Google, Amazon ahead of Apple in artificial intelligence race: Fortune

Essentially a hardware-focused firm, Apple is falling behind in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) race with Google and Amazon racing ahead while embracing the open-source and collaborative approach in the emerging field of AI, Fortune reported.

According to Mohanbir Sawhney, McCormick Foundation professor of technology at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, sheets of glass are simply no longer the most fertile ground for innovation.

"That means Apple urgently needs to shift its focus and investment to AI-driven technologies, as part of a broader effort to create the kind of ecosystem Amazon and Google are building quickly," Sawhney wrote in Fortune.

According to him, Apple has reached its peak with "super premium" iPhone X and "does not represent the beginning of the next 10 years of the smartphone, as Apple claims".

Apple launched the iPhone X globally on Friday.
Players pursue innovation along a vector of differentiation until the vector runs out of steam.
"When that happens, the focus of innovation shifts to a different vector and new market leaders emerge. We have seen this pattern several times in mobile phone innovation over the past three decades," Sawhney said.

The vector of differentiation is now shifting from hardware to AI and AI-based software and agents.
"As AI-driven phones like Google's Pixel 2 and virtual agents like Amazon Echo proliferateaToday's smartphones will likely recede into the background," he stressed.

Apple iPhone X to go on sale in India today: Check out the best deals

Apple’s anniversary edition iPhone X is going on sale in India today. The smartphone will be available through Apple'sretail stores and e-commerce platforms. Also, the phone will be available on the online stores of  Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio.
In India, the iPhone X base model with 64 GB storage is priced at Rs 89,000 and the higher storage model with 256 GB internal storage is priced at Rs 1,02,000.

Here are some of the deals on iPhone X

Reliance Jio
Reliance Jio has teamed up with Apple to offer 70 per cent buyback option to Jio customers on iPhone X. Also, Reliance Jio is offering Rs 10,000 cashback to Citibank customers on purchase of the iPhone X using their Citibank credit or debit card.
The buyback offer on iPhone X is valid only for Jio subscribers who opt for Rs 799 monthly Jio-Apple contract, which is valid for 12 months. The buyback offer assures 70 per cent money back to subscribers post 12-months subjected to terms and conditions.
The Rs 799 monthly contract is available for postpaid and prepaid subscribers. In the Rs 799 monthly plan, Reliance Jio will offer free voice calls, SMS and Jio apps coupled with 3 GB high-speed 4G data per day valid for 28 days.

Airtel
India’s leading telecom player Bharti Airtel would sell Apple’s anniversary edition iPhone X through its online store. The much-awaited smartphone of the year will go on sale starting 6 PM (IST), exclusively to Airtel postpaid customers as an unlocked device.
The Airtel Online store will put on sale both the variants of iPhone X. The 64 GB and 256 GB model of the smartphone is priced at Rs 89,000 and Rs 1,02,000, respectively. Citibank credit card customers can also avail Rs 10,000 cashback on the purchase of iPhone X. The cashback offer can be availed between 6 PM, November 3 and 7 AM, November 4, 2017.
Unlike Reliance Jio, the iPhone X purchased through Airtel store does not come with any bundled offer or buy back scheme. As an unlocked device, the smartphone can be used on any network.

Derivative strategy on Jain Irrigation by HDFC Securities

STOCK MARKET - Derivative strategy on Jain Irrigation by Devarsh Vakil & Nandish Shah - PCG Desk, HDFC Securities
Buy Jain Irrigation November 110 call at Rs 4.70
Stop loss: Rs 3
Target: Rs 8

Rationale:
We have seen long positions being built in Jain Irrigation futures today where their open interest rising by over 5%.

Stock price has given breakout on the daily chart by closing above the downward sloping trendline resistane of 105 level.

In the option segment, 110 call added over 4 lakh shares (25% rise in open interest) and 115 call added over 2 lakh shares(16% rise in open interest), suggesting higher possibility of sharp price from here.

Momentum Indicators and oscillators are Indicating strength in the stocks

Hathway, Den Networks rally upto 20% after strong Q2 results by Hathway

STOCK MARKET - Shares of cable service providers such as Hathway Cable & Datacom Limited (Hathway), Den Networks, Siti Networks and Dish TV India rallied by up to 20% after Hathway reported good set of numbers for the quarter ending September 2017 (Q2FY18).

Hathway had posted 50% quarter on quarter (QoQ) growth in standalone net profit before exceptional item at Rs 15.3 crore in Q2FY18 against Rs 10.2 crore in June quarter (Q1FY18). Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) margin improved 600 bps QoQ at 44% in Q1FY18 from 38% in Q1FY18.

“Minimum data limits across country increased to 200 GB/consumer/month. 45% of our consumers have monthly data limits of 1,000 GB. Average GB/consumer/month has increased to 98 GB in month of October, strong indicator of demand side potential of high speed wire line broadband,” Hathway said in an investor presentation.

The cable television business of the company was transferred by way of slump sale to Hathway Digital Private Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary with effective from March 31, 2017.

Hathway promoted by Raheja Group, is one of the largest multi system operator (MSO) & cable broadband service providers in India today.

Hathway has locked in upper circuit of 20% at Rs 38.25 on the BSE with only buyers were seen on the counter. Till 11:16 AM; a combined 748,721 shares changed hands and there were pending buy orders for 557,714 shares on the NSE and BSE.

Among the other individual stocks, Den Networks has surged 8% to Rs 91, followed by Siti Networks (up 5% at Rs 26) and Dish TV India (up 2% at Rs 77) on the BSE. On comparison, the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex was up 0.23% at 33,651 points.

Bharti Airtel up 4% after huge block deal

Bharti Airtel was up 4% to Rs 565 on the BSE in early morning trade after about 185 million equity shares of the company changed hands on the counter.

Last week, on October 30, Bharti Telecom, promoter firm of Bharti Airtel, in a regulatory filing said that it will acquire additional up to 184.7 million shares or 4.62% at market price in the telecom major on or after November 3.

Bharti Telecom acquired 184,710,183 equity shares of Bharti Airtel from another promoter firm of the telecom major, Indian Continent Investment Limited (ICIL), at price of Rs 417.35 per share derived with weighted average market price of 60 days trading period, as per the filing.

The telco in a regulatory filing on Thursday clarified that ‘the volume weighted average market price for a period of 60 trading days preceding the date of issuance of the said intimation (based on trades on NSE) has been inadvertently mentioned as Rs 417.35 per share instead of Rs 435.37 per share’.

With this transaction, Bharti Telecom stake in the company will increase 50.1% in Bharti Airtel from 45.48% and ICIL stake will come down to 2.03%, it added.

At 10:14 AM; the stock was up 2% at Rs 554, as compared to 0.07% rise in the S&P BSE Sensex. It was trading close to its record high of Rs 575 touched on October 10, 2007 in intra-day trade.

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