The smart home is getting smarter—but is it smart enough? (11/14/14)

U.S. consumer sentiment rose to a seven-year high, and retail sales increased slightly in October, but despite the positive economic data, the markets struggled to find direction.

The Dow fell 18 points, with 16 of its 30 components advancing; the S&P 500 Index was up less than a point; and the Nasdaq added 8. Advancers were nearly even with decliners on both the NYSE and the Nasdaq. Treasury prices strengthened. Gold futures rose $24.10 to close at $1,185.60 an ounce, and the price of crude oil gained $1.61 to settle at $75.82 a barrel. Both gold and oil jumped on speculation that OPEC may cut oil production to stem falling prices. 

For the week, the Dow gained 0.35%, the S&P 500 Index increased 0.39%, and the Nasdaq rose 1.21%.  

In Earnings News:

-       Nordstrom reported better-than-expected third quarter earnings, sending its stock (JWN) higher by 1.26%. Sales rose 9%, helped in part by online and mail order sales, which increased 22%. Same-store sales were up 3.9%. The high-end retailer reported earnings of $142 million, or 73 cents a share, up from $137 million, or 69 cents a share, last year. Revenue increased 9% to $3.14 billion. Analysts forecasted earnings of 71 cents a share on revenue of $3.1 billion.

In Other Business News: 

-       Retail sales rose 0.3% in October, according to the Commerce Department, slightly higher than the 0.2% forecasted. Sales were strong at clothing, furniture, and health care stores. Lower average wage growth has kept consumer spending down, but lower gasoline prices are helping to increase discretionary spending. Read Dr. Brian Jacobsen’s analysis of the data.

-       Wages may be stagnant, but consumer outlook has been brightened by lower gas prices and falling unemployment. November’s preliminary reading of the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index came in at 89.4, the highest level in seven years.

-       Car-rental company Hertz Global Holdings announced it would restate its 2011, 2012, and 2013 financial statements after an investigation into accounting irregularities. Hertz also said that the investigation could extend into the middle of next year. The company’s stock (HTZ) fell 4.58%.

-       Airline Virgin America Inc. raised over $300 million today after its IPO, giving the company a value of over $1 billion. The stock (VA) rose 30.43% in its first day of trading.

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According to research done by GE, the market for smart home technology could be as large as $25 billion. But, the market faces headwinds. While 83% of survey respondents are interested in making a purchase, less than 25% thought it was affordable, and less than a third thought it was a good value. 

GE partnered with startup Quirky and announced a new line of products this week that they’re hoping will change our minds. The products include window and door sensors that act as security alarms, a water leakage sensor, a garage door monitor, and a heating and cooling controller. All of the products are priced below $100, which GE hopes makes it an attractive gift-giving option as we head into the holiday season.

GE and Quirky’s new Wink platform isn’t the only thing making your home smarter this week. Here are two new projects on Kickstarter:

·      Roost has created a wi-fi enabled 9-volt battery that makes your smoke alarm smart. It’s a lithium-ion battery, which should extend its life to five years. Plus, it connects with an app on your phone (of course) and can tell you when it’s time to change the battery, but most importantly, it can tell you when something is wrong at the house and get you in touch with the authorities. The battery will also work in carbon monoxide detectors and water leakage monitors. Right now, you can get a Roost battery with a $35 pledge on Kickstarter, and they’re hoping that it retail for about that price when it goes into production. A small price to pay to avoid the smoke alarm chirping that inevitably happens in the middle of the night.

·      Here to fulfill another need we never knew we had are the makers of the Tailio wi-fi litter box The Tailio device actually sits underneath your cat’s litter box and keeps tabs on your tabby’s weight and other comings and goings. All that information is sent to an app on your phone. The idea is that cats are creatures of habit, and therefore easy to track via an algorithm, allowing owners to get an early warning of potential health issues. Personally, I’m already too connected with the litter box when I’m cleaning it out…I don’t think I need more information than I’m already getting.

These are all great strides into making my home smarter. Let me know when it’s smart enough to turn off the water when it senses a leak or to put out the fire when it senses smoke. Then we’ll talk.

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Comic book industry gets a reboot (2/13/15)