Telegram has become profitable for the first time — three years after introducing monetization.

For the first time since its monetization began, the platform has turned a profit, as revealed by Pavel Durov here. The number of Telegram Premium subscribers has tripled, surpassing 12 million users. Additionally, advertising revenue has also increased.

"As a result, Telegram's total revenue in 2024 exceeded $1 billion, and we are closing the year with more than $500 million in cash reserves, not including crypto assets."

This significant profit growth was made possible by introducing innovations on the platform, such as "stars," gifts, and referral programs in mini-apps.

Alibaba will start paying VAT in Kazakhstan.

The Committee for State Revenues of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Kazakhstan held a meeting with Alibaba International Digital Commerce Group.

During the meeting, the Committee for State Revenues and Alibaba International discussed issues related to the development of international taxation in the digital economy, as well as recent changes in legislation and tax administration in the field of e-commerce in Kazakhstan.

As a result of the meeting, it was decided to place Alibaba International Digital Commerce Group on conditional registration as a VAT taxpayer.

How Jeff Bezos Knocked $1 Billion Off His Tax Bill By Moving To His Infamous 'Billionaire Bunker'.

It turns out that Jeff Bezos saved around $1 billion in taxes simply by moving to Florida. He might just use that money to fund his wedding!

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos will spend $600 million on his wedding to Lauren Sanchez.

Over 13 million users per month have already embraced the new clicker game Bums.

You can play Bums right in Telegram, whenever your hands are free. The main character isn’t a hamster but a loafer that you can transform into a successful urban conqueror and a charming hero.

Earn in-game currency in Bums through various means. The simplest way is by tapping the screen. A more strategic approach involves upgrading your character’s skills to boost passive hourly income.

Join the millions of fans of the crypto-game Bums and climb to the top of the leaderboard!

Chinese Alibaba has released the QVQ AI model, capable of reasoning and analyzing images.

A free demo version is available. QvQ-72B-Preview is an open-source multimodal AI model that can analyze charts and images to solve tasks. The demo version is available on Hugging Face, and the code can be found on GitHub.

The developers claim that QvQ-72B outperforms o1 and GPT-4o from OpenAI, as well as Claude 3.5 Sonnet, in mathematics. In an example on the company's website, the neural network solves a math problem using data from a table.

EBay and Klarna expand partnership.

EBay and Klarna, a global payment network and AI-powered shopping assistant, have announced the expansion of their strategic partnership across key European markets, making Klarna's "Buy Now, Pay Later" (BNPL) payment options available to more eBay customers.

This move provides eBay shoppers with greater choice and flexibility in payment methods, aligning with the evolving preferences of modern consumers. According to the 2024 PYMNTS Intelligence report, nearly half of Gen Z and millennial consumers used BNPL in the past 12 months.

Building on a successful launch in Germany, eBay is now offering Klarna's flexible payment options to millions of customers in the UK, Austria, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain, with plans to expand to additional markets soon.

Walmart launched a virtual showroom.

If you want to wander around it, there is a not very noticeable button at the bottom to go to the next store.

We previously wrote about a similar store on Amazon.

The Financial Times has released its traditional forecast for 2025.

Bigtech is facing a period of stagnation. The Magnificent Seven (Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia and Tesla) will maintain their leadership but will face slower growth.

All due to the growing costs of AI and infrastructure development.

Bitcoin will break the $200,000 mark.

The Financial Times has published a fresh forecast for the upcoming 12 months.

Bitcoin only recently surpassed $100,000 for the first time, but analysts predict further growth, up to $200,000. This success is attributed to upcoming changes in U.S. policy, with expectations that the crypto industry will receive special support following Donald Trump's inauguration.

‘Stressed’ Amazon driver ditches 80 packages in the woods, police say.

In a pre-Christmas mystery, a police officer in southeastern Massachusetts discovered a clutch of more than 80 Amazon packages nestled beneath a tree — or rather, several trees — in a wooded area of Lakeville early Sunday.

The sergeant was on a 2 a.m. patrol when he spotted the haul of three large Amazon totes spread out in the woods, the Lakeville Police Department said in a news release. Police had the items loaded into a pickup truck and taken back to the station to be inventoried, the department said. Lakeville is about an hour south of Boston.

Police were still puzzling over where the items came from, with no recent reports of misplaced or stolen packages, before handing them over to an Amazon distribution center in nearby Middleborough, Massachusetts, for redelivery. (Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.)

The mystery was ultimately short-lived: An overwhelmed delivery driver visited the police department to explain that they had left the packages on the side of the road around 7 p.m. on Saturday “because they were stressed,” police said.

Lakeville Police Chief Matthew Perkins praised Sgt. Shawn Robert for probably saving “a Christmas headache for many local residents” by spotting the packages and getting them back to Amazon. The driver was not identified, with Perkins stating that the matter was not a criminal one but a human resources issue for Amazon.

As for the intended recipients, a spokesperson for Amazon told The Post on Thursday that the items were redelivered and made it to their destinations on time.

Amazon and Intuit expand their strategic partnership in 2025.

QuickBooks will become Amazon’s preferred partner for financial management solutions integrated directly in Amazon Seller Central, the Amazon site where sellers manage their businesses.

Starting in mid-2025, Amazon sellers can benefit from seamless access to Intuit accounting, tax, and lending solutions from within Seller Central. The expanded Amazon-Intuit partnership will give sellers the ability to bring their existing Amazon data into Intuit products and experiences—ultimately making it easier for sellers to understand and optimize profitability, manage cash flow, access capital, and simplify taxes with confidence.

Real-Time Crypto Ticker on Amazon.

CryptoTicr is a passion project of a dedicated USA-based creator focused on crafting the finest cryptocurrency ticker available. This gadget provides a remarkable experience and includes a Two-Year Warranty and USA-based support directly from it's creator.

Live Real-Time Prices: CryptoTicr displays up-to-the-minute cryptocurrency prices for any of the top 1,000 coins (by market share, for example Toncoin), always on, always keeping you informed.

Business Insider Names the Richest and Poorest People of 2024.

Colin Huang, founder of the Chinese marketplace Temu, lost $17 billion following a 30% drop in the company's stock. In August, Temu announced that its shares would continue to decline in 2025 due to weakening consumer sentiment.

As for the richest individuals, the rankings remain unchanged. Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jensen Huang lead the list.

Luxury Hair Tie Set – a perfect product for your marketplace store that combines style, quality, and trendy design.

Product Description
— The set includes 5 hair ties, made from satin and velvet fabrics.

— Color palette: pastel shades (beige, blush, soft pink, champagne) – ideal for both everyday and festive looks.

— Diameter of each hair tie: 10 cm – suitable for both voluminous hairstyles and minimalist ponytails.

— Material: durable textile with reinforced elastic base that retains its shape even after prolonged use.

Why Will This Product Sell?
Trendy product: Hair accessories are consistently popular, especially in the "gift" category.

High profit margin: The wholesale cost of similar sets starts at $2-3, while on marketplaces they retail for $15-20.

Universal gift: Suitable for women of all ages – a practical and stylish item.

Target Audience:
Women aged 25-45, interested in fashion and beauty.
Shoppers looking for gifts (especially during the holiday season).
Parents of teenagers, wanting to surprise their kids with stylish accessories.

How to Promote It?
Keywords for marketplaces: "hair ties," "hair set," "gift for her," "hair accessories."

Advertising: Run targeted ads on Instagram and TikTok for women aged 25-34.

Holiday promotions: Offer beautiful gift packaging + a "2 sets for the price of 1" deal to boost sales.

Sales Forecast
At a selling price of $18 per set (compared to competitors) and a purchasing cost of $3, the profit margin will be $15 per unit. Selling just 50 sets per month would bring you $750 in net profit.
Link to the product on Etsy

The court in Russia has banned access to the online store Shein due to the sale of LGBT bracelets.

The Central District Court of Tula restricted access to the Shein website following a lawsuit filed by Roskomnadzor. The lawsuit was triggered by the sale of bracelets with LGBT symbols ("the international LGBT movement" is recognized as extremist and banned in Russia).

Specifically, the court ruling mentions the sale of bracelets on the platform. "When entering 'LGBT BRACELET' in the search bar, one is redirected to a page displaying a range of products containing LGBT symbols ('the international LGBT movement' is recognized as extremist and banned in Russia)," the document states. The court act specifies that any user, "including a minor," can purchase the product and order its delivery.

As of January 9, the store's website has not been blocked in Russia and is not listed in Roskomnadzor's registry of blocked pages.

How Amazon is helping communities across LA County.

Amazon has been working with first responders, non-profit partners and humanitarian relief agencies on the ground in Los Angeles including the American Red Cross, Salvation Army, Dream Center, International Medical Corps, World Central Kitchen, among others.

Amazon leveraging our recently opened Wildfire Relief Hub—located two hours east of LA and stocked with over 6,000 essential items—as well as logistics infrastructure and technology, to deliver essential items to these organizations based on their needs. In addition to the Wildfire Relief Hub, we’ve also shipped Amazon-donated items from across our supply chain network in LA county.

The thousands of vital supplies and items Amazon delivering include:

📍 Wildfire mitigation equipment such as axes, goggles, masks, rakes, shovels, smoke pumps, soil sifters, and shelter kits.
📍 Personal supplies crucial for those who are going back to their communities including fire-safe rubber boots, high-particulate-matter filtration respirators, hydration packets, neck gaiters, specialized gloves, and trauma kits.
📍 Water, baby food, canned and dry goods, pet food, and other critical supplies.

In 2024, the share of Chinese sellers on the Amazon platform exceeded 50%, while American sellers accounted for about 45%.

This information was confirmed in the company's annual report. In November 2024, Amazon introduced a new section called "Amazon Haul" aimed at selling low-cost products directly from Chinese sellers. The move is aimed at competing with platforms such as Temu and Shein, which offer budget products.

A mother in China has sparked safety concerns by hiring a delivery rider to take her child to school, inspiring other parents to follow suit.

In early December, a woman from Guangxi, southern China, shared online that she found winter mornings too cold to get out of bed, so she hired a delivery rider to take her child to school at 6:30am.

“What a clever idea! Taking kids and delivering packages is basically the same thing as long as they arrive safely,” said one online supporter of her actions.
The Post has found that other parents are embracing this “hassle-free” approach to the school run.

A woman surnamed Zheng from Henan province in central China shared online that her overnight work leaves her too tired to take her child to school, so she often hires delivery riders instead.

Shanghai investigates 47 'Russian Goods Stores', some ordered to close.

In recent months, "Russian Goods Stores" have sprung up across many cities in China. To address growing concerns, the Shanghai Municipal Administration for Market Regulation announced that it has conducted two rounds of inspections since late December 2024.

Authorities have identified 47 such stores in Shanghai. Inspections focused on business qualifications, promotional signage, and the origin of goods. Several stores were found to operate without proper licenses or registrations and have been ordered to close.

Some have falsely advertised themselves as "National Pavilions," misleading consumers into believing they had an official endorsement. Others had a low proportion of actual Russian imports but still marketed themselves as "Russian Goods Stores," raising concerns about deceptive practices.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has yet to conquer space.

The private space company Blue Origin, owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has canceled the launch of its rocket due to a technical issue. This was announced on the company’s page on the social network X.

According to Blue Origin, the launch was halted to address an issue with the spacecraft's subsystem.

"We are exploring options for the next launch attempt," the company stated in its announcement.

Adidas has unveiled its first AI-generated clip titled "Time to Blossom."