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<ul><li><a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/bb-stock">BlackBerry</a> surged as much as 65% on Tuesday after the company inked a multi-year deal with <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/amzn-stock">Amazon</a> to develop and market its "Intelligent Vehicle Data Platform."</li><li>The cloud software, called IVY, allows automakers to read vehicle sensor data and improve systems and performance, according to a <a href="https://www.blackberry.com/us/en/company/newsroom/press-releases/2020/aws-blackberry-join-forces-to-accelerate-innovation-with-new-intelligent-vehicle-data-platform">press release</a>.</li><li>The stock's leap is its biggest one-day gain on record and placed shares at their highest level since April 2019.</li><li><a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/bb-stock">Watch BlackBerry trade live here</a>.</li></ul><a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/bb-stock">BlackBerry</a> rocketed as much as 61% higher on Tuesday after inking a multi-year deal with <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/amzn-stock">Amazon</a> to develop and market <keyword id="6354356" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Blackberry">BlackBerry</keyword>'s "Intelligent Vehicle Data Platform".The platform, named IVY, includes cloud-connected software that allows automakers to read vehicle sensor data and "create actionable insights from that data" to improve vehicle performance, according to a <a href="https://www.blackberry.com/us/en/company/newsroom/press-releases/2020/aws-blackberry-join-forces-to-accelerate-innovation-with-new-intelligent-vehicle-data-platform">press release</a>. Improvements can include services that enhance driver and passenger experiences, the companies added.The stock's rally is the largest single-day gain for BlackBerry shares on record and brings prices to their highest level since April 2019.Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/investing-advice-tips-growth-fund-manager-dennis-lynch-morgan-stanley-2020-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dennis Lynch has tripled his clients' money since 2010. The star fund manager shares 5 bets he's seizing on for 2021 and beyond — and explains how he avoids making costly investing decisions.</a><keyword id="18635" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Amazon">Amazon</keyword> gained as much as 1.3% on the news.IVY will build on BlackBerry's QNX, a software bundle it currently uses in cars. Integration with <keyword id="141088" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Amazon-Web-Services">Amazon Web Services</keyword> allows data management and configuration across different vehicles to take place in the cloud, according to the release. For example, IVY could collect data from a driver encountering dangerous conditions and provide automakers with information on how certain safety features were used.Drivers of electric vehicles could reserve charging stations during a trip and adjust charging time to best fit the driver's travel plans, the companies added.Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stocks-to-buy-31-set-to-become-growth-engines-hsbc-2020-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HSBC says buy these 31 global stocks that are exposed to the pandemic's biggest tech disruptions and set to become growth engines of the future</a>Amazon Web Services already counts Volkswagen and Toyota as major customers for its cloud-computing technology. BlackBerry's automotive software is used in 175 million cars.BlackBerry traded at $9.24 per share as of 12:25 p.m. ET Tuesday, up roughly 44% year-to-date.Now read more <keyword id="31671" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="markets">markets</keyword> coverage from Markets Insider and Business Insider:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/investing-advice-tips-growth-fund-manager-dennis-lynch-morgan-stanley-2020-11">Dennis Lynch has tripled his clients' money since 2010. The star fund manager shares 5 bets he's seizing on for 2021 and beyond— and explains how he avoids making costly investing decisions.</a><a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/zoom-video-q3-earnings-stock-price-slowing-revenue-growth-guidance-2020-12-1029854162">Zoom slides 14% as slowing sales-growth forecasts make investors question the stock's 200% post-COVID rally</a><a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/economic-outlook-corporate-growth-slower-tourism-hotel-industries-fed-study-2020-12-1029854438">Corporate growth could see a 10% drop in virus-slammed industries amid mounting debt levels, New York Fed says</a><a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/bb-stock"><div type="image" title="BB" height="1108" width="1450" msid="79517607" hostid="261"></div></a>

BlackBerry spikes record 65% after finalizing deal with Amazon for automotive data software

If you think <keyword id="10387" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Microsoft">Microsoft</keyword>’s prolonged search for the next <keyword id="5645" type="POSITION" weightage="100" keywordseo="CEO">CEO</keyword> is getting a bit nutty, especially with a disgruntled <keyword id="62333" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Steve-Ballmer">Steve Ballmer</keyword> waiting on the sidelines to hand over the mantle, you are not far from the truth. But then, that is the actual state of the coveted C-Suite nowadays – volatile is the right word if you want to sum it up. There is no job security at the top and even the best performer for years can get redundant within the span of a few weeks. The issues could be many – right from <keyword id="646347" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="poor-performance">poor performance</keyword> to <keyword id="610960" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="business-restructuring">business restructuring</keyword> to alleged <keyword id="6375736" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="corruption-charges">corruption charges</keyword>. But the biggest factor is relevance, a perfect future-fit that can take companies ahead, according to <keyword id="67736" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Industry-experts">industry experts</keyword>. In a difficult <keyword id="34412" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="economy">economy</keyword>, companies are compelled to twist and turn to keep track of profitability and their requirements change accordingly. Hence, their leaders have to adapt, shape up or ship out, as the case might be. 
 India is no exception and business leaders across the country have been frequently ‘released’ by industry giants. Many of them leave with ‘immediate effect’ while others are on garden leave or worse still, waiting for their predecessors to turn up (just like Ballmer). Yet, most of the C-Suite executives are tight-lipped about their departures, at least here in India. We are yet to come across an announcement like the one made by <keyword id="384914" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Groupon">Groupon</keyword>’s founder and former CEO <keyword id="488139" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Andrew-Mason">Andrew Mason</keyword>. But exit happens all the same – be it discreet or blatant. Here’s a quick look at some of the top-notch C-Suite executives from India who parted ways with their respective companies in 2013, their official exit lines and what happened behind the scene.

Strife At The Top: These
11 C-Suite Execs From India
Were ‘Let Go’ In 2013

15. The Waffle House Index

New Delhi, India's flagship overseas oil firm <keyword id="6354737" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ongc" source="Orion">ONGC</keyword> Videsh has got a new partner in <keyword id="45187" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="oil-india" source="Orion">Oil India</keyword> Ltd to replace a reluctant IndianOil (IOC) for the potential acquisition of a 50 per cent stake in Tullow Oil Plc's USD 3.4 billion oilfield project in Kenya, according to people with knowledge of the matter. But the OVL-OIL duo now faces competition from super-aggressive Chinese energy giant Sinopec which has entered the fray taking advantage of the delay on the Indian part in finalising the deal. Originally, ONGC Videsh, the overseas arm of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), was interested in buying out half of the stakes that Tullow, Africa Oil Corp and TotalEnergies SE held in the Lokichar oilfield in Kenya. The board of OVL had approved the deal, sources said adding the firm however wanted to bring on board IOC, which too had shown interest in the project. For months, OVL-IOC negotiated the stake in the project. But the transaction couldn't be completed as IOC started having second thoughts, possibly due to financial strains resulting from losses on fuel sales. Sources said when a Kenyan ministerial delegation visited the India Energy Week in Bengaluru in February, the Indian side informed that IOC would not be going ahead and instead state-owned Oil India Ltd (OIL) will join in. However, the months of delays led to the Chinese sensing an opportunity. China Petroleum &amp; Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) is now sending fillers to Tullow and the other two partners in the project, they said. Tullow, which is headed by India-origin CEO Rahul Dhir, had originally favoured the Indian consortium as the Kenyan project and the Barmer fields in Rajasthan had a lot of similarities. As much as 70 per cent of the supply chain sourcing could have been done from India and Dhir, who as CEO of Cairn India Ltd had brought the Rajasthan fields to production more than a decade back, saw a lot of synergy, sources said. Chinese interest may however spoil the party as Beijing yields considerable influence on the African nation. The deal being negotiated by OVL-OIL would have made the Indian state-backed firms joint operators of the venture. Tullow is the present operator of the venture with 50 per cent stake. Africa Oil Corp and TotalEnergies SE have 25 per cent stake each. The three were selling half of their stakes to the Indians. OVL, an explorer with pursuits in 35 oil and gas assets in 15 nations, would be the lead on the venture, backed by OIL, the nation's second-largest state oil explorer. Kenya's south Lokichar fields in blocks 10BB and 13T are projected to produce 120,000 barrels of oil per day (6 million tonnes per annum), with anticipated gross oil restoration of 585 million barrels over the total lifetime of the sector. The waxy crude from the project, which is similar to what is produced from Barmer in Rajasthan, will be shipped from the fields by way of a 20-inch, 825-kilometer heated pipeline to a port in the archipelago of Lamu. Barmer crude oil too is transported through a 700-km heated pipeline from Barmer deserts to the Gujarat coast. Indian refiners on the west coast would have been ideal customers of the Kenyan crude, sources said adding it would take three years for the companies to start producing oil from the date the investment decision is made. The USD 3.4 billion investment includes developing the South Lokichar fields and linking them to Kenya's Indian Ocean port of Lamu via a heated pipeline.

ONGC, Oil India in talks for 50% stake in $3.4 bn Kenya oilfield

<ul><li>Axis Bank reported a net loss of ₹1,387.78 crore in the fourth quarter of financial year ending March 2020. </li><li>The rise in overall bad loans was a nearly negligible 0.5%. </li><li>The stock had already run up 7% in anticipation. </li></ul>Axis Bank reported a net loss of ₹1,387.78 crore in the fourth quarter of financial year ending March 2020 but the rise in overall bad loans was a nearly negligible 0.5%. The stock had already run up nearly 7% in anticipation. But the management is not taking it light, not yet. "All industries will get impacted sooner or later because of COVID19, We remain conservative in our approach given the heightened risks," Amitabh Chaudhry, CEO of Axis Bank, said. Depositors added 19% to the banks' coffers in the three months that ended with the economy going into lockdown on March 25. On the other hand, the loan book grew 15% compared to a year earlier. <div type="image" title="axis bank" msid="75430343" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Axis Bank share price&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> The latest fourth-quarter financial results The nearly 20% rise in net income to ₹6,808 crore compared to a year earlier was offset by a rise in provision for bad loans and the net interest margin came in at 3.55% as compared to 3.57% three months ago. Amidst rising fear of more default by smalller borrowers, the bank said four out of every rupees lent in that segment were secure. Total gross NPA (non-performing assets) at the end of March increased marginally by 0.5% to ₹30,234 crore while net NPA declined 23% to ₹9,360 crore versus ₹12,160 crore, compared to December 2019. A total of ₹3,920 crore worth loans turned bad in the last three months, compared ₹6,214 crore in the preceding three months, the bank said. And nearly half of those were corporate loans. "Excluding one account of ₹750 crore which got upgraded during the quarter and downgraded again out of total corporate slippages, 84% of this came from previously disclosed BB and below rated clients," the statement said. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/indusind-bank-shares-skyrocket-by-10-as-its-customers-choose-not-to-defer-paying-off-loans/articleshow/75425195.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">IndusInd Bank shares skyrocket by 10% as its customers choose not to defer paying off loans</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/jet-fuel-prices-are-so-low-that-airlines-can-afford-to-fly-with-empty-middle-seats-says-research-report/articleshow/75424963.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Jet fuel prices are so low that airlines can afford to fly with empty middle seats says research report</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/irctc-share-price-has-jumped-30-in-april-so-far-despite-the-lockdown-thats-halted-trains-ticketing-and-even-rail-neer-sales/articleshow/75425845.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">IRCTC share price has jumped 30% in April so far despite the lockdown that’s halted trains, ticketing, and even Rail Neer sales</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/cigarettes-crunch-during-the-long-lockdown-will-force-people-to-cut-down-but-smokers-will-end-up-paying-more/articleshow/75426177.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">The cigarettes-crunch during the long lockdown is likely to force people to cut down – but those who continue will end up paying more</a>

Axis Bank CEO says lending will be 'cautious' despite easing stress from bad loans in the latest fourth quarter

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><a href="https://thepremierfinancialinstitution.com/">BB&amp;T/SunTrust</a>SunTrust CEO Bill Rogers and BB&amp;T CEO Kelly King fist bump to end a video announcement of the merger of their banks.</div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>Two big regional banks and two large drug companies have already announced plans to combine in 2019, but experts say that might mean trouble ahead.</li><li>Mergers and acquisitions have historically become more common when companies need to boost their growth as the broader economy slows down and nears a recession.</li><li>It can also be a sign that companies have worries about the stock market and doubt they will be able to get a better sale price in the future.</li><li>There were 723 deals worth at least $1 billion in 2018, according to Dealogic. That was the most since 2007.</li></ul>A splashy deal between two big companies might excite investors, but some experts think it means corporate America sees trouble ahead.About a month after one of the largest pharmaceutical deals in history, two banks are combining in the biggest merger in that sector since the financial crisis. Deals like <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/suntrust-banks-bbt-joining-forces-in-a-66-billion-deal-2019-2-1027933216" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BB&amp;T combining with SunTrust</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amgen-gilead-merck-deal-speculation-jpmorgan-healthcare-conference-2019-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bristol-Myers Squibb snapping up Celgene</a> can get stocks rallying.But the motivation behind the deals can hint at more sinister forces at work."They tend to happen when companies run out of opportunities for organic growth," said <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/next-recession-market-crash-commonwealth-cio-brad-mcmillan-shares-4-part-checklist-issues-warning-2018-10" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brad McMillan</a>, chief investment officer for Commonwealth Financial Network, which oversees $161 billion.He added that companies have been buying back large amounts of stock since 2009 and might be reluctant to increase their dividends - if they have them - any further."If we're looking at a slowing economic environment, pretty much the only lever left is acquiring another firm," McMillan said.Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/next-recession-market-crash-commonwealth-cio-brad-mcmillan-shares-4-part-checklist-issues-warning-2018-10" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A $150 billion investment chief lays out his 4-part recession checklist - and warns we're approaching dangerous territory</a>According to Dealogic, there were 723 deals valued at $1 billion or more last year, the most since 2007. The largest chunks of M&amp;A spending were in technology and health care.Wheeling and dealing picked up in early 2018 after the passage of the Republican-backed <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/warren-buffett-berkshire-hathaway-annual-letter-gop-tax-law-effect-on-book-value-2018-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tax Cuts and Jobs Act</a> led to massive windfalls of capital for companies. But experts often consider an increase in M&amp;A to be a sign the sun is setting on the economic cycle - and that a recession may be looming. That's because companies can turn to dealmaking as a way to perk up decreased revenue growth."It's easier to buy a company, buy the talent, buy the technology, particularly when the economic backdrop indicates a slowing economy," said <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/an-interview-with-prudential-financial-chief-markets-strategist-quincy-krosby-2017-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Quincy Krosby</a>, chief market strategist for Prudential Financial, which has $1.4 trillion in assets under management.The SunTrust-BB&amp;T deal is the largest in finance since 2008, when Bank of America snapped up Merrill Lynch as the financial crisis deepened. According to Refinitiv, the deal is worth almost 50% more than all of the banking industry mergers from 2018.In the pharmaceutical industry, executives <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amgen-gilead-merck-deal-speculation-jpmorgan-healthcare-conference-2019-1">more big deals might follow the Celgene-Bristol Myers combination</a>. Krosby noted that there's a very long history of traditional drugmakers buying biotech companies to perk up their revenues and expand their pipelines of experimental drugs in development.Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/outlook-for-healthcare-pharma-stocks-wall-street-sees-more-weakness-2019-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">'The tide is coming in': Wall Street is becoming increasingly convinced one of the stock market's most important sectors is headed for disaster</a>However, she's not sure if the recent deals spell trouble for the economy, as there have been previous waves of M&amp;A during the current expansion. Extremely low interest rates and a gradually recovering economy have given companies reason to take on debt and make deals.McMillan said companies might be willing to sell now because they don't think the market is going to get any better."Valuations got quite high and for firms who are looking to sell, that makes a lot of sense to sell at the peak," he said.There are questions around the deals themselves, too. Brad Golding, a fund manager at Christofferson Robb &amp; Co., wonders what will happen in a year or two, once the credit cycle has turned. He also wonders if SunTrust and BB&amp;T lose customers during the time they integrate systems and cultures and come up with a new name."Can a bank that has had very high ROEs at a nice point in the cycle buy another bank and then dramatically outperform other banks?" asked Golding, who runs a fund that invests in bank convertible bonds, preferreds and other hybrid instruments. "How are they so much better than anyone else? What's the secret sauce in Winston-Salem? I'm skeptical."But even if it's relatively late in the economic cycle, investors want to see action and they want returns, according to Ted Smith, president of technology-focused investment bank Union Square Advisors."All of the investors in these large public companies who are paying for growth or want to see growth are demanding of their public company investments, 'You do one of two things. You need to give that cash back to me or you invest it in real growth," he said.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/dakin-campbell" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dakin Campbell</a> contributed reporting. <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bud-light-dilly-dilly-viral-commercial-super-bowl-campaign-2017-12">Bud Light's 'Dilly Dilly' just made a comeback at the Super Bowl with a weird crossover ad with Game of Thrones - here's what the phrase means</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

Mega-deals like the latest bank merger might look good for business - but they're also flashing a major recessionary warning sign

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table lead-image-large"><div><div class="image on-image">Qlik</div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/hurricane-florence">Hurricane Florence</a> has started to hit the US East Coast, with<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hurricane-florence-track-evacuations-2018-9"> rain and tropical storm-force winds spreading along the coast of North Carolina</a>, according to the National Hurricane Center.</li><li>Over the coming days, more than third of US bank branches could face tropical storm force winds, according to data complied by Qlik.</li><li>Only 1,713 of those face a high risk of seeing tropical winds. </li></ul>Hurricane Florence has begun thrashing the East Coast, and experts say the storm could unleash <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hurricane-florence-why-so-much-rain-2018-9">catastrophic flash flooding</a> and storm surges as high as 13 feet. More than five million people were under hurricane warnings or watches as of Thursday morning. Already, the hurricane has <a href="https://flightaware.com/live/cancelled/tomorrow" target="_blank" rel="noopener">triggered more than 1,000 flight cancellations</a> and the closing of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hurricane-florence-delta-american-united-flight-canceled-airport-closed-2018-9">nearly a dozen airports</a> in North Carolina and South Carolina. Millions of people could see their financial services disrupted, too.More than 30,000 US retail bank branches - 34% of the country's branch network - are currently at risk of facing tropical storm force winds from Hurricane Florence over the coming days, according information compiled by <a href="https://www.qlik.com/us">data analytics firm Qlik</a>. Qlik analyzed branch data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and compared it with the National Weather Service's storm-path forecast and the probabilities that certain areas would see tropical storm-force winds.While more than a third of US bank branches could feel the brunt of Hurricane Florence, the chances aren't high for many of them - for over 14,000 the probability is less than 5%. Only 1,713 branches face a high risk - a probability of more than 60% - of facing intense tropical winds. But for those that do get hammered, customers could lose access to their local bank's services for days or weeks, depending on the extent of the damage.Even with millions of customers embracing mobile and digital offerings from banks - like peer-to-peer payment platforms such as Venmo and Zelle - many still take out and deposit cash in person or get paid via check rather than direct deposit. Many banks waive ATM and other fees for customers affected by severe storms, as well as deploying mobile bank units to heavy-hit areas. BB&amp;T, which is based out of Winston-Salem, North Carolina and operates 1,900 branches across the country, is likely to be among the most affected by Hurricane Florence. It had closed more than 160 branches or ATMs by early afternoon Thursday, <a href="https://www.bbt.com/sites/bbtcom/hurricane-florence.page">according to their website</a>. PNC, which also has a substantial presence in the Carolinas, has also <a href="https://www.pnc.com/en/customer-service/update-center.html">begun closing branches</a> and is preparing to deploy mobile-banking units."We have begun to close branches and other facilities in the Carolinas, Greater Maryland and Greater Washington areas, with the vast majority in the Carolinas at this point," a company spokeswoman told Business Insider.For customers in the path of the storm, <a href="https://www.fdic.gov/consumers/consumer/news/cnsum16/disaster.html">the FDIC recommends</a> making physical copies and digitally storing sensitive documents. Read the rest of the<a href="https://www.fdic.gov/consumers/consumer/news/cnsum16/disaster.html"> FDIC's tips for financially surviving a disaster</a>. <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/big-mistake-investors-make-late-cycle-inflection-point-economy-versus-stocks-liz-ann-sonders-2018-8">Beware one huge mistake investors often make when the economy is at a crossroads, says Charles Schwab's investment chief</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

A third of all US bank branches could feel tropical storm force winds from Hurricane Florence

Dear Readers,In between Amazon's bombshell decision to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-web-services-hq2-new-york-city-2019-2">no longer build a second headquarters in Long Island City, </a>and President Trump's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-declares-national-emergency-build-border-wall-2019-2">national emergency to build a border wall</a>, it was easy to miss a small piece of fintech news that I think is emblematic of much larger trends shaping the financial world.If you're new to the Wall Street Insider newsletter, <a href="http://newsletter.businessinsider.com/join/4np/wall-st-insider&amp;hash=f4e91136c13f3c40c496d77bc7347502">you can sign up here</a>.Robo advisor Wealthfront on Thursday<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wealthfront-launching-savings-account-2019-2"> announced that it had launched</a> a "cash account" (akin to savings account) with a super high 2.24% interest rate. Wealthfront, which had built itself up as a digital wealth advisor over the last several years, is just the latest fintech to announce plans to expand beyond its initial use. In the last couple of weeks, Robinhood <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/robinhood-launches-checking-savings-accounts-2018-12">controversially announced a cash account</a> yielding an eye-popping 3% (<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/robinhood-checking-account-regulation-deposits-2018-12">which it then back-tracked on</a>) and free investing fintech M1 Finance <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/m1-announces-plans-for-checking-account-2019-1">launched a checking account</a>. And more are sure to come.Fintechs initially rose to prominence in the last few years by "unbundling banks" - they took small, very specific verticals like consumer loans or wealth advice and made them digital, cheaper, and more consumer friendly. They weren't trying to become a supermarket for all financial needs. But fast forward to now, and many of these startups have amassed huge user bases and their ambitions are higher. These companies are now adding on new services and increasingly competing with banks in more businesses. Big financial institutions "are incredibly scared about being disintermediated," a big-shot banking lawyer told me this week. What are banks doing to fight back? For one, they're merging. <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/suntrust-banks-bbt-say-merger-will-have-synergies-2019-2-1027933698">The massive $66 billion tie-up between SunTrust and BB&amp;T</a> last week, in which they emphasized the need to focus on technology to fend off fintechs, is a perfect example of this. They're launching their own millennial-focused products, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jpmorgan-chase-online-bank-finn-for-millennials-2018-7">like Chase's Finn mobile app</a>. And perhaps most interestingly for the largest US banks like JPMorgan, Citi and Bank of America, they're trying to establish brand loyalty through credit card rewards program. For example, they're offering customers reward points for opening checking accounts or signing up for a mortgage (check out some data on how important rewards have become to credit card customers at the bottom of the newsletter).Evercore ISI's Glenn Schorr provided a fascinating look this week at where this could all be headed for the "Bigs": Taking things a step further… what if the Bigs started to offer points for every swipe on a debit card, for clients who take out an auto loan, or for credit card purchases made via Apple Pay? We could also see a future state where the Bigs partner w/ select retailers to offer them access to a growing consumer spending base (e.g. Reserve members get 50% off Allbirds), or where the banks start to leverage their card data to tailor reward offerings based on an individual's spending patterns (e.g. JPM knows you listen to Spotify, so they'll take care of your next 6 monthly payments).Will banks be able to retain clients by continuing to boost their rewards programs in creative ways? Or are younger consumers so disillusioned with their parent's banks that they'll jump ship to fintechs the first chance they get? I'd love to hear what you think. Please drop me a line at ooran@businessinsider.com. And have a great long weekend! - Olivia <div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table center"><div><div class="image on-image">Cameron Spencer/Getty; Win McNamee/Getty; Danny Moloshok/Reuters; Yuri Gripas/Reuters; Yutong Yuan/Business Insider</div></div></div>Human resources is the next battleground for Wall Street wealth advisers as Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs jockey over new turfWhen it comes to prospecting for new customers, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/morgan-stanley-and-goldman-compete-in-wealth-management-2019-2">Wall Street's wealth managers are turning to unfamiliar terrain: corporate HR departments.</a>That's part of the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/morgan-stanley-solium-capital-acquisition-2019-2">rationale for Morgan Stanley's $900 million purchase of Solium Capital this past week.</a> The firm manages corporate stock plans as part of the "workplace solution" industry and it gives Morgan Stanley an entree into corporate HR departments. From there, it can sell more holistic financial planning tools, including its wealth management platform.The funny thing is, Morgan Stanley isn't the first Wall Street firm to notice the opportunity, reports BI's Dakin Campbell. Goldman Sachs last year <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/goldman-google-partnership-through-ayco-2018-10">took the collective knowledge housed in Ayco, a 40-year old financial planning outfit</a> serving C-suite executives, and distilled it into a technology platform that can be offered to every employee, regardless of rank or wealth status.In the past, both banks focused their marketing efforts on senior executives, in part because those clients had more money to manage and in part because the banks didn't have the digital capabilities to profitably serve lower-level employees. Goldman's build out began to address that need, while Morgan Stanley believes it now has that offering in its Access Investing digital platform. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/morgan-stanley-and-goldman-compete-in-wealth-management-2019-2">READ MORE HERE&gt;&gt;</a><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table center"><div><div class="image on-image">Shayanne Gal/Business Insider</div></div></div>Hedge funds will spend $2 billion on web-scraping software to gain an edge, and it's part of an investing gold rushDespite information pouring in from billions of websites, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/surge-shutdown-bad-performance-slashed-fees-2018-brutal-hedge-fund-2018-12">poor performance plagued</a> the hedge fund industry in 2018 - <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/web-scraping-by-hedge-funds-is-growing-rapidly-2019-2">pushing investment managers to increase their already-massive web scraping programs.</a>One out every 20 web page visits last year was done by a hedge fund or sell-side research institution scraping websites for information,<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/web-scraping-by-hedge-funds-is-growing-rapidly-2019-2"> according to a new report by Opimas Analysis.</a> This comes out to roughly 10.2 billion page visits a day, equal to the daily users of Google's search function, reports BI's Bradley Saacks.By 2020, managers' web page visits for the purpose of scraping, or extracting information from a website using an automated software program, will eclipse 17 billion and cost more than $1.8 billion - nearly double what it currently costs - as managers invest in software, talent and outside vendors to clean and store the loads of data.Hedge fund managers are pressed to find new sources of alpha-generating data wherever they can as <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bridgewater-2018-returns-2019-1">poor performance</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hedge-funds-moving-to-0-management-fees-2019-2">high fees have frustrated investors</a>. Spending by asset managers on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/alternative-data-provider-1010data-launches-new-database-2019-1">alternative datasets</a> on subjects like weather trends, oil output and flight patterns is around $3 billion and growing, according to JPMorgan.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/web-scraping-by-hedge-funds-is-growing-rapidly-2019-2">READ MORE HERE&gt;&gt;</a>UBS is now operating 1,000 robots, and it's betting they can help create 'super human' employeesUBS is doubling-down on its bet robotics can help empower its back-office employees by freeing them up from boring tasks.The Swiss bank<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ubs-wants-to-add-500-robots-in-2019-2019-2"> has plans to add roughly 500 robots this year</a> with the hopes of reducing manual processes by 10%, reports BI's Dan DeFrancesco. The bank currently operates 1,000 robots, the majority of which sit in its operations department.The robots are used for automating repetitive tasks such as clearing and settlement, converting unstructured data like emails and hand-written documents into a digital form that's more usable, and detecting anomalies in areas like payments or fraud.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ubs-wants-to-add-500-robots-in-2019-2019-2">READ MORE HERE&gt;&gt;</a>Hedge funds went from a niche market to a $3 trillion titan, but became a victim of their own success thanks to their biggest investors<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table center"><div><div class="image on-image">Shayanne Gal/Business Insider</div></div></div>Is it worse for an investor to miss a big winner or get dragged down by an imploding fund?The answers to this question from several hedge fund investors at a recent industry conference in Miami <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hedge-funds-are-becoming-less-risky-2019-2">crystallized the steady change that has warped how hedge funds invest, market and think about risk over the last 20 years.</a>"My gut instinct is to say miss the bad choices," said Brian Goldman, managing partner at Lanx Capital, which primarily invests in smaller funds.The flood of institutional money from pensions, endowments, and foundations (see chart above) has helped create massive, multi-strategy players like Ken Griffin's Citadel and Israel Englander's Millennium. These types of funds are hyper-focused on risk management and a diversified business model, and look more like boring banks than hedge funds of the 1990s where star stock-pickers made hundreds of millions on a couple big bets.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hedge-funds-are-becoming-less-risky-2019-2">READ MORE HERE&gt;&gt;</a>A record 7 million Americans have stopped paying their car loans, and even economists are surprised<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/auto-loan-delinquency-number-record-new-york-fed-2019-2">Millions of Americans are struggling with their car payments</a>, and even economists are surprised.According to <a href="https://libertystreeteconomics.newyorkfed.org/2019/02/just-released-auto-loans-in-high-gear.html">a new report</a> from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, more than 7 million Americans have reached serious delinquency status on their auto loans, meaning they're at least 90 days behind on payments.Fed economists said this is "surprising" considering a strengthening labor market and economy.People often prioritize car loans because many need to drive to get to work and earn a paycheck. The fact that a record number of Americans aren't making those payments can be a sign of duress among lower income Americans. The delinquency figure represents a new high in the auto-loan market - more than 1 million more people are behind on auto-loan payments now than at the end of 2010Principal Financial held takeover talks with fund firm WisdomTree last year, and it shows how ETFs are driving a wave of M&amp;AETF manager WisdomTree <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wisdomtree-held-acquisition-talks-with-principal-financial-2019-2">held sale talks with asset manager Principal Financial Group late-last year</a>, sources tell BI's Bradley Saacks.It's unclear how serious the discussions were and the two parties are not currently in negotiations, the sources added.WisdomTree, which manages $58 billion globally, also held similar talks with JPMorgan, Bloomberg reported earlier this week, but a prospective deal fell apart over price.Shares of WisdomTree cratered in the last 12 months, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/asset-management-winners-and-losers-2018-12">falling 40% amid a broader sell-off among asset managers</a>. The industry is <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/asset-manager-outlook-in-2019-2018-12">suffering from fee pressures, outflows, and increased market volatility,</a> which has triggered <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/lazard-ceo-on-ma-in-asset-management-2019-2">some asset managers to consider striking deals.</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wisdomtree-held-acquisition-talks-with-principal-financial-2019-2">READ MORE&gt;&gt;</a>Quote of the week: "I'll give you this, Amazon: Telling people you're going to Queens and then bailing is one thing New Yorkers can relate to." - Stephen Colbert on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-cancels-new-york-hq2-2019-2?utm_source=notification&amp;utm_medium=referral?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest">Amazon's decision to cancel building its second headquarters in NYC</a>.Chart of the week: <div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table center"><div><div class="image on-image">BII</div></div></div>In tech news:<ul><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-overtime-raised-23-million-in-icy-media-climate-2019-2">The CEO of sports media startup Overtime explains how he was able to quickly raise a $23 million round, even as gloom and doom grips the industry</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/oracle-ceo-mark-hurd-sap-qualtrics-2019-2">Oracle CEO Mark Hurd throws shade at SAP's $8 billion Qualtrics acquisition: We don't buy companies 'to just buy them'</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-investors-throwing-money-at-open-source-startups-2019-2">Here's why investors are throwing money at startups that give away their software for free</a></li></ul><div data-sticky="subnav" data-ad-subnav=""><div data-bi-ad="" id="gpt-post-science-subnav-5c3e8bb3471e72.28787359" data-force="" data-type="ad" data-adunit="business-insider/desktop/tech/science/post" data-pagetype="post" data-tag="health,comcast,comcast-ventures,venture-capital,omers,omers-ventures,pension,pension-funds,canada,bi-prime" data-pos="atf" data-authors="zachary-tracer" data-views="4041" data-region="Subnav" data-responsive="[{" browserLimit:00slotSize:300250browserLimit:7280slotSize:72890browserLimit:9700slotSize:9702509709072890location:window="" data-url="omers-ventures-hires-michael-yang-comcast-ventures-silicon-valley-2019-1" data-amazontamsizes="[[300,250],[728,90],[970,250],[970,90]]" data-google-query-id="CJWNsfyV8d8CFZbQmgodtgIBQg"><div id="google_ads_iframe_/4442842/business-insider/desktop/tech/science/post_0__container__">In markets: </div></div></div><ul><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/are-tech-stocks-cheap-investing-opportunity-in-one-area-2019-2">Everyone thinks the market's hottest tech stocks are too expensive - but new research suggests one segment is offering a major bargain right now</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/are-tech-stocks-cheap-investing-opportunity-in-one-area-2019-2"></a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ray-dalio-paul-volcker-interview-3-guiding-principles-for-legendary-economist-2019-2">Billionaire investor Ray Dalio sat down with his idol, Paul Volcker, who laid out the 3 principles that have guided his legendary career</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stock-market-investors-cash-holdings-largest-since-recession-implications-baml-2019-2">Investors are hoarding their biggest piles of cash since the financial crisis - and Bank of America has a surprising take on what that means for the market's future</a></li></ul>Other good stories from around the newsroom:<ul><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/goldman-sachs-banker-tammy-kiely-profile-1-19">Meet the jet-setting Goldman Sachs banker who led Qualcomm through a hostile takeover, got stuck in Trump's trade war, and made magic happen across the semiconductor industry</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/as-buzzfeed-scales-back-scrutiny-focuses-on-ceo-jonah-peretti-2019-2">BuzzFeed cut 15% of its staff, and some critics are now taking shots at CEO Jonah Peretti's strategy</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/23andme-prescription-drugs-13-in-trials-ceo-wojcicki-2019-2">23andMe is upending how we find new drugs, and the CEO says 13 are now in early trials</a></li></ul>

Goldman and Morgan Stanley jockey over new turf; Web-scraping is the hottest new investing edge; UBS creating 'super human' employees

<div class="image-container float_right" style="width:400px"><div class="image"></div>Shannon Stapleton/Reuters</div>Research In Motion Ltd's glitzy unveiling of the long-delayed line of BlackBerry smartphones on Wednesday and a new corporate name failed to impress Wall Street <keyword id="49628" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="analysts">analysts</keyword>, with at least three downgrading the company's stock.
<keyword id="13738" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="RIM">RIM</keyword>, which renamed itself BlackBerry, showcased two devices, Z10 and Q10, running on its new BB10 operating system as the smartphone pioneer looks for a fresh start.
"Despite recent enthusiasm for RIM's new BB10 devices, we see limited scope for traction in the hypercompetitive smartphone market," Credit Suisse analysts wrote in a note.
RIM faces an uphill struggle in terms of gaining smartphone market share, the Credit Suisse analysts said, downgrading the stock to "underperform" from "neutral".
RIM's Nasdaq-listed shares were set to open 3 percent lower on Thursday. They closed 12 percent down on Wednesday at $13.78. Its Toronto-listed shares also fell by the same margin to close at C$13.86.
RIM launched its first BlackBerry in 1999 and quickly cornered the market for secure emails, but its market share plummeted after customers jumped ship to Apple Inc's iPhone and devices using Google Inc's Android technology.
Analysts at Evercore Partners said they did not expect the new BB10 devices to cause a stir among customers, and cut their rating to "equal weight" from "underweight".
"The new hardware and operating system is a dramatic improvement versus RIMM's older products but expect a muted consumer response due to RIMM's damaged brand image," they said.
Barclays Capital analysts wrote in a note that RIM had the best possible device launch it could have hoped for, but there were many challenges ahead.
The analysts said average sales prices might be too high for many emerging market users and raised questions about how quickly businesses would adopt the new devices.
Analysts were also concerned about the delay in the launch of the devices in the United States. RIM said the devices would not be available in the country until March.
National Bank Financial analysts said the delay was very disappointing since the U.S. enterprise, government and consumer is the most important market for the Z10.
The Z10 touchscreen device will be the first of the two models to hit the market, with a rollout that starts in Britain on Thursday.
(Reporting by Saqib Iqbal Ahmed in Bangalore; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
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Gadget Reviewers May Love The New BlackBerry, But Analysts Do Not

39. Scoot Over?

<div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right"><div class="image on-image"></div></div>The Walt Disney Company is all about the future. Back in 1937, Disney released the first-ever animated feature film: Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs. In 1995, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/15-things-you-didnt-know-about-pixar-2014-3">Disney-Pixar</a> released Toy Story, the first-ever computer animated movie. Just this past weekend, Disney released <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/tomorrowland-disney-logo-change-2015-5">Tomorrowland</a>, a love letter to classic science fiction that urged viewers to look forward, based on the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/walt-disneys-original-plan-for-epcot-2015-5">futuristic themed "land" in its Disneyland and Disneyworld theme parks</a>. Disney is always looking for the next big thing. That's why the company is gearing up for the second annual <a href="http://disneyaccelerator.com/">Disney Accelerator</a> program, a startup farm to connect founders with Disney money, Disney intellectual property, and perhaps best of all, access to Disney's team as executive as mentors, <a href="http://disneyaccelerator.com/mentors/">up to and including Disney CEO Bob Iger</a>."[Disney Accelerator] is a graduate-level class in media and entertainment," says Disney SVP of Innovation and Disney Accelerator head Michael Abrams.For the startups, the chance to collaborate with Disney - on properties from Marvel superheroes to Star Wars to ESPN to ABC Family to Disneyland to Mickey Mouse - is a major selling point. If nothing else, at least they get a major first customer.<h2>Looking for founders with the "Disney mindset"</h2>In the program, which will begin its 2014 class on July 6th, 10 startups per cohort are invited to work at Disney's Glendale campus in Southern California for 13 weeks and offered $120,000 in funding - $100,000 of which comes in a convertible note that can be changed into equity, at the startup's choice - to build something new and cool.The administrative and logistical end of the Disney Accelerator is run by Techstars, a Colorado company that specializes in holding these kinds of programs, which it's done for clients like Nike and Barclays. Disney's part in the program is to provide its own expertise in media, interactive entertainment, and all of those others things Disney does well, as it works to support these startups in growing their business.<div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right"><div class="image on-image"></div></div>To be clear, Disney doesn't think it needs the help of startups to come up with cool new technology. Abrams describes Disney's "huge labs" where new ideas are conceived, hammered out, and released unto consumers all the time. For instance, Disney came up with the super-cool <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-disney-to-bring-mobile-technology-to-more-parks-2015-5">Magic Band wearable wristlet</a> for the Walt Disney World resort all on its own - even if development came with a pricetag <a href="http://www.wired.com/2015/03/disney-magicband/">of $1 billion</a>.But startups are a major source of new ideas that might not have emerged from people working within Disney's giant corporate machine. The Disney Accelerator looks for founders with a "Disney mindset" and a willingness to experiment until they find the right idea.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div></div></div>Disney executives, Iger very much included, love meeting with these startups because they find it "energizing" to deal with people with a more entrepreneurial spirit, working on radical new ideas and "opportunities that weren't obvious at Disney," Abrams says. In fact, Iger personally advised <a href="gosphero.com">Sphero</a>, a robotics company that graduated from the Disney Accelerator in the first class and went on to help <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/sphero-builds-star-wars-bb-8-for-disney-and-lucasfilm-2015-4">Lucasfilm design BB-8</a>, the rolling droid from the forthcoming "Star Wars: The Force Awakens." From that first cohort, <a href="http://www.choremonster.com">ChoreMonster</a>, an app that encourages kids to do their chores by making it a game, is including characters from the upcoming Disney-Pixar movie Inside Out, including the voice talents of star Bill Hader.Another startup, <a href="http://www.narrativ.com">Narritiv</a>, which makes software to track social media campaigns, helped ABC Family's TV series Pretty Little Liars get a million Snapchat followers. <a href="http://www.tyffon.com">Tyffon</a> developed <a href="http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2015/03/new-disney-side-app-transforms-you-into-disney-parks-characters/">Show Your Disney Side</a>, an app for Disney's theme parks that lets you morph a selfie into a Disney character. <div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right"><div class="image on-image"></div></div>That approach has been very successful. Most of the 10 companies in the Disney Accelerator program are raising venture capital rounds, he says. In fact, one startup, SnowShoe, which makes physical stamps that can unlock digital content on a smartphone, raised $2 million in early-stage funding while still in the Disney Accelerator, and then another $1 million almost immediately after demoing their technology at the conclusion of the program."The future of media and entertainment is a magnificent thing," Abrams says. <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/new-disney-wearable-magicband-tech-money-2015-4">Forget Apple and Google, Disney has already mastered wearable tech</a></h3> <div> <div> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="B5OGhidDrKhSNwFxMvFrrninPNiFNEKX" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> </div> </div> </div>

The reason Disney CEO Bob Iger loves working with startups

What is <keyword id="6354356" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="BlackBerry">BlackBerry</keyword> up to? At least in the <keyword id="47445" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Indian-market">Indian market</keyword>? Just a couple of days ago, the Canadian handset-maker has launched yet another mid-segment touch-and-type phone – <keyword id="1864957" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="BlackBerry-9720">BlackBerry 9720</keyword> – priced at around Rs 16,000. It’s not exactly cheap and the specifications won’t thrill you either. The latest BB10 operating system is missing once again, so is Near Field Communication (NFC). The new device has been fitted out with the old-fashioned 7.1 OS, but you will find the signature <keyword id="713967" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="QWERTY-keyboard">Qwerty keyboard</keyword> (it has 35 keys upfront), a 2.8 inch capacitive touchscreen, an optical track-pad for navigation, a 5 megapixel rear camera that can record video (but no front-facing camera), FM radio, 3G connectivity, Bluetooth 2.1 and the BBM Voice for free chat over Wi-Fi. 
 It is definitely a dampener, prior to a big event BlackBerry is apparently planning in line with <keyword id="10591" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Samsung">Samsung</keyword> and <keyword id="6354427" type="CITY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Apple">Apple</keyword>. Checking reviews and user opinions on various news and shopping sites (one of them is Amazon’s Junglee.com), we have found that the product has drawn flak from most people due to lack of originality and innovation. Is that why the tech giant is repeatedly failing to get its act right in <keyword id="3658" type="COUNTRY" weightage="80" keywordseo="India">India</keyword> and abroad? Simply upgrading its operating system and producing more updated handsets are not enough to keep it going. Somewhere along the way, BlackBerry has lost its cool and something amazing needs to happen now to pull it out of the rut. But there are more reasons than one that we would like to explore. 
 
Been there, done that, but to what effect? 
For some time now, BlackBerry has tried to do anything and everything that came its way, trying to save the sinking ship. The company is considering going private and looking for a strategic partner. It is also mulling a split-up and sell-off plan concerning its handset/hardware business. But it could be difficult to convince private investors or potential buyers that its current and upcoming range of smartphones and devices would have a long-term future with enterprises and business customers unless the company makes up its mind about what it wants to do on a priority basis and does it fast. Like when it decided to take BBM™ (BlackBerry Messenger) cross-platform or introduced the BBM Channels. Smart and timely moves – both of them. 
 As for hardware, Blackberry has its finger in every pie, but can we really call it earth-shattering? Some good things are happening though, in spite of the not-so-wow <keyword id="28168" type="TECHNOLOGY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Smartphone">smartphone</keyword> models we get to see. Its next-generation (but undoubtedly overpriced) smartphones Z10 and Q10 running on the latest BB10 OS were launched in January this year, and it is leaked that the company has already developed a new 10.2 OS with lots of features like app manager, actionable notifications, Wi-Fi Direct and more. That can push sales, especially if the upgraded OS is integrated with all BB10 devices without the price shooting up too much. But these are, after all, ‘essentials’ nowadays and Samsung already has some of these features. Although it has moved away from the tablet segment after the PlayBook failed to impress, the firm is reportedly developing a 5 inch phablet (in direct contention with Samsung?) dubbed as the Z30. It has been leaked a number of times and is expected to be released by the year-end. Do we have a game-changer there? Let us wait and see. 
 
Price points a pain, at least in India If BlackBerry has lost its focus globally, that is also getting reflected in the kind of products it is pushing in India without any specific pricing strategy. Apart from the popular Curve, we don’t see too many cheap handsets (below Rs 10K) here. Of course, the company was never about volumes or mass market, but price points should be right if one is actually targeting the emerging markets and have competitors like Samsung, <keyword id="6354716" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Nokia">Nokia</keyword> and Sony in the mid-range price segment. BlackBerry has never rolled out a sub-$100 (about Rs 6,000) device like Nokia or Samsung – so it is already at a disadvantage to capture the mass market. As for high-end phones like Q5, the cheapest BB10 device in the Indian market, one needs to shell out a whopping Rs 25,000. 
 
Old tags are passé; innovations need a future window Although pricing plays a crucial part in a price-sensitive market like India, one cannot ignore the innovation factor. Think of the latest offerings from Nokia or Sony or even HTC (I am excluding Samsung and Apple from this as they have so many firsts to their credit). There is always something new – be it the best smartphone camera (Nokia 808 PureView or Lumia 1020) or the biggest RAM (the upcoming Sony Xperia Z2 is rumoured to have 3 GB RAM) or the best audio (HTC One). After all, we are living in a world of ‘dual persona’ smartphones where the thin line between business and personal worlds often overlap. So the ‘business only’ tag of BlackBerry is not likely to cut the ice with the Millennials and the products must live up to their definitions of work, fun, thrill and entertainment. The BYOD issues world over is proof enough that most of us want the best of personal and professional worlds on the same gadget. In fact, that could be one of the reasons why Apple’s latest <keyword id="6354606" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="iPhone">iPhone</keyword> comes with a fingerprint sensor. What would keep business data more secure while we have some fun and frolic off work? 
 
It matters when you get more users 
Business communities are die-hard BB fans, of course. But if BlackBerry requires a facelift or even a complete changeover from its traditional business image to survive the future, it makes sense to work across several niches and come up with different products even. Imagine a different kind of BlackBerry for college-goers, young professionals, mid-level managers, senior corporate, home-makers and senior citizens. In addition to generic features, each could come pre-loaded with relevant apps and smart technologies. It’s not as impossible as we think. We are the BlackBerry Boys (an Indian commercial) already shows you the tilt and the change. Incremental upgrades, even from a company like Apple, spell the death of innovation (and that’s when it boils down to gold versus plastic). So all we need now is just an amazing BlackBerry with some real value and the magic could be back again.

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