Monthly Archives: June 2017

By Noel Randewich | SAN FRANCISCO

SAN FRANCISCO Shares of Apple have been more bruised than those of other Silicon Valley heavyweights by a technology stock selloff this week, with many on Wall Street cautious following the iPhone maker's rally in recent months.

While its stock may not appear expensive in terms of expected earnings, some investors believe further gains in Apple will be less likely as an expected iPhone launch approaches.

"Anticipation of a new iPhone has been out there for a while now, and maybe we're entering a period where the stock is topped out," said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment officer of Solaris Group in Bedford Hills, New York. Apple accounts for about 4.5 percent of his firm's equity exposure.

Apple has surged 48 percent over the past year to record highs, largely in anticipation that the Cupertino, California company will launch an iPhone with major improvements to mark the device's 10th anniversary.

The company typically unveils its new iPhones in September. Many analysts believe a large number of customers will upgrade to the new device from older phones.

A selloff in technology stocks that began last Friday has clipped 4.1 percent off the S&P 500 information technology index as investors worry about stretched valuations in 2017's top-performing sector.

During that time, Alphabet has lost 5.8 percent, Amazon is down 5.17 percent and Facebook is off 4.03 percent. Apple has declined more than 7 percent in the past five days.

DOWNGRADES

Barclays analyst Mark Moskowitz cautioned in a note on Thursday that the "mega cycle" of iPhone sales expected this year may fall short of expectations due to competition in China.

Analysts from Pacific Crest and Mizuho Securities downgraded their ratings on Apple this month, both saying the benefits from the expected new iPhone are priced into the stock.

"Without this little flash crash, we were probably going to see some downward movement anyway on Apple," said Brian Hennessey, portfolio manager of the Alpine Dynamic Dividend Fund. "There is some downside risk that was not there to nearly this extent at the beginning of the year. It's partly timing as you get closer to the launch."

Apple is the Alpine Dynamic Dividend Fund's largest holding.

It recently traded at 14.7 times expected earnings for the next 12 months, according to Thomson Reuters Datastream. That's down from an earnings multiple of 16 in midday but above its five-year average of 12.2.

But Moskowitz warned that the earnings multiple is near the peak level of early 2015, when strong sales of the iPhone 6 pushed Apple's stock to record highs, only to slip into a deep downturn.

Apple will probably be classified completely as a growth company in an annual rebalancing of Russell indexes on June 23, according to Jefferies.

After that drop in Apple's stock extended into 2016, Russell allocated 8 percent of Apple as "value" in its investment style indexes, with 92 percent of Apple remaining "growth."

The expected rebalancing of Apple in Russell's subindexes reflects its recovery last year and recent record highs.

(Reporting by Noel Randewich; Editing by Bernadette Baum)

SAN FRANCISCO A woman sued Uber Technologies Inc on Thursday claiming top executives at the ride-hailing company improperly obtained her medical records after she was raped by a driver in India, according to court documents.

SYDNEY/SAN FRANCISCO Since Amazon.com Inc said in late April it would bring its Marketplace for third-party sellers to Australia, shares of leading bricks-and-mortar retailers have tumbled on fears their growth prospects would be hit.

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Wall Street technology share selloff leaves Apple bruised - Reuters

Forbes

Urbanism And Technology - Uniting To Push Cities To The Next Level Forbes These are tantalizing times for cities. The resurgence of urban environments as desirable, thriving and increasingly productive areas over the last 30-35 years has been amazing. Urbanists who can recall the nadir of the American city in the late '70s ... and more »

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Urbanism And Technology - Uniting To Push Cities To The Next Level - Forbes

Henry County officials are looking to promote entrepreneurship with an new incubator program.

The county is riding a wave of business resurgence following the recession, said David Gill, president and CEO of the Henry County Chamber of Commerce, with particularly strong growth in entrepreneurship.

Gill said with e-commerce diminishing the amount of investment from big-box retailers, entrepreneurs have begun to fill the void for stores and in-person commerce.

According to data from the Tax Commissioners Office, the number ofnew business licenses issued has increased exponentially, from 147 new licenses in 2010 to 526 in 2016.

[Entrepreneurs] seem to be more prepared to reach out and take a chance, Gill said.

The One Henry Economic Alliance, in coordination with the Advanced Technology Development Center at Georgia Tech (ATDC), is attempting to establish atechnology and business incubator to support these entrepreneurs.

Richard Sylvia, chairman of the professional services and corporate solutions subcommittee at One Henry, said the incubator would act as a collaboration and learning environment for entrepreneurs. The program would offer education, consulting and legal services to help them build their business and get moving, he said.

The incubator would also act as part of the countys attempts, along with investments in housing and entertainment, to invite college graduates back into the county after school.

We know we have a challenge with young adults leaving Henry County and going to other counties, Sylvia said.

Leonard Moreland, co-chair of the One Henry Economic Alliance, said while roughly 90 percent of high schools graduates left Henry County, for college or other reasons, few return.

They want the ability to come back and work in the field they studied, he said, noting the rise in computer science and technology-related majors.

This will hopefully act as a means to provide options for graduates, Sylvia said.

Unlike many other incubators, which focus specifically on business or technology, One Henry hopes to tackle both at the same time, with Georgia Tech onboard for help with technology.

Moreland said the idea came after looking at other incubators across the state and meeting with ATDC, who had a desire to have a presence in the South Metro area.

Were running programs all over the city, but were not really in that area, said Jennifer Bonnet, general manager of ATDC. We realized, especially with traffic in Atlanta, that entrepreneurs cant always get to us, and sometimes we need to go to them.

One Henry plans to kick off the establishment effort with a Tech and Tea event on June 22 in Stockbridge. Sylvia said over 100 people have already registered to attend to hear elected and county officials, business experts and academic leaders speak about the incubator idea.

Its a chance for potential entrepreneurs to network, and for us to talk about the challenges theyll face, Moreland said.

Bonnett, a former entrepreneur herself, said beginning entrepreneurs will often face issues with connections and education about startup costs and processes.

ATDC, however, first needs to see if an incubator could be viable.

Its sister organization, the Economic Development Lab, will conduct an 8-week feasibility study to evaluate if there is enough intrigue in Henry County for the program.

We want to know what types of entrepreneurs are already out there, and what resources they have access to, Bonnett said. We want to know that there are already successful entrepreneurs who can help mentor those new entrepreneurs.

Attendees will be asked to participate in a 45-minute survey as part of the study. If the study shows significant interest, ATDC will come into the community.

Studies show if you can attract entrepreneurs, you can create some of the strongest businesses, Moreland said. Its a big watershed moment. Its a chance to show that Henry County is ready for a technology incubator.

If you go:

What: Tech and Tea informational meeting for potential entrepreneurs in Henry County.

When:June 22, 5 to 8 p.m.

Where:Merle Manders Conference Center, 111 Davis Road, Stockbridge, GA 30281

Price:Free. Register atlocal.onehenry.info/smallbusiness/

In other Henry news:

Original post:

Incubator may bring more business, technology to Henry County - MyAJC

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Tracking gunshots. Thursday, St. Petersburg took the first steps towards adding new technology to pinpoint every time someone pulls a trigger. St. Pete's Public Safety Committee decided to move forward with discussions on adding ShotSpotter technology.

ShotSpotter is already being used in Hillsborough County to reduce gun violence.

Heres how it works: Microphone like sensors are installed around town. They're used to pick up sound waves. Within 30 seconds, officers are sent the exact location of the gunshot.

Marvin Mitchell says its much needed. Hes often kept up at night hearing gunshots. Wednesday night he heard sounds so loud, he was forced to get on his stomach on the floor of his living room. I heard it go boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! I said oh man! all I can do is hit the ground.

He often hears gunshots in his Midtown St Pete neighborhood.

Calvin Brown of the Pinellas County Urban League agrees, It will help a lot of people sleep better at night.

The only drawback: ShotSpotter will cost the city $350,000 a year plus the cost to upgrade cameras and add license plate scanners.

City leaders plan to bring ShotSpotter back up during the upcoming budget workshops for the city.

Original post:

St. Pete could soon add ShotSpotter Technology - ABC Action News

A TV commercial said, Get the car without the car salesman! It was an ad for some new car-buying app enabling people to buy cars online.

It kinda made me sick, to tell you the truth. I dont see whats so great about eliminating people and eliminating jobs, but I realize thats what technology does. Its nothing new. Its been that way since the invention of the wheel.

We can blame job loss on the global economy or on outsourcing or trade policies, but as big if not a bigger reason than any of those for the loss of jobs is technological advance.

The examples are all around us the rise in online sales resulting in a reduction of sales people, voicemail systems that eliminate the need for an actual human to answer phones, ATMs and online banking that get rid of bank tellers, self-checkout stands that replace cashiers, online travel sites that have supplanted the need for travel agents, hotel desk clerks, airlines and rental car agents, and more.

In 1962, President Kennedy said if we have the talent to invent machines that put people out of work, we also have the talent to put people back to work, but a report released earlier this year by PricewaterhouseCoopers predicts that four out of 10 U.S. jobs will be replaced by robots and artificial intelligence over the next 12 years.

The tendency is to think its only unskilled blue-collar jobs that are threatened by technology, but as Jerry Kaplan, author of Humans Need Not Apply and a longtime Silicon Valley veteran who now teaches at Stanford Law, notes that technology is blind to the color of your collar.

Medical doctors have long been regarded as one of the most specialized, highly skilled and prestigious of professions, but even they are being replaced. To date, more than 2 million surgical procedures have been performed by ultraprecise robotic surgeons, for everything from knee replacements to vision correction. Computers can now diagnose cancers more reliably than humans, an increasing number of hospitals are utilizing automated, robotics-controlled pharmacies and the FDA approved a device that delivers anesthesia automatically, no anesthesiologist required.

Other professions threatened by technology include: financial services in which 61 percent of the jobs are likely to be lost to computers, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers, the insurance industry, architecture, journalism, marketing and advertising, teaching, lawyers and paralegals, and even law enforcement.

The Boston Consulting Group predicts by 2025 a quarter of the jobs currently available in the U.S. will be replaced by software or robots, while an Oxford University study, The Future of Employment, declared 47 percent of American workers are in jobs that are at high risk of being replaced by automation and computerization.

Im not frightened by the prospect. I think it would be amazing if we could spend more of our time and energy on our lives, loved ones, health, communities, passions and our bliss. It would entail a major philosophical shift and some sort of basic means of sustenance.

Technology giants like Bill Gates, Elon Musk and Mark Cuban all agree if computers replace humans who are taxed on the work they do and the earnings they generate, the owners of those computers must also be taxed on the work they do and the earnings they generate, and that money should be distributed to people as a basic living wage.

In this country, living wage are fighting words, and it brings us to the basic division between liberals and conservatives.

Regardless of your views, its time to ask what are we going to do when the jobs go away, knowing that in any technological shift, the first generation is always left out in the cold.

Original post:

Ron Colone: A closer look at technology and jobs - Santa Ynez Valley News