Cryptocurrencies,Time and Freedom.

Saturday, January 30, 2016

Apple quietly working on virtual reality: report

JAN 30, 20168:10 AM

[SAN FRANCISCO] Apple has a team secretly working on virtual and augmented reality gear in a budding challenge to Facebook-owned Oculus Rift and Microsoft HoloLens, the Financial Times reported on Friday.

The teams ranks number in the hundreds, bolstered by talent hired away from companies working on altered-reality technology and buying startups in the fields, according to the Times.

Apple also has a trove of patents related to technology that could be put to work in reality-altering gear.

California-based Apple has not commented on reports it is exploring virtual reality, but chief executive Tim Cook voiced interest while answering a question during a quarterly earnings call this week.

"I don't think it's a niche," Mr Cook said of virtual reality in response to a question from an analyst.

"I think it is really cool and has some interesting applications." Apple has been building headset prototypes for months, according to the Times.

Altered realities abounded at the Consumer Electronics Show gadget-fest in Las Vegas early this month, touching everything from sex and sports to sales and space exploration.

Virtual reality (VR) headsets immersed people in fictional worlds, while augmented reality (AR) eyewear overlaid digital data on the scenes around them.

Facebook-owned Oculus is taking pre-orders for its eagerly-anticipated Rift VR headsets at a price of US$599. Rift was slated to begin shipping in March.

While video game players have been natural early targets for virtual reality, the technology is being put to use for education, medicine, sports, pornography and more.

Microsoft is expected to release its HoloLens augmented reality visors this year.

Unlike virtual reality which immerses people in fictional worlds, augmented reality makes information appear to float in the real world.

AFP

Luxottica founder takes helm as yet another CEO departs

JAN 30, 20167:07 AM

[MILAN] Italian eyewear maker Luxottica lost its third chief executive in 17 months on Friday as key shareholder and founder Leonardo Del Vecchio tightened his grip on the maker of Ray Ban sunglasses.

Chairman Del Vecchio, 80, will take on executive powers, the company said in a statement. He will inherit the responsibility for markets from Adil Mehboob-Khan, who had arrived at the helm of Luxottica from Procter & Gamble as co-CEO only a year ago to patch up a management crisis.

Luxottica switched to a controversial two-CEO structure at the end of 2014 following the exit of two CEOs in as many months due to rifts with Del Vecchio.

The group said on Friday that Massimo Vian, previously co-CEO in charge of products and operations, would stay on as the only CEO after Mr Mehboob-Khan's departure. Mr Mehboob-Khan will receive 7 million euros on top of severance benefits and outstanding bonuses.

"Two CEOs already begged the question of how you can have two chiefs. When it became clear that Mr Del Vecchio had the desire, the energy and the vision to get more involved, we peacefully came to the conclusion that three were too many," Mr Mehboob-Khan told Reuters in a phone interview.

"He is the founder, the top shareholder and the chairman of the board. I believe he has all the rights and, I want to stress, all the abilities to carry out his vision for the company," he said.

Del Vecchio owns 66.5 per cent of Luxottica, a company he founded in 1961 and which has become the top eyewear maker in the world with revenues of 9 billion euros.

The company has been dogged by concerns over management stability over the past year and a half, even though its shares have risen 27 per cent since the start of 2015 thanks to the boost from a strong dollar in its biggest North America market.

BACK SEAT

Veteran Luxottica boss Andrea Guerra left in September 2014 citing differences over strategy with Del Vecchio. His successor, Enrico Cavatorta, who had served as chief financial officer under Guerra, left after only six weeks into the job, also due to rifts with Del Vecchio.

Mr Mehboob-Khan, the outgoing co-CEO, said Mr Del Vecchio reasonably expected to stay at the helm for only a few years, perhaps two or three. "He is realistic: he is not expecting to be in charge with executive powers for a decade," he said.

He added Mr Del Vecchio thought Luxottica had not changed enough in recent years and wanted to speed up its transformation.

After taking a back seat during Mr Guerra's successful 10-year spell at the helm of Luxottica, Mr Del Vecchio decided in 2014 he wanted a more active role at the company.

However, as investors took fright at the governance turmoil triggered by Mr Guerra's exit, Mr Del Vecchio pledged to take a step back once the two-CEO structure was firmly in place.

But "the more time he spent inside the company the more he wished to have an active role," Mr Mehboob-Khan said.

Over the past year Mr Del Vecchio has been a near-daily presence at the company's brand-new Milanese headquarters, a company source said. The Italian billionaire is known to be especially passionate about the production side of the business.

Luxottica reported on Friday a 17 per cent rise in 2015 revenues to 9 billion euros (S$13.8 billion) as a strong dollar lifted the value of sales in North America, its biggest market.

REUTERS

Oil rises, pares losses in January on hopes for production deal

JAN 30, 20166:55 AM

[NEW YORK] Oil prices rose on Friday, rebounding more than 25 per cent from 12-year lows hit last week and cutting losses for the month, on prospects of a deal between major exporters to cut production and curb one of the biggest supply gluts in history.

Oil also drew support from firmer stock markets, lifted by weak US gross domestic product growth data that raised hopes the Federal Reserve may slow any planned interest rate hikes.

The oil market rallied for four straight sessions after a renewed call from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries for joint efforts with rival producers to cut supply triggered a volley of comments from Russia on a deal with the cartel, something it had been refusing to do for 15 years.

Brent March futures, which expired on Friday, closed at $34.74 a barrel, 85 cents or 2.5 per cent higher. On Jan 20, it hit US$27.10, its lowest since November 2003.

US crude settled up 40 cents or 1.2 per cent, atUS$33.62 per barrel, having hit a high of US$34.40 in the session.

For the week, Brent was 7.9 per cent higher and US crude 4.4 per cent higher, paring their monthly losses to 6.8 per cent and 9.3 per cent respectively.

Both contracts briefly turned negative after the Wall Street Journal cited an Iranian oil official as saying the country would not join an immediate OPEC production cut.

Moscow has sent mixed signals, eventually saying veteran minister Sergei Lavrov, who almost never comments on oil policies, would visit the UAE and Oman to discuss oil markets.

Cash-strapped Venezuela is also sending its oil minister to Russia on a tour beginning on Saturday of non-Opec and fellow Opec states. "The market has rewarded these statements about the possibility of a deal, even though I think it's ridiculous,"said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital LLC in New York.

He noted that Iran and Iraq were determined to boost production, and were unlikely to come together with Saudi Arabia to cut Opec output. The Saudis have made no official statement on a deal.

Other analysts said prices may have found a bottom and could rally as high as US$45 by year-end as non-Opec supply is reduced and global demand improves.

US oil production fell in November for the second straight month and US shale producers, who have helped add to the glut, have slashed 2016 capital spending plans more than expected.

Meanwhile, the US oil drilling rig count fell for the sixth straight week with more cuts seen, oil services company Baker Hughes Inc said.

"With more energy companies announcing cuts and Opec contemplating a cut, it looks like oil is forming a bottom,"said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago.

"Now the question becomes how high can they go. The charts look like a test near US$40 is on the cards."

In a sign that the market sentiment was improving, hedge funds raised their bullish bets on US crude oil for the second straight week, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said.

"It's something that sub-US$30 oil does. It makes some traders inclined to think that we are have reached or are near a bottom, so they want to be positioned ahead of it," said Gene McGillian, Senior Analyst at Tradition Energy in Stamford Connecticut.

REUTERS

US: Stocks jump 2.5%, joining global rally

JAN 30, 20166:58 AM

[NEW YORK] US stocks jumped 2.5 per cent Friday, joining a global rally after surprise stimulus by the Bank of Japan raised confidence of further central bank moves to boost growth.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 396.66 points (2.47 per cent) at 16,466.30.

The broad-based S&P 500 advanced 46.88 (2.48 per cent) to 1,940.24, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index rose 107.28 (2.38 per cent) to 4,613.95.

The Bank of Japan adopted a below-zero interest rate policy, essentially charging lenders to park their cash with it. The move helped spur stocks higher in Europe and Asia.

Stocks picked up further momentum following government data showing the US economy grew an anemic 0.7 per cent in the fourth quarter. Analysts said the weak growth reduced the chances the Federal Reserve will move quickly to hike interest again.

"This basically sets the tone that central banks are going to have to boost the economy," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at First Standard Financial.

Stocks were also bolstered by oil prices, which rose for the fourth day in a row. The gain lifted petroleum-linked stocks, including Marathon Oil and Halliburton, which jumped 6.1 per cent and 4.4 per cent, respectively.

Chevron rose a more modest 0.6 per cent after reporting a surprise loss for the fourth quarter due to the slump in oil prices. Chevron lost US$588 million compared with net income of US$3.5 billion in the year-ago period.

Amazon sank 7.6 per cent after it reported fourth-quarter profits of US$482 million, up from US$214 million a year ago behind a 22 per cent rise in revenue. Some analysts expressed worry about an outlook that included a projection for first-quarter operating income of US$100-700 million.

But some other large technology shares rose. Apple and Intel both surged 3.5 per cent and Cisco Systems advanced 3.0 per cent.

Microsoft jumped 5.8 per cent after reporting fourth-quarter net income of US$5.8 billion in better-than-expected results that showed growth in its cloud-computing business.

Banking shares enjoyed a good session, with Citigroup gaining 5.4 per cent, JPMorgan Chase 3.9 per cent and Bank of America 4.5 per cent.

Visa powered 7.4 per cent higher on better-than-expected earnings, while Mastercard gained 6.7 per cent after also beating analyst estimates.

AFP

Trump outshines other celebrities on social media

JAN 30, 20167:10 AM

[NEW YORK] Not only is billionaire Donald Trump outpolling the rest of the Republican presidential field, the former reality TV star has charged ahead of megastars Justin Bieber and Kanye West for celebrity mentions on social media, according to new data from the past month.

Mr Trump raked in nearly 13.5 million Twitter mentions since Dec 30, according to SocialFlow, a social media publishing platform. This put the real estate developer well ahead of virtually every major celebrity in the United States including Justin Bieber who brought in roughly 8 million, Kanye West with 6.2 million and Rihanna with 5.7 million.

Mr Trump's Twitter account (@realDonaldTrump) has more than 5.9 million followers. "If Trump gets elected there is no doubt in my mind Kanye replaces him in 2020," tweeted Peick (@andrewpeick) on Friday. "Donald Trump is the new Justin Bieber," tweeted Guess Who?! (@Vase-) on Friday.

Trump has also proved his social media clout over his fellow Republican candidates. During Thursday's Republican presidential debate, the business tycoon commanded 36 per cent of the Twitter traffic, according to data provided by the social media site. That was far more than his competitors on the main stage, even though Trump did not attend the debate.

Mr Trump's dominance of social media was not constant, however.

On Wednesday, Kanye West's Twitter beef with fellow rapper Wiz Khalifa put his one-day mentions over Trump.

Even the late rock star David Bowie was a social media hero, just for one day. The day after he died, Twitter mentions of Mr Bowie outpaced those of The Donald on Jan. 11.

REUTERS

AT&T sells US$6 billion of bonds in effort to refinance debt

JAN 30, 20167:01 AM

[NEW YORK] AT&T Inc, the second-largest US wireless carrier, sold US$6 billion in bonds Friday to partially pay down its US$126-billion debt load.

The Dallas-based company sold the debt in four parts, with the longest portion - US$1.5 billion of 5.65 per cent 31-year bonds - yielding 2.9 percentage points more than comparable government securities, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

That's down from an initial estimate of 2.95 percentage points, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified because they weren't authorised to speak about it publicly.

AT&T will participate in a wireless spectrum auction in March and may use part of the new debt to finance its bid, said Stephen Flynn, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence.

In 2015, AT&T acquired US$89 billion of spectrum, pay-TV and Latin American assets, requiring US$37 billion of cash payments and US$20 billion of debt. About US$68 billion of AT&T's bonds and term loans come due by 2024, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The company, which reported a profit of 63 cents per share earlier this week that was in line with analyst estimates, is working on lowering its debt levels in the next few years, chief executive officer Randall Stephenson said on a conference call Tuesday.

"AT&T may be a constant presence in the new issue market over the next years," Mr Flynn said. "It's one of the largest non- financial issuers in the market. It has large debt maturities upcoming, and it makes sense for them to enter the market when the window is open."

CreditSights Inc downgraded AT&T to underperform earlier this week. The company's credit profile may be at risk over the next six to 12 months as AT&T faces risks related to new-issue supply and volatility in Latin America, CreditSights analysts led by Chris Ucko wrote in a Jan 27 note.

"AT&T bonds could see more near-term volatility, and there is room for underperformance," Mr Ucko wrote. "We recommend lightening up exposure and switching into Verizon. There may be better new-issue opportunities to get back in the mix on AT&T as the year progresses."

BLOOMBER
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Saturday, January 30, 2016

Apple quietly working on virtual reality: report

Apple quietly working on virtual reality: report

Luxottica founder takes helm as yet another CEO departs

Luxottica founder takes helm as yet another CEO departs

Oil rises, pares losses in January on hopes for production deal

Oil rises, pares losses in January on hopes for production deal

US: Stocks jump 2.5%, joining global rally

US: Stocks jump 2.5%, joining global rally

Trump outshines other celebrities on social media

Trump outshines other celebrities on social media

AT&T sells US$6 billion of bonds in effort to refinance debt

AT&T sells US$6 billion of bonds in effort to refinance debt

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