What’s Going On Here? French tech titan Dassault Systèmes announced a $6 billion acquisition of American software company Medidata Solutions, shining a light on previously announced major marriages… What Does This Mean? “Analytics” seems to be a buzzword right now: Salesforce’s purchase helping its customers make more sales to you; Medidata’s tools helping biotech and pharma companies keep track of their drugs during clinical…
Category: Daily News
Ep 23: Inditex Shows Its Knees
What’s Going On Here? Inditex (world’s biggest clothing retailer and owner of Zara) – reported a fancy quarterly performance. What Does This Mean? Inditex faced the same challenges as Ted Baker last quarter, whereby unusually cold weather hampered customer demand for its lighter spring wares. Inditex didn’t slash prices to boost sales (it’s got a reputation for rarely discounting). Instead, its industry-leading supply chain…
Ep 22: Sinking Island
What’s Going On Here? The UK’s manufacturing output in April fell by the most in over 17 years; The British economy shrank. What Does This Mean? British manufacturing production in April fell by 3.9% compared to March. Brexit was partly to blame. With the UK initially planning to leave the EU in March, companies stockpiled goods in anticipation of potential supply shortages, helping…
Ep 21: Salesforce Gains Force
What’s Going On Here? Silicon Valley software Salesforce announced a $16 billion acquisition of data analytics firm Tableau – its biggest purchase to date. What Does This Mean? Data is king Salesforce’s software is focused on customer relationship management; Tableau brings fresh analytics to the table – helping Salesforce customers (like Netflix & Southwest Airlines) to better understand the data. Shareholders side Salesforce…
Ep 20: America Halves The Dream
What’s Going On Here? Friday’s jobs report showed that the US added just 75,000 jobs in May – less than half the number expected. What Does This Mean? For sectors The healthcare sector nursed 16,000 new jobs; Professional and business services (like lawyers and researchers) added 33,000; Jobs in retail, manufacturing, and working for Uncle Sam didn’t grow by much; Nor…
Ep 19: FedEx Cuts Off Amazon
What’s going on here? FedEx announced its own exit: it’ll stop providing express delivery for Amazon packages in the U.S. this summer. Why this matters From a numbers perspective, Amazon represented under 1.3% of FedEx’s total revenue last year. But from a broader perspective, FedEx’s decision is telling Amazon, “we’d like to see you do it better.” That’s because Amazon…
Ep 18: Beyond’s Stock Is Red Meat
What’s going on here? Beyond Meat, the plant-based meat company, reported earnings yesterday for the first time since its IPO. It beat Wall Street expectations with: quarterly net revenue of $40 million; forecast juicy sales of over $210 million for the whole year; net losses of $6.6 million for the quarter. A lot has happened since the IPO…
Ep 17: Hong Kong Pops A Pill
What’s Going On Here? China’s Hansoh Pharmaceutical raised $1 billion from its initial public offering – Hong Kong’s second-biggest this year – valuing the company at over $10 billion. Initial public offering is a company’s flotation on the stock exchange. What Does This Mean? Hansoh’s drug portfolio made up 63% of the entire Chinese pharmaceutical market last year – and includes…
Ep 16: The SEC Has Something to Tell You
What’s going on here? Yesterday, the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) okayed a new set of conflict of interest rules for brokers. They’re aimed at making brokers act in their client’s “best interest” instead of their firm’s “best interest”…or anyone else’s. A broker is a person or firm who arranges transactions between a buyer and a seller for a commission…
Ep 15: Slow And Slower
What’s going on? The International Monetary Fund (IMF) cut its forecast for China’s economic growth The rest of the world is still waiting nervously… What does this mean? The world: The World Bank lowered its forecasts for global economic growth before that – citing the key reason is the ongoing trade war between the US and China. China comprises 1/3 of global growth, so a slowing Chinese economy reduces the…
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