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A ‘bit’ of good news for bitcoin

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A ‘bit’ of good news for bitcoin

You may not be ready to join the bandwagon… that is bitcoin, even though the cryptocurrency was up more than 10% on Tuesday, hovering around $7,400. Many crypto-fanatics are hoping to see Wall Street bet on bitcoin – of course, if this happens, we could be looking at prices we haven’t seen since last December.

Crypto could rebound… and asset-management company BlackRock confirmed that they have set up a group to work on cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.

As for today’s movement… there are many theories, but few concrete answers as to why bitcoin jumped all of a sudden (the move occurred in less than an hour). One theory is that bitcoin was sitting at $6,800, and people were betting on it to go down – but once it broke the invisible $6,800 barrier, all bets were off. More good news for the hottest topic of 2017 – we’ll see if it sticks.

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Don’t quit your day job

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Or maybe you should quit your day job… because that is what Ray Chan, co-founder of 9GAG, chose to do and it has served him well. However, Chan’s story is not one of spontaneity where he lets his boss have it and goes on to be a wild success. Instead, Chan took a slow and steady approach (probably putting in a two-week notice), running his website for four years until he could match his current salary and quit his job.

Going all in… is precisely what Chan did and it worked – 9GAG now has more than 100 million global fans across Facebook and Insta. However, he didn’t need to sacrifice the comfort of a stable job to accomplish this. He took a conservative approach, which he attributed to his “humble upbringing.”

You are not Steve Jobs… or Bill Gates, or Mark Zuckerberg – but that’s okay. And no matter how successful one person is, their advice is often not even applicable to most of us. Rather than being a clone of someone successful, create someone successful in yourself. Chan remained true to himself and although his story may not be the most exhilarating, it worked. So don’t spontaneously quit your job – you know, unless that’s your thing.

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Walmart and Microsoft are a match made in heaven

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Walmart and Microsoft are a match made in heaven

And they are competing against Amazon… no surprise there – it seems like it is Amazon against the world these days. Amazon is a big part of the reason we have seen big names joining forces because going in alone has proved to be a losing battle for companies like Walmart (and Microsoft, for that matter).

Walmart gets… the second largest provider of cloud solutions in the world in Microsoft.  With the use of Microsoft’s cloud services, Walmart can transform their digital operations to compete with online rivals, such as Amazon. The retail giant also plans to shift a significant portion of walmart.com and samsclub.com over to Azure, Microsoft’s cloud service.

Microsoft gets… a massive customer in Walmart. The software giant has been convincing retailers about the benefits of combining the power of data and technology. This combination can provide solutions for inventory, transport, online shopping, and more. With Walmart competing against Amazon’s retail and Microsoft competing against Amazon’s cloud service, this may just be a match made in heaven.

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Boeing can see into your future

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Boeing can see into your future

And as it turns out… the demand for jets will only get stronger over the next 20 years – a convenient prediction from Boeing, indeed. Much of that demand will come from the Asia-Pacific region, along with Europe and North America, of course. However, by 2037, Asian airlines will have around 75% more plans than their North American rivals.

Out with the old, in with the new… and while only 4% of commercial jets are at least 25 years old today, that number will inevitably increase as the years go by (duh). By the mid-2020s, about 500 planes per year will reach their 25th birthday and beyond. But rather than a party, these “old” planes will likely find themselves kicked to the curb and replaced by the new and improved models.

Small jets are a thing of the past… because they are much less fuel efficient given the number of passengers they carry. This lack of fuel-efficiency means the Boeing 737 and 737 MAX will be one of your only options – making up about 70% of what is in the sky. Okay, so Boeing can only [sort of] predict your flying future – but I hope you still found this section worthwhile.

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Papa John’s not-so-subtle message to former founder

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Papa John’s not-so-subtle message to former founder

It’s not even a hint… Papa John’s wants John Schnatter to just go away – far away. The pizza giant has removed its former founder from their pizza boxes and even kicked him out of his office. Oh, and they basically asked him to stop talking about Papa John’s entirely…or to the media, at least.

It’s over… for Schnatter and the company terminated his “Founder Agreement” which officially puts an end to literally the only guy you picture when you think ‘Papa Johns.’ However, Schnatter still owns a near 30% stake in the company and remains on the board.

Back to the drawing board… for Papa John’s as they try to regain customer trust. The fact is, consumers are becoming more aware of social issues and are more willing to shun their favorite brands over PR disasters such as this one. To fix this, the company is having execs visit local shops to hold “listening sessions” with employees and are also making efforts to gauge the company’s diversity efforts.

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Don’t call this British diver “pedo guy”

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Don’t call this British diver “pedo guy”

You have probably heard… that Elon Musk dubbed British diver, Spelunker Vernon Unsworth, “pedo guy.This coming after Unsworth suggested where Musk should put his miniature submarine (I’ll let you guess where). And when asked if Unsworth would take legal action after being called a pedophile in front of Musk’s army of Twitter followers he stated: “Yes, it’s not finished.”

More bad publicity… and Musk has previously said it may be better not to respond to criticism on social media. From cars simultaneously bursting into flames to skipped safety testing, Tesla has been making the news for all of the wrong reasons lately. Tesla shares fell by more than 3% on Monday possibly as a result of the latest round of bad publicity for the company.

But lighten up… we know that Musk has no clue if Unsworth is indeed a pedophile. Still, it will be interesting to see just how much trouble one carless insult can get Tesla’s CEO in. But you are better than that, Elon – and you are a billionaire, surely you can find something more entertaining to do than throwing shade on Twitter.

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If you don’t care about tariffs now, you will soon

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If you don’t care about tariffs now, you will soon

You haven’t fallen victim to tariffs… or haven’t yet, I should say. Very few Americans have been impacted by tariffs imposed by the United States. However, that could certainly change this fall if the trade war continues to escalate. The US plans to sanction another $200 billion in imported goods from China before the end of September putting the grand total to $450 billion.

When summer comes to a close… you will be back in school (or still working) and the price of consumer goods will begin to rise – not much to look forward to, huh? The US exports everything from China – clothing, computers, refrigerators, etc. So unless another country [that can get along with Donald Trump] can produce all of these goods, prices are bound to rise.

Higher prices and raising inflation… are the two not-so-great side effects that come from this trade spat. Prices in the US are already at their highest level since 2012 and are bound to go even higher. And it doesn’t take a genius to realize that rising wages are worthless when prices are rising at an even faster rate. Better get your back-to-school shopping done ASAP – and as a matter of fact, get your Christmas shopping out of the way, too, because things are getting out of control.

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The Netflix results are in…

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The Netflix results are in…

Netflix gained 5 million subscribers… which is not bad considering just about everyone has a Netflix account – or at least 130 million people have an account. However, Wall Street did not share my ‘glass half-full’ perspective on the situation (but rarely are they very optimistic people). What Wall Street sees is a company that gained 1 million subscribers less than expected.

When Wall Street isn’t happy… share prices will pay and Netflix was no exception – dropping 13% in after-hours trading on Monday. Netflix claimed that they had “a strong but not stellar” quarter, but for almost any other company, $3.9 billion in sales and $384 million profit would be very stellar.

But Netflix is expensive… not the subscription service, but the stock itself, which is part of the reason it came crashing down after the slightest of stumbles. Netflix doesn’t seem the least bit concerned about this news or the competition that is nipping at their heels. The company believes you will binge-watch their content and somehow find time for Amazon, Disney, AT&T, and Apple content, as well – and [sadly] they are probably right.

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Why GE is fighting an uphill battle

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Why GE is fighting an uphill battle

GE is cleaning up their act… by getting rid of their health care, oil and gas, and locomotive businesses – a move that Wall Street loved, by the way. The company has vowed to simplify the business and start tackling that mountain of debt they are sitting atop of. However, as GE tackles one problem others seem to pop-up simultaneously.

GE seems powerless… when it comes to their power and banking segments. GE Power is getting killed by renewable energy’s rapid rise and was recently forced to lay off 12,000 workers. It is safe to say that power is being “challenged” and is unlikely to recover in the near-term. And while GE does have a renewable energy division, it is too small to make up for the company’s other shortcomings.

Aviation should take flight… and sales are expected to soar, led by GE’s LEAP engine. We will also hear more about GE Capital, who disclosed a $6.2B loss in January in the long-term insurance care business. It looks like things will get worse before they can get better.

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A lesson on ‘corporate culture’ brought to you by Uber

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When will your people start behaving… is what many are asking Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi who has been tasked with fixing the brand’s image. However, the NY Times reported Friday that the company COO Barney Hartford, a Khosrowshahi hire, made insensitive comments to women and minorities. This news coming shortly after Uber’s head of human resources, Liane Hornsey, left the company following an internal investigation on how she handled racial discrimination claims in the company.

Changing one person is difficult… but changing an entire corporate culture is a different animal entirely. But Uber will need to find a way to remedy the situation, and fast, because each incident has us wondering if they will ever learn.

It shouldn’t be that hard… for executives and other company personnel to stay in line – just be nice and play nice with others, right? That may sound easy enough to you or me, but we know how ‘other’ people are. For this reason, Uber is possibly overdue for a “zero tolerance” policy that can demonstrate that the company does not stand behind any type of discrimination. Maybe they can take a lesson from Google’s “don’t be evil” approach?

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