TrueBridge Capital Partners announced the closing of its fourth venture capital fund-of-funds on January 13. The fourth fund-of-funds is secured at its $400 million hard cap.
North America
Obama Administration to Invest $4 bln on Self-Driving Cars
Self-driving cars could eliminate fatal crashes that involve some type of human error. Autonomous technology could help reduce greengas emissions and transform mobility. Though driveless technology has grown increasingly popular, autonomous vehicle are not perfect yet
Stagecoach Beats Umbrella, Overrides Power Sector Debacle Through Contribution From Real Estate
Both Wells Fargo and Citigroup have been badly hit with the historic low oil price. The Walls Street banks have heavy investment in energy portfolio and the industry is passing through a nightmare since 2008. Both the banks have been forced to keep provision against the default power investments. But real estate portfolio has helped Stagecoach to leave behind the umbrella with its greater contributions predicted earlier.
Microsoft Works To Improve Poor Battery Life of HoloLens, Its First Augmented Reality (AR) Product
Microsoft has started to display HoloLens, its first AR product at its flagship stores in New York. Unlike similar products developed by other competitors, the WiFi device has a very poor battery life. The tech giant is working to transform the device devoid of such shortcomings and expects to make it available in the first quarter of the current year.
Michigan First US State To Welcome Gas Price At $0.77, Gas Tax Hike Likely
Michigan appears to be the first US state to enjoy gas at $0.77 a gallon. The states closer to the refineries or containing those, enjoy gas at a relatively cheaper price. In the blink of further oil price fall, the US states, who are badly hit due to falling oil price, are considering to increase gas tax. These states aim to continue development works in communication sector, which they are unable to allocate with the problem riddled economies.
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The video streaming company, Netflix prepares a huge amount of dollar for its content: $6 billion. The amount will be spent on 600 hours of original program. Netflix currently launches an aggressive global expansion which bothers many local content providers.
The lower oil prices are forcing rig operators to reduce their activity in North Dakota. The number oil rigs operational fell to 49 indicating the lowest since August 2009. The number of oil rigs is expected to further drop to 30 this year. There're concerns over possible bankruptcies following the decline in oil drilling North Dakota.
Airbus Group's corporate venture capital fund Airbus Ventures has announced its first investment that was extended to a Phoenix-based Local Motors Inc. Airbus Ventures is keen on startups in the aviation industry that support Airbus business strategy. Local Motors Inc develops open source designs for building cars, helicopters and airplanes.
Majority of e-Commerce startups are running below expectations. Some of them sold for a fraction of their previous valuations. Groupon, One Kings Line and Wish.com were few examples that give insight of what's happening.
General Electric Co. has been intending to sell its electrical appliance chapter prior to initiation of global economic debacle. The Federal Justice Department has foiled its earlier bid to sell its century old electrical appliance portfolio. Finally, it has reached a consensus to sale the business unit to Chinese electrical equipments maker Haier for more than $4 billion.
Walmart and Macy’s have announced shutting hundreds of stores on Friday and thus lingers the list with other retailing giants like Sears and Target. Surprising growth of ecommerce has reduced growth of the departmental stores and shopping malls. With the announcement of the World’s largest retailer, traditional stores have been started to witness the blink of extinction.
Oil and gas market have been tattering due to existing sharp downtrend in price. Many oil companies have been writing down the value of shale assets over the past 20 months since prices started crashing. BHP Billinton Ltd. has also become dependent on bank debts to maintain soaring expenses and plans to cut dividends for the first time in 25 years. Finally, following the industry trend, BHP has announced for writing down US energy assets worth $7.2 billion.
JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America (BoA) and Wells Fargo earned over $6 billion from ATM service and overdraft fees. For the first time, US government in 2015 allowed banks to disclose details from ATM and overdraft fee revenues. The US banking consumers pay in the range of $4 to $5 to withdraw money from an out-of-network ATM.
American Energy Partners and Argentina state-run energy company YPF have signed a partnership deal on developing the shale resources in the South American country. Argentina government is providing subsidies to attract investments in the energy sector and to enhance business climate in the country.
