Tech Review: 1) Digital Fashion Models, 2) Dating in the Digital Age

Tech Review (TR 2018-08-25)--Domain Mondo's weekly review of tech investing news with commentary, analysis and opinion: Features • 1) Digital Fashion Models, 2) Dating in the Digital Age,  3) Investing: The Week, Investing Notes: Bull Market, Emerging Markets, Turkey, Venezuela, China, EU, US,  4)ICYMI Tech News: Apple, Google, Tesla, Microsoft, Huawei, ZTE, Alibaba, Tencent, Nordstrom.

1) Miquela, Shudu, And The Rise Of Digital Fashion Models 

There are an increasing number of digital fashion models. Some have thousands and even millions of Instagram followers and brands and retailers are starting to show interest. A look at the growing trend. CNBC.com video published Aug 21, 2018

2) Dating in the Digital Age

Over 200 million people worldwide use online dating platforms and about one-third of married couples in the U.S. meet online. In this Economist cover story, an examination of the way online dating has changed and the way people now search for love. Economist.com video above published Aug 17, 2018.

3) Investing

The Week: NASDAQ Composite +1.7% | S&P 500 Index +0.9 | DJIA +0.5%

The Longest Running Bull Market In History and Likely To Go On

"The data still points to U.S. equity markets as being the better asset class. Look around the world. We're the best game in town ... If someone calls telling you to take money out of the U.S. and put it in emerging markets because they are cheap, HANG UP. Dead money for 12 years. Cheap for a reason."--Belpointe Asset Management chief strategist David Nelson.

"The main reason why Stay Home has been outperforming Go Global since the start of the bull market is that the forward earnings (i.e., the time-weighted average of consensus estimates for this year and next year) of the US MSCI stock price index has outpaced the forward earnings of the All Country World ex-US MSCI (in local currencies). The former is up 172% since it bottomed during the 4/30 week of 2009 through the 8/2 week this year, while the latter is up 78% over the same period"--Dr. Ed Yardeni.

Wall Street's Charging Bull

Investing Notes:

Goldman Sachs "cut its bond yield forecasts for all the G-10 countries based on changes in the outlook for monetary policy and inflation in several regions and less recovery in term premium in the U.S." Goldman lowered its end-2018 forecast for the 10-year (US) Treasury yield to 3.10% from 3.25%, and still expects 6 more rate hikes, or one per quarter until the Fed funds rate rises to 3.25%-3.5%--ZeroHedge.com.

Emerging Markets: 

• Turkey's lira still under pressure, Trump resolute--reuters.com 
• Venezuela devalues its currency, the bolívar, by 95% and pegs it to a cryptocurrency--trying to contain "rampant inflation of more than 1 million percent a year."--businessinsider.com.

China: In their IPO filings, Chinese startups are warning investors about Tencent and Alibaba--Startups Struggle to Escape the Shadows of Alibaba and Tencent | Bloomberg.com: "the startups benefit from the cash and customers Alibaba and Tencent provide, [but] the deals can also feel like a trap. They can give Alibaba and Tencent inordinate voting power through board seats and veto rights; come laden with conflicts of interest over hiring, mergers and acquisitions, and other strategic decisions; and deepen the startups’ dependence on traffic from the larger companies to life-and-death proportions."

EU: Denmark targets U.S. and British companies and individuals in its global campaign to recoup billions of crowns allegedly paid out in fraudulent tax refunds between 2012 and 2015--reuters.com.

US: 

• SEC rejects bitcoin ETFs--expressing concern about fraud and manipulation of bitcoin markets--cnbc.com.
• Student loans are now the second-largest category of household debt in America, topping $1.4 trillion, trailing only mortgages at $9 trillion--zerohedge.com.

4) ICYMI Tech News:

• Apple and Google Face Growing Revolt Over App Store ‘Tax’--Bloomberg.com: "pushback from devs like Valve, Netflix and regulatory scrutiny."

• Tesla $TSLA: "The Hype is No Longer with Tesla: Suppliers & Creditors Start to Fret"--WolfStreet.com  Aug 20, 2018: "18 of 22 suppliers believe Tesla is now a financial risk to their companies."

• Australia bans Huawei and ZTE from providing 5G wireless network equipment to support the country's new telecom networks, citing risks of foreign interference and hacking--NYTimes.com.

• Alibaba joins Google, others in making custom AI chips--CNBC.com.

• Microsoft's Undervalued Strengths | SeekingAlpha.com: "the image of a fading personal computer company that failed in its attempt to enter the smartphone market undervalues the reality of strong, highly profitable growth."

• Online vs Brick-and-Mortar Retail: Nordstrom  NYSE: JWN shares were up 12% after it reported better-than-expected results, but the results were due to ecommerce online sales, not brick-and-mortar store sales. Sales from Nordstrom.com soared 50% year-over year to $897 million, and including its other e-commerce sites, total online sales jumped 23% to $1.35 billion, or to 34% of its total sales--WolfStreet.com.

• David Versus Goliath:  Minds.com, An Alternative To The Facebook And Twitter Duopoly?

-- John Poole, Editor, Domain Mondo  

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