*By Michael Teich*
Amazon inked a new partnership with American Express, but don't expect the financial industry to be the next area the tech giant jumps into.
"The thing that people misunderstand is that tech companies don't want to manufacture financial products," said Lex Sokolin, Global Director of Fintech Strategy at Autonomous Research. "It's about making the ecosystem and the platform more powerful, and finance is just a feature inside of that."
American Express announced Tuesday it will launch a co-branded Amazon credit card for small businesses. The move accelerates Amazon's foray into financial products and strengthens its position as a lender. The goal, Sokolin said, is to enable small businesses to finance their activities, getting more products on Amazon's platform, and ultimately driving more commerce.
Plus, the opportunity costs of devoting itself to the financial industry are too high.
"Amazon has tremendous high-growth, super interesting, blue oceans to explore,” he said. "They could be investing in building a mortgage business, or they can build artificial intelligence business."
For the full segment, [click here.](https://cheddar.com/videos/amazon-bolsters-financial-prowess-with-new-credit-card)
You've probably seen a traditional shipping container, but did you know that thousands of them sit empty at ports around the world and make supply chain issues worse? Staxxon says it has a solution: a foldable shipping crate that can be stacked with several others in order to save space, time, money, and even carbon emissions. George Kochanowski, CEO and CTO of Staxxon, joins Closing Bell to discuss its foldable containers, how the containers work with current shipping technology, and how they might save retailers money and space.
A recent survey from tech giant HP shows that while women are very interested in advancing their careers, men are still promoted at a much higher rate. Managing Director of North America at HP Stephanie Dismore joined Cheddar News to discuss the data and how changes brought on by the pandemic helped — and hurt — women in the workforce. "This whole idea of hybrid working is a challenge, but it's also an opportunity. And ideally what it can do for women is provide extreme flexibility, and it gives them an opportunity to really be very vocal about what they need and how they can contribute the best in the environment that they're in," she said. "However, at the same time, while women are applying and wanting to advance their careers. COVID actually had the reverse effect. And if you look at other studies, one in four women actually took a step back from their careers or exited the workforce altogether."
Apple made Academy Awards history this week when it won the best picture award for "Coda," available exclusively on its streaming platform, Apple TV+. It beat streaming rivals Netflix and Amazon Prime to the punch, and the trophy could strengthen its streaming ambitions as well as bring in more subscribers to compete in the space. Dan Ives, Managing Director of Equity Research at Wedbush Securities, joins Closing Bell to discuss Apple's big win, what it means for the company and the streaming space, its content strategy, and more. "I think it's really a feather in the cap, but I think it's going to propel the streaming ambitions significantly, not just from A+ Hollywood circles coming to Apple but also from a subscriber perspective," he said. "This is a major shot across the bow."
Cynthia Hollen, CEO and Co-Founder, Mavi.io, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where she explains why MAVI OnMyWay provides a more convenient alternative to commerce, as the solution allows people to order food, phone chargers, and other products while driving.
Stacey Rudser, president of the Association for Women in Aviation Maintenance, joins Cheddar News to talk about the lack of diversity in the aviation maintenance sector and what needs to change.
