The founding principle behind Bitcoin is to eliminate the need for, and hence cost of, intermediaries in a payments system. The two key functions of payments intermediaries are to process transactions securely and to mediate disputes. Bitcoin addresses the first
We expect 3.6% (nominal) y/y growth in US health services demand during 1Q14, the product of 2.6% growth in demand intensity, and 1.0% growth in price. The 2.6% intensity growth would be a 30bp improvement over actual 4Q13 growth of
This note argues that the traditional role of branches, to provide secure transaction processing, will be taken over by apps not so much because banks are looking to reduce teller-costs but because the digital engagement of customers (whether in-branch, on-line,
This morning, WMT reported Q4 ’13 results that were in line with expectations that already reflected previously reduced guidance (late January). FY ’14 guidance ($5.10 to $5.45) was disappointing relative to consensus ($5.55 coming into today), including guidance for operating
COF announced yesterday that it had joined clearXchange, a bank-owned payment network founded by JPM, BAC, and WFC. clearXchange focuses on P2P payments (enabled using the recipient’s e-mail address or mobile phone number) and now covers half the addressable market;
Current health insurance exchange (HIE) enrollees skew older, to the extent that adverse selection pressures appear highly likely. Only 25% of enrollees are aged 18-34, as compared to the 40% enrollment share presumably needed for premiums and claims to balance
26 of the 30 companies in our Chemicals index have announced Q4 earnings thus far, with only ROC, ECL, AXLL, and WLK left to report. On average, revenue growth has been positive, and all subsectors save Ag Chem show year
We compared hospital networks for plans sold on the health insurance exchanges (HIEs) to networks for plans sold (by the same issuer) off of the HIEs For the non-profit issuers and HUM the ‘on-HIE’ and ‘off-HIE’ networks appear the same;
In our note last week, we commented on some dynamics that we saw during the holiday season that made us marginally more cautious on the U.S. consumer: Declines in per capita disposable income (Exhibit 1). A lower savings rate that
The negative sentiment around Barclays, and cyclical component of the downturn in investment banking, creates a buy opportunity. It is not without risk given the potential legal/regulatory costs associated with alleged manipulation of the libor[1]/currency markets, but investors are offered
