Quantcast
Channel: Business Insider
Viewing all 76301 articles
Browse latest View live

19 sentimental state-themed gifts you can get on Amazon in time for the holidays

0
0

The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you'll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships, so we get a share of the revenue from your purchase.

homesick, $29.95

I live in New York, but given that I'm from Connecticut, I'm not a New Yorker. State pride is serious business — no matter where you live, you'll always have a unique connection to where you're from. Showing your state pride can manifest in many different ways. Maybe you're a committed fan of all of your states sports teams. Maybe you fervently hold that your hometown pizzeria has the best slice in the country — and you're willing to fight for that one. 

Wherever they live, whatever way they choose to show their state pride, anyone will appreciate a state-inspired present this holiday season. It's a thoughtful, nostalgic gift that's sure to make them smile.

If you haven't done your holiday shopping yet, a state-inspired gift still has a personal feel — so they won't feel let down with a generic last-minute gift. We found plenty of great options, plus they're all from Amazon so you can get them under the tree in time for Christmas. 

Most of these items are available with two-day shipping, so don't stress too hard about your last-minute shopping — just remember that the sooner you order, the better your chances of a timely arrival.

Keep scrolling for 19 great state-inspired gifts they'll love:

A more simple state cutting board

Totally Bamboo State Shaped Serving and Cutting Board, $19.95

A beautiful bamboo cutting board is just what they need for cheese platters and charcuterie. The sleek state shape is a definite conversation piece, sure to up the ante for their next dinner party.

Note: Some states may arrive after Christmas



A candle that smells like home

Homesick Candles, $29.95

We've all had that feeling when we get a whiff of salty air or sweet cinnamon rolls and, suddenly, it's like we're immediately transported home. Homesick did plenty of research and crowdsourcing to capture the scents of every state and turn those into candles. With choices ranging from states, cities, and even experiences, lighting one of these is sure to conjure up lots of great memories. 



A state-shaped cutting and serving board

Totally Bamboo Engraved Serving and Cutting Board, $30

If you think the plain bamboo is too simple, go for this board that's actually engraved with the state name, plenty of locations, icons, and important figures. If they're not the cheese platter type, they can still enjoy this board and hang it up as an interesting piece of wall decor. 

Note: Some states may arrive after Christmas



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Amazon posing a threat to FedEx is a 'fantastical' idea, CEO said — but the reality is much more complicated

0
0

fedex

  • FedEx released its 2019 Q2 earnings report on Tuesday.
  • The results were mediocre.
  • FedEx CEO Fred Smith attributed the drop in profit expectations to a global economic turndown caused by "bad political choices."
  • He said Amazon isn't a threat to FedEx's business. Analysts told Business Insider it's not that simple. 

FedEx released a disappointing forecast for 2019 on Tuesday — and now its stock is on track for its worst day in 10 years.

FedEx CEO Fred Smith insisted to investors on a call that the shoddy earnings report was caused by "bad political choices" that have led to a global economic slowdown. He called out Brexit, immigration in Germany, state-owned firms in China, and Donald Trump's tariff war. 

"So you just go down the list, and they're all things that have created macroeconomic slowdowns," Smith said. 

Smith also wrote off the idea that Amazon is a threat to their business.

"The prospects that this company (FedEx) is going to be 'disrupted' ... is fantastical," Smith said. "I'll leave it at that."

But analysts say FedEx shouldn't just ignore Amazon's efforts in expanding its own air fleet capacity and potentially transiting from FedEx. "It's obvious Amazon is going to continue to grow their air fleet," Kevin Sterling, managing director of Seaport Global Securities, told Business Insider.

Amazon depends on the delivery capacity of FedEx, as well as UPS, USPS, and others. 

"I would simply say no one has benefitted more from the transportation networks built out by FedEx, UPS, and USPS than Amazon,"Trip Miller, founder and managing partner of Gullane Capital, told Business Insider. (Disclosure: Gullane Capital has shares in Amazon and FedEx.) "Amazon can’t deliver on their Prime commitments without FedEx, UPS, and USPS."

And those shipping firms depend on Amazon as well. Miller said Amazon comprises around 3%-5% of FedEx's revenue, while Amazon's revenue percentage at UPS is around the low teens.

"They have a unique partnership," Miller said. 

Amazon's own fleet is small but quickly growing

The e-commerce juggernaut has been building out its own cargo fleet, presently with around 40 cargo planes. That's pretty puny compared to FedEx Express' fleet of 675 aircraft and UPS with 247 cargo planes.

amazon air

But Amazon is quickly expanding. Just last week, Amazon announced it will expand its 72,000-square-foot cargo facility at Chicago Rockford International Airport to 200,000 square feet. It also announced last week it would build a new regional hub at Fort Worth Alliance Airport, and a new sorting facility in Ohio's Wilmington Air Park.

That matches plans to expand its hub at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport to three million square feet. The space could then accommodate more than 100 Amazon Air cargo planes.

Regardless, FedEx's Smith continues to hold that Amazon is nothing more than a customer.

"We don't see them as a peer competitor of ours for many reasons," he said. 

It's indeed not likely, in the short term, that Amazon would become a third-party carrier like FedEx. Helane Becker, managing director and senior research analyst at Cowen, told Business Insider that Amazon's cargo fleet moves deliveries from its own fulfillment centers, rather than servicing other retailers as well.

What is more likely is Amazon building so much capacity that it lessens its dependence on FedEx and other freight haulers. 

Even if that does happen, Sterling said FedEx is still set on the e-commerce front. Most retailers expanding their online shopping capabilities aren't also building out their own air fleet — like Walmart, for instance.

"Amazon is going to do their own thing, but there's going to be enough growth in e-commerce that they (FedEx and others) will be able to grow with companies outside of Amazon," Sterling said.

SEE ALSO: Months after lavishing raises and bonuses, FedEx is pushing an employee buyout program

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: This spray paint lights up at the flip of a switch, but it's not glow-in-the-dark

Stocks wipe out gains after Fed raises rates, signals fewer hikes in 2019

0
0

powell stocks trader

  • Stocks fell Wednesday, erasing earlier gains after the Federal Reserved increased borrowing costs.
  • The Fed signaled it expects to hike rates twice in 2019. It previously had expected three rate hikes next year.
  • All three major US indices fell into correction territory earlier this month.
  • Watch the major US indexes trade in real time here.

Stocks wiped out gains and ended at their lowest levels in more than a year Wednesday after the Federal Reserve increased its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point, while also signaling fewer rate hikes in 2019 than previously expected. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 700 points from session highs to trade down 1.54%, its lowest close since November 2017. After rising more than 1% each ahead of the Fed meeting, the Nasdaq Composite tumbled 2.17% and the S&P 500 shed 1.25%. 

A series of sell-offs this month have sent all three indices into correction territory, or down more than 10% from recent highs, as investors fret over rising rates and the prospect of slowing economic growth.

The Fed raised its benchmark interest rate to a target range of between 2.25% and 2.5%, as was widely expected, marking the fourth hike this year and the ninth since 2015. The central bank also signaled it would take a tentative approach to monetary policy next year.

"The Fed's projections for the path of interest rates in the year ahead tilted dovish relative to its stance three months ago, as policymakers appear to be backing off their previous intentions to raise rates three times in 2019," said Jason Pride, chief investment officer of private wealth at Glenmede.

The dollar slid against a basket of peers following the data. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell 4.7 basis points to 2.776%, while the yield on the 2-year was mostly unchanged at 2.654%.

Facebook wiped out billions of dollars in market value as it came under scrutiny on multiple fronts. The attorney general for Washington, DC, said it had sued Facebook over its involvement with Cambridge Analytica. A day earlier, the New York Times reported the social media giant granted some technology companies greater access to user data than has been disclosed.

Semiconductor shares were broadly lower, with NXP and Nvidia down 7.4% and 5.7%, respectively. Micron, which posted guidance that missed Wall Street expectations after the bell Tuesday, dropped 7.9%.

Oil prices jumped more than 3% after the US reported a drawdown in inventories for a third straight week. West Texas Intermediate was trading around $47.30 per barrel, and Brent just under $57.

SEE ALSO: Fed raises interest rates amid fierce pushback from Trump, signals fewer hikes in 2019

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: The equity chief at $6.3 trillion BlackRock weighs in on the trade war, a possible recession, and offers her best investing advice for a tricky 2019 landscape

Here's why the Navy's newest littoral combat ship just tumbled into the water sideways

0
0

Navy Lockheed Martin littoral combat ship LCS 19 St. Louis launch

  • Lockheed Martin launched the latest Freedom-class littoral combat ship over the weekend.
  • The ship, to be named USS St. Louis, was dumped in the river on its side.
  • It's one of the few ships to be launched that way, and it is done so because of the ship's design and shallow draft.

The newest Freedom-class littoral combat ship, LCS 19, the future USS St. Louis, was christened and launched in Marinette, Wisconsin, on Saturday, when the 3,900-ton warship tumbled into the icy water of the Menominee River on its side.

Freedom-class littoral combat ships are among the few ships in the world that are launched sideways.

Read more: The US Navy is thinking about sending advanced sub-hunting planes to Alaska to keep a closer eye on Russia and China

That method was used "because the size of the ship and the capabilities of the shipyard allow for a side launch," Joe DePietro, Lockheed's vice presidentvice president of small combatants and ship systems, said in a statement.

"The ship has a shallow draft (it requires less than 14 feet of water to operate in) and is a small combatant (about 381 feet long), and can therefore be side launched, where many other ships cannot."

"Our partner Fincantieri Marinette Marine has delivered more than 1,300 vessels and has used the side launch method across multiple Navy and Coast Guard platforms," DePietro added. "The size and capacity of the vessels under construction enable use of the side-launch method."

Lockheed Martin got the contract to build the ship in December 2010, and the name St. Louis was selected in April 2015. It will be the seventh Navy ship to bear that name — the first since the amphibious cargo ship St. Louis left service in 1991.

Read more: The Navy's newest, most sophisticated aircraft carrier doesn't have urinals

LCS 19's keel was laid in May 2017, when the ship's sponsor Barbara Taylor — wife of the CEO of the St. Louis-based company Enterprise rental car — welded her initials into a steel plate that was included in the ship's hull.

On December 15, Taylor christened the ship by smashing a bottle of champagne on its bow and then watched the warship tip over into the water.

Navy LCS St. Louis launch

"LCS 19 is the second ship we've christened and launched this year," DePietro said in a release, adding that the defense firm's shipbuilding team had "truly hit its stride."

"We completed trials on three ships and delivered two more," DePietro added. "Once delivered to the Navy, LCS 19 will be on its way to independently completing targeted missions around the world."

Read more: Norway has released video from inside the elite warship that sank after getting rammed by a tanker

Lockheed has delivered seven littoral combat ships to the Navy and seven more are in various stages of production and testing at Fincantieri Marinette Marine, where LCS 19 was launched on Saturday.

While LCS 19 has been christened and launched, it won't become part of the Navy until it's commissioned. At that point, the name St. Louis will become official.

USS Independence mine countermeasures UUV remote vehicle littoral combat ship

The Navy's littoral-combat-ship program is divided into two classes. Freedom-class ships are steel monohull vessels that are slightly smaller than their Independence-class counterparts, which are aluminum trimarans by General Dynamics that have a revolutionary design.

The LCS is meant to be a relatively cheap surface warship — about one-third the cost of a new Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, according to Lockheed — with a modular design that allows it to be quickly outfitted with a variety of different equipment suited for different types of missions.

While both classes are open-ocean capable, they are designed for operations close to shore, with modular packages for their primary missions of antisubmarine warfare, mine countermeasures, and surface warfare against smaller boats. (Issues with the LCS program may lead to its mine-countermeasure assets being deployed on other ships.)

US Navy littoral combat ship USS Little Rock Buffalo

The LCS is also meant to carry out intelligence-gathering, maritime-security, and homeland-security missions and support for Marine or special-operations forces regardless of its installed mission package.

The LCS program has encountered numerous problems however, including controversy about cost overruns, issues with design and construction of the first models, and concerns about their ability to survive damage in combat. Late Sen. John McCain was a vociferous critic of the LCS program's expense and mechanical issues.

The program has also faced more conventional hurdles. The USS Little Rock, the fifth Freedom-class LCS, was stuck in Montreal for three months at the beginning of this year, hemmed in by winter weather and sea ice.

SEE ALSO: The Coast Guard turned down a request for an Arctic exercise out of concern the US's only heavy icebreaker would break down and Russia would have to rescue it

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Step aboard the USS Kearsarge, the US Navy workhorse that takes Marines to war

The newest Obamacare enrollment numbers prove the health law is 'far from dead' despite repeated attacks from Trump and the GOP

0
0

Affordable Care Act Obamacare Protesters

  • Sign ups for Obamacare health insurance plans through the Healthcare.gov marketplace fell 4% for 2019.
  • While this is the second straight year that enrollment declined, the final tally is much better than earlier numbers suggested.
  • The drop was due to a slew of reasons ranging from the repeal of the individual mandate in the GOP tax law to Virginia's expansion of Medicaid.

Obamacare enrollment declined for the second straight year, but the number of people enrolling in health insurance plans for 2019 remained relatively resilient following a year of uncertainty fueled by President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress.

Enrollment in Affordable Care Act health plans through the federally-managed Healthcare.gov platform totaled about 8.5 million during this year's open enrollment period, down 4% from last year, according to preliminary data released Wednesday by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

34 of the 39 states that use Healthcare.gov reported enrollment declines compared to the same period in 2017 with just Wyoming, Hawaii, Florida, Mississippi, and Oklahoma showing enrollment increases. Others states, such as New York and California, run their own sign-up systems and have different deadlines.

Read more: Here's how much Obamacare premiums will increase in every state

The numbers come as a substantial rebound for enrollment. Previous weekly updates from CMS showed enrollment on track to fall as much as 12% year-over-year. A lot of people usually sign up for health plans right around the deadline, which was December 15.

Larry Levitt, a senior vice president at the health policy think tank The Kaiser Family Foundation, said the numbers prove the continued strength of the Obamacare market despite a slew of changes by the Trump administration.

"With 8.5 million people signed up for health insurance for 2019 in the federal ACA marketplace, it is far from dead and remarkably resilient," Levitt tweeted Wednesday.

These enrollment numbers are preliminary, 2017's total fell slightly between the end of open enrollment and CMS's final evaluation.

Obamacare faced a lot of challenges during this sign-up season

There were a slew of challenges facing Obamacare during the sixth open enrollment period, with everything from the elimination of the individual mandate to the expansion of Medicaid in Virginia contributing to the slowdown in sign-ups.

Seema Verma, the chief of CMS, told reporters that the overall sign-up numbers were "steady as compared to previous years" and proved that the Trump administration had stabilized the marketplaces. Verma also pointed to the strong economy as a key reason for the enrollment decline.

"People are now getting jobs and those jobs are providing health insurance, so those individuals may not need to come to the exchange to get health coverage," Verma said.

In addition to the strong economy, some of the factors that makes the enrollment numbers even more impressive are:

  • The elimination of the individual mandate, the financial penalty for not having insurance. The penalty was decreased to $0 as part of the GOP tax law, making it possible for people to decline coverage without facing a financial hit.
  • The Trump administration's drastic cuts to Obamacare's advertising and outreach budget which fell to $10 million from $100 million during the Obama administration. Verma disputed the notion that the advertising cuts made a difference in enrollment. "We see no correlation between what we’re spending on advertising and effectuated enrollments," she said.
  • The expansion of short-term, limited-duration plans by the Trump administration. The plans offer a cheaper alternative for younger and healthier consumers, but carry increased risk since the plans offer less coverage.
  • The expansion of Medicaid in Virginia. The state saw the largest drop in enrollees this year, and Verma said about 100,000 people who previously bought exchange plans were now eligible for Medicaid coverage.
  • Uncertainty over the future of the law, likely exacerbated by a judge's ruling on Friday— the day before the final day of enrollment — that the entire Affordable Care Act (Obamacare's official name) is unconstitutional.

obama smile

Add up all of those factors and you've got the recipe for the enrollment decrease.

West Virginia saw the biggest decline in enrollment compared to last year.

Rusty Harvilla has been helping people in West Virginia sign up for ACA health plans since 2013. He said he thinks two big changes are responsible for the decline: the end of Obamacare's requirement that everybody buy insurance, and a big reduction in advertising and enrollment support from the Trump administration.

Harvilla said he often got phone calls from people asking if they still had to buy health insurance this year. He said he'd answer that they didn't have to buy it, but he'd also tell them it was a good idea to be covered.

"I had that question a lot this time around,'' he said. "And I would be honest with them and say no, you don’t have to buy it."

Harvilla said Obamacare has never been popular.

"It's toxic," Harvilla, a certified application counselor at Clay-Battelle Health Services, said by phone. "If they bring it up, we try to steer them toward ACA, the marketplace, those kind of terminologies."

Still, he said, people are usually grateful for the coverage.

Here's a breakdown of state-by-state changes in enrollment, compared to enrollment through December 15, 2017, from largest drop to smallest:

  • West Virginia -18.74%
  • Virginia -17.11%
  • Louisiana -16.22%
  • Indiana -11.00%
  • New Hampshire -10.63%
  • New Mexico -10.50%
  • Ohio -10.34%
  • Missouri -9.35%
  • Wisconsin -9.05%
  • Delaware -8.86%
  • Kansas -8.82%
  • Nevada -8.04%
  • New Jersey -7.96%
  • Iowa -7.79%
  • Michigan -7.69%
  • Illinois -7.35%
  • Pennsylvania -6.75%
  • Maine -6.41%
  • Oregon -5.75%
  • Montana -5.61%
  • Kentucky -5.38%
  • Georgia -4.71%
  • North Dakota -4.54%
  • North Carolina -4.11%
  • Texas -3.62%
  • Arizona -3.43%
  • Tennessee -3.11%
  • Alaska -2.89%
  • South Dakota -2.67%
  • Arkansas -1.75%
  • Alabama -1.73%
  • South Carolina -0.71%
  • Nebraska -0.56%
  • Utah -0.16%
  • Wyoming 0.19%
  • Hawaii 1.15%
  • Florida 3.20%
  • Mississippi 5.56%
  • Oklahoma 6.60%

SEE ALSO: Experts think the ruling that declared Obamacare unconstitutional is 'insanity in print' and will likely be overturned

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Anthony Scaramucci claims Trump isn't a nationalist: 'He likes saying that because it irks these intellectual elitists'

AI in Marketing: How brands can improve personalization, enhance ad targeting, and make their marketing teams more agile

0
0

fastest growing tech AI

This is a preview of a research report from Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service. To learn more about Business Insider Intelligence, click here.

Artificial intelligence (AI), often used as an umbrella term to describe types of technology that can simulate human intelligence, is one of today’s hottest topics across a number of business sectors. AI techniques teach computers to parse data in a contextual manner to provide requested information, supply analysis, or trigger an event based on their findings.

Marketers are already leveraging the power of AI to glean valuable insights about their customers, automate tasks, and improve workflows. Just over half (51%) of marketers currently use AI, and an additional 27% are expected to incorporate the technology by 2019, according to Salesforce. This represents the highest anticipated year-over-year (YoY) growth of any leading technology that marketers expect to adopt in the next year, beating out the Internet of Things and marketing automation. And, as the volume of consumer-generated data grows, AI computing techniques — like machine learning, deep learning, and natural language processing (NLP) — will become increasingly important to data-driven decision-making.

In a new report, Business Insider Intelligence examines the current and potential applications of AI within marketing. We dive into how AI enhances personalization, and identify the best practices for marketers looking to integrate the nascent tech into their strategies. We also look at how marketers cam implement AI to better target audiences, gain a competitive edge, and analyze data from social platforms. Finally, we evaluate how these applications will transform — and enhance — the way marketers analyze data, conduct burdensome tasks, and create content. 

Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:

  • AI is advancing beyond data analysis and moving rapidly into data generation, as machines get better at automating two basic human senses: sight and hearing. Gleaning insights from data-rich media like voice and video is now possible, and humans no longer have to manually categorize or describe various types of media.
  • AI will transform marketers from reactive to proactive planners. The enhanced analytics that AI provides will help marketers more efficiently plan and execute campaigns in three main areas: segmentation, tracking, and keyword tagging.
  • However, the rapid pace of innovation is contributing to marketers’ sense of unpreparedness for AI implementation and future use cases. When asked to choose which trending technology they felt most unprepared for, 34% of global marketing executives chose AI, the most of any option, according to Conductor.
  • AI will aid in content creation, but human marketers are still necessary. It’s still early days for marketers to use AI to automatically create editorial content or stitch together the right image with the right messaging for display ads. Machines will help cut down on production time, but humans are needed for their creative juices.

In full, the report:

  • Discusses the top use cases for AI in marketing and examines those with the greatest potential in the next few years. 
  • Breaks down how the role of marketers will evolve once AI automates remedial tasks. 
  • Explores how the customer experience is becoming more personalized, relevant, and timely. 
  • Provides potential roadmaps for companies that are beginning to invest in AI and machine learning.

Join the conversation about this story »

Amazon gifts must be ordered by these holiday shipping deadlines to guarantee they arrive in time for Christmas

0
0

The Insider Picks team writes about stuff that we think you'll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships, so we get a share of the revenue from your purchase.

sfl amazon prime free two hour delivery miami baltimore 20150319

Everything seems to get more chaotic around the holidays — there's a rush at work and your calendar continues to fill up with events and parties to attend. Suddenly, it's the week before Christmas and you realize you forgot to find a gift. The good news is, you're not alone — plenty of us fall victim to last-minute gifting. You can still find thoughtful gifts that they'll appreciate, even just a few days before the holidays — we even have a list if you need some inspiration

So you don't need to worry about finding the right gift, but you do need to worry about making sure that gift ends up under the tree. Luckily, if you like to shop online, many retailers have "buy by" dates that let you know when you need to purchase a product to guarantee it arrives by December 25. 

Amazon is one of the major retailers that's released a detailed holiday delivery calendar.

It outlines what shipping options are available, and until when, to ensure delivery before Christmas. If you have Amazon Prime, you'll have a longer window for delivery. Even if you aren't a Prime member, you can sign up for a 30-day free trial of the service now, so you can take advantage of the holiday shipping options. The following dates only apply to the contiguous US, and of course, it's a good idea to double check the delivery dates in your cart at checkout to be sure you'll get your gifts in time.

  • Wednesday, December 19: Last day for standard shipping (Free for Prime members on qualifying orders. Learn more).
  • Saturday, December 22: Last day for Prime free two-day shipping (No minimum purchase. Learn more).
  • Sunday, December 23: Last day for Prime free one-day shipping (In select areas, on qualifying orders over $35. Learn more).
  • Monday, December 24: Last day for Prime free same-day delivery (In select areas, on qualifying orders over $35; items ordered before noon will arrive by 9 p.m. Learn more). Also the last day for free two-hour delivery with Prime Now (In select areas. Learn more).

Happy shopping!

Still shopping for gifts? Browse all of Insider Picks' 2018 holiday gift guides here, or scan this quick list:

Join the conversation about this story »

How the Internet of Things will transform consumerism, enterprises, and governments over the next five years

0
0
  • The Internet of Things is fueling the data-based economy and bridging the divide between physical and digital worlds.
  • Consumers, companies, and governments will install more than 40 billion IoT devices worldwide through 2023.
  • The next five years will mark a pivotal transformation in how companies and jurisdictions operate, and how consumers live.

Being successful in the digital age doesn’t just require knowing the latest buzzwords; it means identifying the transformational trends – and where they’re heading – before they ever heat up.

IoT Forecast BookTake the Internet of Things (IoT), for example, which now receives not only daily tech news coverage with each new device launch, but also hefty investments from global organizations ushering in worldwide adoption. By 2023, consumers, companies, and governments will install more than 40 billion IoT devices globally. And it’s not just the ones you hear about all the time, like smart speakers and connected cars.

To successfully navigate this changing landscape, individuals and organizations must understand the full extent and functionality of the “Things” included in this network, the key drivers of each market segment, and how it all relates to the work they do every day.

Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider’s premium research service, has forecasted the start of the IoT’s global proliferation in The IoT Forecast Book 2018— and the next five years will be transformational for consumers, enterprises, and governments.

  • Consumer IoT: In the US alone, the number of smart home devices is estimated to surpass 1 billion by 2023, with consumers dishing out about $725 per household — a total of over $90 billion in spending on IoT solutions.
  • Enterprise IoT: Comprising the most mature segment of the IoT, companies will continue pouring billions of dollars into connected devices and automation. By 2023, the total industrial robotic system installed base will approach 6 million worldwide, while annual spending on manufacturing IoT solutions will reach about $450 billion.
  • Government IoT: Governments globally are ushering in IoT devices to spur the development of smart cities, which would be equipped with innovations like connected cameras, smart street lights, and connected meters to provide a real-time view of traffic, utilities usage, crime, and environmental factors. Annual investment in this area is expected to reach nearly $900 billion by 2023.

Want to Learn More?

People, companies, and organizations all over the world are racing to adopt the latest IoT solutions and prevent growing pains amidst a technological transformation. The IoT Forecast Book 2018 from Business Insider Intelligence is a detailed three-part slide deck outlining the most important trends impacting consumer, enterprise, and government IoT — and the key drivers propelling each segment forward.

Representing thousands of hours of exhaustive research, our multipart forecast books are considered must-reads by thousands of highly successful business professionals. These informative slide decks are packed with charts and statistics outlining the most influential trends on the leading edge of your industry. Keep them for reference or drop the most valuable data into your own presentations to share with your teams.

Whether you’re newly interested in a topic or you already consider yourself a subject matter expert, The IoT Forecast Book 2018 can provide you with the actionable insights you need to make better decisions.

 

Join the conversation about this story »


10 things in tech you need to know today

0
0

boring company tunnel tesla

Good morning! This is the tech news you need to know this Thursday.

  1. Facebook admitted that it allowed Netflix and Spotify to access users' private messages. The news came in response to a bombshell New York Times report that detailed how numerous companies had undisclosed access to user data.
  2. Facebook said there's an innocent explanation for why it allowed Spotify and Netflix to access your private messages. Facebook says that the access was to allow users of those apps to share messages with each other via Facebook Messenger, like music recommendations on Spotify and movies on Netflix.
  3. Facebook has been hit with its first lawsuit from US regulators over how it let Cambridge Analytica scrape data. The California social networking giant has been accused of misleading users and failing to protect their data.
  4. Google has a new review process for handling controversial projects after the backlash over its censored search product for China. On Tuesday, Google announced that it has established a formal process to review new AI-based initiatives that involve sensitive policy questions.
  5. The Boring Company released video of a Tesla speeding through its newly-completed Hawthorne Tunnel. Elon Musk said in a speech at the tunnel's unveiling that the company had reached a top speed of 110 mph in the tunnel.
  6. Dan Wagner, the founder of failed tech unicorn Powa, wants to buy collapsed augmented-reality startup Blippar. Wagner is best known for founding Powa Technologies, the e-commerce startup that was once thought to be worth more than $2.7 billion, but collapsed in 2016.
  7. MoviePass got rid of a consultant accused of inappropriate behavior toward women after executives threatened to quit, and now his quiet return has shaken the company. Bob Ellis, a former music manager who has ties to Hollywood stars, worked as a marketing consultant for MoviePass starting in April, eight current or former MoviePass employees told Business Insider.
  8. Uber lost an appeal against a British ruling that its drivers should be treated as workers, with access to holiday pay and the minimum wage. The company now plans to take its case to the Supreme Court. 
  9. A Tesla Model S reportedly burst into flames twice after getting a flat tire. Minutes after the Model S was towed to an auto-repair shop, the front end reportedly caught fire, and reignited in the evening.
  10. Google released a "Home Alone" holiday ad featuring 38-year-old Macaulay Culkin. The ad includes a series of nostalgic scenes from the '90s classic movie.

Have an Amazon Alexa device? Now you can hear 10 Things in Tech each morning. Just search for "Business Insider" in your Alexa's flash briefing settings.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: NASA sent an $850 million hammer to Mars and it could uncover clues to an outstanding mystery in our solar system

Global markets are plunging as the Fed's 'hawkish tone' steals Christmas

0
0

Wall Street trader

  • Global stocks drop sharply after Fed raises rates and says monetary policy tightening will continue in 2019.
  • Investors had been hoping that the Fed and Chairman Jerome Powell would be explicitly dovish in his communications, but were left disappointed by the central bank's tone.
  • It was a sea of red: US stocks dropped on Wednesday, with Asia and Europe following suit on Thursday.
  • All major European indexes are lower by around 1.5% in the first hour of the day. The Euro Stoxx 50 reached a 2016 low. 
  • You can follow the latest market moves at Markets Insider.

Stock markets around the world are tumbling Thursday after the US Federal Reserve dashed hopes that it would go into 2019 with a more dovish policy outlook.

The central bank's Federal Open Market Committee unanimously voted to raise the fed funds rate by 25 basis points to a range of 2.25% to 2.5% on Wednesday, and said that it expects to continue raising rates in 2019, albeit at a slower pace than the four rate rises this year.

Investors had been hoping that the Fed and Chairman Jerome Powell would be explicitly dovish in his communications, but were left disappointed by the central bank's tone.

"Investors were expecting a more dovish tone from Powell given the sharp fall in equity markets and challenging global macroeconomic conditions," Hussein Sayed, Chief Market Strategist at FXTM said in an email Thursday morning. "All they got was a less hawkish tone." 

"Despite many signs of global economic growth slowing, the Fed does not seem to be very concerned at this stage suggesting that monetary policy will continue to tighten albeit at a slower pace than previously projected," he continued.

"What appeared to be even more concerning to equity investors is that Powell is not only ignoring Trump’s calls to pause the tightening cycle, but he is also not listening to them."

Read more: Here's how the Fed raises interest rates and why it matters

Powell's comments and the Fed's overall tone mean that markets are a sea of red Thursday morning, with both European and Asian stocks selling off sharply, and the major US indexes looking set to fall further when the open later in the day.

Here's the scoreboard:

  • All major European indexes are lower by close to, or more than, 1.5%. Britain's FTSE 100 has shed 1.3%, while Germany's DAX is off 1.4%. The benchmark Euro Stoxx 50 reached a 2016 low. 
  • Asian equities were red across the board, with Japan's Nikkei 225 the biggest casualty, losing 2.8% of its value on the day.
  • Chinese stocks were a little stronger, likely boosted by news that Beijing has resumed purchases of US soybeans. The Shanghai Composite, China's benchmark index, was down 0.52% on the day.
  • US futures point to another bad day stateside. The S&P 500 dropped 1.5% on Wednesday, and is set to shed another 0.5% when the market opens. Both the Nasdaq and Dow Jones look likely to see similar losses.
  • Oil prices slumped on worries of slowing global growth. Brent crude tumbled 3.9%.

SEE ALSO: 'Grinch-like' US stocks are on course for their worst December since the Great Depression

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: The equity chief at $6.3 trillion BlackRock weighs in on the trade war, a possible recession, and offers her best investing advice for a tricky 2019 landscape

Drones are no longer a cool novelty only a handful of companies are testing — they're infiltrating a slew of industries and applications

0
0

Drones — also commonly referred to as unmanned aircraft — are no longer a cool, new novelty that companies in only a handful of industries are testing.

Businesses across various industries and levels of government in the US are utilizing at least a handful of drones. But more importantly, drone users are now realizing a deep return on their investments from the aircraft's ability to help save hours of time and labor.

Farmers' Plans for Drones in 2018

However, to successfully get a drone program up and running, businesses need to have an idea of what they want the aircraft to do, and the value they hope to create. To that end, companies need to know what their competitors are doing with the aircraft so they can plan their own projects accordingly.

In this report, Business Insider Intelligence details how unmanned aircraft are disrupting a slew of different industries, including agriculture, construction and mining, insurance, media and telecommunications, and the public sector. We also size the market for global enterprise drone shipments, and pinpoint the features that make drones useful tools within different industries. Lastly, we make predictions for how drone use in these industries will evolve over the next five to 10 years and to what extent their impact will be magnified over this period.

Here are some of the key takeaways:

  • Since the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) implemented its Part 107 regulations for unmanned aircraft in August 2016, the commercial drone industry in the US has taken off. 
  • Companies across the US have rushed to deploy drones to cut costs, boost operational efficiency, and open up new streams of revenue. Meanwhile, firms elsewhere in the world have taken notice and ramped up their own drone projects.
  • Unmanned aircraft have the potential to create the greatest business value in the construction, mining, and agriculture industries. The agriculture industry was a relatively early adopter of drones, and today one-third of farmers in the US plan to use at least one drone this year. Meanwhile, drones will have a less significant, yet noticeable, impact on media, telecommunications, and insurance businesses.
  • Drones will lead these industries to become highly data-driven in the coming years, making the aircraft a must-have for companies to keep pace with their competitors. They will allow businesses to synthesize and analyze trends in their workflows to bolster their operational efficiency and predict problems before they happen.

In full, the report:

  • Analyzes the development of drone use across five different industries.
  • Offers a look at how drone use in these industries will evolve over the coming years.
  • Sizes the market for enterprise drone shipments over a seven-year period, both in the US and abroad.

Join the conversation about this story »

Major British airport forced to shut down for more than 12 hours by someone flying drones over the runway

0
0

Drone flight disruption Gatwick Airport

  • Gatwick Airport, the second-biggest airport in the UK, has been closed for more than 12 hours as someone has been flying drones over the runway.
  • More than 10,000 people were affected by the disruption on Wednesday night, and cancellations continue to rack up.
  • People were put up in hotels overnight while some travelers reported being sleeping on grounded planes.
  • Police are hunting for the operator, who they say is doing this deliberately.
  • Disrupting an airport with a drone is a crime which carries a five-year prison sentence.

A major British airport has been forced to close for more than 12 hours — disrupting the journeys of more than 10,000 people — because someone is flying drones over the runway.

Staff at Gatwick Airport, near London, spotted two drones over the runway at 9 p.m. on Wednesday night, and closed it.

The closure prompted a massive police response, with at least 20 separate units dispatched to scour the land around Gatwick's airfield and find the drone operator. So far they have been unsuccessful.

Chris Woodroffe, the airport's chief operating officer, told Sky News at 8.45 a.m. on Thursday that his staff could still see drones over the runway. While it is closed no planes can take off or land.

2,000 people were unable to take off from Gatwick on Wednesday night, he said, while 2,000 people were on flights in other airports bound for Gatwick that did not take off.

An additional 6,000 people were on flights that had to divert to other airports, he said.

Gatwick Airport Drone Disruption

Woodroffe did not give a figure for how many people will be disrupted on Thursday and said that he could not give a time for when the runway might reopen.

Read More:Workers at the Denver International Airport are caring for a girl's pet fish after Southwest Airlines declined to let her fly with it

Gatwick is the UK's second-largest airport, with 56 airlines operating regularly and an estimated 45 million passengers a year. The airport said that it is expecting 2.9 million passengers to travel through the airport over the festive period.

This video visualization shows the disruption caused to flights when a drone was spotted near Gatwick's runway in 2017, forcing a similar closure:

People slept in the airport terminal and reported being stuck on aircraft on Twitter. Travelers told UK newspaper the Daily Mail that they had been sleeping on planes.

Woodroffe apologized to passengers on "Today," and condemned the "irresponsible" act. Police say it is a "deliberate act" but that there are no indications that the action is terror-related.

Flying a drone less than one kilometer (0.6 miles) from the protected space around an airport is illegal in the UK and can result in a five-year prison sentence.

Gatwick Airport Drone Disruption

Woodroffe said that 20 police units were searching the area around the airport to find the drone operator. He said that the police did not want to shoot them down because of "what might happen with stray bullets."

Gatwick Airport is warning passengers not to travel to the airport before checking the status of their flight with their airline. Woodroffe said that the airport was working with airlines to build a schedule for redirected flights and to inform passengers.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: This Rolls-Royce feature might be the world's fanciest way to tailgate

KPMG docks bonuses by £100 for late paperwork — 'It’s important that all of our people complete their time sheets on time'

0
0

Office Space

  • KPMG is charging its staff £100 ($127) for filing important paperwork late.
  • The fines come out of employees' individual bonuses, with those who submit on time having a larger bonus pool.
  • "It’s important that all of our people complete their timesheets on time, so that we can accurately track our revenue, record our work for clients and plan our resource effectively," KPMG said.

Big Four accounting firm KPMG has taken radical steps to stop its employees returning key paperwork late by cutting staff bonuses for missing deadlines. 

Employees who submit their time sheets late will face losing £100 ($127) from their individual bonuses — boosting the bonus pool for other staff.

The policy, which began in September, relates to digital logs which track how long it takes employees to complete tasks. It follows a similar policy KPMG trialled earlier this year in which staff would be charged for lost computer equipment such as mice or phone chargers which was shelved following employee reaction. 

One staff member told Business Insider that the process only takes five minutes a week and shouldn't cause undue complaints. 

The Financial Times first reported the KPMG policy, saying that the staff is unhappy with the measure and complain they are being treated like children. A partner at a rival firm told the FT that the policy is “desperate,” adding: “What a way to treat your professional staff.”

In an email, a KPMG spokeswoman responded to Business Insider: 

“Like any professional services business, it’s important that all of our people complete their timesheets on time, so that we can accurately track our revenue, record our work for clients and plan our resource effectively. We are aiming for a 100% on time completion rate and have informed all colleagues why timesheets are important. Our Partners who run our individual business areas are in charge of making sure their teams meet their responsibilities and in all areas do or will impose financial penalties for colleagues who breach the policy. It’s important to note that if colleagues are poorly or out of the office for other reasons, then there is flexibility on the deadlines to complete their timesheets."

“We actively encourage home working and provide our colleagues with a wide range of IT equipment and support to enable them to take up this benefit. In January 2017, we trialled a policy of charging staff for certain lost IT items like privacy screens and laptop locks, but this was not implemented after listening to staff feedback. We may charge colleagues for a small range of IT consumables, like mice, laptop cables and tablet pens if they lose them, but any equipment that breaks or is stolen is replaced and paid for by KPMG.”

SEE ALSO: KPMG admits misconduct on BNY Mellon reports, says watchdog

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Bernie Madoff was arrested 10 years ago today — here's what his life is like in prison

Mark Zuckerberg ridiculed by The Guardian in a mock 'Year in Review' video charting Facebook’s disastrous 12 months

0
0

Mark Zuckerberg

  • The Guardian has mocked Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg with a parody 'Year in Review' video.
  • The video refers back to the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Zuckerberg's evidence to Congress, and the platform's dwindling number of European users.
  • Facebook's 2018 has been so chaotic, there were many more scandals which were omitted from the video.

Facebook's turbulent year has been ruthlessly mocked by The Guardian, which posted a spoof 'Year in Review' Facebook video for CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

The video congratulates Zuckerberg on making a new "friend" in Chris Wylie, the man who blew the whistle on the Cambridge Analytica data breach. The Guardian's sister paper, The Observer, originally broke Wylie's story.

It also sniped at Zuckerberg's testimony to Congress in April, "You said 'follow up' or 'get back to you' a lot! 31 times to be exact!" In his testimony, Zuckerberg was criticised for failing to answer many of the lawmakers' questions.

Read more:Here are all the questions Mark Zuckerberg couldn't answer during his congressional hearings

In a parting shot, the video suggests that Zuckerberg "reconnect" with the millions of European users who ditched Facebook this year.

Savage though the video is, it only scratches the surface of scandals Facebook has faced this year. This has included a series of data breaches (the most recent of which exposed users' photos), the news that Facebook hired a PR firm to smear critics including George Soros, and accusations that the network facilitated the persecution of the Rohingya in Myanmar.

You can watch the full video here:

SEE ALSO: The 21 scariest data breaches of 2018

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: How Singapore solved garbage disposal

Ad-tech companies and networks are pinning hopes on streaming TV, but OTT is full of headaches for marketers

0
0

hulu handmaid's tale

  • OTT advertising is hot for ad-tech companies vying for big budgets as marketers shift dollars from linear TV to connected TV devices.
  • But there are also a growing number of challenges that advertisers are still trying to solve like ad fraud, frequency capping, and low-quality creative.
  • Analytics firm Pixalate estimates that 19% of OTT ads are fraudulent.
  • These challenges threaten to limit the $70 billion TV industry's ability to capitalize on shifting viewing habits.

Ad-tech companies are scrambling to get into over-the-top advertising and chasing marketers' lucrative TV ad budgets. But OTT isn't quite ready for primetime with advertisers.

Tech companies are aggressively pushing into TV and view the $70 billion industry as ripe for changes in using digital data to better target and measure TV ads. For example, The Trade Desk has hooked its programmatic pipes into Hulu, Roku and Sony's Crackle to sell automated ads. And Pixalate has shifted focus from sniffing out fraud on websites and apps to connected devices. All told, ad-buying firm Magna Global expects OTT to generate $2 billion this year, up 40% from last year.

However, a growing number of challenges — supply shortage, fraud, brand safety, limited data, a lack of production standards — threaten to limit the flow of ad dollars into streaming TV.

“We've definitely seen an increase in fraud being mentioned — either detection methods or ways of preventing than we have in years past,” Eric Kirtcheff, SVP of global ad operations at Essence, told Business Insider. “There's been more light shined on the darker places of the internet, especially this quarter. There's still some work to be done."

At stake are big dollars for TV networks and publishers. Cord-cutting continues to grow and advertisers are increasingly asking for new tools to measure how effective their TV commercials are. As more viewing moves to connected TVs, media companies like Hulu and NBCUniversal  are increasingly selling ads programatically.

Read more:Scammers have accelerated their attacks on connected-TV and OTT devices, marking a whole new front for advertisers and publishers to combat ad fraud

OTT has a scale problem

Some agencies say that the demand for OTT inventory is outpacing supply, which is bad for advertisers and viewers alike — at least when it comes to high-quality, TV-like shows.

Kirtcheff said sellers try to make the most out of their premium video by bundling it with inventory that doesn't sell as well. The result is that OTT inventory is typically sold in bundles of web video packages that run across devices, web and mobile, so advertisers can't pinpoint the OTT inventory they're buying. 

"We have all this sophisticated technology — pacing algorithms, frequency capping, audience targeting — but still my friends and family ask, 'Why do I see the same ad over and over on my OTT device?'" said Lexie Pike, product marketing manager at Brightcove, during the IAB Tech Lab's Video Summit conference in New York last week. Brightcove provides cloud software to publishers for serving video ads.

couple watching tv

Targeting is harder with OTT advertising than display ads

With digital advertising, ad-tech companies target ads based on anonymous device IDs that house information on viewers' location, browsing history and interest. The targeting parameters are only based on data pulled from one device, meaning that advertisers can try to tailor specific messaging and creative to specific users.

OTT gets more complicated because website-tracking cookies are not as commonly used. Third-party data companies like Acxiom, Neustar and Nielsen Catalina power a large bulk of digital ads, but OTT advertisers can only use some of this data, according to the IAB.

Plus, people watch TV together, which can thwart precise one-to-one targeting.

"There isn't always a one-to-one match between device and person," said Craig Berlingo, vice president of product at Telaria, which provides software for publishers to use to manage and monetize their video content. "When you're on the phone, a device is a person. If there's three people sitting on the couch watching Roku, that is lost on keeping that device ID as one person."

Content is getting tougher to police

Similar to how advertisers have struggled to control ad placements and fraud in digital advertising, they're having the same challenge in OTT. Several sources said it's hard to say how big of a problem brand safety is in OTT because of how big the space is becoming. Roku's app store, for example, has more than 5,000 channels, up from 4,500 channels in 2017. In addition to channels from major broadcasters like CBS, Bravo and Fox, there are also channels that only only stream belly-dancing content or DogTV, which describes itself as a "TV channel for dogs when home alone."

xfinity tv app roku

That makes OTT a bit of a black box for advertisers.

“Given the fragmented nature of inventory and the lack of serving standards, consistent measurement is still challenging within OTT,” said Rob Auger, SVP of media technology at Digitas. "It’s less likely that bots are taking over your Hulu account, and more likely that fraudsters are mislabeling low-quality web impressions as premium CTV inventory.”

With linear TV, publishers control the order and frequency that commercials run since they're organized into so-called pods. Similar to display advertising, streaming TV ads are purchased programmatically, making it harder for advertisers to control where their ads run.

Telaria's Berlingo said the lack of control means that his firm and others will often call publishers to hash out which ads run where — much like how TV ad pods are put together. Ironically, the back-and-forth defeats the idea that digital streaming ads are easier to target than TV ads.

"If you have a high-quality show, you don't want to have an ad that doesn't match," he said. "And from an advertiser perspective, you don't want your ad to be shown next to a competitors.' There's a lot of passing back and forth."

OTT has an ad-fraud problem

OTT is lucrative for media sellers and ad-tech companies. Programmatic OTT ad rates can range from $18 to $40, said Mark Douglas, CEO of SteelHouse, an ad-tech firm that provides self-service media-buying tools to brands. Those rates are nearly double what networks charge in direct deals because they charge additional fees to move the ads into connected devices, and buyers are willing to pay up for the promise to better target TV ads.

The high rates are seen as temporary because networks are still figuring out how to serve ads within connected devices. 

"When you buy CTV and OTT inventory, there's a network, theres a supply-side platform, there's a demand-side platform, there are a bunch of additional charges," he said. "I think that's a temporary blip and those additional layers are getting ejected to bring the price back in line with closer to what the network is actually charging."

Meantime, these high CPMs attract fraudsters, said Amy King, VP of product at Pixalate, an analytics firm that specializes in uncovering ad fraud. The company estimates that 19% of OTT ads sold through programmatic pipes are invalid.

Fraudsters steal ad dollars two main ways, according to King:

  • They serve a video ad using real-time bidding so that an ad plays during a break in the content, much like how programmatic display advertising works.
  • They use server-side ad insertion (or SSAI), which queues up ads to a server as soon as someone starts watching a video so there's no buffering or lag time waiting for an ad to load.

Different methods are needed to detect fraud in SSAI than they are in the rest of OTT and the display, video, mobile world, she said.

For example, fraudsters can create fake IP addresses to create a spike in video ad impressions, or "device farms," which are similar to click farms that generate non-human traffic to devices. Even with TVs turned off, ads in the background can continuously load in the background for hours.

Thousands of apps are ripe for fraud because fraudsters can change the names and IDs of their apps. For example, if a marketer wants to advertise in an app, it's hard to know if the app is actually the same from one device to the next, King said.

OTT shrinks ads into digital formats

While TV ads are full-screen, OTT ads are often digital ads repurposed for streaming TV and don't render well on bigger screens.

"If it's pixelated or if an advertiser used an ad that's meant for a phone and then it's three feet tall [on a screen], that's not going to work," said Telaria's Berlingo.

Likewise, OTT's lack of standards frustrates production companies. 

People who work in post-production roles are often the last set of eyes to see a commercial or show before it is sent to a network or streaming service. Then the media distributor will work with the post-production company on edits before it runs. With OTT, the same piece of work is often sent to multiple distributors, each with its own requirements for specs like the size of a pixel or audio level.

Trade organizations like the Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP), the Interactive Advertising Bureau and Ad-ID are working to create standards for production companies. The goal is to create a digital version of a"mezzanine" file, which serves as a master file format for all television content.

Danny Rosenbloom, vp of post production and digital affairs at the AICP, called during the IAB event for industry-wide production standards. AICP represents post-production companies like MediaMonks, Bob Industries and Epoch Media Group.

"Often in the process of delivering work, our members will receive two or three different audio files, one based on on one standard, one based on another, and the reliance is on the people on the receiving end of those files to figure out which one goes with which," he said. "That's a recipe for disaster — if someone puts a web [audio] mix on a spot for broadcast, it's going to be too high."

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: The reason some men can't grow full beards, according to a dermatologist


UBS: These 11 stocks are set to rocket higher in 2019

0
0

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange earlier this week.

  • UBS has published a list of stocks they believe are set to rocket higher next year.
  • To be included in the list, a stock must have a "buy" rating at the firm and have a catalyst that most investors are ignoring.
  • Markets Insider picked out the 11 stocks in the US that UBS says will have the most upside potential.

In a recent note to clients, UBS equity analysts highlighted the stocks they believe that are best set to surge in the year ahead. 

To be included on the list, a stock must have a "buy" rating and a catalyst most investors are ignoring.

"As well as screening for upside to price target, upside/downside skew, market cap, sector weightings and liquidity, we focused on stocks where we believe our analysts have a truly differentiated view versus consensus," the firm said.

After going through the list, Markets Insider picked out the 11 US stocks that UBS says will have soar at least 35% in 2019.

Below are the 11 stocks, in ascending order of their upside potentials:

 

Wells Fargo

Ticker: WFC

Closing Price on 12/18: $46.52

UBS Price Target: $63 (+35%)

"Wells Fargo's substantial underperformance since 2016 has created a long-term buying opportunity," said analyst Saul Martinez.

"Even with limited revenue growth, efficiency improvements and capital optimization should drive mid to high teen EPS growth and considerable ROTCE expansion in 2019 and 2020. We forecast that Wells buys back 17 % of its shares by year-end 2020, providing considerable support to the EPS and ROTCE trajectory."

 

Source: UBS



Advance Auto Parts

Ticker: AAP

Closing Price on 12/18: $158.24

UBS Price Target: $215 (+36%) 

"Its initiatives like cross-banner visibility and its marketing campaign are driving the top-line," said analyst Michael Lasser.

"The industry is in a good spot with a healthier car park and the potential benefit from parts inflation. A strong top-line should drive expense leverage across the business. Some of the investment margin drags will roll off and it will see savings from closing duplicative DCs. Plus, inventory optimization and managing its AP/Inventory ratio should lead to improved free cash flow, which should lead to greater share repurchases."

 

Source: UBS



Salesforce.com

Ticker: CRM

Closing Price on 12/18: $132.32

UBS Price Target: $180 (+36%)

"We think Salesforce is establishing a leading position as an enabler of digital transformations, and this trend will remain a key area for IT budget growth in CY19," analyst Jennifer Lowe noted.

"Our analysis suggests improved efficiency in CY17 and CY18, and continued progress here should lead to better margins in the future. We think strong top line growth plus better-than-expected margins and cash flow can drive shares higher from here."

 

Source: UBS



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

A stock picker in Wall Street's top 1% this year unveils the 4 investment themes he thinks will crush the market in 2019

0
0

kyle weaver fidelity

  • Kyle Weaver, who oversees $5 billion as lead manager of the Fidelity Advisor Growth Opportunities Fund, shares the four main themes he thinks will outperform the broader market in 2019.
  • Weaver's fund returned 20.35% for the 12 months ending in November, putting it in the 99% percentile relative to competitors.

When it comes to picking stocks to put in his portfolio, Kyle Weaver isn't particularly interested in companies that can be easily influenced by external factors like trade or oil prices.

Weaver, who oversees $5 billion as lead manager of the Fidelity Advisor Growth Opportunities Fund, instead prefers to identify and buy shares in companies that can stand on their own two feet, regardless of macro conditions.

He believes this simplifies the investment process by eliminating the types of exogenous drivers that can hurt share prices, regardless of a company's underlying quality. This helps him avoid pouring money into companies that appear strong, but are actually vulnerable to uncontrollable forces.

But that's just half the battle. Weaver is also on the hunt for high-growth stocks that the can buy at bargain prices.

He describes this as a "deep value" approach, meaning he looks for companies trading at inexpensive valuations right now — perhaps at two to three times earnings — that also possess massive upside over a 5- to 10-year period.

Read more:We interviewed Wall Street's 8 top-performing investors to get their best ideas for 2019

Ideally, the strategy results in "a portfolio that’s filled with idiosyncratic, resilient business models that have good long-term growth potential and are underappreciated by the market," Weaver told Business Insider in a recent interview.

Based on Weaver's performance over the past year, it's safe to say that this method is working. The Fidelity Advisor Growth Opportunities Fund returned 20.35% over the 12 months ending in November, according to rankings compiled by Kiplinger. That puts it in the 99th percentile for the period, Bloomberg data show.

Another facet of Weaver's methodology involves picking out broad themes, rather than loading up on specific sectors. It's an approach that helps him achieve diversification and fulfill his desire for idiosyncratic holdings.

Weaver shared with Business Insider the four main themes that are informing his stock picks for 2019. They are as follows. All quotes attributable to Weaver.

(1) Battery technology

"The cost of storing energy has been coming down for years, but it’s accelerated with all the investment that’s gone into battery technology for electric vehicles. The ramifications of that are not only in the electric car market, but also in the ability to store solar energy and improve the grid."

(2) The fall of "Big Tobacco"

"Big tobacco will be disrupted by better, cleaner, cheaper alternatives. The big tobacco stocks have been good growth stories and dividend payers for many years, but there are some new entrants now, and that genie is out of the bottle."

(3) The movement of software to the cloud

"Software as a service continues to be a very strong trend. Some of the companies that are speculative growth stories are now the clear category killers, and have become mega-cap stocks with operating leverage and real cash flow."

(4) Chinese internet giants

"Chinese internet giants, and the dynamics of that market — where arguably their bigger franchises are more dominant than Google and Facebook — makes that an interest place to look for opportunities."

Click here to read our full story, featuring exclusive interviews with Wall Street's top 8 fund managers

 

SEE ALSO: We just got the most alarming sign yet that investors are bracing for a stock market crash

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: The equity chief at $6.3 trillion BlackRock weighs in on the trade war, a possible recession, and offers her best investing advice for a tricky 2019 landscape

The data breach threat isn’t going anywhere — here's how companies are protecting their customers, and themselves

0
0

dbnew3This is a preview of a research report from Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service. To learn more about Business Insider Intelligence, click here.

Over the past five years, the world has seen a seemingly unending series of high-profile data breaches, defined as incidents in which unauthorized parties access and retrieve sensitive, secure, or private data.

Major incidents, like the 2013 Yahoo breach, which impacted all 3 million of the tech giant’s customers, and the more recent Equifax breach, which exposed the information of at least 143 million US adults, has kept this risk, and these threats, at the forefront for both businesses and consumers. And businesses have good reason to be concerned — of organizations breached, 22% lost customers, 29% lost revenue, and 23% lost business opportunities.

This threat isn’t going anywhere. Each of the past five years has seen, on average, 1,704 security incidents, impacting nearly 2 billion records. And hackers could be getting more efficient, using new technological tools to extract more data in fewer breach attempts. That’s making the security threat an industry-agnostic for any business holding sensitive data — at this point, virtually all companies — and therefore a necessity for firms to address proactively and prepare to react to.

The majority of breaches come from the outside, when a malicious actor is usually seeking access to records for financial gain, and tend to leverage malware or other software and hardware-related tools to access records. But they can come internally, as well as from accidents perpetrated by employees, like lost or stolen records or devices.

That means that firms need to have a broad-ranging plan in place, focusing on preventing breaches, detecting them quickly, and resolving and responding to them in the best possible way. That involves understanding protectable assets, ensuring compliance, and training employees, but also protecting data, investing in software to understand what normal and abnormal performance looks like, training employees, and building a response plan to mitigate as much damage as possible when the inevitable does occur.

Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider’s premium research service, has put together a detailed report on the data breach threat, who and what companies need to protect themselves from, and how they can most effectively do so from a technological and organizational perspective.

Here are some key takeaways from the report:

  • The breach threat isn’t going anywhere. The number of overall breaches isn’t consistent — it soared from 2013 to 2016, but ticked down slightly last year — but hackers might be becoming better at obtaining more records with less work, which magnifies risk.
  • The majority of breaches come from the outside, and leverage software and hardware attacks, like malware, web app attacks, point-of-service (POS) intrusion, and card skimmers.
  • Firms need to build a strong front door to prevent as many breaches as possible, but they also need to develop institutional knowledge to detect a breach quickly, and plan for how to resolve and respond to it in order to limit damage — both financial and subjective — as effectively as possible.

In full, the report:

  • Explains the scope of the breach threat, by industry and year, and identifies the top attacks.
  • Identifies leading perpetrators and causes of breaches.
  • Addresses strategies to cope with the threat in three key areas: prevention, detection, and resolution and response.
  • Issues recommendations from both a technological and organizational perspective in each of these categories so that companies can avoid the fallout that a data breach can bring.

Subscribe to an All-Access pass to Business Insider Intelligence and gain immediate access to:

This report and more than 250 other expertly researched reports
Access to all future reports and daily newsletters
Forecasts of new and emerging technologies in your industry
And more!
Learn More

Purchase & download the full report from our research store

 

Join the conversation about this story »

Courteney Cox bumped into Tom Selleck in a New York bar and fans are asking what Chandler would say

0
0

Tom Selleck and Courteney Cox

  • Tom Selleck and Courteney Cox bumped into each other at a New York bar.
  • The pair played lovers Monica Gellar and Richard Burke in "Friends"
  • The chance encounter was caught on camera and shared on Twitter.
  • Fans were quick to ask what Chandler — who Monica ended up with over Richard in the show — would have made of the situation.

"Friends" fans were treated to a mini-reunion on Tuesday night after Tom Selleck and Courteney Cox bumped into each other at a New York bar.

The pair played lovers Monica Gellar and Richard Burke in the hit sitcom.

Their impromptu meet-up was caught on camera by Claudia Oshry who shared the footage on Twitter with the caption: "Spotted in NY: Dr. Richard Burke and Monica Geller saying hi to one another. Shook. What will Chandler say?"

Like Oshry, "Friends" aficionados were quick to ask what Chandler — who Monica ended up with over Richard in the show — would have made of the situation.

"Could I BE any more excited????" one person asked.

Many just posted Chandler gifs.

And one fan said she wished that Monica had ended up with Richard over Chandler.

So, could this be the start of a wider "Friends" reunion? It's likely just a chance encounter, however, Jennifer Aniston (Rachel Green) recently refused to rule out a reboot.

Read more:Jennifer Aniston says she fantasizes about 'Friends' coming back — but can't picture what it would look like today

"I fantasize about it," Aniston told InStyle. "It really was the greatest job I ever had. I don't know what it would look like today, but you never know. So many shows are being successfully rebooted."

She stipulated that some cast members may need more convincing than others: "I know Matt LeBlanc doesn't want to be asked that question anymore. But maybe we could talk him into it."

Here's hoping.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Bernie Madoff was arrested 10 years ago today — here's what his life is like in prison

Facebook's big new problem: It's so mired in grubby privacy scandals, people confuse legit data deals with bad breaches

0
0

Mark Zuckerberg

  • Facebook is battling with more questions about how it uses and shares people's data after a jaw-dropping New York Times story.
  • The Times claimed firms like Netflix and Spotify had the ability to read, write, and delete people's private Messenger messages. Facebook later admitted this was the case.
  • But Facebook explained that this was down to a legitimate integration, it's no longer live, and people knew about it at the time.
  • Facebook's new headache is that people are conflating serious, genuine data breaches with what could have been the legitimate opening of its platform.
  • That's a big problem for a company trying to lift itself out of a cycle of terrible PR.


The New York Times broke a story this week which suggested, without giving much technical detail, that Facebook allowed companies like Netflix, Spotify, and the Royal Bank of Canada the ability to read, write, and delete your private messages.

There's evidence to suggest that Facebook users don't really care that the social network slurps up huge amounts of their information to inform targeted ads. But a lot of people care that their private messages stay private and, naturally, The New York Times story created an uproar.

Read more: Facebook says there's an innocent explanation for why it allowed Spotify and Netflix to access your private messages

Brian Schatz, a Democrat senator, called for federal privacy law in the US, saying: "The silence from Facebook is deafening. The New York Times has a story that says that PRIVATE MESSAGES were accessible to a bank in Canada and Netflix? I’m trying to be measured and precise with my words here. But I’m a customer as well as a Senator and I’m angry in both roles."

There are myriad reasons to mistrust Facebook, but is this a breach of trust on the scale of the Cambridge Analytica scandal? (A quick reminder: That fiasco essentially highlighted how sloppy Facebook was in policing how sketchy third-party apps sucked up and misused millions of people's personal data, and it was extremely bad.)

The information we now have suggests it's not a scandal on the same level. It isn't even any kind of breach. At worst, it's a kind of dawning of hindsight that maybe we should have paid closer to attention to the permissions we granted Facebook and partners like Netflix years ago.

Facebook's defence against the NYT is that it did have some messaging API integrations with Netflix, Spotify, the RBC and, it disclosed, Dropbox. This was so that people could send song and film recommendations and files to each other, and it was only available if people used Facebook to log into these external services. As for Netflix and Spotify actually reading your messages, it isn't quite so terrifying, at least as Facebook couches it:

"In order for you to write a message to a Facebook friend from within Spotify, for instance, we needed to give Spotify "write access." For you to be able to read messages back, we needed Spotify to have 'read access.' 'Delete access' meant that if you deleted a message from within Spotify, it would also delete from Facebook. No third party was reading your private messages, or writing messages to your friends without your permission. Many news stories imply we were shipping over private messages to partners, which is not correct."

The word "access," meant in a technical sense, is important here. Alex Stamos, Facebook's former privacy chief, told Ars Technica that this doesn't mean unfettered access. We are not talking about engineers at Spotify nosing into people's Facebook Messenger messages exposed via the music platform.

He told Ars Technica: "I think the Times’ section on Messenger will come to be seen as intentionally misleading." He added that users "explicitly activated" Messenger integration with Spotify, suggesting that people mostly knew what they were doing.

As Stamos noted, Facebook ought to give more detail about how exactly these different types of integrations worked and, specifically, how it asked for users' permission. It is clear that people's attitudes are changing towards how much information they're willing to share, but it's a major problem that they also can't seem to tell the difference between serious data breaches and what looks like legitimate sharing of information with partners.

That's not a good outcome for a company trying to lift itself out of a cycle of terrible PR.

Ultimately, Facebook only has itself to blame. People no longer trust the firm's public explanations of how and why it uses data, thanks to its poor record on transparency, its hunger for people's personal information, and bad early decisions not to police its own platform properly.

This won't be the last explanatory blog Facebook will have to write.

SEE ALSO: Facebook admits that it allowed Netflix and Spotify to access your private messages

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: The legendary economist who predicted the housing crisis says the US will win the trade war

Viewing all 76301 articles
Browse latest View live




Latest Images