Welcome back to another edition of to PowerTalk. I’m your host Chris Versace, these are my 1-1 conversations with the movers and shakers in the business world that take you behind the scenes and in the know.
 
Be sure to check out ChrisVersace.com for more on my newsletter PowerTrend Profits as well as past episodes of PowerTalk. Also check out FabianWealth.com for more on my Thematic Growth Portfolio.
 
The Internet of Things…much talk about how this is the next stage in the Internet…moving past smartphones, tablets, email and social media to some say the industrialization of the Internet…others call it the dawn of the Big Data industry….either way, more things – will soon be connected to the Internet and to you. With news coming out of Apple about its new HomeKit offering as well as Google not only buying Nest, but making a greater push for its Android ecosystem, we wanted to go behind the scenes and in the know.
 
Joining us on PowerTalk today to discuss this is Liat Ben-Zur, Chairwoman of the AllSeen Alliance. The AllSeen Alliance is the industry's broadest open-source Internet of Things project. It was created by the Linux Foundation and in less than five months has grown to 44 members, including LG, Panasonic, Qualcomm, Haier, Sharp, AT&T Digital Life, Cisco and others.
 
Liat compares the Internet of Things with the early days of mobile and mobile technology, which today is nearly ubiquitous. Coming up, you can hear the how’s and whys of that comparison as well as why Liat says the Internet of Things will lead to something called Mobile 3.0.

Welcome to PowerTalk. I’m your host Chris Versace, these are my 1-1 conversations with the movers and shakers in the business world that take you behind the scenes and in the know.

Be sure to check out ChrisVersace.com for more on my newsletter PowerTrend Profits as well as past episodes of PowerTalk. Also check out FabianWealth.com for more on my Thematic Growth Portfolio.

Once again we were presented with another Employment Report that is trying to tell us the economy and the jobs picture is getting better. You might think that if you simply relied on the headline, but if you did that you would miss what’s really going on.

Joining us on PowerTalk this week to cut through all the nonsense and us behind the scenes and in the know on this topic is Liz Peek, a columnist at for FoxNews.com and TheFiscalTimes. With more than 20 years on Wall Street most of them as top ranked research analyst, Liz knows what she’s doing when it comes to digging deep into data and making sense of the numbers.

And dig into it she does! Liz also ties together how the Obama administration is saying one thing about wanting to create jobs, but when you look at the administration’s policy efforts… that’s something different entirely.

 
Joining us today on PowerTalk is Michelle Minton, a fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. I’m especially excited to talk with Michelle about her area of focus -- alcohol regulation, food and beverage regulation, Internet gambling and so on. Some call these sin stocks, but I call them Guilty Pleasures and they are a staple of my investment mosaic.
 

Welcome to PowerTalk. I’m your host Chris Versace, these are my 1-1 conversations with the movers and shakers in the business world that take you behind the scenes and in the know. 

Be sure to check out ChrisVersace.com for more on my newsletter PowerTrend Profits as well as past episodes of PowerTalk. Also check out FabianWealth.com for more on my Thematic Growth Portfolio.

It used to be that advertising was in the newspaper, on the radio and of course on television. These days even though TV remains the Mack daddy of advertising, instead of seeing ads all over radio, magazines and newspapers, we’re finding them on the screens of your smartphone and tablet.

All sorts of companies are vying to get a hold of your eyeballs – car companies, financials companies, credit card companies, food companies, …you name it. That’s led Google, Facebook, Twitter, Apple and companies like Millennial Media and The Rubicon Project, and others to build businesses around helping companies reach consumers. 

But is it working? That’s the big question – are these companies seeing a return on their advertising investment or not?

Joining me on PowerTalk to discuss this and more is Jeff Zwelling, CEO and Co-founder of Convertro, a company that includes Intuit, Comcast, Digitas and many many others as customers. PowerTalks are always insightful and Jeff does a great job of cutting to the heart of things, but what caught my ear was which company’s platform is doing huge business for direct marketing companies.

Welcome to PowerTalk.
 
I’m your host Chris Versace, these are my 1-1 conversations with the movers and shakers in the business world that take you behind the scenes and in the know.
 
Be sure to check out ChrisVersace.com for more on my newsletter PowerTrend Profts as well as past episodes of PowerTalk Also check out FabianWealth.com for more on my Thematic Growth Portfolio.
 
The Cloud?
 
I know you and I have been hearing a lot about it. Companies from Microsoft (MSFT) to Apple (AAPL) and Google (GOOG) with their One Drive, iCloud and Google Docs offerings as well as Amazon (AMZN), Salesforce (CRM), VMware (VWM) and others are involved. But what is the Cloud and what does it mean for you and corporate America?
 
In it’s simplest form the Cloud provides online resources of software, platforms, and infrastructure that are available “as-a-service” for users to consume. It’s changing how companies and other institutions not only think IT, but how they are utilizing and managing it. According to research firm IDC, public Cloud spending was $47 billion in 2013, and will double in less than 4 years to $107 billion.
 
Growth like that is bound to catch investor eyes, but understanding the various aspects and opportunities associated with the Cloud is key. That’s why we’re PowerTalking today with PowerTalk is Jay Chapel, CEO of Cloud Management Solution Company Ostrato.
 
As you’ll hear, despite all of the talk about the cloud over the last few years, Jay says we’re only in the first or second inning of what’s coming. Like any fast growing industry, there are pain points along the way and for some like Ostrato that means opportunity.

Welcome to PowerTalk.

I’m your host Chris Versace, these are my 1-1 conversations with the movers and shakers in the business world that take you behind the scenes and in the know.

Be sure to check out ChrisVersace.com for more on my newsletter PowerTrends and past PowerTalk conversations. Also visit FabianWealth.com to learn more about my Thematic Growth Portfolio.

Over the last year we’ve heard a lot of disturbing news about the growing pervasiveness of cyber attacks. While I’m sure you’ve heard of the incident at Target several months ago I can assure you that was far from the only attack and we can expect to hear much more about these kinds of attacks in the coming months and years.

It’s pain points like that one that make for a great business and we’ve seen cyber security stocks like KEYW Holding, FireEye, Palto Alto Networks and others pop as a result of the expected jump in demand. Not all companies are created equally and sometimes there can be a discrepancy in between the image and the product or service.

As a recent NSS report on showed, that’s what we have when it comes to Cisco’s cyber security business. I won’t spoil the details, but it’s safe to say you will want to hear what Jason Brvenik, Principal Engineer of the Security Business Group at Cisco Systems has to say about the growing threat of Cyber attacks and what this NSS report turned up. It’s not what you’re probably expecting.

Welcome to PowerTalk. I’m your host Chris Versace, these are my 1-1 conversations with the movers and shakers in the business world that take you behind the scenes and in the know. Be sure to check out ChrisVersace.com for more on my newsletter PowerTrends and past PowerTalk conversations. Also check out FabianWealth.com for more on my Thematic Growth Portfolio.

On the heels of another “just okay” Job Report from the Labor Department,  we’re joined by Lindsay Stanton, Chief Client Officer for the Job Search Television Network as well as www.Digi-Me.com to talk about why she’s upbeat when it comes to the outlook for jobs in the coming months.

As Lindsay tells us, there’s been a robust pick up in activity at staffing firms over the last few months as corporate America scrambles to fill jobs. From IT and financial services to truck drivers as the housing and construction markets start to rebound. Given the Fortune 1,000 client base that includes Macy’s, McDonald’s, USG, Bank of America and dozens and dozens of others, Lindsey truly takes us behind the scenes and in the know…and you’ll hear it first hand right after this.

Welcome to another edition of PowerTalk! I’m your host Chris Versace, these are my 1-1 conversations with the movers and shakers in the business world that take you behind the scenes and in the know.

Be sure to check out ChrisVersace.com for more on my newsletter PowerTrends and past PowerTalk conversations as we'll as FabianWealth.com for more on my Thematic Growth Portfolio.

Joining us this week is Dan Duffy, Chairman and CEO of United Real Estate and we’re talking not only about why Dan is bullish on the housing market over the next 12-18 months, but how he and the company are using technology to transform the consumer experience and drive costs down, which is good not only for the company and its customers but its agents as well.

With a strategy that is good for the customer and the agent, it’s no wonder that United Real Estate is growing by leaps and bounds in terms of markets served, number of agents, and transaction volume.

Even so, Chairman and CEO Dan Duffy says they’re just getting underway. Is Dan worried about the recent winter weather and it’s short term impact on the housing market – as you’ll soon hear, his answer is not at all.