CHICAGO, June 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog includeVisa Inc. (NYSE:V), Liberty Interactive Corp. (Nasdaq:LINTA), Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq:AMZN), HSN Inc. (Nasdaq:HSNI) and ValueVision Media Inc. (Nasdaq:VVTV).
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Here are highlights from Thursday's Analyst Blog:
Visa Inks Deal with mPOS Providers
To expand its payment operations, Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) joined hands with three leading mobile point-of-sale (:mPOS) providers viz. iZettle, SumUp and Swiff. The deal is aimed at deploying secure mobile acceptance terminals across various locations to realize the transition of payments from paper to electronic mode. Furthermore the company approved Anywhere Commerce and Miura Systems to process Visa payments.
This alliance will allow merchants to accept Visa payments through mobile technology. As per the deal, to get their mobile hardware and software verified, iZettle, SumUp and Swiff will participate in the Visa Ready Program. The Visa Ready Program aims at merging Visa with the mPOS providers to offer merchants and consumers with a convenient yet safe payment option.
The deal will allow iZettle, SumUp and Swiff to access Visa's best practices, APIs (Application Program Interfaces) and SDKs (Software Design Kits). These would include tools, direct connection to Visa, value-added services and Visa Ready symbol.
As per the agreement the mPOS providers can access reference applications and tools to facilitate the ongoing development of magnetic stripe, EMV-chip (contact and contactless), and mobile acceptance solutions. To simplify the processing of the EMV-chip transactions, they will be connected to Visa in some countries with the help of Visa POS Solutions platform or payment gateways like CyberSource and Authorize.Net.
In addition, the companies might also be exposed to Visa's value-added services, like instant redemption of special offers at the point-of sale. Additionally, on approval by Visa, iZettle, SumUp and Swiff will be permitted to use the Visa Ready symbol to endorse their devices. Anywhere Commerce and Miura Systems are already permitted to use the symbol to market their Visa approved devices.
A Hike in QVC's Online Sales
QVC, the home shopping TV channel of Liberty Interactive Corp. (Nasdaq:LINTA), is benefiting from the surge in online sales. Management stated that its online sales will constitute more than 50% of the total revenue in the U.S. by 2014. The major thrust comes from the growing adoption of high-end smartphones in the U.S. QVC is about to introduce a synchronized content for its mobile applications. This feature will enable smartphone users to get real time information about a product which is broadcast on the TV show. This will promote online sales further.
According to a report of Internet Retailer, after Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq:AMZN), QVC was the second-largest e-commerce retailer in the U.S. in 2012. QVC has become the market leader in the $8 billion TV home-shopping business commanding an estimated 69% market share, far ahead of its nearest rivals, HSN Inc. (Nasdaq:HSNI) and ValueVision Media Inc. (Nasdaq:VVTV). The TV home-shopping business has a stable customer base, generally constituted of women.
Liberty Interactive's Internet operations are primary growth engines. We expect QVC to continue leveraging its brand to rapidly grow its Internet operations. Exposure to international markets such as Japan, Germany, Italy, and the U.K. will enable QVC to achieve a high rate of growth. QVC is gradually expanding its presence in these developed markets.
QVC entered into a definitive agreement to form a joint venture with China National Radio (CNR), the government controlled radio division of China. The joint venture is known as "CNR Home Shopping Co. Ltd." QVC holds a 49% stake of this venture and China National Radio controls the remaining 51%. The joint venture will aggressively operate a multimedia retailing business in China. Liberty Interactive currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
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