News

PepsiCo buys Soda Stream for $3.2 billion

PepsiCo bought carbonated drink maker SodaStream for $3.2 billion on Monday, a move the beverage giant hopes will further help it adjust as consumers drink less traditional soda and opt more for flavored waters and other drinks.

The deal is also a boon to SodaStream, which has enjoyed a resurgence after being targeted by anti-Israel boycotters in the past. The Israel-based company, which produces machines that allow people to make fizzy drinks in their own homes, has positioned itself as a provider of a healthy product in contrast to traditional sugary, carbonated drinks.

PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi — who is stepping down from the CEO post in October — called the companies "an inspired match" since both companies aim to reduce waste and limit their environmental footprint.

SodaStream CEO Daniel Birnbaum said that the deal marked a "validation of our mission to bring healthy, convenient and environmentally friendly beverage solutions to ...

Nokia signs $3.5 billion 5G deal with T-Mobile

Nokia is set to provide US mobile operator T-Mobile with its complete 5G technology software and services portfolio, as part of a $3.5 billion deal, signed to speed up the rollout of 5G mobile networks in the US  

The agreement will see Nokia working on T-Mobile's nationwide network, which will initially use spectrum in the 600MHz and 28GHz band, utilising 3GPP 5G New Radio standards.  

"Nokia and T-Mobile will advance the large-scale deployment of 5G services throughout the United States," said Ashish Chowdhary, chief customer operations officer, Nokia. 

The USA will be amongst the first countries in the world to rollout fully commercialised 5G networks, with some operators aiming at multiple city rollouts before the end of 2018.

/Source: Total Telecom/

Tesla is looking at Germany for a new Gigafactory

The electric automaker already has a factory in Europe which is located in Tilburg in the Netherlands, but it is only used for ‘final assembly’ of Tesla’s Model S and Model X vehicles.

Musk has been talking about a full battery and vehicle factory in Europe for a while now. Several European countries have even launched campaigns to try to attract Tesla in their home market.

Tesla was supposed to confirm a location for a factory in 2017, but it never happened.

The CEO recently said that it still makes sense for Tesla to invest in manufacturing capabilities in Europe, China, and in North America – where all the company’s vehicles are currently being built.

Now Musk confirmed that Germany is leading the competition to get Tesla’s next Gigafactory:

The CEO also confirmed that even if Tesla ends up building a Gigafactory in Germany, the automaker’s headquarters will remain in the Netherlands.

Following the important local ...

Apple launches a $300 million fund to bring clean energy to China

Apple has announced a new investment fund to boost clean energy in China by connecting suppliers with “renewable energy sources,” according to a press release.

The company says it will work with 10 other suppliers to jointly invest $300 million over the next four years. The end result is what Apple calling “the China Clean Energy Fund,” which will “invest in and develop clean energy projects” that total more than 1 gigawatt of renewable energy in the country. That’s enough to power 1 million homes, according to the company. A third party, DWS Group, will manage the funds and invest

Overall, Apple and its suppliers hope to generate more than 4 gigawatts of clean energy by 2020.

This announcement follows Apple’s previous dives into renewable energy projects over the past few years. In 2015, it launched the Supplier Clean Energy Program, committing 23 of Apple’s manufacturing partners to use entirely clean energy, and ...

Tesla's next California energy storage project may be its largest yet

Tesla's giant Australian energy storage facility may seem small in the near future. Pacific Gas and Electric has submitted proposals for four new energy storage projects to the California Public Utilities Commission, one of which is for a facility at its Moss Landing substation that could output 182.5MW over the course of four hours -- that's more than 3,000 of Tesla's Powerpack 2 units. For context, the Australian location outputs 'just' 129MW. The project would have a total 1.1GWh capacity, which fits with Elon Musk's recent hints that Tesla could have a "gigawatt-hour scale" deal within months.

The batteries would, as elsewhere, help keep up with "local capacity requirements" by supplying electricity at moments when power plants aren't enough to meet demand. Provided the CPUC approves the projects, they'd be ready between late 2019 and late 2020.

It might be a daunting feat to launch a storage battery system this large. Tesla's ...

South Korea to invest $2.34 Billion by 2022 in hydrogen vehicles

South Korea will invest 2.6 trillion won (US$2.34 billion) by 2022 to develop hydrogen-fuel cars and related infrastructure, boosting sales of the eco-friendly vehicles, the industry ministry said recently.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said it aims to supply about 16,000 hydrogen vehicles and 310 charging stations nationwide by 2022 to tackle air pollution problems and promote next-generation cars. Local car makers have released a series of fuel cell lineups in recent years, but demand remains feeble in the domestic market due in large part to a lack of charging stations.

Under the agreement, leading automaker Hyundai Motor Co., the state-run Korea Gas Corporation and other companies will work together to install hydrogen fueling stations in major cities and on highways. The state-run Korea Express Corporation and Hyundai Motor will work together to install eight hydrogen charging stations on highways with heavy traffic and 10 more in Seoul and other ...

Ice Energy Announces Long-Term Funding Agreement with Argo Infrastructure Partners

Ice Energy, the leading provider of distributed thermal energy storage solutions, announced that it has entered into a long-term funding agreement with private equity manager Argo Infrastructure Partners LLC (“Argo”).

The investment establishes a strategic relationship that begins with $40 million in funding for Ice Energy and its current projects, which are supported by long-term utility contracts to manage peak power demand and load shifting.

“Through our collaboration with Argo, the funding needs of our existing projects are now met, and we have a quality source of capital enabling us to accelerate market development both in the U.S. and internationally,” said Mike Hopkins, CEO of Ice Energy. “Argo shares our view that thermal energy storage, and our Ice Bear technology in particular, has the potential to take a very significant share of a fast-growing market. We are tremendously excited to partner with Argo to do just that.”

/Source: GlobeNewswire/

Market volatility drives appetite for active investments among IFAs

The need to manage clients’ emotions in response to market events and the risks associated with them may be a challenge for financial advisers, but the way forward is clear: 81% say the current market is favourable to active management, according to a survey published today by Natixis Investment Managers.

More than eight in ten (82%) also believe that the length of the current bull market has made investors complacent about risk and 79% said clients don’t even recognize risk until it’s been realized in their investments. This trend appears to be based in large part on their passive holdings. Nearly three-quarters (74%) believe individual investors are unaware of the risks of passive investing, and 73% say individuals have a false sense of security about passive investing.

Cryptocurrencies now appear among advisers’ top concerns. After a considerable run up in 2017, nearly three-quarters (74%) see the potential for the cryptocurrency bubble to ...

Investors still bullish on US stocks and economy

Why are the markets moving higher? Companies are churning out profit, and the economy is healthy.

Tariffs, inflation, higher rates, and just about anything else that could spook the markets have taken a back seat. Investors care more about the fundamentals than they do the noise coming out of Washington.

Stocks were up again Monday. The Dow rose nearly 200 points, pushing it back into positive territory for the year.

The Nasdaq, the market exchange that's home to Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN), Microsoft (MSFT) and many other American tech giants, is now up nearly 10% in 2018.

Friday's jobs report provided a Goldilocksian just-right scenario for bulls. Hiring and pay are going up, but wages aren't rising so dramatically to spark fears of rampant inflation and aggressive rate hikes from the Federal Reserve.

"Investors are looking at the broader data from the US and saying, 'We're still doing okay,' -- especially compared to the rest ...

Chief investment officer to leave California pension fund

The chief investment officer of California's $350 billion pension fund is stepping aside.

Ted Eliopoulos announced Monday he's leaving the California Public Employees' Retirement System once a replacement is hired. He's one of California's highest paid state workers and responsible for the nation's largest public pension fund.

Eliopoulos' five-year tenure coincided with significant volatility in financial markets.

CalPERS investments returned 11.2 percent last fiscal year after they fell short of the system's 7-percent target for several years.

CalPERS chief executive Marcie Frost credits Eliopoulos with reducing the costs and complexity of investments.

Eliopoulos says his family is moving to New York City, where two daughters are in college.

/Source: Business Insider UK/