Category Archives: oud

Apple, Tesla Self-Driving Cars May Kill Off Consumer Auto Insurance

If Apple ( AAPL ), Tesla Motors ( TSLA ), Alphabet ‘s ( GOOGL ) Google and others succeed in making self-driving cars prevalent by 2040 and ride-hailing startups Uber and Lyft prosper, auto insurance may no longer be needed by many U.S. consumers, says S&P Global Market Intelligence. S&P released five reports this week analyzing the push into self-driving electric cars by Google, Tesla, China’s Baidu ( BIDU ) and others. While the business models of traditional automakers such as General Motors ( GM ) and Ford ( F ) will undergo big changes, the impact of self-driving cars on the $137 billion auto insurance industry and companies like Allstate ( ALL ) could be monumental, says S&P. “The advent of a totally driverless car threatens the core auto insurance liability business model,” said one S&P report. “A shift to driverless cars would theoretically shift the legal liability away from the driver, since the incidence of crashes would likely be reduced, and the liability in a crash would shift from human error to product liability, potentially reducing or removing the need for auto liability insurance.” Here are five other takeaways from S&P’s deep dive into self-driving cars and ride-sharing alliances. Noting Apple’s $1 billion investment in China’s ride-hailing leader Didi Chuxing, which has an alliance with Lyft, S&P said ride-hailing apps may eventually summon autonomous cars. Uber, the leader in ride-sharing, is losing money, says S&P. Both Uber and Lyft face “competitive markets and issues related to how to classify their drivers and operate within federal laws and local rules.” While Apple has not officially announced plans, it seems to be gearing up in automotive technology. “Multiple hires made since the beginning of last year, including former Tesla employees, indicate an interest,” S&P said. “We also note substantial increases in R&D and capex over the past few years.” General Motors, which in early 2016 invested $500 million in Lyft, intends to integrate autonomous driving technology from Cruise Automation once it completes its planned $1 billion purchase of that company. Lyft drivers are a potential customer base for GM’s upcoming Bolt electric vehicle, says S&P. Radio service providers such as iHeart Communications, formerly Clear Channel, will likely face intensifying rivalries versus Sirius XM Radio ( SIRI ) and Pandora Media ( P ), as well as Apple CarPlay and Google’s Android Auto. RELATED: Apple Gets Lift From China Ride-Hailing Service Investment Toyota Joins Apple, GM In Finding Ride-Hailing Partners Meet Uber’s Self-Driving Car, As Autonomous Race Heats Up .

Apple Building Siri-Based Rival To Amazon Echo

Apple ( AAPL ) reportedly is making a voice-response personal-assistant device to take on Amazon ( AMZN ) Echo and similar room appliances. The device will leverage Apple’s Siri application from its mobile devices, The Information reported Tuesday . The device will have a microphone and speaker that people can use to turn on music, get news headlines and make other spoken requests, the news website said. Apple is expected to release a software development kit to open up the device to third-party developers. The Cupertino, Calif.-based company will unveil the project at its Worldwide Developers Conference, which runs June 13-17 in San Francisco. Siri today offers limited third-party support, including services such as Yelp ( YELP ), Rotten Tomatoes and Shazam. Amazon largely created the market for always-listening digital assistants with Echo, introduced in late 2014. The e-commerce giant released an SDK last year for Alexa, the voice assistant that powers its Echo speakers. Last week, Alphabet ( GOOGL )-owned Google unveiled a conversational assistant that builds on its Google Now service and will support third-party services. It will sell a voice-activated speaker called Google Home later this year. Other digital assistant services include Microsoft ’s ( MSFT ) Cortana and Facebook ’s ( FB ) M. RELATED: Google echoes Amazon’s Echo, opens new virtual-reality door Amazon.com Has Likely Sold 3 Million Echo Speakers To Date

Alibaba Faces SEC Accounting Probe Of Singles Day, More

Alibaba ( BABA ) disclosed Wednesday that the Securities and Exchange Commission has been probing whether its accounting into its Singles Day e-commerce event and various consolidation practices violate U.S. securities laws. Shares of the e-commerce giant fell 3.9% to 77.96 in morning trade on the stock market today , undercutting the 50-day moving average where Alibaba has found support in recent days. IBD’s Take: How healthy is Alibaba’s stock, and how does it compare vs. key rivals such as Amazon? Find out at IBD Stock Checkup Alibaba reported the SEC probe in an SEC filing. Here is the key passage. “Earlier this year, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, informed us that it was initiating an investigation into whether there have been any violations of the federal securities laws. The SEC has requested that we voluntarily provide it with documents and information relating to, among other things: our consolidation policies and practices (including our accounting for Cainiao Network as an equity method investee), our policies and practices applicable to related party transactions in general, and our reporting of operating data from Singles Day. We are voluntarily disclosing this SEC request for information and cooperating with the SEC and, through our legal counsel, have been providing the SEC with requested documents and information. The SEC advised us that the initiation of a request for information should not be construed as an indication by the SEC or its staff that any violation of the federal securities laws has occurred. This matter is ongoing, and, as with any regulatory proceeding, we cannot predict when it will be concluded.” Singles Day — Nov. 11 — has become the world’s largest e-commerce event, far above Cyber Monday or the new Amazon ( AMZN ) Prime Day last year. Alibaba had $13.7 billion in sales in last year’s event, with JD.com ( JD ) and other Chinese retailers also taking part. Separately, Alibaba, Baidu ( BIDU ), Tencent ( TCEHY ) and other Chinese Internet companies should should see continued strong growth in online-to-offline spending, Moody’s says. Moody’s sees Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent, sometimes referred to as “BAT,” should deliver 15%-30% revenue growth over the next 12-18 months, partly due to O2O efforts that have increased customer engagement and monetization. Alibaba, Baidu and Tencent have spent billions of dollars on O2O-related initiatives in recent years. “For all three companies, we expect that their investments will remain high, as they establish or acquire end-to-end logistics capabilities,” Moody’s said.