Jumia has been dubbed the "Amazon of Africa" as Africa's largest e-commerce operator, surpassing Amazon and China's Alibaba, and it's the first African tech start-up to go public on the New York Stock Exchange. Investors had high hopes for Jumia when it went public on April 12. Now, Jumia is adjusting to its new international status, and figuring out what that status means for the African continent.
Sacha Poignonnec and Jeremy Hodara, former McKinsey & Company employees, founded the company in 2012. Like Amazon and Alibaba, Jumia allows customers to buy products like cell phones, shoes, and groceries online. Jumia also offers bill paying, food delivery, and cellular data plans.
China Daily, a Chinese state-run news organization, says that Alibaba serviced 4.2 million African customers through its AliExpress services since it entered the continent.
Jumia serviced 4.3 million users and 81,000 active sellers in 14 countries. Amazon is available in 11 countries on the African continent, but neither Amazon nor Alibaba have had the benefit of getting their start in African countries. Jumia, for example, offers unique features like allowing customers to pay for items upon delivery. CNBC video above published Jun 25, 2019.
Jumia is an e-commerce platform for electronics, fashion, and more. It has partnered with more than 81,000 local African companies and individuals and is a direct competitor to Kilimall in Kenya and Konga in Nigeria. Started in 2012 in Lagos, the company currently has a presence across 12 African countries.
Tech Review (TR 2019-06-15)--Domain Mondo's weekly review of tech investing news: Features • 1)Entrepreneurs' Top Tips for Startups Raising Money, 2)Google and Facebook vs. Journalism & Democracy,3)Investing: The Week & Investor Notes: Why Trump Will Win The Trade Wars,4)ICYMI Tech News:Huawei, AT&T, Verizon, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Salesforce,and more. 1)Entrepreneurs' Top Tips for Startups Raising Money
Top entrepreneurs offer advice on how to raise money and spend it wisely. Financial Times (ft.com) video above published Jun 7, 2019.
2) Google and Facebook vs. Journalism & Democracy
Facebook and Google control 60% of the online ad market, and why that's bad for journalism and democracy, according to this CNN Business video published Jun 7, 2019.
3)Investing
The Week: NASDAQ Composite+0.7% | S&P 500 Index+0.5% | DJIA+0.4%*The major indexes are still showing strong gains for June — the Dow is up 5.1% and the S&P 500 is up 4.9%.
• Editor's note: Why Trump Will Win The Trade Wars: US exports make up only 12% of theUS economy, of which nearly a thirdgo to Canada and Mexico, with which Trump has already made trade deals (USMCA). In addition, many of the most valuable US exports are 'must-have' items such as Qualcomm chips. In short, Trump is playing with a much stronger hand (and he knows it), than China or Germany, the world's two largest exporters, both ofwhich are heavy net exporters to the U.S., and upon which their economies are more dependent.Trump doesn't need to bluff, 'everyone in the game' knows he is holding the better hand (unless they are delusional or in a state of denial). China may still be trying to adjust to the culture shock of Trump's 'negotiating style' but the 'cold hard truth' is China’s Likely to Lose a Tech Cold War--bloomberg.com. Germany, the world's second largest exporter, and dominant member of the EU, is actually a more complicated situation than China, with Brexit still an "uncertainty"--see UK Parliament Rejects Move To Block No-Deal Brexit--but if I were advising Germany, I would be worried. Germany will likely have to adjust to a new level playing field with the U.S. in trade, something long overdue, and which Germany has never had to face in the post-World War II era (now going on for almost seventy-five years), during which the U.S. generated big trade deficits with Germany as one way to stabilize and strengthen Europe to counter the Soviet Union. See Germany Struggles to Figure Out How to Get Trump to Back Off--bloomberg.com.
"If President Trump has a poker style it is almost certainly loose aggressive. It is the most challenging style to play well and the most difficult to play against. It is very hard to read a loose aggressive player, to know what they might do next. Such players are constantly taking the initiative, dominating the game. They are predictable only in their unpredictability. Sometimes they go down in flames but usually it is the loose aggressive players that win the money. Loose aggressive stands against tight weak. President Carter would probably play tight weak as would [UK Prime Minister] Mrs. May, although it is hard to imagine either at a poker table."--Arthur Goodhart
• U.S. Mobility:38 percent of US respondents say they are mobile with the resources, ability, and inclination to make a move. In fact, 5 percent of respondents say there is a 100 percent chance of their moving. The mobile are most likely to live in cities, though the income and educational background of "the mobile" and "the rooted" are similar.
EU:Foreign investment into Europe falls for first time in 7 years--CNBC International video interview of Andy Baldwin, EMEIA managing partner at EY, discusses the management consultancy's 2019 European Attractiveness report: "appetite to invest in Europe" has dropped to a seven-year low.
• European banks? "They are burdened with an overbanked market, aging systems, a lack of resources to digitise and re-invent their services, and there are still no signs of any European banks emerging as cross border champions. European banking union is another EU initiative that seems to have drowned in the sea of bureaucracy that sinks everything. Governments still see their duty as protecting national banking champions. There is repeated regulatory failure; Danske Bank in terms of money laundering and the collapse of Spanish and Italian banks doesn’t help. No European banks are expanding, building market share. Instead they are all, and have been, retrenching. If I could think of something positive to say about Europe ... But I really can’t"--Bill BlainJun 4, 2019.
China: the International Monetary Fund expects Chinese growth to slow to 6.2% this year and to 6% in 2020, the weakest since 1990, but many analysts believe real growth has already dipped below those levels, confirming a grim outlook for the world economy. See also The Countries with the Most MonstrousCorporate Debt Pileups.
Hong Kong: after seven hours of marching, organizers estimated 1,030,000 people took part in the protest opposing the proposed China extradition law.
January 2019: the US Justice Department unseals Huawei indictments including 23 counts (here and here) pertaining to the alleged theft of intellectual property, obstruction of justice, and fraud related to its alleged evasion of US sanctions against Iran.
June 2019: 'Dead Man Walking' Huawei,applies to trademark its “Hongmeng” operating system (OS) in at least nine countries and Europe, deploying a back-up plan in key markets as U.S. sanctions threaten its business model. However, China's industry insiders are less optimistic that Chinese chip makers can quickly meet the challenge of supplying all the needs of Huawei and other domestic technology firms. Prospectuses of Chinese chip companies preparing to list on a new tech-focused stock exchange in China are even more blunt, characterizing China's domestic chip industry as “relatively backward,” lacking in talent, and requiring “a long time to catch up.” See also:
Huawei indefinitely postpones the announcement of a new Windows laptop, originally scheduled for June, 2019, due to ongoing US trade sanctions.
Google Is Moving More Hardware Production Out of China--Trump’s tariffs push tech giant to boost Taiwan manufacturing, while companies, both foreign and domestic, increasingly seek to pivot production away from China due to U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts to reset the parameters for global trade and manufacturing. Foxconn says it can assemble Apple iPhonesoutside China.
AT&T: Dish Network Corp is open to merging its satellite television business with AT&T Inc.’s pay TV service, DirecTV, since both Dish and DirecTV are hemorrhaging subscribers as viewers continue to shift to cheaper online streaming services such as Netflix Inc and Amazon.com Inc.’s Prime video service. Unfortunately, AT&T's problems don't end there as AT&T appears to have no viable plan for its WarnerMedia streaming service a year after the Time Warner merger closed. Verizon:7 Reasons To Turn Bearish--upcoming Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 7 technology may disrupt the wireless mobile industry by making free or low-cost city-wide Wi-Fi a reality.
Amazon is Betting Big On Satellite Internet. See also: Amazon is offering flight booking on its platform in India, and it wants to build a one-stop app to offer customers a wide range of services which will attract users to Amazon Pay in the crowded digital wallet industry.
Why Sell Microsoft--new tax law ramifications .. cloud computing has no moat ... Windows 10 has continuing quality and performance issues [Editor's note: most people would be better off to forget about Win10 and just get a Chromebook] ... Microsoft behind in artificial intelligence (AI).
Instagram, a fashionista favorite, helped unknown labels find an audience but now "big bucks are changing the game" as cash rich luxury goods groups such as LVMH and Kering use increased social media budgets to drown out rivals on platforms once seen as a leveler for brands big and small.
IPO: Pet care company Chewy Inc. (NYSE: CHWY) (domain: chewy.com), closed up 59% at $34.99 after its debut IPO on the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, June 14.
A Bad Use of Technology:"Illegal robocalls are not just a drain on individual households' peace of mind, they are also a drain on our economy," FCC Chief Economist Babette Boliek and Chief Technology Officer Eric Burger wrote in a blog post, before the FCC voted unanimously to let carriers block robocalls by default.
Personal Tech: Google’s Login Chief Would Rather You Use Apple’s Sign-In Button Than Keep Using Passwords--‘I honestly do think this technology will be better for the internet.’
CNBC Television video above published Jun 5, 2019: discussion on antitrust and U.S. tech companies with CNBC's Josh Lipton and Joe Kernen, and the Fast Money traders, Pete Najarian, Tim Seymour, Karen Finerman and Guy Adami, and Antitrust Lawyer Gary Reback, Carr & Ferrell, on the government's antitrust case against Google.
Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple, worth nearly $3 trillion combined, reportedly under federal investigation.
Google Should Be Afraid. Very Afraid--a new round of antitrust questions can’t go well for the company. The culture has turned against tech since Google skated free in 2013--bloomberg.com.
Google has few political allies and a history of complaints, so an antitrust case may move quickly, say experts.
The House Judiciary Committee is launching a bipartisan investigation into whether large tech companies such as Facebook, Google and Amazon are using their vast market power to suppress competition.
A possible Apple probe is reportedly linked to the Google probe, and stems from meetings between the DOJ and the FTC.
Despite investor concerns about #tradewars causing a slowdown in the economy, the Fed’s latest #BeigeBook yesterday showed it has yet to dent growth materially. Fed Funds Futures still don’t care… odds here continue to forecast three rate cuts by the end of this year. $SPY$IVV
China: Chinese Bank With $105 BN In Assets On Verge Of Collapse. China’s stock market hit by the biggest outflow of foreign capital on record in April and May as trade war with the US and worry about the stability of the RMB weighed on investors, reported the Financial Times. China services PMI Plunges As Output Expectations Hit 7 Year Lows--zerohedge.com. Also: Pentagon report slams China for “eroding the values and principles of the rules-based order”--bloomberg.com.
Amazon said it would open pop-up shops in the UK to give more than 100 small online businesses an opportunity to sell on the 'high street' for the first time. “Clicks and Mortar” stores will sell homeware, health and beauty, food and drink, and electronics.
Food-Delivery Rivals DoorDash, Grubhub, Uber Eats and PostmatesRisk Capital Destruction--a problem in the 'valuations.'
Boeing 737 Max: fatal flaws can be traced to a breakdown late in the plane’s development, when test pilots, engineers andregulatorswere left in the dark about a change that would ultimately play a role in two crashes--NYTimes.com.
Calls to curb the power of big technology companies like Facebook $FB, Amazon $AMZN, Apple $AAPL, and Google $GOOG, $GOOGL, and protect personal data are growing louder. The FT explains some issues it thinks are reshaping the companies that dominate our daily lives. Financial Times (ft.com) video above published May 7, 2019.
Issues highlighted in the video: harmful content, election integrity, privacy, transparency, taxation, lack of competition (antitrust).
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) conference call and LIVE webcastto discuss Amazon's first quarter (Q1) 2019 financial results on April 25, 2019 at 5:30 p.m. EDT. The audio and associated slides will be available for at least three months thereafter at www.amazon.com/ir.
Q1 2019 Earnings Release (pdf)
Amazon reports Q1 2019 revenue of $59.7B, up 17% YoY, operating income of $4.4B, up from $1.9B in Q1 2018, and net income of $3.6B, up from $1.6B in Q1 2018. Amazon's AWS reported Q1 revenue of $7.7B, up 41% YoY and representing 13% of total sales at Amazon, up from 10% in Q4. Editor's note: shares are up in afterhours trading 25 Apr 2019.
Amazon reported a record net income of $10.1 billion in 2018, which was a considerable jump from $3 billion in 2017. CNBC breaks down where exactly the money came from and how Amazon Web Services, advertising and the third-party marketplace are driving Amazon's increased profitability. CNBC.com video above published Feb 18, 2019. Tweets by amazon
Tech Review (TR 2019-04-20)--Domain Mondo's weekly review of tech investing news: Features • 1)How Amazon $AMZN Could Disrupt Health Care, 2)Why Food-Delivery Apps Could Leave Restaurants Footing the Bill, 3)Investing: The Week & Investor Notes,4)ICYMI Tech News: Qualcomm, Apple, Intel, Pinterest, Zoom, Uber, Amazon, Microsoft.
1) How Amazon $AMZN Could Disrupt Health Care
"Amazon has been described has the “everything store, ” but it’s missing one major category - prescription medicines. That might soon change, in the wake of Amazon’s roughly $1 billion acquisition of PillPack, an internet pharmacy. Health experts told CNBC that it’s only a mater of time before Amazon starts selling prescription drugs on its online marketplace, and that it’s assembling a team to do just that. For Amazon, pharmacy represents a multibillion market opportunity, but it’s also highly complicated and will involve battling with some entrenched competition that has a vested interest in keeping drug prices high. But Amazon, with its scale, leverage, and supply chain expertise, could be the company to do it, the experts said. People buying medical supplies on Amazon, such as glucometers and cold medicine, can now use their flexible savings accounts or health savings accounts to get discounts. These programs, often referred to as an HSA or FSA, allow people with health insurance to set aside a portion of their salary before taxes to cover medical expenses that would have been paid for out-of-pocket, such as prescription medicines and medical supplies.
"In recent years, Amazon has started adding more health and wellness products, including medical devices and over-the-counter medicines. Amazon’s rival Walmart, which currently offers pharmacy services, also has a storefront for HSA and FSA products. To sell prescription medicines, Amazon will need to work with middlemen, known as pharmacy benefits managers, in order to take a customer’s insurance. Some health experts suggest that the move into adding HSA and FSA cards is a smart method for Amazon to learn more about people’s spending on health. “It’s a back end way for Amazon to learn about consumer purchasing behavior of health care products and services, as it moves more deeply into the space,” said Michael Yang, a health-tech investor with Omers Ventures.
"Some in the pharmacy world have speculated that Amazon will get into the space by initially focusing this segment of consumers that typically pays cash for their prescription medicine. That’s about 6 percent of the U.S. population, which is a chunk of the $450 billion pharmacy market."--CNBC.com video above published Apr 10, 2019.
2) Why Food-Delivery Apps Could Leave Restaurants Footing the Bill
America's love for take-out is spurring a boom in food delivery startups. But what's convenient for customers may not be good for restaurants reports the Wall Street Journal (wsj.com). Video above published Apr 5, 2019.
Investor Notes: U.S. stock markets were closed on Friday, April 19, in observance of Good Friday. Good Friday is the only day U.S. markets are closed for the day that isn't also a federal (U.S.) holiday. The New York Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ will resume normal trading hours on Monday.
Cash Out, or Go All In:When Stocks Are Up 16% and It's Only April--bloomberg.com: “The first quarter’s rally would have been good enough to shut the whole year down and call it a day,” said Scott Colyer, chief investment officer at Advisors Asset Management. Even so, he says, “I’m paid to be a worrier. I look hard for signs that the markets are about to roll over every day. I don’t see them.”
S&P outperformance continues--bloomberg.com: U.S. investors are throwing in the towel on international stocks, diversification push fading.
Foreign investors sharply increased their holdings of US Treasury securities over December, January, and February, adding $185 billion, while ... American institutions and individuals are buying them at a ravenous clip--Who Bought the Huge $1.26 Trillion of New US Government Debt over the Past 12 Months?--WolfStreet.com.
Eurozone industrial production contracts for fourth straight month: Germany suffered 2% decline in February, Eurozone factories stuck in longest slump since debt crisis--telegraph.co.uk.
‘Flash Boys’Trading Bots Are Running Wild on Crypto Exchanges-- Cornell Tech detects front running at decentralized exchanges. Researchers suggest impact could be in billions of dollars--bloomberg.com.
Brexit: “They’re all liars mate,” said my London cabbie. “May was a Remainer. How were we going to get a good deal when our negotiators don’t want to leave?” he asked. I shrugged. “They’ll stall until they can say it’s not what people want no more -- happened in every country that ever wanted a referendum or held one,” he said. “The EU paid to move a Land Rover factory from the Midlands to Slovakia where they earn 5 pound for every 25 we make – so our boys are out of work and the company makes more profit. How’s that right?,” he asked. “For every two pound we put into the EU, we get one back.” So I asked if Britain held another referendum, which way it’d go? “We’re split in two mate, we’re absolutely shattered.” --zerohedge.com.
Goldman Economists Say Trump Re-ElectionMore Likely Than Not-- incumbency and state of economy help Trump’s chances--bloomberg.com. According to Nobel Prize winner, Robert Schiller, an election victory for President Donald Trump would not only boost the stock market but postpone the impending and imminent recession--zerohedge.com.
Global Migration of Millionaires | visualcapitalist.com: world’s wealthiest are the most mobile. Biggest gainers: Australia +12,000;U.S. +10,000*; Canada +4000 *New York City, Los Angeles, Miami, and San Francisco all had inflows of over +1000 Biggest Losers: China -15,000; Russia -7000; India -5000; Turkey -4000.
4)ICYMI Tech News:
Qualcomm hands Apple a stunning defeat--seekingalpha.com: Qualcomm has the only working 5G modem, and will be first to market this year, plus Qualcomm's rich 5G patent portfolio. Intel to Exit 5G Smartphone Modem Business, Focus 5G Efforts on Network Infrastructure and Other Data-Centric Opportunities--newsroom.intel.com.
Apple: App Store Q1 downloads reportedly drop 5% YoY, first decline since 2015 --9to5mac.com. Pinterest Inc IPO:
.Uber Discloses 3-Yr $10-Billion Loss from Operations, Stalling Rideshare Revenue & 50 Pages of “Risk Factors” that Are Not for the Squeamish--wolfstreet.com.
Amazon: retailers and Amazon.com-- major brands increasingly distribute clothing and accessories directly through Amazon.com, attracted by more than 100 million Amazon Prime members and Amazon logistics.
Microsoft A Better Buy Than Amazon? Microsoft's valuation is reasonable given its historical performance, growth potential, brand, and recession resilience.--seekingalpha.com.
College is Broken: Reflections and Predictions--hackernoon.com. Personal Tech: Quitting social media liberated me--cbc.ca: 'I put down my phone and picked up my life.'
Scott Galloway on the future of Amazon $AMZN, Apple $AAPL, Facebook $FB, Google $GOOGL $GOOG, and how his predictions for 2018 sized up against the changing tides of the tech world today. Video published Jan 2, 2019. Galloway's blog: profgalloway.com. Tweets by profgalloway
Tech Review (TR 2019-04-13)--Domain Mondo's weekly review of tech investing news: Features • 1) Why The Tech Giants Have Many CEOs Running Scared, 2) SpaceX ARABSAT-6A Falcon Heavy Launch and Triple Landing Highlights,3)Investing:The Week & Investor Notes,4)ICYMI Tech News: Amazon, Huawei, Qualcomm, SAP, Grab, Lyft & Uber IPOs, Boeing, Disney.
1)Why The Tech Giants Have Many CEOs Running Scared
Why are chief executive officers so worried about tech giants investing in their sectors? James Fontanella-Khan, the FT’s US corporate finance and deals expert, explains how legacy companies are trying to fight the disruptors and stay relevant by making risky acquisitions. Financial Times (ft.com) video above published Apr 5, 2019. Learn more at https://bigdeal.ft.com/.
2) SpaceX ARABSAT-6A Falcon Heavy Launch and Triple Landing Highlights
Highlights from the 11 April 2019 launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA.
Investor Notes: • Survey: which US sector will outperform for the remainder of the year? "Tech" #1
We have the results of last week's DataTrek Market Outlook Survey! Tech was the #1 choice among respondents when asked "which US sector will outperform the most over the remainder of the year?" Read the rest of the results & our analysis here: https://t.co/CjRYMvEmuE$SPY$XLKpic.twitter.com/YD0VgaaamU
• US: Initial Jobless Claims Plunge To Lowest In 50 Years--zerohedge.com.Inflation?Less than 2%.Fed Funds Rate?Less than 3%. Hedge funds have 'once againmissedmuch of the recent move in stocks'--zerohedge.com.
• EU: IMF sharply downgrades its outlook for euro-area economies--bloomberg.com. SocGen Slashing 1,600 Trading Jobs After 19% Loss--750 jobs in France will go as part of cuts--bloomberg.com. The French bank's share price has declined 40 percent in the last 12 months, compared with a 17 percent drop in the Euro STOXX Banks Index. Europe, The Big Short--seekingalpha.com.
• Brexit: the UK economy has been drifting away from Europe for years: one of five reasons why--"... the EU is stagnating ..."--telegraph.co.uk.Nonetheless, UK's political class apparently can't let go.
• Real Estate? A Simon Property Group Mall Generates Largest Loss Ever for Retail CMBS How the Brick & Mortar Meltdown works for Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities after America’s largest mall landlord defaults on a mortgage and walks away from the mall--wolfstreet.com. See also US housing market deteriorates, shift to a buyer's market accelerates, U.S. markets will have the highest percentage of homes that sell at discount versus the list price in many years----2Q19 National Knock Deals Report. • Asset prices in the modern era: In Barron’s this past weekend, J.P Morgan chief U.S. equity strategist Dubravko Lakos-Bujas:
We are all used to using the word “cycle”; we’re all used to looking at historical charts and graphs and equations and relationships. The reality is that maybe the word “cycle” is no longer even relevant, given that we have so much unconventional central-bank involvement.
Huawei: "How did a private Chinese firm come to dominate the world’s most important emerging technology?--One theme is clear: Throughout its history, Huawei appears to have benefited from state support not available to the company’s Western rivals ... European investigators have found evidence that Huawei may have received a massive $30 billion line of credit from the China Development Bank, among other well-timed financing ..."--foreignpolicy.com. [Editor's note: all Chinese companies are SOEs to one degree or another.] Qualcomm aims to take on Nvidia, Intel with new AI chips.
SAP cloud business head quitsafter 27 years in latest top departures--under a restructuring announced in January about 4400 positions will be eliminated. SAP rival Oracle has also announced some layoffs with some of its top talent going to Google.
Grab (domain: grab.com) seeks another $2 billion funding. The Southeast Asian startup, based in Singapore, is backed by Japan's SoftBank.
Boeing 737Max: another chapter in the book titled Normalization of Deviance? Disney announced Thursday its new family-friendly streaming service will cost $7 monthly or $70 annually. Personal Tech:
Investigation shows how easy and affordable obtaining cellphone customers' real-time location data can be, as T-Mobile, Sprint, and AT&T peddle it to middlemen.
The Robocall Crisis Will Never Be Totally Fixed--"Always hang up immediately if you answer a call that you don't recognize"--wired.com.
