Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Nov 2, 2015 (IV)

choi

(4) Patrick Clark, Building the Carfax of Murder Houses.
www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... ica-s-murder-houses
("Two years ago, [Roy] Condrey launched DiedInHouse, a website that allows customers to find out if someone died at a specific address and the cause of death. * * * his company has built a database of 4.5 million houses that were the sites of confirmed deaths. DiedInHouse's reports for a single address start at $11.99 * * * Stigmatized properties, which is a polite way of describing the scene of a horrible crime, often sell at a 10 percent to 15 percent discount shortly after the event, said Randall Bell, a Laguna Beach-based appraiser who specializes in real estate damages. In extreme cases, a grisly crime can make a house virtually unsellable")

My comment:
(a) summary underneath the title in print: Website DiedInHouse indexes troubling home for dealhunters
(b) There are a few decorations in the print report, indicating this is Halloween time.
(c) Americans told me, before publication of this report, that they did not care. In Taiwan, family members do not want a patient to die in home (for that reason); they want it in a hospital. But Americans prefer to die in their homes, comfortable and familiar. As for murder, Americans say they do not believe a house can be haunted.
(d) poltergeist (n; German, from poltern to knock + Geist spirit)
www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/poltergeist

choi

(5) Nick Leiber, A Cheaper Way to Send Money Home.
www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... rcut-banks-couriers

Quote:

Ismail "Ahmed, who worked his way to a PhD and a job at the United Nations [then a compliance advisor (on remittance) to UN Development Programme] * * * In 2010, while earning an MBA [at London Business School], he cut out the middleman [in remittance] by becoming one himself. Ahmed founded WorldRemit, one of dozens of startups running websites and apps that promise cheaper, easier ways to transfer money abroad. The World Bank estimates that remittance senders paid banks and courier services an average 8 percent of the $583 billion they sent across national borders last year. To send upwards of $1,000, WorldRemit and its digital competitors take 1.3 percent or less, says Daniel Webber, managing director of researcher FXcompared.com. * * * To keep costs low, the startups operate only digitally."

"Combined, the four startups will send about $10 billion to $16 billion across borders this year, Webber estimates. They’re concentrated in Europe because complying with regulations there is relatively cheap. Once licensed to move money in one European Union country, they can do so throughout the EU. 'It’s much harder to build a business in the US,' [Mike] Laven[, chief executive officer of Currency Cloud, which isn’t a remittance company but processes about $1 billion in monthly foreign exchange transactions for clients including banks and remittance providers,] says. 'You have to go state by state to get licensed.' Most of the transfer startups aren’t profitable, but investors say they’re more interested in the companies’ expanding market share.

Western Union "alone moved about $85 billion in consumer remittances last year, charging a 5 percent fee on average. 'While our senders say they are interested in considering digital [transfer], the majority of traditional users of our services still prefer cash,' says company spokeswoman Claire Treacy.

Note:
(a) summary underneath the title in print: Digital remittance startups undercut banks and couriers
(b)
(i) Besides MBA, Ismail Ahmed holds MSc and PhD (both in economics; both from University of London).
(ii) In 2010 Ismail Ahmed (Somali: Ismaaciil Axmed; born in Somalia) founded WorldRemit, based in London.