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When CSG opted to shift its regional headquarters this year from Dubai to Riyadh, it marked an early win for Saudi Arabia and proved a surprisingly easy move for the U. CSG is among several foreign companies that agreed earlier this year to set up regional offices in Saudi Arabia rather than overseeing operations remotely from Dubai, the buzzing commercial hub in neighbouring United Arab Emirates.
Bloomberg -- A global semiconductor shortage has upended the supply of everyday devices from smartphones to gaming consoles to tech-dependent cars.
With companies warning the issue may last into the second half, the fallout threatens to weigh on share prices for months to come. Since news broke in November that Apple Inc. Truckmaker Volvo Group and electric-vehicle company Nio Inc. The lack of chips has been caused by booming demand for tech gear, in large part because of the pandemic, and winter weather in Texas and a fire in Japan have added to the problem. It triggered a 6. In Japan, shares of Toyota Motor Corp.
The surfer character finds the unknown exhilarating. Bitcoin is edible crack to him — no other asset class is as unpredictable as crypto. Cryptocurrencies have the potential to remold the entire world, including the surf industry. Blockchain technology could allow us to tear the whole.
Daiwa Securities cited the chip shortage in downgrading the stock and cutting estimates for this year and next. China is dealing with unrelated chip-supply issues of its own. Smartphone maker Xiaomi Corp. One positive aspect of the chip shortage: With demand for consumer electronics as strong as it is, it gives companies the power to raise prices and pass on higher costs, said Neil Campling, an analyst at Mirabaud Securities. Lenovo Group Ltd. Sony Corp. While Samsung Electronics Co.
Samsung this month warned of problems, including the possible cancellation of the launch of its new Galaxy Note, one of its best-selling smartphone models. Makers of networking equipment also have been feeling the pinch. Analysts at Oddo BHF flagged a DigiTimes report that the lead times for deliveries of networking chips are extending to as long as 50 weeks, suggesting that the chip shortage has also reached the networking segment and will likely last into early next year.
ChipmakersWhile automakers have struggled, the flip side of the semiconductor shortage is that the companies supplying those chips could see a boost to their business. Most semiconductor companies should report strong results for the first quarter and give good guidance for the second, said Janardan Menon, an analyst at Liberum Capital Ltd. In the U. There are also broader winners from the shortages in the semiconductor industry, with chip foundries such as leader Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Semiconductor-Equipment ManufacturersThe makers of equipment used to produce semiconductors are benefiting from the supply crunch as chipmakers rush to add capacity to their factories and governments concerned about national security risks are looking at measures to encourage local production.
The combination has created a spending environment that some analysts say will benefit the industry for years. Historically, the implied volatility spread has proven a reliable indicator of upcoming shifts in market leadership. The race to shield coal country from an energy transition that Biden contends will generate jobs and wealth in everything from solar-panel manufacturing to wind power generation highlights the political complexity of the shift to renewables. Even though he recognizes climate change is a serious issue and that his stance makes him an outlier in his party, he says he worries about the devastating impact of a shutdown to the community.
If it shuts, "it's a ghost town," he said. Another proposal would set aside half a million dollars for legal challenges against other states that pass laws restricting the use of coal. One of the goals is to protect mining jobs that underpin the local economy, said Eric Barlow, a Republican state representative who co-sponsored some of the legislation. His district in the northeast part of the state is in the heart of coal country, where output has plummeted in the past decade as utilities started using more renewables and natural gas.
The effort is supported by the governor and at least some of the legislation is likely to become law, said Travis Deti, executive director of the Wyoming Mining Association. The company converted part of one of them to gas last year.
Power providers in other states concur. West Virginia, the second-biggest coal producer, is considering a bill that would give state agencies additional oversight and approval authority over utilities that are seeking to close a power plant.
The result could be higher power prices, or even making the state less attractive for outside investors, according to Jeri Matheney, a spokeswoman for Appalachian Power. The American Electric Power Co. North Dakota is considering a bill that would reduce taxes on coal power plants, while another would consider whether the state should offer insurance to the industry after premiums from third-party insurers climbed.
Arkansas introduced legislation aimed at making it harder for utilities to close power plants. In addition to the proposals to protect the Colstrip plant in Montana, another bill would require the state to evaluate the economic impact on local communities when a utility sought to shutter a power plant, another move designed to make the process of shutting down a site harder. While that one has been tabled in the Montana House of Representatives, its Republican sponsor Braxton Mitchell expects it to be picked up in the state senate soon. Besides bitcoin, Sam has invested in ethereum and polkadot in a bid to diversify and reduce risk.
The Sydney Morning Herald. By Andrew Taylor February 14, — Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size. License this article. Blockchains trap data as if it were locked in an uncrackable, indestructible vault for all eternity. A vault that everyone can see through but never touch.
In short, blockchain technology is a game changer. In time, it will change the whole world. Blockchains have the potential to have more impact on human societies than the invention of the wheel, or agriculture, or the Internet. If you enable a method of peer-to-peer transactions which is immutable, instant, and free, then you enable absolute freedom for all.
Freedom from banks, from corporations, from governments…. Right now you are not free. You cannot trust the information you consume or the food you eat. You are tied to your mortgage, your employer, your bank, your identity, your nationality, your records, your devices, your data. Unless you live an entirely solitary existence as a cave dweller, then the chances are you use the internet.
And if you use the internet then you are partially owned by Facebook, Amazon, and Google. Therefore they control the future. They are more powerful than governments, they have more say than authorities, and they have more wealth than entire countries. What if I told you that cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology could solve most problems you can think of in the surfboard building industry?
The craftsmen — the shapers, glassers, laminators, sanders, artists — none of them are adequately rewarded for their work.
Cheap, mass-produced surfboards are drowning small-scale talented shapers. Mass production dilutes and cheapens the market. Blockchain solution: Trustless, automated transactions between suppliers of raw materials and shapers saves money and time. Greater efficiency ensures everyone gets paid. A direct line of sale between the customer and the craftsman is possible instantly, from anywhere in the world.
Distribution channels are streamlined or erased. Fewer middlemen exist. Distributors, shops, sales reps, banks — all are superseded by a blockchain.