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Bill Dunk investigates the “health” icon, the latest brainchild from Apple.
With the release of the iPhone 6 in September and Apple upgrading their operating system to iOS 8 iPhone users around the world will have probably seen the ‘health’ icon on the home screen of their phones. With the toolkit now being offered to developers, will our smart phones be the next great leap forward in health care?
Since the advent of the smart phone there have been a plethora of apps available to help the user monitor their health and fitness. In the iTunes store there are separate categories for ‘Health and Fitness’ and ‘Medical’ apps. Apps like RunKeeper, Protracker and WebMD allow us to plan and track our workouts and nutrition and to self diagnose ailments, and with the advent of Bluetooth wearable gadgets like Jawbone, Fitbit, Fuelband and Jabra Sport Pulse wireless headphones (that can monitor your heart rate and report back to an app) there is a growing toolkit of technology that will allow us all to be more health aware.
Even though these categories currently hold hundreds of apps, these are just the tip of a health monitoring iceberg for which development is only just beginning.
In the general population ‘Health and fitness app usage has grown at nearly twice the rate of app usage overall through the first half of 2014’ according to a recent BI Intelligence article (businessinsider.com.au), and by searching the term ‘healthcare professional’ in Apple’s app store it seems every topic imaginable is covered in the results for iPad and iPhone users.
For the healthcare consumer though, the release of the iOS 8 gives app developers a whole new toolkit to integrate all sorts of hardware and software to a single receptacle for the information to be stored and monitored by health care professionals. And you can bet that the Google’s Android platform developers won’t be far behind in developing an equivalent.
If you believe Apple’s rhetoric, ‘it just might be the beginning of a health revolution.’
While health and fitness apps with their associated hardware are great at collecting heart rate, calories burned, blood sugar, cholesterol etc. now the Health app provides a dashboard to put that data in one place, allowing the user to have a clear and current overview of their health statistics and to be able to share these with their health care professional. The app can also create an emergency card with important health information such as blood type and any allergies and makes it available right from the phone’s lock screen.
The Health app can also interact with other third-party apps allowing them to access the health data that the user chooses to share. For example, data from your blood pressure app can be shared with your doctor. Or the user can allow a nutrition app to tell a fitness app how many calories they consume each day. When health and fitness apps work together, they can become more powerful.
It seems we are at the dawn of a new era in diagnostic tools to assist in the management of patients, even if initially it is only for the young or early adopters. AMP


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Global Equities’s Trip Chowdhry, who has generally had a fervently positive view on Apple (AAPL) stock, today writes that the company has been squandering its cash as it boosts its capital returns to appease short-term investors, and that it needs to replace its CFO, Luca Maestri, to change course.
Chowdhry’s note comes two days after Apple announced an increase of $70 billion in its buyback program, planning to complete $200 billion over the next two years. The company will have to borrow more to pay for that, in addition to using what remains of its U.S. cash balance and utilizing cash flow from operations.
Chowdhry thinks the company’s heavy borrowing and focus on buybacks is wrong.
AMZN and GOOG miss estimates – Stocks up $55 and $19 – APPL beats estimates stock was down $2.09 after the announcement yesterday [...] Apple Beats on both the Top Line and the Bottom Line – but Stock down.
He also notes “old generation companies, with zero innovation trade at ~2x that of Apple,” citing Sherwin Williams (SHW), with an “Enterprise Value/Operating Income (2014) = 33x” and Starbucks (SBUX) with an “Enterprise Value/Operating Income (2014) = 32x.”
“Apple, the highly innovative company trades at half the above: AAPL – High-Technology – Enterprise Value/Operating Income (2014) = 11.5x.”
Chowdhry resolves this dilemma by laying it all at the feet of CFO Maestri,
Instead of addressing its discounted valuation multiple, Apple CFO, Luca Maestri, has doubled down on a “Borrow and Squander” policy of his unceremoniously replaced predecessor, Peter Oppenheimer. Ex-Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer now on the Board of Directors of Goldman Sachs. Goldman Sachs has been managing Apple’s Debt offerings. Luca Maestri has increased debt from $0 to $35 Bil while the Enterprise Value/Operating multiple is now at close to its lowest at 11.5x. Investors are already making frequent comparisons between Apple and GM. Under CFO Fred Anderson, Apple’s EV/Operating Income multiples were in high 20s and Apple accumulated a vast Cash position.
Chowdhry concludes Apple should replace Maestri by either bringing back Anderson, who retired in June of 2004, being replaced by Peter Oppenheimer. Or else Apple should appoint Graham Smith, the retiring CFO of Salesforce.com (CRM), he thinks, “and return Luca to being the Principal Accounting Officer at Apple.”
The focus on Maestri on Chowdhry’s part as the main problem seems a bit odd; presumably, Maestri is engineering an intention laid out by both CEO Tim Cook and by Apple’s board of directors.
Shares of Apple (AAPL) are up 61 cents, or half a percent, at $129.22, following a boost from Stifel Nicolaus’s Aaron Rakers, who reiterates a Buy rating and a $150 price target, writing that iPhone numbers are rising based on China sales, the key “swing factor” for the March-ending fiscal Q2, in his view.
Apple is set to report results this coming Monday, April 27th, after market close.
Rakers raised his March-quarter number to 59.6 million from a prior estimate for 53.6 million, citing various factors including “checks” with the electronics supply chain:
We believe iPhone sales have been more robust than previously anticipated based on our supplier checks and our consistent tracking of highly correlated macro data points. On the demand side, we believe while total industry smartphone shipments in China are likely to come in lower vs. expectations for C1Q15 (with domestic shipments likely down 20-25% seq.), the iPhone 6/6s sold briskly in China; we would again highlight Kantar Worldpanel data illustrating a significant share iPhone share ramp over the past few months. While the June quarter is typically lower for iPhone shipments versus March (as consumers anticipate the release of a new phone in September/October), our checks with Apple’s suppliers indicate demand from Apple continues to be robust. While we leave our June quarter estimates at 42.3M units, we believe there is likely to be upside to our estimate. We believe investors will be particularly interested in the progression of Apple’s comment that the iPhone 6/6+ penetration was barely in the teens exiting F1Q15.
Rakers offers the following infographic of how Apple’s China sales have scaled since 2010, and sees more room ahead (click on the image to see it larger):
Rakers raises his estimates for Apple for the fiscal year ending September to $231.2 billion in revenue and $8.81 per share in earnings from a prior $227.2 billion and $8.61.
Rakers also notes his expected increase in Apple’s capital returns program:
With expected completion of its current capital return strategy exiting C2015, and given an anticipated continued strong FCF story ($59.96 billion on TTM basis ending F1Q15; +$40B for thirteen consecutive quarters), we believe Apple can support a 3-year capital allocation target into the +$150B range – including $110-$120B in share repo. We estimate the company to increase its quarterly dividend significantly to the $13.5-$14.0B/annum (~$2.30-$2.40/sh.; ~1.8% yield) vs. trailing 12-month payments at $11.2 billion. We believe investors could look at Apple’s potential dividend increase as a proxy for the company’s forward FCF expectations when considering Apple has averaged a dividend payout of ~23% of TTM FCF over the past few years. As a reminder, the company issued an additional $6.5 billion in debt in early February 2015 and exited the December quarter with $177.9 billion in cash and investments (~$20B held domestically).
Apple’s (AAPL) fiscal Q2 report is due a week from today, April 27th, after market close, which means it’s time for analysts to raise the curtain on expectations.
The Street will be looking both to an update on the capital allocation plan, and also some commentary about initial Apple Watch sales.
Two individuals weighing in this morning are Wells Fargo’s Maynard Um and Pacific Crest’s Andy Hargreaves.
The Street is modeling Apple to turn in $55.66 billion in revenue and $2.14 per share in earnings in the quarter, and perhaps to forecast $46.75 billion and $1.69 for this quarter, Q3.
Um, reiterating a Market Perform rating on the shares, and a $120 to $130 “valuation range,” expects a beat last quarter, with perhaps $56.2 billion and $2.21 per share, which will be “driven by strength in iPhone sales plus channel inventory fill to build in roughly an extra 2 weeks.” Gross margin might exceed Apple’s own forecast for 38.5% to 39.5%, perhaps coming in at 40.2%, though that could be high, he writes, depending on mix of iPhone configurations.
He expects an in-line outlook for this quarter, and is anticipating sales of Watch of 2 million units in the June quarter.
Um is modeling iPhone sales of 56.7 million, noting that he’s above the Street. FactSet consensus for iPhone units is 55 million. While Apple raised some prices in some regions, perhaps offsetting foreign exchange issues, he’ll be watching to see if that hurt sales at all.
Regarding capital allocations, Um writes, “We also expect Apple to announce a higher three-year capital allocation plan to the current expiring $130b plan, including an 8.5% dividend increase to $0.51.”
Pac Crest’s Hargreaves, reiterating a Sector Weight rating on the shares, raised his estimates this morning for the iPhone given what he sees as “solid demand and the likelihood for building inventory.” He now models 58.1 million, up from a prior 56.8 million
Expecting Apple to gain share from phones running Google’s (GOOGL) Android, Hargreaves raises his estimates for this year and next, to 226.2 million and 206.9 million units, respectively, from a prior 221.7 million and 201.2 million.
Hargreaves also raised his estimates for Watch, given the almost immediate jump in lead times after pre-orders on April 10th. He now expects Apple to sell 5.5 million units in Q3, up from a prior forecast of 4 million.
Hargreaves thinks Apple can make more than that, but there are a number of questions about actual production:
Based on our supply checks, we believe Apple may have cumulative production capacity of over 8 million units by the end of June. We are not raising our estimates to this level because the product is new, which creates risk that our supply checks are not capturing yield issues, over-ordering to secure capacity, or delays in production or shipment that would affect reported results. In our model, each 1 million Apple Watch units adds approximately $0.03 to EPS. So, if demand continues to outstrip supply and our supply checks prove accurate, Apple Watch could drive nearly $0.10 of upside to our F2015 EPS estimate.
Mind you, Hargreaves writes it’s not certain Watch will become mass-market, writing “it remains unclear whether the product can generate sustained success at a level that will be meaningful at Apple’s growth profile, which we believe would require adoption by a large portion of rich mass-market consumers.”
Another person weighing in today regarding Watch is Cowen & Co.’s Tim Arcuri, who writes that his digging suggests Apple is boosting production:
Recent field work in Asia indicates AAPL has built enough supply to ship ~5-6MM Watch units in CQ2 with channel inventory build of ~7-10MM units. This suggests that our 4MM shipment number for June is likely conservative, but we continue to feel good about our 22MM number for the full CY2015.
Also out today is Citigroup‘s Jim Suva, who was on CNBC this morning talking with Carl Quintanilla and company. Said Suva, “we think they’re going to beat consensus on the iPhone by 5 million units, with 59 million units” in Q2.
Suva launched into a laudatory disquisition, saying “They’re rolling out with new products, and we believe there’s more new products to come.”
For Apple Watch, he’s modeling 20 million units in the first year of availability, and pointed out “That’s 5% of the company’s iPhone installed base [buying the device]; If you say there will be 10% to 20% [attach rate], that makes it much richer.” Suva’s modeling 3 million units in Q3. He thinks Watch will “allow the company to show they are not just a phone company.”
Suva thinks over time, Apple will get credit for services such as Apple Pay and its “Passbook” application, “and things like that.”
Asked whether Apple can deliver his 3 million-unit-target for Watch, Suva replied, “If demand is outstripping supply, that’s a good problem to have!”
For the capital returns boost, Suva expects Apple to increase its dividend by 10% “at least,” and to boost its buyback plan from $90 billion to $120 billion.” Suva said he thinks that his own numbers are about in line with what most investors expect.
Apple shares are up $2.25, or 1.8%, at $127.
Shares of storage giant EMC (EMC) are higher by 4 cents, or $26.22, but were earlier up as much as 44 cents, apparently fueled by rumors that yet another activist investment shop, Starboard Value, may join the throng already trying to tell the company what to do with itself.
As RBC Capital Markets‘s Amit Daryanani, who has an Outperform rating on the shares, and a $30 price target, notes this afternoon, there are already three activists with their hands in EMC, Elliott Management, which holds 33 million shares of stock; GreenLight Capital, which holds 8 million shares, and Third Point, with 7 million.
Daryanani notes that Elliott has called in past for a spin-out of EMC’s 80% stake in VMware (VMW), while the other two have been mum on their designs/intentions.
But Daryanani sees a continued press by such types:
We wouldn’t be surprised if there are more activist and regular investors that could push EMC to be more shareholder friendly and “pay” investors either via a large and consistent buyback or material uptick in dividend to wait for the 2018 timeframe, when the long-term model of – Mid single digit sales, double digit EPS growth should start to show up.
Daryanani notes investor frustration he’s observed:
Since the Analyst day on 3/10 we have sensed increased frustration among investors regarding EMC stock. The concerns are largely around 1) organic revenue and margin degradation assumed within EMC’s long-term road-map, 2) Discussion of large cost take-out centric deals, 3) The extent of EPS headwind from investments in the growth initiatives and 4) lack of desire by EMC to improve their FCF allocation to shareholders given they are asking investors to be patient through 2018 for the long-term model to transform.
Note that others on the Street have occupied themselves building a case for EMC making acquisitions of various tech peers.
Shares of Google (GOOGL) are up $11.22, or 2%, at $576.59, after the company this morning announced it has hired Ruth Porat, the chief financial officer of Morgan Stanley to be its new CFO, replacing Patrick Pichette.
Porat, 58, has been CFO at Morgan since 2010, and was vice chairman of investment banking from September 2003 to December 2009, and head of the firm’s Financial Institutions Group from 2006 through 2009.
Google CEO Larry Page remarked that “We’re tremendously fortunate to have found such a creative, experienced and operationally strong executive,” adding “I look forward to learning from Ruth as we continue to innovate in our core—from search and ads, to Android, Chrome and YouTube—as well as invest in a thoughtful, disciplined way in our next generation of big bets.”
He also thank Pichette for “his seven super successful years as CFO.”
An interesting question with this naming of a financial industry-CFO is whether it hints at something brewing for the capital returns program. My colleague Andrew Bary wrote three weeks ago in Barron’s print magazine that it’s time for the company to start paying a dividend and repurchasing stock. Could this be a sign something is imminent?
Shares of analog and mixed-signal chip maker Maxim Integrated Products (MXIM) closed down 14 cents, or 0.4%, at $36.05, despite an initiation of coverage today by Srini Sundararajan of Summit Research at Buy, with a $42 price target, based on its acquisition potential, financial improvement, and a “stellar” dividend yield of 3.1%.
Sundararajan’s focus is more on the fundamentals than on M&A, but he writes, In the current M&A season, MXIM makes for an attractive acquisition target given its financial heft plus its penetration into growing segments.”
Writes Sundararajan, the company has outlined a plan for cutting both product and operating costs:
1) Closure of San Jose fab: annual ~$40M/yr. savings to be realized in 1.5 years;
2) Streamlining of Opex to cut $10M/quarter to be realized by C2Q15; and
3) No R&D spending on consumer MEMS and touch businesses, $3M-$4M/Q.
He also sees a path to improving gross profit margin:
Rising utilization rates as well as lower capex levels to 3%-5% (from 8%-10%) of sales should also help in improving GM (as the depreciation component of COGS should be less). Net-net, GM could improve by 3%-4% closer to its long-term target of 61%-64% due to: a) improved utilization; and b) closure of its San Jose fab. On OM, the target is for 30%, by growing revenues while keeping costs at current levels. With restructuring initiatives, expenses will likely go down 7%-10%.
The result of all that is “we see a way for Maxim to have gross and operating leverage over the next 1.5 years, for a margin expansion story followed we think by a multiple expansion story.”
In past, the company was too reliant on Samsung Electronics‘s (005930KS) mobile business, but that’s changed, he writes, with a more balanced mix of business, including inclusion in Apple‘s (AAPL) forthcoming Apple Watch:
MXIM had a high dependence on Samsung, plus a too-high expectation on Samsung’s Galaxy Series. However, Samsung’s share of revenues has fallen from 28% to 13%-15%. Relatively, expectations are low for Samsung’s GS6 and Apple’s iWatch (for 2015, GS6: 55M to 60M units; Apple watch 20M units content $3 to $5 per watch), and any upside will help. In addition, MXIM likely has ~$2 of content per iPad, and an iPad Pro release in 2H15 will be a tailwind. In the future, as smartphones become interfaces for health metrics, a potential iPhone entry could be an upside. Furthermore, Internet of Things (IoT) proliferation will create additional opportunities.
Shares of Google (GOOGL) are down $4.81, or 0.8%, at $576.62, declining with the broader market despite getting a thumbs-up this morning from Citigroup’s Mark May, who reiterated a Buy rating and raised his price target to $682 from $629, writing that concerns about the company are “overblown.”
May’s note echoes several pieces put out earlier in the week by Piper Jaffray, UBS, and Merrill Lynch.
Writes May, “Google has become an enigma among investors as it arguably remains among the most important companies in TMT and its valuation remains reasonable, yet sentiment has soured as investors question its competitive position.”
May then digs into six issues for Google: the health of search; whether they should return capital (he likes the dividend idea); the valuation; the profit margin outlook; risk of being booted from Apple‘s (AAPL) Safari mobile browser; the threat from Facebook (FB).
On the matter of search, May sees Google making the best of its situation by having instituted “product-listing ads,” or PLAs, which have kept prices rising for desktop ads, offsetting flat traffic from desktop users:
Per data from RKG, desktop’s share of clicks has declined by 19% since 4Q12, while the share of spend has only declined by 14% (see Figure 8 below). This widening delta between desktop’s share of spend and share of clicks implies that in recent years improving desktop CPCs have been an important driver of growth in search spend. This is clearly evident given that desktop click growth has been basically flat in the U.S. in 2013 and 2014 (see Figure 8), while Google’s desktop search revenue has continued to grow. We believe this is due in large part to a higher percentage of desktop clicks coming from PLAs, which monetize at higher rates than standard text ads.
For mobile, where Google’s revenue rose 51% in 2014, he sees new opportunities such as taking a share of mobile application installations:
The most near-term opportunity, in our view, is for Google and other search players to take share of the mobile app install advertising market. Mobile app installs have been a key component of Facebook’s success on mobile; we estimated that this was over a $1.5bn business for the company in 2014. Google very recently entered this market, announcing on 2/26 that it will begin serving ads in its Google Play app store. Given the size of Google Play, with 46bn estimated app downloads in 2014, we see a revenue opportunity of over $2.5bn for Google.
On the point of capital returns, he thinks most investors think that’s the most important thing to get the stock moving after a 6% decline the last 12 months: “While the shares screen between attractive and fair for most investors, the most common question is ‘what is the catalyst’ to change sentiment and re-rate the shares. The most common response is a return of capital.”
May thinks a buyback is not the best idea, but rather a dividend or a large M&A deal:
While some investors have expressed a desire for Google to repurchase shares at scale, our analysis suggest that that could result in limited upside in the equity value (i.e., our price target, or the intrinsic value of the equity). As shown in Figure 17 below, we estimate that a $10 billion share repurchase would result in less than a 1% upside in intrinsic equity value. We believe that a better use of cash would be for large strategic M&A (see next section) – an area where Google has had great success historically – and/or to institute a 1-2% dividend. The dividend could comfortably be funded with annual excess FCF from operations, would put the company more in-line on a capital return basis with its large tech peers, and potentially help to bring in new classes of investors [...] While we hear it brought up far less than the return of capital, we believe another potential positive catalyst for Google this year could be another form of capital allocation – the use of its cash to complete a large strategic acquisition. We believe targets that ‘check boxes’ such as 1) improving its competitive position in mobile, 2) moving the ball forward on Nest/iOT initiatives, and 3) capitalizing on the video and video advertising opportunity (i.e., brand advertising) would be viewed positively by investors. Part of our reasoning is due to Google’s long track record of executing well with large, strategic acquisitions (e.g., DoubleClick, YouTube, Droid, etc.).
As far as Apple’s Safari browser, there’s $4 billion at risk for Google, May estimates, assuming it is paying 45% “traffic acquisition cost” to Apple.
May thinks the chances are greater than 50% that Google will lose the default position in Safari, but he also thinks losing it wouldn’t be so bad if enough people switch back, because Google would pay a much lower 5% TAC to Apple:
Given this disparity in TAC rates, we think that if enough iOS users were to switch their default search engine back to Google, it’s possible that a loss of default status could in fact prove to be accretive to Google’s net revenue. Assuming a current 45% TAC rate, we think the necessary switch-back ratio to create revenue accretion would be approximately 58%. Per the sensitivity analysis in Figures 28 & 29 above, if the TAC rate Google currently pays Apple is higher than our assumed 45%, the required switch-back ratio for Net Revenue accretion would be lower. That said, we do not believe Google’s TAC rate on the Apple Safari deal can be greater than 60% based on the total Website TAC payments reported and the likely gross revenue from this source. As far as the Facebook threat, May concedes that Facebook’s use of people’s profiles “does out-perform cookie-based approaches” used by Google.
May offes an infographic of the two companies’ ad technology assets:
Despite the real threat of Facebook, May points out Google continues to refine its own business, and also that many advertisers, having taken a long time to standardize on Google, will take a long time to move, if at all:
In attempting to consider what is at stake for Google in the event Facebook is able to leverage its people-based data and platform, we focus on Google’s third-party or network advertising business as well as its adtech-related revenues. As shown in Figure 33 below, we estimate that Google generates roughly $12 billion a year in gross revenue and ~$4 billion in net revenue (or ~6% of total company net revenue) from these third-party ad services and adtech solutions. Importantly, as mentioned above, we believe that 1) Google is not sitting idle and has the assets and potential to respond to and address these new opportunities in ad targeting, and 2) the transition, if any, by advertiser and agency customers is likely to be a relatively longer process than what we’re accustomed to with typical Internet ad spend as these customers have spent a lot of money and time standardizing on Google stack for many years. That said, we are not under-estimating the potential risk to Google longer term.
Among the points covered by IBM’s (IBM) CFO Martin Schroeter during the company’s analyst day meeting in New York this morning is the trend for free cash flow that will be “returned to shareholders” over time in the form of dividends and share repurchases.
On a slide from Schroeter’s talk, which is currently ongoing, the comparison is made between cash payout the last five years, which was “over 100% of free cash flow,” and the “longer-term” expectation, which is 75% to 85%.
Said Schroeter, “We see continued dividend increases within that cash flow model.” Schroeter emphasized that cash flow “continues to be very stable.”
Here’s the slide (click to see it larger):
IBM shares are down 32 cents at $162.49.
Shares of Apple (AAPL) are down 97 cents, or 0.8%, at $132.03, perhaps prompted by a note from UBS’s Steve Milunovich, who writes that although ”most appear to expect a large, multi-year program” of buybacks when the company updates its capital returns program in April, it could be less.
Instead, “a muted increase and shorter completion period are possible due to potential US tax reform, increased dependence on debt issuance for buyback funding, the stock’s higher multiple, and greater domestic capex requirements,” writes Milunovich, who has a Buy rating on Apple stock, and a $150 price target.
“The repurchase amount could be as low as $20bn over one year,” writes Milunovich, on top of the existing program of $130 billion in dividends and buybacks.
By his math, that would mean just $34 billion in buybacks this fiscal year ending in September, in contrast to a piece last week from Amit Daryanani of RBC Capital Markets, who opined the company may do $49 billion in buybacks this year, up from $45 billion.
Milunovich notes that debt, existing cash, and U.S. cash generated each make up about a third of the capital returns program. He offers up this infographic on that, as well as his estimates for what Apple may do (click on the image to see it larger):
The main issue is that Apple has to weigh how much debt it wants to issue:
US cash drawdown, US cash generation, and debt issuance each have supported about one-third of the capital return program to date. However, the US cash drawdown is about complete. We expect US cash generation will be strong, generating about $25bn over the next three years after dividends and M&A to cover repurchases (non-US cash can’t be used). The swing factor is debt. Our analysis assumes Apple wants to protect its high-grade rating by keeping debt-to-EBITDA at 1x or less, in which case the share repurchase program could be increased by $50-70bn over the next three years. Of course, Apple could issue more debt in support of a larger program.
And, the company may be willing to wait to see what happens in the policy arena with the issue of repatriation of overseas cash, given 90% of its cash is domiciled outside the U.S.:
Apple may choose a shorter timeframe and lower amount for this return program in anticipation of tax relief. There are various proposals relating to repatriation of foreign profits, which could really benefit Apple given 90% of its cash is overseas. Just considering operating results, we figure FCF available for repurchases could double from $25bn to $50bn over three years. In addition, we would expect Apple to increase its leverage to optimize its tax efficiency.
Shares of Comcast (CMCSA) are down 24 cents, or 0.4%, at $57.97, in early trading, after the company this morning beat Q4 revenue expectations but missed by a penny on the bottom line, and increased its dividend and share repurchase programs.
Revenue in the three months ended in December rose almost 5%, year over year, to $17.73 billion, yielding EPS of 77 cents.
Analysts had been modeling $17.66 billion and 78 cents.
CEO Brian Roberts said it had been a “great year,” and added that the company’s interactive video package, “X1,” was “bearing fruit,” helping the company to add 358,000 customers.
Roberts noted video subscriber trends were “the best in 7 years.” Roberts added “We look forward to receiving regulatory approval for the Time Warner Cable (TWC) merger.”
Separately, the company announced it would raise its annual dividend by 11% to $1 per share. The company also upped its share repurchase program to $10 billion, from $5.25 billion that had been left at the end of the prior quarter.
Comcast bought back $4.25 billion of its stock in 2014, and said it would spent the same this year under the newly expanded program, though it might do more depending on whether it receives approval for the Time-Warner bid.
Said Roberts of the new program, “Underscoring our confidence in the continued success of our company, we are increasing our dividend to $1.00 per share on an annualized basis, marking the seventh consecutive annual increase, and plan to repurchase at least $4.25 billion of our stock this year.”
Comcast’s revenue from cable service rose by 6.1%, to 11.3 billion, with high-speed Internet service up almost 10%, and ad revenue up19%. Video customers rose by 6,000 to 22.38 million, while the company gained 375,000 Internet customers, on a net basis, for a total of 21.96 million.
Revenue from NBC Universal rose by 2.3% to $6.62 billion. The cable networks were up just a fraction at $2.33 billion, as ad revenue declined 5.6%, said Comcast. Broadcast revenue was up almost 5% at $2.34 billion, with a 3.1% rise in ad revenue and higher retransmission fees. The studio business declined by 10.6%, while theme parks was up almost 30% at $735 million.
The theme park revenue was driven by “reflecting higher guest attendance and per capita spending, driven by the continued success of Orlando’s The Wizarding World of Harry Potter™ – Diagon Alley™, as well as Halloween Horror Nights at the Orlando and Hollywood parks,” said Disney.
Comcast will host a conference call with analysts at 8:30 am, Eastern time, this morning, and you can catch a Webcast of it on the company’s investor relations Web page.
Tech Trader Daily is a blog on technology investing written by Barron’s veteran Tiernan Ray. The blog provides news, analysis and original reporting on events important to investors in software, hardware, the Internet, telecommunications and related fields. Comments and tips can be sent to: firstname.lastname@example.org.

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Consumers in Alberta won’t see the benefit of falling lumber prices any time soon.
Liz Kovach, President of the Western Retail Lumber Association said in a news release Thursday that although prices are starting to drop from historically high rates, that won’t immediately be seen in stores.
“There’s significant lead times on products right now. What’s being delivered to stores now was purchased about 10 weeks ago. The items that are bought now with some cheaper prices, won’t be delivered for six to 10 weeks,” she said.
Kovach cites material order backlogs and transportation issues as factors in the delay.
There are still shortages of a number of items, and items such as OSB (oriented strand board) and plywood are in tight supply and still on allocation. These prices haven’t seen relief and there is still a huge shortage of supply.
A report from the Canadian Forest Service produced earlier this month says that despite increased demand, it isn’t easy for lumber producers to ramp up production rapidly.
The report indicates that lumber production in Canada and the U.S. has not increased significantly from pre-pandemic levels and is not expected to before 2022.
“High lumber prices are benefitting Canada’s lumber producers, alongside their workers and communities with sawmills,” the report reads.
“At the same time, they are difficult for consumers to manage. In Canada, market forces determine the price of lumber. So, supply must increase or demand must fall before prices will decrease substantially.”
Many suppliers are also struggling to adequately staff their manufacturing plants.
Finding and retaining a skilled labour force is likely to be a major issue both in Canada and the U.S. going forward, which could compound many of the supply shortages and logistics challenges.
Kovach said the price of lumber is dropping and will continue to do so as health restrictions are eased across Canada.


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Safe-Harbour supposedly means that when a European citizen’s personal data is being processed by a U.S. company on U.S. based computers, it enjoys the same protection it would on a European-owned system.
However, the European Commission is now set to issue new guidance about data transfers to the U.S. following an EU court ruling which deemed the current Safe-Harbour agreement invalid.
Examples of Safe Harbour Disputes
The court upheld a complaint by a Facebook user from Austria who argued that Safe-Harbour did not in fact give European consumers adequate protection against snooping by U.S. intelligence agencies.
The problem is that the U.S. government now treats any data on computers of U.S. owned companies anywhere in the world as fair game for audit. As a case in point, Microsoft is currently appealing a U.S. court ruling which gives the U.S. government the right to access data held in one of the company’s Irish data centres. Safe-Harbour therefore applies to U.S. companies but not to the U.S. government which has effectively brought down the whole house of cards.
An Obvious Solution?
One obvious solution is to store data on servers in Europe, owned by European companies such as nCrypted Cloud and bxp software which respectively offer secure DropBox solutions and encrypted CRM solutions.
In the longer term the problem will be the widening gap between the U.S. and Europe whose privacy laws will increasingly be at odds with the U.S.’s treatment of data, which some have characterised as high handed, and has demonstrably led to an increase in the amount of data collected, traded, and sometimes stolen.


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Nigeria - Lagos - electronic waste.
A sticker claiming this particular TV was tested and passed by B>J>Electronics in the UK. This picture is part of an undercover investigation by Greenpeace and Sky News. A TV-set originally delivered to a municipality-run collecting point in UK for discarded electronic products was tracked and monitored by Greenpeace using a combination of GPS, GSM, and an onboard radiofrequency transmitter placed inside the TV-set. The TV arrived in Lagos in container no 4629416 and was found in Alaba International Market and bought back by Greenpeace activist. The TV was subsequently brought back to England and used as proof of illegal export of electronic waste. A number of individual are currently on trial in London in connection with illegal exports(Nov 2011)Add to Cart Add to Lightbox Download


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More than HALF of shops are selling lethal amounts of painkillers: Investigation finds one customer was sold 240 aspirin in one go - EIGHT times the recommended limit
- Secret shopper study found 57% breached recommended sales for drugs
- Regulations state no more than 32 tablets to be sold in one transaction
- Paracetamol misuse is the main cause of overdose in the UK
- Many people do not realise cold and flu products also contain paracetamol
Shoppers are being allowed to buy potentially lethal amounts of over-the-counter painkillers in one transaction, an alarming investigation has revealed.
More than half of shops sold more than the recommended amount, with one customer allowed to buy 240 aspirins in one go - nearly eight times above the national regulations of 32 tablets.
Guidelines from the UK's medicines' regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, state ‘no retailer should sell more than two packets of paracetamol (500mg) in one transaction'.
This is considered a reasonable balance between meeting someone's need for immediate pain relief while helping to prevent stockpiling and either an accidental or impulsive overdose, they state.
But the investigation found the regulations were frequently flouted - with potentially devastating consequences.
An investigation found that 58 per cent of shops handed out more than the maximum recommended amount for Paracetamol and 57 per cent did the same for aspirin
The research was conducted by medical students at Keele University, who acted as secret shoppers at 62 outlets in Staffordshire and Shropshire.
They found 58 per cent of shops handed out more than the maximum recommended amount for paracetamol, and 57 per cent breached the limit for aspirin.
THE TRAGEDY OF ACCIDENTAL PAINKILLER OVERDOSES
Earlier this month, a coroner warned of the dangers of accidentally overdosing after a mother-of-three taking tablets for osteoporosis died when she also took Lemsip for flu.
Michelle Walker, 52, of Bolton, Greater Manchester, died of multiple organ failure.
She had been self-medicating with tablets to deal with pain caused by her bone condition.
But in the days before her death, she had a;so started using Lemsip - which also contains paracetamol, an inquest was told.
Assistant Coroner Rachel Griffin said the tragedy served to remind the public of the importance of sticking to recommended doses of pain killers.
'Sadly and tragically, Michelle's death highlights the importance of taking medication at the dose prescribed or stipulated,' he said.
'There is no suggestion that she has taken an overdose. I believe she has been taking tablets to try and ease her pain.'
Of these, 30 per cent were prepared to sell an illegal amount of more than 100 tablets.
Nearly all shops sold paracetamol alongside flu remedies which contained paracetamol without explaining the potential dangers of combing products to customers.
Paracetamol misuse is the number one cause of overdose in the UK, according to the report published in BMJ Open.
Up to 90, 000 people in the UK take paracetamol overdoses every year with about 200 resulting in death.
Deliberate overdoses are often impulsive where individuals take drugs that are already stored at home, the study reports.
And many accidental overdoses result from a person with poor pain management, taking more than the recommended limit.
Another risk is inadvertently exceeding the recommended dose by taking two or more different paracetamol-containing products.
'Paracetamol is present in a range of over-the-counter medicines for coughs and colds. But two out of five people who take such remedies don't realise this,' warns Professor Donald Singer, a fellow of the British Pharmacological Society.
And acute liver failure caused by paracetamol overdosing is twice as common in the UK as in other European countries, previous studies have found.
The Keele researchers hope their investigation will help toughen the law on overselling painkillers.
They have recommended a new law where it is illegal to sell more than 32 paracetamol, unless it is bought at a registered pharmacy.
Table shows the number of paracetamol sold at the different shops (blue). The green line depicts the guideline threshold and the red line shows the legal threshold, with one shop selling more than 100 tablets and most selling above the recommended level
The number of aspirin sold at the different shops (blue). The green line depicts the guideline threshold and the red line shows the legal threshold, with four shops selling above the legal limit including one which sold a customer 240 tablets in one transaction and most selling more than guidelines recommend
The chart shows the comments and responses of staff who sold the medication to the mystery shoppers
Furthermore, they suggest non-pharmacy counters are banned from selling paracetamol and paracetamol-containing medications -such as cold and flu remedies - in conjunction with one another.
Removing promotional offers was also recommended.
Study co-author Phill Molloy, a fourth year student, told the Stoke Sentinal: 'I started all this when I saw a sign offering aspirin packs at three for two in one shop.
'I know advertising such drugs is illegal, so I set out collecting proper evidence helped by other students.
'Though I suspected the rules were being flouted, I was still deeply shocked by what we found. It was outrageous.
'I have since presented the paper to a national conference of GPs, and many mouths fell open.
'These sales must be better regulated to reduce deaths from either deliberate or accidental overdoses.'
WHY PARACETAMOL CAN SO DANGEROUS
Excess paracetamol can overwhelm the liver's processing abilities, resulting in acute liver failure that can prove fatal.
Concern over this led the Government in 1998 to rule that shops can sell only packs of 16 paracetamol tablets. Pharmacies can sell packs of 32 tablets.
But the danger remains, not least because of 'staggered overdosing' - this is where taking just a little more paracetamol than the recommended dose over the course of several days or weeks leads to a dangerous build-up in the liver.
Taking too many paracetamol can cause severe liver and kidney damage. Studies found staggered overdosing is as risky as one large overdose
The concern is that people can unwittingly overdose by also taking other over-the-counter products without realising these contain paracetamol.
Staggered overdosing is just as risky as taking one large overdose, according to a study from the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, published in 2012 in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology.
Professor Donald Singer, a fellow of the British Pharmacological Society, warns: 'Paracetamol is present in a range of over-the-counter medicines for coughs and colds. But two out of five people who take such remedies don't realise this.
'It is a useful drug when used in the right way, but it is a powerful drug with powerful side-effects when taken excessively.
Doses of paracetamol are usually taken every four to six hours.
It is important to allow the recommended time between doses, and not exceed the maximum dose for a 24-hour period
People should never take a double dose to make up for the missed dose and should continue to leave four to six hours between doses.
If someone accidentally takes an extra dose of paracetamol, they should miss out the next dose so they don't exceed the maximum over a 24-hour period.
Overdosing can lead to severe kidney or liver damage, feeling sick and vomiting that lasts up to 24 hours. Anyone who has overdosed should visit accident and emergency.
For confidential support call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit a local Samaritans branch, see www.samaritans.org for details
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The US and China are currently locked in a growing trade war with no resolution in sight. Already the US has imposed steep tariffs on $250 Billion of Chinese goods, with China authorizing tariffs on $110 Billion of US goods in retaliation. While the industrial and consumer goods sectors have been the primary focus, a wider range of industries are feeling the effects, and many US and Chinese companies are looking to new approaches to avoid disruption in their global supply chains…(click to cont.)
In a breakthrough for President Trump, officials from the United States, Canada, and Mexico finally reached an agreement to replace NAFTA ahead of the President’s self-imposed deadline for October 1st.
Following an intense negotiation between the US and Canadian delegations that began after the US and Mexico announced a preliminary bilateral agreement back in late August, the two sides ultimately were able to overcome their differences and salvage a deal.
The New Deal: US and Canada Reach Last-Minute Agreement
Canada was absent from these talks and President Trump has threatened to move forward with a bilateral trade agreement that excludes Canada should they be unable to agree to a deal by the end of the month
With the June 1st extension deadline looming, on Thursday, May 31st President Trump announced that he would be implementing the Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs on the EU, Canada, and Mexico, as the three trade partners were unable to reach a satisfactory alternative agreement with the US. Brazil, Australia, and Argentina appear to have followed South Korea’s path and received permanent exemption status in exchange for quota-based trade agreements. Trump’s decision has heightened fears of an all-out trade war with three of the US’s biggest allies and trade partners and has sent domestic spot prices and futures for steel and aluminum even higher in an already overheated market. For domestic steel and aluminum buyers, these new developments again demand reevaluation of value chains and assessment of risk to protect margins and mitigate hits to profitability. ..(click to cont.)
In a world of high-tech tracking platforms and big data analytics, there are a myriad of metrics to choose from when trying to gauge the performance of your sales organization and identify areas for improvement. Sales executives may find that trying to track everything provides a lot of noise but can obscure the signal—that is, which indicators are actually driving sales performance? Indeed, it is crucial to pinpoint which metrics or KPIs matter most for each particular sales organization. The question, then, is how to decide what matters most for you?..(click to cont.)
After granting temporary exemptions to several US allies and trade partners back in March when the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum were first rolled out, President Trump recently announced further extensions for all parties on April 30th, the day before the exemptions were set to expire. For South Korea, Brazil, Argentina and Australia, the exemptions will be permanent, with South Korea securing a long-term exemption in exchange for export quotas and Brazil, Argentina and Australia in the final stages of finalizing similar alternative agreements. For Canada, Mexico and the EU, Trump extended the deadline for reaching an agreement to June 1st as discussions continue. Amid the news of exemption extensions, US domestic HRC futures are showing steady declines through the end of 2018, down nearly $100/ST in Q4, although current spot prices continue to climb, reaching $872/ST this week. Global aluminum prices have risen another 3% today on uncertainty surrounding 232 tariffs and US sanctions against Rusal and Midwest Premium prices remain high at $0.21/lb....(click to cont.)
On Friday March 23rd, President Trump’s Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum took effect. A day earlier, on March 22nd, the President announced five new temporary exemptions for Australia, Argentina, Brazil, South Korea and the EU member countries, set to expire on May 1st pending further negotiations. Additionally, on March 18th, the Department of Commerce released details on the exclusion processes for US domestic steel and aluminum buyers. Despite slowing toward the end of March, domestic prices continue their upward climb, hitting $859/ST for HR on April 4th, while HR futures have begun to decline, spurred by the recent exemption announcements. On the international front, Europe has initiated a “safeguard" probe to examine the effect of US tariffs on the volume of cheap imports entering the EU market, while China on April 2nd implemented counter tariffs on $3 billion of US exports, including aluminum scrap and stainless steel pipe.....(click to cont.)
On Thursday, March 8th President Trump signed the 232 tariffs into law. As expected, they were 25% on steel and 10% on aluminum. Trump also included temporary exemptions for Canada and Mexico and a clause allowing US partners to discuss and negotiate other ways around the tariffs. The North America exemptions and flexibility built into the order will mitigate the effects of the tariffs slightly—US HR futures fell $13 to $875/ST in April, still ~$100/ST above current spot pricing which continues to rise—however, the uncertainty of the exemptions which depend on the outcome of NAFTA negotiations means little may change in the long run. Significant cost increases and profitability loss will hit raw material-consuming manufacturing industries in the USA as industries re-evaluate their value chains and footprint given increased production costs in the USA.....(click to cont.)
Trump’s announced tariffs on steel/aluminum have disrupted markets with domestic steel prices already rising – April futures show 20% increases over February spot. Actual implementation is yet to be signed, but significant cost increases and impact on profitability will hit raw material-consuming manufacturing industries in the USA with more widespread ripple effects to be felt across the globe.....(click to cont.)
As we bid farewell to 2017 and its growth challenges, Q1 presents an opportunity to review and correct flaws in the sales process and start the year off on a strong note. In reality, however, most businesses will not seize this opportunity – instead, they will wait for the mythical “auto-correct”: an organic refresh of the sales cycle. This approach, while certainly the easiest, has two fundamental flaws. Drawing on the insights of Fortune 500 executives and top-rung sales organizations, we examine these flaws and look at five reasons your sales organization might be in a slump – and, more importantly, how to get out of it.....(click to cont.)
As the pace of technology's integration into our daily lives continues to increase at an unprecedented rate, organizations are beginning to realize that not having a digital strategy is no longer an option. Companies that do not compete directly within the technology space no longer have the luxury of maintaining the status quo, as legacy business models are continually being disrupted by recent patterns in consumer behavior driven by technological innovations. Examining the success of Silicon Valley unicorns like Uber and Airbnb, we examine the key steps every organization must take to secure digital success.....(click to cont.)
While the $500B global container shipping industry remains the backbone of global trade, it continues to struggle from the effects of the financial crisis nearly a decade ago. The tribulations the industry has faced over the past decade are giving way to an improved outlook in 2018. Companies that have based their supply strategy on historically low freight rates to make outsourced production viable may have to rethink their footprint in the coming years as carriers find themselves.....(click to cont.)


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According to a poll made by Unimer, Costa Ricans are willing to pay more in order to save the planet and even more the best attractions in Costa Rica.
The poll has proven that from year 2010 to this year it has been a great change towards the people trying to buy environment friendly products.
On 2010 there was an 8% of the people willing to buy vegetables or fruits cultivated without pesticides or any other chemicals. Today, on 2012, it goes around 20% of the people willing to do this change.
As well, people making sure that the product’s material is a recycling material has come from 7% of the people on 2010 to 20% of the people today.
The change has started a while ago and every day there’s more people not only advocating for a more sustainable consumption but actually acting for it. The “ticos” are taking the time, a little bit longer than usual, at the supermarkets to read labels and make sure they are buying products that are organic, biodegradable and cultivated in the country. Also, that these products come without metallic or plastic wrappings.
Some of the reasons for this change are “people getting more conscious of the environmental protection and wanting to cause the minor impact” and “people wanting to change other people’s life such as their sons and daughters”.
Also, according to the poll, the people making this change are in its majority between 40 and 49 years old, with a high socioeconomic level, well educated and residing in the city.
One of them stated that he likes to purchase products that allow him and his family to do some refill at home to stop buying more plastic bottles. Another likes to look for sustainability labels regardless of the price.
Ticos are avoiding buying imported fruits, foreign cheeses, plastic products and anything that is not for recycling. With that said, is confirmed that these Costa Ricans take their own bags (not plastic) to carry their products.
This is definitely a big change that might take a little too much effort but eventually it will pay off the best way. Plus, it will make the Costa Rica culture to grow positively.Take a Costa Rica cheap travel to enjoy a more green country and be part of the change!


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Apple Pay could launch as soon as this week, a report suggests.
The company is in the midst of prepping staff at its Apple retail stores for the upcoming rollout of Apple Pay, according to 9to5Mac. The mobile payment platform will allow users to complete transactions by tapping an iPhone at a payment terminal and authenticating your fingerprint.
Employees at Apple retail stores are required to attend a one-hour Apple training session in the coming days, the report says. It's a sign that Apple is close to launching the service in stores.
It's also been reported that a memo to Walgreens managers points to a launch date as soon as Oct. 18. Apple will hold a media event on Thursday, and it's possible that the company will officially launch the service or give more details about its launch date.
9to5Mac reports that it got its hands on some training materials and setup screenshots revealing more details about Apple Pay's interface and transaction functions.
Apple Pay will be activated through the iOS 8 setup process or a new settings tab called Passbook and Apple Pay, the report said. Credit card information will also be added by using your iTunes account or scanning your card with the iPhone's camera (it can hold up to eight cards at a time).
The Apple Pay display shows a list of recent transactions, card numbers and other details related to your account. Users get push notifications when credit cards expire too.
If Apple Pay isn't working properly, employees can access an “Apple Pay Demo” that can pinpoint the problem, the report said. All Apple retail employees — not just Genius Bar staffers — are said to be familiar with the new demo.


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True Value Hardware, located at 4751 Missouri Flat Road in Placerville, won’t just sell you a table saw. It will plug it in, fire it up and make sure it works before you ever think about taking it home.
Because for the local business that’s been around for 32 years, it’s not just about selling a product. It’s about taking care of the customer.
“We go beyond,” said president Dave Gutierrez. “We try to have extreme customer service.”
The hardware store sells the products you’d expect, from power equipment for home and lawn improvement to a wide variety of nuts and bolts. But it does so much more than that, according to Gutierrez, also offering services like a rental yard for heavy machinery like an excavator or John Deere tractors, and a repair shop for machinery maintenance.
“We excel as a hardware store,” Gutierrez said. “We are a Stihl dealer, a John Deere dealer, we do Echo (equipment). We do four-hour, 24-hour and week rentals. We have any piece of equipment to get any job done.”
The store’s wide variety of products and services are essential in a county like El Dorado, where home improvement is a mainstay for many local residents.
“Things have really tightened up since the economy slowed down,” Gutierrez said. “There are no more contractors around; people are doing it themselves. It’s mostly homeowners doing the work. We try to keep new equipment so it doesn’t break down. It’s a big concentration of ours that it doesn’t break down. There’s nothing worse than renting a piece of equipment that doesn’t work.”
Even the products the store sells are focused around being fully functional before a purchase is made.
“We just carry quality stuff,” Gutierrez said. “We don’t like selling items that people are going to return in months. When somebody buys a product here, we start it up and make sure it’s running perfectly, so when they take it home it’s all ready to run. When you buy something in a box, half the time it doesn’t run. Half the time it needs an adjustment.”
Flexibility is also a quality the store claims do well with.
“We go one step farther than the normal to make sure people find what they need,” Gutierrez said. “If we don’t have it, we’ll try to order it for them. If we don’t have it, and we get two calls for an item we feel we should have, we will order it and try to get it in stock.”
While the Christmas season may help some stores boom, though, True Value Hardware typically waits until spring for its highest selling season.
“Our Christmas time is spring,” Gutierrez said. “People are buying power equipment and power supplies. We try to have everything, to be a one-stop shop hardware.”
The store’s repair shop helps the business grow every year. With full-time local mechanics on staff, True Value Hardware gets a lot of business from customers looking to have items fixed.
“We’ve been doing small engine repair and tractor repair for 32 years,” Gutierrez said. “The only problem is we get very backed up in spring, sometimes up to five weeks. We only have so many mechanics.”
Demand in the spring season for repair on lawnmowers, garden tractors and other equipment for outdoor improvement keeps the business overwhelmed with requests.
The biggest stamp of success the store experienced came when True Value Hardware in Placerville remodeled its store in May 2009. Changing the layout of the store with the Destination True Value concept brought in new business and kept old business coming back.
“We have been in double digits every month since then,” Gutierrez said. “We’ve shown increases since the remodel. It’s a real appealing layout in the store. People seem to like it. Our customer count has increased continually since then, as have sales.”
With a new layout, several features from parts to equipment and service, the store aims to continue its success into 2012 with a smile.
“We do it with exceptional customer service,” Gutierrez said. “We have knowledgeable sales people that have been here for years. They can help with any problem (customers) have.”


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T-Mobile has already confirmed that they plan on selling the BlackBerry Bold 9900 in stores on August 31st and started selling it to select business partners already. Still it is interesting that the Bold 9900 dummy units are already arriving at T-Mobile stores this far before the launch. T-Mobile plans on tacking the device with a $300 price tag after a $50 rebate which will hopefully go down soon. Pootermobile sent us these pics of the dummy units and it was interesting to see the T-Mobile 9900s are showing 4G as the connection instead of the Canadian 9900s that are showing H+ for the 14.4Mbps HSPA+ connection.
BlackBerry Bold 9900 Dummy Units Start Arriving at T-Mobile Stores
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The big news before Mobile World Congress was the announcement of Cisco’s agreed offer of US$1.4 billion to purchase, Jasper, the California-based IoT services platform provider.
San Jose, CA, USA. February 3, 2016 – Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO) today announced its intention to acquire Jasper Technologies, Inc., a privately-held company based in Santa Clara. Jasper delivers a cloud-based IoT service platform to help enterprises and service providers launch, manage and monetise Internet of Things services globally.
Mountain View, California, USA (Business Wire) — Jasper Wireless has appointed Rajat Bahri as its chief financial officer (CFO). Rajat has been brought on board “to steer Jasper Wireless through this growth phase”, said Jahangir Mohammed (pictured), CEO.
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Chardon-hey! Poland becoming a nation of wine drinkers as country listed 5th most attractive market in the world
Poland is now the fifth-most attractive wine market in the world, a major increase since last year, according to a new report.
Wine is not normally the first alcoholic drink people think of when it comes to Poland. The country tends to be associated with beer and vodka, which both have a long tradition of being produced in Poland – unlike wine, which is usually imported from other countries.
Yet the Polish market has big potential: Poland is now among the top five most attractive wine markets in the world, according to the Global Compass 2020 report published by Wine Intelligence.
It is in fifth place, after the United States, South Korea, Germany and China, up from 14th place last year. Fifty markets around the world were analysed for the report.
Wine Intelligence had already noticed Poland’s potential earlier. Back in 2017, it had predicted an “exciting period of growth” ahead for Poland – not just economically, but also in terms of wine consumption.
This year’s ranking compared two attractiveness models: one with the impact of COVID-19 and the other without it. In the former, Poland ranked fifth, compared to tenth place in the latter, without the effect of the pandemic.
Poland was categorised as a “growth market” for wine, one where it is a mainstream product and/or experiencing growth, between an established and an emerging market. Other countries in this category include South Korea, Russia and Singapore.
In a piece published in 2017, James Wainscott of Wine Intelligence linked Poland’s promising wine market to the changes in the country over the past three decades.
“The fall of Communism in 1989, the advent of cheap air travel and membership of the European Union has infused the country with wealth and shaped the perspectives of a huge swathe of Poles born after 1980,” he wrote.
Wine from France, easily available in Poland at hypermarkets such as Auchan and Carrefour, was found to be the top country of origin, but consumers have been introduced to wine from Portugal by the Portuguese-owned Biedronka shops.
This year’s report said: “Poland brings a lot of opportunities for global wine brands. This is one of the few markets in Europe where European origins such as France, Italy or Spain don’t dominate.
“Instead, the US and Chile are the main countries of origin supplying the Polish market. Wine consumers in Poland are also typically younger and more eager to discover more about wine than in other places, and as the economy keeps expanding relatively fast, so does the purchasing power.”
It added: “This leads to Poland being a strong opportunity market, particularly as the market develops and drinkers start looking for core and recognisable brands.”


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In the past two years, sales of jeans, high heels, and formalwear have plummeted. The COVID-19 pandemic brought with it a new uniform, and anything uncomfortable or flashy seemed destined for a quick death. So it’s no wonder people began to speculate that the bra—the most annoying item in many women’s wardrobes, according to one survey—was fast-tracked for extinction. “Bras are a Curse!” proclaimed the Guardian; “Bra Furlough Extended,” wrote feminist satire publication Reductress. Meanwhile, the Seattle Times declared that bras, along with “hard pants” and business casual, may not return to people’s wardrobes post-COVID-19. After all, an ill-fitting bra can deflate your self-esteem—like a pair of jeans that cinches and expands in all the wrong places. That’s in addition to the aches and irritation often caused when it doesn’t sit quite right. Why suffer through all this when you could simply rid your underwear drawer of prodding underwire and suffocating strapless devices altogether?
Listen to an audio version of this story
For more audio from The Walrus, subscribe to AMI-audio podcasts on iTunes.
But trend forecasters and news sites couldn’t have been more wrong about the anticipated twenty-first-century bra burnings. Instead of getting rid of bras altogether, women were reshaping them into what they needed—literally. On TikTok, users hacked apart their old padded push-ups with scissors to turn them into lacy bralettes. Watching the videos felt cathartic. At long last, the cages designed to squish our breasts into unpleasant contortions were being retired in favour of something softer and less constricting.
At the same time, many lingerie companies distanced themselves from the styles worn by Victoria’s Secret Angels of the past and focused on promoting comfort—a shift that was already underway prepandemic but gained even more momentum over the past two years. Vogue’s best bras of 2021 list touts bralettes and sports bras made of cashmere, lace, and cotton. At Cosabella, an Italian lingerie company, bralettes now make up half of sales, according to an interview in the New York Times. According to a lingerie market trends report, the industry is projected to grow nearly 8 percent by 2026—which would explain the crop of independent lingerie brands that have been thriving since the onset of the pandemic.
Fashion has, for centuries, adapted to a changing world, and major trends often correspond with significant historical events. But, in the instance of the bra, it feels like we’ve reached a turning point: one that isn’t just about style but instead asks us to reconsider the purpose of our undergarments altogether. “There’s been this unwritten rule that our breasts need to be strapped up and held up and we have to pretend we don’t have nipples,” Chloé Julian, a former designer at Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty, told the New York Times last year. “We’re starting to question that.”
While each iteration of the bra has been slightly different, nearly every redesign has been just as much about achieving a certain shape—dictated by the male gaze—as it has been about functionality. In ancient Greece, cloth was wrapped around the chest and fixed in position to divert attention to the hips (and a woman’s childbearing potential), according to The Exploress podcast. By the twelfth century, it was the opposite. In Hens: Why Women Are Different, Carl Fors references a “courtesy manual” that discouraged women from covering their chests, instead advising that their dresses should “be low cut so that everyone can gaze and gape.” Beginning in the sixteenth century, corsets helped women achieve what was considered the ideal figure, essentially that of a Renaissance Barbie. Later, as tight-laced corsets became more à la mode, waists were cinched in and breasts thrust upward until they resembled beach balls.
With each passing era, the design of the bra inched closer to the modern-day standard. In 1914, the first US bra patent was granted to Mary Phelps Jacob (later known as Caresse Crosby). Jacob, who was in her early twenties, was a New York socialite who spent her nights out in Manhattan. At the time, evening dresses made from silk and satin, with low-cut bodices and empire waistlines, were common among upper class women, but most corsets—given their bulky shape—looked awkward under the fabrics. Jacob’s solution was a set of pocket handkerchiefs stitched together with a pink ribbon. It was “delicious,” she recalled. “I could move more freely, a nearly naked feeling.”
Since corsets had dominated the market for nearly 400 years, the brassiere took a while to catch on. But that began to change with the onset of the First World War. As masses of women joined the workforce, serving overseas as nurses, mechanics, switchboard operators, and truck drivers, and at home as farmers and factory workers, they needed an everyday undergarment that could better serve their needs. Even those who stayed home didn’t have much of a choice. Since the US needed metal to create ammunition and other military supplies, the chairman of the US War Industries Board asked women to stop buying corsets altogether. According to NPR, the plea saved 28,000 tons of steel—enough to build at least one battleship.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, when the war ended, no one missed the corset, and by the 1940s, brassieres were declared a “vital necessity.” In Uplift: The Bra in America, researchers conducted an informal survey, asking women over fifty why they wore their first bra. The most common answers among respondents were the desire to achieve a certain look, peer pressure, and the need for support. “Only a small number of women mentioned comfort as an inducement,” the survey found.
The idea that bras weren’t supposed to be comfortable would stick around for the next seventy-five years, making way for contraptions like the torpedo bra. Touted by Hollywood stars and pinup girls of the era, its padding and cone-shaped cups mimicked the voluptuous busts then prominent on the big screen. Trying to make breasts appear bigger became a popular feature in lingerie design throughout the following decades, from the inflatable bras of the ’50s (“perfection without detection,” one advert claimed) to the push-ups made famous by WonderBra.
Even in the past few years, some companies have still marketed lingerie with the underlying message that it should be worn for someone else. Just look at the ghosts of holiday advertisements past: the tagline of a 2012 Victoria’s Secret commercial, featuring a chesty model in a lacy pink push-up bra carelessly tossing rose petals through the air, was “This Valentine’s Day, say it with sexy.” Meanwhile, a Boux Avenue ad suggested using its lingerie to “melt someone’s heart this Christmas.”
For years, women have used the bra—or lack thereof—as a political tool: bralessness was a form of resistance, of freedom, and of self-acceptance. But this new era, which embraces the natural shapes and sizes of breasts instead of trying to mould them into something different, can embody those same things. Colleen Hill, the curator of costume and accessories at New York’s The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology and the author of Exposed: A History of Lingerie, tells me that the trend coincides with the body positivity movement. As the definition of beauty has expanded over the past decade to include more than just thin white models, the styles of lingerie have expanded too. “There have been so many shifts in our priorities over the past few years,” she says. “Embracing who we are, how our bodies look, not worrying what others think of us and making ourselves feel comfortable has been a priority. I think lingerie plays a very important role in that.”
Those ideas are reflected in how bras are marketed today. According to Christina Remenyi, the founder of Toronto-based lingerie brand Fortnight, in the mid-2000s, most big box retailers had narrow size ranges for ease of commerce. “Marketing was very much driven by sex and the male gaze,” she wrote in an email. “But women want to see marketing that reflects themselves.”
Over the past few years, companies big and small have adapted that formula by offering a wider range of sizes and showcasing stretch marks, belly rolls, and breasts of all shapes. Aerie, the sister brand of American Eagle, has built a marketing strategy around inclusivity. Since 2014, it has stopped retouching photos of its models and has launched a series of campaigns around body positivity and self-love, including its “Don’t Change You. Change Your Bra!” program, a partnership with the National Eating Disorders Association that provided store associates with training on how to create judgment-free spaces within its stores. When Rihanna debuted Savage X Fenty, in 2018, she took a similar approach, telling the New York Times that her concept was about “women being celebrated in all forms and all body types and all races and cultures.” While popular companies like La Senza offer only sizes up to DD, Fenty bras are available from A to H cups. Other brands now make nude undergarments in a wider range of skin tones to cater to those who, until recently, had been largely excluded.
Even though the definition of what a lingerie-clad body should look like has expanded, unlearning beauty ideals—and the trends we adopt alongside them—is a long, tedious process. The pandemic, however, has made space for us to rethink them. Emilie Hajek, who in 2018 founded Stay Soft—a Montreal-based lingerie brand “for those who don’t like bras”—says spending more time at home means that pressure to present in a certain way is largely gone, opening up new avenues for self- expression.
“People realized they could wear something outside of their norm because they weren’t worried about being judged or scrutinized,” she says. “The bralette blossomed in that space because of the feeling of freedom that it brings. When we start wearing things that embrace our natural shape, we’re ourselves by ourselves.”
My own underwear drawer used to be filled with an assortment of seemingly sexy push-ups and bustiers, but over the past two years, as my tolerance for discomfort waned, I got rid of them all.
These days, whenever I do put on a bra—usually a bralette—it’s because I want to, not because I feel like I have to. Lingerie is just as much a part of my wardrobe as any other accessory, and what I wear changes based on how I want to feel: whether that’s sexy, comfortable, or completely free.
I can’t imagine a world where I’ll return to the daily misery that accompanies wearing underwire, but according to Hill, I probably won’t have to. Fashion is a cycle, and while changes in trends are inevitable, she predicts that what will remain are options. “I think it will continue to be acceptable to wear whatever you want, whether that’s a bralette, something unstructured and simple, or something that’s completely other,” she says. “But I’m hoping what we will retain are these ideas around positivity and, most importantly, dressing for ourselves.”
Correction February 24, 2022: An earlier version of this piece referenced an NPR article which stated that 28,000 pounds of steel—enough to build two battleships—were saved after women were asked to stop buying corsets during the First World War. In fact, 28,000 tons of steel were saved, enough to build at least one battleship. The Walrus regrets the errors.


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With most of the of country suffering through the recession, the big supermarkets continued their relentless growth, says Dan Todaro, managing director at Gekko. He writes:
All too often in this country it feels like every time a shop closes, every time a building is demolished and with every new urban development a new Tesco Metro or Sainsbury’s Local springs up. It can be good news for locals, bringing jobs to the area as well as the convenience of having a nearby supermarket. Yet there is a downside. In the race to not fall behind their competitors, the big five supermarkets – Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Morrisons and The Co-Op – are at risk of overlooking what should be the most important facet of their business. The customer.
Research we recently put together at Gekko highlights that the average number of stores amongst the big five supermarkets has increased by 11% in the last three years, yet the average number of staff has fallen by over 9%.
Tesco, with the largest market share of the big five, had 431 more stores in 2013 than they had in 2011, yet the number of employees didn’t rise proportionately. This might be, in part, owing to more effective streamlining of the customer journey and the implementation of efficient technologies to save supermarkets time and money. Yet the overall picture is one of massive expansion with modest increases in staff numbers and there’s a real risk that customers are being abandoned between walking in the door and leaving with their purchases.
The big supermarkets are playing a dangerous game by drawing an increasingly fine line between maximising profits with persistent expansion and ensuring the consumer experience is positive.
It was recently announced that this expansion is slowing a little, with the amount of new supermarket space proposed for the UK falling to the lowest level since the financial crisis. However that’s still 15.22m square feet being proposed, with 2.47m square feet under construction.
It’s mind-boggling that in a country already filled with supermarkets, a space over forty times the size of St Paul’s Cathedral is currently being converted to this purpose. Nonetheless, the slowing growth of space gives the big grocery chains an opportunity to make sure their recruitment levels catch up with the number of stores recently opened.
If you’re looking for a certain product in a supermarket or need to know which products are included in a deal, you still need a member of staff rather than Google or an app. The human touch still plays a huge role in-store.
It isn’t just that supermarkets need to hire more staff, they also need to invest in providing them with the appropriate training to be a real selling point for the company. Great staff can make the difference between a consumer buying or not buying a product; between a consumer buying one item or five items. Most importantly, they can make the difference between whether they choose to come back to the store again and again, or go elsewhere.
The best-loved brands ensure their stores are filled with highly trained, helpful staff. And big supermarkets need to learn from this approach.
The big chains also need to recognise that consumers respond to great customer service and that often requires having sufficient staff to deal with enquiries and help with any problems. We’ve all stood around waiting for help to arrive when the self-service checkout is having an off day. It can take an age for someone to be free to come and help. It’s enough to turn consumers off.
Given the competition that exists between the big supermarkets, they can’t afford for consumers to start voting with their feet after yet another delay to buy their shopping. Major grocery chains have to ensure that they maintain standards in-store by matching their investment in expansion with a proportionate investment in staff. Otherwise they risk driving consumers elsewhere.
Indeed, one of the reasons some people prefer to shop with independent retailers is for the personal touch and knowledge of products that you can often struggle to find in many major retailers.
Tesco might have the biggest market share, but in a Which? consumer survey last year it was voted the least popular supermarket. By contrast, Waitrose – which operates with investment in staff seemingly at the centre of what they do – came top.
Given Tesco’s recent fall in profits, maybe it’s time to invest in more well-trained staff, instead of seemingly infinite store expansion. In what is arguably one of the most dynamic industries which is constantly reinventing itself to meet the needs of consumers, staff is a critical factor to success.
The big supermarkets must invest properly in staff or risk losing customers.


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- TikTokers are giving their Ugg boots a new look by cutting them into slippers.
- In October 2020, users on the video-sharing app started sharing tutorials on how to upcycle their old Ugg shoes by cutting the fabric along the seams.
- TikTokers have also cut their winter boots into shorter ones that resemble Ugg's celebrity-favorite Classic Ultra Mini style, which retails for $140.
- Ugg shoes have long been a divisive fashion trend, but 2020 data from the fashion search platform Lyst suggests that the shearling shoes are coming back into style.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
A TikTok trend has people taking scissors to their Ugg boots and giving them a whole new look.
In October 2020, users on the video-sharing app started sharing tutorials that involved snipping at the seams of well-loved pairs of Uggs to remove the excess fabric and turn the shearling-lined winter shoes into slippers.
One TikTok user who goes by the username @abbyj420 said in a tutorial that she decided to upcycle her 7-year-old Ugg boots because they were "all kinds of jacked up" but didn't want to throw them out.
The TikToker cut along the longest vertical seam and continued along the back of the shoe, where there's an "Ugg" label and a piece of stiff fabric.
The video shows the final product, which looks similar to Ugg's Tasman slippers that retail for $100 on the brand's website.
Other Ugg owners have shared TikToks that showed how they turned their boots into scuffs that look ideal for wearing around the house.
Other TikTokers are trimming their taller Ugg boots to resemble a style that looks like the brand's 'Classic Ultra Mini' shoe
Some TikTok users have appeared to cut their taller boots into shorter versions that look similar to the brand's Classic Ultra Mini shoe, which Ugg launched in August 2020.
The $140 shoes reach the ankle and are available on Ugg's website in three neutral colors, plus olive-green and a lavender shade.
Since Ugg released its Classic Ultra Mini boots, celebrities like Emily Ratajkowski, Irina Shayk, Joan Smalls, and Kendall Jenner have been photographed wearing the style.
Ugg boots have long been considered a divisive fashion trend. Refinery29's Eliza Huber described them as "the 'ugly' shoe that everyone loves to hate." But in September 2020, data from the fashion search platform Lyst suggested that the cozy shoes were coming back in style.
At the time, Lyst noted that "as ugly boots are replacing ugly sandals post-summer, demand for UGG boots is growing 24% week-on-week." Lyst's report also stated that in September 2020, there had been more than 41,000 searches for Ugg, and the Classic Ultra Mini boot was among the top-searched styles.
With the warm-weather shoes continuing to rise in popularity, it seems that TikTokers have found a way around buying a brand-new pair.
Representatives for Ugg and TikTok users included above did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.


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The Chinese manufacturer Smartisan will launch the device Smartisan T3 on 18th October, 2016. It will be the successor of Smartisan T2, which was launched in December,2015. It will come with more improvement in its design and specifications compare to its predecessor.
The device Smartisan T3 will sport 4.95″ IPS LCD display with the resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, 6GB RAM, internal storage capacity of 64GB, which can be further expanded up to 128GB via microSD card slot. It will be powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 SoC chipset with Quad core 2.2 GHz processor with Adreno 530 GPU and runs on Smartisan 3.0 custom Operating system which is based on Android Marshmallow 6.0.
The camera section of the device Smartisan T3 will include a rear camera of 16MP Sony IMX298 sensor and a front-facing camera of 8MP.
Connectivity wise, it will feature Bluetooth v4.0, GPRS, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, A-GPS and also it will have a Micro USB Type C port. It will be powered by Li-Po 3200 mAh battery.
The cost of the device Smartisan T3 and its availability is still not confirmed by the company yet. We have to wait for few more days for more information
Proceed with us for more information.


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Realme RMX3472 and OPPO CPH2375 smartphones have received certification from Indonesia’s TKDN certification platform.
Unfortunately, there is no information available on the final monikers of these upcoming Realme and OPPO smartphones. Since these devices have been spotted at other certification sites, they are likely to soon. With the year 2021 ending soon, it appears both devices may hit the markets by Q1 2022.
The RMX3472’s TKDN listing suggests that it is a 4G LTE device. Probably, it could be a C-series phone from Realme. This phone was previously spotted at the Eurasian Economic Certification site back in October whether a couple of other unannounced models such as RMX3286, MX3311, and RMX3511. Hopefully, upcoming reports will reveal the identities of these upcoming Realme models.
The OPPO phone with the CPH2375 model number has surfaced at TKDN. It is also a 4G LTE device, which indicates that it could be an A-series model. Before surfacing in the database of the Indonesian certification site, the CPH2375 was spotted at the EEC authority in November. It has also been spotted at the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) in the past. None of the certification listings has revealed any vital on its specifications.
In related news, two unannounced OPPO phones with model numbers CPH2333 and CPH2363 were spotted in the database of the EEC authority earlier this month. These models have been spotted at the Camera-V5 site. The CPH2333 was found to be equipped with a 12.5-megapixel (effective resolution) main primary camera on the back, and support and a 4-megapixel (effective resolution) front camera. On the other side, the CPH2363 has a 16-megapixel (effective resolution) main rear camera, and an 8-megapixel (effective resolution) selfie camera. Again, the other specs and final names of these OPPO smartphones are under the wrap.


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Given the divide in America, it’s truly been remarkable how much we have accomplished together in 2018. Below's just some of what we accomplished in 2018, and you can also watch this short highlights video about our victories.
The nation’s toughest online privacy law: A new California law requires that companies tell you what information they collect about you, give you the right to say no, and are legally accountable for data breaches.
LOS ANGELES, CA – Consumer Watchdog today joined the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and six other consumer groups in calling on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the misleading and manipulative tactics of Google and Facebook in steering users to “consent” to privacy-invasive default settings.
LOS ANGELES – The 5-0 vote today by the California Senate’s Judiciary Committee to move a compromise privacy bill forward was a significant step toward ensuring Californian’s privacy, Consumer Watchdog said.
The bill, AB 375, may not be as strong as the California Consumer Privacy Act ballot initiative it is intended to replace, but for the first time gives consumers substantial control over their personal information and provides a right of private action for people to bring a suit if there is a data breach, the nonpartisan nonprofit public interest group said.
Privacy is a right enshrined in the California Constitution. The only problem is that there are few laws and regulations in place to actually protect our privacy, particularly when it involves the use of our personal information online.
Much of the criticism of Mark Zuckerberg's testimony in Congress from the public and the media alike was leveled at members of Congress for asking supposedly stupid questions rather than at Mark Zuckerberg for his disingenuous responses. "Congress doesn't understand Facebook," claimed Dylan Byers of CNN.
LOS ANGELES – Consumer Watchdog today called on tech giants Google, Comcast, AT&T and Verizon to follow Facebook’s lead and drop their opposition to a California privacy ballot initiative. The not-for-profit group called on Mark Zuckerberg – as an individual -- to become the public face of the campaign as the poster child for how privacy problems can go awry even when you think you have a handle on them.
LOS ANGELES – Consumer Watchdog today called on Congress to enact legislation that would protect consumers’ online privacy and not merely facilitate Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s latest public-relations-driven apology tour.
“Facebook has a longtime record of violating privacy, making a show of apologizing, and then going forward to invade privacy again,” said John M. Simpson, Consumer Watchdog’s Privacy and Technology Project director. “Hearings aren’t enough, unless Congress simply wants to be an enabler for Zuckerberg’s continued abuses.”


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Activision and Infinity Ward have announced that Season 3 for both Call of Duty: Warzone and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare will begin April 8, which is next Wednesday. The news comes way of the game's official Twitter account, which released a new image confirming the release date for the season, and also seemingly confirming a previous leak about the new season.
As you may remember, just a couple of days ago a leak revealed that two classic maps were coming to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare for Season 3. More specifically, it looked like Backlot from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Village from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 were coming to the game, and it looks like that's exactly what's happening next week given that the aforementioned image features what looks like Backlot.
Meanwhile, we also heard that the game was going to get new operators, which again, the new image seemingly confirms. And in turn, this seemingly confirms a leak from last month that revealed two new guns coming with Season 3.
Lastly, it's been confirmed that another new Battle Pass will launch alongside the new season, but for now, this Battle Pass has not been revealed.
Of course, for now, the only concrete information we have is that Season 3 will begin on April 8. Further, while we have a good idea on what Infinity Ward is planning to do with Modern Warfare's multiplayer, it's less clear what's in the chamber for Warzone, other than the new operators and guns.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Call of Duty: Warzone is available for PS4, Xbox One, and PC, the latter being available for free. For more news, media, rumors, and leaks on the series, be sure to take a second and peruse all of our past and recent coverage of the first-person shooter franchise by clicking right here. Meanwhile, as always, feel free to drop a comment or two with your thoughts or, alternatively, hit me up on Twitter @Tyler_Fischer_ and let me know over there.
Disclosure: ComicBook is owned by CBS Interactive, a division of ViacomCBS.


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If you’ve ever been burnt when you’ve bought something online, Gus over at Lifehacker has pointed out that a new website, econsumer.gov, has launched to help consumers who have experienced dodgy online retailers. It’s backed by consumer agencies from 25 countries, too, so you know that there’s some real muscle behind it. Definitely worth knowing about… [econsumer.gov via Lifehacker]
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Could this be the perfect pint? Dairy giant Arla churns out new rich, low-cal skimmed milk
Posted: January 10, 2016 at 5:23 am / by Mer / comments (0)
UK DAIRY giant Arla is set to shake up the supermarket shelves from this week with BOB, a new richer tasting skimmed milk.
Daily Express :: Finance Feed


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Data center News
10 Cool Tech Companies That Raised Funding In August 2022
Companies reporting new rounds of funding in August included developers of next-generation technology in secure browsers, cloud and data center processors, industrial IoT security, cloud infrastructure optimization, data analytics and data integration.
Follow The Money
With the ongoing economic uncertainty, the amount of venture capital flowing to IT startups continues to slow. Fewer companies are reporting new funding rounds. And funding rounds are smaller: Rounds of $50 million and even $100 million or more, a fairly common occurrence in early 2022, are now a rarity.
Nevertheless, a number of IT startups reported raising additional venture capital in August and two, secure browser developer Talon Cyber Security and next-generation cloud/data center microprocessor designer Pliops, managed to hit the nine-figure threshold.
While companies developing leading-edge technology in cybersecurity and big data have accounted for a disproportionate share of venture funding wins in recent years, our August roundup includes a more varied list of startups who pulled in new financing.
In addition to Talon Cyber Security and Pliops, AI tech developer Aisera reported an impressive funding round as did industrial IoT security developer TXOne Networks.
The August list includes a number of companies that reported smaller, early-stage funding rounds including real-time data analytics startup StarTree, concept and usability testing software company Sprig, and cyber risk quantification tech developer Axio. Software code observability platform provider Rookout raised funding in August as did cloud infrastructure optimization technology startup Sync Computing, and data integration/data streaming platform developer Equalum.
Here’s a look at 10 companies that raised funding in August 2022.