When <keyword id="6358908" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Raghuram-Rajan">Raghuram Rajan</keyword> handed over the baton to Urjit Patel, he also transferred in totality the bed of roses and crown of thrones from his share at the top of India’s federal bank.<br />
<br />
Newly-inducted RBI Governor Urjit Patel will have to deal with a slew of challenges.<br />
<br /> Patel has already focussed on the <keyword id="6375120" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="monetary-policy-committee">Monetary Policy Committee</keyword> (MPC), that determined interest rates to meet <keyword id="22195" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Inflation">inflation</keyword> target.<br />
<br />
It is largely understood and as experts including former RBI Gov Duvvuri Subbarao have maintained, the new governor's legacy will be determined by how he institutionalises the monetary policy framework, in particular the protocol and conventions he establishes for the functioning of the monetary policy committee and how he manages inflation targeting at a time the growth-inflation tension is baring its fangs.<br />
<br />
Here is an overview of expectations that Patel will have to meet:<br />
<br />
1. <strong>Interest rate</strong>: After assuming office, the first task in front of the <keyword id="3449589" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="new-rbi-chief">new RBI chief</keyword> will be taming inflation and cutting down the interest rates at the same time to ease liquidity into the system. Patel will have to walk the tightrope, keeping the Centre’s interest in consideration of stimulating growth in the country and fighting an obstinate inflation.<br />
<br />
2. <strong>Banks clean-up</strong>: This was one of the major initiatives taken by Rajan and he will have to push the Indian banking sector to clean up their balance sheets and reduce bad debt.<br />
<br />
3. <strong>Inflation</strong>: It will be challenging to achieve the 4 per cent inflation target when commodity prices start rising. The idea is to bring inflation down to 5 per cent by January 2017 and eventually keep it between 2 per cent and 6 per cent.<br />
<br />
4. <strong>Monetary Policy Committee (MPC):</strong> Patel will be the new governor to make his policy stance under the new framework of the Monetary Policy Committee. This should not be a problem with him as he is close to Modi.<br />
<br />
5. <strong>Foreign Currency Non-Resident:</strong> The new governor will have to address the FCNR outflows on the Indian Banking system which is at the nascent stage.<br />
<br />
(Image: Indiatimes)<br />

RBI Governor Urjit Patel has to tackle 5 main challenges

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Reuters / Kai Pfaffenbach</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li>US tech has been the undisputed market king for much of the past decade, but one Wall Street expert says that dominance will shift in 2019.</li><li>Vincent Deluard, macro strategist at INTL FCStone, lays out why an overlooked and underappreciated area of the market is primed to explode higher this year.</li></ul><p>If you had to pick the definitive market theme of the decade, the obvious choice is mega-cap US tech and the immense success it's enjoyed.</p><p>The group's fame has grown to a level where its elite members have their own acronym. At this point, the so-called FANG cohort - consisting of <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/fb-stock" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/amzn-stock" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Amazon</a>, <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/nflx-stock" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Netflix</a>, and <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/googl-stock" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Google</a> - is easily recognizable to even the most passing follower of markets.</p><p>But one market expert says that dominant position will move from tech to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/emerging-markets" target="_blank" rel="noopener">emerging markets</a> in 2019. That would be <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/vincent-deluard" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Vincent Deluard</a>, a macro strategist at INTL FCStone. He simultaneously argues that EM concerns are overblown, and that investors are overlooking major potential in the area.</p><p>"2019 will be a pivotal year during the growth baton will shift once again from the U.S. tech sector to emerging markets," Deluard wrote in a recent client note.</p><p>Before we get into Deluard's bullish reasons for favoring EM, it's first important to lay out his points dispelling what he sees as some inaccuracies swirling around the group. After that, we'll get into his pro-EM arguments.</p><h2>Negative misconceptions people have about EM</h2><p><strong>(1) Growth in China is slowing, so you should sell the entire EM group</strong></p><p>Deluard's first issue with this line of thinking is what he sees as the unreliability of Chinese economic data. He also argues that, despite the nation's recent struggles, it still possesses the ability to unleash "massive" fiscal stimulus upon the world.</p><p>Beyond that, Deluard says China's contribution to EM performance is frequently overstated. He uses the chart below as evidence. As you can see, India has added $2.1 trillion to its gross domestic product over the past 17 years - a period that saw exports to China climb by just $12 billion.</p><p>"Economic growth, and especially emerging markets growth, is primarily an internal matter," Deluard said. "Demography, domestic investment, and public policies matter a lot more than exports to China."</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>INTL FCStone</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p><strong>(2) There's a global trade war raging, so you should sell EM</strong></p><p>Deluard's argument here is that people make questionable assumptions when they consider the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/2019-economic-forecast-us-china-europe-christophe-barraud-predictions-recommendations-2019-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">trade war</a>'s impact on EM. He says the biggest misconception they have is that non-China EM will get caught up in a "protectionist spiral," similar to one they experienced in the 1930s.</p><p>"South Korea, Chile, Peru, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam have the industrial base to replace most of China's exports to the U.S. and the ability to be courted by both superpowers," Deluard said. "These countries also benefit from growing domestic markets, cheap currencies, and pro-free trade governments."</p><p><strong>(3) The Fed is hiking interest rates, so you should sell EM</strong></p><p>For this one, Deluard uses good, old-fashioned historical data. He points out that the period from 2003 to 2007 saw incredible EM returns, even as the Fed hiked interest rates 17 straight times.</p><p>Deluard also notes something that many others have already concluded: that the Fed may be done raising rates, at least for the foreseeable future.</p><h2>Bullish arguments in favor of EM</h2><p><strong>(1) EM is a good hedge against a weak US dollar</strong></p><p>"Nothing is holding the greenback against the growing threat of rising deficits, slowing economic growth, political bickering, rising inflation, and the de-dollarization of Eurasian trade," Deluard said.</p><p>He continued: "Emerging markets' mountains of US dollar debt, which are still viewed by many as the greatest macro risk, would become a fantastic source of return."</p><p>Deluard concludes that EM economies were right to use cheap US dollar borrowing costs to finance their growth, and that they're now in a position of relative strength.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>INTL FCStone</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p><strong>(2) EM will be a good source of uncorrelated return</strong></p><p>The basis of this argument is simple: EM has been moving independently of macro drivers, which has insulated it from deep losses in other areas of the global market. Combined with the other positive factors outlined in this piece, it adds to the bull case for EM.</p><p>"The bulk of recent emerging markets returns came from idiosyncratic factors," Deluard said. "This performance was achieved despite severe equity losses which usually causes correlations to spike." </p><p>The chart below shows this dynamic in action, with residual alpha returns surging:</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>INTL FCStone</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p><strong>(3) EM is ideal for the age of "slowbalisation"</strong></p><p>Let's start with a definition. "Slowbalisation" is a term coined by the <a href="https://www.economist.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Economist</a> in a recent issue, and it refers to the idea that the "secular increase in trade and cross-border flow reached a peak with the global financial crisis."</p><p>Deluard isn't buying it. Looking back at history, he points out multiple examples of EM economies thriving amid conditions that forced them to be self-sufficient. He specifically cites the "Mexican growth miracle" of 1940 to 1970 and the post-war industrialization of the Soviet Union.</p><p>"I suspect that the positive effects of free trade are routinely over-estimated by mainstream economists, especially when it comes to emerging markets," Deluard said.</p><p>He continued: "China, which broke all the rules, was the big winner of the great globalization of the past two decades. The nascent era of slowbalisation may be an opportunity for other emerging markets to shine."</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-earth-supervolcano-apocalypse-2019-1">NASA has a $3.5 billion idea to save Earth from a supervolcano apocalypse</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

'The emerging opportunity of 2019': One expert says tech is passing the baton to an unloved area of the market that's set to explode higher

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_cobra#/media/File:Elapidae_-_Ophiophagus_hannah.JPG">Hectonichus on Wikipedia</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></div>On <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/09/03/8-f00t-king-cobra-on-loose-in-florida-school-takes-precautions/">September 3</a>, Florida wildlife officials began a rather unusual hunt for a very exotic and dangerous animal: a king cobra.</p><p>King cobras are native to forests in India and Southeast Asia, but this 8-foot-long snake has a home in Orlando, Florida.</p><p>After a two-week search, officials there <a href="http://www.clickorlando.com/news/orlando-students-at-school-near-escaped-king-cobra-allowed-outside-for-recess/35261828">called off the hunt</a> on Tuesday, even though the poisonous snake was still at large.</p><p>Officials told <a href="http://www.clickorlando.com/news/orlando-students-at-school-near-escaped-king-cobra-allowed-outside-for-recess/35261828">WKMG-TV</a> the snake is most likely still near its home.</p><p>While king cobras usually avoid humans and will run from a confrontation, they can turn aggressive if harassed. They are not one of the world's most venomous snakes, but they can administer a lethal dose of venom from one bite.</p><p>Right before a strike, the snake will rear the upper half of its body into the air, bare its fangs, and hiss. When that happens, it is best to steer clear unless you want to feel the deadly effects of a potent neurotoxin as it first blurs your vision, then paralyzes you, and eventually shuts down your nervous system.</p><p>So why is this deadly serpent slipping through Orlando in the first place?</p><p>The snake belongs to Discovery Channel cast member Mike Kennedy, who has experience dealing with exotic animals and, according to <a href="http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-news/os-king-cobra-escape-owner-cited-20150908-story.html">the Orlando Sentinel</a>, has a permit to keep the snake in his home.</p><p>But the snake is no longer in his home, and - consequently - Kennedy has been cited for the snake's escape. He has a court date scheduled for next month, according to <a href="http://www.wptv.com/news/state/state-ends-active-search-for-missing-king-cobra-in-orlando">WPTV</a>.</p><p>Schools near Kennedy's home kept students indoors when the snake was first announced missing. But it seems the initial scare has subsided since children are, once again, romping about outside during recess.</p><p>One parent, Shauna Parnell, however, is still very much concerned about the situation, and she told <a href="http://www.wptv.com/news/state/state-ends-active-search-for-missing-king-cobra-in-orlando">WPTV</a> what she thought:</p><p>"If he really cared, he'd be out there every day of the week looking for it," Parnell said of Kennedy. "I mean, if it was my snake, which I wouldn't have it in the first place, I'd be out there every day of the week."</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/anaconda-eats-man-discovery-channel-snake-2014-12">This Guy Agreed To Be Eaten Alive By An Anaconda For A TV Stunt</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="pvM2w0cjrrjpQJepOxBiYg6M97ZF4nLH" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

A Florida man lost his 8-foot king cobra and officials have called off the search, but they didn't find it

<keyword id="6358908" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Raghuram-Rajan">Raghuram Rajan</keyword>’s three ¬year tenure ends today. His term was marked with numerous controversies and success stories. He was given many titles like 'Rockstar Rajan' and 'Bond of Mint Street' for his persona, he once remarked "My name is Rajan and I do what I do" in a much like Bond style. While he had fans he had his share of critics reason why his tenure was cut short at three years ¬the lowest for any RBI Governor in a long time. Outspoken as he has been with his views, 53¬year ¬old Rajan went on to make public that he was willing to stay longer but an "agreement" could not be reached with the government in this regard. Rajan, who is credited with predicting the global economic crisis of 2008 and has decided to return to academia, said he would be back with his public speeches in India after a break, while making a strong pitch for retaining RBI's autonomy and allowing it to say "no" to the government whenever required. While he is expected to resume his job as Professor of <keyword id="25455" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="finance">Finance</keyword> at Chicago University, from where he has been on leave, those in the know say that he may also take up some other assignments in due course, including in academics.<br />
<br /> Rajan’s three years at the <keyword id="50847" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Reserve-Bank">Reserve Bank</keyword> has mostly been a string of success stories. While he gained common man's adulation but in the process he made a few foes in the corridors of power which prevented him from getting an extension. One of the most salient features of his reign has been a stable rupee, which was the biggest challenge when he took over on September 4, 2013. Not only has Rajan brought the bleeding rupee back to strength, he also battered down the inflation fangs to 6 per cent from double¬ digit levels, leading to a cheer in fixed income markets with falling yields. During his three years, Rajan has made classic use of public speeches to drive different concerns going beyond conventional monetary economics, cementing his position as one of the foremost public intellectuals in recent times.<br />
<br />
Experts say his biggest legacy would be steering the economy out of what seemed like a never¬ ending crisis ¬¬ with a bleeding rupee, unsustainably high CAD and precarious external position ¬¬ and then creating a framework through cleaning banks' books, market liberalisation and putting bank licensing on¬tap, which will all go a long way to make a conducive environment for the next wave of growth. Under Rajan, the RBI undertook an asset quality review of banks by issuing blanket orders to classify loans to certain accounts as nonperforming assets. The provisions led to record losses by lenders and Rajan set them a deadline of March 2017 to get done with the clean¬up act. Under Rajan, the RBI reached a historic agreement with the government to become an inflation ¬targeting central bank under which the MPC has been envisaged to make interest rate setting a collective call, rather than being driven by the Governor. This makes him the last governor to have the privilege of setting the monetary policy on his own.<br />

The end of 'Rockstart Rajan's' Rocking Tenure

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>The US-led annual multinational military exercise Cobra Gold kicked off in Thailand on Monday, despite a faltering relationship between the two countries following Thailand's military coup in May 2014. </p><p>Cobra Gold 2015 is scaled down due compared to past years because of the frosty relations between Thailand's ruling military junta and the US. But it's still a massive military exercise even in a reduced form. This year 13,000 personnel from 7 participating nations have joined in the exercises, the AP <a href="http://www.militarytimes.com/story/military/2015/02/09/thai-us-launch-cobra-gold-military-exercise-amid-tensions-over-coup/23144971/">reports</a>.</p><p>The <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ExerciseCobraGold/info?tab=page_info">participant countries</a> are Thailand, the United States, Singapore, Japan, Indonesia, Republic of Korea and Malaysia, while India and China are taking part in humanitarian training missions. Even though the exercise is smaller than in the past, the scope of Cobra Gold has grown since the first one was held in 1982 and involved only the US and Thailand.</p><p>Exercises in Cobra Gold 2015 include jungle survival training and civic assistance programs in underdeveloped regions of Thailand.</p><h3>Survival training is a big part of Cobra Gold. Thai Marines demonstrate how to capture a cobra in the wild.</h3><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div></p><h3>US Marines then help decapitate the cobra and take turns drinking its blood. Cobra blood is surprisingly hydrating and can be used as a temporary replacement for water if a Marine is lost without supplies.</h3><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div></p><h3>Thai Marines also teach their counterparts how to recognize edible jungle fruits.</h3><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div></p><h3>Like cobra blood, several of the fruits can serve as an improvised source of hydration.</h3><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div></p><h3>Marines are also instructed in the <a href="https://www.dvidshub.net/news/154161/survival-spiders-and-cobras-thailand#.VN48B8ZDZz8">proper way</a> to eat scorpions and spiders. Spiders are eaten after their fangs are ripped off, while scorpions are edible once the stinger is removed.</h3><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div></p><h3>Aside from survival lessons, participant countries also take part in construction projects to build greater regional cooperation in the event of disasters like typhoons or plane crashes. Here, Chinese and US soldiers work together to build a school as part of Cobra Gold 2015.</h3><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/taiwan-navy-stealth-missile-warship-corvette-2014-12">The Taiwan Navy Just Unveiled A Stealth Missile Warship Dubbed The 'Carrier-Killer'</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="VzZTRncjpwgLe6_-fMu3OhMAZehw4Hn_" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

Incredible photos of US Marines learning how to survive in the jungle during one of Asia's biggest military exercises

Jim Cramer tells us about balancing multiple jobs, his bar in Brooklyn, and coming back from the Jon Stewart interview

<p>Most snakes will only attack you if you get in their way, but snakes can bite you and their venom can be deadly. We spoke with <a href="https://www.amnh.org/our-research/staff-directory/frank-t.-burbrink/">Frank T. Burbrink</a>, Associate Curator in the Department of Herpetology at the American Museum of Natural History and Coyote Peterson, host of the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/BreakingTrail">Brave Wilderness</a> channel on YouTube, to find out what to do if one of them sinks its fangs into you. Following is a transcript of the video.</p><p><strong>Narrator:</strong> Uh oh, you've just been bitten by a snake. So, what do you do now?</p><p><strong>Indiana Jones:</strong> Snakes, why'd it have to be snakes?</p><p><strong>Narrator:</strong> There are about 3,000 different species of snakes in the world, both venomous and non-venomous. While they can be deadly, most snakes are only likely to bite you in self defense.</p><p>Frank Burbrink studies snakes at the American Museum of Natural History.</p><p><strong>Frank Burbrink</strong>: The most venomous snake in the world is the inland taipan from Australia. But it really doesn't envenomate that many people so many people don't actually die from this animal.</p><p><strong>Narrator:</strong> Some other snakes are less venomous but more likely to lash out at you. Like the Russell's vipers in India.</p><p><strong>Burbrink</strong>: And if you're in the United States, you have the Mojave rattlesnake, it's pretty rough in terms of venom, and eastern diamondback rattlesnakes.</p><p><strong>Narrator:</strong> About 7,000 to 8,000 people are bitten each year by venomous snakes in the United States. But only about 5 of those actually die as a result. So as long as you know what to do, and how to treat a bite, you have a good shot at surviving. The first thing you want to do when bitten, is try not to freak out.</p><p><strong>Coyote Peterson:</strong> When you're bitten by something that's venomous trust me, you know it right from the start. The most important thing you can do, is stay calm. Keep that venom from spreading faster.</p><p><strong>Narrator</strong>: Coyote Peterson hosts a wildlife show on YouTube in which he shows what it's like to be bitten and stung by various creatures. So he knows a thing or two about snake bites.</p><p><strong>Peterson:</strong> So let's say you're bitten by a snake and you're out in the middle of the desert and you think, "Oh no, I've been bitten, "I need to run as fast as I can to get help." Worst thing you can do because that's only going to make your heart pump faster and it's going to spread that venom further. You want to kinda keep the arm elevated, keep yourself calm.</p><p><strong>Narrator:</strong> While you shouldn't run, you still want to get medical attention as soon as possible. And don't wait until the symptoms appear.</p><p><strong>Burbrink:</strong> There are many instances of people that don't go to doctors for days and they suffer either death or severe tissue damage, you can lose hands, fingers.</p><p><strong>Narrator:</strong> Aside from the pain, there are a number of different ways your body might react. There will likely be redness and swelling around the wound. You may feel nauseous and it might become more difficult to breathe. Your limbs might go numb, your vision may blur and you may start salivating and sweating.</p><p>There are two main types of venom in snakes that affect you differently. The first is called hemotoxic venom. And it's found in vipers.</p><p><strong>Burbrink:</strong> The ones from viperids, which are hemotoxins which destroy tissue and are incredibly painful.</p><p><strong>Narrator:</strong> The second type is called neurotoxic and it can be found in cobras and coral snakes.</p><p><strong>Burbrink:</strong> So the neurotoxic paralyzes muscles and then eventually causes you to stop breathing, OK? And that's much less painful.</p><p><strong>Narrator:</strong> A common misconception when it comes to snake bites, is that you should suck the venom out.</p><p><em>You make an incision and you suck out the poison.</em></p><p><strong>Burbrink:</strong> It's based on a complete misunderstanding of how venom is injected into your system. I mean, if you took a shot of any chemical, opioids or anything else, once it's in your body, there's no way to pull that out with human suction.</p><p><strong>Narrator</strong>: And sucking can also make things worse.</p><p><strong>Peterson:</strong> If you have any sort of a sore in your mouth, it can be canker sore, it can be a little cut on your tooth from flossing, that is how the venom gets into your blood system. So actually putting venom in your mouth can be really really bad for you.</p><p><strong>Narrator:</strong> You don't want to try to catch the snake. But you should try to remember what it looks like so you can get the correct treatment or anti-venom.</p><p><strong>Burbrink:</strong> But if you know you're envenomated because you've been bitten and it really starts hurting like putting white hot needles into your skin or your muscles. If you feel that sensation, you know you've been envenomated. But you're not sure by what and the snake is still there, everybody carries a cell phone, take a photo of it.</p><p><strong>Narrator:</strong> If you can't make it to help right away. Wash the bite with soap and water. But don't apply ice or submerse it in water. You can cover it with a clean bandage until help arrives. But don't apply a tourniquet.</p><p><strong>Burbrink:</strong> Some people do stuff where they try to put tourniquets on there if you don't know what you're doing with that, you can cause a lot of damage and it's probably better to leave that alone unless you're a medical expert, right. People often would tie them too tight and cut off circulation and then you're trapping venom into certain parts of your body. I'd just, it's just not a good idea right.</p><p><strong>Narrator:</strong> Even if a venomous snake bites you, there's a chance it's just a dry bite, meaning no venom was injected into your system. So what if the snake is non-venomous?</p><p><strong>Peterson:</strong> I've been bit by many non-venomous snake species and most snakes have an anti-coagulant in their saliva. That anti-coagulant basically sort of causes you to bleed more than necessary, but as a long as it's not venomous all you need to do is wash out that bite with soap and water and you should be jut fine.</p><p><strong>Narrator:</strong> The best advice is to keep your distance. And avoid being bitten all together.</p><p><strong>Peterson:</strong> Always admire snakes from a safe distance. It's better to be safe than sorry when it comes to getting up close with these reptiles.</p><p><strong>Burbrink:</strong> They are really gentle animals. They don't want you to mess with them. They're fearful of you. If you see them, don't mess with them. Just appreciate their colors. There's not going to come and attack you unless you corner them or do something to harm them.</p><p><strong>Narrator:</strong> Heed this advice and you won't be hissstory.</p>

How to survive a snake bite

<p><strong><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Isaiah Downing/Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">Jeff Bezos.</p></div><p></p></div></div></strong></p><ul><li><strong><a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/amzn-stock">Amazon</a> posted its <a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/Amazon-s-stock-popped-3-after-it-blew-Wall-Street-away-by-reporting-a-record-2-5-billion-profit-AMZN-1027404913">largest-ever profit on Thursday</a> - more than doubling what analysts had expected.</strong></li><li><strong>The company's gross margin continues to grow, fueled by businesses like Amazon Web Services - it's cloud unit. </strong></li><li><strong>Shares surged as much as 4% following the earnings report.</strong></li><li><a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/amzn-stock"><strong>Follow Amazon's stock price in real-time here. </strong></a></li></ul><p><a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/amzn-stock">Amazon</a> on Thursday posted its<a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/Amazon-s-stock-popped-3-after-it-blew-Wall-Street-away-by-reporting-a-record-2-5-billion-profit-AMZN-1027404913"> largest quarterly profit</a> in its more than two decades as a publicly-traded company.</p><p>The earnings were more than double what Wall Street analysts had expected -<a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/Amazon-s-stock-popped-3-after-it-blew-Wall-Street-away-by-reporting-a-record-2-5-billion-profit-AMZN-1027404913"> at $5.07 per share</a> - leading to a slew of upgrades and price target changes.</p><p>Nearly every analyst notes that Amazon's gross margin was a major driver of their freshly raised price targets, especially fueled by Web Services, one of Amazon's fastest-growing units.</p><p>Here's what the Street is saying about the record quarter:</p><h2><strong>Goldman Sachs</strong></h2><p><strong>Price target: </strong>$2,300 (from $2,100)</p><p>"We continue to believe that we are in the sweet spot between Amazon investment cycles where new fulfillment/data centers are driving accelerating growth while incremental capacity utilization and efficiency is driving margin expansion," analyst Heath Terry said.</p><p>"Higher level, we remain in the early stages of the shift of workloads to the cloud and the transition of traditional <keyword id="6354851" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="retail">retail</keyword> online and, in our opinion, the market continues to underestimate the long-term financial benefit of both to Amazon." </p><p>He continued: "While Amazon continues to invest in growing the underlying infrastructure in both its retail and cloud businesses (albeit at a slower pace for the moment), expanding its content, developing new markets like India and Brazil, scaling its ad business, and entering new categories like healthcare, it does so while delivering significantly above average returns on investment."</p><h2><strong>RBC Capital Markets</strong></h2><p><strong>Price target: </strong>$2,100 (from $1,900)</p><p>"Amazon Remains An Internet Staple: This was another very impressive quarter, fundamentally speaking," analyst Mark Mahaney said. "</p><p>64 Straight Quarters (except for 1 qtr) of 20%+ organic Revenue Growth, though Profitability has admittedly been… uneven. But now, it's uneven UP, thanks to what we view as the Best Revenue Mix Shift Story In Tech - i.e. AMZN's fastest growing businesses (AWS and AMS) are high-margin." </p><p>He added: "We also believe AMZN's Core Retail biz is (finally?) benefiting from scale efficiencies. Only thing required was a $200B revenue run rate… And AMZN's Growth Outlook is arguably the strongest of the Major 'Net Platforms, because it faces the Largest (and Least Penetrated) total addressable market share (TAMS) - $20T Retail (10%) and $1T Cloud (10%)…along with $1T Advertising (30%), $5T Business Supplies (10%)…and maybe others."</p><h2><strong>Nomura Instinet</strong></h2><p><strong>Price target:</strong> $1,990 (from $1,808</p><p>"In a critical time, Amazon's stellar sales and burgeoning margin expansion helped decouple it from its FANG peers," analyst Simeon Siegel said. "We continue to believe the composition of Amazon's sales growth signals its future margin trajectory, putting it on a march to increasing (&amp; under-appreciated) profitability, w/2Q18 representing the company's largest margin expansion in ~two years."</p><p>He continued: "As such, we wonder whether AMZN has actually reached a size that makes it difficult to "outspend" sales growth, suggesting that, looking ahead, leverage could come from GM and SG&amp;A."</p><h2><strong>UBS</strong></h2><p><strong>Price target: </strong>$2,150 (from $1,830)</p><p>"While some investors could focus on slower paid unit growth and little/no upside to NA eCommerce revs, we think those neutral/negative points were overwhelmed by better a better gross/operating margin profile (the scale and profitability of new businesses is taking hold), positive commentary on AWS (cloud computing) and prospects of building/scaling a global digital media &amp; advertising platform," analyst Eric Sheridan said.</p><p>"Despite the strong performance (+55% YTD), we still see AMZN reaching new highs over the next 6 -12 months as the prospect of seasonally strong periods for shopping and advertising play out."</p><h2><strong>Credit Suisse:</strong></h2><p><strong>Price target: </strong>$2,100 (from $2,000)</p><p>"As we have called out previously, Amazon has entered a relative harvest cycle, and 2Q18 results showed incremental margin expansion - year over year and sequential - for North America, International, and AWS reporting segments," analyst Stephen Ju said.</p><p>"As expected, AWS also reported accelerating FX-neutral revenue growth as it lapped price cuts from last year. Hence despite the modest shortfall versus our revenue estimates, operating income at $3b was significantly ahead of guidance, consensus, and our estimate."</p><h2><strong>Jefferies</strong></h2><p><strong>Price target</strong>: $2,185 (from $,1950)</p><p>"Every major segment of the business contributed to results and we see big tailwinds coming behind some of the most meaningful segments, incl. AWS, Prime, and the fast-growing advertising business, analyst Brent Thill said.</p><p>"We continue to highlight the strategic importance of AWS to investors, which we think can cross $68B in annual revenue by 2022, becoming one of the largest enterprise software companies on the planet, and providing $375B+ of market value (vs. AMZN market cap of $877B today) over time."</p><p>He added: "No change to our positive thesis - the dominance of higher-margin AWS continues to afford Amazon the luxury of investing significantly back into the core commerce business, creating a virtuous cycle for both Amazon and its investors."</p><h2><strong>GBH Insights</strong></h2><p><strong>Price target</strong>: $$2,000</p><p><strong>"</strong>Overall, we would characterize these results as strong, with the bulls likely a bit disappointed that a "beat and raise" on the topline did not materialize," analyst Daniel Ives said.</p><p>"AWS was the star of the show yet again, with North American retail in-line while international had some soft spots. Importantly, the massive beat on the margins/EPS and healthy profitability outlook going forward will be a major positive that investors will focus on when digesting results. In a nutshell, after the Facebook debacle last night we believe the Street will be somewhat relieved to see Amazon deliver another strong quarter as the secular tailwinds on both the consumer and enterprise fronts are massive for Bezos &amp; Co. going forward."</p><p>He continued: "The profitability trajectory appears to be accelerating quicker than expected which given the leverage in the Amazon model is a "potential game changer" that could translate into further multiple expansion. We look forward to hearing more details on the call around the consumer e-commerce dynamics, Prime membership trends, AWS strength, and the international build out."</p><h2><strong>Macquarie</strong></h2><p><strong>Price target</strong>: $2,200</p><p><strong>"</strong>What we've been waiting on for many years is finally happening, meaningful margin expansion. At scale, the highest-margin businesses (AWS, advertising, 3P) are simply growing so fast that AMZN is either not able or not willing to reinvest enough to offset the margin expansion, analyst Benjamin Schachter said. "This has been the bull thesis for years." </p><p>He added: "We suspect, though this is admittedly speculation, that AMZN will have to re-enter the phone market either directly or indirectly in order to drive Alexa adoption. We don't see how Alexa can evolve to its fullest potential without being available prominently on the main device that so many people carry everywhere, the smartphone."</p><h2>Now read:</h2><ul><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bizarre-stock-market-strategy-hugely-profitable-not-slowing-2018-7?r=promo-below-article" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=https://www.businessinsider.com/bizarre-stock-market-strategy-hugely-profitable-not-slowing-2018-7?r%3Dpromo-below-article&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1532785022943000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFGc9T_k7cg54Isixewx4fvJjRq-Q">A bizarre stock-trading strategy that's made a killing for investors this year is showing no signs of slowing - here's how to replicate it</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-positioned-to-disrupt-asset-management-blueprint-for-success-2018-7?r=promo-below-article" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-positioned-to-disrupt-asset-management-blueprint-for-success-2018-7?r%3Dpromo-below-article&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1532785022943000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGRvqjCVA2xqsFsVK2ow0kCjbH-8A">Amazon is perfectly positioned to disrupt the world of investing - and its blueprint for success may already exist</a></li></ul><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/amzn-stock"></a><p class="source"><span><a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/amzn-stock">Markets Insider</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/movie-theaters-ruining-masking-curtains-projector-bulb-brightness-2018-7">How movie theaters are ruining your movie</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

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