05-21-2017, 07:20 AM
The Accenture report looked at 12 countries and found that AI — or technology that senses the environment, comprehends what's happening and takes action — could increase productivity by up to 40 percent in 2035. The report also forecasts economic growth in the U.S. could increase from 2.6 percent to 4.6 percent over the same period with the adoption of AI technologies. Among the countries that stand to make the largest gains in productivity from AI in 2035 are Sweden, Finland, the U.S. and Japan.
Artificial intelligence will boost US productivity, says report
Billionaire investor George Soros has upped what so far has been a losing bet on the U.S. stock market, according to recent filings. The hedge fund manager and active supporter of progressive causes added bearish options plays to his portfolio during the first quarter.
George Soros has added to his losing bets against the stock market
The iShares PHLX Semiconductor ETF has soared 67 percent in the past 52 weeks, a growth rate that Niles says is unsustainable. "If you look at semiconductors — which is where I have the real problem — the semiconductor index in 2016 was up 37 percent. The revenue growth was 2 percent. This year, the semiconductor index is up 18 percent, and the revenue growth is maybe 5 percent," said Niles. The three best performing stocks in the S&P 500 over the last year are all semiconductor companies. Shares of NVIDIA, Advanced Micro Devices and Micron are all up nearly 200% or more in that period.
A correction is long overdue, tech investor Dan Niles says
His leading indicator: A tightening labor market that is driving up wages. "This economy is really based on consumption, so it puts more money in the hands of consumers," he said, thus giving a boost to U.S. companies selling products and services. Zidle referred to Commerce Department data showing the number of people voluntarily leaving their jobs, relative to the amount of people getting fired. "More and more people are quitting their jobs right now," he observed. "In the law of large numbers, the only reason why people quit their jobs in big numbers is because they have something better lined up and something that pays more." The scenario could help drive inflation to three to four percent, a number that's considered a sweet spot for companies' profits, explains Zidle. "If we do start to see this inflation, I think it's very good for cyclicals because they have pricing powers — your energy, materials, tech, financials, small companies. I think it's very, very good for them," he said.
Inflation could be the market's biggest upside surprise of the year
On Thursday morning, Alibaba reported March quarter (fiscal fourth quarter) revenue of RMB38.6 billion (up 60%, equal to $5.61 billion) and adjusted EPS of RMB4.35 (up 45%, equal to $0.63). The former beat a $5.24 billion consensus analyst estimate, but the latter missed a $0.65 consensus. Alibaba also announced a new $6 billion stock buyback authorization, after having repurchased $2 billion worth of shares (mostly from top investor SoftBank) in fiscal 2017. Shares finished fractionally up on Thursday, after having risen 37% in 2017 going into earnings.