Amazon Isn’t (Too) Concerned About the iPad

Share

Comments (0)

Despite Amazon’s confidence, sales of Apple’s (AAPL) iPad in its first two months aren’t much less than the amount of Kindles Amazon (AMZN) is expected to sell for the whole year, according to the Washington Post. Perhaps that's why Amazon decided to squash those pesky rumors that the iPad “has crimped Kindle demand.” The company released growth figures about the Kindle for the first time since 2007, announcing that Kindle sales have tripled since its price was cut by 27 percent. The fact that Amazon is now selling “more than triple the number of Kindle books in the first half of the year as it did in the comparable period last year” means the Internet retailer is selling more electronic books than hardcover books.

Right now, the measure in Senate that would extend unemployment benefits for those who haven’t had a job for six months is about more than the legislation, reports the New York Times. With midterm elections fast approaching, both parties are using this issue “to motivate its own base.” The proposal would add billions more to the country’s deficit, and Republicans are jumping on the chance to point out yet another way “the government’s response to the recession has been wasteful and ineffective.” The Democrats, on the other hand, are continuing their stance that Republicans are obstructionist and don’t understand the troubles Americans are facing right now. In order to avoid a filibuster, the Democrats are relying on Maine’s Republican senators, Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, who helped the Democrats pass the financial regulation bill less than a week ago.

In the past, the world’s biggest energy consumer was also the most dominant economy. Now, although the United States is still considered the biggest economy, China recently passed it as No. 1 in energy consumption, reports the Wall Street Journal. Just 10 years ago, China was consuming half the energy the United States was, but last year the most populous country in the world used 4 percent more than America. China’s surging demand could affect foreign policies, as Beijing won’t cap consumption of fossil fuels or “its emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.” What the country would agree to is becoming more energy efficient, which would then increase its competitiveness. The United States still consumes more energy per person, “with the average American burning five times as much energy annually as the average Chinese citizen.” Americans are also the biggest oil consumer, going through roughly 10 million barrels a day more than China, which is the second-biggest consumer.

According to the Wall Street Journal, companies are stocking up on servers to make sure they are keeping up with the demand for Web-related services. Sales of servers, which cost a few thousand dollars, increased 36 percent in the first quarter and another 30 percent last quarter. Customers are expecting companies to have more features available online, including “video streams that require more computing power and faster network connections.” To answer these demands, companies need to replace old servers.

The cosmetics industry is getting a boost in a place where most wouldn’t think its products were in high demand: Saudi Arabia. The Financial Times reports that Saudi women spent more than $2 billion on cosmetics last year and “analysts predict that the market will grow by 11 percent this year.” Despite the fact that these women spend their time in public with their faces hidden, the amount they spend on make-up is “among the highest per capita in the world. Since many public activities separated by gender, they “dress to the nines to impress one another and the mothers and relatives of eligible bachelors.” However, it’s still frowned upon by the government, leaving many beauty parlors “vulnerable to raids by the religious police.”

Finally, the first oil well since the BP (BP) spill began oil production from a Gulf of Mexico deepwater well, according to Reuters. Although the U.S. government imposed a moratorium on offshore drilling, a well can be completed if it was already drilled. Marathon Oil Corp.’s well is in 3,000 feet of water and “expected to produce about 50,000 net barrels of oil equivalent per day at its peak.”