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| Here's your daily business briefing. - 🧠 Apple discusses Google's Gemini for iPhone AI
- 🔍 Deep Dive: Gemstone rings gain popularity and market
- 🔄 Deloitte initiates major restructuring for cost reduction
Thanks for reading! Shriram
p/Shriram | |
| 1 | | Bloomberg reports Apple ($AAPL) is discussing with Google ($GOOG) the integration of Google's Gemini artificial intelligence engine into the iPhone, possibly in the iOS 18 update, aiming to utilize Google's generative AI models for new iPhone features, building on their existing search partnership. This potential collaboration could give Gemini access to billions of iPhone users and might raise antitrust concerns, given the dominance of both companies in their fields. More: - Google's stock surged up to 7.4% in New York on Monday, the largest intraday gain since Feb. 2, 2023, following reports of the negotiations, while Apple's shares increased by 2.2%.
- Apple's AI initiatives, including its extensive language model known as Ajax and its rudimentary chatbot called Apple GPT, are purportedly less sophisticated than those of rivals like Google.
- Any potential agreement between Apple and Google is unlikely to be announced until June, possibly coinciding with Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference, despite ongoing discussions.
- Apple aims to improve user experiences on its devices by integrating generative AI features into Siri and other apps, alongside its existing AI capabilities, to offer proactive assistance.
Zoom Out: - Last week, Bloomberg reported that Apple acquired Canada's DarwinAI earlier this year to enhance its AI capabilities, with a significant AI announcement expected in 2024.
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What the numbers say: Over the past decade, the prevalence of colored gemstones in engagement rings has surged from 5% to over 15%. Wholesale prices for gemstones such as sapphires, emeralds, and rubies have notably risen in recent years, with annual increases of 12%, 13%, and 17%, respectively, driven by growing demand and tightening supply. Relevance: The growing trend of colored gemstone engagement rings mirrors a shift in consumer tastes toward unique and customized jewelry. Signet Jewelers and other significant players note a surge in demand for gemstone jewelry, especially in segments like weddings and fashion, despite supply constraints and escalating prices for natural gemstones, with approximately 75% of consumers still favoring natural options over lab-grown alternatives. More data: Investors are increasingly eyeing gemstones as lucrative assets, as is evident from auctions experiencing robust demand and surpassing price estimates. Despite the rise of lab-grown diamonds, natural-colored gemstones remain favored for their distinct qualities and perceived worth. | | | |
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| 3 | | Deloitte has launched its most extensive global restructuring in 10 years to simplify operations and cut expenses, consolidating its central business units into four categories: audit and assurance, strategy, risk and transactions, technology and transformation, and tax and legal. The reorganization, spanning over a year, will affect Deloitte's operations across 150 countries. More: - Joe Ucuzoglu, worldwide CEO of Deloitte, spearheads the redesign to streamline the organization's architecture and free up partners to concentrate more on client tasks.
- With member firms beginning the shift as early as June, the new structure is expected to be fully implemented by June 2025.
- The restructuring coincides with a predicted slowdown in the market as businesses reduce expenditures due to economic headwinds.
- With $65B in global sales in the most recent fiscal year, Deloitte maintained its lead among the Big Four accounting companies.
- Part of the reorganization is keeping audit and assurance as a separate division while splitting the advisory businesses into three sections.
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| 4 | | Irish whiskey producers, once known for their commitment to purity, are now embracing flavored varieties to appeal to a broader audience, with Jameson leading the trend by introducing options like Cold Brew and Orange. The flavored whiskey market, valued at $1.5B, now accounts for 20% of total U.S. whiskey sales. More: - Sales of flavored whisky have surpassed those of unflavored whisky in the past several years, with flavored whisky seeing a 37% growth in sales since 2019.
- Conor McGregor's Proper No. Twelve capitalized on the trend of flavored whisky by releasing an apple-flavored variant.
- The 200-year-old Irish distillery Tullamore D.E.W. just introduced its first flavored whisky, laced with honey, with an eye towards the American market.
- Initial sales have been strong, and honey-infused products are projected to comprise 20% of Tullamore D.E.W.'s total sales next year, with forecasts suggesting a rise to 35% over time.
- The most popular flavors in the flavored whisky category are honey, apple, cinnamon, peach, and peanut butter.
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| 5 | | Nissan and Honda's announcement of collaboration on electric vehicles, core parts, and software led to a surge in their stock prices, with Nissan's rising by 4.07% and Honda's by 2.69%. The partnership aims to enhance competitiveness in the EV market against rivals in China and the U.S., starting with joint procurement and developing components like batteries. More: - Compared to global competitors like Tesla and China's BYD, Japanese automakers have switched to electric vehicles more slowly.
- Automakers often forge alliances to pool resources and leverage economies of scale for electric vehicle production.
- There has been pressure from Japanese officials for Nissan and Honda to work together and realize economies of scale.
- Nissan is reevaluating its global strategy after revising its alliance with Renault and Mitsubishi Motors, while Honda halted a low-cost electric vehicle development project with General Motors in October.
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| 6 | | Vodafone Group Plc has finalized an $8.7B deal to sell its Italian business to Swisscom AG, merging Vodafone Italia with Swisscom's Fastweb SpA subsidiary, which is expected to close in Q1 2025. CEO Margherita Della Valle's restructuring efforts include divesting underperforming markets, with the recent sale of its Spanish unit projecting approximately $13B in cash proceeds. More: - Vodafone intends to begin a $4.34B share repurchase program and halve its dividend to $0.045 per share, effective in fiscal year 2025.
- In London trade, Vodafone's shares increased by 4.8% to 69.28 pence, while in Zurich, Swisscom's shares increased by 4.6% to 527 Swiss francs.
- The agreement could challenge Telecom Italia SpA and alter competitive dynamics, particularly in fixed-line services.
- For Swisscom, Evercore Inc. was the primary financial counsel; for Vodafone, UBS Group AG was the only financial adviser.
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- Target is implementing a new policy to restrict purchases to 10 items or fewer at its self-checkout lanes across nearly 2,000 stores starting Sunday.
- Joann, an 81-year-old fabric and craft retailer, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, securing $132M in funding to cut its $1B debt in half and maintain operations for its 850 stores and website.
- Kazatomprom's profit sharply increased due to soaring uranium prices, which reached a 16-year high of $106.40 per pound recently.
- Air France plans to increase long-haul flights this summer, expecting higher demand, particularly from the U.S., ahead of the Paris Olympic Games, with a projected 9% capacity increase on long-distance routes compared to last year.
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 | Freelance Writer | | Shriram is pursuing Master’s in Business with Marketing at Warwick Business School. He worked as a Senior Consultant in Tech and Political Consultancies before his Masters. He is passionate about Tech, Marketing, Strategy, Anthropology and Politics. He is also the Postgraduate Ambassador for Warwick Business School. | | This newsletter was edited by Aaron Crutchfield | |
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