If any retailers were still in denial about the dramatic shift toward e-commerce, the pandemic took care of that quickly: e-commerce now accounts for 20% of all U.S. retail spending.

Australia Post and Deakin University extended the evaluation of Mastercard's (MA) ID, the company's digital identity service, to verify students taking exams online

In the current market session, Mastercard Inc. (NYSE: MA) is trading at $340.91, after a 0.20% drop. However, over the past month, the stock increased by 18.04%, and in the past year, by 18.93%. Shareholders might be interested in knowing whether the stock is overvalued, even if the company is not performing up to par in the current session. Assuming that all other factors are held constant, this could present itself as an opportunity for shareholders trying to capitalize on the higher share price. The stock is currently under from its 52 week high by 7.17%. The P/E ratio measures the current share price to the company's EPS. It is used by long-term investors to analyze the company's current performance against its past earnings, historical data and aggregate market data for the industry or the indices, such as S&P 500. A higher P/E indicates that investors expect the company to perform better in the future, and the stock is probably overvalued, but not necessarily. It also shows that investors are willing to pay a higher share price currently, because they expect the company to perform better in the upcoming quarters. This leads investors to also remain optimistic about rising dividends in the future. View more earnings on MADepending on the particular phase of a business cycle, some industries will perform better than others. Mastercard Inc. has a lower P/E than the aggregate P/E of 78.09 of the IT Services industry. Ideally, one might believe that the stock might perform worse than its peers, but it's also probable that the stock is undervalued. Price to earnings ratio is not always a great indicator of the company's performance. Depending on the earnings makeup of a company, investors can become unable to attain key insights from trailing earnings.See more from Benzinga * Click here for options trades from Benzinga * A Look Into Amazon.com's Price Over Earnings * A Look Into JD.com's Price Over Earnings(C) 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

(Bloomberg) -- Bitcoin plunged on Thursday in a sell-off that saw other digital assets fall more than 20%, a slide likely to stoke speculation about the durability of the latest boom in cryptocurrencies.The largest token fell as much as 14% in Thursday trading, heading for one of its worst days since the pandemic-spurred liquidation in March.The rout began just hours after Bitcoin rose to within $7 of its record high of $19,511, the culmination of a more than 250% surge in past nine months. Fears over tighter crypto regulation and profit-taking after a frenetic rally were among the reasons cited for the sudden drop.The sell-off gathered pace late Wednesday after Coinbase Inc. Chief Executive Officer Brian Armstrong tweeted about speculation the U.S. is considering new rules that would undermine anonymity in digital transactions.“News that the Trump administration may clamp down on crypto might have been a trigger for the drop,” said Antoni Trenchev, managing partner of Nexo in London, which bills itself as the world’s biggest digital-coin lender. “But any asset that rallies 75% in 2 months and 260% from the March lows is allowed to undergo a correction.”Other coins including XRP tumbled as much as 27%, according to prices compiled by Bloomberg.After garnering more support from Wall Street money managers and fund providers, the rally in cryptocurrencies had looked over-heated. The fierce retreat could stir yet another debate over the their value in diversifying portfolios.“Conditions are very massively overbought and bound for a correction,” said Vijay Ayyar, head of business development with crypto exchange Luno in Singapore. “So I don’t think it’s unusual.”Crypto believers tout purchases by retail investors, institutions and even billionaires, as well as the search for a hedge against dollar weakness amid the pandemic, as reasons why the boom can last.Skeptics argue the cryptocurrency’s famed volatility portends a repeat of what happened three years ago, when a bubble burst spectacularly. Some see signs of retail investors piling in to chase momentum for fast gains, storing up an inevitable reckoning.Concern about potential U.S. crypto rules help explain Thursday’s price drop across most major digital assets, said Ryan Rabaglia, global head of trading at OSL brokerage in Hong Kong.“It’s also not unusual to see a short-term pullback following periods of significant, accelerated gains as traders look to take profits before resetting once volatility subsides,” he said. “Once the dust settles, we’re back to business as usual with all medium to long-term bullish indicators still in play.”Proponents of digital assets say the current focus on cryptocurrencies compared with three years ago is different because of growing institutional interest, for instance from the likes of Fidelity Investments and JPMorgan Chase & Co.Just this week, Van Eck Associates Corp. launched a Bitcoin exchange-traded note on the Deutsche Boerse Xetra exchange. In October, PayPal Holdings Inc. said it would allow its customers access to cryptocurrencies.There is also a buzz around Ethereum, the most-actively used blockchain in the world, which is set for a network upgrade that would allow it to process a similar number of transactions as Mastercard Inc. and Visa Inc. The shift to the new system could curb the total supply of Ether, whose price has quadrupled so far this year.Luno’s Ayyar said he expects Bitcoin to stabilize and achieve all-time highs. But that would be followed by a larger drop in the cryptocurrency, he said.Soravis Srinawakoon, chief executive of Bangkok-based Band Protocol, said the plunge in crypto was healthy.“This is just a normal pull back after seven weeks straight of Bitcoin in the green, due to many people over-leveraging.”(Updates prices)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

Rise in online sales this holiday season is likely to expand volumes for Mastercard's (MA) U.S. business.

Mastercard (MA) enters into alliance with SBI Card, which will utilize the former's tokenization platform to introduce contactless payments on the SBI Card app.

In the week ended Aug. 4, 2006, MA stock cleared the high of that base in heavy volume. This breakout set the stage for a 6,760% run to a 347.25 new high set on Feb. 20 this year.

Mastercard (MA) is witnessing a consistent trend in spending. Per the company, most markets remain in the normalization phase, domestically, with a handful advancing toward growth.

Mastercard’s latest study shows that consumers are shopping more consciously this holiday season. Mastercard senior advisor and former Saks chairman and CEO Steve Sadove joins Yahoo Finance Live to weigh in on why U.S. holiday retail sales are expected to grow more this winter than last year.

Mastercard today published updated operating metrics for its fourth quarter through the week ending November 21, 2020.

Although the masses and most of the financial media blame hedge funds for their exorbitant fee structure and disappointing performance, these investors have proved to have great stock picking abilities over the years (that’s why their assets under management continue to swell). We believe hedge fund sentiment should serve as a crucial tool of an […]

Mastercard (MA) partners with Sokin for easing international payment services in Singapore through Sokin's cost-effective service.

The digital payments leader is poised for a rebound as the global economy recovers from the pandemic.

(Bloomberg) -- Hillary Clinton joined corporate chieftains in calling for more U.S. stimulus now as the pandemic threatens hopes for a global recovery. On the second day of the four-day Bloomberg New Economy Forum, the former Secretary of State said Donald Trump’s Covid-19 stimulus had not reached those in the greatest need and that she hoped for an agreement on new relief before the new U.S. Congress takes over in early January.Mastercard Inc. Chief Executive Officer Ajay Banga said a fresh batch of U.S. fiscal support is needed as a renewed surge in coronavirus cases threatens to impact consumer spending. Earlier in the day, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde reiterated that her institution will “recalibrate” its stimulus in December, widely understood as meaning it will add more monetary support for the economy.In a panel on cities, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he is keen to attract foreign investment to modernize the country’s urban centers following the pandemic. Top CEOs including Anheuser-Busch InBev’s Carlos Brito, Unilever’s Alan Jope, HSBC Holdings’ Noel Quinn and BlackRock Inc.’s Larry Fink are scheduled to discuss green investment on the third day of the New Economy Forum, which is organized by Bloomberg Media Group, a division of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News.Hillary Clinton Says Covid-19 Stimulus ‘Not Sufficient’ (11:09 a.m. HKT)“The original stimulus post-Covid was not sufficient,” Clinton, the former Democratic presidential nominee said on the Bloomberg New Economy Forum’s “Financing the ‘Real’ Economy” panel. “It really did not reach those people -- either the employees or the small businesses -- that were in the greatest need.”Clinton also said there had been “quite a disturbing action by the Chinese government with respect to Alibaba and Ant,” without elaborating. Beijing in recent weeks has sought to curb the influence of major corporations like Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., and suspended Ant Group Co.’s $35 billion initial public offering.Ultimately, Clinton said, “even China is going to have to sell into and work within a global economy and we need to reestablish new standards to replace the standards of the past.” -- Karen LeighAirAsia Focusing on Domestic Travel Markets for Next 3-6 Months (10:17 a.m. HKT)AirAsia Group is “doubling down” in the Asean region as domestic travel recovers from the coronavirus pandemic, AirAsia.com CEO Karen Chan said at the New Economy Forum. AirAsia is confident about a recovery in travel, led by Asia, and the airline is selling passes for unlimited travel within its networks for a certain period in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, she said. -- Kyunghee ParkCarnival CEO Says Not Worried About Demand for Cruises (9:44 a.m. HKT)While travelers are trickling off of airplanes and into hotels, the cruise industry is keeping ships ashore as it grapples with the challenge of keeping passengers safe, said Carnival Corp. CEO Arnold Donald. Business will bounce back once those problems are solved, he said.“We’re not worried about demand, and we’re not worried ability to price to attract people,” Donald said. “We need to make certain that we’re able to sail safely again, and that the destinations are comfortable.” -- Patrick ClarkMastercard’s Banga Calls for New Fiscal Stimulus Quickly (9:41 a.m. HKT)Mastercard Inc. Chief Executive Officer Ajay Banga said at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum a fresh batch of U.S. fiscal support is needed as a renewed surge in coronavirus cases threatens to impact consumer spending.“We need the fiscal stimulus and we need it relatively quickly,” he said. “Because I can see where the second wave is coming. You can see consumer spending beginning to get impacted again.”He said that consumer spending now is in “relatively good shape” and that companies have reached a form of “normalization” amid the virus. “It’s a new normal,” he said. “We’re not really doing the things we used to.”Nevertheless, he said there will likely be an economic recovery in the second half of next year, returning to a “pre-Covid kind of stage” as vaccines are widely distributed. -- Dan Reichl, Jonas BergmanWorst Over for Indonesia, Weak Consumption a Hurdle: Indrawati (9:22 a.m. HKT)While Indonesia is past the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic, risks remain and weak consumer confidence is a major hurdle to reviving businesses and growth, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said at the New Economy Forum. Southeast Asia’s biggest economy probably saw the deepest impact from the virus in the second quarter and a rebound in the third quarter, but “we still need to be very careful” as the virus is flaring up again in some countries, she said. -- Claire JiaoTokyo Steps Up Efforts to Lure Businesses (8:23 a.m. HKT)Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike said her government has bolstered its push to attract international businesses looking to expand operations to the Japanese capital from Hong Kong.Tokyo’s government set up an office in Hong Kong last month to help companies make the change. The push comes after a new security law imposed on Hong Kong by China earlier this year has raised question about the city’s autonomy. -- Isabel ReynoldsChina Ex-State Planner Calls for Green Development Focus (8:10 a.m. HKT)The world needs to join forces in order to achieve sustainable development in the post-virus era, said Zhang Xiaoqiang, a former vice-chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, the nation’s economic planning agency. In opening remarks to the NEF, Zhang said efforts should be made in areas such as maintaining an open world economy, investing in green development and digital transformation, as well as enhancing support for small and medium sized enterprises. -- Lin ZhuECB’s Lagarde Sees Risk of ‘Financial Spillover’ (1 p.m. NYT)European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde warned that a key challenge facing policy makers is to stop the current economic crisis due to the coronavirus pandemic morphing into a financial crisis.A “risk I see is that potential financial spillover, which we managed to avoid so far,” Lagarde said at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum on Tuesday. “We need to stay really clear of that because that would be an aggravating factor.”New lockdowns to curb the spread of the coronavirus have put the euro zone on the verge of another slump as winter starts. While the prospect of effective vaccines soon is encouraging, they’ll come too late to avoid more economic damage.Lagarde signaled that policy makers expect to focus on their 1.35 trillion-euro ($1.6 trillion) emergency bond-buying program and their long-term bank loans as the main tools. Investors see an interest rate cut unlikely. — Paul GordonAtlanta Mayor Maps Path to Recovery From Pandemic (12 p.m. NYT)Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said that the Georgia city has developed a roadmap for recovery as it struggled with the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. But the number of people and businesses that need assistance is substantial and growing.“It’s going to be relevant to many more people who didn’t expect to see themselves in this position,” Bottoms said during a Bloomberg New Economy Forum panel on Tuesday. “There’s going to be a large economic impact that will likely last for years.”The mayor of the southeastern U.S. city said that the combination of the virus and social unrest “made us focus on what our goals were.” Affordable housing, jobs and funding for economic development projects are priorities of Atlanta’s plan. As the pandemic continues, Bottoms said she believes that the region’s technology sector will prove resilient, but other areas of the local economy, such as the many small minority-owned businesses at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, will need more assistance to recover. Many airline workers have been furloughed and passenger traffic is down substantially. — Brett PulleyCoronavirus Pandemic Is an ‘Attack on Humanity’ (11:20 a.m. NYT)Efficient government involvement during the coronavirus pandemic is key in controlling this public health crisis, Mohamed Alabbar, chairman of Dubai-based real estate company Emaar Properties, said during the Bloomberg New Economy Forum on Tuesday.“Leadership is so critical,” Alabbar said. Since the spread of the pandemic, which he described as an “attack on humanity,” the United Arab Emirates, where Dubai is located, has been “very serious about managing its affairs.” — Abeer Abu OmarWith Covid Under Control, Travel Recovers in China (10:50 a.m. NYT)In China, the travel and transportation industries are showing signs of life as the coronavirus pandemic heads toward the end of its first year.Jean Liu, president of Chinese ride-hailing company Didi Chuxing Inc., said in a panel at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum. That business fell “off a cliff” when the pandemic started in January and February. But Liu gradually saw a recovery in April, and Didi is now racking up 60 million rides every day. “Right now we are fully back,” she said.Liu said she is most proud of the initiative her company came up with to shuttle healthcare workers around the city when there was no public transportation. Around 140,000 drivers volunteered, she said.Neil Shen, founding and managing partner at Sequoia Capital China, sees “travel coming back pretty quickly” in China. “The good thing is Covid is well under control,” he said. —Isabelle Lee‘15-Minute Cities’ Can Speed the Urban Comeback (10 a.m. NYT)Covid-19 has devastated communities across the globe, but as with disease outbreaks of the past, cities can not only survive but see themselves transformed for the better.“In every crisis there is also an opportunity,” Lord Mayor Hazel Chu of Dublin said in a panel at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum. Dublin, Chu said, has been rolling out a series of transportation improvements in light of the pandemic to help people move around. Among the ideas the city is pursuing is the establishment of a “15-minute city,” in which the needs of all residents can be met within a walking or biking system.But it’s critical to prevent the 15-minute concept from becoming a “bubble” for wealthy citizens, Chu said: The Covid crisis is also exposing the deep inequalities inside cities, and accelerated the need for healthier buildings, more efficient public transit to prevent crowding, and better integration among communities of different socioeconomic backgrounds. — Linda PoonIndia’s Modi Seeks Funding to Build Smart Cities (9 a.m. NYT)Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he is keen to attract foreign investment to modernize India’s urban centers following the coronavirus pandemic.Covid-19 has given governments the chance to accelerate the “process of making cities more livable for people,” Modi said in his speech on Tuesday. “We are looking at a future where a major chunk of education, healthcare, shopping, may happen online. Our cities need to be ready for the convergence of the physical and digital worlds.”India, the world’s second-most populous nation, has completed work on two-thirds of its $30 billion of planned projects to build 100 smart cities, Modi said. —Archana Chaudhary and Bibhudatta Pradhan(Corrects comment from Neil Shen to clarify timeline)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

The Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs highlights the vast socio-economic contributions of women entrepreneurs across the world.

Amazon is a lock to have a huge holiday season, but it's not alone. Here are three more stocks set for a big e-commerce boost as we sprint toward the end of 2020.

Mastercard (MA) is picked for the Citi Plex Account on Google Pay to enrich customer relations.

When Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) announced positive preliminary data from its COVID-19 vaccine trials, the financial sector was one of the biggest beneficiaries. In this Nov. 9 Fool Live video clip, Fool.com contributor Matt Frankel, CFP, and Industry Focus host Jason Moser discuss why Visa (NYSE: V) and Mastercard (NYSE: MA) soared on the positive vaccine news while Square (NYSE: SQ) and PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL) underperformed. Jason Moser: We're going to pivot into a little bit of a discussion here on the quote, unquote, stay at home stocks, it's been a pretty unique phenomenon in 2020 I think in an interest and wanted to discuss, and I guess to kick that discussion off for me really, it's interesting to see this disparity between four particular stocks.

Mastercard's (MA) digital identity service will enable Optus to toughen its identity verification and authentication process while retaining its top-class, digital-first customer experience.

Mastercard's SpendingPulse report showed that 75 percent of consumers plan to be "more mindful" of where they shop — focusing on small business and minority-owned ones.