One of the more critical steps Amazon took in securing its lead in the e-commerce race was the purchase of Kiva Systems, which built robots designed to speed up warehouse processes. Since then, competitors have been looking for their own robotic advantages. With Amazon entering the grocery business with its purchase of Whole-Foods, Kroger, America's largest supermarket chain, is getting into the mix with its own robot offensive. Bloomberg's Sarah Halzack reports: Kroger Co., the giant but aging supermarket chain, has unleashed a flurry of initiatives to ensure it won’t get thumped in … [Read more...]
Are you Part of the Herd Inflating the Indexing Bubble?
The WSJ's Dawn Lim reports that after a temporary lull, the flood of money moving into passively managed index funds and ETFs has resumed. Lim writes: A decadelong shift of money and power from old-fashioned money managers into index funds resumed its march in 2019. Last year, net inflows into funds that track markets fell about 30% from the year before, according to Morningstar data. Some firms said fears around slowing global growth and a particularly volatile stock market led investors to take money from asset management’s most popular products. The 2018 slowdownwas … [Read more...]
Man vs. Machines: Can Humans Win a New Stock Market War?
In a market that is increasingly dominated by robots, indexing, and algorithms, humans are beginning to play to their own strengths. The predictability of computers and passive funds has created a possible opening for some investors. Bloomberg's Justina Lee and Yakob Peterseil report: Some 60% of assets in U.S. equities are housed in passive products, while quant strategies comprise another 20%, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. All told, index and exchange-traded funds, quants and options-related strategies dominate all but 10% of U.S. stock trading, the bank calculates. “What it … [Read more...]
Hard Criticism for Amazon’s Advertising
Shira Ovide, writing at Bloomberg, unloads some harsh criticisms of Amazon's advertising business. Ovide explains that the option has become a toll that producers must pay in order to get their products in front of customers. She concludes: To be fair, Amazon is doing a lot of work for its cut of sales. It provides a vast customer base for merchants, often stores inventory for them and handles shipments, and takes responsibility for customer service and payments. That’s arguably far more work than Apple does for its 30% commission on a purchase of an iPhone game. 3 And all advertising is, … [Read more...]
The Disaster Waiting to Happen in Bond ETFs
There's something akin to a bank run happening at some bond ETFs. Despite the easily traded nature of ETFs, when the underlying assets they represent aren't very liquid, redeeming shares can be a real problem. Bloomberg's Rachel Evans and Emily Barrett report: A couple of prominent investment funds are currently living through a portfolio manager’s worst nightmare: So many customers are demanding their money back that withdrawals need to be frozen. Amit Deshpande, a former longtime risk manager, sees it as a wake-up call. In particular, he’s watching the growing ranks of asset managers who … [Read more...]
Global Supply Chain Shifting Away from China
In response to tariffs on Chinese goods, companies such as Intel, Apple, and Amazon are said to be considering alternatives for their supply chains. The uncertainty isn’t good for anybody, but doesn’t paint a positive picture for Chinese manufacturing sector. Li and Fung CEO, Spencer Fung, suggests firms are "very worried" about their Chinese business. Bloomberg reports: China will see more factory shutdowns as the trade war that’s roiled the global supply chain exacerbates an exodus, said Spencer Fung, chief executive officer of Li & Fung Ltd. The company, which designs, sources and … [Read more...]
Targeted TV Advertising is Huge Opportunity
Advertisers are spending more of their money on targeted TV ads. With streaming video gaining more market share, ads targeted directly to consumers have become more popular. Alexandra Bruell writes for The Wall Street Journal: Audience targeting is hardly new to television, of course. It was rolled out years ago with select cable and satellite providers, but never lived up to its promise. That’s because advertisers could reach only people in the geographic footprints of those providers, and there was a lack of ad space—the providers generally sell only two minutes of ads per each hour of TV … [Read more...]
Hospitals Take a Step Back from Amazon’s Healthcare Push
After initially accepting Amazon's push into healthcare supply enthusiastically, hospitals are now cooling on the e-commerce giant's efforts. Tatiana Darie reports for Bloomberg: Amazon.com Inc.’s push into distribution of health-care supplies and equipment has lost momentum, according to a survey by UBS Group AG. Hospital purchasing managers say they are buying fewer medical supplies from Amazon compared to last year, while increasing their purchases of office supplies from the online retailer, UBS analyst Kevin Caliendo wrote in a research note on Monday. One reason could be that … [Read more...]
Walmart’s Good Call on Flipkart
Walmart made its biggest acquisition ever when it purchased Indian e-commerce company, Flipkart last year. What the American retailer didn't know then, was that a subsidiary of the e-commerce company would end up being a runaway success in the digital payments market. Flipkart's PhonePe (pronounced phone-pay) has seen the volume and value of its transactions quadruple since last year. Bloomberg's Saritha Rai reports: The startup was founded in December 2015 by three friends who left Flipkart to get it off the ground. Within a year, Flipkart founders Binny Bansal and Sachin Bansal decided … [Read more...]
Will Amazon Face Employee Fury on Prime Day?
Employees at Amazon's fulfillment center in Shakopee, Minnesota are threatening the company with a six-hour shutdown on one of the company's busiest days of the year, its annual Prime Day sale. Amazon has said that it already provides employees at the facility with everything they're demanding, but some still seek government assistance. Bloomberg's Josh Eidelson and Spencer Soper report: Workers at a Shakopee, Minnesota, fulfillment center plan a six-hour work stoppage July 15, the first day of Prime Day. Amazon started the event five years ago, using deep discounts on televisions, toys and … [Read more...]
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