No one can argue that Tesla doesn’t have ambitious plans. Cars that park themselves and drive along sideroads and freeways with no human help, for example. What Elon Musk’s electronic car manufacturer does lack, however, is an ability to follow through.
Ever since plans were announced of its autonomous features, Tesla cars have had a “Full Self-Driving Capability” option on the car order page. Simply add a few thousand to your purchase and your car will soon be able to drive itself.
However, exactly when that will happen appears to be shrouded in doubt. And, in fact, the option has now been removed completely.
Tesla Cuts the Autonomous Driving Option You Couldn’t Use Anyway
For those of you who wanted to buy into the car of the future, the option is no longer on the order page. If you’re still staunchly determined to buy into Musk’s uncompleted vision, you can order it “off menu” for another week.
Filling out a checkbox to purchase capabilities a car doesn’t have yet? What could be confusing about that?
Things have been going from bad to worse for Mr. Musk lately, after losing his seat as Tesla’s chair and landing a fine from the SEC. Smoking marijuana in public, making outlandish claims on social media and lowering Telsa stock price.
And it appears the next bump in the road isn’t just over the confusion of offering technology that isn’t available yet. It’s the several lawsuits piling up against Tesla calling out the “phantom nature” of the self-driving feature and claiming the name Autopilot is misleading customers.
Rather than face more and more outcry from dazed and confused customers, the company decided it would be easier to take the feature off the site for the time being.
True Autonomy Is Close at Hand
Many of Tesla’s shareholders buy into Telsa for its innovation and visionary leader Elon Musk with his futuristic plans of heading to space and producing driverless cars. And to be fair, it’s not all just hot air and daydreams. The SpaceX Falcon 9 lit up the sky earlier this month, and last week and Tesla’s beta self-driving system is already being tested by staff.
Don’t get too excited just yet, though. Whether the technology is ready or not is just the start of the battle. Legislation in most states hasn’t yet approved full autonomy of cars beyond testing. Still, you might not be able to use it, but it’s better than paying for something that doesn’t exist.
For those of you lusting after the iPhone XS or XS Max but haven’t quite been able to justify the XS (get it?) price tag, the cheaper version is available for order now. The iPhone XR is available on pre-order at the starting price of $749. That’s the 64GB version. You’ll need to cough up more for the 128GB and 256GB versions, of course.
Is the iPhone XR a Poorman’s Version of the XS?
It’s no secret that the Apple iPhone XS’s price tag has been a sticking point for many would-be buyers. Although sales for the XS and XS Max hit record highs for Apple, it’s not within everyone’s reach. The phone’s improved battery life, faster performance, and sharper camera have all been highly reviewed, however.
The iPhone XR offers a similar experience to both of Apple’s existing phones, with a design that looks almost exactly the same (how Apple of them). It runs the same processor and includes the fingerprint sensor needed for Apple’s Facial Recognition.
The XR also provides consumers with the same 6.1-inch HD display, a 12-megapixel rear camera that lets you take portrait photos, and–something no other iPhone has offered so far–a veritable rainbow of color options, coming in black, white, yellow, blue, coral, and red.
So what does the XR drop to lower the price tag? The OLED display, improved water resistance, and dual-rear cameras.
Don’t be too alarmed if you accidentally splash your coffee on it though. It still comes with a level of water resistance similar to that of the iPhone 8 and iPhone X.
Unlike the massive build-up to the iPhone X release, the pre-order period on the XR is relatively short and you should get your phone fairly quickly, before the month is out, depending on your carrier and color choice.
The official sale date for the iPhone XR is Friday, October 26.
The futuristic Norwegian AI startup, Memory, has just raised a further $5 million in its bid to give humans “digital superpowers” to solve the ongoing workplace problem of employee time tracking.
You didn’t really believe that AI tech was going to turn you into the second coming of Wolverine, did you? However, if you’re an employer who is wanting to keep a track on the time abuses of your employees, you could turn into ‘super-boss’. I just made that one up.
New Funding for AI Startup Time Tracking Tools
Memory is the name of the Norwegian AI startup that has now raised a full total of $6 million in funding. The fundraising was largely led by the venture investment platforms Investinor, Concentric, and SNÖ Ventures.
The company was initially founded by Norwegian entrepreneur Mathias Mikkelsen in 2013. The goal of the firm is to create AI-enabled tools that can track time abuses of employees in the workplace. Stalin would have loved this tool!
The company’s key product, Timely, is being called a “fully automatic time tracking tool.” When linked to AI, the tool can become an intricate part of how business owners keep tracks on their staff.
The product is currently being used by over 4,000 customers in 160 countries, seeking to get back any time lost time by recording everything the employee works on. The tool automatically creates time-sheets for the employee.
The new influx of funds will allow Memory to double their 30-strong team as it plans to build further tools that will organize employees’ time more effectively to improve the overall productivity of the company. The funds will also be used to refine the already-existing Timely AI model.
The story of the company’s owner is also very interesting. Mikkelsen turned down an opportunity to take his technology to Facebook, and also was forced to sell his apartment just to get his idea moving. The CEO and owner of Memory stated that:
“As the one finite resource we all share, it’s imperative to definitively solve all the problems that steal time away from us. If Memory can build tools which effectively hand people back a 25th hour each day, we’ll have gone a huge way towards achieving that.”
If you are one of those “there are not enough hours in the day” kind of people, Memory’s Timely tool will make your life complete again!
Starbucks shares are approaching a 52-week high after activist investor Bill Ackman announced a $900 million investment for accumulating 15.2 million of the company’s shares.
Starbucks has a market value of $29.2 billion and is the third-largest restaurant chain in the world. The company has 28,218 locations in over 75 markets, and more than 238,000 employees worldwide.
Ackman Says Starbucks Is a Good Bet
Ackman believes Starbucks shares could double in value in the next three years. According to the investor, the company has many business opportunities ahead, both in the US and in the Chinese market.
Moreover, Ackman didn’t forget to mention Starbucks’ plans for some serious share buybacks of $14 billion in the next few years. Doing the simple math, earnings per share have a growth potential of between $3.70 and $4.35 by 2021, from $2.40 in 2018.
Such a performance would push the Starbucks stock to a value of $93 to $117, by 2021. The company has already started with a $5 billion accelerated share repurchase agreement.
Besides, coffee is still a strong business worldwide. Despite its domestic performances, Starbucks has seen significant revenue growth, and has a financial position widely-recognized as reliable; its earnings per share have a notable record.
Starbucks earnings per share / Nasdaq
Starbucks has 3,300 stores in China and continues to open about 50 new ones each month. The company’s market share in China reached 80% last year, in a coffee shop market estimated at $3.4 billion.
Things aren’t all smooth for the company, though. As the Chinese market is expected to grow, more competitors are looking to overtake Starbucks, the most important being the Chinese chain Luckin Coffee and Coca-Cola’s Costa Coffee.
Starbucks Is Making Significant Changes in Europe
With so many events ahead, Starbucks is planning a revolution across its business operations. CEO Kevin Johnson announced changes starting next week, as the company enters a new era of challenges due to the inactive domestic market, a mammoth expansion into the Chinese market, and harsher competition. CEO Kevin Johnson said:
“Starting next week and into mid-November, there will be leadership shifts and non-retail partner impacts as we evolve the direction of teams across the organization in size, scope, and goals.”
The first strategic move will happen in Europe as Starbucks sells 83 stores to Alsea, its South American partner. The Mexico City-based company that already owns 900 stores across Central and South America will add coffee shops in Belgium, Luxembourg, France, and the Netherlands to its portfolio. However, the roasting plant in the Netherlands will continue to be owned by Starbucks.
The company is planning to close outlets in Amsterdam and focus on its presence in London instead. The management encourages its 186 employees who will suffer from this move to apply for jobs available in London. If Brexit doesn’t stop them in their tracks.
Is Starbucks a Buy?
Starbucks has enough room for growth, despite competitors, the restructuring in Europe, and a possible slow down in the Chinese market. So, even if Ackman’s predictions don’t come true, the company is probably still a good bet for long-term investors who don’t get scared off by temporary downward trends.
Procter & Gamble (P&G) stocks have surged by 5% since Friday morning, as reported by CNBC. P&G announced that its beauty products are responsible for driving sales and helping the company in surpassing the expected revenue in the fiscal fourth quarter of 2018.
Wall Street was expecting earnings per share (EPS) to be $1.09 and revenue to be $16.46 billion. However, P&G’s report shows an increase in both these numbers–$1.12 for the former and $16.69 for the latter.
Compared with beauty products, P&G’s fabric and home-care brands sales jumped by 2%, while grooming, health care, baby, feminine, and family care dropped by 1%, 3%, and 3% respectively.
In this year, P&G’s shares slumped by 11%; the company now has a market cap of $202 billion.
Even though P&G faces competition from other rising startups, the company is positive that the current boom in revenue will “hold up.”
On October 16, Nasdaq published a post anticipating the results from the fiscal fourth quarter. The report stated that net sales would rise by 4% due to P&G’s beauty, fabric, and healthcare products. They predicted that Q4’s sales would come from baby, feminine and family care products. However, these categories are the ones that dropped the most in the latest quarter.
P&G Has Some Fierce Competition
P&G’s biggest competitor in the grooming industry is the Dollar Shave Club, which was acquired by Unilever in 2016. In an interview with Cincinnati Business Courier, Jon Moeller, the chief financial officer of P&G, said that grooming and baby products were:
“the two sales growth challenges.”
He added that the company was developing and funding ideas to support Gillette. Moeller also said that the stakes were higher since competitors are now expanding their products into Europe.
An online subscription program called Gillette on Demand was also launched by the company. It offers three different packages compared to the two packages offered by the Dollar Shave Club.
Gillette has been around since the 1980s but Dollar Shave Club has managed to attract more attention due to advanced marketing tactics. Currently, P&G expects its organic sales to fall between 2% to 3%, EPS between 6% to 8% and all-in-sales growth by approximately 3% in fiscal 2018.
Meanwhile, David Taylor, P&G’s CEO, recently launched 2019’s CEO Challenge where students solve various business problems. The finals will take place in May 2019 in Dubai.
Last year’s challenge was won by a group of industrial engineering students from Saudi Arabia. These students were also offered jobs in the company. This year, the real-world business problems students will solve are based on its grooming brand Gillette.
Investors are selling euros and Italian bonds and Italy’s bond yields have hit highs. There are serious concerns from the European Union (EU) over Italy’s draft budget.
Italian Bonds
10-year Italian bond yields rose to 3.74% early on Friday, October 19, 2018, marking the decline in demand for Italian bonds.
The spread between yields of German and Italian bonds has widened to its highest level in almost five years at 3.4 percentage points. The widening spread illustrates the higher demand for German bonds, as Germany’s government debt is viewed as being a safer investment vehicle due to its stronger economy.
Italy’s economy and debt situation are much more volatile. Debt in the third-largest EU economy is running at around 130% of its GDP, so Italian bonds are a riskier prospect.
Italian budget concerns
Budget Concerns For Italy
The yield spread between Italian and German bonds has been heightened as the EU raises concerns over Italy’s budget plans. The EU’s financial authorities rejected Italian budget proposals earlier this week citing an “unprecedented” break of EU rules pertaining to government spending and deficit levels.
Italy’s budget plans include an increase in spending and its budget deficit, which would allow Italy’s government debt to remain high. The EU has written to Italy warning:
“Those three factors would seem to point to a particularly serious non-compliance with the budgetary policy obligations laid down in the Stability and Growth Pact.”
The potential of further tensions between the EU and Italy has pushed investors to sell their Italian bonds and the price to fall, increasing the bond yields, and widening the difference between Germany’s bond yields.
Matteo Salvini, the leader of the Northern League, one of the two coalition partners in the new Italian government of 2018 said of the budget proposals:
“If Brussels says I cannot do it, I do not care, I will do it anyway.”
Portuguese and Spanish bonds have also seen a sell-off in recent days which could point to a backlash over Italian budget concerns. Italian stocks are also down.
Euro at a Two Month Low
Italy’s bond yield increase and fall in bond demand, alongside the origin of this activity–the EU’s concerns over Italy’s budget and economic plans– have affected confidence in the euro. The euro is now at a two month low.
The euro is also impacted by Brexit as discussions continue. A Bank of America strategist, Kamal Sharma warned in August 2018 that if the ongoing Brexit talks didn’t find a resolution, the impact would be seen on both euro and sterling.
Sharma said that sterling rates against the dollar could fall to lows experienced in the mid-1980’s. Stephen Jen, a currency expert at Eurozone SLJ predicted of possible EU action over Brexit stalling:
“Brussels needs to think very carefully about trying to punish UK. It is effectively using the threat of trade sanctions as a weapon. But the extreme disruption for the EU itself if this happens would be greater than some might think.”
With the nation’s growing tech addiction and people spending upwards of 10 hours a day looking at screens, you would think America would be pretty good at pointing out the tech celebrities behind the apps we use. However, according to a survey by Signs, most people failed to recognize many prominent tech personalities. When it comes to women in tech, the figure was just two.
Signs showed 500 people faces of celebrities from different industries and simply asked: “who is this?” Politicians were by far the most recognized sector. Domestic ones, that is. Just 27% of those asked knew who Theresa May was, with the majority confusing her with Angela Merkel.
When it comes to silver screen actors, the American public was pretty good at recognizing celebrities. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Emma Watson were among the most recognized. But when it comes to sports and technology, the public struggled to put a name to a face.
Unsprusinly Gen Xers and millennials were better at identifying tech millionaires than the boomers. There was also a tendency for females to recognize their female counterparts more easily, with the same pattern emerging with men.
Age Is Just a Number in Tech, Survey Proves
Despite the rise of apps like Instagram and Snapchat, their creators were not among the list of recognized tech personalities. Mark Zuckerberg took first place, with some 85% of respondents able to identify him, followed by Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and Elon Musk. At the bottom of the top 10 list were two women in tech, Sheryl Sandberg and Susan Wojcicki, the two most recognized of all.
Source: Signs
And while Google may be ubiquitous, only 5.3% of all participants knew who CEO, Sundar Pichai, was. With the constant inequality in Silicon Valley and well-known male domination, it probably wasn’t a surprise that women in tech got next to zero recognition. Less than 5% identified Sheryl Sandberg and Susan Wojcicki, and no other tech females made the top 10 list.
Despite all the worry over Australian home prices, it didn’t take Mike Cannon-Brookes long to spend a pile on the Fairwater estate in Sydney’s Point Piper. The home was recently vacated by Mary Fairfax, who died a little over a year ago. The home has been in the Fairfax family for more than 100 years, and now it looks like Mike Cannon-Brookes will be raising his family in the 11,000+ square-meter property.
The actual sales price for Fairwater hasn’t been disclosed, but it is thought to have sold for more than $100 million USD. That would make it the highest price paid for a home in Australia by a wide margin.
The previous record was set when the house next door to Fairwater sold to the other Atlassian co-founder, Scott Farquhar, last year. Mr. Farquhar paid $71 million USD for the property, called “Elaine,” which had also been the property of the Fairfax family.
Unlike Elaine, Fairwater has sat unoccupied for the last 25 years or so and was seldom used by Lady Fairfax. Despite the remodeling that is sure to begin soon, Mike Cannon-Brookes is happy to have made the purchase. In a statement, he said that:
“We are delighted with the purchase of Fairwater for our young family and look forward to continuing the legacy of this beautiful Sydney home… We love the idea of raising our four young children in this historic property.”
Fairwater, image by Wikipedia
Big Money in Sydney
Atlassian has been a massive success for Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar. The pair met while attending the University of New South Wales. In 2002 they used $10,000 in credit card debt to found Atlassian. The company has grown into a global presence, and in 2017 Atlassian created revenues in excess of $600 million USD.
Their most popular product is Jira, which was introduced in 2002. Jira started life as a bug tracking software that is still used by software developers all over the world. According to Atlassian, more than 75,000 companies in 122 countries use Jira. It has evolved into a project management tool that has expanded beyond software development.
Given the taste in real estate the founders have, Atlassian will have to keep doing well. The property taxes on a $100 million dollar property have to be eye-watering. The two co-founders have made off like bandits in the wake of Atlassian’s IPO in late 2015.
Like many companies in the tech space, equity investors can’t seem to get enough of Atlassian shares. Even after the shares fell sharply earlier this week on a revenue disappointment, they are still up by more than 100% over the last 12 months at the time of writing. They saw their adjusted quarterly earnings rise by more than 50% YOY, which may help to justify their current valuation.
Investors Love Atlassian
Last year Atlassian lost around 50 cents a share, which makes paying nearly 20 billion dollars for their platform a little rough. Despite the increasing competition from other project management platforms, most notably Slack, there are many in the investment world that see Mike Cannon-Brookes’ company as a herald of things to come.
Atlassian stock 6 month period
Tim Garratt is a partner at Bailie Gifford, a Scottish fund that owns hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Atlassian’s equity. He told the Sydney Morning Herald that:
“Mike Cannon-Brookes has a focus on the next coming decades rather than the next quarter or two. He’s prepared to invest for the long term and we are strongly supportive of that approach… We see the long-term potential for Atlassian to service a hundred million users across the world […]So it is still early days for this exciting business and we’re looking forward to seeing how it develops over the next decade and beyond.”
Despite the optimism that Mike Cannon-Brookes has generated from investors who are already riding high on triple digits yearly gains, his company has something of a spotty record when it comes to gender issues.
A few years ago, one of Atlassian’s employees decided to compare a new piece of software to a complaining girlfriend, which did nothing to sure up the image of an industry that is constantly being accused of a latent gender bias. While Mike Cannon-Brookes scolded the employee after the presentation went viral, he actually gave the offending presentation himself at a conference!
The gaffe clearly hasn’t dented investor confidence in the company, and Atlassian remains one of the biggest software development tools out there today. If Mike Cannon-Brookes’ luck holds up, he may be able to hold on to his brand new house on the water in Sydney.
The world’s richest people are renowned for taking to the seas to enjoy their wealth. Now, many millionaires are developing a heightened environmental conscience and becoming custodians of our oceans as well.
They’re creating foundations, donating money, and even their precious ships, to help protect the blue playgrounds they love.
The Monaco Yacht Show
As well as showcasing million-dollar mega yachts and every accessory imaginable, the Monaco Yacht Show is a beacon of hope for marine conservation projects.
This year’s show in late September opened with the 2nd Monte-Carlo Gala for the Global Ocean. The gala is a charity event organized by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation and Milutin Gatsby the Global Fundraising Chairman.
It’s backed by the show’s organizers and this year’s event chairs included Madonna, Orlando Bloom, Gerard Butler, Pierce Brosnan, Robert F Kennedy Jr., and many more.
Prince Albert II of Monaco has made oceans the priority of his foundation saying:
“The oceans are the lungs of our planet. Our standard of living, our economy and even our health depend on it. But they are seriously threatened by the consequences of climate change and marine pollution. I believe that all is not lost if we work hand in hand.”
The $27 million proceeds from this year’s event will be used to fight plastic pollution and ocean acidification, protect corals and endangered species and develop marine protected areas.
The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation
Leonardo DiCaprio, net worth $245 million, was awarded the “Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation Prize” for his philanthropical work towards protecting the planet.
DiCaprio’s foundation donated at least $11 million to ocean conservation in 2014, $7 million at the “Our Oceans” conference and $3 million to Oceana.
In 2017 the foundation donated $15 million, and then a further $20 million, in grants to organizations with impactful environmental projects. Di Caprio said at the time:
“We have a responsibility to innovate a future where the habitability of our planet does not come at the expense of those who inhabit it.”
The actor’s foundation also partners with National Geographic Pristine Seas and has, since 2010, funded 70 high-impact projects across 40 countries with a “total direct financial impact” of over $80 million since 2008.
The Bertarelli Foundation
Ernesto Bertarelli, a Swiss pharmaceutical billionaire and wife Kirsty, created the Bertarelli Foundation which has funded marine reserves in Belize and the Indian Ocean.
The Pew Bertarelli Ocean Legacy Project, formed in 2017, aims to create 15 large marine reserves by 2022. The legacy project was created with the goal of establishing these ecologically significant, protected areas, the first generation of “great marine parks.”
11th Hour Racing
The wife of former Google chairman Eric Schmidt, Wendy, an avid sailor, formed 11th Hour Racing as part of the Schmidt family foundation. The organization and racing team works with the sailing community and related industries to improve operating practices in order to restore the health of the oceans.
It supports many ocean-focused causes including those involved in monitoring and addressing the ocean waste and plastic problem. In 11th Hour Racing’s latest report, citing them as the most sustainable team to compete in the Volvo Ocean Race, says:
“We managed to significantly reduce our footprint, educated thousands of fans on renewable energy and plastic pollution, and most importantly we were able to leave a lasting legacy.”
The International Seakeepers Society
This society gives million-dollar yacht owners another way to help the oceans, by lending their yachts to scientists. The non-profit matches yacht owners with scientists who often spend massive amounts of their funding and research budgets on chartering vessels to do their ocean-based research.
“Ninety percent of a scientist’s small budget will go towards chartering an expedition vessel. We’re allowing them to save all that money and put it to a better use, such as paying lab assistants and the actual research itself.”
Billionaire mathematician and hedge fund manager James Simons is worth around $15.5 billion. His $100 million-dollar yacht was used by scientists for a shark research expedition near to Antigua.
OceanX
Ray Dalio, another hedge fund magnate, and worth around $18 billion, created OceanX. The organization has designed a purpose-built, and one of the most advanced exploration yachts complete with its own laboratories, submarines, helicopters, and media production center.
The Alucia2 was the first to explore the deep ocean around Antarctica taking one of its submarines below 1,000 meters deep. The ship was used extensively in the ocean protection inspiring “Blue Planet II” series.
The Alucia ship in Antarctica. Image Source: OceanX Facebook
It will take concerted and combined government, industry, and people-led efforts to truly protect our oceans and our planet. But, it’s enlightening to see some of the world’s richest people not only giving back to the earth and environment but also spending their time to influence and educate others to protect the oceans.
Do you want a piece of Britney? You’re not the only one. The world-famous pop songstress Britney Spears has become the highest paid entertainer in Las Vegas as details of her new residency at the MGM’s Park Theater emerge.
Oops, she’s only gone and done it again!
At $500,000 per show, Britney has now overtaken Celine Dion as the highest paid entertainer in Sin City. Whether it’s bare-headed, bare-crotched or even barely sober, any version of Britney is always worth a look.
Britney Spears Las Vegas Residency
Britney made an appearance in Las Vegas on Thursday to announce her “Britney: Domination” residency at the Park Theater of the MGM’s new Park MGM resort. The residency starts in the New Year and will see a total of 32 shows over the course of February to August.
Britney’s Domination show will be 90-minutes in length, and at $500,000 per show, that breaks down to a staggering $93 per second. Not a bad night’s work. And just goes to show the music industry can still generate big bucks with the right product.
Britney Spears stated in a press release in regards to Domination that:
“I am so happy to be returning to my second home — Las Vegas! I’m working on a brand-new show and I’m so excited for my fans to see it! It’s going to be so much fun being back on stage and I can’t wait to perform at Park Theater.”
Traveling Without Moving
The 36-year old singer also talked about how this show has more dancing than any other she has performed. She also talked about how grueling it can be on tour and how staying put in one venue in Las Vegas has made this the perfect deal for her.
This is not the first time the ‘Toxic’ singer has taken a residency. She finished a four-year ‘Piece of Me’ residency at Planet Hollywood on New Year’s Eve in 2017 and then took the tour nationwide and across Europe from July 12 to August 24, 2018.
Britney now enjoys the mantle of the highest paid entertainer in Las Vegas, knocking middle-of-road rival Celine Dion off top spot. Tickets go on sale from Friday, October 29 onwards.
Britney Spears joins an illustrious list of people who can also claim to be the highest paid performers in Sin City throughout history, such as Elvis Presley, Sammy Davis Junior, and ‘old blue eyes’ Frank Sinatra.
