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Yahoo
24-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Veteran trader takes a strong stand on BlackBerry stock
Veteran trader takes a strong stand on BlackBerry stock originally appeared on TheStreet. And to think they used to call it "CrackBerry." There was a time when the BlackBerry line of handheld devices leading smartphone platform in the U.S. 💵💰Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter 💰 The first BlackBerry device, the 850, which integrated email and paging functions, was released Jan. 19, 1999. Research in Motion, which made the device, described it as "a breakthrough wireless email solution for mobile professionals." The BlackBerry 850 had an LCD display, a 32-bit Intel () 386 processor, 2MB of Intel flash memory, a wireless modem, and triple-DES encryption technology, all of which could be powered for an entire day by a single AA battery. The name, one of about 40 potential handles, was coined by the marketing company Lexicon Branding because the Qwerty keyboard's buttons resembled the drupelets that make up the blackberry fruit. The device quickly became popular on Wall Street, at law firms and among other white-collar office workers. At its peak in September 2011, BlackBerry had 85 million service subscribers worldwide as the device became known for its highly addictive qualities. More Tech Stocks: Amazon tries to make AI great again (or maybe for the first time) Veteran portfolio manager raises eyebrows with latest Meta Platforms move Google plans major AI shift after Meta's surprising $14 billion move Many celebrities sported BlackBerrys, including President Barack Obama, the actress Sarah Jessica Parker, the influencer and executive Kim Kardashian, and the singers Katy Perry and Justin Timberlake. Alicia Keys, the Grammy-winning singer and songwriter, for a period was named global creative director for BlackBerry. Then things started to unravel. BlackBerry began losing popularity after the introduction of Apple's () iPhone in 2007 and Alphabet's () Android devices. By 2013, the BlackBerry market share had declined significantly, leading the company to dismiss some 40% of its operating staff and reduce its product line to four models from six. On Sept. 28, 2016, BlackBerry Ltd., () formerly Research In Motion, said it would cease designing its own BlackBerry devices in favor of licensing to partners. A year later, BlackBerry Mobile released the last device the company designed internally, the BlackBerry KeyOne, which was known for a physical keyboard below its 4.5-inch touchscreen and for a long battery life. BlackBerry's stock price took off in 2021 as part of the meme-stock craze, which included videogame retailer GameStop () and other companies. Now it seems that the hot tech of yesteryear is connecting with many Gen Z consumers who are ditching modern smartphones in favor of old-timey phones. The trend is driven by a desire for a simpler, less app-driven experience, as well as a fascination with the tactile keyboard and trackball of the BlackBerry. 'I think there's a charm to the BlackBerry and older phones and all that kind of retro tech,' Dan Kassim, a 29-year-old writer, recently told The New York Times. 'It ties into vinyls and Polaroid pictures and all that.""I feel like people are kind of burned out from notifications and being always on, and [BlackBerrys] and early smartphones feel like a bit of a throwback to when phones were tools but not, like, the center of your life," he added. While some users are purchasing old BlackBerrys to use as their everyday phones —even though many of the apps no longer work — others want to see a reimagined version for 2025. But after BlackBerry ended its support for the devices in 2022, and after a company called OnwardMobility made and scuttled an effort to create a 5G version, there's little hope for a new BlackBerry phone anytime soon. Meantime, BlackBerry () , headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario, these days focuses on cybersecurity software for automotive and other industrial applications as well as secure communications and other systems. Shares of BlackBerry, which is scheduled to report earnings on June 24, are up nearly 13% this year and up roughly 90% a year ago. TheStreet Pro's Stephen Guilfoyle told his readers in April, after the company had posted fourth-quarter results, that he would be initiating a long position. "Well, as of Friday's closing price of $4.23, my long position is up more than 37%, so I hope at least a few of you played along," he wrote in his June 23 column. For the first quarter, Guilfoyle, whose career dates back to the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in the 1980s, said Wall Street was looking for BlackBerry to report flat earnings on revenue of about $112.2 million. "These numbers are in line with the guidance that the firm had provided but would be down one penny per share and down 22% relative to the year-ago comparisons," he said. In addition, Guilfoyle noted that all five sell-side analysts he knows who still cover the stock had reduced their earnings estimates for BlackBerry since the start of the quarter. "Am I expecting upside surprises?" he said. "I don't think so. ... I am thinking that I should protect my gains and take some profits ahead of those earnings, especially with all of the headline risk facing markets this week."Veteran trader takes a strong stand on BlackBerry stock first appeared on TheStreet on Jun 23, 2025 This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Jun 23, 2025, where it first appeared. 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Globe and Mail
09-06-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Canada's innovation policies need overhaul to boost economy, experts say
Canada's outdated innovation policies are causing a loss of economic sovereignty amid critical shifts in global trade relations and the knowledge-based economy, experts say. While Canada continues to lead globally in education and research, innovation experts say the country's inability to plan past that phase is costing it hundreds of billions of dollars every year in data and intellectual property ownership. And with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement up for review in 2026, they argue the federal government should arrive at negotiations with a Canada-first approach. Speaking Monday at the Intersect conference at the Fairmont Royal York hotel in Toronto, Jim Balsillie, former co-CEO of Research In Motion Ltd., said Canada needs to have an offensive strategy heading into USMCA negotiations. 'The most important thing is to learn how the economy works, know that the agreement isn't worth the paper it's printed on,' said Mr. Balsillie, who is also a co-founder and chair of the Canadian Council of Innovators. Under the Trump administration, the U.S. is leading a shift in global economic policy to become more aggressive and transactional, Mr. Balsillie said. This, added to the emergence in recent decades of a new, knowledge-based economy, has heightened the need for governments to defend their industries and IP. Yet Canada continues to fall behind. Canada has 'ambition deficit' and regulations that are scaring away investment, Sabia says CIBC CEO says Canada needs to be on 'wartime footing' to bolster productivity 'We've got this funny disease where everybody helps their companies, but we don't help ours. In fact, we subvert them,' he said, pointing to sticking points such as the highly controversial capital gains tax increase or the federal government's investments in foreign companies. Mr. Balsillie also addressed Ottawa's claim that eliminating interprovincial trade barriers will add as much as $200-billion to the economy, calling it a 'myth' and a 'distraction.' 'The most meaningful barriers were addressed long ago. Clinging to this narrative distracts from creating serious national economic strategy,' he said. Dan Breznitz, the Munk chair of innovation studies at the University of Toronto, touted the country's investments in fundamental research for technology such as artificial intelligence as world leading. But that's where it stops, he said. When it comes time for companies to scale up and commercialize their research, they, unsurprisingly, go elsewhere. 'We just assumed that, somehow, because we have educated people and ideas, magic will happen in the market,' Prof. Breznitz said. 'Instead people do the rational thing: They look around and they say, 'It's almost impossible to do it in Canada.'' On Monday morning, while Prof. Breznitz was addressing the crowd at the Fairmont, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced he would ensure that Canada hits NATO's target to spend 2 per cent of GDP on defence this fiscal year. Prof. Breznitz said that's important – but not the kind of transformational policy Canada needs right now, after 20 years of slowly declining GDP numbers. 'We've got a prime minister that basically tells us right now, that if he will bring us back to that moment of slow decline, it will be the biggest transformation. I'm worried,' he said. Canada needs to gain strategic control of its talent and research, he said. It needs to figure out how to capitalize on its valuable industries, such as critical minerals, and engage and invest in its own technology. 'It is not okay that we are the lowest, by far, in the G7 in buying and engaging with new technology,' he said. Ultimately, Mr. Balsillie said, Canada's progress hinges on its ability to bring in and listen to new voices within its policymaking spaces who will help it adapt to the modern economy. 'The issue isn't only new ideas. It's escaping old ideas.'
CBC
22-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Former BlackBerry exec Jim Balsillie to co-lead Manitoba innovation task force
A former BlackBerry executive will be co-chairing a new task force whose goal will be to use emerging tech to propel productivity in Manitoba. Jim Balsillie, the former co-CEO of Research In Motion, the Waterloo, Ont.-based tech company behind the BlackBerry, has been tapped to help drive innovation in the province as part of an advisory group that includes several Manitoba business leaders, the province said in a Thursday news release. The innovation and productivity (or "IP") task force will advise the NDP government on implementing new and emerging technologies to "support the economy and promote data-driven decision-making," the release said. Its mandate includes creating a strategic plan that's expected to be delivered to the province's technology minister later this year. Minister of Innovation and New Technology Mike Moroz said in the news release his department is considering implementation of artificial intelligence, an intellectual property policy and "sovereign cloud strategies" to store and process data without going to jurisdictions that don't have the same protections Manitoba has. Balsillie said in the news release there is "tremendous opportunity for Manitoba to turbocharge its economic resilience and prosperity" through "sovereign strategies across all sectors and industries." Other members of the task force announced Thursday were: Adam Herstein, partner at Pitblado Law. Clara Buelow, director of marketing and communications at the Manitoba Chamber of Commerce, and previous lead on the Digital Manitoba Policy Initiative. Jacqueline Keena, managing director of the Enterprise Machine Intelligence Learning Initiative. Gerry Price, president of Price Industries. Gautam Srivastava, professor of computer science at Brandon University. Debra Jonasson-Young, executive director of entrepreneurship at the Asper School of Business. Dr. Ernest Cholakis, founder of Cholakis Dental Group.
