Business

Anything from starting a business to working in a corporate environment.

Tech Companies Announce Quarterly Earnings

yellow bar chart

Episode 1459

Tech companies announced quarterly earnings last week, and everything was up. Alphabet's revenue was up 24%, but because of the new tax law, it actually lost money. Alphabet had an additional tax expense of $9.9 billion, but that money went toward taxes on funds that were kept overseas to avoid that tax. Ebay lost money because it had to pay $3.1 billion, and Lenovo lost money because it had to pay $400 million in taxes.

Apple Employees Begin to Move Into Space Ship Campus

Apple Park

Episode 1409

Apple employees have begun to move into their circular spaceship campus designed by Steve Jobs and Jony Ive. The campus has open area offices with no closed doors. The idea was to encourage collaboration, but some are complaining about not being able to have privacy or a quiet place to focus on their work. The building is also one floor and you can get anywhere in the building in less than a 1/4 mile.

Read more at Fortune.com.

Apple Has Nearly $256 Billion in the Bank

Apple Headquarters in Cupertino

Episode 1381

With most of its money stashed in Irish banks, Apple's $246 Billion is tucked safely away from the US Tax Code. So much so, that they've created a separate Irish subsidiary which then licenses Apple's own intellectual property back to Cupertino. It's all the same corporation, mind you, but it enables them to avoid taxes in the US. And it's completely legal. They have more money in the bank than the GDP in Sri Lanka, and the 13th largest country in the world, if it were a country.

How could my son get a job in IT?

Episode 1337

Manny from Parkland, FL

Manny's son wants to get into IT, but he's wondering how he could get a job. Leo says that certifications are the diplomas of the IT world. Microsoft and Cisco has CERT programs. He should look at the certs he wants to get and then sign up to get that training. There's even a hacker cert for those who want to work in IT security. Leo suggests ITPro.TV for getting the right training to qualify to test for the certs. Once he gets that first job, then it depends on how good he is at it for getting that second job.

How can I see if my identity has been stolen?

Episode 1199

Mike from Hawthorne, CA

Mike needs to buy a new hard drive. Leo says they've gotten really large and really cheap. He could get a 5 TB hard drive for under $150. And SSDs have dropped below $1 a GB.

Back in 2013, Mike noticed he's had several negative dings on his credit. Leo says to check out his credit report to see if there's fraud or other inaccuracies it. If so, he can challenge them. But if he's a victim of identity theft, it's a hard thing to convince not only the credit agencies, but also the credit card companies and the IRS that he's had his identity stolen.

Why don't I get a PIN with my new chipped credit card?

Episode 1199

Larry from Santa Barbara, CA

Larry has gotten a new credit card and it has a chip on it. Leo says that America has finally gone to the chip and PIN system, and we are now in the process of transitioning to it. The problem though, is that he didn't get a PIN with it, and he wants one. Leo says it's a steady transition. First chip and sign. Then we'll get PINs within a few years. But it's odd that American Express, which has a worldwide presence, wouldn't go with a PIN for it.