Tech Review | Semiconductor Chip Wars: China vs U.S. (video)

Tech Review (TR 2018-12-15)--Domain Mondo's weekly review of tech investing news: Features • 1) Semiconductor Chip Wars: China vs U.S., 2) Why Netflix $NFLX Is Struggling In India, 3) Investing: The Week, Investing Notes: The Macroview, 4) ICYMI Tech News: Apple $AAPL, ParkJockey, Qualcomm $QCOM, Amazon AWS Robomaker, $TME IPO, Huawei CFO.

1) Semiconductor Chip Wars: China vs U.S. 

The Economist.com video above published Dec 11, 2018: The trade war between China and the U.S. is not just about traditional products like steel and cars. A battle for dominance is under way in semiconductor chips, as the two superpowers fight to control this vital industry.

2) Why Netflix $NFLX Is Struggling In India

Netflix has 137 million subscribers and a majority of them are international. But the streaming giant is still struggling to break into India, the world's second-largest internet market. CNBC's Alex Sherman explains why.

Netflix is currently valued much higher than other media companies. Despite a share pullback in recent months from more than $400 to about $285, Netflix has a trailing price-to-earnings ratio of more than 100 and an enterprise value-to-EBITDA ratio of about 70. For comparison, Disney has a P/E ratio of about 14 and an EV-to-EBITDA ratio of about 11. Viacom's valuation ratios are both around 7.

This gaudy valuation is largely predicated on its international growth forecast. Breaking into India is critical for the company to double or triple its subscribers over the next 10 to 15 years, as many analysts have estimated. But Netflix hasn't had an easy time spreading through India since it launched there in 2016. Faced with competition from local players and Amazon Prime Video, Netflix is facing an uncertain future in a country with more than 1.3 billion people. CNBC.com video above published Dec 11, 2018.

3) Investing

The Week: NASDAQ Composite -0.8 | S&P 500 Index -1.3 | DJIA -1.2.

Slowing growth in China, growing disarray concerning UK, Brexit, & the EU.

Investing Notes: The Macroview

“It is quite possible there will be a global recession”--Jeffrey Gundlach, Dec 11, 2018.  The U.S. is stronger than the rest of the world, according to Gundlach, with real growth at 3.0%. U.S. leading economic indicators (LEIs) remain strong, and are not close to turning negative, which would signal a recession. But global LEIs are much weaker, Gundlach said, and approaching zero. As central banks tightened their monetary policies, equity returns have been hit. 75% to 80% of global markets are in a “death cross” pattern, where 50-day moving average has fallen below the 200-day moving average. Europe is “absolutely horrible” in terms of economic growth, according to Gundlach. More here.

Top 10 Risks For 2019 include Eurozone crisis 2.0.

4) ICYMI Tech News:

• Apple $AAPL plans to build a new $1 billion campus in Austin, Texas, adding thousands of jobs, and also setting up new large offices in Seattle, San Diego and the Los Angeles area.--Axios.com.

• SoftBank Group reportedly has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in Miami parking tech startup ParkJockey (parkjockey.com) making it Miami's most valuable startup with a valuation now above $1 billion.

• Qualcomm's $QCOM Challenges May Only Get Worse--SeekingAlpha.com.

• Robots rising: 5 trends driving the robotics sector in 2019--zdnet.com. For robot-based automation, check out Amazon's AWS RoboMaker. 

• China-based music streaming Tencent Music Entertainment Group raised close to $1.1 billion in its U.S. initial public offering (IPO) after pricing its $TME shares at the bottom of its targeted range.

• Canada frees China's Huawei CFO on bail.

• Russiagate Hyperbole: Google CEO Sundar Pichai revealed this week that the “full extent” of so-called Russian meddling activity that took place on the platform during all of 2016 was $4,700 spent on some digital advertisements.

-- John Poole, Editor, Domain Mondo  

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