The market this morning is behaving just as I thought it would after yesterday’s afternoon scramble out the door. Smart money waits to buy these days. Soft economic data or not, folks in the know get it – the train is moving forward and the best boarding spots are those that appear when the trains slows down.
- Google is exploring a major expansion of its super-fast “Fiber” TV and Internet service, which could extend the nascent network to 34 more U.S. cities and pose a competitive threat to home broadband providers.
My-oh-my, the world is changing quickly. It wasn’t too long ago that CBS, NBC, and ABC controlled the world of electronic entertainment. Okay, so that was more than “too long ago,” but it wasn’t too long ago that Cable operators stepped in mightily to control the TV and Internet provider business in US cities. Now, they have some serious competition with the big dog marking out territory. It will all come down to competitive pricing and bandwidth, which is good for the consumer and bad for, well, the losers. I wonder which 34 cities Google is boldly stepping into?
Back in 1968, Dustin Hoffman’s character (Benjamin) in The Graduate stood in front of his girlfriend’s father (Mr. McGuire). He listened intently as the older man spoke about the future, as the older man gave him advice now that he was a college graduate.
Mr. McGuire: I want to say one word to you. Just one word.
Benjamin: Yes, sir.
Mr. McGuire: Are you listening?
Benjamin: Yes, I am.
Mr. McGuire: Plastics.
Benjamin: Exactly how do you mean?
Mr. McGuire: There’s a great future in plastics. Think about it. Will you think about it?
Okay, so today, what is the future “plastics?” Strike that. What is the now and future “plastics?” Well, the question is hard to answer because so much is happening so fast, but I would contend for market players, the “plastics” of today is …
- China, the world’s largest mobile phone market by subscribers, posted a 0.6 percent monthly increase in the number of mobile subscribers to 1.24 billion in January.
Yes, smartphones, and all of its ancillary markets provide one obvious answer, but I have another one to consider – fuel-cell technology. Okay, that’s three words but, you get the idea.
- The Toyota FCV Concept is a practical concept of the fuel cell vehicle Toyota plans to launch around 2015 as a pioneer in the development of hydrogen-powered vehicles. The vehicle has a driving range of at least 500 km and refueling times as low as three minutes, roughly the same time as for a gasoline vehicle.
Fuel-cell technology isn’t just about cars. It is about a wholesale change in the approach to energy. It is becoming practical, affordable, and it produces the right carbon footprint. So, consider Mr. McGuire’s words carefully, only replace the word “plastics” with fuel-cell technology.
- Garmin Ltd handily beat quarterly profit estimates and forecast a strong 2014 as sales of GPS-based fitness, aviation and outdoor products more than made up for shrinking sales of personal navigation devices, a market it once dominated. Garmin shares jumped as much as 12 percent to $52.72 – their highest in six years.
I gave up on Garmin a long time ago. I guess I was wrong. They are making a comeback by being innovative and creative. How’s that for good, old-fashioned ingenuity? Oh, speaking of old and fuel-cell technology in the same breath.
- A Nebraska court on Wednesday voided the governor’s decision to allow the Keystone XL pipeline to pass through the Midwestern state, creating another snag for the controversial project to link Canada’s oil sands with refineries in Texas.
Oil is not disappearing soon, but it is fading as the giant among energy sources. Gas-powered vehicles are slowly giving way to electric, hybrid, natural gas, and, yes – coming soon to a car lot near you – fuel-cell cars.
- The Fed minutes also show little concern about the string of soft economic data at the start the year.
Just a little bit at the end to let you know I am not the only one who has little concern about the soft economic data that has come out recently. We seem to go through every year now.
Trade in the day; Invest in your life …
