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Berkshire now has $277b in cash, much of which is invested in T-Bills, making the company a larger net holder of short-dated government paper than the US Federal Reserve

From: Ringing the bell – for a market top or the end of an era?.

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Berkshire now has $277b in cash, much of which is invested in T-Bills, making the company a larger net holder of short-dated government paper than the US Federal Reserve

From: Ringing the bell – for a market top or the end of an era?.

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🔍 The Whitehouse released the “REPORT ON POST-QUANTUM CRYPTOGRAPHY” as required by the Act and National Security Memorandum 10 (“NSM-10”).

This document is useful as it:
👉 Describes the US national strategy to transition to hashtag#PQC
👉 Estimates the funding needed
👉 Summarizes the work done already, mostly by NIST

Highlights:
💡 Estimates the existence of a Cryptographically Relevant Quantum Computer (CRQC) in the 2030s, in line with the my most trusted estimations.
💡 Recognizes quantum computing as a double edged sword: the U.S. Government must support the development of quantum computing to maintain competitive advantage in the future while preparing the defense from their threat.

From: (1) Feed | LinkedIn.

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Wired Magazine (14th August 2013): There are our favorite sources of news covering the world of business and finance. From macro economics to microlending, these folks are all money when it comes to delivering high-value information:

Dave Birch is one of the few people tracking the global economy’s shift to digital payments in a way that’s neither DMV-dull nor Bitcoin-bananas.

From: 101 Signals: Want to Know Business? These Are the Only People You Need to Follow | WIRED.

I was honoured to be listed in the top 15, alongside people such as Ben Horowitz and Felix Salmon. Looking back, this list in Wired was a psychological turning point for me, telling me that my ideas had currency (sic) outside of colleagues and clients.

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By 2026, at least 500 million smartphone users will be regularly making verifiable claims using a digital identity wallet built on distributed ledger technology, according to Gartner, Inc.

From: Gartner predicts 500 million smartphone users will be making verifiable claims using a digital identity wallet built on distributed ledger technology by 2026.

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We found that people with more consistent grocery shopping habits are more likely to pay their credit card bills on time. These are people who tend to shop on the same day of the week, spend about the same amount each month, buy similar items across trips and take advantage of deals regularly.

We also found that what people buy predicts how they manage their finances. For example, shoppers who frequently purchase cigarettes or energy drinks are more likely to miss credit card payments. Those who often buy fresh milk or salad dressing tend to be more diligent about paying their bills.

In general, buying healthier but less convenient food predicted responsible payment behaviors. This was true even when we held consumer characteristics such as income, occupation, credit score and family size constant.

Building on those findings, we developed a credit scoring algorithm that scores people based on their grocery shopping habits along with traditional credit risk indicators. When we simulated approval decisions with this algorithm, we found that using grocery data could help lenders predict defaults more accurately while boosting their per-customer profits.

From: No credit score? A grocery list could be the next best thing.

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According to the World Bank, more than 1 billion people worldwide lack access to formal financial systems and, as a result, have no credit scores. In the U.S. alone, about 45 million adults have no credit history or not enough of one to generate a score.

This makes it hard for them to access credit, even if they are responsible borrowers. And without credit, it’s harder to get a car, a job or even a place to live. It’s a problem that disproportionately affects underprivileged groups, including people of color and women.

Grocery data is especially promising because there’s so much of it. Pretty much everybody buys groceries, and not just once. Information about consumer preferences is continuously being generated in every aisle of grocery stores around the globe.

From: No credit score? A grocery list could be the next best thing.

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By analyzing consumer-level data from those two business units, we were able to see how 30,089 individuals shop and manage their finances.

We found that people with more consistent grocery shopping habits are more likely to pay their credit card bills on time. These are people who tend to shop on the same day of the week, spend about the same amount each month, buy similar items across trips and take advantage of deals regularly.

We also found that what people buy predicts how they manage their finances. For example, shoppers who frequently purchase cigarettes or energy drinks are more likely to miss credit card payments. Those who often buy fresh milk or salad dressing tend to be more diligent about paying their bills.

From: No credit score? A grocery list could be the next best thing.

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Visa and Mastercard are the identity infrastructure of the internet because of the payment + identity bundle. The unbundling of identity is a big deal

From: Google Secure Payment Authentication (SPA) | Noyes Payments Blog.

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Banks will gain a new revenue line in identity if they can partner with BOTH V/MA AND Apple/Google.  The next best alternative is government and sovereign identities.

From: Google Secure Payment Authentication (SPA) | Noyes Payments Blog.

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