Why Is Amazon Squeezing Hachette? Maybe It Really Needs the Money

June 2, 2014 Leave a comment

Why Is Amazon Squeezing Hachette? Maybe It Really Needs the Money

By DAVID STREITFELD and MELISSA EDDY

MAY 30, 2014 7:00 AM 1 Comments

Over the course of nearly two decades, Amazon has hewed to a consistent philosophy: It’s all about the customer. The retailer is so devoted to its customers that it takes the profits that would normally go to shareholders and gives them to shoppers in the form of faster delivery and lower prices. It was a brilliant strategy that has propelled the company to the top ranks of American businesses. Read more of this post

Filed under TMT Trends

Biofuel Tools Applied to Household Soaps; Companies are beginning to use synthetic biology in producing cosmetics and household cleansers, but there is reluctance in how much to publicize it

June 2, 2014 Leave a comment

Biofuel Tools Applied to Household Soaps

By STEPHANIE STROMMAY 30, 2014

Consumer products containing ingredients made using an advanced form of engineering known as synthetic biology are beginning to show up more often on grocery and department store shelves. Read more of this post

Filed under Innovation

Acer expands into smart vehicle development

June 2, 2014 Leave a comment

Acer expands into smart vehicle development
Friday, May 30, 2014

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TAIPEI — Acer Inc. (宏碁) is working with two providers of connected car technology to design a cloud-based advanced remote device management system, in an ambitious expansion of the Taiwanese PC manufacturer into smart vehicle development. Read more of this post

Filed under TMT Trends

Jump in shareholder activism to hit Australian companies

June 2, 2014 Leave a comment

Jump in shareholder activism to hit Australian companies

Published 29 May 2014 14:49, Updated 30 May 2014 11:17

Joyce Moullakis

Australian boards should brace for an uptick in shareholder activism, as lawyers and bankers urge preparedness and engagement with activists and proxy firms to navigate a typically disruptive process.

Shareholder activism remains in its infancy in Australia, but the recent arrival of US specialists in this area, as well as the formation of the Thorney Opportunities Fund, suggests more activity is on the horizon. Read more of this post

Filed under Macro Trends

Wine producers band together to sell online

June 2, 2014 Leave a comment

Wine producers band together to sell online

Published 30 May 2014 14:12, Updated 30 May 2014 14:27

Simon Evans

The Winemakers’ Federation of Australia, which represents 2500 wine companies, has enlisted 60 producers for an online venture enabling direct sales to the public for companies that may have been bruised by the bigger supermarket chains. Read more of this post

Filed under TMT Trends

Banks structured to deliver poor advice

June 2, 2014 Leave a comment

Banks structured to deliver poor advice

May 26, 2014

John Addis

Something odd occurred last week, something that almost never happens in business, let alone financial planning, a sector famously impervious to the needs of its customers.

An industry body – in this case the Financial Planning Association (FPA), representing over 6,000 planners – argued the case for more regulation. Read more of this post

Filed under Macro Trends

Aussie billionaire Frank Lowy’s pride dealt a blow in Westfield Group revolt

June 2, 2014 Leave a comment

Frank Lowy’s pride dealt a blow in Westfield Group revolt

May 30, 2014 – 9:50AM

James Thomson

Frank Lowy might have been forced to shelve his plan to restructure his family’s $70 billion property empire after a dramatic series of meetings on Thursday, but the damage will be more to the billionaire’s pride than his fortune.

While the Westfield empire will forever by synonymous with Lowy and his family, a diversification strategy has seen the percentage of their wealth directly related to Westfield’s decline in recent years. Read more of this post

Filed under Macro Trends

Is billionaire Solomon Lew going to spoil Woolworths Holdings’ David Jones party?

June 2, 2014 Leave a comment

Is billionaire Solomon Lew going to spoil Woolworths Holdings’ David Jones party?

May 30, 2014 – 12:46PM

Eli Greenblat and Sue Mitchell

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Premier Investments chief Mark McInnes and director Solomon Lew. Photo: Josh Robenstone

Retail billionaire Solomon Lew could be planning to derail the takeover of David Jones by South Africa’s Woolworths Holdings after it was revealed his private company has scooped up 0.65 per cent of David Jones issued capital. Read more of this post

Filed under Macro Trends

The Beats acquisition isn’t about headphones, its about Android; Apple Now Makes Apps For Other Mobile Platforms – Which Could Be Huge For The Future Of Media

June 2, 2014 Leave a comment

End to End: The Beats acquisition isn’t about headphones, its about Android.

To make sense of the Beats deal, stop looking at Beats and start looking at Apple: Apple doesn’t care about selling music[1]. Apple doesn’t care about selling headphones[2]. Apple cares about selling phones, tablets and computers.

So why buy a headphone and music company?

To sell more iPhones, iPads and Macbooks.

Apple is at war for the future of computing with Android.

Android is as much an opposing army you fight during the day as a ghost you fight in your dreams. Android has the massive armies of Google and Samsung assembled on the front lines but Android isn’t just a threat materialized, its a shape-shifter; a Microsoft fork, a Facebook phone. Android is everywhere and can become anything, so the threat to Apple can come from anywhere. Read more of this post

Filed under TMT Trends

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