Finance

Samsung enjoys its most profitable quarter in two years thanks to strong Galaxy S7 sales

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 28, 2016

Samsung this morning announced results for the second calendar quarter ended June 30, and the numbers are encouraging despite global smartphone sales cooling down. The South Korean conglomerate's mobile division reported “substantial earnings improvement” buoyed by strong sales of its flagship Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge flagship smartphones.

The data is newsworthy given strong competition Samsung has been facing on the low-end from Chinese rivals like Xiaomi and Huawei and on the high-end from Apple's iPhone. This is the best earning result Samsung has posted in two years, by the way.

Ahead of June quarter earnings, Apple’s stock passes $100 for the first time in six weeks

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 18, 2016

Shares of Apple have passed the psychological important barrier of a hundred bucks per share ahead of the company's ahead June quarter earnings report, which is scheduled to take place next Tuesday, July 26. This marks the first time Apple’s stock price broke the $100 mark in six weeks after the stock plunged below $90 following weaker-than-expected iPhone sales, CNBC tweeted this morning.

TSMC’s Q3 revenue expected to climb to a record high on strong iPhone 7 A10 chip orders

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 11, 2016

Citing market forecasts quoted by the Commercial Times newspaper, Taiwanese trade publication DigiTimes reported Monday that shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSMC) could hit record levels thanks to orders for the Apple-designed 'A10' system-on-a-chip, the engine that will drive the next iPhone and iPad. TSMC just posted strong numbers for the second financial quarter.

Apple to reveal June quarter numbers on July 26

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 28, 2016

Apple will talk sales, revenue, profitability, the cost of doing business and other financial metrics pertaining to its third fiscal quarter, which translates into the second calendar quarter of this year, on July 26, according to an announcement posted on the Apple Investor webpage.

A conference call in which the company will discuss the latest quarterly results with investors and Wall Street analysts is scheduled for Tuesday, July 26, 2016 at 2pm Pacific / 5pm Eastern.

Apple, Amazon, Google, PayPal and Intuit form coalition to promote financial technology

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 20, 2016

Silicon Valley giants Apple, Amazon, Google, PayPal and Intuit have formed a coalition to promote the benefits of financial technologies in order to help the U.S. government better understand these technologies and ensure greater innovation in financial services, Re/code reported Tuesday.

The initiative is called the Financial Innovation Now and aimed at accelerating the pace of change in financial services, according to the official website.

Apple to replace AT&T on the Dow on March 18

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 6, 2015

Apple of California will replace AT&T in the Dow Jones Industrial Average after the close of trading on March 18, Reuters reported this morning. The famed Dow Jones Industrial Average is indicative of the overall market health so Apple joining and replacing the nation's second-largest carrier on the index is certainly an encouraging sign for the economy.

Because the Dow is a weighted average of absolute stock price (unlike other indices), Apple was unable to join the Dow until its seven-to-one stock split, which took place in June of last year.

UK banks RBS and NatWest now allow account access via Touch ID fingerprint identification

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 18, 2015

As reported Wednesday by BBC News, two banks in the United Kingdom will soon allow their customers access their bank accounts using Touch ID-based fingerprint identification technology, a UK first.

“RBS and NatWest customers must activate the feature with their security information, but would only need to use Apple's Touch ID thereafter,” reports the BBC.

To protect their customers' sensitive financial information and mitigate risk, the banks have put a number of restrictions in place to augment Apple's existing Touch ID safeguards.

1SecMoney review: record income and expenses right from Notification Center

Lory Gil ∙ Updated May 17, 2018

How people keep track of finances is a personal preference. Some like complex, feature rich programs that allow them to connect and follow all of their income and expenses meticulously. Others are happy with simplicity.

1SecMoney is a simple finance-tracking app that lets you add daily additions and subtractions for your bank and credit card accounts. You can also input items directly from Notification Center using the Today widget. We’ve got a hands-on app review of 1SecMoney for you today.

Yahoo redesigns Finance app for real-time

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 30, 2014

If you're something of a number guy like Apple's Time Cook, there's no better way to catch up on the latest stock quotes, company trends and breaking financial news than Yahoo's excellent Finance service, available on the web and mobile.

I mean, even Apple's own Stocks uses Yahoo as a data source. Today, the Internet company has pushed a new update to its free Finance iOS app.

It's got a brand new look, introduces real-time pre and after-market data, offers built-in financial news and more...

Samsung blames sluggish tablet sales, increased competition for Q2 earnings miss

Cody Lee ∙ July 8, 2014

Samsung today issued its earnings guidance for the second quarter of 2014, and in somewhat of an odd move, it attached a note to the document explaining why it will fall short of estimates. The company expects to see its profits drop for the third consecutive quarter.

The note details a number of factors, including the improving strength of the Korean won making exports more expensive, and exceedingly sluggish tablet sales. It also explains that it is running into greater competition in China from low-end device makers like Xiaomi...

Apple to release Q3 2014 financial results on July 22nd

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated January 27, 2016

Apple just announced via its Investor Relations portal that the company will be discussing financial results of its third fiscal quarter on July 22nd, during a conference call starting at 2:00 p.m. PT / 5:00 p.m ET. Based on past behavior, it is safe to assume that Apple will be publishing a press release with all relevant financial information a few minutes prior to the call's beginning.

During the conference call, Apple will discuss basic sales numbers and financials for its line of products, but don't expect them to reveal anything about future products. We will of course be on deck to report any information that might be relevant to our readers...

Spendbook is an elegant and useful personal finance tracker

Lory Gil ∙ Updated January 27, 2018

We’ve reviewed a number of personal finance apps in recent months, especially since the launch of iOS 7. One complaint I’ve heard is that many of the new app designs look too cartoonish or childlike.

Spendbook – Personal Finance Tracker is a comprehensive budgeting app that doesn’t look like a candy shop. Instead of a white background with pastel colors, you’ll be tracking your spending with a dark themed app that won’t make you feel like you are looking at a coloring book…