…Alphabet’s (-0.11%) ride-sharing platform is ready to expand. Believe it or not, the Google parent has a ride-sharing service of its own, and it may sound familiar. Yep. Alphabet owns Waze, and it’s going after Uber. Unlike Uber and Lyft, Waze requires regular drivers to use its navigation app and pick up people who are going in the same direction.
…Fed rate hikes are closer than they appear. Think back to January and the first Fed meeting under Trump and his new policies. It was then that members proposed an increase in the benchmark rate “fairly soon” if the economy continued to grow…which is exactly what it appears to be doing. Rumor has it that some members believe “raising rates at an upcoming meeting” would allow the Fed greater flexibility when responding to future economic growth. Looks like the door is wide open for a March interest rate hike.
…Despite posting not-too-shabby Q4 results. The fashion retailer, whose flagship brands include Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works, beat earnings expectations and slightly missed revenue expectations for Q4, which doesn’t sound so bad. That’s not the whole story, though. L Brands (-12.44% after-hours) also announced lowered guidance for this upcoming year, expecting full-year earnings short of Wall Street expectations. Ouch. The reason? Victoria’s Secret has been under serious business pressure as it makes some changes, like discontinuing swimwear and eliminating print catalogs.
…The Oracle of Omaha never fails to fascinate us. In the last two quarters, Warren Buffett has spread nearly $10 billion in investments across the four major U.S. airlines. The big question now—will he take over an airline like he did with the railroads? Industry consolidation since 2000 has merged many into just four: Southwest, Delta, American and United. And a bit of food for thought: remember that this is the same Warren Buffett who in 2013 said that US airlines are a “deathtrap for investors.”
…Which means it is right on track by Elon Musk standards. The sustainable energy company, best known for its automotive business but also for its batteries and solar panels, posted mixed Q4 earnings. Tesla missed earnings expectations, but beat on revenue expectations. In other news, Tesla (+1.52% after-hours) unveiled some juicy details regarding the much-anticipated Model 3 release. It plans to begin production in July and, in typical Musk fashion, plans to ramp up quickly to 5,000 vehicles per week. Vroom.
Riding great recent stock performance and a strong outlook for 2017, Apple announced yesterday that it will open Apple Park, its new campus, in April. The 175-acre compound will bring together over 12,000 employees that are currently located at the nearby 1 Infinite Loop campus. Here’s the scoop on Apple Park:
A certain street contains 100 buildings. They are numbered from one to 100. How many nines are used in these numbers? (Answer)
Sure, Amazon has tested drone delivery, but UPS is experimenting with combining its extensive truck fleet with drone delivery. UPS’s drone, referred to as the Workhorse Horsefly, can fly up to 30 minutes and carry packages weighing up to ten pounds. The drone launches from the top of a UPS truck and it looks pretty cool, to say the least.
Guess which country has the fastest mobile internet speed.
If you’re thinking the United States, think again. In fact, at 12.5 mbps, the U.S. sits well below the global average LTE connection of 17.4 mbps.
So, who takes the cake for fastest mobile internet? South Korea at an astounding 37.5 mbps.
