Technology

Netflix Clout Showing in Media Wars

June 24, 2018 by Twila Van Leer

With Comcast and Disney dueling over Rupert Murdoch’s Fox media, Netflix could benefit from the bidding war.

The change-partners dance includes a plan by Disney to launch a family-friendly Netflix rival next year. It also plans to use content it is going to purchase from 21st Century Fox, including movies and TV shows, to fortify streaming competitor Hulu, which Disney partly owns. In conjunction with Disney’s ESPN Plus sports-streaming service, the Disney/Fox deal seemed destined to create a real force in the streaming word.

Enter Comcast and its bid to steal Fox out from under Disney and the picture changes. Comcast offered $65 billion in cash, considerably more than the Disney offer of $52 billion in stock. A bidding war is the likely result. As of mid-June, Fox was considering whether to cancel or postpone its shareholder vote on the Disney-Fox merger.

Netflix could benefit from a split of Fox’s assets. A break-up of some key assets to a bevy of bidders would negate regulatory hurdles could make things nicer for competitors, according to media industry gurus.

Should Disney win, it would control about 40 percent of the box office, more than a dozen of the top TV networks and Hulu, one of Netflix’s top rivals.

Netflix has been poaching creators from Disney, Fox and other media outlets to improve its content. And Disney is coming to the end of a deal to send its new movies to Netflix in 2019.

Ultimately, insiders say, the winner in the push-pull contest will take all. Netflix is watching from the sidelines to see which way the battle leans.

Leading Stocks Have Similarities

June 4, 2018 by Twila Van Leer

Among the hottest stocks on the market recently, three leaders have some interesting similarities, according to the Motley Fool.

The three are Align Technology, Editas Medicine and Nvidia, a pretty diverse sampling of current stock leaders. They are fast growing, with Align soaring some 50 percent so far this year. Editas is up by 30 percent and Nvidia 20 percent.

The three very different companies have something in common. Each is a leader in its genre. Align is dominating a clear dental aligner market. Editas is pioneering technology in CRISPR gene editing and Nvidia is booming with new approaches to production of chips for artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency mining and gaming. With a fixed focus, each of the companies is thriving in its corner of the market.

Align has developed a product and then created mass customization processes so that tens of thousands of Invisalign clear aligners can be produced and adapted specifically for a particular patient. They are shipped all over the country every day.

Although several biotech companies focus on gene editing, Editas has created its own niche targeting Leber congenital amaurosis type 10, the leading cause of blindness in children. Editas has several patents for its CRISPR processing gene editing used to treat the genetic blindness., as well as other genetic diseases.

Nvidia set the standard for powering gaming applications years ago with its graphics processing units. Turns out the GPUs created for gaming also could be used for running Al and cryptocurrency mining software. Nvidia has many would-be competitors, but to date leads the pack in the field.

Among the similarities they share is huge market opportunities. Each is making inroads into markets that have not been tapped out. Editas is the only company that offers treatment for LCA type 10 or several other genetic diseases that are being targeted for biotech remedies. The potential for years of amplifying their approach appears almost endless.

Align also has a rosy future. At present, the company claims just 12 percent of the possible market and less than 5 percent of the teen orthodontic market. That leaves plenty of room for expansion. Research that will allow for treatment of the most severe cases of tooth misalignment is expected to lead to 40 percent expansion in the next few years.

Nvidia’s prospects likewise appear to be unlimited. How much the Al market will grow is unpredictable, but prospects are for a much bigger market in the future. Continued predictions of growth in gaming, particularly in the areas of augmented reality and virtual reality all point to continuing success.

All three of these leading stocks are expensive and growing based almost solely on future prospects rather than current productivity.

Should you buy expensive stocks in high-growth markets? Not necessarily. The market has many examples of stocks with similar promise that have not performed as well as expected. And some of stocks that don’t meet the same criteria that have done unexpectedly well.

It’s the nature of playing the stock market.

Are Cryptocurrencies Safe

March 12, 2018 by Twila Van Leer

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have been making headlines recently, mostly laced with warnings that they might be more conducive to fraud than regular currency.

They are scams just waiting to happen, according to some experts. Ponzi schemes and other frauds involving Bitcoin are being investigated across the country, some of them targeting retirement accounts.

The number of daily transactions have been falling in 2018, likely based on the concerns. As the year began, the number was at 421,000. By the end of February, they were down to 191,000, according to the Bitcoin.com website. The price at its peak was in December when it was $19,180.22 per share. Currently, it is worth $10, 869.77. The numbers indicate that a Crypto recession is brewing, experts say.

JPMorgan Chase experts says the possible results of the changing Bitcoin market are not clear, but “Increased competition also may require the bank to make additional capital investments in its businesses or to extend more of its capital on behalf of its clients to remain competitive.” In others words, the banks might have to join Crypto before they can beat Crypto.

Investors are being warned about promoters who promise high returns through Bitcoin arbitrage or trading strategies. Particularly, they should “think twice” before picking up an offer for a chance to get in on “initial coin offerings” in which the investor receives new cryptocurrencies in exchange for an investment of actual money.

People who are technology savvy and connected may be more vulnerable to the potential scams. Many fall for the internet hype without fully understanding the complexities of Bitcoin as mediums of exchange created and stored electronically in a process known as the “blockchain.”

They have no physical form and typically are not backed by tangible assets. Investments are not insured or controlled by a central bank or other governmental authority and cannot always be exchanged for other commodities. Cryptocurrency investments are vulnerable to computer hacking and subject to wild price fluctuations.

Bottom line: Beware of unsolicited sales pitches, guarantees of investment returns that seem too good to be true and pressure to complete transactions in a hurry.