The U.S. confectionery market is estimated to reach $35.86 billion in sales during 2016 and $38.19 billion by 2020, according to market research firm Technavio, Elmhurst, Ill. From a volume perspective, Technavio said confectionery companies sold 7.31 billion lbs in 2015, and that volume will increase to 7.61 billion lbs by 2020, growing at a…

Apparel is a consistently popular holiday gift, and global consultancy Deloitte expects that it will account for 50% of all presents exchanged this season. The firm’s 2016 Holiday Survey results also indicates that respondents expect to spend $96 each on non-gift clothing for themselves or their families. Since one of 2016’s favorite fashion stories has…

Fintech has already proven its value and will play an undeniably large role in the provision of financial services in the future. According to Accenture and CB Insights, there are already at least 20 fintech unicorns—private companies worth US$1 billion or more—in operation. This is in addition to the fintech companies that have already listed—such…

Cockpit Innovation, the venture arm of EL AL Israel Airlines, and JetBlue Technology Ventures have selected five startups that will take part in the first cycle of their international accelerator program for technologies in the air travel industry. Israel’s Cambiu has created a market place for currency exchange, while Voyjer, also from Israel, enables users…

A new study suggests if LED lights are used in milk display cases, they will not only reduce energy bills but also make the milk taste better. In the United States, LED lights are widely used in milk retail outlets as a replacement of fluorescent lights.  Regarding the chemistry of changes, experts said the change…

Like newborns in an incubator, the 200-plus unique strains of plants in these computer-controlled, camera-patrolled, password-secured greenhouses are monitored around the clock. Their water, fertilizer and light are adjusted as needed, until the flowers are in full bloom. They’re only harvested from their planters after a week of testing finds they are ready to leave…

Let’s get really, really small.That directive from leading semiconductor companies and their customers is forcing the whole semiconductor supply chain to come up with new ways to design and manufacture ever-shrinking dimensions for chips. The current push is to 10nm and 7nm, but R&D into 5nm and 3nm is already underway. To put this in…

CIMB Equities Research has downgraded the semiconductor sector from Overweight to Neutral in view of the overall slowdown in industry demand and lack of new catalysts to drive sales growth. “We project 10% EPS growth per annum for sector in 2016-17F; stronger growth for Inari. However, we expect tepid earnings growth by MPI and Unisem…