Category Archives: Technology

Memory-chip giant Micron Technology(NASDAQ:MU) has garnered headlines and captured investor attention lately, and rightfully so.

After losing roughly two-thirds of its value from late 2014 to early 2016,Micron stock has essentially marched straight upward over the past 12 months, to the tune of a 150% increase.

MU data by YCharts

However, the commoditized nature of Micron's memory business tends to make Micron something of a boom-and-bust enterprise. The company can generate ample profits when memory prices are strong, but its earnings will fall off a cliff when, prices soften. My thoughts on Micron's risk-reward profile are well documented.

The good news is that the semiconductor industry has plenty of companies with far more favorable long-term dynamics. Here are three of them.

Image Source: NVIDIA

NVIDIA's (NASDAQ:NVDA) stock is up 226% over the past 12 months, as the maker of graphics processing units (GPUs) is one of the few companies to match Micron's recent rally.Even better, being the leading graphics-chip maker aligns the company with some of the fastest-growing areas of the technology market.

GPUs have become an area of intense interest in recent years, as technologies including artificial intelligence, deep learning, self-driving cars, and more rely on converting real-world images into usable digital information. NVIDIA has benefited, having formed partnerships with automakers including Toyota, Audi, BMW, Tesla, and many moreto provide the GPUs for their various autonomous-vehicle initiatives.

NVIDIA's enviable competitive position should allow it to grow at above average rates for years to come. In fact, the consensus among sell-side analysts calls for NVIDIA to grow sales by 19.4% this year and 12.4% next year.Its shares trade at a decent premium to the market, and that's to be expected, but the company's long-term fundamentals make it one of the top growth stocks in the semiconductor market -- and a far more appealing long-term holding than Micron.

The world's largest semiconductor company, Intel(NASDAQ:INTC) dominates the realm of PC and server microprocessors. The de facto standardization of x86 architecture in each of these large global markets, along with Intel's unique ability to fund massive research-and-development investments, allows the company to consistently produce the fastest microprocessors. The result is an enviable gross margin that compares favorably against the likes of Advanced Micro Devices, the longtime second fiddle in the PC and server chip market.

INTC Gross Profit Margin (TTM) data by YCharts

As Intel's core businesses are mature, the company has been focusing on increasing its exposure to emerging growth markets. It's done so by investing aggressively in its budding Internet of Things (IoT) chips business and by acquiring artificial-intelligence companies, most notably with its $15.3 billion buyout earlier this year of Israeli-based self-driving-car companyMobileye earlier this year. Especially for investors seeking income from their investments, Intel is among the best options in the chip space today.

Shares of video-processing chip companyAmbarella(NASDAQ:AMBA) have fallen back to Earth over the past two years, though they've still trounced the market indices over longer time horizons.

AMBA data by YCharts

However, the reset in investor expectations reflects the company's continued evolution, from something of a one-trick pony to a diversified, mature company capable of producing sustainable, above-average growth for years to come.

Ambarella designs, produces, and sells power-efficient high-definition video-compression and image-processing semiconductors. The company rose to prominence as the go-to chip supplier for GoPro's action camera, and revenue concentration remains an important risk factor for the company today. The company's five largest customers accounted for 56% of total fiscal 2017 sales.

That number has, however, declined in each of the past two years, and the long-term nature of Ambarella's many growth markets suggest that it will continue to fall. Ambarella sees opportunities to become a leading supplier of image processing chips for growing industries including drones, dashboard cameras, wearables, internet-connected security cameras, and much more.

Perhaps most appealing, though, is that Ambarella's stock carries current and forward P/E ratios of 29.3 and 20.8 times earnings, respectively.Contrast that against its consensus average five-year EPS growth estimate of 16.3% per year,and Ambarella stock starts to look like an attractively priced growth stock whose solid business fundamentals make it a far superior option to Micron for long-term semiconductor investors.

Andrew Tonner has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Ambarella, GoPro, Nvidia, and Tesla. The Motley Fool has the following options: short January 2019 $12 calls on GoPro and long January 2019 $12 puts on GoPro. The Motley Fool recommends BMW and Intel. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Ignore Micron Technology, Inc.: Here Are 3 Better Stocks - Motley Fool

THE LIGHTBULB

Its turning into a no good, very bad week for the clean coal technology that Energy Secretary Rick Perry has made a point of emphasis during the White House's Energy Week.

One of the countrys most highly touted "clean coal" projects announced Wednesdaythat it will no longer burn coal. After years of cost overruns and delays, Southern Co. pulled the plug on a once-promising carbon capture and coal gasification projectat a power plant in Mississippi's Kemper County. The project was meant to showcase carbon capture and storage, a process by whichcarbon dioxide emissions fromthe burning of fossil fuels arecollected and stored, usually underground, instead of being sent into the atmosphere.

The company decided it could not surmount the technical challenge of making equipment designed to cool synthetic gas before carbon dioxide is stripped out work. The Posts Stephen Mufson explains more on what happened:

The plant was once held up as an example of promising technologies that could help fight climate change.

In 2014, then-Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz flew to see the plant and declared, I consider seeing this plant a look at the future. Instead, Kemper has imposed financial burdens on tax payers and local households.

Thanks to legislation passed by the Mississippi legislature, Southern has been able to pass along about $800 million of those costs to ratepayers, the company said.

Perry sung adecidedlydifferent tune on carbon capture and storage during Tuesday's White House press briefing, praising the progress being made on the technology. Instead of highlighting the Kemper plant, Perry praised a much less problem-plagued showcase in his home state that he visited in April.

We've already seen the fruits of innovative, clean technology, like CCUS -- carbon capture, utilization and sequestration, Perrysaid Tuesday. The Petra Nova plant, just on the outskirts of Houston, Texas, uses a process to remove 90 percent of the carbon dioxide after coal is burned to generate energy in a clean way.

At first glance, the comments may be a bit baffling, if youve followed Perry up to this point. Perry said no when asked on CNBC last week if the compound captured in CCS -- carbon dioxide -- was the primary control knob for the temperature of the Earth and for climate.

The comment set off a new firestorm of criticism as it appears Perry is increasingly bendinginto the mold of White House chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon and Environmental Protection Agency AdministratorScott Pruitt in their adamancy with which they have dismissed climate-change science.

So it raises the question: Why should the Energy Department highlight the technology when its secretaryisnt convinced carbon dioxide is that primary control knob in warming the atmosphere? (Indeed, one of NASAs top climate scientists described it as just that in a 2010 paper.)

One reason is that captured carbon dioxide has an industrial use. It can be pumped back underground in order to not just store it but to boost the recovery of oil from otherwise difficult-to-reach pockets. With most of the easy-to-get oil, lifted to the surface by its own internal pressure or by water pumped underground, already been recovered, oil companies will have to increasingly rely on so-called enhanced oil recovery in order to keep their reserves stable.

But Perry faces an even bigger incongruity between his rhetoric and actions on carbon capture and storage. The Energy Department budget the Trump administration proposed and Perry defended in Congress would cut funding fromthe Office of Fossil Energy,the office spearheadingCCS research, from $631 million in 2017 to $280 million in 2018 -- a 56 percent cut.

Why praise handiwork of researchers and businesses trying to make carbon capture and storage happen while simultaneously threatening to chop off the head of the office pushing that technology?

POWER PLAYS

-- As President Trump and members of his administration tout American energy dominance during this themed Energy Week, analysts have pointed out that some of the White Houses claims dont add up,write The Post'sSteven Mufson and Chris Mooney.Here are a just a few of the disputed claims from Trumps energy week:

Claim1:The White House said the United States has 20 percent more oil reserves than Saudi Arabia.

Fact: The Energy Information Administration reports that the United States had 32.3 billion barrels as of the end of last year, Mufson and Mooney write, just a small fraction of Saudi Arabias 268 billion barrels.

A senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies said the White House is building a narrative on false premises. Im disappointed that messaging has overtaken substance here.

Claim 2: Perry, EPA head Scott Pruitt and Interior SecretaryZinke wrote an op-ed asserting that energy dominance is about becoming an energy exporter.

Fact: That could be a ways away. Mufson and Mooney write: The U.S. Energy Information Administration forecast that the United States will become a net energy exporter by 2026 although it could be earlier if oil prices rise, and later if oil prices fall.

Claim3: The White House said the Keystone XL pipeline would support more than 42,000 jobs.

Fact: The State Department reports only 4,000 construction jobs would be created on a temporary basis. Fewer than 100 jobs would be created permanently.

--Yucca moves forward. Despite some waffling from the Trump administration, the House of Representativesisforging ahead with a bill to finally open Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository.House Energy and Commerce Committee voted 49-4 to send a bill reviving the long-dormant nuclear waste site to the full House.

Sen.Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) issued a blistering statement following thevote. "It is unjust and unfair to force Nevadans to live next to a nuclear waste dump that could harm both their health and livelihood" she said. "This bill ignores the detrimental impacts to Nevadas communities and economy if Yucca Mountain moves forward." Her Republican counterpart representing Nevada in the Senate, Dean Heller, opposes the project as well.

After emphasizing the necessity of finishing the Yucca Mountain project in Senate testimonylast week, Perry backed down slightly in a White House news conference on Tuesday. "Weve made no decisions at DOE," Perry saidwhenasked about Yucca.

As one of the most vulnerable Republicans up for reelection in 2018, Heller may be able to get Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to stymie the Yucca proposal at the behest of the blue-state GOP senator."

-- "We love Indian Country, right?": Speaking before a meeting with local and tribal leaders as part of his series of Energy Week events, President Trump pledged that his administration would bring a golden age of American energy dominance to the nation.

For too long the federal government has put up restrictions and regulations that put this energy wealth out of reach. Its just totally out of reach, he said. Its been really restricted, the development itself has been restricted and vast amounts of deposits of coal and other resources have, in a way, been taken out of your hands and were going to have that change. Were going to put it back in your hands.

Despite high-profile protests from Native Americans against the Dakota Access pipeline over the last year, the Trump administration has decided to make developing fossil fuel resources on reservations a cornerstone of his "energy dominance" agenda. Indeed, there are several tribes with leaders eager to mine coal or pump oil on their lands, includingCrow Nation in Montana andNavajo Nation in New Mexico andArizona, who sent representatives to the White House on Wednesday.

"Im proud to have such a large gathering of tribal leaders here at the White House," Trump said."I look forward to more government-to-government consultations with tribal leaders about the issues important to Indian Country. We love Indian Country, right?"

--The House Energy and Commerce committee approved a bill that would decrease the frequency of ozone regulation. The panel voted 29-24 to approve the bill, The Hill reported, which would require the EPA to update ozone limits every decade rather than the current timeline of every five years. The bill first passed in the House under the previous administration but did not make it to the Senate floor.

THERMOMETER

--Massive melting and general warming in Antarctica may allow for new habitats to emerge for wildlife, according to a report from Chelsea Harvey for The Post.

More ice-free space will allow previously isolated species to live alongside others, which could lead to a evolutionary battle as some organisms die off as others prove dominant, Harvey reports, citing a study in the journal Nature.

Harvey writes: Secluded as they may be in some cases, these areas can be home to various species of vegetation, microbes, worms or insects and other small organisms, and may also serve as breeding grounds for animals like seals and seabirds. These species tend to be highly specialized for the extreme conditions in which they live, said Peter Convey, a terrestrial ecologist with the British Antarctic Survey, who was not involved with the new study. Some of them may be dormant throughout much of the year. Others may have developed specific adaptations that allow them to survive in conditions with high winds, little water or extreme low temperatures.

The new study shows that theres been a sparse amount of research until now on how climate change will affect Antarcticas biodiversity. But researchers found that the Antarctic Peninsula one of the most rapidly warming areas on the continent, where large levels of glacial ice loss are already occurring will likely suffer the most extreme changes through the rest of this century.

-- Waiting to Larsen C what happens: A massive crack in Antarcticas largest floating ice platform is hours, days, or weeks away from breaking away, according to researchers, creating an iceberg the size of Delaware.

The outer endis moving at the highest speed ever recorded on this ice shelf, said Adrian Luckman of Project MIDAS, the British Antarctic research project monitoring the shelf, USA Today reported.

In another sign that the iceberg calving is imminent, the soon-to-be-iceberg part of Larsen C Ice Shelf has tripled in speed to more than 10 meters per day between June 24th and June 27th," Luckman said.

Luckman added that once it separates from the shelf, the iceberg will fundamentally change the landscape of the Antarctic Peninsula.

The Post's Chris Mooney wrote more about this last month.

--Talk about a deadline.A groupof experts iswarning that there is just three years left for the world to set carbon dioxide emissions on a downward path if we are to holdthe rise in planetary temperatures between1.5 to 2 degrees Celsius, The Post's Chris Mooney reports.In a new commentary published in the journal Nature, the authors, led by former United Nations climate chief Christiana Figures, urge that if carbon emissions can begin declining by 2020, there may be some hope to avoid the worst consequences of climate change that the Paris accord sought to address.

DAYBOOK

EXTRA MILEAGE

Trump hosts tribal, local leaders for energy meeting:

Thousands of sea pickles float off coast of California:

Republicans are pushing for a speedy new health care draft:

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The Energy 202: Rick Perry touts carbon-cutting technology while simultaneously trying to cut its funding - Washington Post

Wisconsin Public Radio News

New Technology Targeting Fungi Could Speed Up Drug-Discovery Process Wisconsin Public Radio News New technology developed in part by UW-Madison researchers is speeding up the discovery time for new molecules from fungi. We'll find out how it works and why fungi are a potential-rich place to look for new disease-fighting agents. Host:. and more »

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New Technology Targeting Fungi Could Speed Up Drug-Discovery Process - Wisconsin Public Radio News

In early 2017, Floridas House Government Operations and Technology Appropriations subcommittee launched a legislative assault on the autonomy of the states centralized IT shop, the Agency for State Technology (AST). That affront, better known as House Bill 5301, did not survive Gov. Rick Scotts veto June 26.

When the bill was originally introduced in March, the chief sponsor of the bill, Rep. Blaise Ingoglia, R-District 35, raised issue with the 3-year-old agencys authority over the states data center oversight, and targeted what he perceived as unnecessary costs and ballooning IT expenses.

He called for agencies to conduct their own cost-benefit analyses around data center use, which would have allowed them to unilaterally move to individual cloud services at will. Experts worried the plan would have driven up costs for agencies remaining under the data centers cost recovery model.

Officials within the agency and experts in the states tech community voiced concern about the plan to essentially decentralize the agency, but the bill proceeded, eventually being tied to the states budgeting and appropriations process. In May, word filtered down that through budget conference negotiations, the agency had secured its at-risk funding and would remain intact.

As a result of the budget conference, AST was able to increase some measure of authority in the form of a new chief data officer position and the creation of the geographic information office, though 20 positions would be cut eight of which were staffed as of May 4.

The negotiations also netted some additional reporting requirements for AST, but those leading the agency said they were happy to oblige.

Though officials within the agency are pleased their charge will remain, they are not dwelling on the events of the past several months. Rather, Erin Choy, spokesperson for the agency, told Government Technology that they are focused on the upcoming legislative session, which begins in January, and the many initiatives they would like to see come to fruition.

Because of the way, in even-numbered years, the legislative session begins the second week in January, AST folks are working on proposed legislative budget requests and policy proposals, she said. So, yes, we were waiting for the governors action on the bill, but we are very focused on improving the current environment.

As Government Technology has reported, Florida's IT agencies have faced considerable challenges at the hands of the states Legislature to this point. In 2005, the Florida State Technology Office was shuttered after losing its funding. And in 2012, the Agency for Enterprise Information Technology was pulled by Scott rather than allowing it to stand in title and function without funding.

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Affront to Florida's Agency for State Technology Officially Dies by Governor's Veto - Government Technology

Technology stocks led a broad slide in U.S. stocks Tuesday after a day of mostly choppy trading.

Phone and utilities companies were among the big decliners after a sell-off in bonds sent yields sharply higher. Banks bucked the broader market decline amid heightened expectations of rising interest rates. Oil prices rose for the fourth straight day.

Developments in Washington helped put investors in a selling mood. Republican leaders in the Senate decided to delay a vote on a healthcare overhaul bill until after the Fourth of July recess.

The delay of the healthcare vote added to a little bit of the uneasiness going into the quarter end here, said Sean Lynch, co-head of global equity strategy at the Wells Fargo Investment Institute. It's just worries that some of this political noise can complicate the chance of possible tax reform, healthcare reform and other policy measures that could boost the economy.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 19.69 points, or 0.8%, to 2,419.38. The Dow Jones industrial average declined 98.89 points, or 0.5%, to 21,310.66. The Nasdaq composite slid 100.53 points, or 1.6%, to 6,146.62. The Russell 2000 index of small-company stocks went down 13.10 points, or 0.9%, to 1,403.54.

Bond prices fell. The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 2.20% from Monday's 2.13%.

The bond sell-off was triggered early Tuesday as investors reacted to remarks from European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, who expressed optimism over the future of the economy of the 19-country Eurozone. Although Draghi did not say the ECB was ready to rein in its stimulus measures, investors took his remarks as a hint that a change of policy could be coming in the next few months.

The comments he made, that talked about deflation being nonexistent, were taken by the market pretty positively, Lynch said. The worries of that six months ago were penalizing stocks and penalizing financials.

European stock markets closed lower as the euro surged after Draghi's remarks.

Germany's DAX slid 0.8%. France's CAC 40 fell 0.7%. The FTSE 100 of leading British shares shed 0.2%.

The dollar rose to 112.15 yen from 111.89 yen. The euro rose to $1.1347 from $1.1181.

Investors also weighed new data on U.S. home prices and consumer confidence. The S&P's CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city home price index shows home prices climbed 5.7% nationwide in April. The latest gain follows 5.9% increases in March and February. Separately, the Conference Board reported that its consumer confidence index rose to 118.9 this month from 117.6 in May.

Technology companies were among the biggest decliners Tuesday.

Computer memory maker Seagate Technology slid 6.8% to $39.51, and semiconductor manufacturer Advanced Micro Devices declined 4.8% to $13.40. Netflix also fell, losing $6.47, or 4.1%, to $151.03.

Alphabet, Google's parent company, dropped 2.5% to $948.09 after the European Union slapped the online search giant with a $2.7-billion fine. The EU alleges that the company breached antitrust rules with its online shopping service. Alphabet said it is considering an appeal.

Investors also had their eye on company earnings and deal news.

Darden Restaurants climbed 2.9% to $92.69 after the owner of Olive Garden and other chain restaurants reported earnings that were better than analysts expected.

Sprint rose 2.1% to $8.18 after a published report suggested that the mobile phone company is in talks with Charter Communications and Comcast on a deal that could enable the cable operators to buy a stake in Sprint. Charter fell 0.8% to $329.87. Comcast fell 0.9% to $39.25.

J.C. Penney advanced 3.2% to $4.82 after an analyst upgraded the stock to hold from sell, saying the struggling retailer should be able to meet its sales target for the year.

Kohl's rose 2.4% to $38.41 after the retailer announced that it appointed Bruce Besanko as chief financial officer. Besanko had held the same role at Supervalu.

Oil and gas futures notched gains. Benchmark U.S. crude gained 86 cents, or 2%, to settle at $44.24 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, the international standard, advanced 82 cents, or 1.8%, to $46.65 a barrel in London.

In other commodities trading, wholesale gasoline rose 2 cents to $1.46 a gallon. Heating oil rose 3 cents to $1.41 a gallon. Natural gas rose a penny to $3.04 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold inched up 50 cents to settle at $1,246.90 an ounce. Silver rose 2 cents to $16.59 an ounce. Copper rose 2 cents to $2.65 a pound.

UPDATES:

3:10 p.m.: This article was updated with closing prices, context and analyst comment.

This article was originally published at 7 a.m.

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Technology stocks fall sharply, leading US indexes down - Los Angeles Times

BlackRock (BLK.N), the world's biggest asset manager, on Tuesday said it would buy a software company that helps businesses invest their cash, marking its second investment in a technology firm this month.

The investment giant with oversight of $5.4 trillion in assets will buy Denver-based Cachematrix Holdings LLC in a deal slated to close next quarter, according to a statement by both companies. Terms were not disclosed.

Cachematrix builds a software tool that banks can provide to corporate treasurers managing the cash and short-term debt they hold. Investments can be made in money-market funds provided by BlackRock and rival money managers, such as Fidelity Investments, Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) and Charles Schwab Corp (SCHW.N).

Just last week, BlackRock said it would take a stake in Scalable Capital, a European digital investment manager.

The deals come two months after BlackRock Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink told Reuters he was considering up to four small acquisitions to shore up the New York-based company's technology and investment expertise.

Fink has placed an unusual emphasis on technology for a company in his industry, including through the company's Aladdin operating system for investment management, which it licenses to rivals.

The latest deal gives BlackRock a new stable of bank clients and pushes Aladdin further into the business of advising companies on how to invest their cash. In a statement, BlackRock said it plans to combine some of Cachematrix's features with Aladdin.

On its website, Cachematrix lists Bank of America Corp (BAC.N), Morgan Stanley (MS.N) and HSBC (HSBA.L) among its clients and reports assisting with $200 billion of client assets.

Banks trying to meet strict requirements intended to prevent another financial crisis have been looking to shed deposits that would require them to hold more capital. Businesses have been eager to find places to put cash as ultra-easy monetary policy has pushed yields on debt to historic lows.

BlackRock in 2015 expanded its reach in the business of managing large institutions' cash and short-term investments when it acquired the money-market fund business run by Bank of America. BlackRock's cash business included nearly $400 billion in assets at the end of March.

(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt)

LONDON The rise of fintech does not pose any compelling risks to financial stability, according to a review by global regulators, but this may change as the sector grows.

The world of financial technology - also known as "fintech" involves lots of buzzwords, jargon and often obscure terminology.

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BlackRock makes technology deal in cash management business - Reuters

Blockchainis ageneral term for a distributed digital ledger that can record transactions and is tamper-proof. It's the underlying technology that makes cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and Ethereum possible, but it has also been talked up by banks as a way to streamline processes and make them more efficient and cheaper.

IBM is building this new blockchain, Digital Trade Chain, to help parties track, manage and transact internationally.

When a merchant sells goods to another party and those goods arrive, the blockchain triggers a payment to take place, explained Wiebe Draijer, chairman of the executive board at Rabobank, one of the participating banks.

"We take care of the payment that's still the old payment technology," Draijer told CNBC in a TV interview on Monday, "but the whole infrastructure, the administration is done on the blockchain. And ultimately we will also move the payment into that blockchain solution, when the payment in blockchain is ready to be robust for large-scale application."

Seven banks Deutsche Bank, HSBC, KBC, Natixis, Rabobank, Societe Generale and Unicredit are part of the consortium.

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Blockchain technology is moving into the financial mainstream with IBM and seven European banks - CNBC

But the global tech industry is increasingly relying on automation, robotics, big data analytics, machine learning and consulting technologies that threaten to bypass and even replace Indian workers. For example, automated processes may soon replace the kind of work Mr. Choudhari was performing for foreign clients, which involved maintaining software by occasionally plugging in simple code and analyzing data.

What were seeing is an acceleration in shedding for jobs in India and an adding of jobs onshore, said Sandra Notardonato, an analyst and research vice president for Gartner, a research and advisory company. Even if these companies dont have huge net losses, theres a person who will suffer, and thats a person with a limited skill set in India.

Such job losses could be politically damaging to the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who won an electoral mandate in 2014 on the promise of development and employment for a bulging youth population. In January, near the three-year mark of his administration, an economic survey reported that job creation had stalled.

So far, the scale of the impact is not clear. T. V. Mohandas Pai, a longtime industry figure, estimates the cuts will encompass up to 2 percent of the work force by September, mainly from culling underperformers. A 2015 study released by the National Association of Software and Services Companies, the Indian technology industry trade group known as Nasscom, and McKinsey India found that 50 to 70 percent of workers skills would be irrelevant by 2020.

Of course, new technologies will create new jobs. The impact of automation and artificial intelligence still is not clear, and they could open up new areas that simply shift tech work rather than eliminate it.

But some in the Indian tech industry worry that many of the new jobs will be created outside India, in places like the United States, in part because President Trump has pledged to tighten visa laws that allowed many Indian nationals to go to that country to work. The subject is likely to pop up on Monday, when Mr. Modi is scheduled to visit the White House.

The Indian government has rushed to reassure the public that job losses will be minimal. Ravi Shankar Prasad, the Indian minister who oversees the technology industry, recently denied that major layoffs were occurring even as he encouraged the industry to speed up development.

The question of slackness in jobs is absolutely factually incorrect, he said. Obviously, those who dont perform will have to go.

Some tech employees who recently lost jobs disputed that they were underperformers.

It is not something that only the employee is responsible, Mr. Choudhari said of upgrading his skills. Employers, he said, are also responsible.

For India, where household income by one measure is one-twelfth that in the United States, such jobs have long been seen as a steppingstone. Small-town and rural youths who aspire to join the urban middle class enroll in four-year university engineering programs and graduate by the hundreds of thousands per year, many with the dream of a lifetime career at one of Indias outsourcing companies.

Competition is already fierce. Ashwin Kotnala graduated this year with a bachelors degree in technology from Graphic Era University, a private university in Dehradun in northern India. She has applied for more than 20 positions but has yet to get one.

Everyone wants to work with IT firms because of a good salary, Ms. Kotnala, 22, said. Ive not got placed, but if I get placed in I.T. company, then Ill do better and make my parents proud.

Finding a job can be even harder for experienced workers who need to refresh their skills.

Dinesh Shende, a 38-year-old developer at Tech Mahindra who said he was forced to resign in February, looked for work for months. Born to farmer parents in a village in Maharashtra, he earned about $37,000 a year.

Now employers say reskilling is needed it is your responsibility, he said. We are ready to reskill ourselves. But will the next company employ us?

He found a new job last week, at a start-up in Bangalore, meaning he would have to move and leave his wife and children behind in Pune. He declined to say whether he would take a pay cut.

The next employer will try to take benefit of the situation, Mr. Shende said. To other job searchers, he advised: Keep trying, keep trying, keep trying.

Tech Mahindra representatives did not respond to multiple requests for comment by either phone or email. With its profitability declining, the company has been reshuffling its operations and work force.

As you know, the talent factors are changing, the technology is changing, consumers are changing, C. P. Gurnani, Tech Mahindras chief executive, told investors in a May conference call, and we need to make sure that our people are changing with the time.

In some places, tech workers are showing early signs of organizing, which industry leaders say could lead to unions and then to government interference, which could hurt competitiveness. In Pune, 47 workers from Tech Mahindra and other India-focused employers, including the local arms of Cognizant Technology Solutions of the United States and Vodafone of Britain, have signed petitions alleging forced resignations and baseless firings to the local labor commissioner.

Cognizant said the allegations were totally unfounded, while Vodafone did not respond to requests for comment. R. Chandrashekhar, president of Nasscom, the industry group, said in May that the industry would remain a net hirer but that automation would eliminate some types of jobs.

Many of those who have lost their jobs have not given up.

Mr. Choudhari graduated in 1997 with a degree in engineering. He took out a loan for his apartment in 2006, payments that hell have to meet for 10 more years. With two months pay and a bonus for 10 years of service giving him about $3,200 upon leaving, he does not know how hell make them. So far, he has managed to secure just one unsuccessful job interview.

Basically Im from a poor family, he said. This is a profession where I thought I could do something good.

A version of this article appears in print on June 26, 2017, on Page B2 of the New York edition with the headline: Tech Jobs Cut in India. A Reason? Technology.

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Indian Technology Workers Worry About a Job Threat: Technology ... - New York Times

This week was Technology Week at the White House,and the Trump Administration held events focusing on modernizing government technology and stimulating the technology sector.

On Monday, the White House invited major tech leaders and university presidents for the inaugural summit of the American Technology Council. Hosted by the White House's Office of American Innovation, the event consisted of multiple breakout sessions to discuss ways to modernize the government byretiring out-of-date legacysystems and increasing the use of shared services.

On Tuesday, United States Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin and Director of the National Economic Council Gary Cohn held a listening session with technologyleaders to discuss tax reform in the United States and the implications of a new tax plan on the technology sector.

On Wednesday, President Trump traveledto Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He toured Kirkwood Community College and spoke about agricultural innovation and empowering the American farmer.

On Thursday, the White House hosted the American Leadership in Emerging Technology Event, where American tech industryleaders demonstrated technologies like advanced drones and 5Gwireless networks to the President.

On Friday, President Trump signed the Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017.

After a successful week of addressing American innovation and meeting with leaders of the technology sector, next week the Trump Administration will turn its focus to energy.

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Technology Week Recap - The White House (blog)

The Ford Fireworks in downtown Detroit tonight will feature the U.S. debut of a pyrotechnic technology used only in Europe until now, enabling a surprise or two during the show.

The new technology enables the creation of longstanding letters in the sky, said Tony Michaels, president and CEO of The Parade Co., the Detroit nonprofit that organizes the fireworks and America's Thanksgiving Parade Presented by Art Van.

"We tried doing Ford ovals in previous years, but the integrity of the fireworks was blown away almost immediately with a little bit of wind," Michaels said.

Provided the wind is under 20-25 mph tonight, the new pyrotechnics will produce a readable message, Michaels said. Watch for it midway through the fireworks and again near the end, he said.

Zambelli Fireworks is working this year with internationally known fireworks choreographer Patrick Brault, president of Quebec-based Sirius Pyrotechnics. He has choreographed fireworks for global events including the Olympics, FIFA World Cup and Formula One races and is known for his ability to synchronize fireworks to soundtracks.

The Detroit fireworks show will be bigger this year, adding 1,000 fireworks to bring it to a total of 11,000 explosions.

Need to know: 59th annual fireworks to celebrate Detroit's progress

The display is one of the top shows in America and at a level now, Michaels said, that The Parade Co. is beginning to look into securing television broadcast of the event in markets outside of Detroit. That would put it on a national stage, in the company of the Macy's 4th of July Fireworks in New York, which is televised across the country, he said.

Detroit does "world-class, best-in-class events, and people need to know that," he said.

The Ford Fireworks draws hundreds of thousands of people into Detroit each year. That translates to an economic impact of nearly $20 million for that single night, according to a 2013 study done by the Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau.

And that's not including the River Days festival that took place this past weekend, Michael O'Callaghan, executive vice president and COO of the visitors bureau, said in an email.

The benefit from the influx of visitors is likely even greater today, given the number of new restaurants, hotels and other businesses that have opened in recent years in the city, giving attendees more places to spend money.

"There is a newfound excitement in Detroit and it is transforming downtown," Jim Vella, head of the Ford Motor Co. Fund, said in an emailed statement.

Ford's title sponsorship of the fireworks runs through 2018. DTE Energy, Huntington Bank and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan are also returning sponsors this year.

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New pyrotechnic technology awaits Detroit fireworks fans tonight - Crain's Detroit Business