SunPower recently announced that it had developed a silicon solar module with a record conversion efficiency of 24.1%, beating the company’s previous record of 22.8%, while putting it well ahead of rivals SolarCity and Panasonic, who recently reported record efficiencies. The development is notable for SunPower, since it allows the company to bolster its marketing narrative of having the world’s most efficient solar panels, while potentially allowing it to cut installation costs further, making it more competitive in the residential and commercial solar market.

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Sales, marketing and administrative expenses are major operating costs for eBay , accounting for close to 40% of its total operating expenses in 2015. Considering eBay has to compete against behemoth Amazon in the e-commerce space, its marketing costs were expected to increase but its top line growth has not been commensurate with the increasing investments and advertisements. We see below that eBay’s sales, marketing, general and administrative costs as a percentage of revenues increased an average of 1.4 percentage points per year from 2013 to 2015. However, its operating margin declined at an average of about 2.1 percentage points per year from 29.7% in 2013 to 25.6% in 2015.
Considering how eBay’s sales, marketing, general and administrative costs impact its operating margins, it is important to understand whether eBay is moving towards operational efficiency in light of the rising dominance of Amazon. In the first quarter this year, eBay’s operating margin improved 310 basis points over the prior year quarter, owing to a 4.9% decline in sales, marketing, general and administrative costs as a percentage of revenues.

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Earlier this month, Microsoft announced it would acquire LinkedIn for $26.2 Billion, valuing the company at 91 times earnings. LinkedIn performance has been lackluster since it’s public debut dropping $11 Billion from its market value in February following lower than expected 2016 revenue forecasts.

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You’re about to have a new option to show support for your favorite streamers with hard earned dollars, as well as throw a little cash towards the good souls at Twitch and parent company Amazon inc

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Researchers studying the skeletal remains of famous opera singer Gaspare Pacchierotti have discovered several changes to his bones as a result of both castration and his singing technique.

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In the video above I recap all of the highlights from Game of Thrones, Season 6 in under two minutes. Game of Thrones Season 6 felt very drawn out and maybe it should have been two hours instead of ten. The fact that the major plot points covered in my video primarily source just three episodes is a pretty good example of how much filler was in this season. Jon Snow is resurrected in what is a painfully drawn out plot line that everyone knows is going to happen. We have pointless exposition about if Jon will or won’t get the support of the Wildlings. The Hound appears briefly with no purpose this season other than to say “hey guys, I’m not quite dead.” We don’t even get the chance to see Lady Stoneheart which I still suspect they are building up to, and Tyrion’s plotline is toothless, dull and provides few genuine moments until he is finally declared The Hand of The Queen.

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Gary Vaynerchuk, the vocal social media entrepreneur, says meditation is going to be the “next big business wave.” And why shouldn’t it be? Increased creativity, improved focus, reduced stress and anxiety and more without breaking a sweat — what’s not to like?

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Of the three new consoles coming our way before the end of 2017, none are quite so mysterious as the Nintendo NX.

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The future of mobile information is rapidly evolving from text and images to the new driver of the web – video. Relevant local is on the rise – as more connected and mobile consumers look to get curated information to meets their needs at the crossroads of location, interest, and relevance.

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