#449
Just Keep Spending, Spending, Spending

Paystand acquires Yaydoo in B2B payments mashup - Paystand, a blockchain-enabled B2B payments firm based in the U.S., has acquired LatAm-focused accounts payable startup Yaydoo. The move illustrates the growing appetite for fintech startups to expand overseas. Combined, the two companies serve 500,000 customers and have processed more than $5b in payment volumes. Read more

Canada's TD Bank eyes further U.S. expansion with $1.3b Cowen purchase - The deal marks TD's second acquisition bid in the United States this year and Canada's second-largest lender by market value has made no secret of its ambitions to expand in the world's biggest economy. TD will fund the acquisition from the $1.9b proceeds from the sale of shares of Charles Schwab , announced on Monday. Read more

Equifax says consumer credit scores changed in computer error - A server “coding issue” led to the inaccurate scores, the consumer credit-reporting firm said this week. The scores covered consumers applying for auto loans, mortgages and credit cards to banks and non-bank lenders including JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Ally Financial. Read more

Global Payments to buy EVO Payments - Global Payments agreed to buy Atlanta-based payments company EVO Payments in a deal that gives EVO an enterprise value of $4b. EVO provides payment technology and services and operates in more than 50 markets and 150 currencies, according to its website. The much larger Global Payments primarily provides technology and point-of-sale services to merchants and has a market value of around $34b. Read more

Senate plan would put Bitcoin, Ether under commodity regulator’s watch - Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D., Mich.) and top-ranking Republican John Boozman of Arkansas, are planning to introduce a bill Wednesday that would empower the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to regulate spot markets for digital commodities, a newly created asset class. Currently the CFTC has authority to police derivatives, such as futures and swaps, rather than underlying commodities. Read more

CEOs ditch kinder approach as economy shows signs of chilling - As the outlook worsens, corporate chiefs are bringing back blunt demands, performance reviews and the swag police. The WSJ explores. Read more

Solana wallets ‘drained’ in blow to crypto network - Hackers have targeted the Solana ecosystem, draining crypto funds from thousands of “hot” wallets connected to the internet. It seems hackers have been able to steal both Solana’s own cryptocurrency (SOL) and some compatible with the Solana blockchain, like the stablecoin USD Coin (USDC). Read more

Australia Stock Exchange’s Blockchain Project Hits Another Snag - The Australian Stock Exchange’s plan to replace its main trading applications with a blockchain-based system has hit another snag identifying that more development is required than previously anticipated to meet ASX’s scalability and resilience requirements for the application. Read more

Almost half of mortgaged homes in US now considered equity-rich - Home ownership has reached a milestone in the US. Nearly half of mortgaged properties were considered equity-rich in the second quarter -- meaning owners had at least 50% in home equity. Read more

What the $1.3b Mega Millions Jackpot reveals about the economy - Two things tend to boost lottery-ticket sales: massive jackpots and economic downturns. Last week, the US had both with the Commerce Department saying GDP fell at an annual rate of 0.9% in the second quarter and the Mega Millions lottery had its second-largest drawing ever of $1.3b. Read more

Goldman Sachs credit-card business investigated by consumer watchdog - Goldman said in a securities filing that the CFPB is looking into several areas, including how the bank handles customer refunds and resolves billing disputes. The regulator is also looking into Goldman’s advertisements and how it reports consumer information to credit bureaus. Read more

Warren Buffett-backed Nubank hits 1m crypto users in less than a month - Brazilian challenger bank Nubank has announced hitting one million cryptocurrency users in the country barely a month after launching the service. Nubank’s CEO and co-founder David Vélez confirmed the milestone noting they expected to hit the target in a year considering the ongoing crypto winter. Read more

BlackRock teams up with Coinbase in crypto market expansion - Top BlackRock clients will be able to use its Aladdin investment-management system to oversee their exposure to Bitcoin along with other portfolio assets such as stocks and bonds, and to facilitate financing and trading on Coinbase’s exchange, according to a statement Thursday. The focus of the partnership with Coinbase, the biggest US crypto-trading platform, “will initially be on Bitcoin,” BlackRock said. Read more

a16z now wants to manage the money of the entrepreneurs it backs - Andreessen Horowitz’s recent hire of former Jordan Park Group Chief Investment Officer Michel Del Buono suggests the venture capital firm is getting into startup founder wealth management. Read more