Month: August 2017

India told investors to calm down with bonds, but overseas buyers haven’t listened

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Indian capital controls are proving deeply insufficient as overseas investors continue to snap up corporate bonds in the country. That exuberant demand is undermining the government’s attempts at financial stability.

India currently caps total foreign investments into corporate bonds at 2.44 trillion Indian rupees ($38.1 billion). When overseas buying crossed 92 percent of that quota in July, the government suspended the issuance of offshore rupee-denominated bonds until foreign holding falls back below that level.

Instead of slowing down, buying enthusiasm gained more momentum: foreign ownership of Indian corporate bonds pushed past 96 percent of the allowed cap and has stayed above 99 percent for most of the last one month, according to data by the country’s National Securities Depository Limited.

And there are no signs of stopping, given how bonds from Asia’s third-largest economy provide some of the highest returns in today’s investment climate, fund managers said.

India has frequently been cited as an attractive emerging market for investments in both the debt and equity space by money managers such as BlackRock and Citi Private Bank.

“Yes, there is still a case for adding Indian bonds,” Wontae Kim, research analyst at Western Asset Management, told CNBC in an email. “India offers a mix of relatively high yields, a firm political mandate, improving fundamentals and FX stability that few markets can.”

The average fixed coupon rate of Indian corporate debt issued from January to July 2017 is at 7.27 percent, according to data provided by Dealogic. That is lower than Indonesia’s 9.16 percent, but it exceeds other emerging markets such as Mexico, Brazil and Malaysia.

That hunt for yield have led to net foreign investment inflows of 1.13 trillion rupees ($17.65 billion) into the Indian debt space from January to July 2017, compared with a net outflow of 47.24 billion rupees a year ago, data by India’s National Securities Depository Limited showed.

India’s central bank in a tough spot?

Coupled with an increase also seen in the equity markets, the surge in total capital inflows into India sent the rupee appreciating by 5.8 percent in the first seven months of the year and is complicating the Reserve Bank of India’s task of managing its monetary policy, analysts said.

The central bank has chosen to intervene in the currency markets to ensure that the rupee does not rise to an unsustainable level. As a result of the government soaking up excess liquidity in its financial system, India’s foreign reserves hit an all-time high of $393 billion in August.

“Rising reserves build a buffer against external volatility … However, a downside of this build-up is the associated costs and weak returns in the midst of soft global yields,” DBS economist Radhika Rao wrote in a Tuesday note.

The continued climb in foreign inflows into India also left investors wondering whether the central bank has other tricks up its sleeve as it maintains economic progress in a country that is also battling softer-than-expected inflation and rising levels of bad debt in the banking system.

“In the context of managing this challenge, investors have asked if the RBI will cut policy rates and lower real rates to prevent further currency appreciation. But we think this is unlikely,” Morgan Stanley analysts wrote in a note.

“RBI monetary policy will only take into account the impact of currency appreciation on inflation into its policy decision, rather than tackling currency appreciation per se … (But) as the excess liquidity challenge looks set to persist, the RBI will need more tools,” they added.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Tesla Model X beats Lamborghini and sets new record in drag race

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Robert Ferris
CNBC

Two top-shelf Tesla cars both beat a Lamborghini Aventador, continuing to prove the technical advantages of high-end electric motors in acceleration.

A Tesla Model X and Model S, both P100D models with Ludicrous, edged out the Lamborghini in a quarter-mile drag race held by Brooks Weisblat of Drag Times at the Palm Beach International Raceway.

The Model X ended up setting a record time for a sport utility vehicle, according to the video.

Watch | Tesla Model X P100D Ludicrous sets World Record vs Lamborghini Aventador SV Drag Racing 1/4 Mile

Electric motors are known for being able to accelerate quickly due to the availability of instant torque. Teslas are especially quick, particularly when the driver engages Ludicrous mode, which is a kind of high-performance setting that pushes both cars from zero to 60 in under three seconds.

It is important to point out that internal combustion engines in some high-end cars can outperform Teslas at high speeds.

It is also worth noting the Tesla costs $165,000, compared with $530,000 for the Aventador, Drag Times said.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Samsung Bixby expands to over 200 countries in battle with Amazon Alexa, Apple Siri

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Arjun Kharpal
CNBC

Samsung expanded its digital personal assistant Bixby to over 200 countries and territories globally on Tuesday, as it looks to step up its challenge to rival products like Amazon Alexa and Apple Siri.

Bixby was unveiled earlier this year when Samsung introduced its flagship Galaxy S8 smartphone. It was initially available in South Korea, then the US.

Now the electronics giant is rolling Bixby out to new regions including the UK, Australia, Canada and South Africa.

Bixby currently recognizes U.S. English and Korean.

A button on the side of the Galaxy S8 allows Bixby to be activated. Users can ask Bixby to carry out tasks such as searching through a photo album, or send a picture that has just been taken to a contact.

“The expansion of Bixby’s voice capabilities is an initial step in the continued rollout of Bixby functionality. In the future, Bixby will have the learning power to offer more intelligent and personalized interactions and seamless connections across more devices,” Injong Rhee, an executive vice president at Samsung, said in a press release.

Bixby is Samsung’s answer to rivals such as Apple’s Siri, Google Assistant, and Amazon Alexa.

Samsung has promised further features for its smart assistant such as Bixby Vision, which will allow users to point their phone camera at an object and get relevant information.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Elon Musk joins more than 100 tech bosses calling for ban on killer robots

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Asia subdued following Bannon departure as US-South Korea military drills begin

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Asia markets were subdued in early Monday trade as investors digested political developments in Washington while US-South Korea joint military drills kicked off.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 slid 0.12 percent as gains in oil stocks was offset by softness in most automakers and technology names. Across the Korean strait, the Kospi was off 0.07 percent in early trade.

Down Under, the S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.60 percent, with weakness in the health care and utilities sub-indexes leading losses. The heavily-weighted financials sub-index traded lower by 0.76 percent.

Steve Bannon on Friday became the latest high-ranking official to leave the White House when he vacated the role of President Donald Trump’s chief strategist.
Media reports said Bannon’s resignation had been submitted earlier in August, but its announcement had been pushed back due to violence from a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

While the ouster resulted in a positive reaction in risk assets — major U.S. indexes had fallen sharply last Thursday on rumors that National Economic Council
Director Gary Cohn could leave — it will only have a short-lived impact on markets, one expert said.

“From a market perspective … Bannon’s departure doesn’t change Trump’s strong views on immigration, border security and trade protection,” National
Australia Bank currency strategist Rodrigo Catril said in a Monday note.

On Wall Street, stocks closed above session lows on Friday after news of Bannon’s departure, with the Dow Jones industrial average declining 0.35 percent, or 76.22 points, to close at 21,674.51.

The Trump administration has had a choppy past few weeks, which culminated in the disbanding of two advisory councils comprised of top business executives. Several business leaders from those bodies had resigned before the official dissolution due to the president’s response to Charlottesville.

Back in Asia, markets also kept an eye on joint US-South Korea military exercises that will take place from August 21 to Aug. 31. The military drills come on the back of a ramp up in geopolitical tensions earlier this month after a heated exchange of rhetoric between Trump and Pyongyang.

In corporate news, there’s interest in telecommunications operator China Unicom, which last week announced plans to raise almost USD 12 billion in funds as part of mixed ownership reform plans. Shares of the company’s Hong Kong and Shanghai-listed units remained halted from trade as of last Friday and Reuters reports have highlighted confusion over details of one investor, rail construction company CRRC, mentioned in the telco’s plans.

On the earnings front, Australia’s Fortescue Metals Group said Monday that net profit rose 113 percent to USD 2.09 billion for the year ended June 30, 2017.
Fortescue shares jumped 4 percent in early trade after the miner announced a larger dividend than expected.

Other market movers included Australian steel company Bluescope, which saw its stock tumble 16.94 percent after the company highlighted a weaker outlook for earnings due to competition and lower US margins.

Oil prices were mostly unchanged after rising more than 3 percent on Friday on weakness in the dollar and a drop in US oil rigs. Global benchmark Brent crude futures were flat at USD 52.72 a barrel and US crude inched higher by 0.06 percent to trade at USD 48.54.

In currencies, the dollar index, which measures the US currency against a basket of currencies, stood at 93.473 at 8:05 a.m. HK/SIN. Against the yen, the greenback edged up to fetch 109.27 yen compared to levels around 109.17 seen last Friday, but it remained below the 110 handle seen at the beginning of last week.

Here’s the economic calendar for today (all times in HK/SIN):

10:30 a.m.: Thailand second-quarter GDP
4:00 p.m.: Taiwan second-quarter export orders

The board of governors of Bank Indonesia, the country’s central bank, will also begin its monthly two-day meeting Monday.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

This start-up aims to replace 40,000 worth of man hours with one click

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Lora Kolodny
CNBC

Given a Cambrian explosion of digital data over the last decade, businesses are struggling to make sense of all the information in their possession and turn it into something comprehensible. On Thursday, a search start-up called ThoughtSpot revealed a new product called SpotIQ to automate that task.

SpotIQ employs artificial intelligence to create hundreds of insights from data in a company’s cloud or on-premise storage systems. These include charts that are tailored to the interests of a particular worker, team or executive.

Normally, this work would take days and involve teams of business analysts, data scientists and graphic designers, said ThoughtSpot CEO Ajeet Singh. His company claims it can now do a job that would take 40,000 man hours in a single click, once its software is set up.

Singh, who previously co-founded cloud computing company Nutanix, describes SpotIQ as something like Amazon recommendations for business intelligence. Customers who have been piloting the system already were able to rapidly identify anomalies in their business operations, and find easy ways to either save money, or increase the speed of delivery of goods, he said.

Corporations that use ThoughtSpot already include Bed Bath & Beyond, Capital One, Celebrity Cruises, DeBeers and Scotiabank among others.

Earlier this year, ThoughtSpot raised $60 million in new venture funding from LightSpeed Venture Partners and Capital One Growth Ventures, bringing its total capital raised to about $160 million in funding to date.

Singh said that money will go toward ongoing research and development, hiring, and international expansion. All ThoughtSpot users will have access to SpotIQ by the end of September. The company will not charge its users for the new feature.

ThoughSpot is competing against the likes of Microsoft Power BI and Tableau software for a piece of the massive big data and business analytics market. According to research from International Data Corp., worldwide revenue for big data and business analytics will surpass $203 billion by 2020.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

White House jitters and Barcelona terror attack weigh on Asian shares; Nikkei falls 1.3%

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Asia markets were pressured in early Friday trade after investors on Wall Street sold off on growing uncertainty over the Trump administration’s ability to follow through on its economic policies.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.31 percent as risk off trade from the US session followed through into the Asian trading day. Across the Korean strait, the Kospi declined 0.81 percent.

Meanwhile, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 tumbled 1.10 percent, driven by broad-based losses across all sub-indexes barring the health care sector. The heavily-weighted financials sub-index recorded a 1.59 percent fall.

Doubts over President Donald Trump’s ability to carry out proposed economic policies grew in the US following rumors that National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn would be the next key member to resign from the administration. The rumor was later refuted by the White House.

The latest political developments took place after Trump on Wednesday disbanded two advisory councils comprising high level business executives. Several members of those councils had resigned over the president’s response to violence at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Despite the backlash following his earlier comments, Trump on Thursday said in a series of tweets that efforts to remove Confederate monuments in the US were sad for the “history and culture of our great country.”

Indexes on Wall Street closed lower Thursday on dampened investor sentiment, with the Dow Jones industrial average posting its largest one-day fall in three months.

Markets also kept an eye on news of a terror attack which involved a van driving into crowds near a popular tourist destination in Barcelona, Spain, on Thursday. At least 13 were killed in the attack, which also injured more than 100 others.

Police in Spain also said on Friday that they had killed perpetrators of a “possible terrorist attack” in Cambrils, a town south of Barcelona.

In Asia, market movers during the session could include Wynn Macau. The Hong Kong-listed subsidiary of Wynn resorts reported a profit of HKUSD 1.59 billion (USD 203.47 million) for the first half of the year, above the HKUSD 1.1 billion recorded for the same period a year ago.

In other corporate news, China Unicom said shares of the company traded in Shanghai and Hong Kong would remain suspended due to a lack of details over a fundraising deal, Reuters reported. The state-owned telecommunications group had earlier announced it was raising around USD 11.7 billion from investors, including Tencent and Alibaba, as part of mixed ownership reform.

In currencies, the dollar edged up against a basket of currencies in the overnight session after earlier falling on rumors about resignations from the Trump administration. The dollar index stood at 93.772 at 8:04 a.m. HK/SIN. Still, the dollar index remained below a mid-week high of around 94.145, according to Reuters data.

“The fact that the dollar has struggled to recapture its gains after the news faded highlights the ongoing turmoil for an administration that has been too distracted by external factors to focus on fiscal stimulus,” said BK Asset Management Managing Director of FX Strategy Kathy Lien in a Friday morning note.

However, the US currency remained subdued against the yen, with the greenback last fetching 109.39 yen, compared to levels around the 110 handle seen mid-week.

Meanwhile, the euro softened as traders digested minutes from the European Central Bank released Thursday about a potential overshoot in the common currency. The euro last stood at USD 1.1715, which was below the USD 1.180 handle seen at the beginning of the week.

Oil prices paused after gaining more than one percent overnight on a potential decline in oil inventories in the US Global benchmark Brent crude shed 0.35 percent to trade at USD 50.85 a barrel and US crude slid 0.30 percent to trade at USD 46.95.

Here’s the economic calendar for today (all times in HK/SIN):

9:30 a.m.: China July house price index
12:00 p.m.: Malaysia second-quarter GDP
4:30 p.m.: Taiwan second-quarter GDP

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Forget North Korea – here’s the other Asia flashpoint that has analysts worried

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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While the world has focused on North Korea, the globe’s two biggest emerging economies are squaring off over their shared border.

China and India’s borderlands, though geographically desolate and inhospitable, have been a hot spot for increasing military tension in recent months. The two giants are wrestling more broadly for hegemony in Asia, and given that both are equipped with nuclear weapons, the situation could escalate.

“Both sides stand to lose tremendously, economically speaking, should this boil over into an actual war,” wrote Asia analysts Shailesh Kumar and Kelsey Broderick at consulting firm Eurasia Group.

For Gareth Price, senior research fellow on the Asia program at Chatham House, the dispute reflects how China and India posits themselves within the pecking order in Asia. “China (wants) to be primary hegemonic power,” in the region, he said, but India challenges this and “wants to be treated as an equal.”

A mountain tussle, and massing troops

Reuters reported Tuesday that Chinese and Indians troops were involved in a tussle in the western Himalayas. Sources in New Delhi told Reuters that Chinese soldiers attempted to enter Indian territory in Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir state.

But armed forces have been locked in a stand-off on their border further east since June of this year, on a plateau known as Donglang in China and Doklam in India. Both countries have amassed troops in the area following a disagreement over the Chinese building a road in territory disputed between itself and Indian ally Bhutan.

The most recent standoff came just ahead of India’s 70th anniversary Tuesday since it gained independence from the British. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a speech marking the occasion in New Delhi, said that India was “strong enough to overcome those who try to act against our country.”

India has been uncomfortable with China’s expansion in Asia. Price spoke of “India’s vociferous objection to the Belt and Road initiative,” China’s infrastructure development program spanning across the continent and further around the globe.

‘India must not flirt with disaster’

In an editorial entitled “India must not flirt with disaster,” published August 8, Chinese state news platform Xinhua said that India’s involvement in the Doklam area was “an offense to China’s sovereignty.”

Ultimately for Broderick and Kumar, “The headline risk, at the moment, is greater than the actual risk of war.”

A conflict would stem the foreign investment that’s critical for India, whereas Chinese President Xi Jinping “has already consolidated enough power that he doesn’t need to beat his chest in an external conflict to further his domestic goals.”

Alyssa Ayres, senior fellow for India at the Council on Foreign Relations, said that the ongoing border dispute is a “conflict that China has created.” She added that strategically, the “Chinese military has more to lose” and should the conflict move against its favor, this would mean “a very embarrassing loss of face.”

Both China and India are juggling other foreign policy headaches, with China playing a seminal role in the North Korea nuclear stand-off and accused of aggravating its smaller neighbors over South China Sea islands; while India has been locked into a territorial dispute with Pakistan over Kashmir for many years. China and India last directly clashed over their border in 1962, with the latter country ceding some territory.

Regardless of the potential for conflict, “China’s biggest foreign policy concern is making a success of Belt and Road,” Price said. Broderick and Kumar said that China’s North Korea and South China Sea concerns take precedent because they “include multiple actors and the domestic economy.”

But they added that China’s firm grip on the situation was important, given its upcoming 19th Party Congress this autumn.

Broderick and Kumar also pointed out that Indian voters are more concerned with existential threats from Pakistan, rather than China.

Ultimately with regard to the potential for outright conflict, according to Price, “All logic says it won’t happen.”

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Fed minutes: Central bank split over path of rate hikes

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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A fissure appears to be developing at the Federal Reserve over when to raise interest rates: One side is preaching caution in a low-inflation environment while another worries over the price of delaying.

The divide appeared in minutes released from the Federal Open Market Committee’s July meeting, when central bank policymakers voted to hold the target rate to a range of 1 percent to 1.25 percent. The summary portrays views that inflation ultimately will get to the Fed’s 2 percent target but is clearly not there yet.

“Some participants” who counseled patience expressed “concern about the recent decline in inflation” and said the Fed “could afford to be patient under current circumstances.” They “argued against additional adjustments” until the central bank was sure that inflation was on track.

On the other side, more hawkish members “worried about risks arising from a labor market that had already reached full employment and was projected to tighten further.” Backing off from a steady diet of rate hikes could cause the Fed to overshoot its employment target and cause financial instability, they said.

However, it’s been inflation where the Fed has continued to miss its target. Chair Janet Yellen’s preferred measure, the core personal consumption expenditures index, most recently showed a 1.5 percent annualized gain. That has raised concerns over why the Fed is hiking when it remains considerably beneath its objectives.

One area that seemed to draw strong consensus was in the plan to reduce the Fed’s $4.5 trillion “balance sheet” of bonds it accrued during three rounds of stimulus that began during the financial crisis.

Members agreed that the process of reducing the balance sheet should begin “relatively soon,” with some members arguing for a more concrete date to be set. Fed watchers largely expect the central bank to announce the roll-off at the September meeting and begin shortly thereafter.

Under the program, the Fed will set a cap for how much of the proceeds it receives will roll off each month, and then continue to reinvest the rest.

The disagreement over how quickly to raise rates comes at a critical time for the U.S. economy. Fed officials largely judge the economy strong enough to withstand gradual hikes and the slow-motion balance sheet roll-off, but some economists worry the Fed has waited too long and risks causing a recession.

In their assessment of the economy, FOMC members gave it largely positive remarks, particularly in the areas of employment and household spending. However, the minutes reflect concern over June’s weak retail sales and the continuing lack of significant wage increases.

Officials also are less optimistic over getting help from fiscal policy. President Donald Trump’s hopes for tax reform and infrastructure spending remain in limbo and had formed the basis for hopes that Washington would begin doing its part to accelerate growth.

“Several participants noted that uncertainty about the course of federal government policy, including in the areas of fiscal policy, trade, and health care, was tending to weigh down firms’ spending and hiring plans,” the minutes said. “In addition, a few participants suggested that the likelihood of near-term enactment of a fiscal stimulus program had declined further or that the fiscal stimulus likely would be smaller than they previously expected.”

The FOMC meets next in September. Traders in the fed funds futures market assign virtually no chance of a rate hike then and about a 50 percent chance of a move before the end of the year.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Google is paying Apple billions per year to remain on the iPhone, Bernstein says

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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By Todd Haselton
CNBC

Google is paying Apple billions of dollars to remain the default search engine on iPhones and iPads, Bernstein said in a note to investors on Monday.

The firm believes that Google will pay Apple about USD 3 billion this year, up from USD 1 billion just three years ago, and that Google’s licensing fees make up a large bulk of Apple’s services business.

Apple has been touting its services business as a quickly growing segment of the company, noting that it expects that branch alone will soon be as large as a Fortune 500 company.

“Court documents indicate that Google paid Apple USD 1 billion in 2014, and we estimate that total Google payments to Apple in FY 17 may approach USD 3 billion,” Bernstein analyst A.M. Sacconaghi Jr. said.

“Given that Google payments are nearly all profit for Apple, Google alone may account for 5 percent of Apple’s total operating profits this year, and may account for 25 percent of total company OP growth over the last two years.”

Bernstein sees pros and cons in the payments.

Sacconaghi said that Google might decide to back away from paying Apple any licensing fees if it feels confident enough that its search engine is so popular Apple won’t include any other option by default.

On the other hand, Sacconaghi said that Apple’s iOS devices contribute about 50 percent to Google’s mobile search revenue, which means Google might be too afraid to walk away from its licensing deal with Apple. In this case, it’s a win-win for Apple and Google.

Bernstein has an outperform rating on Apple with a price target of USD 175.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow