Charlie Shrem from BitInstant.com admitted the charges in a New York federal court hearing. Another Bitcoin trader, Robert Faiella, also pleaded guilty.
Updated 5 Years ago

The European Central Bank unexpectedly cut interest rates to 0.05% from 0.15% in a strong response to combat deflation. The move comes as the EU is struggling to boost its stagnating economy, which Draghi “Growth recovery was losing momentum,” ECB President Mario Draghi said at the news conference after the announcement was made to cut rates further.
Updated 5 Years ago

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday upbraided the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie Oyegun, accusing him of engaging in a fruitless image laundering exercise for his party. In a statement signed by the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Olisa Metuh, he said Oyegun cheapened his office and person by attempting to use an unempirical statement by Australian negotiator, Dr. Stephen Davis, to absolve his party of blame for promoting insurgency in the country.
Updated 5 Years ago

Dangote Cement Plc yesterday announced that it had reviewed the price of cement in the country downwards with about N100 slashed off the original price of each 50 kilogramme bag of cement. According to the Managing Director of the company, Mr. Edwin Devakumar, who spoke to journalists in Lagos, beginning from today, distributors lifting cement from the various Dangote cement plants across the country, will pay N100 less per 50 kilogramme bag of cement.
Updated 5 Years ago

When it comes down to it, you only have five minutes to convince people your product is disruptive and something people will actually buy. As a tech startup, you are probably fluent in the language of investors, tech journalists and entrepreneurs. But sometimes, your needs call for you to step out of the tech bubble and pitch to an audience that, figuratively, speaks an entirely different language.
Updated 5 Years ago

As of June, the U.S. unemployment rate stands at 6.1 percent, a far cry from the highs the country saw during the Great Recession, and certainly a welcome sign for the recovery. But if you compare this most recent downturn to past shocks, our current recovery is still the slowest the country has ever been in returning to full employment after a recession. It's no wonder, then, that more people than ever are opting out of the whole mess. Even with all that stagnation and gloom, sole proprietorships are the one area of the economy that is actually growing faster than ever before. We’re in the midst of a new economic revolution. The path to entrepreneurship is open to a wider swath of the workforce than ever before. The entrepreneurial set is seeing a greater share of new economic growth.
Updated 5 Years ago

Recently I met the creators of a new wearable technology called DrumPants. Yes, you read that right: pants that are drums and, apparently, a host of other musical instruments. Instead of slapping your thigh and making that oh-so-boring slapping sound, DrumPants turns said slapping into a snare drum. How? The product uses sensor strips that affix to your normal pants (duh) and fit into your shoes. These communicate to a small control box that fits in your pocket. In that little box is a speaker, a headphone jack and more than 100 different sound choices from piano to guitar to flute and, yes, drums.
Updated 5 Years ago

A recent study revealed that 36 percent of Canadian businesses have in one way or the other been hit by Cyber Attacks. Similarly, in December of last year, US-based retailer Target Corp was hit with a catastrophic episode where 40 million payment card numbers were stolen. This trend is rapidly trickling down to the African continent, as Cyber Attacks is increasing becoming a major challenge to most companies. According to Anton Jacobsz, Managing director of Networks Unlimited, distributors of Fortinet Network Security, many companies are aware of the various potential threats to important data but do not have the proper knowledge and facilities to counter such threats.
Updated 5 Years ago

Assore, the JSE-listed mining holding firm in minerals and metals sectors, on Wednesday said it had posted a robust set of profits in the year to June this year. It said headline earnings for the period under review surged 18 percent to R4.2 billion ($392.7mn) from R3.5 billion ($327.2mn) in the previous financial year.
Updated 5 Years ago

Returns from Nigeria’s Petroleum Profit Tax, Company Income Tax (CIT) and Value added tax (VAT) for the first half of the year, ended June 30, stood at $14.5 billion, representing 94.2 percent of the N2.5 trillion ($15.4 billion) revenue accrued to the country’s coffers. The figures, courtesy of the report of Nigerian business newspaper Business Day, are reflective of thriving businesses in the Africa’s largest economy and an improving tax collection system, analysts say.
Updated 5 Years ago