Just because you don’t care, doesn’t mean it doesn’t affect you…
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There’s some big juicy merger news coming down the fiscal/tech pipeline. Intel announced it’s plunking down $16.7 billion for fellow chipmaker, Altera. In case you were wondering – because I know you were, that comes out to $54 per share. Last year Altera pulled down revenues of close to $2 billion. So it stands to reason that Intel knows what it’s doing. It should be duly noted, my dear reader, that these are not just any personal computer chips we’re talking about either, but rather, programmable chips that can be used in smart cars, clothes and other everyday use items. Pretty rad, huh? Of course, like any multi-gazillion dollar deal, regulatory approval is still needed and shareholders also need to give their thumbs up. But at least Wall Street seems to be showing its enthusiasm in its own special fiscal way.
Spendthrift?
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April was a wash and I am not talking showers here. According to the Commerce Department, there was no rise in spending for April. Nor was there any decrease – which I guess is a positive too. Consumer spending flat-lined and gave us the worst showing in three months. Gee, thanks April. While personal income was up a whopping 0.4%, Americans are choosing to save save save all that cash that they didn’t have to shell out for gas lately, much to the chagrin of economists who were certain Americans would be whipping out their wallets and just buy buy buy. Wages also didn’t increase that much which definitely helped spoil some much-needed spending fun. In fact, the personal savings rate (yes, that is a real thing) jumped to 5.6%, the highest rate since December of 2012. Burned by that awful fiscal nightmare of 2008, would-be consumers are discovering the joys of saving, in addition to paying down the odious burden of debt. Economists are expecting – and very much hoping (because it would be embarrassing for them if they were wrong) – that spending will pick up in the coming months and put some much needed oomph back into the economy, since spending does account for 70% of it. Here’s hoping they get it right.
So random…
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Remember BlackBerry? Not the fruit but the device? Just admit it that you had one right before you unceremoniously ditched it for a first generation iPhone. Well the once-beloved device actually kicked the iPhone’s tush today. And Ryan Seacrest’s tush too. Sort of. The company, whose products are still quite the rage in other parts of the world, finally settled some “outstanding legal disputes” with a company called Typo Products, which happens to be backed by everyone’s favorite karaoke host, Ryan Seacrest. Typo was making iPhone cases with a QWERTY keyboard that bore a striking resemblance to a BlackBerry design. Talk about “F” for lack of creativity. In any (iPhone) case, Typo ponied up some settlement cash, tweaked the design and presumably found a way to, as they say on American Idol, make it their own.
Pujonomics. 