By Angela Harmantas
Apple shares slump, a low loonie could be good news for retailers and an exciting vision for the future of air travel – here’s what you need to know today:
Here’s something we haven’t seen in a while: Apple shares slumped for a fifth straight day, falling 4.4 percent to $113.25 before closing at $114.64. To put that into perspective, Apple has lost nearly $96 billion in market value since hitting its peak share price of $133.60 this February. It’s inevitable that Apple’s momentum had to slow down at one point, and CEO Tim Cook deserves praise for navigating the tech giant in the post-Steve Jobs era. But the slide certainly calls into question the value of holding Apple shares in the future as the company is starting to show signs of straining to hold onto its visionary status.
Yes, the Canadian dollar hit an 11-year low on Tuesday, closing at 75.87 cents against the US dollar. Yes, it’s the lowest level since August 2004, and yes, it’s not being helped by the US crude oil price falling close to $45 a barrel. But the low loonie could boost consumer spending come the all-important back to school retail season, according to Ernst & Young. Canadians will likely be shopping closer to home to the tune of a 4 percent increase in spending on average across the country. That’s good news for retailers in British Columbia and Ontario, but not great news for Alberta and Saskatchewan, which are expected to post lower-than-average sales over the coming weeks.
I may be one of those few remaining people who still finds air travel exciting despite the endless frustrations that come with being crammed into economy class, although this piece of news thrilled me to no end: Airbus recently filed a patent for a supersonic plane that could technically hit Mach 4.5, making a New York to London flight in under two hours a distinct possibility. The difference here is that the proposed design would reduce the noise of the sonic boom, preventing it from hitting the ground. (I’m not an engineer but this CBC News article has a pretty good description of how exactly that would work.) Alright, I know that aircraft manufacturers file hundreds of out-there patents a year, and even if this were built in the near future it likely wouldn’t be accessible to the likes of my travel budget (after all, I am a journalist), but I can’t help but be excited about the future of air travel after hearing this news.
Have a comment or suggestion? I’d love to hear from you! Contact me at angela@smallcappower.com or on Twitter: @aharmantas.
