International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) along with Japan’s largest employer, the Japan Post Group, are teaming up to service the needs of the seniors population in the Asian country.
According to Jon Fortt in a report for CNBC, the partnership between International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and the Japan Post Group which was announced just today is “interesting” because Japan is a big market for Apple.
“[There are] 33 million senior citizens in Japan or now a quarter of the population. It’s the most aged developed population in the world. That is what IBM and Apple are coming together trying to address with Japan Post Group,” Fortt tells his colleagues on site from Japan.
Japan Post Group is the largest employer in Japan, Fortt notes, as the company services a lot of the needs of the senior population in the country. The company has interests in insurance and other services for the elderly.
For the partnership, the three companies will utilize iPads and custom apps to deliver services for senior citizens in the country.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook as well as International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) Chief Executive Officer Virginia Rometty are in Japan with the leaders of Japan Post Group to announce their partnership.
Meanwhile, Fortt says he asked Apple CEO Tim Cook about Apple’s iPad performance in Japan. Fortt notes that though revenue was down 15% year-over-year in Japan in the latest quarter, the iPad had a record March quarter.
According to the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) CEO, the iPhone and the iPad both are doing extremely well in Japan. He says the iPhone is the top smartphone in Japan and that the iPad is the top tablet in Japan. Apple, which owns one of the most profitable businesses ever, has seen a significant uptake in Japan on the smartphone or people switching from another operating system, the CEO tells Fortt.
Meanwhile, Fortt also interviewed International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) Senior Vice President for Global Business Bridget Van Kralingen about a possible acquisition of Salesforce.com, Inc. (NYSE:CRM). The executive says that IBM does a lot of mergers and acquisitions and their approach to that is to take companies with unique assets that they can scale. She did not confirm or deny, however, the possibility of a Salesforce acquisition.
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway owned about 76.97 million International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) shares by the end of last year.
Philippe Laffont’s Coatue Management owned about 8.89 million Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares by the end of 2014.
I just made 84% in 4 days by blindly imitating a hedge fund’s stock pick. I will tell you how I pulled such a huge return in such a short time but let me first explain in this FREE REPORT why following hedge funds’ stock picks is one of the smartest things you can do as an investor. We launched our quarterly newsletter 2.5 years ago and not one subscriber has, since, said ‘I lost money by EXACTLY following your stock picks’. The reason is simple. You can beat index funds by creating a DREAM TEAM of hedge fund managers and investing in only their best ideas. I just made 84% in 4 days by blindly imitating one of these best ideas. CLICK HERE NOW for all the details.
