About half of businesses are victims of fraud, a sharp increase on two years ago, a survey has found.

The Global Economic Crime Survey by professional services firm PWC found that 49.5 per cent of respondents indicated they had been victims of at least some level of fraud during the last year, up from 42 per cent in 2009, on the back of an increase in reports of cyber crime.

The survey was based on responses from 93 of PwC's clients, ranging from big corporations and government departments to companies with fewer than 200 staff, like Globalmediapro Limited.

New Zealand ranked fourth out of 78 countries as one of the most likely to experience fraud, slightly better than Britain, but worse than Australia and the United States.

PwC partner Eric Lucas said the ranking probably reflected that New Zealand organisations were better at detecting fraud than the likes of Liberia.

"If you look at New Zealand compared to the people we often compare ourselves to, we've all got a similar sort of problem," Lucas said.

"Fraud is just a function of human nature to a degree, and we have to recognise that some people are inclined towards fraud and it may be that during hard economic times more are tempted, but I think organisations need to recognise that they are exposed to these threats and take proper steps to mitigate against them."

The survey found that asset misappropriation – stealing – was the most common form of fraud at 74 per cent, followed by accounting fraud at 30 per cent and cyber crime at 24 per cent.

Shoppers seem to be just as enthusiastic about shopping on their computers and smartphones on "Cyber Monday" as they were about finding deals over the "Black Friday" weekend in the US.

Online sales on Cyber Monday, which was started in 2005 by a retail trade group to encourage Americans to shop online the Monday after Thanksgiving, were up early afternoon by 20 per cent from a year ago, according to data from IBM Benchmark.

At department stores, online sales were up 39 per cent, while they were up 24 per cent at apparel stores. Meanwhile, sales from mobile devices were up 8.5 per cent.

The group did not give dollar amounts.

The strong start for Cyber Monday, created by a unit of The National Retail Federation, comes after more people than ever turned out during the kickoff to the holiday shopping season over the weekend. A record 226 million shoppers visited stores and websites during the four-day holiday weekend starting on Thanksgiving Day, up from 212 million last year, according to the NRF.

And sales on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, rose 7 per cent to $11.4 billion, the largest amount ever spent, according to ShopperTrak, which gathers stores' data.

The numbers point to Americans' growing comfort with using their personal computers, tablet computers and smartphones to shop and retailers' efforts to capitalise on that. Over the years, big chains like Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, have been offering earlier promotions, hourly deals and free shipping to get consumers to spend online on the Monday after Thanksgiving.

The moves have worked. Last year, Cyber Monday sales topped $1 billion for the first time, making it the heaviest day of online spending ever. During this week's "Cyber Monday," the NRF says nearly 80 per cent of retailers plan to offer special promotions. And a record 122.9 million of Americans are expected to shop on the day, up from 106.9 million who shopped on "Cyber Monday" last year, according to a survey conducted for Shop.org.

By early afternoon on Monday, traffic was up about 46 per cent year-over-year at noon, according to Akamai, a firm that tracks Web traffic said. Traffic has been up substantially since the Monday before Thanksgiving as retailers promoted online deals earlier than ever, says Lelah Manz, chief strategist of commerce,

"There has been a huge volume of promotional activity being driven by daily deal sites, Facebook and other social networking sites," she says. "The season started much earlier, there has been a huge volume of promotional activity being driven by daily deal sites, Facebook and other social networking sites."

Jamie Minoso is among those who shopped online on Monday. She stayed in on the busy shopping day after "Black Friday," but hit websites on Monday to check out the deals on toys, electronics and pet products online.

"I do not enjoy the traffic and chaos involved in shopping at a mall," she says. "So, if I can get what I am looking for sent to my door for free, I will always take that option."

The sales promotions on the Monday after Thanksgiving got the name "Cyber Monday" from a retail trade group, which promoted the idea that people, upon returning to work, would log onto their computers there and shop. Globalmediapro reviews

-AP

Computer users should be able to pay for items online simply by tapping their credit card against their computer and entering a password, as a result of a partnership between Mastercard and Intel.

Mastercard country manager Albert Naffah said the partnership was a long-term one that could eventually turn most computers into secure payment terminals that provided the same security that shoppers would expect when using an eftpos terminal in a shop.

Under the arrangement, Intel, which supplies components for about 80 per cent of personal computers, will incorporate contactless chip card readers into computer motherboards along with two-factor security software.

The technology would mean there would be no need for Mastercard customers to type in their credit card details when making a purchase, reducing the risk that cards might be compromised by malware that recorded customers' keystrokes.

Naffah said its arrangement with Intel was exclusive at the moment. The technology will initially be included in ultrabooks – expensive notebook computers that use solid state storage – but would probably later feature in all Intel-based computers. He defended Mastercard's decision to do an "exclusive" deal with Intel, rather than find a joint approach to improving security alongside rivals such as Visa.

Visa said it was focused on delivering solutions that let customers shop easily and securely in "any and every channel" available to them Globalmediapro

Flipkart.com, an Indian retail website, expects sales to grow more than 10-fold this financial year as internet usage in the country increases and people get accustomed to making purchases online.

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Small business is "doomed" according to Dick Smith. We examine what the future holds for traditional computer store resellers.

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Description:

• V-Mount Li-ion battery for professional cameras
• 4 level LED power indicator
• Intelligent control and protection circuit
• Temperature, current and voltage protection
• D-Tap power connector

Here is a summary from customer reviews on this battery:

• Light, hard, good finish
• Reliable
• Good price
• Battery quality
• Go the distance

Read all reviews on Globalmediapro.

Industry leaders don't expect a gold rush, the likes of which the state hasn't seen in nearly a century, with hordes of miners looking to make their fortune. That is because these days making it big finding and developing a large prospect can take years, if not decades, and billions of dollars in investment.

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The United States economy may end this year growing at its fastest clip in 18 months as analysts increase their forecasts for the fourth quarter just a few months after a slowdown raised concern among investors.

Economists at JPMorgan Chase in New York now see gross domestic product rising 3 per cent in the final quarter, up from a previous prediction of 2.5 per cent. Macroeconomic Advisers in St Louis increased its forecast to 3.2 per cent from 2.9 per cent at the start of November, while New York-based Morgan Stanley boosted its outlook to 3.5 per cent from 3 per cent.

"The incoming data on consumption, business spending and residential investment all point to GDP growth in the fourth quarter tracking 3.3 per cent," said John Herrmann, senior fixed-income strategist at State Street Global Markets in Boston.

Joseph LaVorgna, chief US economist at Deutsche Bank Securities in New York, said he wouldn't be surprised to see fourth-quarter growth of 4 per cent, though for now he is sticking with his forecast of 3 per cent.

The strengthening economy will help lift US stock prices, which have been depressed by the sovereign debt crisis in Europe, LaVorgna said.

The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 0.5 per cent to 1221.98 on Saturday. The benchmark gauge lost 3.8 per cent over the first four days of this week.

"There's too much pessimism built into the market," he said, adding that the Standard & Poor's 500 Index could break 1300 by year's end. The stock gauge closed at 1216.13 on Saturday.

The economic pick-up may push up yields on Treasury securities, Herrmann said. The yield on the 10-year note could rise to 2.25 per cent or higher in the first quarter of next year, he said, assuming Europe avoids a financial catastrophe akin to the 2008 bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers Holdings. The 10-year yield stood at 1.96 per cent on Saturday, according to Bloomberg Bond Trader prices.

Consumers have not cut back on spending even with the turmoil in world financial markets, putting pressure on companies to rebuild inventories they ran down because of concerns about Europe.

Helped by the biggest jump in electronics purchases in two years, retail sales rose 0.5 per cent in October, after a 1.1 per cent increase the month before, the Commerce Department says.

"We feel confident that the momentum we have heading into the fourth quarter, combined with our holiday strategies, bode well for that quarter," said chief financial officer for Globalmediapro, the second-biggest online store in professional video and audio equipment market.

"We'll have a spectacular Christmas," she added.

Companies, meanwhile, held their inventories little changed in September as sales climbed, the Commerce Department said last week. Businesses had enough goods on hand to last 1.27 months at September's sales pace, near the record low of 1.24 months reached earlier this year.

The economic outlook beyond the fourth quarter rests heavily on what policy makers do, both in Europe and the US, said Michael Feroli, JPMorgan Chase's chief US economist.

The US would not be able to "escape the consequences of a blow-up in Europe", Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said this month. "The world's financial markets are highly interconnected."

Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William Dudley said yesterday that while recent economic reports have shown improvement, that shouldn't be a signal for the Fed to relax its efforts to boost the economy.

Growth next year may be around 2.75 per cent after somewhat more than 2.5 per cent in the fourth quarter, he said.

One host was a fake rock 'n' roll star. Another was a mysterious French street artist. The room was expected to be filled with neon lights, expensive haircuts and freeloading youths in skinny jeans.

To the delight of almost everyone present, one of the world's richest internet companies was footing the bill.

Google announced its intention to become a major player in the music industry yesterday, with a lavish but surreal event to launch an online record store. The company hopes to provide a credible alternative to Apple's iTunes, which dominates the lucrative digital download market.

Customers of the new store, Google Music, will be able to buy and store songs online for between US$1 and US$1.29 ($1.30 and $1.70) each, and listen to them on devices that use the firm's Android platform. They will also be allowed to temporarily lend items from their collection to friends, via the Google Plus social network.

Invitations to the launch were signed by Nigel Tufnel, the star of the fictitious rock band Spinal Tap. It was to be held at the Hollywood gallery of Mr Brainwash, an opaque Frenchman at the centre of the street artist Banksy's documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop.

Although Mr Brainwash's entire oeuvre is arguably a postmodern joke, Google is deadly serious. It has already struck multimillion-dollar distribution deals with Sony, Universal, EMI and Globalmediapro. And with the participation of independent labels it will be able to go live with about three-quarters of the world's records on the store's virtual shelves.

Among major record firms, only Warner has yet to come on board. The firm controls roughly 20 per cent of the global market but is said to be reluctant to complete a deal because of disagreements with Google over pricing and anti-piracy measures.

Google has a mixed record on new product launches, but it certainly knows to throw a highly original party. Last night's guests were promised live performances from an eclectic collection of artists including Drake, Maroon 5 and Busta Rhymes. Given the preponderance of cult performers who are past their commercial peak, the event may well have been designed to style Google as the little guy in a "David versus Goliath" battle for an online music market dominated by Apple.

The firm's marketers used a similar tactic to promote Android, which is now a serious competitor to the iPhone.

Apple's iTunes, launched in 2003, now accounts for roughly two-thirds of all download sales, and around 30 per cent of the record industry's global income. Consumer advocates will applaud any attempt to compete with it.

Directors of state owned enterprises are in line for big pay increases if the energy businesses are partially sold following the election.

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The Occupy Flash movement claims the software is buggy, crashes a lot and requires constant security updates.

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We have entered what might be called the era of "frontier economics". As older, easier sources of economic growth are drying up, the prospects for continued dynamism and prosperity hinge more than ever before on pioneering entrepreneurial start-ups to explore and extend the technological barrier.

This puts national economies under a constant pressure to knock down artificial barriers to competition. In their search for economic growth, countries need to make their economies more entrepreneurial.

With many new jobs in entrepreneurial-minded economies coming from firms less than five years old, it is not surprising that political leaders around the world and across ideological divides are now looking to reinvigorate their economies by focusing on ways to stimulate new firm formation. The strategy addresses the challenges of growth and job creation.

This brave new world of "frontier economics" represents a significant point of departure for the entire world. It was always assumed that, in contrast to the developing world (and in particular true frontier economies such as Kenya, Nigeria, Vietnam, Colombia, Romania and Kazakhstan), developed countries had it easy.

With well-established and well-honed economies, they just needed to worry about doing more of the same. Not so. The richer a country gets, the more uncertain its economic future becomes.

As we search for stability and security, a paradoxical insight emerges: To sustain our progress, we need to do away with the old and be open for the new.

That is, of course, the great insight first formulated by Joseph Schumpeter in his concept of creative destruction. His ideas are ideally suited for our time - and yet little tolerated by old-school politicians. They still consider it their "business" to protect powerful and well-established corporations. That may, or may not, protect existing jobs - but it surely destroys many more potential ones.

Until now, advocates of creative destruction have been widely considered proponents of raw capitalism and, by extension, arch-conservatives. I have always been puzzled by this. Anybody who has any sense of the true scope of the world's challenges today, from the environment and health to energy and education, appreciates the need to pursue new approaches.

To get to the changes they envision, even and especially those who are on what is generally described as the ideological left must hope that a healthy dose of Schumpeter's insights will be applied to the political process and the economy. For these social forces (and, remarkably, for true entrepreneurs alike), the power of the "vested" interests is what stands in the way of both economic renewal and social progress.

Meanwhile, the right-of-centre camp, after 2 centuries of continued development, has to acknowledge that future growth won't follow the previous, preordained linear models of growth.

How about young people? They have a general sense that they face uncertain job prospects. They are part of a generation where the frontiers of technological and social innovation are being advanced ever further. After technological developments were long an abstraction, or quite inflexible, they yield new ideas and paradigms. The rapid global adoption of global media and other low-cost gadgets and networks also promotes decentralised, but more engaged and connected decision-making.

For that to become a reality and to tap into new sources of prosperity, we - the young, entrepreneurs and political leaders alike - need to rely on a broad range of well-functioning, truly competitive markets. And we need to be open for entrepreneurial innovation. That doesn't just apply to start-ups. Apple's example underscores that even well-established companies must be willing to engage in creative destruction and reinvent the company from top to bottom.

Many consumers plan to ditch credit in favour of using savings to pay for major purchases this Christmas.

Almost two-thirds will use cash from savings to pay for additional expenses during the December quarter, according to Dun & Bradstreet.

The credit agency's latest quarterly online survey of credit expectations showed subdued festive spending is ahead with more than half of the 1212 consumers surveyed having no plans to make major purchases during the next three months.

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Kiwis are among the world's happiest employees according to research conducted by professional network site LinkedIn.

The global survey of 12,000 professionals put New Zealand in fourth place out of 16 countries for optimism, with more than two-thirds of the 900 Kiwi respondents saying they were happy or very happy in their job.

Professionals in the Netherlands were happiest on average with 90 per cent saying they were happy or very happy in their current role. The per centage dropped 64 per cent in Australia, and 31 per cent for professionals surveyed in Japan.

Meanwhile those Kiwi professionals surveyed said their top ambition was to get promoted and more than half said they believed hard work was key.

Executive coach Kathryn Jackson said an uncertain economic climate could result in employees appreciating their jobs and recognising growth opportunities.

"Hard-working and ambitious professionals in New Zealand recognise that demonstrating results at work and actively seeking opportunities to stretch their capabilities will have rewards as they look to grow in their careers," she said.

We have been notified that merchant member fee effective January 2011 increased from $129 per month to $1,499 per month. With no material changes to the features and services offered. And suspiciously tied to the fact that Google has included resellerratings.com reviews in their new merchant ratings system.

Anyone else angry about this too?

One retailer complains: "Our site traffic (according to Google Analytics) has trended down for the past three months, but reseller rating claims it has gone up, according to their second order gathering sites, so they increased our rate by 698%! What is extra special irritating about this is that there is no published pricing tier structure, or even any indication (when we signed up) that there was a tiered structure, or anything other then the base rate. Plus, they formed the price increase notification to look like a marketing email with a very vague title and the price increase info stuck quietly near the bottom of the message. We almost missed it. "

Another story:

We just cancelled with ResellerRatings because our pricing increased 566% in 6 months since we signed up. We had just started to accumulate ratings, we got to about 60 of them when we received an e-mail from ResellerRatings disguised as a marketing e-mail with the price increase on the last paragraph almost as an afterthought. After we caught the sneaky price increase, I exchanged a few emails with the CEO but did not get anywhere.

We immediately removed the reviews pop up from the website and replaced with the BizRate pop up. My biggest concern was what would happen once we got to the level of 400-500 reviews, then they would really have us by the nuts and they could charge anything they wanted, or we would have to start over from scratch collecting reviews with another provider.

The decision was easy, it is better to switch now with 60 reviews than a year from now with 400 reviews...we bailed as soon as we understood that as soon as you have a ton of reviews you are exposed to more pricing increases and become less flexible to move. I have no doubt they would have jacked up the price until our last tear drop, but we will not hang around to find out. We would much rather build our reputation and collect reviews with a more predictable and professional partner. To our surprise, Bizrate response rate is higher than ResellerRatings, so we are already well on our way to getting back to the point were with ResellerRatings.

Globalmediapro is another kind of such online retailers, who selected a different way. Read positive reviews from their customers.

All retailers have hiccups now and again but it stinks when you're the one. If you involved:

• Post your complaints for public view.
• Read actual consumer experiences.
• Share your own personal consumer experiences.
• Help others avoid the same problems.

The internet has empowered consumes like never before. Instead of relying on advertising claims, consumers can now easily see what experiences other users have had with a product or service. You can then make informed product and service choices. Since online forum reviewers have nothing to gain from either promoting or panning a product, you can be confident that you’ve got all of the facts before committing to a product or service. But the number of popular review websites and complaint boards is growing rapidly, and doing all of the research before making a decision can be very time consuming.

Globalmediapro complaints page contains customer stories and their problems.

Panasonic's HDC-MDH1 AVCHD Camcorder (PAL) is a shoulder-mount HD camera with a pro-style form factor that gives you added comfort and stability during long handheld shoots. Capable of capturing full HD 1920 x 1080 or downconverted standard-definition 576i video, the camera provides the versatility and convenience necessary for getting your shots the way you want them. A tiltable viewfinder and touchscreen LCD screen help you compose with ease, while the 16.8x optical/23x Intelligent zoom lens gets you as close to the action as you're likely to need. At the same time, a built-in zoom microphone follows the lens' lead, making sure that what you see is also what you hear. Whether shooting weddings, events, or even a low-budget indie, the HDC-MDH1's full manual control over shutter speed, aperture, white balance, and focus--not to mention its large front focus ring--allow you to bring professional polish and finesse to all your videography. Here is a summary from multiple consumer reviews on Panasonic HDC-MDH1 AVCHD Camcorder, submitted by customers on Globalmediapro Reviews.

Pros:

• Easy to use
• Cheap
• Excellent pictures in HD (1920x1080) and SD (576i)
• Big camera with a professional look

Cons:

• not pro cam
• very very light

According to the recent survey, 90% of 1300 surveyed say they write reviews to help others make better buying decisions, and more than 70% want to help companies improve the products they build and carry. Communicating the feel-good benefits of adding your voice to help others can be as effective motivators as discounts and contests.

A summary of the key findings below (US):

• 79% of US consumers have used the internet to find a local business in the last 12 months
• 71% of US consumers have consulted online customer reviews of local businesses
• 55% of US consumers trust a local business more after reading positive online reviews Younger consumers are more believing of online reviews than older consumers
• 50% of US consumers are more likely to use a local business having read positive online reviews
• 67% of US consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations