Microsoft And Xiaomi Will Collaborate On Cloud And AI – CWEB.com

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Xiaomi (Private:XI) have signed a “memorandum of understanding” which signals their commitment to cooperate, moving forward, in the areas of cloud computing, AI and other software and services.

Xiaomi Senior Vice President Wang Xiang tweeted about the extension of the companies’ partnership on February 23.

Today’s deal isn’t the first agreement between Microsoft and Xiaomi. In 2016, Xiaomi bought and licensed 1,500 patents from Microsoft. The patents included in the agreement included wireless communications patents including video.

According to Wang Xiang, Xiaomi’s Global Senior Vice President and Head of International Business,  “By collaborating with Microsoft on multiple technology areas, Xiaomi will accelerate our pace to bring more exciting products and services to our users. At the same time, this partnership would allow Microsoft to reach more users around the world who are using Xiaomi products.”

Microsoft will gain presence in the mobile market after the abandonment of Windows Mobile and perhaps a wider acceptance of its Cortana voice assistant.

Microsoft shares are up 1.8% to $93.36.

CWEB Analyst’s have initiated a Buy Rating for  Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT  )  and a Price Target of $150 within 12 months.

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2 Bargain Stocks Groupon And Sears You Can Buy Right Now – CWEB.Com

Groupon (GRPN) is a great tool for consumers, often saving them 40%-50% on meals, afternoons with the kids, daily deals, or weekend trips.

Cash flow was another highlight for Groupon. A full-year operating cash flow was $270.3 million.

Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN) is returning its focus to its Local segment.  Despite slight revenue downturns, Groupon’s focus on gross margin growth is succeeding.

The company repurchased 16,906,334 shares of common stock for about $60M in 2017, and has about $135M still available for share repurchases under the company’s share repurchase program as of December 31, 2017.

Among the other highlights for the quarter, North America active customers reached 32.7M in 2017, an increase of about 200,000.

Company is poised to seize emerging opportunity over the next 5 years.

Customer acquisitions appear to be on track as GRPN focuses on improving user experience and platform quality.

Remain bullish on the stock and continue to consider it to be a key beneficiary for the next Quarter.

Sears (NASDAQ:SHLD) experts are betting that Sears will make it through 2018 without having to resort to a bankruptcy filing by continuing the measures it has used in the past several years, such as monetizing real estate and the new Shop Your Way introduced by hedge-fund-manager chief executive, Eddie Lampert that will compete with Amazon and Walmart.

Sears Holdings (SHLD) released preliminary numbers for Q4.

The company expects revenue of $4.4B during the quarter. EBITDA of -$10M to +$10M is anticipated and net income of $140M to $240M.

Sears reiterates that in order to remain a “viable competitor” in the face of a very challenging retail environment, it’s working to transform to a less asset-intensive business model, with a store footprint and digital capabilities meeting consumer needs and preferences.

Technology will the best performing group this year according also to many analyst.

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Stock Pics From Entertainment Box Office Movie News – CWEB.com

Disney’s (NYSE:DIS)  Black Panther  is expected to generate huge weekend numbers, with some estimates ranging as high as $180M. The Marvel film opened in over 4K theaters. Sony’s (NYSE:SNE)  Peter Rabbit  and Universal’s (NASDAQ:CMCSA)  Fifty Shades Freed  are also in the early part of their runs, while Sony’s  Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle  is expected to rack up another $8M. Next week, Paramount’s (NYSE:VIA)  Annihilation, Orion Pictures’  Every Day  and Warner Bros. (NYSE:TWX)  Game Night  all debut. The U.S. box office is running about 4% behind last year’s pace for first eight weeks of the year, but has picked up recently. Across the industry, the impact of MoviePass (NASDAQ:HMNY) on admissions and concession revenue for AMC Entertainment (NYSE:AMC), Regal Entertainment (NYSE:RGC), Reading International (NASDAQ:RDI), Marcus Corporation (NYSE:MCS) and Cinemark Holdings (NYSE:CNK) is still being gauged.

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Google Breaks Ground On $600 Million Tennessee Data Center And 9 More States – CWEB.com

Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is investing money into 10 states across the country and hiring thousands of new employees, CEO Sundar Pichai will announce in Clarksville, Tennessee.

The Tennessee center is part of a $2.5 billion investment that includes new and expanding data centers in Alabama, Oregon, Virginia and Oklahoma.

CEO Sundar Pichai  described Alphabet’s plans to expand its footprint outside the Bay Area during the company’s Q4 earnings call, but today released new information as to where its new offices and data centers will be located.

The internet giant Google will invest $2.5 billion over the next few years to open or expand data centers in Alabama, Oregon, Tennessee, Virginia and Oklahoma, and is constructing new offices or expanding existing ones in nine states: California, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington.

The company estimates that about  2000 more jobs will be created due to this expansion.

Alphabet’s nearly $70bn in overseas cash will incur a likely tax bill of $10bn.

Google’s stock has increased 41% over the last year and 208% over the last five years, but there’s still room for growth.

CWEB Analyst have initiated a Buy rating (NASDAQ:GOOGL)  and a Price Target of $1800 within 12 months.

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Uber Will Sell Southeast Asia Unit For Exchange In Grab – CWEB.com

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi has focused on redesigning  the company’s reputation and instilling financial discipline to push toward profitability.

Uber’s loss was 61 percent in 2017 to $4.8 billion but the revenue has jumped since.

Partnering with Grab would also play into Softbank’s efforts to consolidate assets.

The Japanese tech giant bought about a 17 percent stake in Uber, mostly buying shares from existing investors.

Uber now has a powerful strategic partner in Softbank, the Japanese telecom giant that is investing hundreds of billions of dollars in technology.

Softbank and other parties will also give Uber $1.30 billion in new investment as part of the transaction.

Uber previously sold its Chinese operations to rival Didi for a 20% stake and merged its Russian business with Yandex for a 37% stake.

The deal isn’t finalized, but sources say making the deal could help Uber minimize costs to prepare for a possible IPO next year.

Investors must decide whether to cash in now or wait until the company goes public.

CWEB Analyst recommend a hold until the IPO comes into effect and the valuation will sky rocket at this point and investors can enjoy a very healthy profit.

Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO) Beats Q2 And Upside Guidance For Q3 – CWEB.com

The company posted a net loss of $8.8B vs. a year ago gain of $2.3B, though those results included an $11.1B charge tied to tax reform ($9B for U.S. transition tax, $1.2B for foreign withholding and $0.9B to remeasure deferred tax assets).

We believe that the stock is still an excellent buy for patient dividend investors looking to gain exposure in the tech sector.

Cisco’s (NASDAQ:CSCO) strong earnings, coupled with solid guidance, and its shift to the more efficient subscription-based model, all bode well for the tech giant’s future.

CWEB Analyst have initiated a Buy Rating for (NASDAQ:CSCO)    and a Price Target of $60 within 12 months.

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