Top Investment Apps for You to Know & Use for Better Trading in 2019. #Apps #Investments

Investment apps are increasingly becoming popular. There are a plethora of versatile investment apps that entice new investors to get involved in the business of the stock market. Moreover, experienced and expert investors are also able to identify opportunities for saving money and improving their portfolios by using a robust investment app.

Until recently people had to pick up the phone and contact a stockbroker for making a trade that was accompanied by an exorbitant commission. However, now you could simply pick up your smartphone and you simply need to tap your screen a number of times for trading instantly usually, for free but at times, you need to pay relatively cheaper rates. Let us explore some of the top investment apps that every investor must know about and use for better trading prospects.

Stockpile: Best App for Stock Gifting

Stockpile is known to offer an innovative approach to purchasing and selling stocks. You could purchase fractional shares of almost all companies via Stockpile. Alternatively, there is an option of funding an account using one of the stock gift cards that would be giving the lucky recipients some shares of stock that start at $5. In this context, you do not have to pay any monthly fees and all trades actually, are 99 cents. Stockpile is supposed to be a thrilling proposition for grandparents and parents who are excited to involve young adults and kids in the stock market and the business of investing. Stockpile offers more than 1000 investments including ETFs and single stocks. You could give physical gift cards or e-gift cards or opt for funding an account via a bank transfer. This surely is a gift which would be paying dividends literally.

Openfolio

As per https://www.forbes.com, “Openfolio is something akin to Wall Street meets social media. It’s a platform where investors can come to discuss investment strategies, as well as, display their portfolios to others in their networks. The dollar amounts in each portfolio do not appear, but instead are displayed with percentages held in each asset class.” Openfolio would be displaying everything that you are purchasing and selling but without dollar amounts. This is a versatile app and provides you with the golden opportunity to monitor exactly how others are investing within your network. If you are neck-deep in debts and cannot even think of investing, you must take out a debt consolidation loan to combine your multiple debts into one single larger debt with one monthly repayment and a single deadline.

Personal Capital

Personal Capital is supposed to be a fantastic finance tracking tool for assisting you in managing your investments particularly if you are having multiple accounts with various companies. Your performance would be tracked across all the accounts and would be evaluated against benchmarks such as the S&P 500 and Dow. It is a robust investment management platform that would be including all your financial accounts right from credit cards, bank accounts to your investments and your mortgage. It is supposed to be the most effective way of keeping a track of all your investments and that too, for absolutely free.

However, you may seek the expertise of one of the qualified financial advisors out there if you wish to but then you need to pay an annual fee as per the managed assets. Personal Capital also boasts of a budgeting tool that helps to keep constant track of all your investments.

Morningstar

The Morningstar App just like its site provides independent and valuable investment research, as well as, insights. You could get comprehensive investment information and data for mutual funds, stocks, and ETFs. Morningstar provides brilliant portfolio tracking tools, real-time quotes, videos, and the latest news. Moreover, you could have access to global and US index performances. Morningstar is known for its portfolio monitoring tools, research, and curated news associated with your investment interests.

Yahoo! Finance

Yahoo! Finance is regarded as a sterling investing information and data resource. Its app provides fantastic real-time data during the trading day. This app stands tall among the rest because of its capacity to easily and quickly browse read basic charts, videos, and view financials in a jiffy. As per the recent feature, now Yahoo! Finance would be letting you sync your broker account to make sure that you could trade easily and successfully through the app.

Robinhood

Robinhood provides excellent commission-free trading directly from your smartphone with no need for minimum balance. Moreover, Robinhood features a referral program which is known to offer a free share of stock meant for you, as well as, the friend referred by you. This app offers a Robinhood Gold Program that lets you trade on margin. The app is supposed to be quite basic and you must not expect any great research and analysis. Robinhood, for now, is not available to you on the web. However, the company is planning to come up with a robust web platform sometime next year. In the case, you seem to be thinking in terms of a simple, no-frills, and commission-free platform, no other app, platform  or stock picking service could beat Robinhood. It is way ahead of the others in this respect.

StockTwits

StockTwits is supposed to be the ‘Twitter for Investors’ and a community comprising traders who exchange news, ideas, and complaints. This community boasts of an impressive number of day traders who are very much fascinated by technical analysis. However, they still attach a lot of value and importance to fundamental investors.

Learn

Learn is just the right investment app for someone who is getting started with investing. Learn is highly-recommended by experts for novice investors. It provides concise, easy, and clear content and easy audio lessons relating to investment topics. Some of the typical topics would include ‘What is a Balance Sheet?’, ‘What is Stock?’, and ‘What Are the Mistakes to Avoid?’ These are generally fundamental concepts and Learn must be explored by amateur investors while experienced and expert investors must stick to Investopedia.

Conclusion

There are numerous investment apps. You simply need to choose the right one as per your unique requirements. For new investors, these investment apps are great for sharpening their investment skills and boosting their overall investment knowledge.

Author – Marina Thomas

https://en.gravatar.com/marinathom

https://twitter.com/marinathomas974

 

Digital Skills Crisis Threatens Ireland’s Economic Growth. #Digital #Ecomony #ICT

A White Paper published by Code Institute has highlighted how Ireland’s growing Digital Skills crisis is likely to have a major impact on the country’s growth prospects over the coming years.

Intended to act as a guide for Irish companies seeking workable solutions to address the digital skills crisis, the White Paper shows how the issue is affecting not just organisations’ recruitment efforts, but critically their overall operating performance.

Speaking at today’s launch of ‘The Digital Skills Crisis – Time to Act’, Jim Cassidy, Code Institute CEO said, “The worldwide shortage of ICT talent that is threatening employment growth across the globe, is also a significant issue here in Ireland. Over the next two years an expected 12,000 jobs are to go unfilled in the Irish ICT sector, which will have a direct knock-on impact on productivity and growth.”

While recognising the scale of the problem, because of funding shortfalls many traditional education providers in Ireland are struggling to meet the level of demand for digitally literate graduates. According to the European Commission, Ireland currently has one of the lowest levels of basic digital skills in the EU, and with 9 out of 10 jobs requiring digital skills in future, the White Paper makes it clear that significant Government investment in the digitisation of education is required.

Underlining the need for more investment is the Government’s own report, ‘Digital Transformation: Assessing the Impact of Digitalisation on Ireland’s Workforce’, which warns that 46,000 hypothetical jobs are at risk due to automation. However, the Code Institute’s White Paper argues that these losses can be avoided with proper planning and digital upskilling of the workforce, so that even more jobs can be created.

Industry has a major role to play in this regard, by being more pro-active in the education and upskilling of workers. A Digital Employee survey carried out as part of research for the White Paper, reveals that while 66% of people have been offered training in their job, the vast majority (60%) found what was offered to be less than good. A slight majority (53%) said they would move to another role if better training was offered, while a majority (60%) have had to use their own money to advance their learning and training.

For organisations that wish to retain staff by promote in-job training, the White Paper recommends that:

  • Existing talents and capabilities must be managed and once identified organisations can capitalise on them as new technological breakthroughs arise.
  • Companies must be willing to accept that as skills are identified, career paths may radically change.
  • Companies must develop a learning and development model that offers adequate and frequent skills training to all members of staff.

Expanding on these recommendations and some of the key conclusions contained within the White Paper, the launch event also included a panel discussion with tech leaders David Kirwin, Accenture Director of Technology, Reshmi Goff, Technical Sales Lead, Microsoft, and WorkJuggle CEO, Ciara Garvan.

Also speaking as part of the panel discussion, Code Institute’s Jim Cassidy noted that, while there is no quick fix to the digital skills crisis, there are some practical solutions that can bridge part of the gap, “We actively work with HR and L&D departments to provide the right digital talent. Whether it’s developing a digital talent strategy, offering a line of sight to some of the best new developers or upskilling existing staff within your company, there are simple, cost-effective, ways to bridge the gap.”

See the whole report

Unboxing and Review – The Edifier W860NB headphones with ANC. #Headphones #ANC #Edifier #Tech

We have several products in from the cool guys at Edifier so we wont spoil you with what we have just yet but today we will be talking about the new Edifier W860NB which are an update to the 830BT which are also a great set of cans.

First off the presentation is as always great here with premium packaging and contents inside, this colour we have is also probably the best looking though having said that we most tend to see the generic coloured headphones but this tan colour is really nice and stand out which for me is what I like.

There is some differences here to take note of compared to the 830, the design language is similar given a few changes and the main change here is how you control these. With the 860 we have touch controls rather than buttons and this is something you tend to see on much higher priced headphones alongside ANC.

Touch sensitive controls are not for everyone but I have tried a few pairs and it does not take long to get the hang of how it works One thing here I was worried about was how well this would work at the price point and overall over the test period they never failed which was impressive so I did not have to repeatedly swipe to perform an action and look like an idiot which I have often seen people do. The controls are sensitive enough to get the command you want first time everytime.

All the touch controls are on right cup including ANC which shines best in quiet environments however not as good as some higher priced headphones but still good in general anyone moving onto a pair of headphones like these will be easily pleased with the sound. Speaking of sound they are not as loud as I would like but that’s my choice but having said that in a quieter environment fully maxed out they shine as I expected from Edifier. With using the controls you will see demoed in the video its simple and call management is the same though I only had a few calls whilst testing the controls did as they are supposed to.

From listening to all genres I was pleased with the well balanced sound stage and so will anyone who puts these on, the comfort level on these is great with the leatherette cups that just sink onto your ears blocking much of the outside world and the same applies to the headband so in short you can wear these for hours. The only hit hear is the battery life but you get ANC thrown in which is not a bad thing you will get up to 25 HRs without ANC on and up to 45 with ANC off but really you should just leave it on and sit back and enjoy the great sounds the cans give you overall.

W860NB Specs Driver Unit: 40mm Neodymium drivers Bluetooth Version: 4.1

Supported Profiles: HFP, HSP, A2DP, AVRCP Frequency Response: 20 – 20,000 Hz

Sound Pressure Level (SPL): 97dB Nominal Impedance: 32 Ohm

Weight: 10.1 ounces

BUY https://www.edifier.com/int/en

Cybercriminals Attack Cloud Server Honeypot Within 52 Seconds. #Cloud #Cybercrime #Honeypot #Sophos

Sophos a global leader in network and endpoint security, today announced the findings of its report, Exposed: Cyberattacks on Cloud Honeypots, which reveals that cybercriminals attacked one of the cloud server honeypots in the study within 52 seconds of the honeypot going live in Sao Paulo, Brazil. On average, the cloud servers were hit by 13 attempted attacks per minute, per honeypot. The honeypots were set up in 10 of the most popular data centers in the world, including California, Frankfurt, Ireland, London, Mumbai, Ohio, Paris, Sao Paulo, Singapore, and Sydney over a 30-day period. A honeypot is a system intended to mimic likely targets of cyberattackers, so that security researchers can monitor cybercriminal behaviors.

In the study, more than 5 million attacks were attempted on the global network of honeypots in the 30-day period, demonstrating how cybercriminals are automatically scanning for weak open cloud buckets. If attackers are successful at gaining entry, organizations could be vulnerable to data breaches. Cybercriminals also use breached cloud servers as pivot points to gain access onto other servers or networks.

“The Sophos report, Exposed: Cyberattacks on Cloud Honeypots, identifies the threats organizations migrating to hybrid and all-cloud platforms face. The aggressive speed and scale of attacks on the honeypots shows how relentlessly persistent cybercriminals are and indicates they are using botnets to target an organization’s cloud platforms. In some instances, it may be a human attacker, but regardless, companies need a security strategy to protect what they are putting into the cloud,” said Matthew Boddy, security specialist, Sophos. “The issue of visibility and security in cloud platforms is a big business challenge, and with increased migration to the cloud, we see this continuing.”

Visibility into Weaknesses

Continuous visibility of public cloud infrastructure is vital for businesses to ensure compliance and to know what to protect. However, multiple development teams within an organization and an ever-changing, auto-scaling environment make this difficult for IT security.

Sophos is addressing security weaknesses in public clouds with the launch of Sophos Cloud Optix, which leverages artificial intelligence (AI) to highlight and mitigate threat exposure in cloud infrastructures. Sophos Cloud Optix is an agentless solution that provides intelligent cloud visibility, automatic compliance regulation detection and threat response across multiple cloud environments.

“Instead of inundating security teams with a massive number of undifferentiated alerts, Sophos Cloud Optix significantly minimizes alert fatigue by identifying what is truly meaningful and actionable,” said Ross McKerchar, CISO, Sophos. “In addition, with visibility into cloud assets and workloads, IT security can have a far more accurate picture of their security posture that allows them to prioritize and proactively remediate the issues flagged in Sophos Cloud Optix.”

Key features in Sophos Cloud Optix include:

  • Smart Visibility – Provides automatic discovery of an organization’s assets across AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform (GCP) environments, via a single console, allowing security teams complete visibility into everything they have in the cloud and to respond and remediate security risks in minutes
  • Continuous Cloud Compliance – Keeps up with continually changing compliance regulations and best practices policies by automatically detecting changes to cloud environments in near-time
  • AI-Based Monitoring and Analytics – Shrinks incident response and resolution times from days or weeks to just minutes. The powerful artificial intelligence detects risky resource configurations and suspicious network behavior with smart alerts and optional automatic risk remediation

“Migrating several petabytes of data and many applications to AWS and Azure made it necessary to transition from a manual to automated process for security monitoring. Sophos Cloud Optix’s multi-cloud security and compliance platform capabilities provided real-time cloud workload protection status in seconds. The AI-powered monitoring and alerts helped reduce the noise and allowed our teams to focus on delivering value to the business,” said Aaron Peck, vice president and CISO, Shutterfly, Inc., a Sophos customer, based in Redwood City, Calif.

“Our goal is to provide the most comprehensive and highly-effective cyber security services to all of our clients. Whether in technology, manufacturing or utilities, our customers want to maximize their investments and protect their data in the cloud. The partnership with Sophos and the ability to offer Sophos Cloud Optix is important to us because it allows us to provide continuous compliance coupled with intelligent cloud visibility and immediate threat response. With Cloud Optix, our growing customer-base will have the opportunity to solve the toughest challenges in cloud security,” said Rajeev Khanolkar, president and CEO, SecurView Inc., a Sophos partner based inEdison, New Jersey.

Sophos Cloud Optix leverages AI-powered technology from Avid Secure, which Sophos acquired in January 2019. Founded in 2017 by a team of highly distinguished leaders in IT security, Avid Secure revolutionized the security of public cloud environments by providing effective end-to-end protection in cloud services, such as AWS, Azure and Google.

Pricing and availability details are available from Sophos partners worldwide.

For more information on Sophos’ findings, please read the full Exposed: Cyberattacks on Cloud Honeypots report and accompanying Naked Security article, Knock and Don’t Run: The Tale of the Relentless Hackerbots. Additional information on Sophos Cloud Optix is available on Sophos.com.

Expleo Ireland – Business Agility – thriving in change,Dublin Event. #Business #Expleo @ExpleoGroup

Expleo Ireland, the technology partner for innovative companies, today announces that it is hosting an exclusive Business Agility event in Dublin. The event, which features speakers from a wide range of industries will explore how companies can thrive in an era of unrelenting change.

The event, which takes place in Expleo Group’s Dublin offices, is for professionals who are interested in new ways of working and implementing business agility processes to futureproof their companies and gain a competitive advantage.

The session will feature a panel of experts who come from consulting, business agility and enterprise backgrounds, giving attendees a deep understanding of the value and reality of adopting business agility practices and modern ways of working. Speakers will include Richard Goold, Partner at Moorhouse Consulting UK and David McGrath, Director of Business Agility, Expleo Ireland.

Richard Goold will present the 2019 Moorhouse ‘Barometer on Change’ report which gives insights into the challenges that organisations face when implementing change. Richard will also discuss ways in which companies can thrive when politics poses business obstacles and customer expectations are rapidly shifting.

Meanwhile, David McGrath, Expleo Ireland, will delve into key agility trends that Irish organisations can leverage to their own advantage. This will then be followed by an agility “ways of working” discussion which will deal with practical real-world experiences of team management through times of significant change.

Speaking about the event, Siobhán Smith, Marketing Manager, Expleo Ireland said: “Businesses are spending more on change initiative than in previous years. However, these initiatives frequently become redundant before they are completed because of the pace of change.

“Change is becoming hard to predict and even harder to navigate, with organisations having thoroughly mixed opinions on where to invest internally. The aim of the event is to share the capabilities we believe will allow organisations to survive and grow in the volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous business landscape they face today.

Tickets to the event are free but places are limited. All interested parties should contact info@expleogroup.com to register before Friday 19th April.

Sony introduces the new UBP-X100ES Blu-ray Disc Player #Sony #BluRay #Tech

Sony has announced the launch of a brand new 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc player, the UBP-X1100ES. New features include Dolby Visio HDR support, movable subtitles for viewing in Cinema Scope 2:35:1 aspect ratio and a new intuitive menu and interface. Designed to give a more immersive experience with 4K HDR playback and Dolby Atmos® 3D surround sound.

The UBP-X1100ES is optimised for custom home theatre installations with IP and RS232 connectivity for native support with key home automation suppliers. Built for optimum video and audio performance, this universal player enhances playback on non-HDR TVs with HDR to SDR conversion, grants access to the latest 4K HDR streaming services and supports playback of almost any disc or file format including Hi-Res Audio. Bravia Mode also ensures optimised viewing with Sony Bravia Displays.

See more.

First look at the Sony Xperia L3 and Xperia 10. #Sony #Xperia #L3 #Xperia10 #Tech

The Sony L3 has dropped in for a test run and over the new few weeks we will be checking this out along with the Xperia 10 and if you have any questions as always fire away below or on our social channels.

The L3 and 10 are both now available in Ireland and today we take a first look at both devices and see whats on offer. The 5.7 inch HD+ screen with 18:9 aspect ratio is perfect for watching your favourite movies, shows and videos on the go. Tough Gorilla Glass 5 is also designed to cope with life’s little bumps and knocks. With a borderless screen, slim width and optimised weight, the sleek, unibody L3 also fits perfectly into your hand.

If taking photos is your thing, you’ll love the 13 megapixel and 2MP dual lens camera at the back. Choose your format, from square to 18:9 then get creative with Bokeh, an effect that adds an artistic blur to backgrounds. There’s a 8MP snapper at the front for selfies too.

With a high 3300mAh capacity, the Xperia L3 battery gives you power you can rely on all day long. Plus, Thanks to Xperia Adaptive Charging, the battery is monitored as it charges to ensure it’s never overworked and always at optimal health.

You get 32GB storage built in, with the option to add up to an extra 512GB using a microSD card, so you can carry around lots of movies too. A fingerprint sensor at the side provides security and the volume toggles and power key are also placed on the same side and in the perfect position.

See Sony for more –  or check your network https://www.sonymobile.com/ie/products/phones/xperia-l3/

The Sony Xperia 10 takes a new dimension with a new aspect ratio which is something new and different coming in at 21:9 this is a taller device and slimmer but it is easy to hold however I would like to see the 10 Plus which is again a taller device. Admittedly at first I did not like this but it has grown on me since I started using it.

 

With 70% of all Netflix films made in 21:9, you’re set up for great entertainment wherever you go. It’s also idea for using two apps at once side by side. So, you can see more, scroll less and multitask with ease. Everything sounds good too thanks to High-Resolution Audio. LDAC streaming also provides crystal clear audio when listening wirelessly.

If taking photos is your thing, you’ll love the 13 megapiixel and 5MP dual lens camera at the back – capture stunning images and get creative with artistic Bokeh effect. You can even shoot 4K video at 30fps. There’s a 8MP snapper at the front for selfies too.

With a high 2870mAh capacity, the Xperia 10’s battery gives you power you can rely on. Plus, Smart Stamina predicts how long your power will last and adapts your energy usage to keep you going for longer. You get 64Gb storage built in, with the option to add up to an extra 512GB using a microSD card, so you can carry around lots of movies too.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 chipset works with 3GB RAM and the new Android Pie to ensure everything happens fast and smooth, including streaming and downloads.

Check your network or Sony –  https://www.sonymobile.com/ie/products/phones/xperia-10/

 

Google Seeks Ambitious Irish Startups to join its Adopt a Startup Programme. #Google #StartUps

Irish startups from across the country are being encouraged to apply for Google’s Adopt a Startup Programme which this year launches in an exciting new format.   The new programme will be 8 weeks duration and will focus on Priority Growth Areas, identified by the companies themselves and the Adopt a Startup team in Google, which have a significant impact on a startup’s development and success.

The Priority Growth Areas include 4 crucial stages of growth: Understanding Your Customer, Building Your Brand, Growing Globally and Scaling Your Organisation. Participants will benefit from unmatched expertise and support in topics such as Analytics and UX, pitching and networking, automation and machine learning and how best to plan for global growth.

The new programme offers startups full support though a series of exclusive lectures and workshops, 1-on-1 on-site support with a team of passionate Googlers, and unique networking opportunities at Google’s EMEA Headquarters.

Paddy Flynn, Director, Google said:  “We’ve achieved a lot of success over the past five years but we are always looking at ways to improve our impact.  We’ve listened to feedback from startups and have reshaped this next iteration of the programme, including reducing the number of startups from 30 to 15 for this cycle.  This will allow us to deliver a more intensive programme, will focus on 4 crucial stages in a startup’s growth cycle and will give participants more direct engagement with Google experts.  We hope that this focus will enable them scale more effectively and learn from each other through the programme.”

Following the 8 week programme, each startup will have the opportunity to pitch their growth plan to a panel of select judges, with some unique prizes up for grabs including €10,000 in Google Ads credit and eligibility for the Google Cloud Programme which includes $100,000 in Google Cloud Credit.

The Adopt a Startup programme was launched by Google in 2014 and has mentored over 150 companies, helping them to develop and grow.  FoodCloud, UrbanVolt, Jobbio, Beats Medical and Logograb are just some of the amazing companies who have participated in the programme and have gone on to achieve significant success in their industries. The programme was created in Dublin and has become such a success that is now being implemented in dozens of other countries around the world.  In the last year the Startup team at Google have also worked on bringing Irish scaleups into global Google programs and  helping Irish scale ups understand how to engage with Google at a global level.

Places on the programme are now limited to 15 companies, with applications closing on 22 April.  More information on Adopt A Startup and full details on how to apply can be found at https://events.withgoogle.com/adoptastartup/