Nike Unveils Back To The Future II Self-Lacing Shoe 3 Years Too Late
The self-lacing shoes popularized by Marty McFly in Back To The Future II have finally arrived, though three years later than the movie originally envisioned. Nike’s (NYSE:NKE) Adapt BB basketball shoes automatically resize themselves to the wearer’s foot, with the size being controlled by a smartphone app or a button on the side of the shoe. Sizes can be adjusted to preference, and for example can be set to a looser fit or a tighter fit depending on how much blood circulation the wearer wishes to cut off. Sound like a joke? Sort of, but Eric Avar, a Nike VP, had this to say on the subject, “During a normal basketball game the athlete’s foot changes and the ability to quickly change your fit by loosening your shoe to increase blood flow and then tighten again for performance is a key element that we believe will improve the athlete’s experience.”
SEE: Cannabis Stock News Daily Roundup January 16
Bob Marley Beverage From New Age On The Shelves
New Age Beverages (NASDAQ:NBEV) has signed a deal to distribute Marley-branded CBD-infused soft drinks. The first drink to hit the shelves will be Marley+CBD Mellow Mood. It’s 16ozs of CBD goodness totaling 16mg of active ingredient per can. However, the term “Mellow Mood” may be a bit misleading since CBD is specifically non-psychoactive, though whether that means it calms you down or does nothing to your mood is up for interpretation and may depend on a user’s expectations. “Consumers want what’s called ‘the entourage’ effect, which really gives them that relaxation,” said New Age CEO Brent Willis on FOX Business on Wednesday. “It is not a buzz, it’s just relaxation, it kind of mellows you out.” We’ll see what the consumer verdict is.
SocGen Warns on Revenues
Société Générale Société anonyme (OTCMKTS:SCGLY), AKA SocGen, the big French megabank, is warning on a 20% fall in top line revenues this quarter, and by 10% for the whole of 2018. Retail Banking and Financial Services sectors should be alright, and the bank is still paying a $2.50 dividend per share, and yet is still trading near all time lows. The bank has never recovered from the 2008 financial crisis and has never gotten close to challenging all time highs hit in April 2007. According to Bloomberg however, the bank is considering shutting its $4.7B Proprietary Trading Unit, so maybe things are worse than they seem. Meanwhile, European shares are down moderately today with the decline led by London’s FTSE 100, down over half a percent, but not doing too badly in light of the Brexit limbo chaos constantly erupting in Parliament.
BlackRock CEO Calls Stock Market Bottom
Larry Fink, CEO of the world’s largest asset manager BlackRock (NYSE:BLK), think that a stock market bottom is in. He cautions however that stock will probably not take off until the current trade dispute with China is concluded and resolved. With the federal government being shut down and all, one would assume that tariffs cannot be enforced because there are no employees to enforce them, but you’d be a fool. The government is still in operation collecting all sorts of tariffs and taxes. The only parts of the government that are shut down are the ones that provide services to citizens. And yet, with the government still collecting taxes but not providing all requisite services, somehow the deficit keeps rising nonetheless. Hmm.
Futures Down, Oil Down, Gold Steady, Asia Down, Rates Hold, Dollar Unchanged
The title says it all. Looks to be a relatively calm day on Wall Street today. Though we’ll see where the futures go and if everything holds by day’s end. Most of us will survive, probably.
