Is Apple Making A Big Mistake

Apple is planning to introduce a small,cheap tablet with a 7" screen and selling for around 200 dollars.Is this the wrong move for the consumer electronics titan?They are planning to go after a small market,said Todd Schoenberger,Managing Principal at The BlackBay Group.This is gonna squeeze them down the road.It means thin margins.This will cut into the iPad's 37% profit margins.
Apple is a category-killer.Reversing course,going after another market that they don't need right now is disturbing to a shareholder and investor.The profit margins are gonna be squeezed.Apple's challenge going forward is to break into new markets,emerging markets.You don't want to overlap product development.This happens with car companies,and it doesn't work.
The BlackBay Group is an asset management firm.The Payson,Illinois company says it will organize and simplify your financial affairs and help you make the informed decisions needed to achieve your financial goals.
Apple co-founder the late Steve Jobs explicitly rejected the idea of a small tablet.On the other hand,it is inevitable that new CEO Tim Cook will want to leave his own mark and take his own risks.He won't just  be following the party line.Whatever changes he makes will be viewed critically by some.
Apple Computer(AAPL)

Asia This Day:Chinese Economy Still Under Pressure,Premier Says

Japan's machinery orders dropped 14.8%,which is seven times worse than estimates.As well,the current account balance fell about 63%,reflecting a drop in chemical and aerospace orders,and increased imports of liquefied natural gas.The Kansai Electric Ohi nuclear reactor number 3 is now running at full capacity,having been restarted last week,but it only supplies 2% of the country's electricity.A lot of LNG imports will still be needed until other reactors come back into service.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said China will continue to intensify pre-emptive fine-tuning of policy.There are still relatively large downward pressures on the economy.Real estate market controls will continue,as speculation must be stopped.Don't expect such controls to be eased anytime soon.China's inflation declined for the fifth consecutive month below Mr.Wen's 4% target rate,settling at 2.2 %,below the 2.3% estimate.
Shares of Australian miners Iluka Resources and BHP Billiton dropped on fears of a Chinese hard landing and worsening global demand generally.The MSCI Asia Pacific Index was down 0.82% in early Monday trading,while India's Nifty Fifty futures index declined on the Chinese inflation numbers and U.S. jobs stagnation.The Chinese low inflation figures are being seen by analysts as a confirmation of continued weakness.
On a lighter note,South Korean golfer Na Yeon Choi,24,won the Women's U.S. Open at Black Wolf Run in Wisconsin.She survived some harrowing mistakes on the back nine with cool-headed recovery shots,earning her first major victory and her sixth total win on the LPGA Tour.Her countrywoman Amy Yang was second on the leaderboard.
BHP Billiton,Ltd.(BHP),Iluka Resources,Ltd.(ASE:ILU)

USC Norris Doctors Advance Cancer Research

A number of physician researchers from the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center in Los Angeles were collaborators on more than 70 research projects presented at the 2012 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.About 30,000 oncologists from around the world attend the meeting to review the latest developments in their field.Advances in the treatment of cancer and patient care were set forth in more than 4500 abstracts presented or published at the gathering.Topics of the papers included targeted therapy;clinical trial results for a wide rage of cancers;and patient quality of life.The meeting took place at McCormick Place in Chicago from June 1-5.
One of the more promising studies presented was collaborated on by Heinz-Josef Lenz,associate director for clinical research and co-leader of the gastrointestinal cancers program at the USC Norris CCC.It was an international phase III trial of regorafenib,a candidate drug that has been found to significantly improve overall survival in metastatic colorectal cancer patients who are unresponsive to other approved therapies.It is believed that the drug,pending FDA approval,will raise the standard of care for these patients.
Regorafenib is an oral drug developed by Bayer AG.Its stock trades on the OTC pink sheets in the U.S. under the ticker symbol BAYRY.The company is well known as the maker of Bayer aspirin products.Indeed,Bayer AG was the first producer of aspirin tablets.

Who Narrates The Pure Michigan Commercials

You may think it must be Cliff Robertson's voice in the "Pure Michigan" travel commercials.Think again;it's actually Michigan-raised and educated Tim Allen,59,star of the popular sitcom "Home Improvement."Yes,that's also Allen narrating the Chevrolet commercials.Denver-born Allen moved to Michigan as a child,eventually graduating from Western Michigan University with a BS in Communications and concentrations in radio and television production.
The comic actor's life had some missteps that were anything but funny.In 1978,25 year-old Allen landed in federal prison after pleading guilty to drug trafficking.He served two years and four months there,having been arrested with cocaine in his possession.In  1997,Allen was arrested for DUI.He was sentenced to one year of probation plus substance abuse counseling.He recovered from these wayward acts and has sustained a high level of success in his career,recieving five Golden Globes and an Emmy award for his work,as well as a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.Allen starred  in "The Santa Clause" film series and did voiceover work in the "Toy Story" films.He is currently starring in the ABC sitcom "Last Man Standing."
The commercials are the product of the McCann-Erickson subsidary of McCann Worldgroup,a leading marketing communications firm with offices in New York,Italy, Brazil,India and Singapore.The company pledges to transform its clients' brands and grow their businesses.

Asia This Day:Japan Restarts Nuclear Plant;Confidence Up

Despite loud protests,Japan has restarted its Fukui Prefecture Ohi nuclear power plant,saying the quality of life was being hurt by the recent switch to more expensive fossil fuels.The country had placed a moratorium on nuclear power a few months ago for safety checks in the wake of last year's meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant.
The Tankan survey of Japanese large companies showed a greater than expected increase in business confidence.Australian home prices rebounded the most in two years on rate cuts,while manufacturing contracted at a slower pace in June than in May.
The HSBC China Purchasing Managers Index fell to 48.2 in June from 48.4 in May.It has shown contraction for the past eight months.Manufacturing orders and export demand are down on the Euro-zone debt crisis.The Shanghai Composite Index was down 0.42% in early Monday trading on the news.
Hong Kong's stock market is closed today following the inauguration of the territory's new chief executive,C.Y. Leung,on Sunday morning.Chinese Premier Hu Jintao attended the ceremony.Tens of thousands of protesters marched through the streets,denouncing Mr.Leung,a former real estate executive,as a Beijing figurehead.A big fireworks display was nontheless held to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong to China by the U.K.
India's Nifty Fifty stock futures index rose on optimism about a Euro-zone agreement on how to resolve the debt problem.
iShares MSCI Japan Index Fund(EWJ)

First Thoughts: Ending the month on a high note

First Thoughts: Ending the month on a high note

Health Uncle:Should You Get In The System Now

The Supreme Court's approval of Obamacare's constitutionality will not change U.S. healthcare overnight.It just means the provisions already in place are more secure,and that the major overhaul of the system slated for January,2014 will proceed as scheduled,barring the unlikely event of repeal by Congress.A certain momentum tends to build up behind safety net programs as more and more citizens benefit from them.Untold millions of Americans will enter the health care system for the first time-a system which reportedly lacks enough primary care physicians to accomodate them.
Americans who have insurance now,but haven't entered the system themselves yet,would be well-advised to do so,while there are still openings for new patients at their local  family practices.Many of them could fill up quickly once the Affordable Care Act is fully implemented in 2014.This is an opportunity for these undoctored insured to begin taking care of themselves and the health care system itself,which will still face rising costs in the decades ahead.