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Miscellaneous

Beer + Glue = A good time for all?

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A first for beer… is Carlsberg’s new “Snap Pack” which bonds cans together with glue. And it’s not just some stupid gimmick – using glue instead of the plastic rings that hold cans together will reduce plastic waste by 1,200 tons per year. How does it make you feel that your drunk ass has been polluting the earth that badly?

 

Drink Carlsberg… to get drunk without destroying the planet. However, this will only be available in the United Kingdom and Europe, for now. But maybe everyone should adopt this was of packaging because, by 2050, the plastic in the ocean is predicted to triple. We assume there is already quite a bit in there now.

 

Following examples… from companies like Starbucks, Disney, and McDonald’s, all of who are planning to limit or stop using plastic straws altogether. Adidas has plans to use only recycled plastic by 2024 and Ikea will stop using single-use plastic products everywhere by 2020. High-five for environmental responsibility!

Mid caps

Barnes & Noble is here to stay! Or so they say…

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If you can read between the lines… you can see that Barnes & Noble is in trouble. Sales were down 6.1% last quarter compared to the previous year. The decline in sales comes as a result of far fewer customers coming in the door. Actually, far fewer customers are coming through the website, as well.

 

Sell, sell, sell… is what investors did after the company’s poor performance. The book-sellers troubles were only magnified given that other companies did so well this quarter. The company has over 600 stores and 23,000 employees; but, we are likely to see those numbers start to dwindle down. Not only is the store losing customers, but they also have an ongoing (and high-profile) feud with their former CEO.

 

Too big… for the small-town bookstore feel that has made local bookstores successful and too inconvenient to get customers off Amazon – what is Barnes & Noble to do? Actually, that’s not our problem…although, we hear they have a “strong” book lineup on tap for fall and Christmas. Hm, we’ll see how that goes…

Blue Chip

IBM: It’s blockchain or death

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Going all-in on blockchain… with 1,500 employees working on over 500 projects that incorporate the technology into shipping, banking, healthcare, and food safety. Really…food safety? Many people associate blockchain with cryptocurrency, but it actually does have other uses. However, the greatest promise does seem to be in finance.

 

But this is what IBM does… they invest in up-and-coming tech and blockchain is no exception. But make no mistake – blockchains use is limited. The technology is used as a digital tracking system which can increase efficiency and enable data sharing from one industry to the next.

 

Enough with the research… which is about all IBM has done so far. To succeed, IBM needs to produce blockchain for commercial use and make it easy to use. In a perfect world [for IBM], the company will be able to innovate for the future. However, innovation is difficult for a company that is heavily focused on meeting the day-to-day needs of existing customers. Maybe IBM customers should stop whining and let these people build our future! Sheesh.

Blue Chip

The first to $2 trillion will be…

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Jeff Bezos and company… at Amazon because this tech firm has more room to grow compared to Apple, the “other” trillion-dollar company. Cloud computing and Amazon Web Services has given Amazon the boost necessary for the money-blowing e-commerce giant to reach such heights.

 

They buy everything, okay… including a grocery store and online pharmacy. So why stop there? Amazon probably won’t because there are rumors of the company buying a movie theater, as well. Other possibilities include gas stations and travel – that’s not out of the question, is it? Pretty soon you are going to need a Prime membership because everywhere you shop will be Amazon.

 

How likely are we to see two-trillion… probably more likely than you would think considering the stock doubled over the last 12 months. The bigger Amazon gets, the more powerful it gets. Profits for the company have been snowballing (faster than Apple), and the sky is the limit for this one-time online bookstore. So yes, Amazon will be the next $2 trillion company – you heard it here first! (unless it doesn’t happen…then we didn’t say anything, got it?)