Five At Five: Walmart’s New Latin American eCommerce Play

Welcome to Five at Five, your late look at the day’s payments and commerce news. Coverage includes a Walmart acquisition and the rise of local brands in China. A new analysis predicts a financial crisis in 2020, a single sign-on for mobile apps is coming and the prospect of tougher tech enforcement increase in the United States.

Walmart Buying Cornershop to Boost Presence in Latin America

The retail chain will pay $225 million for Cornershop, which has seen its number of unique users double in the past 12 months. As part of the agreement, Cornershop will remain an open platform.

Apple, Nike Lose Favor With Chinese Consumers

Shoppers are showing a preference toward local brands. Chinese brands now take up 30 of the 50 slots when it comes relevant brands — a significant change from just two years ago, when only 18 local companies made the top 50.

JPMorgan Predicts Next Financial Crisis in 2020

Stocks could decline around 20 percent with the next crisis, the U.S. corporate bond yield premiums will be at around 1.15 percentage points, and there will be a 35 percent decline in energy prices and a 29 percent decline in base metals.

A Single Sign-On for Mobile Apps Coming Via US Wireless Carriers

AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon have joined forces to create a new service that could eliminate the need for a login and password for all the apps on your phone.

FTC Chairman Eyes Tougher Tech Enforcement

Joseph Simons was sworn in as FTC chairman in May, but this isn’t his first experience with the agency. He was previously director of the Bureau of Competition between 2001 and 2003, and held positions in the 1980s as associate director for mergers and the assistant director for evaluation.