Amazon Shares Surge 20% to a Record High
USA Today | Elizabeth Weise | July 24
http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2015/07/23/amazon-shares-surge-earnings-surprise/30576187/
“Shares of Amazon.com (AMZN) surged as much as 20% in early Friday trading and hit an intraday record high of $580.57 after the company surprised Wall Street with a profit in the second quarter. The e-commerce giant said after the closing bell Thursday that revenue for the three months ended in June rose 20% to $23.2 billion on a profit of $92 million, or 19 cents a share. Analysts were expecting Amazon to post a net loss of 14 per share on $22.4 billion in revenue, according to estimates from Thomson Financial.”

 

Trade Deals Wipes out Tariffs on More Than 200 Tech Products
The Olympian | Paul Wiseman | July 23
http://www.theolympian.com/news/business/article28484875.html
“Dozens of countries have agreed to abolish duties on more than 200 technology products — from advanced computer chips to GPS devices, printer cartridges and video-game consoles. The agreement announced Friday marks the World Trade Organization’s first tariff-killing deal in 18 years. The deal is an expansion of the 1997 Information Technology Agreement, which includes 80 WTO member countries.”

 

Boeing Gives $30M to Museum of Flight to Expand STEM Education
GeekWire | Taylor Soper | July 23
http://www.geekwire.com/2015/boeing-gives-30m-to-museum-of-flight-to-expand-stem-education
“The Boeing Co. and June Boeing today announced a $30 million donation to the Museum of Flight to expand its science, technology, engineering, and math-related (STEM) education opportunities, particularly for underrepresented communities…With the funding, the Museum of Flight hopes to double the amount of students it serves over the next two years and connect them to jobs in STEM-related fields.”

 

Supporting Women in the Tech Space
The Huffington Post | Beth Cone Kramer | July 22
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/beth-cone-kramer/supporting-women-in-the-t_b_7829900.html?utm_hp_ref=technology&ir=Technology
“According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, by 2020, the US will be home to 1.4 million jobs in the computer science sector. Women outnumber men in college graduation rates but in 2014, women made up just a quarter of the tech industry. The percentage of women studying computer science has dropped to 12% from 37% a decade ago. Girls in Tech (GIT) founder and CEO Adriana Gascoigne has been focused on changing those statistics since 2007 when she launched the global non-profit aimed at the engagement, education, and empowerment of influential women in technology and entrepreneurship, a powerful pairing.”

 

Amazon and Microsoft Aren’t the Only Seattle-area Companies Donald Trump Invests In
Puget Sound Business Journal | Rob Smith | July 22
http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/blog/techflash/2015/07/amazon-and-microsoft-aren-t-the-only-seattle-area.html

Republican presidential candidate and business magnate Donald Trump has a stake in Amazon, Microsoft and several other Puget Sound-area companies. The companies are listed on Trump’s financial disclosure form, which was released Wednesday by the Federal Election Commission. The fascinating 92-page document lists hundreds of Trump’s investments, including his enormous real estate holdings. Trump owns Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) stock valued at between $15,001 and $50,000. His Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) stake is much larger: $250,001 to $500,000.