All posts by Michelle Grathers

About Michelle Grathers

Michelle Grathers is an international tax expert. She has consulted for a variety of firms and high net worth individuals on all tax- and legal-related issues. She also helps new companies develop payroll services, statutory audits and mergers and acquisitions. Contact Michelle at michelle[at]businessdistrict.com

High-End Hacker Operation Revealed in China

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Symantec Corporation, a company that provides computer security solutions to companies and consumers, issued a 28-page report on Tuesday saying they had discovered a group of highly sophisticated hackers based in China.

These hackers, who hire out their cyber espionage services, have been dubbed “Hidden Lynx” by the US-based computer security company, and are one of the most technically advanced of dozens of such groups operating out of China.

Symantec however did not accuse the government of China of having any connection to these illegal groups, as some other computer security companies have done. They do believe, however, the Hidden Lynx is a “professional organization” employing about 50 to 100 people with a wide base of skill sets which are necessary to pass through networks and steal information such as valuable corporate secrets.

Symantec said that its researchers believed that Hidden Lynx could have been involved in the famous Operation Aurora attacks in 2009. Operation Aurora is the most well-known of cyber espionage attacks so far revealed against US-based companies.

Operation Aurora involved dozens of companies, including such giants as Google and Adobe Systems. In 2010 Google revealed the attacks in which hackers attempted to read Gmail correspondences from human rights groups and activists. They also tried to get into and change source code at targeted companies.

The report explained that Hidden Lynx is a “highly efficient team” which can run several operations simultaneously. They target specific organizations and companies across a wide spectrum of industries. This description suggests that they are often hired by third party clients who are looking for certain pieces of information.

hackingThe most popular industry targeted by these hackers is the financial sector, making up about a fourth of all victims since November 2011. Symantec did not identify specific targets but they did say that they included companies that had information on pending merger and acquisition activity. Information like this could be quite useful to Hidden Lynx clients when negotiating takeovers or trading shares.

Apple Buy Back Plan Keeping Customers Loyal

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Trade-in Your iPhone at an Apple Store Near You
Trade-in Your iPhone at an Apple Store Near You

Ready to upgrade your iPhone? Why not save yourself some time and trouble and let Apple buy it back from you? This month Apple is planning on launching an in-store buy-back program with the express goal of helping people to upgrade to iPhone 5, and maybe even buy some cool accessories they might not have thought of buying before.

How does this program benefit Apple? Let us count the ways:

•    An almost bottomless source of not-too-used phones which can help fill a growing overseas market. As Western markets become loaded with iPhones the Asian and other markets become a more important source of revenue for Apple.

•    There is already a recycling option for Apple customers through their web site, but offering customers a trade-in option for immediate credit towards a new phone gets them into the stores, where the goodies therein are almost irresistible. This makes already quite loyal Apple customers even more loyal.

•    Apple also believes the program will benefit their customers in terms of convenience if not financial. It is simpler to just march into an Apple outlet and get a good price than to go through the trouble of selling in one of the thriving second hand markets for electronic devices, such as BuyMyTronics, Gazelle and Glyde, although there is small chance Apple will outbid the open market.

This clever program should get Apple a lot of gently used phones to sell in the East, while at the same time keeping their customers close at heel with a trade-in program that only offers credit in their stores. Apple certainly has no intention of giving today’s Apple owners a chance to become tomorrow’s Galaxy groupies.

BlackBerry Considering Options as Sales Lag

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BlackBerry 10 Not Making the Cut
BlackBerry 10 Not Making the Cut

Veteran of the smartphone set, BlackBerry has been having difficulties competing with the latest handheld devices such as iPhones and Androids. Disappointment mounted as the much-anticipated introduction of their latest phones failed to produce the crucial turn around in sales which had been hoped for.

Now the company is faced with some tough decisions as to the best way to proceed from here. BlackBerry’s board of directors formed a special committee to examine “strategic alternatives” to hopefully boost the company’s value and improve the rate at which the new BlackBerry 10 platform is adopted.

Under consideration by the company now are the possibilities of joint ventures, partnerships or other changes. The US-traded stock of the Canadian based company rose 10.5 percent on Monday, when the announcement was made, to a price of $10.78.

BlackBerry announced the release of its new operating system in January, hoping to become more competitive in the highly competitive smartphone market. Market share continued to lag, however, and the company is now in fourth place in global smartphone sales with 2.9 percent of the market.

Even with price reductions, says Mike Walkley, an analyst with Canaccord Genuity, sales for BlackBerry are in decline.

“Now they have to go to the next step of what’s best for the company and shareholders to survive long term because it doesn’t look promising on BlackBerry 10 sales,” Walkley said.

Brisbane Ranks Most Expensive for Business Travelers

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Brisbane, Australia

According to research conducted by Concur, a provider of travel and expense management solutions, Brisbane, Australia is the world’s most expensive city for business travelers.

The recently published “Expense IQ Report,” which examines the habits of business travelers, collected information from $50 billion worth of last year’s expense reports from US-based companies.

Concur’s report took a look at several main expenses incurred by business travelers: dining, entertainment, ground transportation, and lodging.

When evaluated together Brisbane, a city on the east coast of Australia, ranked at the top of the list, with a total average spending cost of $547.53. London filled the 5th most expensive city spot, while Dubai, UAE was in the tenth position at a cost of $455.93.

If domestic cities had been included in the survey then New York would have filled the ninth place with average spending equaling $476.
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Netflix Disappoints Investors Despite Excellent Earnings

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NetflixPerhaps expectations were unrealistic to begin with, but despite a quadrupling of profits investors were disappointed that Netflix did not sign-up as many new subscribers as they had hoped.

The value of Netflix’s stock has almost tripled since the onset of 2013 on the hopes investors have of the flow of new subscribers to the company. However, despite the revival of the hit comedy “Arrested Development” after a seven-year hiatus, not that many new subscribers joined.

The Netflix login numbers were not unimpressive. The company enjoyed a subscriber increase of 630,000 from the US during the second quarter, even higher than the mid-range target set by Netflix management in April. Unfortunately expectations were raised by management who also declared in April that the number of new subscribers could reach as many as 880,000, setting the stage for disappointment.

“It was a very good quarter by most standards, but that doesn’t cut it when your stock has risen by 200 percent,” said Pacific Crest analyst Andy Hargeaves.

CEO of Netflix Reed Hastings explained in a letter to shareholders that the Memorial Day weekend release of 15 new “Arrested Development” episodes caused a “small but noticeable bump” in the number of subscribers.

In total, so far this year, Netflix has added 2.7 million subscribers. Last year at this time the number of new subscribers was only 2.5 million.

“We are feeling quite good about the business,” Hastings assured investors during an unusual live video presentation.

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