First up, RTT News (not to be confused with RT):
Daimler Slips To Loss In Q2; Sees Significant EBIT Growth In H2: Stock Up
German automaker Daimler AG (DDAIF.PK) reported Wednesday a net loss in its second quarter, compared to prior year's profit on charges, despite increased revenues. Unit sales meanwhile declined from last year. Looking ahead, the company projects significant improvement in EBIT in the second half of year. For the year 2019, the company projects slightly higher revenues and flat unit sales, while Group EBIT is expected to be significantly below the prior-year level. Daimler shares were gaining around 3 percent in German trading.And from Coindesk:
Ola Källenius, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars, said, "... our focus for the second half of this year is on improving our operating performance and cash-flow generation. In general, we are intensifying the Group-wide performance programs and reviewing our product portfolio in order to safeguard future success."
For the second quarter, net loss attributable to the shareholders was 1.3 billion euros or 1.24 euros per share, compared to net profit of 1.7 billion euros or 1.61 euros per share in the prior year. The latest-quarter results were mainly impacted by exceptional items of 4.2 billion euros....MORE
Daimler to Produce Crypto Hard Wallet for Automotive Industry
Mercedes Benz parent company Daimler has partnered with blockchain firm Riddle & Code to produce a hardware wallet for automobiles.
Long term, the business alliance looks to provide solutions for self-driving vehicles and car-sharing platforms, relay traffic patterns in real-time, mesh with smart city infrastructure, and transfer accident information to the proper authorities and insurance providers.
The wallet, a tamper-resistant piece of hardware that was presented at Startupautobahn in Stuttgart, creates a cryptographic identity for vehicles. It also integrates with the vehicle’s telematic control unit (TCU) to receive, sign, and attest to sensory data from the car and surrounding infrastructure.
This information can be used to record a vehicle’s performance and ensure it received proper maintenance. The wallet can be integrated into the hardware of trucks, luxury cars, and buses “to make car rental and fleet management more efficient,” said Ben Schwarz, Riddle & Code head of communications.
Schwarz said the pricing model hasn’t been finalized, but will be based on hardware costs and involve a license model for fleet owners who deploy the wallet. A transaction-based model is also under discussion.
“However, once vehicles become autonomous parties to a blockchain transactions, the marketplace is boundless,” he added....MORE