“Commercially viable automated picking in unstructured environments still remains a difficult challenge,” an explanation on the Amazon Robotics website reads. While the current wheeled robots are limited, Amazon is hoping its robotics challenge could uncover a system to take their warehouses to the next level. Amazon bought a company in 2012 called Kiva which created these wheeled robots for warehouses. In 2015, Kiva’s name was officially changed to Amazon Robotics. Its fulfillment centers are j

Dow and S&P futures fell 51 points and 3 points, respectively, while Nasdaq futures traded just 1 point lower. “It’s not surprising that we’re seeing safe-havens rising here,” said Matt Weller, senior market analyst at Faraday Research. Gold futures for June delivery rose 0.7 percent to $1,224.80 per ounce in early trade. The Mexican peso, often used as a barometer for the Trump agenda, rose 0.49 percent against the dollar to trade at 19.072. Andrew McCabe, who has been the FBI’s deputy director

Australia’s long-suffering wanna-be homebuyers were likely to be disappointed by the housing affordability measures in the country’s 2017-18 budget, analysts said. Home prices have loomed large in Australia’s political landscape as affordability plunged, vexing monetary policymakers who were stuck between the rock of a slow economy and the hard place of soaring housing prices. Demographia data for the third quarter of 2016 showed the median housing price in Sydney was 12.2 times more than the me

Coty — The beauty products maker reported adjusted quarterly profit of 15 cents per share, two cents a share above estimates. Priceline Group — Priceline reported adjusted profit of $9.88 per share for its latest quarter, beating estimates of $8.89 a share. TripAdvisor — TripAdvisor missed estimates by two cents a share, with adjusted quarterly profit of 24 cents per share. Electronic Arts — Electronic Arts came in 10 cents a share above estimates, with adjusted quarterly profit of 85 cents per

Reports of a potential takeover sent shares of Abercrombie & Fitch skyrocketing Wednesday. The teen apparel company is evaluating takeover interest from other retailers with the help of investment bank Perella Weinberg Partners, sources told Reuters. Struggling to stay on top of ever-changing fashion trends, Abercrombie’s shares were at a 17-year low before the news broke Tuesday. Now, shares are up more than 11 percent in Wednesday’s premarket.

NVIDIA shares are up more than 12 percent in pre-market trading on Wednesday morning, riding on the coattails of strong earnings after the bell on Tuesday. NVIDIA also gave very strong guidance for the second quarter, calling for $1.89 billion to $1.95 billion in revenue. The company is bullish on its data-center GPU business and its prospects in artificial intelligence. “Our Datacenter GPU computing business nearly tripled from last year, as more of the world’s computer scientists engage deep l

Like most big retailers, Wal-Mart relies on computer programs that scan prices on competitors’ websites so it can adjust its listings accordingly. But a new tactic by Amazon to block these programs — known commonly as robots or bots — thwarted the Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer. The previously unreported incident offers a case study in how Amazon’s technological prowess is helping it dominate the retail competition. A spokeswoman for Amazon said the company is aware of competitors using bo

Tesla will begin taking orders for its solar roof tiles on Wednesday which will be rolled out in the U.S. this year, Chief Executive Elon Musk said in the early hours of Wednesday morning. The glass roof panels were announced last year and come in four styles: smooth, textured, slate and Tuscan. That’s why the company unveiled the solar roof tiles which look like real slates but are made from glass. “Just like with electric cars where electric cars originally didn’t look good, they had low range

SoftBank will seek talks to merge its US mobile business Sprint with rival T-Mobile USA to trigger a long-awaited consolidation in the US telecoms sector, according to its chief executive.” We will be open and sincere as we aim to launch negotiations,” Masayoshi Son,”Our top choice remains T-Mobile. By aggressively acquiring airwave capacity worth $8bn across the US, T-Mobile, however, does not seem as desperate to find a merger partner. Mr Son also said he would explore possibilities other than

The gains are slow and small, but mortgage volume is beginning to improve again, as more homebuyers sign on the dotted line. Total mortgage application volume increased 2.4 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis last week from the previous week. Even as buyers complain of high home prices and limited listings, mortgage applications to purchase a home gained 2 percent for the week and are 6 percent higher than a year ago. Mortgage applications to refinance a home loan rose 3 percent for the week

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast import prices increasing 0.2 percent in April after a previously reported 0.2 percent drop in March. In the 12 months through April, import prices rose 4.1 percent, slowing from March’s 4.3 percent increase. Import prices excluding petroleum gained 0.4 percent, the biggest increase since July 2016, after edging up 0.1 percent in the prior month. Import prices excluding petroleum rose 1.4 percent in the 12 months through April, the largest increase since

Given that this basic investing principle is widely known by all financial professionals, it’s interesting to see that financial advisors often don’t follow their own advice when it comes to their businesses. As advisors grow their client bases, reliance on one-time commissionable business can certainly compensate for time spent developing new business. As both investment products and our financial lives become more complex, advisors must dedicate more and more time to serving the growing needs

Want to know what Britain’s exit from the European Union will actually mean to the world? The New York Times is running a “Brexit Means Brexit” trip to the capital city, according to a post on its Journeys website, guided in part by London bureau chief Steven Erlanger. “Prime Minister Theresa May said that ‘Brexit means Brexit,’ but what does this really mean for the British and the international community beyond? Did the voters really know what they were voting for? Does the British government

With his shocking dismissal of FBI Director James Comey, Donald Trump is propelling the presidency into rarely traversed territory. Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., said he’d spent hours trying to find “an acceptable rationale” for Trump’s decision. Trump attained his White House goal after a decades-long career in business during which he was accountable to few people other than himself. Bush, said Trump’s decision “threatens our democracy and undermines the integrity of the FBI investigation.” There

“In case the need for an independent special prosecutor to investigate #TrumpRussia ties wasn’t clear enough already…it sure is now,” Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley tweeted. “If we don’t get a special prosecutor, every American will rightfully suspect that the decision to fire #Comey was part of a cover-up,” he added. Holder played a major consultative role in the Obama administration selection of Comey as FBI director, it was reported at the time. “Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein must immediately appoint a

Should the IBB break above that level, the fund could see substantial gains, Johnson said. “This is now the fifth time we have seen the IBB stall out at this $300 level,” Johnson said Tuesday on CNBC’s “Trading Nation.” “We like the IBB here, and we like biotech names specifically,” he said. At current levels, biotech may be worth a buy, said Jacob Weinig, founding partner and portfolio manager at Malachite Capital. And while this is a “risky” way to play biotech, Weinig said, he may otherwise r

Power’s annual survey of travelers finds airline satisfaction at a record high. This year’s report is based on interviews with more than 11,000 travelers who were asked, “How was your last flight?” Power echoes the findings of other third party studies which have found the airline industry enjoying record success. The airline industry may be doing better, but it still has a long ways to catch up with other industries according to J.D. The latest customer satisfaction score puts the industry well

The company announced a definitive agreement to acquire Kate Spade for $2.4 billion in cash or $18.50 per share Monday. “If successful, the proposed KATE merger agreement … could be a transformational moment for the business, with the potential to create substantial earnings accretion through cost synergies and favorable financing costs.” She expects Coach will shrink Kate Spade’s lower margin wholesale and promotional e-commerce business, which should help profitability in the coming years. The

A push into European markets is on the horizon for Wingstop. The chicken wing chain, which operates more than 1,000 restaurants worldwide, said it will open its first restaurant in the U.K. by the end of this year. While Wingstop has expanded to countries like Mexico, Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates, the European market is a little different. Wingstop’s Kruguer told CNBC the company understands that the U.K. is a more challenging environment, but he is optimist

But when it comes to what they want most in a workplace, they’re not much different from baby boomers and Gen Xers, who employers traditionally have pegged as more loyal workers. “Millennials want stability — yes, that may shock you, but it’s true,” said millennial attorney James Goodnow, 35, co-author of Motivating Millennials. What is the longest you would stay at your current job even if you liked it? “These stereotypes are stifling for millennials, who are seeking business where they can gro