Do you want live TV? Join us!

Don't forget that we have also Bloomberg live TV.
Enjoy it!

in our up section at this link: http://gviviani.blogspot.it/p/bloomberg-live-tv.html

Xiaomi, the chinese way to challenge the american giant Apple

" The Beijing-based company has come out of nowhere this year to become the biggest threat to Apple, Samsung and other smartphone makers."

" Xiaomi phones can’t touch the iPhone or the Galaxy in terms of quality (yet), but the company beats them handily on price "

" The company’s private valuation is already estimated to have surpassed $10 billion — double the valuation of BlackBerry and half that of Sony. "

" Xiaomi sold 7 million handsets last year and just as many in the first half of this year, putting it on track to sell 20 million in all of 2013. "

In these days and especially in the previous months the technology industry has been shaken by a new and disruptive product: Xiaomi.

Everybody knows that from the death of Steve Jobs, Apple hasn't been the same company that he used to conduct and spread around the world, maybe because his charismatic and challenging character has not been replaced by Tim Cook, or maybe ,in a worst scenario, Apple has lost her ability to create innovation in a  not anymore " game-changer " mode.

Probably that is the reason why, in a industry so competitive like the hi-tech, Apple has lost lots of opportunity and tons of market shares in favour of Samsung, HTC, and in these days to Xiaomi.

" Have you heard of Xiaomi yet? If you haven’t, you probably will pretty soon. If you have, you know the Beijing-based company has come out of nowhere this year to become the biggest threat to Apple, Samsung and other smartphone makers. "

The Time is right, Xiaomi will become for sure the real threat to Apple and Samsung, because it's able to match high technologies ( but not at the same level of Apple and Samsung) with low prices and a network of salers very capillar, and that is the clue factor to be succesfull in China and, of course, in every part of the world.

 Xiaomi’s popular Mi3 handset — including a Nvidia Tegra 4 chip, a 13-megapixel Sony camera and 2-gigabit RAM — sells for $327. In comparison, in China, Apple’s iPhone 5S retails for $866 without a service plan, while the Samsung’s 32GB Galaxy Note 3 retails for $884.

Xiaomi has been founded in the 2010, and in circa 3 years of activity, now it is estimated of more than $10billion, that means more than two times of Blackberry and circa half of Sony!

Outside of China, Xiaomi began to gain notice in July, when research firm Canalys said that the company’s market share in China surpassed Apple for the first time in the second quarter. Apple’s share fell from 8% to 5% in a single quarter.

Those numbers are very appealing and if you add on that Xiaomi has recently hired Hugo Barra, who has been the head of product development at Google's Android division, is easy to understand what aims this firms has for its future.

And it doesn't finish here!

Infact, Xiaomi has an exclusive contract with China Mobile ( the state-owned telecom giant) as Samsung, that helps the firm to compete even better against Apple that can't count on this key factor asset.

Another main difference between Apple, as the Time reports, is that while the Cupertino, giant ran iTunes for years at little or no profit — using its music, movies and apps as a way to sell higher-margin devices — Xiaomi’s approach is similar to Amazon. Amazon sells its Kindle devices at or below cost to expand market share, using apps and content revenue to shore up slim margins.

In conclusion, the rise of Xiaomi has left the market wondering about how Apple will respond to a company thriving by using strategies very different from its own. In a research note, Sanford C. Bernstein  called Xiaomi a “new disruptive force” that “particularly stands out to us as a potential game-changer.”

For its part, Xiaomi sounds a little more confident  about its prospects against Apple. “They [Apple] don’t really care about what the users want. They imagine what the users want.”

The Great Wall is moving, and probably for Apple, too fast!

The Economist's interview to Tom Standage

The Economist's article here
The Time's article here

Heinz...mine!

" Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and Jorge Paulo Lemann’s 3G Capital agreed to buy HJ Heinz Co. for about $23 billion. "

" The transaction is valued at about $28 billion including the assumption of debt "

" Heinz shares climbed 20 percent to $72.50 at 4:15 p.m. in New York trading. Berkshire advanced 1 percent to $149,240, a record close. "

" Heinz, led by Chief Executive OfficerBill Johnson since 1998, had gained 17 percent in the past 12 months as it boosted sales in developing economies. Heinz in November said fiscal second-quarter sales in emerging markets rose 13 percent, excluding the effects of foreign currency fluctuations and acquisitions or divestitures."

ENG:

It's a news of yesterday evening that Warren Buffett, with his associate Jorge Paulo Lemann, has bought with an IPO of about $23 billion Heinz Co., but the tranzactionis valued at about $ 28 billion because in the deal between the parts, buyers have included the assumption of debt.

The IPO is based on an offer of $72.50 per share, compared with yesterday’s closing price of $60.48 that underlines the great interest that the Oracle of Omaha feeds for this company.

One of the main motivation of this move is due to the fact that Heinz benefits from “very powerful consumer goodwill in the developed markets and a very early start in China and India, two of the largest developing markets”.

The other key factor of this deal is the sinergy that could be create between Heinz and Burger King      (that is one of the most successfull business in 3G's portfolio) in the fast food market of the emerging economies.

Thanks to Warren and his associate, Heinz shares climbed 20 percent to $72.50 at 4:15 p.m. in New York trading and Berkshire advanced 1 percent to $149,240, a record close.

The deal is the largest ever in the food industry, the companies said. The buyers are paying about 14.6 times earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. 

The evergreen Warren Buffett doesn't want to retire, but always make huge money!

ITA:

E 'una notizia di ieri sera che Warren Buffett, con il suo socio Jorge Paulo Lemann, ha acquistato con una IPO di circa 23 miliardi dollari Heinz Co., ma l'operazione ha un valore di circa 28 miliardi dollari inquanto nell'accordo tra le parti è previsto che gli acquirenti si assumano l'intero importo del  debito societario.

L'IPO è basata su un'offerta di 72,50 dollari per azione, rispetto al prezzo di chiusura di ieri di 60,48 dollari, sottolineando in tal modo il grande interesse che l'Oracolo di Omaha nutre per questa società.

Una delle motivazioni principali di questo movimento è dovuto al fatto che Heinz può contare su un elevato incremento di consumatori soprattutto nei mercati occidentali e un inizio molto promettente in Cina e in India, due dei più grandi mercati in via di sviluppo".

L'altro fattore chiave di questo accordo è la sinergia che si potrebbe creare tra Heinz e Burger King (che è uno dei business di maggior successo nel portafoglio del fondo brasiliano di private equity 3G) nel mercato dei fast food delle economie emergenti.

Grazie a Warren e il suo socio, le azioni Heinz sono salite del 20% toccando i 72,50 dollari alle 4:15 pm di New York  e le  Berkshire sono avanzate del 1% a $ 149.240.

L'accordo è il più grande mai avuto nel settore alimentare mondiale, e non a caso gli acquirenti in questa operazione pagheranno Heinz circa 14,6 volte gli utili al lordo di interessi, imposte, ammortamenti, secondo i dati compilati da Bloomberg.

Il sempreverde Warren Buffett non vuole andare in pensione, ma sempre fare soldi a palate!

Bloomberg's interview to Tom Russo

Bloomberg article here

Apple is resting or it's just the quiet before the storm?

" Apple Inc.’s profit margins are falling back to levels not seen since sales took off after the 2007 debut of the iPhone, as competition and lack of breakthrough products pressure the company to lower prices."

" Unless Chief Executive OfficerTim Cook unveils a revolutionary new gadget with premium pricing, Apple shares will remain under pressure. "

" A central challenge is slowing sales of the iPhone, Apple’s best-selling and most-profitable product that accounts for 56 percent of revenue. Samsung Electronics Co., HTC Corp. and other rivals are introducing cheaper and feature-laden smartphones. "

"Apple is also seeking new customers in China, where it will be harder to charge premium prices. New products such as the iPad mini are also being priced at relatively lower points, eating into margins."

“They need to do something eye-opening, but nothing is going to have as high a margin as the iPhone,” said Erick Maronak, chief investment officer at Victory Management Inc. Apple’s gross margin could easily shrink to 35 percent"

“If they want to maintain or build market share, they can’t sustain prices that are in the neighborhood of 100 percent higher than rival products”

ENG:

As all we know Apple is slowly losing her leadership due to the constantly increasing competition, and as a confirm of that statement you can easily notice how the Cupertino's firm unveils and launchs "new" products in a shorter temporal distance than a couple of years ago.

Competitors like Samsung, HTC and others, thanks to lower retail prices, are eating up market shares to Apple, that due to premium prices, is unable to reach.

In fact sale volumes of the Iphone, that alone accounts for the 56% of revenues, are slowing down mostly due to an high retail price added to a no more tech-leadership.

All those factors lead Apple to a drop of 33% in value shares, making the worst performing stock in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index in the period.

Why Apple is struggling so hard?

Here is the catch: competition and it's best ability to cut costs and prices is slowly but constantly eroding Apple's margins.

Apple's margins are falling back to levels not seen since sales took off after the 2007, due to the inability to launch a new product game-changer like the eldest Iphone, and the "constriction" to low retail prices in order to defend market's positions.

" The latest quarter’s drop in gross margin to 39 percent from 45 percent a year earlier was caused by the introduction of the iPad mini, other products with higher costs and price cuts for existing products. Unless Chief Executive OfficerTim Cook unveils a revolutionary new gadget with premium pricing, Apple shares will remain under pressure."

If you are an Apple's fan don't worry, there are rumors that affirm that it will be probably launched a new watch (yep you have read well) that also makes phone calls, accesses the Web and provides location- tracking services, and it will be sold at circa 200$ each generating a  margin of about 50%( that’s about twice the margin Apple might earn by making a TV or selling an inexpensive phone for less-affluent shoppers).

Analysts say that if Apple doesn't do something real in a short time, at the end of the year her margins could easily shrink to 35%.

Tim, seriously, don't let competitors eat your succulent Apple...

ITA:

Come tutti ben sappiamo, Apple sta lentamente perdendo la sua leadership a causa di una concorrenza in costante aumento, e a conferma di tale affermazione può essere notato come la società di Cupertino sveli e lanci "nuovi" prodotti in una distanza temporale più breve rispetto ad un paio di anni fa.

Concorrenti come Samsung, HTC e altri, grazie alla riduzione di prezzi di vendita al dettaglio, stanno sottraendo quote di mercato ad Apple, che a causa di prezzi più elevati, non è in grado di raggiungere e soddisfare.

Infatti i volumi di vendita dell' Iphone, che da solo rappresenta il 56% dei ricavi, stanno rallentando per lo più a causa di un  prezzo al dettaglio elevato abbinato  ad una non più leadership tecnologica.

Tutti questi fattori portano Apple ad un calo del 33% in termini di valore azionario, marcando  la peggiore performance nel periodo delle società dell'indice Standard & Poor 500.

Perché Apple sta operando così faticosamente?

Ecco il punto: la concorrenza e la sua migliore capacità di tagliare i costi e prezzi sta lentamente ma costantemente divorando ed erodendo i margini di Apple.

I margini di Apple sono in calo e su livelli che non si vedevano sin dal debutto dell'Iphone nel "lontano" 2007, in quanto a causa dell' incapacità di lanciare un nuovo prodotto davvero game-changer, come il primo Iphone, la società di Cupertino è "costretta" ad applicare prezzi al dettaglio "bassi" al fine di difendere le posizioni di mercato.

"Nell'ultimo trimestre il margine lordo è sceso al 39 per cento dal 45 per cento di un anno prima a causa sia dell'introduzione dell' iPad mini e di altri prodotti, che hanno dato vita ad  un incremento dei costi, e sia alla riduzione dei prezzi per i prodotti esistenti. A meno che il buon Ceo Tim Cook non sveli un  nuovo e rivoluzionario gadget con prezzi premium, le azioni di Apple rimarranno sotto pressione ".

Se sei un fan di Apple non ti preoccupare, ci sono voci che affermano che sarà lanciato molto probabilmente un nuovo orologio (sì avete letto bene), capace anche di effettuare chiamate, accedere al Web e fornire la posizione di localizzazione GPS, che  sarà venduto a circa 200 $, generando un margine di circa il 50%/pezzo (che è circa il doppio del margine che Apple potrebbe guadagnare fproducendo una TV o vendendo un telefono economico per gli acquirenti meno abbienti).

Gli analisti dicono che se Apple non faccia qualcosa di reale e concreto in breve tempo, alla fine dell'esercizio i suoi margini potrebbero facilmente ridursi fino al 35%, e così anche il valore dei titoli azionari.

Tim, sul serio, non lasciare che i concorrenti si mangino la tua mela succulenta ...

Bloomberg's article here

Finally we are back online!

As you all can see Upadate Yourself is back online and ready to supply new articles and interesting stories from all over the world! What you have to do is just stay tuned and wait till the next post!