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Apple: What It Could Buy With $110 Billion Cash

Billion, business, buy, Cash, Finances, money

dm2studios:

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via businessinsider.com

One of the most astounding facts in Apple’s latest earnings report is how quickly the company is adding to its cash pile.

In just the first three months of this year, Apple added $12.5 billion to its cash balance, bringing the total amount of cash and investments up to a whopping $110 billion.

It may finally be time to put all that cash to good use and make some acquisitions its future.

Just because Apple can afford to buy something doesn’t mean it will or that the companies themselves would be willing to sell. But here are a few ideas for the shopping spree Apple could go on.

moneyisnotimportant: Why Young Americans Are Driving So Much…

atlantic, bikes, money, personal finance



moneyisnotimportant:

Why Young Americans Are Driving So Much Less Than Their Parents

Young people are also making more use of transit, bikes, and foot power to get around. In 2009, 16 to 34-year-olds took 24 percent more bike trips than they took in 2001. They walked to their destinations 16 percent more often, while their passenger miles on transit jumped by 40 percent.

Part of the reason for this shift is financial. The report calculates the average cost of owning and operating a car as north of $8,700 dollars a year, and that was before gasoline passed $4.00 per gallon. In the wake of the financial crisis, many underemployed young people have decided that they either can’t afford a car or would rather spend their money on other things. The report cites a Zipcar/KRC Research survey, which found that 80 percent of 18 to 34-year-olds stated that the high cost of gasoline, parking, and maintenance made owning a car difficult.

But money doesn’t explain everything. Sixteen to 34-year-olds in households with incomes of more than $70,000 per year are increasingly choosing not to drive as well, according to the report. They have increased their use of public transit by 100 percent, biking by 122 percent, and walking by 37 percent.

The shift away from the car is part and parcel of a new way of life being embraced by young Americans, which places less emphasis on big cars or big houses as status symbols or life’s essentials.

Read more at The Atlantic Cities. [Image: Shutterstock]

theweekmagazine: Like Xerox, Kleenex, and Google, Sony’s…

business, gadgets, money, sony, stocks, technology



theweekmagazine:

Like Xerox, Kleenex, and Google, Sony’s Walkman was the rare brand that was so popular it became the thing itself. The Japanese electronics giant was ubiquitous in other ways, too, and there was a time when it seemed as if everyone owned a Sony device, whether it was a television, a camcorder, or a stereo. But in the iPad age, Sony seems to have all but disappeared from the marketplace for must-have gadgets. 

The company is set to post a loss of $2.7 billion for the current fiscal year. It was worth $100 billion in 2000, but since then has lost 80 percent of its value. And it’s even struggling in its native Japan, where for the first time, Apple was just voted the country’s top consumer brand.

What happened? And how can its new CEO, Kazuo Hirai, turn the company around? 

Why Are Some Countries More Expensive Than Others?

business, economics, money, Prices

theatlantic:

Zenaide Muneton is a nanny in New York City. Last year, she made more than $200,000, Planet Money reports. Yes, with five zeros.

How in the world can Manhattan nannies be worth $200,000 a year? One answer is that they’re more talented than your typical babysitter. The highest-paid nannies can cook four-course macrobiotic meals and know their way around a Zamboni (those are actual examples of nanny skills). But the number-one reason why nannies in Manhattan can get paid $200,000 is very simple. Rich families can afford it. And in the market for locally-delivered services, like caring for a child, prices rise as high as the clientele can afford to pay.

Six-figure nannies don’t rule the world, but they help explain the world of prices. On a global scale, the price of locally-delivered services, such as nannies and barbers, fluctuate wildly from country to country. A simple haircut in Uzbekistan is much, much cheaper than a simple haircut in Beverly Hills. But lots of goods can be bought and enjoyed thousands of miles away from where they’re made, like automobiles and paintings. If you’re in the market for an original Picasso, it won’t matter whether you buy the painting in China or in the United States. It will cost the same price anywhere, because the painting can be “consumed” anywhere.

So, some prices vary wildly from country to country, and some prices don’t. What’s the difference?

Read more.

factsandchicks: On that note, FactsandChicks has teamed up with…

chicks, facts, factsandchicks, ipad, money, Onswipe, tattoos, technology



factsandchicks:

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