Apple Inc.

[CityFarmer]

The US listed companies section has been re-organized. It is much neater and easier to access. Thanks moderator for the work done.

Apple sets record S$20b bond deal

NEW YORK — Apple wowed the debt markets yesterday with the largest non-bank bond deal in history, pricing a whopping (US$17 billion) S$20 billion as the US computer giant switches strategy to placate restless shareholders.

Just a week after announcing its first drop in quarterly earnings in a decade, Apple came to market with the massive deal to raise funds for an ambitious program that will return US$100 billion in cash to holders of Apple shares.

http://www.todayonline.com/business/appl...-bond-deal

[CityFarmer]

Will tablets wane away in 5 years? ... Hmm...

iPad lookalikes power growth in tablet sales

SAN FRANCISCO — Global tablet shipments more than doubled in the first quarter and, while Apple remained the top seller, Asian manufacturers making low-end gadgets accounted for a major chunk of the growth, a report said.

Tablet shipments reached 49.2 million units in the January-to-March period, 142.4 per cent more than in the same quarter last year, market research firm IDC said yesterday. Apple’s iPads accounted for 19.5 million units, an increase of 65.3 per cent.

http://www.todayonline.com/tech/ipad-loo...blet-sales

[CityFarmer]

6 years to obsolete a product... the previous norm is 10 years IIRC

Original iPhone to be obsolete from June

SAN FRANCISCO - The original incarnation of Apple’s revolutionary smartphone will become obsolete on June 11, according to a document apparently leaked from Apple’s headquarters.

Six years after its launch, the iconic smartphone will no longer be serviced and replacement parts will no longer be produced for it, the document seen by Apple blog 9to5Mac says.

http://www.todayonline.com/tech/gadgets/...olete-june

[CityFarmer]

Fear iOS 7 could be delayed

SAN FRANCISCO — Six months into an expanded role as Apple’s top product visionary, Sir Jonathan Ive has embarked on a sweeping software overhaul that leaves the company at risk of falling behind on a new version of the operating system that runs iPhones and iPads, sources with knowledge of the matter said.

Already in charge of product design, Mr Ive assumed oversight of the look and feel of software running all Apple electronics, in a shake-up by Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook last year that included the departure of software chief Scott Forstall.

http://www.todayonline.com/tech/fear-ios...be-delayed

[CityFarmer]

Apple’s iRadio ‘stalled over royalties’

SAN FRANCISCO — Apple has struck a deal with Universal Music, the largest of the three major record labels, and is said to be close to an agreement with Warner Music.

But, according a report in the Financial Times, executives at Sony are holding out for a better deal. Apple originally offered the labels a royalty of about US$0.065 (S$0.08) for every 100 tracks it streams, according to the report, later raising that to US$0.125, in line with the rate paid by internet radio service Pandora.

http://www.theedgesingapore.com/the-dail...rcise.html

[CityFarmer]

Wow... is it useful? probably not for a middle-age man...

Japanese iPhone accessory allows you to send ‘scent’ messages

TOKYO - The sense of smell is a tough one to work into media — attempts at getting it into movies date back to the 1930s, and Disneyland and Walt Disney World include scents in some of their attractions. Technology companies have tried adding it to video games and television, so it was only a matter of time before someone tried to add it to a smartphone.

ChatPerf, a Japanese company, is rolling out a smartphone add-on about the size of a USB stick that attaches via the 30-pin connector on an iPhone (a company spokesperson told Diginfo TV that an Android version would be available this fall). The add-on is tiny “tank” that contains a given smell, technology website Mashable reported. After it is attached to the phone, a screen comes up with a “puff” button that the user taps to release a scent.

http://www.todayonline.com/tech/gadgets/...t-messages

[CityFarmer]

Samsung is catching up strongly... suppliers' margin have being squeezed by Apple due to its brand and volume, with competition from Samsung, a good news to those suppliers...

Stretched, Samsung chases Apple’s suppliers

SEOUL — Overtaking Apple as the world’s leading maker of smartphones has stretched Samsung Electronics’ in-house supply lines, and the South Korean firm is now courting some of its rival’s main parts suppliers.

After costly courtroom battles over technology patents, the two gadget giants are now going head-to-head over securing the best supply of parts as they jostle to rule the US$253 billion (S$218 billion) smartphone market. The two took 100 per cent of the industry’s profit in January-March, Canaccord Genuity data show.

http://www.todayonline.com/tech/stretche...-suppliers

[CityFarmer]

Luckily it is the opinion of most investors, not users... Investor's opinion is not critical, but user's one is...

Apple losing innovative edge, investors say

SAN FRANCISCO - Apple has lost its edge among investors, according to a poll of financial experts.

Hedge funds sold large stakes of the iPhone maker’s stock in the first quarter, Apple shares are down 40 per cent from last year’s high and the company paid higher interest rates for a recent bond sale than Microsoft.

Now, 71 per cent of poll respondents say the tech giant has lost its cachet as an industry innovator, though 43 per cent say this may be a temporary hiccup.

There are still true believers: 23 per cent said Apple remains the foremost company in the world of technology.

http://www.todayonline.com/tech/apple-lo...estors-say

[CityFarmer]

EU tackling on tax evasion, and US senator now... A global trend to track down tax evasion...

But good tax planning (legally of course) = tax evasion? IMO, it is the same as "No U-Turn" versus "U-Turn" signs, shall we U turn only on "U-Turn" sign, or without "No U-Turn" sign?

Apple avoided billions in taxes on foreign income, US Senate says

WASHINGTON - Using an unusual global tax structure, Apple has kept billions of dollars in profits in Irish subsidiaries to pay little or no taxes to any government, a United States Senate report on the company’s offshore tax structure said on Monday.

In a 40-page memorandum released a day before Apple CEO Tim Cook is scheduled to testify before Congress, the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations identified three subsidiaries that have no “tax residency” in Ireland, where they are incorporated, or in the US, where company executives manage those companies.

http://www.todayonline.com/tech/apple-av...enate-says

[mulyc]

Good time to short?

There is so much negative news hovering around it, and yet it's price has not reflected this negative sentiment yet (owing to its cash horde announcement probably).