Canon Leans on A.I. for Innovation in the Camera Biz
Canon ranked among the top holders of U.S. patents in 2017, beating out Intel, Google, and Amazon. The camera company placed a focus on intellectual property, using imaging technology to drive innovation across industries including business solutions, manufacturing, and medical technology.
Robert Pignataro, Director of New Business for Imaging Technologies & Communications Group at Canon, joined us to share how the company is innovating in the camera business. There are some Canon patents consumers interact with on a daily basis without even realizing. He said every time we turn on the TV, we see the result of their cinema line. The company received a technical Emmy last year for its Cinema U.S. lenses.
A.I. is a big part of Canon's industrial focus. Pignataro said Canon has become more of a software company to help encompass the strength of its hardware. It’s not just cameras. He said innovation in its printing segment has been key as well.
David Stryzewski, CEO of Sound Planning Group, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says that some of the major stock positions are getting the most lift to the upside as the major indexes climb higher to begin the week.
Despite challenges like inflation, labor and product shortages, and the Omicron variant, holiday sales saw record levels of growth this year, according to a new report from Mastercard SpendingPulse. The group reports on national retail sales across all payment types, finding that holiday sales rose at the fastest pace in 17 years this year. Mastercard senior advisor and former chariman and CEO of Saks Incorporated Steve Sadove joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Keith Fitz-Gerald, chief investment officer at Fitz-Gerald Group, spoke to Cheddar about the growing competition for Tesla's electric cars in China as tech giant Huawei enters the race. "There's a lot of legacy worry, but that does not discount the possibility that Elon might have a contender on his hands," he said about the sometimes troubled telecom company. Fitz-Gerald also gave a nod to two other local rivals, Nio and XPeng, noting the latter as having something of an edge with its CEO He Xiopeng being lauded by Chinese state media.
Ariel Kaye, founder and CEO of home goods business Parachute, joined Cheddar to discuss the company's sales success over the holidays as it navigated supply chain issues. She also expects a strong showing in 2022 with the continuation of 2021 trends. "The hybrid work model is going to be here for a long time," Kaye said. The business, which currently has 12 physical locations, plans to expand to 30 brick-and-mortar shops by the end of 2022.
Nikola announced that it delivered its first electric semi trucks last week, sending the embattled EV company's stock soaring. There is a lot of competition in this space, though, said Lauren Fix, an automotive analyst with Car Coach Reports. While every country has companies racing to dominate the electric trucking industry, she explained, a shortage of graphite, used in batteries, and a dearth of convenient charging stations will still keep growth slow in 2022. "You really have to be very careful when you're investing in this marketplace," Fix said. "That's great that [Nikola was] able to deliver one, but can they deliver more?"
It looks like the supply chain didn't steal Christmas this year after all. Retail sales jumped 8.5 percent between November 1 and December 24, compared with the same period last year, according to a report from Mastercard. That's the strongest growth in 17 years. Jharonne Martis, director of consumer research at Refinitiv, joined Cheddar to discuss how retailers were able to do so well despite inflation, supply chain issues, and the COVID-19 omicron variant but gave a subdued outlook for the retail sector at the beginning of 2022. "Consumers are not just completely isolated from the inflation issues," she said. "This is definitely going to continue into the first half of the year, as per our IFR data."
