Maybe it’s some kind of kismet. Or maybe I just want it to be… I saw a Tesla Model S cruising down the highway in Milwaukee the day after Elon Musk revealed his brand new Model 3. It was pretty slick. Nice styling, cool feel. Not like the impression you get with a Prius… This was something that even electric car-naysayers could admire. #-ad_banner-#It’s this slick approach that puts Tesla in a very different category than previous EV or hybrid makers, and it’s also why Tesla has garnered an almost cult-like following. In the run-up to the big… Read More

Maybe it’s some kind of kismet. Or maybe I just want it to be… I saw a Tesla Model S cruising down the highway in Milwaukee the day after Elon Musk revealed his brand new Model 3. It was pretty slick. Nice styling, cool feel. Not like the impression you get with a Prius… This was something that even electric car-naysayers could admire. #-ad_banner-#It’s this slick approach that puts Tesla in a very different category than previous EV or hybrid makers, and it’s also why Tesla has garnered an almost cult-like following. In the run-up to the big reveal of Tesla Motors’ (Nasdaq: TSLA) new Model 3 electric vehicle, 115,000 people shelled out $1,000 to reserve one… before they ever saw what the car looked like. And by early Sunday, that figure jumped to 276,000. That’s $276 million in the bank. The reveal was just as impressive as these figures. The Model 3 is a similar shape to the Model S, and comes with a range of at least 215 miles per charge. That’s surprisingly practical for a lot of people, including me, who lives an hour away from work. It comes with an autopilot function standard,… Read More

In an unexpected bidding war for Starwood Hotels & Resorts (NYSE: HOT), Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE: MAR) came out on top against China’s Anbang Insurance Group with a deal worth $13.6 billion. The deal was months in the making. Marriott first put in its bid back in November 2015. But in mid-March, out of the blue, a Chinese consortium led by Anbang slipped in a bid of its own. And it was a whopper. #-ad_banner-#The consortium’s proposal equaled a value of $83.67 per share, heads and shoulders above the Marriott bid, valued at $71.00 per share. Suddenly, Marriott was sent… Read More

In an unexpected bidding war for Starwood Hotels & Resorts (NYSE: HOT), Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE: MAR) came out on top against China’s Anbang Insurance Group with a deal worth $13.6 billion. The deal was months in the making. Marriott first put in its bid back in November 2015. But in mid-March, out of the blue, a Chinese consortium led by Anbang slipped in a bid of its own. And it was a whopper. #-ad_banner-#The consortium’s proposal equaled a value of $83.67 per share, heads and shoulders above the Marriott bid, valued at $71.00 per share. Suddenly, Marriott was sent scrambling to hold on to what could be a great growth opportunity. Starwood owns such well-known brands as Weston and Sheraton. As of the end of 2015, the company owned or managed 1,282 hotels and 15 vacation resort properties in over 100 countries. Interestingly, on March 19, Starwood signed three hotel deals in Cuba, making it the first U.S.-based hospitality company to enter the market in nearly 60 years. Marriott, on the other hand, is nearly three times Starwood’s size, with more than 4,400 properties across 87 countries. The tie-up with Starwood will give Marriott access to more countries. The… Read More

Imagine Stephen King’s “Trucks” meets “Short Circuit”… But hopefully with a lot less blood and a bit more reliability. That’s what’s happening on the M6 motorway, the UK’s longest and busiest motorway, dubbed the “Backbone of Britain,” later this year. The UK Chamber of Commerce estimates that £1.7 million-worth of goods and commerce flow down the M6 every hour. #-ad_banner-#But automated “platoons” of semi trucks could push that figure much higher, while cutting costs significantly. Here’s how it works. The lead truck will be driven by a person, while a convoy of nine other semis will be piloted autonomously, each… Read More

Imagine Stephen King’s “Trucks” meets “Short Circuit”… But hopefully with a lot less blood and a bit more reliability. That’s what’s happening on the M6 motorway, the UK’s longest and busiest motorway, dubbed the “Backbone of Britain,” later this year. The UK Chamber of Commerce estimates that £1.7 million-worth of goods and commerce flow down the M6 every hour. #-ad_banner-#But automated “platoons” of semi trucks could push that figure much higher, while cutting costs significantly. Here’s how it works. The lead truck will be driven by a person, while a convoy of nine other semis will be piloted autonomously, each following the lead truck, drafting in the slipstream, and saving as much as 15% in fuel consumption. Daimler AG (XETRA: DAI) is already testing automated tractor trailers in Germany, and its vehicles will likely be used in the UK program and on U.S. roads. Indeed, its Freightliner Inspiration Truck is the first — and only — truck of its kind to be granted a license for road use in the United States. The Inspiration is chock full of radar, sensors, cameras and other equipment that control speed, distance from other vehicles and lane position. It can sense traffic and road… Read More

The world economy is constantly on the move. Emerging countries struggle to shift into consumer-driven industries, while developed countries continue to push the boundaries of new technology. And if there’s one thing that’s become clear over the past few years, it’s this: Data is big business. The globalization of data accounted for $2.8 trillion of the world’s GDP in 2014, and it’s the result of an astronomical rise in technology. That’s good for a 10.1% rise in global GDP over 10 years.  McKinsey & Co.’s report “Digital Globalization: The New Era Of Global Flows” says that “[data… Read More

The world economy is constantly on the move. Emerging countries struggle to shift into consumer-driven industries, while developed countries continue to push the boundaries of new technology. And if there’s one thing that’s become clear over the past few years, it’s this: Data is big business. The globalization of data accounted for $2.8 trillion of the world’s GDP in 2014, and it’s the result of an astronomical rise in technology. That’s good for a 10.1% rise in global GDP over 10 years.  McKinsey & Co.’s report “Digital Globalization: The New Era Of Global Flows” says that “[data flow] is projected to increase by an additional nine times over the next five years as flows of information, searches, communication, video, transactions, and intracompany traffic continue to surge.” #-ad_banner-#But what does that really mean? Data flows include things like digital transactions, communications, digital information and networks. It’s a vast “economy” that doesn’t necessarily stand on its own, like, say global trade does. Physical goods are easy to understand. Someone wants to buy a widget, so they buy one from a company that makes widgets. What the digital economy does is allow that customer to find that widget on the… Read More

Most investors think it’s just the oil industry that suffers from bottom-of-the-barrel prices, but that’s not true. Consider this: Major integrated Oil & Gas companies have a debt-to-equity of 41.4. Chevron (NYSE: CVX) alone has $35.88 billion in debt. And that debt touches other industries and sectors, like banks. And just how much of U.S. bank assets do these energy loans make up? The answer might surprise you. #-ad_banner-#U.S. banks have thrown down enough money on energy to fund a small country: A whopping $123 billion-worth of outstanding loans and lending commitments. To put that in perspective, that $123 billion… Read More

Most investors think it’s just the oil industry that suffers from bottom-of-the-barrel prices, but that’s not true. Consider this: Major integrated Oil & Gas companies have a debt-to-equity of 41.4. Chevron (NYSE: CVX) alone has $35.88 billion in debt. And that debt touches other industries and sectors, like banks. And just how much of U.S. bank assets do these energy loans make up? The answer might surprise you. #-ad_banner-#U.S. banks have thrown down enough money on energy to fund a small country: A whopping $123 billion-worth of outstanding loans and lending commitments. To put that in perspective, that $123 billion is greater than the annual GDP of Ghana, and twice the size of the GDP of Puerto Rico. These loans and lending commitments account only for U.S. banks’ stakes. The global implications of oil debt could forecast a far scarier scenario for the global economy. What happens when these banks’ bets on energy is wrong? What happens if energy companies default on their loans, a la the housing crisis? According to the report, these assets wouldn’t trigger a financial crisis like the mortgage scandal back in 2008. But that doesn’t mean that these banks are going to weather an energy… Read More

Global investors are drooling with anticipation of a tie-up between the London Stock Exchange Group, (LSE: L) and Deutsche Bourse (DB1.DE). This merger of equals would create the largest exchange group in the world, and talks of the merger sent prices for both companies through the roof. On the news,… Read More