1 US Fed keeps interest rates on hold (BBC) The US
Federal Reserve has kept interest rates between 0.25% and 0.5%, the rate it has
held since December. The Fed said while conditions have improved, the central
bank is still waiting for inflation to reach 2%.
In its statement the Fed said it would
"carefully monitor actual and expected progress toward its inflation
goal" as it weighed when next to raise rates. In its statement
accompanying today's decision, the Fed's Open Market Committee pointed to
strengthening in the labour market and improved household spending, as positive
signs.
The unemployment rate fell below 5% in January. The
central bank appeared to be less focused on global financial risks to the US
economy. A slowing economy in China and falling oil prices have weighed on the
Fed's past decisions, but appeared to be less important this time around.
The Fed said low oil prices and poor exports early
in the year had contributed to weak inflation. Additionally, while the housing
sector has continued to strengthen, the Fed said business investment and
exports remained "soft". Most economists only expect two rate
increases in 2016. The bank's next chance to raise rates will be when it meets
in June.
2 Galaxy helps Samsung profit jump 14% (The
Guardian) Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest smartphone maker, has
recorded better than expected first quarter profits thanks to the successful
early release of its new flagship Galaxy handset.
The result will encourage shareholders after a
disappointing 2015 that saw Samsung lose more than $8bn in market value, with
its smartphone business sandwiched by top-end rivals like Apple’s iPhone and
lower-end devices from fast-growing Chinese outfits like Huawei and Xiaomi.
In an effort to defend its smartphone share, Samsung
rolled out the latest version of its Galaxy S7 smartphone in March – a month
earlier than the previous year and ahead of new launches by its competitors. Net
income for the January-March period stood at 5.25 trillion won ($4.56 billion),
up 14.1% from 4.63 trillion won in the same quarter last year.
The strong Galaxy S7 performance came in the face of
a flattening global smartphone market that saw arch-rival Apple on Tuesday
report its first-ever drop in iPhone sales since launching the iconic handset. Apple
reported net income of $10.5bn in the fiscal quarter to March 26, down from
$13.6bn last year.
3 Shopping may turn possible on social media (San
Francisco Chronicle) It's now possible — though neither easy nor particularly
convenient — to buy stuff on Facebook via automated messaging "bots."
But it's far from clear that people really want to go shopping on the social
network.
Last month, Facebook announced that people can use
its Messenger chat service to order flowers, keep up with the news and buy
shoes or other goods from participating companies. Only a few have signed on so
far, but if the feature takes off, we could all be chatting with artificially
intelligent bots to reserve plane tickets, book hotel rooms or order salmon
teriyaki before long.
Of course, there are still a lot of ifs around these
shopbots, starting with the fact that Facebook has been trying, and largely
failing, to launch its own e-commerce efforts for years. Facebook also offers
the "buy" button, which appears in its ads and aims to let people
purchase stuff without leaving the social network. But it's unclear how many
people actually use it.
For all Facebook's success at changing the way
people interact with one another and expanding their willingness to share
personal details in public, it has "struggled with figuring out how to
layer on e-commerce," says eMarketer analyst Debra Aho Williamson.
The company isn't exactly hurting in the meantime. It
reported earnings of $1.51 billion, almost triple what it pulled in a year
earlier. Its revenue jumped 52 percent to $5.38 billion, exceeding analyst
expectations of $5.26 billion. Its shares rose 9 percent in after-hours
trading.
But can shopbots turn Facebook into a mall? If so,
it may still take a while, analysts say. Artificial intelligence has made big
strides recently, but bots are still in no position to replace thinking humans,
says Joshua March, CEO of Conversocial, a customer-service software company.
Using a bot for general, complicated customer service with existing technology
will only lead to frustrated customers.
Of course, bots will get better over time, and
consumers will also get used to them, particularly if companies are careful to
make clear when people are chatting with bots and not actual humans. "My
general thesis is never betting against technology," March says.
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