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Xsolla and Affirm partner to help game developers offer players a smarter, more flexible way to pay

Xsolla and Affirm partner to help game developers offer players a smarter, more flexible way to pay

National Post5 hours ago

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LOS ANGELES — Xsolla, a global leader in video game commerce, today announced a new partnership with Affirm (NASDAQ: AFRM), the payment network that empowers consumers and helps merchants drive growth. Through this partnership, Affirm's transparent and flexible payment options are now available to game developers using Xsolla's payments tools in the U.S., with plans to expand to Canada and the UK in the coming months.
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Xsolla powers checkouts for thousands of game developers, and now Affirm is automatically available to their players—enabling them to split purchases into interest-free biweekly payments or longer-term monthly installments for carts starting at $50. Whether players are buying games or in-game content, they can select Affirm at checkout, complete a quick eligibility check, and if approved, choose a personalized payment plan with no late or hidden fees—ever.
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'At Xsolla, we're dedicated to building the best commerce and payment solutions for the video game industry—making it easier for developers, from indie studios to enterprise teams, to connect with players around the world,' said Chris Hewish, President, Communication & Strategy at Xsolla. 'By integrating Affirm's customer-first payment options—known for their flexibility and predictability—we're empowering developers to offer gamers a smarter way to pay for the content they love while driving deeper engagement and long-term growth.'
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'At Affirm, we're reshaping how people pay by putting transparency and personalization at the center of every transaction,' said Pat Suh, Senior Vice President of Revenue at Affirm. 'Partnering with Xsolla brings these principles to the gaming world. For developers, it means offering their communities a trusted payment option that can help drive engagement and growth. For players, it delivers more control and choice in how they pay for the content they love.'
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About Xsolla
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Xsolla is a global video game commerce company with a robust and powerful set of tools and services designed specifically for the industry. Since its founding in 2005, Xsolla has helped thousands of game developers and publishers of all sizes fund, market, launch, and monetize their games globally and across multiple platforms. As an innovative leader in game commerce, Xsolla's mission is to solve the inherent complexities of global distribution, marketing, and monetization to help our partners reach more geographies, generate more revenue, and create relationships with gamers worldwide. Headquartered and incorporated in Los Angeles, California, with offices in London, Berlin, Seoul, Beijing, Kuala Lumpur, Raleigh, Tokyo, Montreal, and cities around the world.
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About Affirm
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Affirm's mission is to deliver honest financial products that improve lives. By building a new kind of payment network—one based on trust, transparency, and putting people first—we empower millions of consumers to spend and save responsibly, and give thousands of businesses the tools to fuel growth. Unlike most credit cards and other pay-over-time options, we never charge any late or hidden fees. Follow Affirm on social media: LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook | X.
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AFRM-PA
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Payment options through Affirm are subject to an eligibility check and are provided by these lending partners:
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affirm.com/lenders
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These groceries cost 45% more from Sobeys' Uber Eats than in-store
These groceries cost 45% more from Sobeys' Uber Eats than in-store

National Post

time22 minutes ago

  • National Post

These groceries cost 45% more from Sobeys' Uber Eats than in-store

Article content Inspired by a La Presse experiment, I learned the cost of convenience. It's not just the expected fees that add to the hefty totals for groceries ordered via food delivery apps, though. Overall, ordering from Sobeys' Uber Eats storefront was 45 per cent more expensive than shopping IRL. My bill jumped from $73.16 at a Toronto brick-and-mortar Sobeys location to $105.88 via the delivery app. Article content Article content Bag, service and delivery fees, tip and taxes notwithstanding, my items cost 16 per cent more in-app, and the on-shelf sales applied only two-thirds of the time. Article content Article content Article content La Presse journalist Marie-Eve Fournier's groceries increased 116 per cent, from $38 in-store to $82 from the same Montreal IGA on Uber Eats. Fournier admits she 'cheated a little' by selecting items from the flyer. My only guiding principle was choosing products I usually buy at Sobeys: chicken thighs, dried beans, yogurt, cheese, arugula, frozen blueberries, sparkling water, tortilla chips and toilet paper. Article content Four of the nine items I bought were Sobeys' house brand, Compliments. Three were on sale in-store, two of which were reduced in-app. Article content I added products to my virtual cart at the same time as my physical one, making sure there was plenty of stock so my Uber Eats shopper wouldn't have any issues fulfilling the order. It occurred to me as I completed my purchase that we were in the store at the same time. As I fumbled at the self-checkout, my shopper was already walking the aisles. They delivered my order a little over an hour after I placed it. Article content Article content Regular-priced items such as arugula, dried beans, sparkling water and tortilla chips were five per cent more expensive in the app than in the Sobeys store. Of the in-store sale items, yogurt and frozen blueberries cost 17 per cent more online, and toilet paper went up 40 per cent. Let that sink in. Article content Article content Call me naive, but I assumed the prices in an online storefront would match those on physical shelves. 'Join the club,' says Sylvain Charlebois, senior director of Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab, a colleague of Fournier's but not involved in her Uber Eats column. 'I used Instacart a few times during COVID, and that's it. So, I wasn't aware of these price discrepancies at all, and I suspect many Canadians aren't either.' Article content According to Keerthana Rang, corporate communications lead at Uber Canada, 'Merchants are responsible for setting their own prices on their Uber Eats storefronts. Prices set by merchants in the Uber Eats app may differ from those in-store. Merchants that do offer in-store pricing on Uber Eats are highlighted with an 'in-store pricing' badge in the app, such as Metro, Food Basics, LCBO and Giant Tiger.'

Ascent Solar Technologies Enters Collaborative Agreement Notice with NASA to Advance Development of Thin-Film PV Power Beaming Capabilities: Nasdaq: ASTI
Ascent Solar Technologies Enters Collaborative Agreement Notice with NASA to Advance Development of Thin-Film PV Power Beaming Capabilities: Nasdaq: ASTI

Globe and Mail

time26 minutes ago

  • Globe and Mail

Ascent Solar Technologies Enters Collaborative Agreement Notice with NASA to Advance Development of Thin-Film PV Power Beaming Capabilities: Nasdaq: ASTI

$ASTI Thin Film CIGS Solar Tech has Key Applications in Aerospace, Agrivoltaic Installations, Industrial/Commercial Construction and Consumer Goods Provider of Innovative, High-Performance, Flexible Thin-Film Solar Panels for Environments Where Wass, Performance, Reliability and Resilience Matter. Successful Applications in Space Missions, Aircraft, Agrivoltaic Installations, Industrial/Commercial Construction and Consumer Goods. Research and Development Center and 5-MW Nameplate Production Facility Strategically Located in Thornton, Colorado. Multiple Strategic Partners in the Space Market, Including a Major Defense Contractor, Multiple Deployable Technology Companies and a Satellite Company. Ascent Solar Technologies Enters Collaborative Agreement Notice with NASA to Advance Development of Thin-Film PV Power Beaming Capabilities. Record New Efficiency of 15.7% at Production Scale for CIGS Solar Technology. Master Services Agreement to Provide NOVI Space with Rollable PV Array Blankets for Launch in 2026. THORNTON, Colo. - June 26, 2025 - Ascent Solar Technologies (Nasdaq: ASTI) ('Ascent' or the 'Company'), the leading U.S. innovator in the design and manufacture of featherweight, flexible, and durable CIGS thin-film photovoltaic (PV) solutions, announced today that the company is commencing work on a Collaborative Agreement Notice (CAN) with NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) and support from NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) to efficiently advance capabilities for receiving beamed power using CIGS PV modules. Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASTI) is backed by 40 years of R&D, 15 years of manufacturing experience, numerous awards, and a comprehensive IP and patent portfolio. ASTI is a leading provider of innovative, high-performance, flexible thin-film solar panels for use in environments where mass, performance, reliability and resilience matter. 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Launched in 2023, NASA's Psyche Mission has demonstrated deep space laser communications across 19 million miles of space, validating the efficacy of tight-beaming technologies over vast distances. Bench-testing conducted by NASA MSFC in 2024 demonstrated receiving beamed power using Ascent's commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) products as a preceding validation of the technology prior to the CAN award. The CAN is evaluating the ability of Ascent's CIGS PV modules to generate power while illuminated by energy-dense beams of light, with goals to convert more usable power from the equivalent of tens of Earth's Sun. The ability to remotely receive 10x more power on-demand while using the same PV cells tasked with collecting sunlight can significantly reduce solar array mass and volume required to meet mission power needs. In practice, this suggests that beamed-power architectures can lead to reductions of both spacecraft mass and volume budgets. 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ASTI has the capabilities to deliver mission-optimized solar array solutions based on CIGS PV products already developed with spaceflight heritage. Its high-maturity CIGS PV products in manufactured in its 5MW production facility in Thornton, CO enables delivery of arrays in just 6-8 weeks, versus market competition that typically struggles to meet aggressive delivery schedules and strives for 9–12-month lead times. Disclosure listed on the CorporateAds website Media Contact Company Name: Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc Contact Person: Paul Warley, President and CEO Email: Send Email Phone: (720) 872-5000 Address: 12300 Grant Street City: Thornton State: Colorado 80241 Country: United States Website:

Vistra or Southern Company: Which Utility Stock Offers Better Upside?
Vistra or Southern Company: Which Utility Stock Offers Better Upside?

Globe and Mail

time26 minutes ago

  • Globe and Mail

Vistra or Southern Company: Which Utility Stock Offers Better Upside?

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Amid such a backdrop, let's compare Vistra Corp. VST and T he Southern Company SO. These prominent U.S. electric utilities are actively investing in renewable energy, making them pivotal players in the shift toward cleaner power generation. The Southern Company offers stable, long-term value through its regulated utility operations and strategic investments in clean energy. With a diversified generation mix, strong customer base, and constructive regulatory environment, it delivers reliable earnings and dividend growth. Its commitment to decarbonization, including nuclear expansion and renewable integration, positions it well for the evolving energy transition. Vistra Energy is emerging as a major player in the nuclear energy sector. Its 2023 acquisition of Energy Harbor significantly bolstered its nuclear asset base and led to the creation of Vistra Vision, a dedicated subsidiary focused on zero-carbon power generation. 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Return on Equity (ROE) ROE is an essential financial indicator that evaluates a company's efficiency in generating profits from the equity invested by its shareholders. It demonstrates how well management is utilizing the capital provided to increase earnings and deliver value. VST's current ROE is 87.03% compared with SO's ROE of 12.7%. NEE outperforms the industry's ROE of 10.09%. VST & SO's Dividend Yield Dividends are regular payments made by a company to its shareholders and represent a direct way for investors to earn a return on their investment. They are an important indicator of a company's financial health and stability, often signaling strong cash flow and consistent earnings. Utilities are known for regular dividend payments to their shareholders. Currently, the dividend yield for Vistra is 0.48%, while the same for The Southern Company is 3.26%. The dividend yields of both companies are lower than their industry's yield of 3.27%. VST & SO's Sales Estimates The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Vistra's sales estimates in 2025 and 2026 reflects year-over-year growth of 28.91% and 4.53%, respectively. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Southern Company's sales estimates in 2025 and 2026 reflects year-over-year growth of 5.84% and 3.7%, respectively. Debt to Capital The Zacks Utilities sector is a capital-intensive one, and huge investments are required at regular intervals to upgrade, maintain and expand operations. The usage of new evolving technology also requires investments. Therefore, utilities borrow from the market and add it to their internal cash generation to fund their long-term investments. Vistra's debt-to-capital currently stands at 77.12% compared with Duke Southern Company's debt-to-capital of 64.83%. Both companies are using higher debt to fund their business, as the industry's debt-to-capital stands at 60.81%. Valuation Vistra currently appears to be trading at a premium compared with The Southern Company on a Price/Earnings Forward 12-month basis. (P/E- F12M). VST is currently trading at 26.29X, while SO is trading at 20.44X compared with the industry's 15.29X. Conclusion Vistra and The Southern Company are strategically investing in their infrastructure to serve customers more efficiently and reliably. Based on the above discussion, The Southern Company currently has a marginal edge over Vistra, despite the stocks carrying a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) each. SO's relatively lower debt usage to run operations, cheaper valuation, and higher dividend yield make it a better choice in the utility space. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Research Chief Names "Single Best Pick to Double" From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. 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