Dave Bullard examines a 3-D printed “stick,” part of an excavator, during the first day of the 2017 CONEXPO-CON/AGG convention Tuesday, March 7, 2017, at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The massive construction vehicles garner immediate attention at CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2017 concluding today at the Las Vegas Convention Center, but it’s what’s tucked behind those monstrosities that could have the biggest impact.
Category: Business News
Wikileaks CIA documents raise hacking fears – should we worry about our devices?
Complete data security may be impossible, especially considering most companies can take up to six months to realize that they’ve been hacked. Explosive allegations this week out of Wikileaks that U.S. intelligence agencies are surreptitiously spying on us using our devices has prompted many consumers to worry if their data privacy is at risk.
Baidu’s Billionaire CEO Envisions a Spinoff of Robot Cars Arm
Baidu Inc.’s billionaire founder has shed more light on the Chinese search giant’s plans to sell robot cars around the world, revealing his intention to spin off its driver-less car division once it reaches maturity to attract funding and partners. Baidu is among Chinese corporations that’ve joined a race with Alphabet Inc. and Uber Technologies Inc. to develop autonomous driving, aiming for mass car production by 2021.
US Senate resolution aims to roll back privacy rules for ISPs
A resolution introduced in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday aims to roll back privacy rules for broadband service providers that were approved by the Federal Communications Commission in October. The rules include the requirement that internet service providers like Comcast, AT&T, and Verizon should obtain “opt-in” consent from consumers to use and share sensitive personal information such as geolocation and web browsing history, and also give customers the option to opt out from the sharing of non-sensitive information such as email addresses or service tier information.
How To Impress The HR Team At Cisco
Cisco , the information technology and networking giant, is undergoing a transformation. Well known for its hardware and components, the company is moving toward more software as a service and subscription models of doing business, says Jill Larsen, senior vice president of human resources at Cisco.
IBM, Salesforce Agree to Partner on Artificial Intelligence
International Business Machines Corp. and Salesforce.com Inc. agreed to mingle their artificial-intelligence technologies in a bid to boost sales of data-analytics offerings. The companies Monday announced plans to offer integrated AI services that weave the broad human-like conversation and learning capabilities of IBM’s Watson with Salesforce’s more sales-oriented Einstein technology.
Nintendo’s Switch Controllers Compatible With Mac Devices
Nintendo debuted its brand new console called the “Switch” last Friday, and one feature gamers might not have been aware of is that you can pair the Switch’s controller with an Apple Macbook. The controllers, connected using Bluetooth, can link to Mac devices and allow users to play games on their computers.
FCC helps Jewish community centers track down bomb threats – CNET
The facilities will be able to see blocked phone numbers to help track perpetrators calling in bomb threats, thanks to a waiver of privacy rules. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department K-9 officers search the Jewish Community Center of Southern Nevada after an employee received a suspicious phone call that led about 10 people to evacuate the building on February 27, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Alibaba-Rival JD to Get $2.1 Billion In Finance Arm Spinoff
JD.com Inc. agreed to sell its finance arm for 14.3 billion yuan in cash while retaining a share of its future profits, part of a deal to spin off the fast-growing division and create a strong rival to billionaire Jack Ma’s Ant Financial. The sale and spinoff of JD Finance, a payments and investment business, will be completed by the middle of 2017, the Beijing-based company said Thursday without naming buyers or investors apart from Chief Executive Officer Richard Liu.
The 10 Most Innovative Companies In Space 2017
After NASA embraced the private space industry, the investment dollars began flowing. In 2015, more than $2 billion in bets were placed on space startups, but in 2016 things came back down to Earth-a 30% decrease year-over-year, according to CBInsights .
Five Tiny Ways Nanoscience Will Change Our Lives
Russian author Boris Zhitkov wrote the 1931 short story Microhands , in which the narrator creates miniature hands to carry out intricate surgeries. And while that was nearly 100 years ago, the tale illustrates the real fundamentals of the nanoscience researchers are working on today.
Landmark Cinemas CEO: “I Love Tentpoles But I Need More Than That”
Speaking Monday at the HPA Tech Retreat, the exec also said he’s not looking to launch virtual reality at his theaters. Neil Campbell, president/CEO of Landmark Cinemas, asserted that he needs a steady stream of all types of movies – not just tentpoles – to keep his cinemas healthy.
Walmart Surprisingly Didn’t Have an Ugly Holiday Season
Walmart shares climbed by 2.35% to $71 a share in pre-market trading Tuesday after the retail giant reported strong fourth quarter and full-year results. Fourth quarter earnings came in at $1.30 a share on revenue of $133.6 billion, Analysts had estimated earnings of $1.28 a share on sales of $131.1 billion.
Google, Bing Agree to Help U.K. Creative Industries Fight Pirate Sites
A voluntary code of practice is designed to “kick-start collaboration between the parties to demote links to websites that are dedicated to infringing content for consumers in the U.K.” Google and Microsoft’s Bing are two big-name search engines that have voluntarily signed on to a first-of-its kind initiative in Britain aimed at “reducing the availability of infringing content accessed through online search.” The agreement between representatives of rights holders and major search engines was unveiled Monday following a government-chaired series of roundtables.
Apple’s Upcoming iPhone Helps Foxconn’s Gravity-Defying Act
Growing optimism about the next iPhone has propelled Apple Inc. to record highs. Halfway around the globe, a lesser-known Taiwanese company is riding that same wave of euphoria.
Talking to the machine
That is the language of computers. Every clever thing your computer does – make a call, search a database, play a game – comes down to ones and zeroes.
Why One Analyst Eyes Opportunity in Biotech
The biotech sector has enjoyed a solid week of gains indicative of the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology Index ETF climbing over 3.5% in the past five trading sessions. “On a short-term basis, it is probably a little ahead of itself but, I like the names,” 55 Capital market strategist Max Wolff said on CNBC’s “Power Lunch” Friday afternoon.
Who’s Winning in Online Beauty Right Now
Online beauty became a $1.2 billion industry in 2016, and cosmetics companies such as Estee Lauder have been expanding their e-commerce efforts while Amazon gains market share. Digital beauty sales rose 14% year over year in 2016: one in every five beauty purchases online was made through Amazon Marketplace, according to new research released this week from data analytics firm 1010data.
Better Buy: Microsoft Corporation vs. Oracle Corporation
But Oracle’s late start — thanks to Ellison’s early dismissal of cloud computing as nothing more than “the latest fashion” — could work in investors’ favor because it translates to tremendous upside from here. Meanwhile, Microsoft’s decision to name Satya Nadella as CEO three years ago has proven to be an absolute game changer.
Why Intel Corporation’s Cannon Lake-EP and EX Server Chips May Be Dead
Skylake-EP and EX represent all new architectures built using the company’s 14-nanometer+ technology, while Cannon Lake-EP and EX were supposed to represent mild architectural enhancements of the Skylake-EP and EX chips, but with the benefit of being built on the company’s upcoming 10-nanometer chip manufacturing technology. Although I can’t make this prediction with 100% certainty, I strongly suspect that based on Intel’s most recent disclosures, Cannon Lake-EP and EX are dead.
Google’s Biggest Cloud Customer Just Signed a $1 Billion Deal With Amazon
It didn’t take long for Google’s biggest cloud customer to split its allegiances. Just a week after Snap Snap will continue to use Google Cloud for the core Snapchat functionality.
Intel Corporation Expects to Grow Client Computing Group Profit Margin
CCG is Intel’s largest business by revenue, generating nearly $33 billion in sales during 2016. Most of that revenue comes from sales of processors and related components into personal-computer systems, although the company has seen reasonable success from the sale of chips that power cable gateways and, more recently, cellular modem chips into Apple ‘s At Intel’s Feb. 9 analyst day, company management went over its financial expectations for this segment for 2017 — and beyond.
The FCC talks the talk on the digital divide – and then walks in the other direction
IN HIS first speech in the role, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai extolled the importance of bridging the digital divide between those who can afford Internet access and those who cannot. Days later, though, he opened another gap, this time between his words and his actions.
Apple’s iPhone 8 Could Represent a Big Break with the Past
But a new set of reports also suggest the device could represent a sea change in terms of how Apple prices and manufactures its latest flagship model. In addition, one of the reports indicates Apple will be doubling down on its efforts to differentiate its costliest iPhones via camera technology.
Amazon and Apple’s Payments Growth Shows PayPal Is Facing Stiffer Competition
Though its shares — and back when it was a part of eBay , eBay’s shares — have dipped a number of times on news that a tech giant is trying to muscle in on its turf, the company has kept delivering 20%-plus payment volume growth like clockwork. But while any talk of a would-be “PayPal-killer” merits skepticism, the company does arguably face a tougher competitive environment than any time in recent history.
Apple TV Could Still Be a Major Opportunity, if Apple Can Execute
The tech giant’s hiring of a new exec from Amazon comes as pay-TV streaming apps and a burgeoning smart home market spell new opportunities. The TV has long been Apple’s white whale, a giant digital content and communications platform that has captured its imagination for at least a decade, but one which it has only established a modest presence for through a line of streaming set-top boxes.
Orbital ATK sues Pentagon over plans to award a space robots contract to a Canadian-owned firm
Orbital ATK, a Dulles-based aerospace manufacturer, is suing the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency over plans to award a Canadian firm a $15 million contract to build a fleet of space-faring robots capable of repairing government and commercial satellites. Orbital argues the federal program, called the Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites, would unfairly compete with its own privately funded effort, a system called the Mission Extension Vehicle 1, backed by at least $200 million from investors.
Uber Fighting to Stay Ahead in Flying Car Initiative
Uber shows how tech companies are continuing to innovate sectors at a faster rate than traditional industries, futurist Jim Carroll told TheStreet. Uber’s concept of flying cars that take off and land vertically.
Why Intuitive Surgical Is Increasing R&D Spending by Over 30%
One of the more surprising aspects was the announcement that it planned to increase the amount it spends on research and development in 2017 by an additional $80 million dollars, a full 30% higher than in 2016. Considering that it had already increased R&D spending in 2016 by over 20%, this represents a significant additional investment.
Forget Coding–Here’s The Skill You Need Most When You Start Your Career
It used to be that the only way to climb a career ladder was to pick up more skills. Learn how to do X, get paid more for it, and earn job-title Y. Up you went.
Wal-Mart Tried to Take on Amazon Prime and Failed
The retailer is shutting down its year-and-a-half old ShippingPass program, a $50-per-year two-day shipping service similar to Amazon Prime. “In today’s world of e-commerce, two-day free shipping is table stakes,” Marc Lore, head of Wal-Mart U.S. e-commerce wrote in an announcement.
3 Stocks We’re Never Selling
We Fools are constantly on the hunt for winning stock ideas that we believe will generate strong returns for years on end. When we think we have identified a winning business, we like to buy it and hang on to it through thick and thin.
3 Stocks That Turned $5,000 into $10,000 or More in Just 3 Years
Smart investors know the stock market is a long term game, and trying to seek out companies that can double your money in just a few years time is a fool’s errand. Anything can happen in the short run to upset the best laid plans, but over the longer term, the cream will rise to the top and the best companies will shine.
PayPal’s One Touch Is Driving Mobile Growth
Among other information, the release stated, “We’ve seen double digit growth in mobile payment volume for Thanksgiving, Black Friday and during the first eight hours of Cyber Monday.” An increase in shopping from mobile devices was a theme again when PayPal recently reported earnings..
Visa Inc. Delivers 25% Revenue Growth
Net operating revenue surged 25% year over year to $4.5 billion, as the payments giant completed its second full quarter with the recently acquired Visa Europe operations included in its results. Service revenue, which is recognized based on payment volume in the prior quarter, rose 17% to$1.9 billion, as payments volume jumped 44% to $1.9 trillion on a constant dollar basis.
Silicon Valley Hedge Fund Takes On Wall Street With AI Trader
Babak Hodjat believes humans are too emotional for the stock market. So he’s started one of the first hedge funds run completely by artificial intelligence.
High security
Most people have never heard of a Swiss man called Francisco Fernandez, but tens of millions of us rely on him to look after our money. An unassuming 53-year-old who likes playing the piano in his spare time, he is responsible for the security of $4tn of bank deposits around the world.
3 Mid-Cap Stocks to Buy in February
Sometimes the stock market’s top bargains are hiding in plain sight. Mid-cap stocks, or those with market caps between $2 billion and $10 billion, tend to be particularly attractive to growth and value investors since they usually have established and profitable business models, along with plenty of room for business development.
3 Mid-Cap Stocks to Buy in February
Sometimes the stock market’s top bargains are hiding in plain sight. Mid-cap stocks, or those with market caps between $2 billion and $10 billion, tend to be particularly attractive to growth and value investors since they usually have established and profitable business models, along with plenty of room for business development.
Airbus Is About To Build A Self-Flying Electric Robo-Taxi
If you think self-driving cars are futuristic, imagine them flying overhead. That’s what European aerospace titan Airbus has done in designing its Vahana electric, autonomous plane, which can fly a single passenger on trips of around 50 miles, getting there about twice as fast as by car.