broader credit card industry, which thrives on processing fees to merchants and selling expensive point-of-sale card readers for processing transactions.
Few were surprised when credit card processor VeriFone came out against Square, but the public and aggressive nature of the attack were almost unprecedented, claiming that any programmer could make an app that skimmed consumer’s credit card information. At the heart of Verifone’s complaint was that the Square reader sends creditor card data to the smartphone in an unencrypted format, making it ripe for plucking by other applications.
Square’s Jack Dorsey responded that all the information anyone needs to “skim” a card is printed on the card itself, and any technology—including paper and pen—can be used to obtain that information, and noted that partner bank JPMorgan Chase didn’t have any problem with Square’s technology.
Nonetheless, now that Visa has made an unspecified investment in Square, the company plans to add encryption to its card readers. Square COO characterizes adding encryption to the card reader not as a capitulation to Verifone, but as an adoption of best practices.
“Square complies with all current industry standards, and we are committed to meeting or exceeding industry guidelines as they evolve — all while keeping our card reader free,” Rabois wrote.
Jack Dorsey recently returned to Twitter as executive chairman; he continues to serve as CEO of Square.
Launched by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey in 2009, last year Square began offering free credit card readers to merchants and individuals on very simple 2.75 percent terms, with no merchant account or other complicated banking setup required to process credit card transactions. The Square reader pops into an Android or iOS smartphone via an audio port, and Square’s application software processes the rest of the transaction. Square has signed up hundreds of thousands of individuals and businesses, and the technology is widely seen as disruptive to the broader credit card industry, which thrives on processing fees to merchants and selling expensive point-of-sale card readers for processing transactions.
Few were surprised when credit card processor VeriFone came out against Square, but the public and aggressive nature of the attack were almost unprecedented, claiming that any programmer could make an app that skimmed consumer’s credit card information. At the heart of Verifone’s complaint was that the Square reader sends creditor card data to the smartphone in an unencrypted format, making it ripe for plucking by other applications.
Square’s Jack Dorsey responded that all the information anyone needs to “skim” a card is printed on the card itself, and any technology—including paper and pen—can be used to obtain that information, and noted that partner bank JPMorgan Chase didn’t have any problem with Square’s technology.
Nonetheless, now that Visa has made an unspecified investment in Square, the company plans to add encryption to its card readers. Square COO characterizes adding encryption to the card reader not as a capitulation to Verifone, but as an adoption of best practices.
“Square complies with all current industry standards, and we are committed to meeting or exceeding industry guidelines as they evolve — all while keeping our card reader free,” Rabois wrote.
Jack Dorsey recently returned to Twitter as executive chairman; he continues to serve as CEO of Square.
2011年5月2日 星期一
Budget promises to again go unfulfilled?
The Finance Minister's Union Budget-2011 was received with gaiety. The budget promised several things which would all lead to better economic growth for the country. A big promise that was made was to bring down the country's fiscal deficit to 4.6% of GDP from the 2010 level of 5.1%. And another was to provide all support so that the economic growth continues at the higher trajectory.
However, as time has progressed, the key promises of the Union Budget 2011 appear to be getting challenged. The reason- higher crude oil prices. Since the budget was announced in February this year, crude oil prices have increased substantially. In fact, crude oil has touched US$ 125 per barrel. This is way higher than the Budget estimate of US$ 95 per barrel. This has put substantial pressure on the Government's fuel subsidy bill particularly with respect to diesel which forms nearly 60% of the total fuel subsidy.
As a result, the government has come under pressure to increase the prices of diesel. If it decides to follow this path, then it adds to the risk of higher inflation. The inflation would be compounded in the event of a failure in monsoons or any other global turmoil that leads to higher commodity prices. In addition, diesel pricing is a sensitive issue for electoral votes.
Therefore, the government now stands on crossroads. If it decides to take the path of increasing diesel prices, it risks higher inflation. This would lead to further pressures in the economy in the form of higher interest rates as well as slowing economic growth. If it decides to do nothing and allow diesel prices to remain where they are, then it risks a higher subsidy bill. This would lead to a burgeoning fiscal deficit. In either case, the promises made in the Union Budget appear to be in danger of remaining on paper. However, it is important to remember that reading too much into short-term economic forecasts can be very risky for investment decisions.
Do you think the Government will increase diesel prices soon? Share your comments with us or post your views on our facebook page.
However, as time has progressed, the key promises of the Union Budget 2011 appear to be getting challenged. The reason- higher crude oil prices. Since the budget was announced in February this year, crude oil prices have increased substantially. In fact, crude oil has touched US$ 125 per barrel. This is way higher than the Budget estimate of US$ 95 per barrel. This has put substantial pressure on the Government's fuel subsidy bill particularly with respect to diesel which forms nearly 60% of the total fuel subsidy.
As a result, the government has come under pressure to increase the prices of diesel. If it decides to follow this path, then it adds to the risk of higher inflation. The inflation would be compounded in the event of a failure in monsoons or any other global turmoil that leads to higher commodity prices. In addition, diesel pricing is a sensitive issue for electoral votes.
Therefore, the government now stands on crossroads. If it decides to take the path of increasing diesel prices, it risks higher inflation. This would lead to further pressures in the economy in the form of higher interest rates as well as slowing economic growth. If it decides to do nothing and allow diesel prices to remain where they are, then it risks a higher subsidy bill. This would lead to a burgeoning fiscal deficit. In either case, the promises made in the Union Budget appear to be in danger of remaining on paper. However, it is important to remember that reading too much into short-term economic forecasts can be very risky for investment decisions.
Do you think the Government will increase diesel prices soon? Share your comments with us or post your views on our facebook page.
訂閱：
文章 (Atom)