Fed Raises the key interest rate for the first time this year - and just the second time in 10 years

The Federal Reserve is raising a key interest rate for the first time in a year, reflecting a resilient U.S. economy and expectations of higher inflation.

The move will mean modestly higher rates on some loans.

The Fed signaled in a statement Wednesday that additional rate increases will likely be made slowly as the economy improves and inflation edges closer to the Fed's 2 percent target.

The central bank is increasing its benchmark rate by a quarter-point to a still-low range of 0.5 percent to 0.75 percent.

The Fed last raised the rate in December 2015 from a record low near zero set during the 2008 financial crisis.

President-elect Donald Trump's plans for tax cuts and infrastructure spending have led investors to expect that inflation will pick up in coming months.

The economy, after growing at an anemic annual rate of 1.1 percent in the first half of this year, accelerated to a 3.2 percent pace in the July-September quarter. That pickup has lifted hopes that the economy will keep rising, fueled by steady hiring gains. The unemployment rate is at a nine-year low of 4.6 percent.

In the month since Trump's victory, investors have sent stock prices surging to record highs and driven up bond yields. The markets have calculated that Republican control of Congress will enable Trump to cut taxes, ease regulations and accelerate infrastructure spending — and that higher economic growth, inflation and corporate profits will result.

The Fed's action Wednesday should have little effect on mortgages or auto and student loans. The Fed doesn't directly affect those rates, at least not in the short run. But rates on some other loans — notably credit cards, home equity loans and adjustable-rate mortgages — will likely rise soon, though only modestly. Those rates are based on benchmarks like banks' prime rate, which moves in tandem with the Fed's key rate.

Mortgage rates have been surging since Trump's election victory last month on expectations that his economic program will accelerate economic growth and inflation.

Some Fed watchers expect faster growth to lead the central bank to shift its focus from trying to energize the economy to considering ways to counter the risk of too-high inflation. On that assumption, some are revising their forecasts for Fed rate hikes in 2017.

Before Trump's victory, the consensus view of economists was for two Fed rate increases next year. Now, some say they foresee three or possibly as many as four. Others think the Fed will be hesitant to step up the pace of rate hikes. For one thing, Trump's economic program still must win congressional approval and could undergo significant change along the way.

Last month after Trump's election, Yellen told a congressional committee that Fed officials would be monitoring Congress' actions and 'updating our economic outlook as the policy landscape becomes clearer.'

Other Fed officials have endorsed that wait-and-see approach.

AP

BOI Gives First Phase Of Ooni-Secured Loan To MSMEs

The Bank of Industries (BOI) has commenced the distribution of cheques to 20 beneficiaries under the first phase of the one-billion-Naira Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund in Osun State.

The one-billion-Naira loan project is between the Bank of Industries and the House of Oduduwa under the leadership of the Ooni of Ife, H.I.M, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, Ojaja the second.

At the presentation of the cheques to the beneficiaries in Ile Ife, Osun State, the acting Managing Directors of BOI, Waheed Olagunju, said the project wass to enable the unemployed become an employer of labour.

He state that the 20 beneficiaries who received 30 million Naira in the first phase have undergone capacity building programme over the last six months to enable them sustain whatever business enterprises they go into.

The BOI boss said he was confident that about 80 to 90 per cent of the beneficiaries would succeed based on the capacity building training they had received.

He further explained that the loan would cover services and Agro-allied ‎businesses with repayment plan ranging between three and five years under a single digit interest rate of 7.5.

The Bank and the House of Oduduwa in Osun State on November 16 signed the one-billion-Naira agreement that would make loan facilities available to both women and youths in Ile-Ife.

‎‎Prominent among the features of the Memorandum of Understanding is the 7.5% interest rate to the beneficiaries.

Oba Ogunwusi signed for the House of Oduduwa while Mr Olagunju, represented the financial institution.

The monarch emphasised the need to get youths empowered, saying it was necessary for the nation’s continuous growth.

Trump sold all shares in companies earlier this year - Washington Post

President-elect Donald Trump sold all of his shares in companies in June, the Washington Post said on Tuesday, a move that would have raised substantial cash ahead of the presidential election and could ease concerns about potential conflicts of interest.

Trump's stock portfolio was worth roughly $40 million as of December 2015, the Post said, citing a May financial disclosure. His portfolio at that time included shares in a number of banks, oil giants and other companies with business pending before the U.S. government, the Post said.

Trump spokesman Jason Miller did not immediately say why Trump sold the shares or how much he received for them, the Post said. When asked earlier on Tuesday whether Trump still held shares in planemaker Boeing, Miller had told reporters he sold all his shares in June, but it was not clear whether he was speaking only about Boeing stock.

Reuters

High court sides with Samsung in patent dispute with Apple

A unanimous Supreme Court on Tuesday sided with smartphone maker Samsung in its high-profile patent dispute with Apple over design of the iPhone.

The justices said Samsung may not be required to pay all the profits it earned from 11 phone models because the features at issue are only a tiny part of the devices.

Apple had won a $399 million judgment against Samsung for copying parts of the iPhone's patented design, but the case now returns to a lower court to decide what Samsung must pay.

The case is part of a series of disputes between the technology rivals that began in 2011. Apple accused Samsung of duplicating a handful of distinctive iPhone features for which Apple holds patents: the flat screen, the rounded rectangle shape of the phone, and the layout of icons on the screen.

At issue was how much Samsung is required to compensate Apple under an 1887 law that requires patent infringers to pay "total profit." Apple said that meant all the profits from the phone sales, while Samsung argued it was limited to profits related to the specific components that were copied.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote for the court that the law does not require damages to be based on the entire product, but can be limited to only a component of the product. The decision overturned a ruling from a federal appeals court in Washington, which said that Apple was entitled to all the profits.

But the high court declined to lay out a specific test for how such damage awards should be calculated. Sotomayor said doing so was not necessary and the justices left it up to lower courts to resolve.

Samsung had argued that the hefty award ignored the fact that its phones contain more than 200,000 other patents that Apple does not own. Apple said the verdict was fair because the iPhone's success was directly tied to its distinctive look.

AP

Rice farmers seek total ban on sale of foreign rice

Rice farmers have urged state governments to follow the footstep of Ebonyi and ban the sale of foreign rice as a means of boosting local production.

Mr Aminu Goronyo, the National President, Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN), made the call in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja on Monday.

Goronyo was reacting to the current ban by the Ebonyi State Government on the sale of foreign rice in the state.

He said the ban would encourage local production of rice and impact positively on the economy of the country.

“We are going to Ebonyi State to pay a solidarity visit to the governor for that kind of effort that he made. It is a commendable effort and we urge all the state governors in this country to follow suit.

“I think, it is part of efforts to make Nigerians to eat Nigeria’s homegrown rice. We have available rice that we produce locally,’’ the national president said.

Expert disagrees with Senate over bill to establish chartered institute of entrepreneurs …calls for a more friendly entrepreneurial ecosystem

The President of Africa's Young Entrepreneurs, Mr. Summy Smart Francis has disagreed with the Senate over the passing of a bill that will establish the Chartered Institute of Entrepreneurs which would regulate the practice of entrepreneurs in Nigeria.


The bill which was sponsored by Senator Ganiyu Solomon seeks to “advance the study, training and practice of entrepreneurship and determine the standards of knowledge for persons seeking to become entrepreneurs.”


In a release exclusively obtained by BRANDINFO, Francis said entrepreneurs in the country does not need such bill, adding that what entrepreneurs need is for the government to create a more friendly entrepreneurial ecosystem by forming policies that could aid business growth.


According to him, having a “Chartered Institute of Entrepreneurs” will mean one day, we could have a “Chartered Institute of Smart People” or better still a Chartered Institute of Pure water sellers.

He noted that entrepreneurship most times is solely built on passion and perseverance to dare to tread where others have not, saying that in developed countries it is even considered as a behavioral characteristics of a person who desires to make profit from what he/she loves doing but due to the high level of unemployment in many African countries, it has become an alternative for job creation.

“Entrepreneurship is the process of designing, launching and running a business, offering a product, process or service for sale or hire. It is the capacity and willingness to develop, organize and manage a business venture along with its attendant risks in order to make a profit. An entrepreneur is any individual who identifies opportunities, new possibilities, unmet market needs, evaluate them as viable, decide to exploit them (where others do not) and in turn, create wealth.”

“Chartered status on the other hand, is a form of accreditation and a mark of professional competency. Many chartered statuses require initial academic preparation, normally to bachelor’s level but sometimes to master’s level (or equivalent experience). From the woman selling groceries on the roadside to the CEO of a multi-million conglomerate, the young boy who sells sweets to his friends during lunch break in school to the old farmer who supplies milk to his community are all entrepreneurs. Who then are we regulating?” Francis stated.

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Nigeria's Naira Depreciates Further Against Dollar

The Naira is seen weakening further against the United States dollar next week amid a crackdown in the parallel market currency traders and the persistent scarcity of the greenback.

Reuters reported that foreign exchange demand by small businesses was set to surge ahead of holiday season sales.

The local currency fell 2.08 per cent week-on-week on Thursday to 480 to the dollar on the parallel market against 470 a dollar last week, while it was quoted by commercial lenders at 314.80 a dollar on the interbank market.

The Naira has, however, consistently closed around 305.5 a dollar level since August via the official window.

“The consistent clampdown on black market operators by security agents has driven some currency retailers underground, putting more pressure on available hard currency,” one dealer said.

But the Kenyan shilling could strengthen against the dollar in the coming week due to subdued importer demand and increased inflows from overseas remittances, traders said.

At 0742 GMT, commercial banks quoted the shilling at 101.80/102.00 to the dollar, the same as last Thursday’s close.

“From the data we’ve seen in the past, we normally tend to see an uptick in the Diaspora inflows during this month of December,” said a trader at a commercial bank.

Ghana’s cedi is expected to regroup in coming weeks on improved forex inflows as the central bank launches a $40m fortnightly interbank auction, traders say.

The cedi has been fairly stable this year but began sliding last month on a seasonal surge in end-of-year import demand and election-year shocks. It was trading at 4.3000 to the dollar at 1020 GMT on Thursday, compared with 4.1000 a week ago.

“We see the local unit potentially taking back some gains should the regulator keep the amount offered at $40m in the upcoming fortnightly auctions,” a Barclays Bank Ghana analyst, Andrews Akoto, said.

The Punch

London's West End plunged into darkness after mass power cut - Photos!

A power cut has plunged parts of central London into darkness.

It has hit the busy Soho entertainment district, which is packed with tourists, Black Friday shoppers and people out to enjoy the nightlife.

UK Power Networks said that "engineers are now on site" and have started investigations in to the cause of the blackout.

People at the scene posted images on social media of darkened streets, and Piccadilly Circus with many of its famous lights extinguished.

Theatregoers heading for the West End performance of Aladdin the Musical were told it had been cancelled.

A spokesman for the Disney West End musical, playing at the Prince Edward Theatre, tweeted: "Due to the ongoing power cut in Central London we regret that tonight's performance has been cancelled. Tickets will be refunded. Please refer to your original point of purchase for full details. We regret any disappointment or inconvenience caused by this unavoidable occurrence. Thank you."

The power cut meant that the bright lights of billboards in the West End went out, while rush hour commuters and office workers found themselves in darkness.

Passer-by Adrie van der Luijt tweeted: "You can't see where you are walking throughout Soho, Shaftesbury Avenue, Piccadilly Circus and Chinatown. Astonishing. No traffic lights."

Transport for London said the Tube network has not been hit by the powercut but that travellers had been held at the stations such as Tottenham Court Road and Oxford Circus to prevent overcrowding.

UK Power Networks later tweeted that e ngineers had been able to get some power back on to the area by re-routing around the fault. Engineers estimated that power would be back on between 8.30 and 9.30pm.

 AP

Naira gains against dollar at interbank market

The Naira on Wednesday appreciated against the dollar at the interbank market, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

The Nigerian currency gained 50k to close at N304.50 compared to N305 it traded on Tuesday.

At the Bureau De Change (BDC) window, the Naira was sold at N400 CBN controlled rate, while the Pound Sterling and the Euro traded at N565 and N500, respectively.

Skeletal, but clandestine trading at the parallel market saw the Naira close at N470 to a dollar, while the Pound Sterling and the Euro closed at N565 and N500, respectively.

Traders said that dollar scarcity persisted in the market as dealers seek more unconventional ways of meeting the needs of their customers.

Security agents have repeatedly raided the black market in a bid to force down the exchange rate.

The Central Bank of Nigeria on Tuesday backed the ongoing crackdown on currency parallel market traders.

NAN

CBN endorses SSS raid on currency traders

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Tuesday endorsed the crackdown on parallel market forex traders by the officials of the Department of State Services (SSS) across the country.

The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, disclosed this while addressing journalists at the end of its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting in Abuja.

According to Mr. Emefiele, the foreign exchange regulation in the country forbids trafficking in currency.

He said that the SSS had the right to enforce the law and make sure that currency hawkers were forced out of the “illegal trade.’’

The governor, who said it was demeaning for traders to hawk currency on the streets, urged the traders to legitimise their business by applying for Bureau De Change (BDC) licence.

Officials of the SSS raided the parallel markets in Lagos, Abuja and Onitsha last week over alleged arbitrary sale of forex.

The raid, which worsened dollar scarcity at its wake, forced the naira to settle at N465 to a dollar.

Earlier, members of the MPC unanimously voted in favour of retaining the Monetary Policy Ratio (MPR) at 14 per cent, Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) at 22.5 percent and the liquidity ratio at 30 per cent.

The governor said that the members of the committee took the decision after a critical assessment of the risks to the economy.

NAN

Buhari Employs 200,000 Graduates

All is now set for the deployment of 200,000 unemployed graduates selected in the first batch of the Buhari administration’s plan to hire half a million Nigerians.

While the 200,000 were selected about two weeks ago, their names have now been sent to state governments and the FCT, who will deploy them to their specific program assignments.

The names will also be published this week on the N-Power internet portal, while the participants will start receiving SMS messages informing them of their selection as from Monday November 21, 2016.

State governments and the FCT are also encouraged to post the names of the successful first batch applicants in their local government areas while there would be further public announcements.

Between now and the end of the month, the states and the FCT would be engaged in deploying the graduates who would formally start working and earning their stipends on December 1, 2016.

Of the 200,000 in the first batch, 150,000 will teach, 30,000 will work in the agricultural sector and 20,000 in healthcare delivery, covering the three specific program assignments.

The N-Power Volunteer Corps is an expression of President Muhammadu Buhari’s commitment to invest in the human capital development of Nigerian citizens, particularly our young people.

The N-Power program is also an innovative means to enhance ailing public services in the area of basic education and primary healthcare. In the agricultural sector, it is aimed at achieving self-sufficiency by giving our farmers relevant advisory services.

The Federal Government of Nigeria hereby congratulates all 200,000 successful applicants in the first batch, and they are encouraged to take this opportunity seriously by learning the skills that will brighten their future. They are also implored to serve their communities with commitment and dedication.

For those who have not been selected at this time, there is a waiting list based on the total number of applicants, and subsequent batches will absorb more of the qualified applicants.

All together, the N-Power will engage and train 500,000 young unemployed graduates. It is a paid volunteering program of a 2-year duration that engages graduates in their immediate communities, where they will assist in improving the inadequacies in the education, health, and agriculture sectors.

The 500,000 graduates under the N-Power Corps program will be trained in skills that will enable them exit after two years to economically viable job and business opportunities.

As part of the program, the participants will own tablets that will contain information necessary for their specific engagements, as well as information for their continuous training and developments.

Participants will be provided teaching, instructional, and advisory solutions in 4 main focus areas, and will be paid a monthly stipend of N30,000 during the program. The 4 main focus areas are in basic education, agriculture extension services, public health and community education (civic and adult education).

Besides the N-Power program for undergraduates, there are other schemes for non-graduates. These are: N-Power Knowledge, which would select 25,000 young Nigerians and N-Power Build 75,000, all of whom shall be trained and paid during the duration of the scheme.

NAN

Justin Trudeau tries to ease nerves over relationship with U.S. under Trump

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and leaders from Asian and Pacific nations — so eager to cement free trade in the region — are walking out of an annual summit facing an uncertain future about the movement of goods, people and services across borders.

That uncertainty has been created with U.S. president-elect Donald Trump and his anti-trade rhetoric set to take over the White House, potentially leaving a leadership vacuum on the world stage.

Trudeau said on Sunday that he looks forward to welcoming Trump to Canada, hopefully soon after his inauguration in January. Following a meeting with outgoing U.S. President Barack Obama, Trudeau added that the two leaders discussed the softwood lumber trade issue that stems from an expired 2006 export agreement.

In the meeting with Trudeau, Obama spoke about the work the two have done on refugees and climate change — two areas where Trump has voiced concerns and vowed to roll back environmental funding and put in stricter immigration rules. Obama praised Trudeau and said he looked forward to the prime minister's continued leadership on those issues in the coming years.

Obama said he and Trudeau are going to push to get as much work completed on thinning the borders during the last two months of his presidency.

Trudeau said the ongoing softwood lumber dispute and pre-clearance for visitors crossing borders were among the issues the two discussed.

In a seeming nod to the shadow of Trump hanging over the summit, the outgoing president tried to ease nerves in Canada that the Liberal prime minister would clash with the Republican president-elect, who has also threatened to tear up the North American Free Trade Agreement unless he gets concessions from Canada.

"One thing that I think should be emphasized is that through Conservative governments, Liberal governments, Democratic or Republican governments, the relationship between the United States and Canada is one of the most important constants in the world and I have no doubt that that will continue," Obama said.
Trump may kill TPP

Trump's anti-trade rhetoric has shaken up the agenda of the meeting, particularly his threat to cancel a Pacific Rim trade pact that includes Canada.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership would open up trade among 12 nations encompassing nearly 40 per cent of the world's GDP, including Australia, Canada, Mexico, Japan and the United States.

Trump has vowed to pull the U.S. out of the deal, a move that would effectively kill the agreement that U.S. President Barack Obama touted as a counterbalance to China's growing economic sway in the Asia-Pacific region.

During a closed-door session Saturday with TPP members, Obama urged them not to give up on the deal.

Leaders in the room voiced support for moving ahead with trade pact if the stars aligned in the coming months, and no country said it was ready to walk away from the agreement, according to international officials who were in the room, but not authorized to speak publicly about the talks.

The final declaration from the 21 leaders of Asian and Pacific countries speaks of keeping borders open to trade, avoiding currency manipulation and devaluation, and ensuring that everyone benefits from economic growth because not all countries and sectors have rebounded equally from the 2008 global financial crisis.

Trump has referenced each of those as things he wants addressed in trade deals that he believes are unfair for the American economy.

"We're trying to focus in on globalization and economic growth that is also inclusive and sustainable. That's easy to say, but it's quite complex to know what it can actually mean in terms of policy development," said Alan Bollard, executive director of the APEC secretariat.

China's president promised delegates at the conference that his country would continue to push for free trade deals in the region, saying countries needed to come closer together instead of being pulled further apart.

Xi Jinping vowed to give foreign investors more access to his country and to create pilot areas to test free trade in China.

CBC News

Ford going ahead with moving small car production to Mexico - CEO

Ford Motor Co is moving ahead with plans to shift production of small cars to Mexico from Michigan, while "two very important products" will be built in its U.S. factories, Chief Executive Officer Mark Fields told Reuters on Tuesday.

President-elect Donald Trump has criticized Ford for the decision to shift production of Focus small cars to Mexico in 2018, and said he would consider levying tariffs on Mexican-made Fords. Trump has also said he wants to scrap the North American Free Trade agreement, which also includes Canada, and to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border to stop undocumented immigrants.

"We're going forward with our plan to move production of the Ford Focus to Mexico, and importantly that's to make room for two very important products we'll be putting back into Michigan plants," Fields said in an interview on the sidelines of the Los Angeles Auto Show. "There will be no job impact whatsoever with this move."

Ford Chairman Bill Ford Jr. said last month he met with Trump. Ford has countered Trump's criticism, saying the company, founded by his great-grandfather, makes more cars and trucks in the United States than any other automaker.

Fields said with U.S. gasoline prices so low, "it's very difficult for us to be able to make money on a vehicle produced in the U.S." in the small car segment. If Ford decided to build the Focus small car line in the United States, and had to raise the price, "we wouldn't sell the vehicle."

The group that represents Ford and other major automakers in the U.S. has asked the Trump transition team to review and consider easing the Obama administration's fuel economy standards, which call for automakers to more than double the fuel efficiency of their fleets to 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025.

Fuel economy and trade "are two separate issues," Fields said.

Ford also is moving ahead with plans to use factory capacity in other markets to fill gaps in its U.S. lineup. Company executives used the auto show to promote a small sport utility vehicle called the EcoSport that the company plans to ship from India.

"We already have the plants and investment in other parts of the world. It frees us up to make further investments in the U.S.," Fields said, pointing to the money invested to launch a new SuperDuty pickup at a plant in Kentucky.

Ford has cautioned investors that it sees demand for cars and light trucks hitting a plateau in the United States. Fields said heading into the last two months of the year "we are seeing a tougher pricing environment."

"We expect the industry to be about the same as it was last year, probably a little lower on the retail side, and a continuing competitive pricing environment," Fields said.

Reuters

Naira loses ground to the dollar in all markets

The naira on Monday fell freely at the official interbank market to exchange at N350 to a dollar from N328 it traded last Friday.

At the Bureau De Change segment, the naira closed at N385 against the dollar, CBN rate, while the pound sterling and the euro closed at N564 and N510 respectively.

Trading at the parallel market saw the naira exchanged at N470 to the dollar, falling from N468 on Friday, while the pound sterling and the euro traded at N560 and N510 respectively.

Traders at the market express hope that the naira would see better days as Diaspora remittances was expected to boost liquidity at the yuletide season.

The Cable

Alibaba revenue beats expectations with strong e-commerce, media growth

Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba Group Holding Ltd on Thursday reported a 55 percent rise in second-quarter revenue, beating analyst estimates, on the back of core online sales and strong media and entertainment growth.

Revenue reached 34.3 billion yuan ($5.07 billion) in the three months to Sept. 30, compared with the 33.9 billion yuan average of 24 analyst estimates surveyed by Thomson Reuters.

Net income attributable to shareholders fell to 2.97 yuan per share, or 0.45 cents, a 67 percent drop from 8.87 yuan per share in the year-earlier quarter.


($1 = 6.7600 Chinese yuan renminbi)

Yahoo Finance

These are the most innovative countries in the world

Switzerland has once again topped the table as the world’s most innovative economy, in the latest World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report.

It is the seventh year in a row that Switzerland has claimed the title. The European nation scores highly on a range of indices, but particularly well for high quality enterprises across sectors that strive for innovation and for commercially applicable products.

Keeping the competitive edge

The 2016-2017 report assesses the competitiveness landscape of 138 economies and ranks them based on several factors.

High scoring countries must have an environment that is conducive to innovative activity and one that is supported by both the public and the private sectors.

This could mean investment in research and development and the presence of high quality research institutions.

The report says that, “In these economies, firms must design and develop cutting-edge products and processes to maintain a competitive edge and move toward even higher value-added activities”

This year’s most notable change is Japan’s drop in the table. Consistently ranked in the top five between 2007 and 2015, Japan moves down three positions and now ranks eighth for innovation.

The role of innovation

Innovation continues to be a crucial building block for successful economies across the globe.

The report says that innovation occurs “in an ecosystem where businesses, regulations, and social norms promote connectivity, creativity, entrepreneurship, collaboration, and the adoption of the latest technologies to generate new ideas and bring new products and business models to market.”

WEFORUM

Alibaba describes 'steadfast efforts' to fight counterfeiters

Massive Chinese marketplace Alibaba moved to fend off charges that it deals in pirated goods by describing in a letter to the U.S. government its "steadfast efforts" to fight counterfeiters.

The statement came in "submitted comments" to the U.S. Trade Representative in response from trade groups to put Alibaba on the government's "notorious markets list" for offering pirated goods.

Alibaba denied in its submission Wednesday that it is a marketplace for counterfeit goods.

"We routinely collaborate with brands, associations and regulators to maintain the integrity of our marketplaces. Our recent USTR [United States Trade Representative] submissions describe our steadfast efforts to fight counterfeiters online and the sources of such production offline. It also reflects our very strong commitment towards intellectual property rights protection," the statement said.

Rick Helfenbein, the head of the American Apparel and Footwear Association, said the Chinese retail giant must "clean up their image."

Helfenbein told CNNMoney that Alibaba, one of the world's largest online retailers, doesn't do enough to police counterfeit goods sold on its sites.

"They are the bad boys of retail right now, and we need to clean that up," Helfenbein said.

Naira strengthens against dollar at interbank market

The Naira on Friday appreciated against the dollar at the official interbank market, the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, reports.

The Nigerian currency gained 50k to exchange at N304.50, from N305 posted on Thursday.

At the Bureau De Change, BDC, segment of the market, the naira closed at N385 Central Bank controlled rate, while the Pound Sterling and the Euro traded at N560 and N503, respectively.

The naira, however, weakened against the dollar at the parallel market, nullifying the N5 it gained on Thursday to exchange at N470 to a dollar:

The Pound Sterling and the Euro closed at N565 and N505, respectively.

Aminu Gwadabe, President of Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria, ABCON, said that during the “ember’’ months, the demand for the dollar far outstripped its supply,

Mr. Gwadabe noted that currency speculators leveraged on the delay in the sale of forex to BDCs on Thursday to manipulate the market.

He, however, said that the naira was expected to bounce back fully by the coming days as the CBN, Travelex and some commercial banks were working hard to ease the liquidity challenges.

NAN

Factbox: Market participants react to U.S. presidential debate

Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump traded barbs and accusations on Monday in the first debate ahead of the Nov. 8 U.S. presidential election.

Following is a compilation of reaction to the debate from investors, economists and financial market analysts:

FACTBOX: Swing states that may determine the election: http://reut.rs/1UhE642

MORE COVERAGE: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=us-2016

JAMES ATHEY, INVESTMENT MANAGER AT ABERDEEN ASSET MANAGEMENT:

"What we're seeing in markets this morning is a small, collective sigh of relief because most commentators, and the few polls that have been released, suggest Clinton won the debate. Equities have undone much of yesterday's weakness and key Trump indicators such as the Mexican peso and Canadian dollar have rallied. This supports the notion once again that Trump is seen as protectionist and anti-globalisation.

"The reality is that these moves are all fairly insignificant. Polls on voting intentions still show that the race is essentially neck and neck. It will be these polls which truly have the power to drive a genuine re-pricing."

MICHAEL METCALFE, HEAD OF GLOBAL MACRO STRATEGY AT STATE STREET GLOBAL MARKETS, LONDON:

"In a similar way that sterling became the market proxy for Brexit risk, so moves in the Mexican peso and expected volatility of the Mexican peso appear to have become the main market proxy for expressing the probability of a Trump presidency.

"While there are many weeks of the campaign to run, the market reaction to the first debate does not mean that volatility will dissipate, but it does suggest Trump's recent momentum has been arrested."

"The recent narrowing in the polls means that markets have had to discount more uncertainty, and one debate will not settle that."

KIT JUCKES, FX STRATEGIST AT SOCIETE GENERALE, LONDON:

"The press verdict on the first U.S. presidential debate is that Hillary Clinton 'won', but Donald Trump didn't lose badly enough to really reduce the uncertainty. The market verdict is that the Mexican peso, the South African rand and the Korean won all won, while the Japanese yen was the loser."

JACK ABLIN, CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER AT BMO PRIVATE BANK IN CHICAGO:

"Investors celebrated that Hillary didn't lose. Market trading higher and the peso is strengthening."

"Hillary came through the debate unscathed. Trump spent more time on the defensive."

BRIAN JACOBSEN, CHIEF PORTFOLIO STRATEGIST, WELLS FARGO FUNDS MANAGEMENT, MENOMONEE FALLS, WISCONSIN:

"I'm not sure I learned anything new listening to the debate. Neither candidate imploded, but based on the strengthening of the Mexican peso ... I think this round goes to Clinton."

RANDY FREDERICK, MANAGING DIRECTOR, TRADING AND DERIVATIVES, CHARLES SCHWAB, AUSTIN, TEXAS:

"The positive reaction in the (equities) futures markets probably implies that Hillary Clinton was perceived as the winner. The market is often said to dislike uncertainty, and most experts seem to consider Donald Trump as the more uncertain candidate."

PETER KENNY, SENIOR MARKET STRATEGIST, GLOBAL MARKETS ADVISORY GROUP, NEW YORK:

"Both futures and the Mexican peso are accurate indicators of how markets interpreted the debates. Both moved only modestly but both moved in tandem - higher. I believe that investors pricing in the odds of either candidate winning. Modest positive moves suggest the Clinton campaign both managed expectations and delivered on beating them. The fear for investors was that she would either have some physical issue, look weak or have an excuse for one or both. She looked sharp, on point and clearly delivered on a message and style that reassured markets."

BRIAN BATTLE, DIRECTOR OF TRADING, PERFORMANCE TRUST CAPITAL PARTNERS, CHICAGO:

"Debate really was not outside expectations. Trump was Trump and Clinton kept calm and seemed bemused.

"It was underwhelming on policy and there were no gaffes or revelations. It was a personality debate, not a policy discussion."

AARON JETT, VICE PRESIDENT, GLOBAL EQUITY RESEARCH, BEL AIR INVESTMENT ADVISORS, LOS ANGELES:

"The market wants Hillary to win. The better she does (or the worse Trump does) the better the market will do in the short term. She did well enough to sustain the market for now. She did fine and Trump rambled on at times making her look better. We should gain back some of what we lost on Monday."

J.J. KINAHAN, CHIEF STRATEGIST, TD AMERITRADE, CHICAGO:

"It is interesting that in a debate that was so full of negatives from both sides, the result in the Stock Index Futures was very positive. I guess it does show that some positives can come from an absolute free for all. I don't know that we learned much about the candidates but the market definitely liked it. Don't forget in the middle of this we also had some numbers showing slightly better growth than previously expected and that also helped the last 5 points or so in the futures rally.

"After a weak day some of this may just be people covering their risk overnight."

MOHAMED EL-ERIAN, CHIEF ECONOMIC ADVISER, ALLIANZ, NEWPORT BEACH, CALIFORNIA:

"While both candidates spoke to the importance of higher economic growth whose benefits are shared more broadly, the debate highlighted their different approaches to tax policies and what ultimately delivers greater prosperity."

HUGH JOHNSON, CHAIRMAN AND CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER, HUGH JOHNSON ADVISORS, ALBANY, NEW YORK:

"Both presented different views on reviving the economy. Secretary Clinton's tax and spending plans were well articulated and well thought out. Trump's thoughts that included significant tax cuts and implicit promises of infrastructure spending were emotionally appealing but not nearly as well thought out or economically sensible. Each will appeal to different sets of voters. A good example of Trump's emotional, yet uninformed, thoughts were his comments (a) that the recovery was the 'worst' ever, (b) that Janet Yellen was political, (c) the rise in stock prices has been a bubble that would 'burst' if interest rates were increased."

"I would be inclined to give Secretary Clinton a modest edge although Trump did a good job presenting himself as the candidate of change.

"Her stamina answer was a real good - close to a clincher."

JEFFREY GUNDLACH, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, DOUBLELINE CAPITAL, LOS ANGELES:

"It's the establishment versus the anti-establishment. No one 'wins' a debate in September. Trump did himself a little bit of good and set up the later debates to his advantage."

DAN IVASCYN, GROUP CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER, PIMCO, NEWPORT BEACH, CALIFORNIA:

"We continue to believe a Clinton victory will be the most likely outcome. Nothing tonight to change that view

MARKET REACTION:

STOCKS: S&P 500 emini futures gained ground over the course of the debate, with the contract price moving from down 5 points as the event began to up 14 points by early Tuesday, a few hours after it finished.

BONDS: 2- and 10-year Treasury yields rose modestly

FOREX: The Mexican peso gained 1.7 percent against the dollar. The dollar index, meanwhile, was little changed as were exchange levels against the yen and euro (Americas Economics and Markets Desk; +1-646 223-6300)

Reuters

Apple unveils iPhone 7, kills headphone jack

Apple unveiled new iPhones at an event on Wednesday Sepetember 7 held in San Francisco’s Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, was the company’s most important outing of the year.

Apple is joining rival phone makers in making the starter model 32 gigabytes, rather than 16 gigabytes before. The main iPhone is still priced at $650. The larger Plus model is increasing to $770, instead of $750.

Apple is doubling storage in higher-priced models, too — to 128 and 256 gigabytes.

The new phones will ship Sept. 16, with orders to start this Friday.

The new phones are getting faster processors, water resistance, better cameras and more colorful screens, while losing a traditional headphone jack in favor of wireless headphones and those that use the Lightning charging port. Apple also says the iPhone 7 will have better battery life — about one or two hours more from recent models.

Older iPhones will get price reductions, and last year's models are also getting double the storage.

Meanwhile, Apple says its new wireless headphones will ship in late October for $160.


AP

China launches quantum satellite in battle against hackers

China has launched a satellite to test whether communications can be rendered hack-proof in its latest challenge to US supremacy in space.

In contrast to previous Chinese initiatives that replicated the achievements of US and Russian space programmes of decades ago, the satellite would, if successful, put China at the forefront of a new technology.

Micius, named after an ancient Chinese scientist and philosopher, was launched early on Tuesday from a military base in the Gobi desert. Photons, or light particles, will be fired at it to see whether quantum physics will allow the secure encryption of long-range communication.

The theory being tested is called quantum entanglement, in which two photons have an invisible and instantaneous connection — a property Albert Einstein described as “spooky action at a distance”.

If the entanglement endures over the distance between Micius and Earth, with information passing through a network of satellites, it will in principle allow for virtually unhackable communications.

The project was a “landmark event for quantum technologies”, said Ronald Hanson of the Technical University of Delft, a leading European quantum researcher. “With this launch China has established itself as the leading pioneer towards a global quantum communications network.”

The lead scientist on the project, Pan Jian-wei at the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei, said the $100m satellite was so far operating properly but that it would take several months of data collection before the experiment could be deemed a success.

His team will first test sending a secure key from Beijing to the city of Urumqi, on China’s frontier with Central Asia, and then from Beijing to Vienna. The weak signal means it can only be tested at nighttime.

If this experiment is successful the team hopes to launch a second satellite within the next four to five years, he said: “for a quantum network, one satellite is not sufficient”

In a quantum internet, made up of quantum computers, eavesdropping on communication would be impossible. The satellite might also be used for experiments in quantum science over distances that were previously unachievable.

With ground-based systems, the complementary nature of photons degrades after about 300km. The record distance for quantum communication using fibre optics is just over 100km.

The Micius launch fits a global pattern of increased interest in quantum research, such as the EU’s €1bn Flagship programme for quantum technologies.

A newly wealthy Chinese state has poured money into scientific projects of a kind that lacks funding elsewhere. Funding for basic research through the National Natural Science Foundation in Beijing rose to about $10bn in 2015, still far short of the $131bn budgeted by the US in 2015.

However, progress has been stifled by a bureaucracy that values Communist party patronage networks over scientific excellence, and by the need for co-operation with the military, which controls most satellite capability.

The revelations of Edward Snowden, the former US National Security Administration contractor, of the extent of US spying on its own citizens and foreign powers have galvanised international efforts in secure communications.

Some countries mandate that servers be located domestically, creating huge expenses for US technology groups. Others have secured political mandates for costly shielding programmes.

In 2013 Mr Snowden said the NSA had penetrated computers in mainland China. His revelations played into fears of excessive US influence that were gaining ground in China’s military, security and Communist party apparatus, fuelling a military build-up and a crackdown on civil society.

FT

Glo Grows Mobile Market Share To 24%, Ramps Up 5m New Subscribers In 1 Year

National telecommunications operator, Globacom, which has for the past one and half years been the preferred data services provider has also emerged the first choice of subscribers in voice services. The company recorded 68% of all  additional GSM lines in the country in the last 12 months.

Telecom industry statistics published on the website of Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC)  showed that a total of 7,477,977 new lines were activated between June 2015 and June 2016, with Globacom recording a whopping 5,063,895 new susbcribers, representing 68%, while Airtel added 2,414,082 new customers.

On the contrary, MTN and Etisalat had their GSM subscriber figures whittled down. While Etisalat lost 382,336 customers, MTN's subscriber base was depleted by 4, 403,344 in the last one year.

Details of the NCC report showed that, with the feat achieved by Globacom, the data grandmaster has now grown its market share from 21% to 24% with 36.3m subscribers at the end of June, 2016. But, MTN which once had over 45% share of the market had this reduced to 39% at the end of June with 58.4m subscribers. Glo had a total of 31,256,677 customers by June 2015, whereas MTN had 62,813,111.

Significantly, while Glo has continued to narrow the gap between it and MTN, it has created a substantial gap between it and Airtel. Both Glo and Airtel were at par in terms of market share only three months ago with each having 21%.

But Airtel, whose subscriber base stood at 29,564,766 at the middle of last year, had 31,978,848 customers at the end of June 2016. This still keeps it at 21% share of the GSM market. On its part, Etisalat had 15% share with 22,469,896 customers at the end of June, 2016, down from 22,852,232 at the same time last year.

Globacom's lead in the voice segment of the industry complements it's status as clear leader in the data market where it has for the last one year remained tops in new internet subscriber acquisition.

In June 2016 for instance, while the industry gained a total of 318, 008 new internet subscribers, Globacom alone had 272,674 of the new customers. In essence, Globacom accounted for about 86 percent of the total internet subscriber acquisitions in the industry in the month of June.

It is believed that Globacom's unparalleled growth even in the midst of shrinking economy is the dividend of the massive network upgrade it carried out recently as well as its commitment to offering innovative products and services. 

Pound overtakes Argentine peso to become 2016’s worst performing currency

The pound posted a third week of declines spurred by the Brexit vote, winning itself the title of 2016’s worst performer among major currencies.

Sterling’s rally on Friday barely dented its 2.7 per cent slide versus the dollar in the preceding four days. The U.K. currency this week overtook the Argentine peso as the biggest loser versus the dollar among 31 major peers in 2016 as investors continued to digest the fallout from the June 23 referendum decision to leave the European Union.

“Sterling’s going to fall considerably further as the effects of that uncertainty on investment and growth emerge from the gloom,” Kit Juckes, a macro-strategist at Societe Generale SA in London, wrote in a note to clients.

The pound rose 0.3 per cent to US$1.2941 at 4:55 p.m. in London, leaving it down 2.5 per cent this week and more than 12 per cent this year. It briefly erased its daily gain after a U.S. Labor Department report showed a bigger-than-estimated jump in June payrolls.


Sterling advanced 0.5 per cent to 85.30 pence per euro, for a 1.7 per cent weekly slide.

1985 and 2007

On Wednesday, Britain’s currency touched a 31-year low of US$1.2798 after the closure of a number of property funds echoed the real-estate tremors at the start of the financial crisis in 2007. U.K. consumer confidence plunged the most in 21 years in a special post-referendum survey conducted from June 30 to July 5, data showed Friday.

That the pound surpassed the Argentine peso as the world’s worst performer is all the more remarkable given that the South American nation’s economy shrank in 2014 and that President Mauricio Macri has removed most of the currency controls that had been propping up the exchange rate. It’s only in December that the peso was devalued.

Financial Post

Konga Engineer, Celestine says he builds his portfolio by developing church websites for free

Celestine Omin, is a Software Engineer at Konga Online Shopping Ltd, whose job is to write computer programs for a living.

Here's what he had to share in a recent interview with Emmanuel Ogunsola, a Lead Product Strategist at Techpoint.ng.

''What I used to do when in University was to build and maintain websites for churches for free and I was using that to build my own portfolio so that when I met a potential employer I could show the things I had done,'' Omin told Ogunsola. '' Nobody cares if you are paid or not, they just need to know you can do it. This gives you an extra step through the door as opposed to someone just looking for a job.''

His role at Konga:

I work as a Software Engineer at Konga. Basically I work with the Software Oriented Architecture SOE team. My team is responsible for taking out all the huge applications at Konga and turning them into micro services. The motivation behind is the fact that formulative applications, large applications if you make a change in one part irrespective of whatever part that you make that change in, you have to deploy the entire application. Which is time consuming, very tricky and quite risky. But if you work with micro services, it allows you break these applications into chunks and when you are deploying, it allows you deploy the parts you made the changes to. So it is easier to monitor, do quality assurance and deployment is easy.

Interestingly, I wasn’t coding when I first joined Konga. For obvious reasons Konga outsourced it’s tech to an external company. My first job at Konga was doing content upload. So I organised people to help upload products on the website and I did that for about a month until Konga created a team that later handled content upload.

On Awards:

After University, Google’s Day 2011 which was held at the Civic centre, Lagos. Google had this chrome extension challenge and I came first winning a Nexus device. Then I also entered for a competition organised by the US Department of States, it had to do with building software to combat things like climate change. My application didn’t win but I got an honourable mention. I also entered for the Apps for Africa competition organised by US Department of States and I came third.

His engagement on personal or commercial projects while in the University:

No I didn’t do any paid projects as an undergraduate, my choice of studying Computer Science was pure hunger, passion and love as compared to most kids. I wasn’t quite interested in what most of my peers were interested in; football wasn’t my thing and the only sport that got me was table tennis. I still like playing table tennis till today. The next natural thing after table tennis for me was computers. I felt I was pretty good at it and it something that came to me naturally, there was no motivation required. It wasn’t about making money out of it, tech at the time wasn’t as sexy as it is now. Choosing to write programs was just me following my passion.

More from Omin, visit, Techpoint

Alibaba unveils its first smart car — and it’s available for pre-order now

Alibaba has officially announced its move into the automobile space after it unveiled its first “internet car” in collaboration with SAIC, one of China’s big four state-owned automakers.

The RX5 is available for pre-order now, it’s priced upwards of RMB 148,800 ($22,300) with deliveries scheduled to start in August. The sports vehicle has been developed over the last two years as part of a joint venture between Alibaba and SAIC, which put a combined $160 million into the 50-50 project. It includes a new version of Alibaba’s Yun operating system to enable the car to connect to and tap into various internet services.

Alibaba raised a few examples of what that could mean in practical terms. It ranges from personalized greetings, music and preferred destinations based on settings that can be configured from a smartphone or wearable, to the ability to use Alibaba’s Alipay payments service to pay for parking spaces, fill up with gas or buy a coffee. It’s logical that Alibaba’s own services are a core part of possibility functionality, but the company said it wants to open YunOS to third parties, too.

On the entertainment side of things, the RX5 includes three LED screens and space for up to four detachable 360 degree cameras to record video and take photos — because IN-CAR SELFIES — and a smart rear view mirror. As you might expect, there’s support for voice controls while an onboard “intelligent” mapping system, the companies claim, will work without GPS or WiFi.

There’s no crazy, next-level ‘smart’ car features like autopilot, instead Alibaba is putting the focus on a shipping a connected car.

“What we are creating is not ‘internet in the car’, but a ‘car on the internet’. This is a significant milestone in the automobile industry. Smart operating systems become the second engine of cars, while data is the new fuel,” said Dr. Wang Jian, who is chairman of Alibaba’s ‘Technology Steering Committee.’

“Going forward, cars will become an important platform for internet services and smart hardware innovation. We will be embracing a world where everything is closely connected,” Wang added.

Alibaba is far from the only Chinese internet firm to get into cars. LeEco, formerly LeTv, is backing ambitious U.S. project Faraday Future and building a car of its own, while Baidu is one the front runners testing self-driving vehicles in both China and the U.S..

Alibaba is also a major shareholder in Didi Chuxing, the company that is beating Uber in China which recently landed a $1 billion investment from Apple as part of a gargantuan $7 billion round. It is unclear whether Alibaba will use that relationship and work with Didi to provide smart cars.

Source: Techcrunch

Shares slide as Brexit fears take hold

UK and European stock markets fell and the pound hit a fresh 31-year low as worries over the UK's vote to leave the EU continue to rattle markets.

The UK's FTSE 100 share index closed 1.3% lower. US shares initially followed suit but closed higher.

Earlier, the pound fell to $1.2798, its lowest since 1985, before rebounding.

Analysts blamed warnings from the Bank of England that Brexit risks were "crystallising" and fears about the UK commercial property market.

In late trade, the pound was at about $1.29. Sterling has dropped by about 14% against the dollar since hitting $1.50 ahead of the referendum result.

Against the euro, the pound was down 0.9% at €1.1656, having earlier hit its lowest level since 2013.

"Pessimistic predictions for sterling are coming true," said Andrew Edwards, chief executive of ETX Capital. "The pound is the chief proxy for the post-Brexit mood in the markets."

[Read More]

Amazon Deepens Footprint In Online Education

Amazon is looking to deepen its ties to the education world with a new online marketplace for lesson plans, curriculum, and other resources that debuted on Monday, called Inspire.

Until now, Amazon’s presence in educational institutions has been mostly limited to its original business of selling digital and physical books. The e-commerce giant has partnered with a handful of universities to open co-branded online bookstores for selling textbooks and a number of physical campus stores as package pick-up centers.

But lately, Amazon has been making inroads in early education as well. Earlier this year, Amazon signed a deal with New York City public schools, one of the largest U.S. school districts to provide digital books to its million-plus students. The contract was worth an estimated $30 million, according to The New York Times. In 2013, Amazon bought online math education startup TenMarks.

Inspire is an online marketplace where Kindergarten through 12th grade teachers can search for and find free resources, such as school plans, lessons apps, software, and other educational content. Teachers can search the library by grade, and subject matter, and can also access reviews of the materials by fellow teachers.

For now, it appears that all of the resources that are searchable and downloadable are free for teachers. The market for selling online education technology and material to schools could be massive. According to one report, global education technology spending will reach $19 billion by 2019.

Amazon isn’t the only technology company that is looking to capitalize on this massive market. According to the New York Times, Microsoft also said Monday that it would work on training programs for school administrators, and other digital services for schools. Google also offers a number of productivity tools for educators, and on Monday, debuting a new projecting technology for teachers and student.

- Fortune

Congratulations to Konga!

Nigeria's Largest Online Mall!

Check out the Rolls-Royce of the 22nd century that will take care of the driving on its own

Many Rolls-Royce owners don't drive the car themselves. They hire someone to do that. In the next century they won't even have to bother paying someone to drive their Rolls. The car will take care of the driving on its own. Also, in the distant future, Rolls-Royce buyers won't have to bother with selecting from a limited model range and just choosing paint colors and interior options. Instead, every Rolls-Royce buyer will be able to create a completely unique car suited to his or her own tastes. READ MORE

Third-Party Sellers On Amazon

It’s become so easy to order products through Amazon that most customers don’t bother to find out from where their merchandise is actually coming. So, instead of housing products in expensive warehouses and losing money on free shipping, Amazon has started employing third-party sellers.

Amazon’s Marketplace allows smaller business to sell to millions of shoppers under the Amazon umbrella. It’s estimated that independent sellers now account for 44 percent of Amazon’s worldwide sales. Meanwhile, the company just sits back, relaxes and cashes in.

Samsung to Buy U.S. Cloud Services Firm

Samsung Electronics Co. said Thursday that it would buy U.S. cloud services company Joyent Inc. for an undisclosed sum, underscoring its willingness to snap up outside companies as it beefs up the software and services around its core mobile-phone business.

Read more

eBay China Sellers’ Summit Showcases the ‘new Silk Road’ of Cross-Border Exports

Quality products, intelligence, creativity and innovation were the themes of the day at eBay China’s recent 2016 top seller’s summit in the city of Xi’an.

Referring to the summit as the ‘new Silk Road’ of cross border exports, speakers referred to the cultural significance of Xi’an as the starting point of the ancient Silk Road – a network of trade routes linking east and west – and the city’s fascinating history as an economic, political and cultural metropolis.

Vice President and Managing Director of eBay Greater China, John Lin, opened the conference, reminding guests how sellers can now use eBay’s investments in CBT – advanced IT systems, improved logistics, overseas warehousing – to increase site traffic, develop their supply chains and provide smoother transactions.

“Thanks to the fact that more and more sellers are embracing overseas warehouses, Chinese sellers can sell products in more categories, as well as make deliveries faster and provide a better user experience with efficient return services,” he said.

Extending the metaphor, Lin also talked about the ‘road’ Greater China sellers must travel to sustainably develop their businesses and how China’s cross-border trade has matured over the years. With the support of eBay, Lin Suggested that sellers should reinvest profits to upgrade infrastructure and processes and subsequently grow their enterprises.

A guest speaker, Dr. Yuan Yue, founder and chairman of LingDian Consulting Company, spoke about the importance of product quality and the value of the ‘Made in China’ label. “The mission and role of the CBT seller is not just to be a good seller making money, but reformers who are revolutionizing the process and model of manufacturing,” he said.

Quality, meeting customers’ demands and efficient delivery have never been more important for sellers and manufacturers seeking to win global consumers, Yue added.

Following the speeches, sellers participated in a team-building event, with the day concluding with a grand awards ceremony. It celebrated great achievements from the past year and awards were handed out to elite sellers. Prizes were presented to top performers in merchandise categories (Fashion, Electronics, House and Garden, Parts & Accessories) as well as those who had taken the initiative in warehousing, expanding into emerging European markets and providing an excellent customer experience.

Concluding the summit, Lin observed that one of his main goals now was to encourage more Chinese enterprises to participate in the cross-border retail revolution. “We can use the internet business to change the world,” he said.

Source: ebayinc