Blog

SpaceX has its first victim… er, passenger, we should say. That’s right – the first person to fly around the moon in the company’s BFR has been selected. What is a BFR, you ask? It is the ‘Big Falcon Rocket’ which consists of two parts: A massive rocket booster that will out-power anything every built and a spacecraft that will shoot right out of the Earth’s atmosphere – brought to you by SpaceX.

Today’s announcement marks the first steps… to sending regular people to the moon and SpaceX will be identifying the first person to go today! Up to this point, Elon Musk has kept quiet about the identity of this individual and the financial terms of the deal.

Don’t get too excited… because the BFR is probably several years away from its initial flight. However, the spaceship portion of the rocket could start testing as soon as 2019. SpaceX COO said that the rocket is likely to take flight within a decade, which probably a more realistic timeline given Musk’s overly-optimistic way of thinking. So it is probably more than several years away…

Read more

Nio has hit the NYSE… and shares were up 76% on Thursday, just the second day of trading. These results are particularly interesting because Nio had to lower their IPO to the lower end of their price range before the big day. On the first day of trading, the stock closed up 5% but was down as much as 15%.

Nio is just four years old… and is the company that vows to battle Tesla in China, the world’s most significant electric vehicle market. The company has investors that include Tencent and Baidu and now has $1 billion from the IPO. Still, the electric-car company remains small in scale, but certainly has huge aspirations for the future.

It could be a bumpy road ahead… for Nio which is entering a market with fierce competitors that include Tesla, Byd (which Warren Buffet invests in), and Byton. Volkswagen and Ford are also eyeing the electric car market, and specifically in China. But if everyone let ‘too much’ competition stop them, where we would be today?

Read more

This is where GE is headed because… they keep selling parts of their business for money. Of course, the company also has an astonishing amount of debt – so actually, they will soon be a pile of nothing. GE Aviation (the one part of GE pulling its weight) is getting rid of Middle River Aircraft Systems for $630 million. The company has about 800 employees and has been building aircrafts for about 90 years.

Here is why GE is selling… they are selling to pay-off that “mountain of debt” that has become synonymous with the company. The company has sold its healthcare, oil and gas, and locomotive businesses up to this. The light bulb maker is also looking for someone to buy their light bulb division. Hm…

It has been rough going for GE… who has seen their stock prices slashed by 60% and was kicked out of the Dow. GE is currently betting on the aviation biz which powers 2 out of 3 commercial flight departures. So, hey, it’s not all gloom and doom for GE. Not yet, anyway.

Read more

Let’s take a look at… what Nike was thinking placing Colin Kaepernick front-and-center of the company’s 30^th anniversary “Just Do It” campaign. Well, the results are in, and it appears that Nike was investing heavily in their younger customers. It worked.

Among people 18 to 34… 44% were in favor of Nike’s decision while 32% were against it. Those aged 35 to 44 had 52% support and 37% oppose the decision. Last, and probably least, people over 65 had just 26% supporting the decision – so ‘Dad shoe’ sales will be taking a hit this year. However, two-thirds of the Nike customer base is under 35 so who cares?

The ad didn’t matter… because the company’s stock is up and sales were also up 31% after it released. It looks like the advertisement went well and resonated with Nike’s customer base; plus LeBron, arguably the company’s most prominent sponsor athlete, was in support (essential to keep him happy). So, hey, it all worked out for Nike – nice work.

Read more

A huge announcement it was… as Apple plans to release the largest smartphone ever. How big is it? The new iPhone XS Max is 6.5 inches and will sell for $1,099. The display of the phone is larger compared to the Plus, but the body is around the same size. Okay, not that huge of announcement, but newsworthy nonetheless.

Other updates include… “the best camera ever” (saw that coming) and longer lasting battery life. The XS will last 30 minutes longer on a single charge, and the XS Max will last an hour and a half longer. Apple also introduced the iPhone XR, a “cheap” option at $749. The phones will all have faster networking support, as well.

As we predicted… nothing too crazy this year as far as updates go. If you want one of these things, you can pre-order the XS and XS Max on September 14^th and have it shipped the following week. The XR will be available for pre-order on October 19^th and will be in-store the following week. But unless you have managed to obliterate your current phone, we suggest waiting until next year for the good stuff…

Read more

Your one-stop Christmas shop… even if what you need is a Christmas tree. As if Amazon didn’t already sell everything, the company is now selling a variety of Christmas trees. The trees come in Fraser Fir, Balsam Fir, Black Hills, Spruce, and Norfolk Island Pines. And the best part – some of the trees will even be eligible for Prime shipping.

You can also get… wreaths, garland, and flowers to decorate your home this Christmas. And now, you can get a fake or live tree from the online retailer. We think it’s a good idea because now people can get real trees without the cold, cutting, and carrying. Shouldn’t everything be delivered in one-click and two days?

Here is what the National Christmas Tree Association thinks… because they exist, by the way, and are all for Amazon entering the market. Amazon can support local tree growers by buying and selling their trees, and people get another option for their Christmas tree. It’s feeling like a very ‘Amazon’ Christmas already…

Read more