Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ rocket company, Blue Origin, signed a deal for multiple launch contract in the private sector. I like their coat of arms, the tortoise, especially how it relates to compound interest. “I like to do things incrementally,” Bezos remarked during Tuesday’s Satellite 2017 Conference in Washington, The New York Times reports. His company’s motto, “gradatim ferociter,” means “Step by step, ferociously. Patrick Reilly writes of this philosophy at The Christian Science Monitor: Eutelsat rewarded this approach in its decision to grant Blue Origin the contract. While the … [Read more...]
Archives for March 2017
A New Hope for Truck and SUV Enthusiasts
Here is some good news for truck and SUV enthusiasts. The Trump administration has reopened a review of vehicle emissions standards requiring auto makers to sell vehicles averaging 54.5 miles per gallon (40 mpg in real world conditions) by 2025. If you’ve purchased a truck or SUV lately, you may have been disappointed with the underwhelming power or the gimmicky features intended to add power without increasing fuel consumption to meet those standards. You wouldn't be alone in that view. The Trump review offers new hope for those of us who would gladly sacrifice fuel efficiency for more … [Read more...]
In a Few Years Your Car Might Look Like a Computer on Wheels
Intel recently announced the acquisition of Mobileye NV, an Israeli car-camera company. The purchase is one of Intel's largest ever, and signals that the company sees great potential in the future of autonomous vehicles. Ted Greenwald writes that a race to build autonomous vehicles has ramped up among companies including Tesla, Google, Uber and more. He reports: The deal for Mobileye is the second largest in Intel’s 48-year history, after its $16.7 billion acquisition of Altera Corp. in 2015, and its size signals Intel’s strong desire to stake out a significant position in the market after … [Read more...]
Is the Auto Industry at Risk of Another Meltdown?
One of my favorite columnists, Dan Neil on the automobile bubble: But there’s a lot of paper out—over $1 trillion in outstanding automotive loans in 2016, according to the credit-score company Equifax. About 20% of auto loan originations are subprime and delinquency rates have climbed steadily. And just like risky mortgages, delinquency-prone car loans are securitized, bundled and sold as asset-backed securities (ABS), which never worked out badly for anyone, ever. Quietly, auto execs are worried sick about any contraction in auto-loan credit, but they would tear their tongue out before … [Read more...]
Is this the Start of the Assault on Tesla?
The competition in electric cars is heating up. Tesla is the leader in luxury, and its CEO Elon Musk is making a play for the mass market with the company's forthcoming Model 3, but Chevy, Nissan, Fiat, Mercedes, and Ford are already in that space. Volvo recently announced it is also moving into that space with an all-electric car planned for 2019 with a projected price tag of $35,000 to $40,000. In the near future, electric cars will no longer be the sole domain of the luxury-car owner. According to Automotive News, Volvo Cars’ North America CEO, Lex Kerssemakers, told reporters at the … [Read more...]
For the First Time in Five Years Trucking Hiring is Soaring
Jennifer Smith reports for The Wall Street Journal that the trucking industry is hiring faster than it has for five years. Companies seem to be more confident in their prospects for orders and demand over the next few months, pushing them to pull the trigger on more transportation hiring. She writes: Trucking fleets stepped up hiring at the fastest pace in five years in February, adding 10,600 jobs in a display of confidence as companies across U.S. industries ramped up payrolls. Goods-producing private companies added 95,000 jobs last month, fueled by strong growth in construction and … [Read more...]
American Manufacturing Hit Particularly Hard Since 2000
The editors of The Wall Street Journal's Daily Shot email recently highlighted that, compared to other major manufacturing hubs in the world, manufacturing employment in the U.S. has been hit quite hard. I have recreated a chart below that the Daily Shot had featured showing that compared to other relatively free manufacturing focused economies like Germany, Japan and South Korea, employment in America's manufacturing sector has been hardest hit since 2000. The editors go on to show that despite rapid automation in both Germany and Japan compared to the U.S., they still performed … [Read more...]
Sick and Tired of Grocery Shopping? Grocers Want to Help
If you have schlepped through any of the major big box stores, you know that the experience isn't typically enjoyable. Terrible fluorescent lighting, bad music, hordes of hurried people seemingly aiming to occupy the same spot you are in at any given time. These are only some of the many down sides of visiting the big box nightmares. But it turns out even the big box companies themselves realize people don't want to visit, and are aiming to supply their demand for grocery delivery as soon as possible. Heather Haddon writes: Big food retailers are expanding grocery delivery services, hoping to … [Read more...]
This is What Happens When You Combine the Intelligence of Einstein and Watson
IBM and Salesforce.com are combining their artificial intelligence platforms to boost sales of their data-analytics offerings, reports Jay Greene in The Wall Street Journal. IBM says its Watson program is cognitive tech that can "think like a human." Meanwhile Salesforce calls its Einstein "AI for everyone," and promises it's like "having your own data scientist to guide you through your day." Greene says of the hookup between the two: The agreement is IBM’s latest move to put Watson in front of a broad business audience. The company has tailored its artificial-intelligence system, a linchpin … [Read more...]
A Physical Store’s Best Defense Against Amazon
Originally posted October 18, 2016. The Wall Street Journal outlines the fresh produce strategies brick and mortar stores like Wal-Mart and local grocers can utilize against Amazon to compete. While Wal-Mart and other retailers, including Ahold USA and Meijer Inc., are pouring money into ramping up online sales, the grocers are also buckling down on the basics of the produce department. That’s because high-quality fruits, vegetables and other fresh foods are emerging as a physical store’s best defense against growing competition from Amazon.com Inc. Many customers decide where to shop … [Read more...]