Samsung Has Gone To War Against Google's $100 Smartphone In India | ||
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Samsung will go head-to-head against Google's super-cheap $100 Android One phone in India by launching a phone using the rival Tizen operating system at roughly the same price, according to Reuters. The Samsung Z1 will launch at a press conference on December 10, according to The Times of India. A vast amount of money is at stake. Of India's online shoppers, 70% (or 120 million) shop on their phones rather than on PCs. And most India's 1.2 billion people have yet to buy their first phone — so the growth potential there is massive. About 225 million Indians are expected to buy smart phones in 2014, according to The Guardian. The launch is also significant because most of Samsung's phones use Google's Android operating system. Samsung is the biggest seller of Androids. Tizen, however, is the nascent competing operating system that Samsung has been developing on its own. If Samsung is successful in selling Tizen phones, it will steal market share from Android — and that would make Google very unhappy indeed. So you can see how complicated Samsung's strategy now is: It is now competing against one of its biggest tech partners (Google) while trying to remain friends with that partner, all in the market that offers them both their biggest growth (after China). Google launched its $100 Android One in India in September. Most analysts believe that the bulk of future growth in smartphone sales will be in the low-end of the market, as the 5 billion or so people on the planet in developing nations come online. They will need super-cheap phones. The high-end market, typified by Apple and its $700 iPhones in Western countries, is mostly already saturated. (Interestingly, Apple has only a marginal strategy for discount consumers in the developing world, in which it briefly sells older models at a cheap price before manufacturing is discontinued with the introduction of a new, more expensive phone.)
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Europe's Industry Is On The Edge Of A Recession | ||
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The eurozone's manufacturing PMI fell to just 50.1 in November. Anything over 50 signals growth, and anything below signals contraction, so the currency union's industry is back within a hair of recession. The three biggest economies in the bloc all now have PMI readings below 50, with only Spain holding the region's manufacturing in growth territory. Here's how it breaks down by country: Spain's PMI for manufacturing surged to a seven year high at 54.7. That's up from last month's 52.6, and the best since July 2007. Italy's manufacturing PMI sits unchanged at 49. No movement in November for Italy, which is still in recession. October's figure was also 49, signalling a contraction. French manufacturers are signalling shrinkage too, with a PMI at 48.4. That's down from October's 48.5, but slightly better than analysts expected. French industry hasn't reported growth since April. Germany's industry is back in recession territory with a PMI reading of 49.5. That's the lowest since summer 2013. That means Europe's three biggest economies are all signalling a downturn. Here's a chart from Markit, which produces the PMI figures, on how the readings usually match up with industrial output:
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Brazil airline Azul buys 35 A320neo planes, worth $3.6bn | ||
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Paris (AFP) - Upstart Brazilian airline Azul, run by US-Brazilian entrepreneur David Neeleman, is buying 35 fuel-efficient mid-range A320neo planes to expand its operations, according to manufacturer Airbus. The deal is nominally worth 2.9 billion euros ($3.6 billion) at Airbus's catalogue prices, though discounts are routinely given. Azul has separately already ordered 28 other A320neos through a leasing contract. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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The Rouble Just Crashed To An All-Time Low As Oil Prices Tank | ||
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The Russian rouble just sank to the lowest point in its history, above 50 to the dollar. It's down 5.27% against the US currency today alone. The dollar is about 50% stronger against the rouble than it was at the start of 2014. It's following the crumbling price of oil, Here's what the US dollar-Russian rouble exhange rate looks like over the last five years:
The fall in oil prices has dramatically weakened the Russian currency, which had been much more stable in the previous three years. Brent crude is now down to just $68, and the other major benchmark of oil prices, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is down to just $65, a five and a half year low. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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