Alibaba’s Magic Code Appears to be Working

Recent economic results point to an economic downturn in China. Its economy grew 6.7% over the year during the second quarter, the same rate at which it had grown in the first quarter. But growth rate has fallen from the 7% level it had touched a year ago and 7.9% back in 2013. Despite the worries about the economy, China’s e-commerce leader Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) doesn’t appear to be much bothered.

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Priceline Should Buy Yelp

At the beginning of the year 2016, Yelp’s stock (NYSE: YELP) plunged by about 50% after a disastrous quarter, but things are looking up for the local reviews site. It swung to a profit after five consecutive quarters of losses.
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RetailMeNot Ventures into Gift Card Business

According to an eMarketer report published last year, the share of US companies using mobile coupons for marketing purposes is expected to increase from 32% in 2013 to 44.5% in 2016. That share is expected to grow to 48% in 2017, implying that nearly half of the US companies with more than 100 employees will distribute mobile coupons either through SMS, websites, apps, or emails. The report also estimates that the number of US adults who redeemed digital coupons grew 7.6% to 121.3 million in 2015.

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Billion Dollar Unicorns: Airbnb Continues to Soar

A recent report by Research and Markets estimates the global vacation rental industry to be worth $100 billion. The US holds the biggest market share with nearly a 25% market share. The report further expects the global vacation rental market to be worth $170 billion by 2019. Billion Dollar Unicorn Club member Airbnb is already seeing strong growth in this industry.

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Billion Dollar Unicorns: Square Eyeing Large Sellers

According to eMarketer, the number of people in the US using proximity mobile payments is expected to grow 61.8% to 37.5 million by 2016 while mobile payments are estimated to grow 210% to $27.05 billion in 2016 from $8.71 billion in 2015. Mobile payment firm Square, former member of the Billion Dollar Unicorn Club, went public early this year and recently reported second quarter results that beat analyst estimates. >>>

Tableau Faces Increasing Competition

According to Gartner, the business intelligence (BI) and analytics market is in the final stages of a multi-year shift from IT-led, system-of-record reporting to business-led, self-service analytics. Global revenue in the BI and analytics market is forecast to grow 5.2% over the year and reach $16.9 billion in 2016. >>>

Energy Recovery Expands in the Middle East

According to a MarketsandMarkets research report on Water Desalination Equipment Market, the water desalination industry is estimated to grow 9% annually to be worth $15.27 billion by 2018. The report cites that the Middle East region is the largest market for water desalination equipment as it is witnessing the biggest number of activities in utilities, construction, and industrial end-uses in countries including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Qatar. Water desalination vendor Energy Recovery Inc. (ERI) (NASDAQ: ERII) is already benefitting from the contracts out of the region.

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From Unicorn to Unicorpse: Jive Software Beats Estimates

According to a ReportsnReports research report, the global enterprise social software market is projected to grow 11.3% annually from $4.77 billion in 2014 to $8.14 billion in 2019. However, ever since it went public in December 2011, enterprise social software provider Jive Software (NASDAQ: JIVE) has seen its valuation dwindle from $1.5 billion to around $300 million and its status has been degraded from a Billion Dollar Unicorn to a unicorpse*. >>>