All posts by Jonathon Bowes

About Jonathon Bowes

Jonathan Bowes started his career in banking. After a few years, he took courses in business and finance and worked his way up the corporate ladder. Today, while writing part-time for Business District, Bowes assists talented people to find jobs in the field of economics. Contact Bowes at Jonathon[at]businessdistrict.com

Huge Growth Forecast for Cloud Services Industry

Tech News, , , ,

Diagram showing overview of cloud computing, with typical types of applications supported by that computing model. For small and medium-sized businesses, the cost effectiveness of cloud computing makes it an attractive option for businesses fighting to stay competitive and profitable. Cloud computing allows businesses to efficiently react to the constantly changing speed of technology so they can expand operations.

Virtualization is the technology that allows cloud computing to be so versatile and efficient. Using virtualization users can lower costs and reduce the need for excessive Information Technology (IT) personnel; allowing businesses to focus on their core business goals.

Because of these advantages, plus the ability to outsource the daily operations of cloud computing, the use, adoption and expansion of this technology will continue to proceed quickly and impressively.

The fifth annual US SMB Cloud Insights report predicts that the cloud services market will expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.4 percent over the coming three years. That translates to the industry expanding from a value of $25.2 billion this year to a sizeable $34.9 billion by 2018.

“Over the five years that we have been conducting this study, we’ve seen a rapid and consistent growth in SMB consumption of cloud services,” said Birger Steen, chief executive officer of Odin, the provider of the report and cloud services provider. “Applications and capabilities that were previously reserved for enterprise-size organizations are now benefiting millions of smaller businesses. At the same time, SMBs are becoming more sophisticated in their IT and telecom choices, and developers are creating more services and applications specifically for this market segment.”

Cigna Rebuffs Anthem Bid for Takeover

Health Care, , , , ,

The trend to merge health insurance companies into fewer unique entities continues apace as Anthem Inc. made a bid to buy rival health care insurer Cigna Corporation.

The latest bid for Cigna came after months of negotiations between the parties and a previous offer ten days ago. The latest takeover bid came when Anthem offered to buy Cigna for about $175 per share. Cigna is still saying no to the offers.

Health care giant Humana Inc. has also entered the fray, discussing a possible takeover of Cigna as well as Aetna Inc.

On Monday morning Anthem’s market value was estimated at $43 billion, and Cigna’s was approximately $35 billion.

Cigna stock soared in the wake of the Wall Street Journal story about the takeover bid, climbing 12 percent in active midday trading, reaching $153.74 per share. Anthem shares also grew, adding 2 percent to close at $164.22.

High Stock Prices Fueled by “Easy” Money

Investments, , , , ,
Going up!

The general description of shares on the stock market at the moment can be described as “expensive” according to many observers.

A report in Yahoo Finance stated that “One reason that folks are paying up for richly priced stocks is that money – for many – is not much of an object right now.’’

The report added that American companies have added about $700 billion in debt so far in 2015, and repurchases of stock are on their way to going beyond a value of $600 billion.
Stocks for US companies are high-priced. The median stock carries a higher valuation than almost all of the time in the last 40 years, Yahoo stated. The largest 100 companies in the world today are worth an enormous $16.24 trillion. That amount is close to double what those companies were valued at immediately following the recent financial crisis.

According to PwC, Apple Inc. is the most valuable business in the world, with a market capitalization of $725 billion, which conducted a study in March. Since 2009 the maker of the iPhone and many other popular consumer electronic products has increased its market value by 671%. Only 6 years ago Apple was ranked the world’s 33rd largest company and worth about $94 billion.

The second largest company in the world is Google, with a valuation of $375 billion, more than double its worth in 2009 of $110 billion. Six years ago it ranked in 22nd place.

Toys R Us To Place New CEO, David Brandon

Companies, ,

Toys R Us chairman and CEO Antonio Urcelay is scheduled to retire on July 1. Taking his place will be David Brandon, past CEO and chairman of Domino’s Pizza. The 63-year old executive was on hand to help Domino’s with its IPO. Brandon was also president and CE of Valassis Communications and also helped them transition to a publicly held company.
Until last October Brandon was the athletic director at the University of Michigan, when he resigned amid concerns about the poor showing of the school’s football team as well as other problematic issues in the athletic department there.

Urcelay, who is the same age as Brandon, was the CEO and chairman of Toys R Us since near the end of 2013. He was employed by the giant toy retailer since 1996.

Toys R Us, a Wayne, New Jersey-based company, was bought by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co, Bain Capital Inc, and Vornado Realty Trust in 2005, taking the company private. The huge toy store, which also has Babies R Us shops, has 866 outlets in the US, Puerto Rico, and Guam. They also have 730 stores globally, and an additional 240lnsed tor i37 countries and jurisdictions. They also operate FAO Schwarz.

Oil Prices Rise on Increased Demand

Energy News, , , , ,

The price of crude oil futures climbed a bit on Monday as demand from Asia and the US edged up as well.

Brent crude surged by 2 cents a barrel to $65.39 at 03:12 GMT. US crude showed a steeper climb, leaving it a bit below Brent crude, at $59.86 per barrel.

Energy Aspects, a London-based publication which discusses  the energy markets, commented on the increased price of oil:

“Global oil demand continues to surprise to the upside, with April data showing no signs of slowdown despite a pick-up in prices.”

Japan’s Ministry of Finance said that crude oil imports to Japan increased by 9.1 percent to 3.62 million barrels per day in April, compared to one year earlier. China hit a new record of crude imports, reaching 7.4 million barrels per day in April. That surge is despite China’s slowing economy which is offset by vigorous car sales.

“We expect Chinese imports to be high in H2 15, potentially averaging 7.5 million barrels per day. This is due to the start-up of 39 mb (million barrels) of commercial storage, five SPR (strategic petroleum reserve) sites and linefill for Kunming refinery—buying for which is ongoing we believe, even though the refinery won’t start up till early 2016,” Energy Aspects said.

On the other side of the globe the United States is now entering its peak season for driving with the Memorial Day weekend just coming to an end. According to the American Automobile Association, road travel in the US is expected to reach a ten-year high over the weekend, tightly correlated with higher oil use.