With gross margins decreasing, Motorola Solutions Inc, a US provider of data communications and telecommunications equipment, has taken up cost-cutting measures to boost its profit growth. The cost optimizing and restructuring exercise have been helping the company significantly in cost control. The sluggish sales, cut-throat market competition and adverse sales tax are putting more pressure on Motorola. The gross margins fell from 51 percent in 2012 to 48 percent in 2014. In a similar way, operating margins also down from 14.8 percent to 16.4 percent during the period.
North America
Goldman Sachs leaves rivals far behind in M&A race
Goldman Sachs is racing ahead of its rivals in the global investment banking segment by revenues and fees in mergers and acquisitions (M&As) activity. Goldman Sachs' performance in 2015 so far exceeded while its competitors are not even close to it. With a market share of 12.3 percent, Goldman Sachs recorded $2billion revenues till date, while JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley are left with less than nine percent market share in the M&A space. The mergers and acquisitions activity this year so far was a robust period for Goldman Sachs.
US Fed Chair Janet Yellen hints at rate hike in 2015
Giving much wider scope of speculation on possible interest rate hike in next October meeting, the US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen has indicated that there would be interest rate hike this year. Yellen further opined that it's necessary to increase short-term rates in a gradual manner as the improvement in labor market further continues and inflation rate reaches to the government target of two percent. The US Central Bank has been sending feelers about the possible rate hike this year for some time. The job market growth is the major factor that puts the US Fed in a comfortable position to take a decision on interest rate hike.
Pope urges US to act on climate change now
Wading into one of the most polarizing issues in American politics, Pope Francis has called upon the United States to join other nations in fighting climate change. He stressed the time to act is now. "Climate change is a problem which can no longer be left to a future generation. When it comes to the care of our common home, we are living at a critical moment of history," the pope said in a speech Wednesday on the South Lawn of the White House.
Apple just released iOS 9.0.1 to fix the "Slide to Upgrade" bug
Apple just released iOS 9.0.1 to fix their major "Slide to Upgrade" bug issue that over half of its users are experiencing after its iOS 9 update. Affected users can get the update by connecting their iPhone, iPad, and iPod to the iTunes on their computer and perform a force restart of their device.
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Leonardo DiCaprio along with 2,000 other individuals and 400 institutions plans to pull out their investments from fossil fuels in a move to fight global warming, activist group Wallace Global Fund announced Tuesday.
What once was a vision of the future of health care in science fiction is now becoming a reality as Google's Alphabet sets its eyes on solving health care issues. Doctors' function in treating and maintaining peoples' health will be done efficiently and cheaply by machines run by technological algorithms in the near future. These advances require a disruption in the status quo, which will definitely not come from the government or other current healthcare providers, but from entrepreneurs, like Google's Alphabet.
Starbucks Corp announced on September 22 that its successful Mobile Order & Pay service is now offered in all its almost 7,500 US shops. According to Reuters, this goal is achieved three months earlier than expected. Some additional 3,400 cafes will get the new online service. These cafes are located in notable cities such as San Francisco, New York, Washington D.C., Chicago, and Boston.
Zscaler, a California-based cloud security firm, has mobilized $25million from Google Capital, an equity investment arm of Google. Adding to the oversubscribed round, the total amount raised by Zscaler reaches $110mn. The cyber security firm raised $85million in August. Zscaler was waiting for a strategic partner to close the round. Google Capital is engaged in late-stage financing activity.
Facebook's new Messenger app has made it easier for businesses to have an organic connection with their customers, which could yet be another way for the giant social media platform to earn money.
"Good guys finish last" is a common saying, but is not necessarily true when it comes to handling business, or so as others would like to believe. To some, a firm hand and a cold resolve would make for a fine CEO, whether that CEO is a man or a woman. However, kindness is beneficial to the businesses' customers and employees.
German automaker Volkswagen Group is under scrutiny after it was found by the U.S Clean Air Group that some of its cars did not pass the standard emission test. The test conducted by Peter Mock and John German revealed another scandal - the use of "defeat device" software in its cars.
Since Apple made it easier for developers to create ad blockers, blocker apps gained revenue in the App Store. Reports said this is an absolute danger for Google and web publishers. In June, The Next Web reported Apple Inc. has provided tools for developers to create apps that block web ads. The tools are exclusively only for iOS9's default browser Safari.
The Office of Personnel Management today said that some 5.6 million fingerprints were stolen by the hacker and not 1.1 million like it was previously reported. The new data came after the agency had conducted further investigation together with the Department of Defense.
