Is this you? As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.
Claim your profile
Articles by Ross Gerber
Die Fusion des Jahrhunderts – Könnten SpaceX und Telsa bald verschmelzen?
Könnten Tesla und SpaceX eines Tages zu einem einzigen Konzern verschmelzen? Die Überlegungen kommen nicht aus dem Nichts. Immer mehr Marktbeobachter sehen in den beiden von Elon Musk geprägten Unternehmen zahlreiche Überschneidungen und strategische Vorteile, die sich aus einer engeren Verzahnung ergeben könnten. Warum die Fusionsfantasie überhaupt entsteht Auf den ersten Blick könnten die Geschäftsfelder der beiden Unternehmen kaum unterschiedlicher sein.
Musk’un Servetinde Devlet Desteği Öne Çıkıyor
Elon Musk’ın dünyanın ilk trilyoneri olmasında en büyük pay Amerikalı vergi mükellefleri ve hükümet yetkililerine ait. Musk’ın şirketlerindeki mühendislerin teknolojik atılımları ve Wall Street yatırımcılarının sermaye akışı elbette önemliydi ancak asıl belirleyici faktör devlet desteği oldu. Yatırım firması Gerber Kawasaki’nin CEO’su ve Tesla’nın ilk yatırımcılarından Ross Gerber, “Hükümet olmasaydı Tesla ve SpaceX olmazdı” ifadelerini kullandı.
Rethinking Forage Quality and Particle Size
Long before you head out to the field with the forage harvester, it is suggested to put some thought into what is the best particle size or theoretical cut length (TCL) of the forage to best compliment your individual program. Standard industry recommendations or “what you did last year” should be reviewed by your nutritionist and adapted to give your lactating cows the “ideal” amount of physical and digestible fibre to optimize herd health and production of milk and milk components.
The Fed’s Approach To Marijuana Has Never Made Less Sense: How Investors Could Benefit From A Change
Most experts peg the U.S. cannabis market at about $17 billion, with some projecting that it will eventually near $40 billion by 2025. However, marijuana – which is now legal for recreational use in 15 states and the District of Columbia – likely has a much brighter future than most realize. The reason is that federal lawmakers have never been closer to legalizing pot. Consider the effort currently underway in the House to help marijuana-based businesses gain access to banking services.
Tech Trends For 2021-Batteries And Bitcoin
Almost everyone will be happy to see the curtain close on 2020 and hopefully enjoy a much better year in 2021. For investors, that means searching for new growth opportunities. Though technology will likely remain attractive going forward, it’s probably best to look beyond some of the usual suspects, like the FAANGs and Tesla TSLA, which already have steep valuations. Here are three tech trends to watch in the year ahead.
ESG Investors Are Being Duped
The essential premise of so-called ESG funds is that your investments reflect your values. Unfortunately, if you genuinely prize social responsibility, protecting the environment and good corporate governance, it's challenging to find a fund that reflects those principles entirely.
With Live Music On Hold, The Industry Needs A New Video-Based Model To Stay Afloat
Taylor Swift is undoubtedly one of the biggest names in music. Her most recent album, "Folklore," debuted at no. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart despite minimal advanced buildup. Her previous six albums also reached the top spot, making her the only female to have seven consecutive no. 1 albums to open a career. Meanwhile, Swift's last tour, which wrapped up in late 2018, grossed over $345 million and enjoyed the highest average attendance per show since U2's 360° Tour.
The Physical Economy Is Done
Based on current trends, it's clear that the ongoing pandemic will linger into next year, if not longer. With economic activity already in the tank, what lies ahead is anyone's guess. However, what seems certain is that many of the societal and consumer behavioral changes that were slowly beginning to have an impact in the years preceding the outbreak will now unfold at a much faster pace. And the longer COVID-19 defines everyday life, the higher the chances that such changes will become permanent.
The Winners Of The Work-From-Home Boom
COVID-19 continues to leave a path of destruction. More than 115,000 have died in the United States, millions more have been infected worldwide and economies across the globe are in tatters. Undoubtedly, the pandemic will result in changes to everyday American life. And while some of them will be subtle, others will be more profound.
COVID-19 Is This Generation’s Sept 11, And Other Ways Life Will Never Be The Same Again
What a difference six weeks can make? During the middle part of February, stocks were at record highs, and to the extent most in the U.S. were worried about the coronavirus, it was how it would impact supply chains in China. Fast forward to today, and the world is locked down, the U.S. has over 425,000 infections and equities are hyper-volatile. HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY WINDFALL Many have compared the COVID-19 outbreak with Sept. 11, due to the tragic loss of life and the economic repercussions.
With A New Decade Comes New Disruption: Trends For 2020 And Beyond.
Some market observers believe that in 2020 investors will have to make do with lower returns than in previous years, musing that equities will inevitably weaken after an unprecedented stretch of post-Great Recession growth. While it’s possible that the broader market may not do as well as it did in 2019, there will be areas that could outperform expectations this year.
So Many Streamers, So Little Time
Cable TV is a relic of the past, and it’s only a matter of time before the model fizzles out entirely. That much has been clear for some time. Still, the online streaming ecosystem that is set to replace it faces major problems. For years, cable enjoyed a virtual entertainment monopoly, with a few companies dominating the landscape in each region of the country, along with satellite providers like Dish Network and DirecTV. Now, options are more numerous.
Nothing Is On Fire: Don’t Let Today’s Media Headlines Scare You
With manufactured debates and fake outrage, ESPN's morning show "First Take" is equal parts surreal and preposterous. In what is now an all too familiar format, the show's hosts sit across a desk from one another and spar over the latest sports headlines. When Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith co-hosted, the show reached bizarre heights.
The FAANGs Are Losing Their Collective Bite
The FAANG stocks – Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google – not only account for a substantial percentage of each American's online activities every day, but they have powered much of the market's gains during the ongoing decade-long expansion. But these firms are maturing, and while they remain good companies, they now have diverging fortunes, with some poised to do better than others.
Why Some Morgan Stanley Advisors Left Uber On The Curb
Shortly before Uber rolled out its initial public offering on May 10, Morgan Stanley advisors got an alert on their employer-issued smartphones that they could download an Uber app. Some advisors ignored that invitation, even though any downloaded app on their company-issued phones required Morgan Stanley management approval, so the chance to take advantage of the only one provided for ride hailing might have had appeal.
Why Some Morgan Stanley Advisors Left Uber On The Curb
Shortly before Uber rolled out its initial public offering on May 10, Morgan Stanley advisors got an alert on their employer-issued smartphones that they could download an Uber app. Some advisors ignored that invitation, even though any downloaded app on their company-issued phones required Morgan Stanley management approval, so the chance to take advantage of the only one provided for ride hailing might have had appeal.
The Freemium Model Is Coming To Music
When Microsoft began to put together the promotional campaign to support the launch of Windows 95, the company reportedly offered R.E.M. millions for the right to use "It's The End of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine).” R.E.M. famously passed, opening the door for the Rolling Stones, who gladly took the money, and thus "Start Me Up" roared across every TV in America during the summer of 1995.
After A Decade Of Underperformance, Warren Buffett Should Retire On Top
About 25 years ago, right around the time when I was just starting out as a wealth manager, my mother showed me her father's investment portfolio. He had recently passed away and upon inheriting it, she asked me to manage what he left behind. He was a savvy guy and a shrewd investor, but the holdings were what you would expect for a man his age, dominated by utilities, defense companies and conglomerates.
Disney + Will Provoke A Game Of Musical Chairs Among Streamers, Leaving Someone Without A Seat
When Disney unveiled plans for its long-awaited streaming service last month, Disney +, investors liked what they heard, igniting a double-digit, one-day move in the company’s stock. Much of the coverage in the wake of the announcement centered on Netflix, which may not have been the target of the new service but was certainly the impetus behind it.
Outmoded U.S. Laws Giving Canadian Cannabis Companies A Massive Head Start
America’s cannabis industry is falling behind its Canadian counterparts. Way behind. To some, that’s okay, because marijuana is a drug and therefore taboo. Reasonable people can debate the latter point, since it’s only natural for one person’s set of beliefs to differ from someone else’s. Yet what’s less debatable is whether marijuana is as harmful as some of the other drugs in which it is often associated.
Three Big Tech Trends For 2019
It was a rare rocky year for tech in 2018. Facebook grappled with a host of problems related to privacy, with each month seemingly bringing a wave of new revelations about the firm’s almost willful disregard when it comes to protecting user data. Google contended with similar issues, though not at the same rate. News reports indicated that the company had allowed third parties to access user data contained in Gmail accounts.
IoT Services Will Drive Amazon's Continued Rise
When Amazon opened a brick and mortar bookstore in November 2015, I was confused. Then, they continued to do it, adding more bookstores and afterward essentially doubling down on the strategy by acquiring Whole Foods and launching Amazon Go. The latter is a line of cashless convenience stores that grants access with an app and then utilizes a series of sensors to charge shoppers each time they remove an item from the shelf, creating a virtual cart.
Facebook Could Get Its Groove Back By Embracing Music
We all know what Facebook is good at, which is creating connections that transcend borders, span the globe and bring people together. At times, this strength manifests into genuine, heartwarming moments. In others, though, people use the platform to express views or band together over issues that aren’t so heartwarming. This latter point has been the company’s downfall, along with its inability to protect personal information.
As FAANG Stocks Get Old, The Next Technology Wave Is Called TAND
It’s no secret that the so-called FAANG family of stocks (Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google) have had an outsized role in propelling the steady run-up in equities over the last decade. Their collective influence has been especially formidable this year, with the tech giants propping up the S&P while other market sectors have slumped, including autos, financials and consumer staples. It’s clear, however, that the FAANG party could be slowing down.
Cannabis' Wild Market Ride: It's Not The New Bitcoin
Cannabis' Wild Market Ride: It's Not The New Bitcoin With Canada's legalization happening this month, so much can - and will happen - as this young industry grows. We break down the different opportunities in the volatile sector.Read Full Article »
Cannabis Is Not The New Bitcoin. Here's Why
As most market observers have noted, Canadian cannabis producer, Tilray, is in the midst of a wild ride. After debuting at $17 in July, shares zipped past the $200 mark at one point in September, making the five-year-old company more valuable than CBS and American Airlines. Tilray has since retreated, but it’s still plagued by wild bouts of volatility, routinely experiencing double-digit, single-session swings. There are a few simple reasons for this.
Pay Attention To Tesla's Potential As A Service Business, Not Musk's Antics
(AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato, File) Tesla is seemingly always in the eye of the storm, underscored by the weeks-long drama surrounding Elon Musk’s cryptic tweet about his plans (since scrapped) to take the company public and, more recently, his antics during an appearance on a popular podcast. Why the media obsesses over his quirks is understandable – he’s brash, unpredictable and never particularly shy about offering his opinion, even when it’s ill-advised.
What UBS Fight With Bloomberg Over Client Data Means for FAs
Most financial advisors recognize that data-analytics have grown in significance for their clients. But a parallel trend has also developed: an increase in intra-industry disputes about who gets to repackage data and offer it to clients as part of portfolio-management tools. In mid-July, Bloomberg Finance filed a lawsuit in New York federal court against UBS over precisely that issue.
Facebook And Twitter Dogged By 'Peak Social' Woes
Earlier this year, Facebook began running a commercial that amounted to an apology for all its recent misdeeds, which span everything from allowing fake news and conspiracy theories to proliferate to permitting the misuse of data. The ad promised that the company would get back to its roots of creating communities and making it easier for people to make connections. Whether Facebook actually does this is an open question. Make no mistake, it will continue to share data.
Trump's Tiff With Canada Could Give America's Cannabis Industry A Jolt
Following the recent G-7 meeting, President Trump got into a well-publicized tussle with, of all countries, Canada. This after its prime minister, Justin Trudeau, was critical of U.S.-imposed tariffs on aluminum imported from Canada, Mexico, Europe and Japan. The spat, involving one of our closest allies and trading partners, was, to say the least, unusual, even for Trump.
Sports Betting Promises Gusher Of New Profits
Thanks to a Supreme Court decision last week, states are now free to decide whether they want to legalize sports gambling. While there are many thorny issues to sift through before this becomes a reality, the potential fallout could be enormous. It starts with the biggest sports behemoth of them all: The NFL. The league’s television ratings have experienced sharp declines over the last two seasons.
Netflix Content Library Investments Produce Uncertain Returns
Earlier this month, Netflix issued a press release announcing that it had acquired Seth Rogen. As it turns out, the announcement was a stunt, part of a promotional effort surrounding Rogen’s comedy special, “Hilarity for Charity,” a fundraiser that was released exclusively on Netflix April 6. This, along with the perception that Netflix is the primary beneficiary of the ongoing cord-cutting revolution, has sent its valuation soaring.
Netflix Content Library Investments Produce Uncertain Returns
Earlier this month, Netflix issued a press release announcing that it had acquired Seth Rogen. Not the rights to his past work or an agreement to team with him on upcoming projects. The actual person. The comedian even responded to inquiries noting that he was a ‘wholly owned subsidiary of Netflix.’ As it turns out, the announcement was a stunt, part of a promotional effort surrounding Rogen’s comedy special, “Hilarity for Charity,” a fundraiser that was released exclusively on Netflix April 6.
As Tech Titans Continue To Face Questions, Facebook Has Likely Peaked
Facebook, as we all know, has been hit with yet another public relations crisis, with the company now acknowledging that it allowed data firm Cambridge Analytica to access the private information of 50 million users without their permission.
Spotify Can Justify Valuation By Becoming Netflix of Music
Spotify, the Swedish-based music streaming company, is expected to go public at some point before the end of the first quarter with an estimated valuation of nearly $20 billion. In a twist, it will shun the IPO route, bypassing high-priced investment bankers, and instead pursue a direct listing, which enables company insiders to offer their shares for sale on a public exchange.
Looking Ahead To The Year In Tech: Payments, Cars, And Live Sports
Undoubtedly, one of the biggest stories in tech during 2017 was the rapid and volatile rise of Bitcoin. Its ascent was impossible to ignore, piquing the interest of everyone from everyday retail investors to sophisticated hedge funds. One company even changed its name to capitalize on the frenzy, echoing the worst excesses of the late 1990s, when struggling firms affixed ‘.com’ at the end of their name in an effort boost value.
How To Ride The Bitcoin Wave Without Actually Investing In It
Bitcoin is following a familiar script. Like nearly all the manias that preceded it, from tulip bulbs to the initial dot-com craze in the late 90’s, bitcoin started out as a somewhat mysterious fascination among a very small group. Then, over time it exploded, eventually becoming too sexy for the broader public to ignore, so they want in. That, in part, explains where we are today.
Apple And Amazon Fight Losing Battle With Netflix As Movie Industry Falters
While the fallout from the Harvey Weinstein scandal continues to grab headlines and rock the entertainment world, perhaps the bigger story in Hollywood is the ongoing decline of the movie industry. The recently concluded summer movie season was the worst in recent memory, failing to gross $4 billion for the first time since 2006 and overall was the lowest-grossing summer in 25 years. One of the problems is that going to the movies has become far too expensive.
Investment Opportunities As America Goes Crazy For Its Pets
Just blocks from the northern rim of Amazon’s ever-expanding headquarters in downtown Seattle lies a daycare center. This is not something that would ordinarily be noteworthy in a city with a large commuter workforce, but this one is unique: It caters exclusively to dogs.
Why Apple's Inability To Remake TV Distribution Is The Culprit In Cable's Imminent Death
When Steve Jobs was trying to get iTunes off the ground, he approached the record labels with a dire message: Your business model is beginning to decay. Consumers, thanks to pirated content made available by the likes of Napster, no longer valued music like they once did and were unwilling to pay $15-$20 for a CD, when all they wanted was one song. Align with me, he told them, and sell songs a la carte. Otherwise, you’ll become irrelevant and, soon, extinct. Jobs, of course, was right.
How the Music Industry Is Putting Itself Out of Business | RealClearMarkets
How the Music Industry Is Putting Itself Out of Business There was a time when mid-level bands with a modest following could make a pretty decent living playing music. Times have changed, besides a handful of superstars, it's impossible for bands and musicians to generate significant revenue taking this approach. The reason: Consumers don't for music.Read Full Article »
How The Music Industry Is Putting Itself Out Of Business
There was once a time when mid-level bands with a modest following could make a pretty decent living playing music. They’d put out a record, sell a couple hundred thousand copies and then go on tour to promote it – which would drive additional sales, even as the tour itself was lucky to break even. For the largest acts, this formula was a bona fide moneymaking bonanza, lining the pockets of all involved, including the musicians, managers, promoters and record labels.
How To Get In On The Big Money In Sports
The late David Halberstam, the best-selling author and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, relayed an interesting story in “Playing for Keeps,” his authoritative biography of Michael Jordan published in 1997.
Why IPO Investors Are Set Up For Failure
Since the beginning of last year, the IPO market has largely been a spectacular failure, with a number of high-profile companies falling off dramatically after first sprinting out of the gate, including Box, GoPro and FitBit. Some have pinned the blame on a poor economic environment, contending that given the [...]
Four Big Technology Trends For 2016
This article is more than 6 years old. In 2015, there were a number of notable developments in the technology sector. Apple released its latest version of the iPhone, which was a smash hit, especially in China, and also the Apple Watch, which wasn’t. Google continued to make strides toward putting a self-driving car on the road, touting such technology as transformative. It remains to be seen, however, whether consumers, not to mention regulators, will feel the same way.
Healthy Investing Could Make You Wealthy
Let’s start with the bad news: According to one recent study, 66% of Americans are overweight. Or even worse, more than a third of people are considered obese. This, of course, has allowed an array of otherwise avoidable medical issues to reach nearly pandemic levels, including heart disease, stroke, diabetes and some forms of cancer. In the end we all pay the price, literally.
Live Sports Remain Ace In The Hole For Cable Companies Against Cord Cutters
With Apple Apple’s recent announcement that it will soon launch a paid streaming music service (Apple Music), it’s pretty clear where that industry is headed and who the dominant players will be. Apple and Spotify will battle it out for supremacy, with the former enjoying a massive built-in advantage of already having nearly 800 million existing customers.
Picking Winners And Losers In The 'Uber Economy'
There have been three distinct trends within the tech sector since the 1990s that have left an indelible imprint. The first was the commodification of the PC, and that period was dominated by the likes of Gateway, Dell, Hewlett Packard and Microsoft Microsoft. Then in the 2000s, search portals took over, as companies such as Yahoo Yahoo and Google Google vaulted to prominence providing usefulness to the internet.
What Artists And Brands Need To Learn From The Grateful Dead And Coachella
People have been talking about the demise of the traditional music industry business model since the arrival of the Internet’s first music sharing sites 20 years ago. But the fact is what we are seeing today is not the slow, creeping death of the music industry – it’s simply a reversion of it, one that is perhaps long overdue.
Tesla Is Not Just Selling Cars
It would be hard to find someone happier than an investor who bought Tesla Motors stock two years ago and has held on since. Sure, there have been bumps in the road and piques of volatility along the way but since March 2013 Tesla has jumped over 450 percent. Still, the company has been a lightning rod for controversy. Critics say that Tesla, for all the outsized gains and attention, has yet to produce a single dime of profit. Such critics would be correct.
Show More
loading
Actions
Is this you?
As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.Get in touch with Ross
Contact Ross, search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.
Learn more about Muck Rack