Recode.net : Apple was absent from CES, in a worse-than-usual way

Apple was absent from CES, in a worse-than-usual way
It's never on the show floor, but usually Apple is a big part of the conversation.

Apple doesn’t normally have a booth or events at CES, but this year its absence went further.
Normally, Apple manages to be a big part of the conversation even without setting foot in Las Vegas. And while CES is never the place for new iPhones, iPads or Macs, it is often the place for cool products that connect to those devices.
This year, though, it wasn’t Apple that everyone was rushing to connect with. If there was a hot platform, it was Amazon’s Alexa, with many CES products either building in the Amazon voice assistant or adding their own capabilities to her skill set.
There were some new products for Apple’s HomeKit, but they were comparatively few and far between.
And though Apple itself doesn’t have a booth, there is a whole section of the North Hall of the convention center that is devoted to the companies that make Apple add-ons.
The large iProducts section of the convention hall boasted the usual array of cases and chargers, but not a lot that was really new or exciting. Perhaps the biggest area of innovation was around trying to replace all the ports Apple took away on its latest MacBook Pro.
If there was any good news for Apple, it was that there really weren’t a lot of killer products from any of its major rivals.
The tablet space seems to be on a years-long innovation hiatus, while most of the new phones at CES were niche products from bit players. (This year’s real phone competition kicks off with the new phones to be announced at next month’s Mobile World Congress).
The Apple product that got the most competition at CES was the Mac. While Apple has been slow to update its computer line, especially its desktops, there has been rapid innovation on the Windows side.
Dell took one of its most popular laptops, the XPS 13, and made it into a laptop-tablet convertible. Dell also introduced a giant new touchscreen designed to offer some of the capabilities of Microsoft’s Surface Studio for the rest of the Windows 10 ecosystem.
Meanwhile, Qualcomm introduced the Snapdragon 835, which, in addition to powering many of this year’s upcoming smartphones, will also be the chip at the heart of a new wave of power-efficient Windows PCs that come out later this year.
The ball is back in Apple’s court, especially on the Mac side, to follow through on Tim Cook’s year-end promise that more great desktops are on the way.

>>> Engie will not take over Suez, future acquisition not ruled out (translated)

Engie will not take over Suez, future acquisition not ruled out (translated)

French energy company Engie [EPA:ENGI] will not take over utilities group Suez [EPA:SEV], reported Belgian daily De Tijd based on a quote by Engie CEO Isabelle Kocher. The quote was a reaction to rumors that Engie would buy the shares of Suez which it doesn't yet own.
Suez, formerly known as Suez Environnement, was until 2008 a subsidiary of Engie, at that time named GDF Suez. According to the report, however, Kocher did not rule out a future takeover.

>>> Weekly Performance

Weekly Market Update: Dollar Rally Stalls, DJIA Falls Short of 20K

After a slow start to the New Year, the stock market closed the week on an up-note, with NASDAQ and S&P posting new highs; the DJIA was flirting with the 20,000 barrier again. Investor sentiment over the past week saw a stark change from how the year closed 2016. The markets saw some unwinding of the post-election reflation trade mid-week as buying bonds became popular again, pressuring Treasury yields and the greenback. Big retailers like Macy's and Kohl's revealed holiday season results fell short of expectations, but large-cap tech stocks found renewed favor, with FANG stocks leading the NASDAQ to fresh highs. For the week, the Dow gained 1%, the S&P climbed 1.7% and the Nasdaq rose 2.6%.

The US dollar retreated from 14-year highs against most major currencies, as profit-taking and concerns on the pace of Fed hikes prompted traders to close long-dollar positions. Friday's non-farm payrolls came in at a healthy 156k, although less than expected, which helped the US dollar get back on course, sending it to higher levels for the day. The data also propelled the US stock market higher on the back of solid improvement in wages, but US Treasuries ended the week lower on concerns the salary data could spark faster inflation gains. The 10-Year Notes yield was up by 7bps at 2.42%.

China took steps to protect its currency from further devaluation -- simply mentioning the possibility of market intervention was enough to send the Yuan higher by 2.5% over two days. There was talk of the government having plans to obligate State Owned Enterprises to buy yuan to prop up the currency. In Mexico, the central bank actively intervened in defense of the peso, as the local currency reached new all-time lows against the US dollar. The central bank sold over $1 billion to dampen the effects on the peso following President-elect Trump's comments cautioning auto manufacturers from building plants in Mexico.

>>> Barrons weekend update: positive on KKR, EXPE

Barrons weekend update: positive on KKR, EXPE 
* Cover story: Barron's looks at funds that had a rough time in 2015, fared better in 2016, and are likely to continue to outperform as market conditions grow more favorable for active managers (Positive on PNEAX, DFLVX, DODGX, GOODX, SSHFX, PRFDX, VUVLX); Returns for index investing could underwhelm in the near future, while value managers should benefit. 
* Features: 1) Positive on KKR: Investors need to reconsider their take on the private equity firm, which may be hard to understand but which could benefit greatly from Donald Trump's proposed tax reductions; Positive on EXPE: Shares haven't risen too much during the past year and a half, but they have a 25% upside as the hotel sector improves and company's acquisitions pay off. Tech Trader: As smartphone sales slow, the tech industry increasingly sees automobiles as the next big opportunity; Developing smarter cars is likely to give tech firms a boost, especially incumbent auto-chip suppliers such as NXPI and NVDA. 
* Trader: JPM head of U.S. equity strategy Dubravko Lakos-Bujas says the rally in the S&P 500 has boosted its valuation to 17.1 times earnings, a sign investors are betting on better earnings in the months ahead; Cautious on M, KSS, JWN, ASNA, UA: Americans haven't slowed down their shopping, but they've moving from department stores to online retailers such as AMZN; Under the Trump administration, Japanese automakers could face risks, says Alain Bokobza of Societe Generale, while Jeffrey Miller of Eight Bridges Capital Management says it will be hard to figure out how to play the winners. 
* Small Caps: The column looks back on its hits (ESL, CFX, SBCF, HCHC, CUB) and misses (HMHC, RELY, JLL, PDCO, EPC) from 2016. 
* Mutual Fund Quarterly: 1) Morningstar analyst John Rekenthaler discusses how to invest in the Trump era and provides advice about the mutual fund industry, Dodd-Frank, fees, and the fiduciary rule; 2) Chris Davis of Davis Advisors hope the launch of three new actively managed exchange traded funds will prove such funds can succeed despite the daily transparency required by regulators; 3) Eleven mutual funds have survived since the crash of 1929, four of which are lesser-known than their bigger peers but continue to offer respectable performance, high payouts, and big discounts (Positive on ADX, CET, GAM, TY); 4) JNS, the poster child for active management, has been getting into the ETF sector, an inexpensive move but one which probably won't boost the firm's bottom line by much; 5) "U.S. mutual funds enjoyed a strong fourth quarter, helped by an increasingly bullish outlook for the domestic economy-causing many small-company, value, and financial portfolios to shine. 
* Follow-Up: Cautious on BKS: Following a weak holiday season, company faces a challenge stabilizing its book business amid a tough retail sector and an ongoing threat from AMZN-but a low valuation and 5.5% yield are attractive; Cautious on UPS: "The shipping company's shares look to have peaked for now, given growth strains and likely protectionist measures." 
* European Trader: Positive on CS: The Swiss bank "has struggled to restructure its business and address costly legacy issues in recent years," but investors seem to believe its on the right path, and shares could gain as much as 13%. 
* Asian Trader: Cautious on AirAsia: Southeast Asian budget carrier performed well in 2016, but a decline in Malaysia's currency coupled with the absence of growth catalysts could send shares down by 20%. 
* Emerging Markets: Experienced stockpickers are the best alternative for fund investors seeking value and portfolio diversification in markets such as Pakistan, Nigeria, and Kuwait. 
* Commodities: The natural-gas rally probably isn't over, because colder winter temperatures are still possible, making the recent price drop temporary; investors may want to consider ETFs to play the sector. 
* Streetwise: Vanguard chief executive Bill McNabb says investors need to prepare for uncertainty, save more, safeguard assets, and stay well-informed.

Reuters - Automakers, suppliers team up to share costs of self-driving cars

Automakers, suppliers team up to share costs of self-driving cars


Automotive suppliers and automakers are expanding alliances to develop self-driving car technology that can serve multiple automakers, as the race to put such vehicles on the road separates companies that can go it alone from those that need help sharing the financial and technical burdens.
While some companies, such as Tesla Motors (TSLA.O), General Motors (GM.N) and Ford Motor (F.N), are trying to develop proprietary driverless systems, a larger group of automakers appears to have decided it makes more sense to develop self-driving technology in collaboration with suppliers – as many other features such as anti-lock brakes or radar-enabled cruise control already are.
"What's going on in the industry right now is like a hyper version of musical chairs - and the music is still playing," said Gill Pratt, chief executive officer of Toyota Research Institute. "Everyone is changing partners."
Several suppliers - notably Mobileye (MBLY.N), Nvidia (NVDA.O) and Delphi Automotive (DLPH.N) - are among the more popular technology partners in the self-driving race, with multiple alliances around the globe.
"If you want to build a truly autonomous car, this is a task for more than one player," said Amnon Shashua, chief executive of Mobileye, an Israeli-based supplier of mapping and vision-based sensing systems.
"The technological challenges are immense," Shashua told Reuters. "I would compare it to sending a man to the moon."
Mobileye supplies cameras, chips and software for driver assist systems - the building blocks for self-driving cars - to more than two dozen manufacturers around the globe. The company was an early supplier of vision systems to Tesla, but the two companies had an acrimonious and public breakup last summer after the driver of a Tesla Model S was killed while operating his vehicle using Tesla's Autopilot system.
Since the break with Tesla, Mobileye has secured two critical partnerships to develop self-driving systems: With German automaker BMW (BMWG.DE) and U.S. chipmaker Intel (INTC.O), and with longtime supplier Delphi (DLPH.N).
The Delphi-Mobileye alliance involves a turn-key system that the partners plan to offer to smaller automakers that lack the resources to develop such systems on their own. It will be ready for production by 2019, said Jeff Owens, Delphi's chief technology officer, with a projected wholesale cost of about $8,000.
The alliance with BMW and Intel is expected to draw additional vehicle manufacturers and suppliers, according to Elmar Frickenstein, BMW's senior vice president for automated driving.
"We would like to create a standard system for everybody to use by 2021," Frickenstein said. "That would share the costs and speed up the process of development and adoption."
Eventually, BMW and its partners could offer self-driving hardware and software sets or an entire driverless system on a non-exclusive basis to companies ranging from Uber [UBER.UL] to Google (GOOGL.O), Frickenstein said.
A blueprint for collaboration is BMW's joint ownership with Daimler AG (DAIGn.DE) and Volkswagen AG's (VOWG_p.DE) Audi of Here, the mapping company acquired in late 2015 from Nokia (NOKIA.HE). Since then, both Intel and Mobileye have teamed with Here to pool and share data.
Chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA.O) also is ramping up its partnerships in self-driving technology and systems, this week announcing deals with Audi and Here, as well as German suppliers ZF [ZFF.UL] and Bosch [ROBG.UL].
"We're not looking to develop a proprietary system," said Dirk Hoheisel, the member of Bosch's board of management who oversees autonomous driving. "We want to work with others to develop a standard platform and open standards for self-driving systems, especially around data and mapping."

While pursuing similar partnerships with suppliers, Audi sees its role as a vehicle manufacturer evolving to that of systems integrator.
"There's not one supplier out there who can provide the whole solution - no one who knows everything, every part of what's needed to make an autonomous car," said Alejandro Vukotich, Audi's head of development for driver assistance systems.
Some key components of self-driving systems - cybersecurity, for instance - should remain the responsibility of vehicle manufacturers, said Guillaume Devauchelle, head of innovation and scientific development at French supplier Valeo (VLOF.PA).
But carmakers also will continue to rely on suppliers to provide specific self-driving technologies, he said.
"There will be a mix because it's quite a complex system (with) sensing, data fusion, artificial intelligence, connectivity, man-machine interface and so on," Devauchelle said. "Those are big blocks."