Afternoon Coffee: Fed (Finally) Raises Interest Rates, SAP Fieldglass Targets Mid-Market with New CW Solution

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The Federal Reserve unanimously approved Wednesday its first interest rate increase since 2015, to 0.75% from 0.50%. Citing increasing optimism about the U.S. economy, Fed officials said they anticipate three interest rate hikes in 2017.  

SAP Fieldglass Unveils Flex

SAP Fieldglass announced Wednesday plans to release a new solution for managing the contingent workforce aimed at mid-sized businesses. The new offering, called Flex, allows organizations to “gain complete visibility and control over external talent to better drive efficiencies and increase focus on business growth,” the company said in a press release.

Cash: The Once and Future King

Spend Matters has covered the increasing interest in blockchain technologies over the past year, known to many as the infrastructure behind cryptocurrency bitcoin. But while interest in blockchain is certain to continue into 2017, the same is less true for bitcoin: Cash is still alive and well, according to Bloomberg, and the value of dollars and euros in circulation has doubled since 2005, to $1.48 trillion and €1.1 trillion.

Amazon Delivers on Drone Plans

And finally, Amazon said Wednesday it delivered its first Prime Air order, after revealing the program three years ago. The drone dropped off an Amazon Fire TV and bag of popcorn in the backyard of a customer near Cambridge, England, just 13 minutes after the customer ordered it.