Gen Zs were born between 1996 and 2010. That means the eldest of this cohort is 28-years-old and the youngest is 14-years-old. (The Findex survey was limited to Australians aged 18-64 years).
About 38% of Gen Z respondents nominated bank savings as their first choice for building wealth. This was followed by property at 25%, superannuation at 13%, and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) at 7%.
5 tips for Gen Zs to build wealth
Findex recommends the following key investment actions for Gen Zs to ensure a good retirement.
Assess your risk appetite and investment diversification
Exploring options within superannuation that align with a longer investment timeline can enhance growth. Findex says superannuation typically defaults to ‘balanced’ options, so younger generations might benefit from ‘growth’ strategies, aiming to optimise fund performance over time.â¯
Each superannuation fund offers a variety of strategies to suit customers based on their age and risk profile. Young investors often prefer growth strategies because they have time on their side. Therefore, they can tolerate higher risk for higher reward.
Growth funds are mainly invested in ASX shares and international stocks. As we recently reported, data and analytics provider Chant West says ‘all growth’ superannuation funds are performing best in the 2024 financial year to date, with 9.8% returns so far.
Early engagement with superannuation to build wealth in retirement
Start contributing to superannuation as early as possible, says Findex. Even modest contributions can grow significantly over time due to the power of compounding interest.â¯
Findex co-CEO Tony Roussos encourages Gen Z Australians to, “Take advantage of the time you have on hand by exploring ways to build your balance so that your super works hard for you in retirement.”
The Australian Government introduced superannuation in 1992. The Superannuation Guarantee paid by employers has risen from 3% of wages in 1992 to 11% today. It goes up to 11.5% from 1 July this year.
Financial literacy and digital tools
Leverage digital platforms like Young Money from the Findex Community Fund for financial education, and apps to help with budgeting and investment tracking. Findex says understanding the basics of superannuation, investment strategies, and tax advantages is crucial to building wealth.â¯
Talk to your family
Findex says parents and grandparents can provide a guiding hand. Nearly half (47%) of Gen Z say they better understand how to manage and reduce debt through financial conversations with their family.
Leverage family advice relationships
Financial advice may not be affordable at this age. If your family uses a financial advisor, see if you can sit in on meetings and start learning about the ways they can assist you in building wealth.
Wondering where you should invest $1,000 right now?
When investing expert Scott Phillips has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the flagship Motley Fool Share Advisor newsletter he has run for over ten years has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*
Scott just revealed what he believes could be the ‘five best ASX stocks’ for investors to buy right now. We believe these stocks are trading at attractive prices and Scott thinks they could be great buys right now…
Motley Fool contributor Bronwyn Allen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.
Goldman Sachs has a buy rating on Qantas with a 12-month share price target of $8.05.
The ASX airline share closed at $6.07 on Tuesday, down 0.82% for the day and down 5.45% over 12 months.
Goldman analysts Niraj Shah and Joseph Kusia expect the airline’s traffic capacity to return to 95% of pre-COVID levels by FY24. They also expect its earnings capacity to exceed pre-COVID levels by about 52%.
The analysts said the ASX travel share was undervalued at today’s price level, commenting:
QAN’s current market capitalisation and enterprise value are 10% below and 11% below pre-COVID levels. As such, we believe QAN is not priced for a generic recovery, let alone prospects for improved earnings capacity.
We continue to see upside associated with substantially improved MT earnings capacity.
Goldman has a sell rating on Flight Centre with a 12-month share price target of $18.30.
Flight Centre shares closed at $19.40 on Tuesday, down 2.02% for the day and down 8.4% over 12 months.
Goldman analysts Lisa Deng and James Leigh said:
FLT provided its trading update for 3Q24 and reiterated group underlying PBT guidance of A$300-340mn for FY24 (A$270 – A$310mn excluding Convertible Note amortisation).
While our calculation of implied 3Q24 numbers suggests that there is slightly below-expectations run-rate in Corporate, this will likely be offset by above-expectations run-rate in Leisure.
Net net, we continue to see recovery and competitive risks in Corporate per our downgrade in March 2024 and our thesis remains unchanged.
The team at Morgans has a different view to Goldman Sachs on this ASX travel share. They have an add rating on Flight Centre shares with a 12-month price target of $27.27.
Morgans said Flight Centre has the greatest risk/reward profile of the ASX travel shares under its coverage.
The broker explained:
The risk is centred around execution given its changed business model, while the reward is material if FLT delivers on its 2% margin target. If achieved, this would result in material upside to consensus estimates and valuations. FLT is targeting to achieve this margin in FY25.
With greater confidence in the travel recovery and the benefits of Flight Centre’s transformed business model already emerging, we think the company is well placed over coming years.
Morgans has an add rating on Webjet shares with a 12-month price target of $10.33.
The ASX travel share finished the session yesterday at $8.65, down 1.48% for the day and up 15.95% over 12 months.
Morgans said the online travel booking company has “significant market share still up for grabs” within its WebBeds B2B business and is well positioned for the future.
Should you invest $1,000 in Flight Centre Travel Group Limited right now?
Before you buy Flight Centre Travel Group Limited shares, consider this:
Motley Fool investing expert Scott Phillips just revealed what he believes are the 5 best stocks for investors to buy right now… and Flight Centre Travel Group Limited wasn’t one of them.
The online investing service heâs run for over a decade, Motley Fool Share Advisor, has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*
And right now, Scott thinks there are 5 stocks that may be better buys…
Motley Fool contributor Bronwyn Allen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Goldman Sachs Group. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Flight Centre Travel Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.
Are you looking for some ASX exchange traded funds (ETFs) to buy and hold?
If you are, then it could be worth checking out the five high-quality ASX ETFs listed below.
Let’s see what they offer investors:
BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETFÂ (ASX: ASIA)
The first ASX ETF that could be a top buy and hold option is the BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF. This popular ETF gives investors access to the best tech stocks in the Asian region but excluding Japan. Many of these are the region’s equivalents of the West’s biggest and best tech giants. Among its holdings are e-commerce leader Alibaba, search engine giant Baidu, iPhone manufacturer Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, and WeChat owner Tencent.
Another ASX ETF for investors to look at is the iShares Global Consumer Staples ETF. It could be a good option for investors that have a low tolerance for risk. That’s because this fund gives investors access to many of the world’s largest consumer staples companies. These are companies that usually perform well whatever is happening in the global economy. Among its holdings are behemoths such as Coca-Cola, Nestle, and Unilever.
A third ASX ETF for investors to look at is the iShares S&P 500 ETF. It could be a good buy and hold option given the sheer quality among its holdings. These are the 500 largest companies on Wall Street. This means that you will be investing in a diverse group of shares from a range of different sectors, including countless household names such as Microsoft, Exxon Mobil, Johnson & Johnson, and Visa.
Another ASX ETF that could be a great buy and hold option is the Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF. This fund aims to track the local ASX 300 index. It is home to Australia’s leading 300 listed companies. This includes shares such as BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG), Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST), and Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES).
Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETFÂ (ASX: VGS)
A final ASX ETF to consider for a buy and hold investment is the Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF. This very popular ETF gives investors access to a massive ~1,500 of the world’s largest listed companies through a single investment. This could make it a great option if you’re looking to diversify your portfolio. It also gives investors exposure to global economic growth.
Should you invest $1,000 in Betashares Capital Ltd – Asia Technology Tigers Etf right now?
Before you buy Betashares Capital Ltd – Asia Technology Tigers Etf shares, consider this:
Motley Fool investing expert Scott Phillips just revealed what he believes are the 5 best stocks for investors to buy right now… and Betashares Capital Ltd – Asia Technology Tigers Etf wasn’t one of them.
The online investing service heâs run for over a decade, Motley Fool Share Advisor, has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*
And right now, Scott thinks there are 5 stocks that may be better buys…
This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.
Shares of Nvidia(NASDAQ: NVDA) surged higher on Tuesday, jumping as much as 5.6%. As of 11:54 a.m. ET, the stock was still up 5.1%.
The catalyst that sent the chipmaker and artificial intelligence (AI) specialist higher was word that another AI start-up had raised billions of dollars, which is likely good news for Nvidia.
Heavy spending on AI
xAI, the AI start-up founded by Elon Musk, announced on Sunday it had raised $6 billion in its latest funding round. The company said in a blog post that the influx of cash would be used “to take xAI’s first products to market, build advanced infrastructure, and accelerate the research and development of future technologies.” In a subsequent post on X (formerly Twitter), Musk said the series B funding round valued xAI at $18 billion.
The company, which was founded last July, is the creator of Grok, the generative AI chatbot that competes with OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Grok is available on X and is “modeled after the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, so intended to answer almost anything and, far harder, even suggest what questions to ask!”
The principal beneficiary
So what does all this have to do with Nvidia? It’s a signal that there’s still plenty of appetite for continued investment in AI. Investors have been worried that the demand for AI could fall off, but this helps illustrate that’s not the case.
Additionally, since xAI is working to rival ChatGPT, the underlying large language models will require plenty of computational horsepower to bring Grok up to par. Since the company isn’t developing AI chips of its own, the vast majority of the processors will likely come courtesy of Nvidia — the industry leader — which will directly boost the company’s sales.
This comes on the heels of Nvidia’s blockbuster financial report and upcoming 10-for-1 stock split. For the fourth consecutive quarter, the company delivered triple-digit revenue and profit gains and is guiding for more. This helps illustrate the ongoing demand for AI.
Furthermore, at roughly 38 times forward earnings, Nvidia stock is still reasonably priced when viewed through the lens of its ongoing opportunity.
This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.
Should you invest $1,000 in Nvidia Corporation right now?
Before you buy Nvidia Corporation shares, consider this:
Motley Fool investing expert Scott Phillips just revealed what he believes are the 5 best stocks for investors to buy right now… and Nvidia Corporation wasn’t one of them.
The online investing service heâs run for over a decade, Motley Fool Share Advisor, has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*
And right now, Scott thinks there are 5 stocks that may be better buys…
Danny Vena has positions in Nvidia. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Nvidia. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.
The team at Morgans thinks that Acrow could be an ASX dividend share to buy. It provides the construction sector with engineered formwork, scaffolding, and screen systems solutions.
Morgans has an add rating and $1.43 price target on its shares. The broker likes the company due to its positive outlook, attractive valuation, and generous forecast dividend yield. It said:
ACF is a well-managed business with leverage to growing civil infrastructure activity over the long term, especially on the east coast. Momentum remains strong and recent acquisitions will provide new avenues for growth, especially in the more stable and less cyclical Industrial Services segment. We believe the valuation remains attractive (~7.5x FY25F PE and ~5.5% yield) with potential positive catalysts from further meaningful contract wins.
Morgans is forecasting fully franked dividends of 5.5 cents per share in FY 2024 and then 5.9 cents per share in FY 2025. Based on the current Acrow share price of $1.16, this will mean dividend yields of 4.75% and 5%, respectively.
Analysts at Bell Potter think that this auto parts company would be a good ASX dividend share to buy.
The broker has the company on its favoured list with a buy rating and $12.80 price target on its shares. Its analysts believe the company is well-positioned to benefit from supply constraints and the resilience of the legacy auto business. It commented:
The company recently reported an impressive FY23 result with NPAT of $119 million beating Citi forecast by 3% and consensus by 14%. This was driven by the better-than-expected APG performance (the highest-quality business in GUD, in our view) and the improvement in gearing. We see GUD as well-placed to benefit from the ongoing improvement in OEM supply constraints into FY24. Overall, our Buy rating for GUD is predicated on the relative resilience of the legacy auto business and improving momentum in new car sales, which should be favourable for APG’s earnings.
As for income, Bell Potter is forecasting fully franked dividends per share of 38.5 cents in FY 2024 and then 40.4 cents in FY 2025. Based on the current GUD share price of $10.57, this equates to dividend yields of 3.65% and 3.8%, respectively.
Should you invest $1,000 in Acrow Formwork And Construction Services right now?
Before you buy Acrow Formwork And Construction Services shares, consider this:
Motley Fool investing expert Scott Phillips just revealed what he believes are the 5 best stocks for investors to buy right now… and Acrow Formwork And Construction Services wasn’t one of them.
The online investing service heâs run for over a decade, Motley Fool Share Advisor, has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*
And right now, Scott thinks there are 5 stocks that may be better buys…
Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Acrow. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.
It has been a volatile 12 months for Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) shares.
During this time, the lithium miner’s shares have been as high as $5.43 and as low as $3.10. From top to bottom, that’s a decline of approximately 43%. This has been driven by a sharp decline in lithium prices.
The Pilbara Minerals share price is currently trading closer to its low than its high at $3.89. Does this make it a good time to buy? Or could its shares go lower from here? Let’s see what analysts are forecasting.
Where next for Pilbara Minerals shares?
Unfortunately, the general consensus is that the company’s shares are heading lower from here.
For example, UBS and Citi have sell ratings on Pilbara Minerals’ shares with price targets of $2.70 and $3.60, respectively. This implies potential downside of 31% and 7.5% for investors over the next 12 months.
Over at Morgan Stanley, its analysts have an underweight rating and $3.35 price target on its shares. This suggests that they could fall 14% from current levels.
And finally, analysts at Goldman Sachs are arguably among the biggest bears out there. The broker currently has a sell rating and $2.80 price target on its shares.
It believes its shares are expensive despite pulling back materially from recent highs. Goldman commented:
We see near-term FCF continuing to decline on lithium prices and increasing growth spend (c. -10% FCF yield in FY24E, and c.0% in FY25-27E). Overall, we see PLS spending ~A$0.85bn on P1400, taking total capex spend from FY24E to FY28E on current and P1400 expansions to ~A$3bn, ~A$0.9bn ahead of consensus which already prices further expansion. Furthermore, we see PLS’ net cash declining to ~A$0.8-0.9bn (though still a relatively strong position vs. some peers and defensive into a declining lithium price), where with the stock trading at ~1.2x NAV (peer average ~1.05x), or pricing ~US$1,300/t spodumene (including a nominal value of A$1.1bn for growth) vs. peers at ~US$1,210/t (lithium pure-plays ~US$1,110/t; GSe US$1,150/t LT real), we see PLS as relatively expensive on fundamentals.
It’s not all doom and gloom, though. The team at Macquarie is a little more positive on Pilbara Minerals’ shares. The broker currently has a neutral rating on them with a price target of $4.20. This implies potential upside of 8% for investors.
Time will tell which broker makes the right call. Though, it seems quite likely that the direction its shares take will be dictated less by broker price targets and more by lithium prices. If there is a surprise rebound in prices, it could put a rocket under lithium stocks.
Should you invest $1,000 in Pilbara Minerals Limited right now?
Before you buy Pilbara Minerals Limited shares, consider this:
Motley Fool investing expert Scott Phillips just revealed what he believes are the 5 best stocks for investors to buy right now… and Pilbara Minerals Limited wasn’t one of them.
The online investing service heâs run for over a decade, Motley Fool Share Advisor, has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*
And right now, Scott thinks there are 5 stocks that may be better buys…
Citigroup is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Goldman Sachs Group and Macquarie Group. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Macquarie Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.
Pro Medicus Limited (ASX: PME) shares overcame the market weakness on Tuesday and pushed higher.
The ASX 200 tech stock rose 1% to end the day at $114.31.
Why did this ASX 200 tech stock rise?
Investors were bidding the health imaging technology company’s shares higher after it announced five new contracts with a combined minimum contract value of $45 million.
These contracts will be fully cloud deployed and are expected to be completed within the next six months.
The contracts are as follows:
A $9.5 million, five-year contract with Consulting Radiology, a private radiology group in Minnesota.
An $11.5 million, seven-year contract with Nationwide Children’s Hospital. It is a leading paediatric hospital in Columbus, Ohio.
A $6.5 million, five-year contract with Nicklaus Childrens Hospital, a leading paediatric hospital in Miami, Florida.
A $9 million, eight-year contract with Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida.
An $8.5 million, five-year contract with US Radiology Specialists. It is a partnership of physician owned radiology practices.
These contract wins bring the company’s minimum total contract value (TCV) for new sales this financial year to $245 million.
Broker reaction
This morning, analysts at Goldman Sachs have responded very positively to the news.
According to the note, the broker has reiterated its buy rating with a slightly improved price target of $136.00.
Based on where the ASX 200 tech stock currently trades, this implies potential upside of 19% for investors over the next 12 months.
Commenting on the contract wins, the broker said:
PME continues to demonstrate Visage’s compelling product offering and value proposition to a broadening range of customers across different sizes and specialties (i.e. children’s hospitals and private radiology groups where the market is evolving, with more tenders coming to market). This provides a platform for further growth (direct validation & referral effect), supporting a positive TAM runway for Visage which currently commands c.7% market share of US imaging volumes (GSe +13% in FY30E) – a key component of our Buy Initiation in April; (2) All contracts to be fully cloud-based, and we believe Visage is the only solution available that can be fully cloud-deployed at this scale, and hence represents a tangible competitive advantage, as highlighted today; and (3) the announced contract sizes contain no direct component from either AI or Cardiology, which should present upside optionality through the mid-term.
‘Industry leading’
All in all, this news reinforces the broker’s bullish view on the ASX 200 tech stock and its “industry leading” technology. It concludes:
In our view, PME is well positioned into FY25 given a full year benefit of some large and high profile contracts, in addition to the accelerating frequency and size of new contract wins. We see PME’s software Visage 7 as an industry leading solution with two distinct advantages relative to peers â speed and cloud capabilities â that have influenced the choice of PACS vendor. Given this, PME is benefiting from an industry network effect, and we forecast share gains to 13% in FY30E (c.7% today) as more hospitals move to modern systems. PME is expanding into adjacent solutions including AI and Cardiology which could provide significant upside given we believe PME is the incumbent technology leader in radiology, and is well-placed to take share in both markets.
Should you invest $1,000 in Pro Medicus Limited right now?
Before you buy Pro Medicus Limited shares, consider this:
Motley Fool investing expert Scott Phillips just revealed what he believes are the 5 best stocks for investors to buy right now… and Pro Medicus Limited wasn’t one of them.
The online investing service heâs run for over a decade, Motley Fool Share Advisor, has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*
And right now, Scott thinks there are 5 stocks that may be better buys…
Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in Pro Medicus. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Goldman Sachs Group and Pro Medicus. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Pro Medicus. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.
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The Epson FastFoto is one of the only high-speed photo scanners available on the consumer market. Here's my experience using it to digitize thousands of family photos.
Lauren Savoie/Business Insider
Anyone born before the advent of the digital age likely has a big box of family photos sitting somewhere in their home; a relic of the days before smartphones replaced analog cameras and the cloud replaced film prints.
I, too, have such a box and have made various attempts over the years to digitize the photos so they can be safely preserved and easily sorted in my Google Drive. Unfortunately, without specialized equipment, photo scanning is a time-consuming process, and while phone apps like Photomyne aim to make the process faster, I've found the quality of the scans is often poor.
I wasn't too bothered by my lack of progress on my photo scanning project until I came across my 90-year-old grandmother's trove of family photos last summer. Contained within five huge boxes were tens of thousands of photographs representing over a century of family history. Many of the photos and albums had already been damaged by basement flooding or faded with time, so it suddenly became imperative that I find a way to quickly digitize this massive cache of photos so future generations could enjoy them.
Enter the Epson FastFoto (FF-680W), the only home scanner on the market that can batch-process up to 35 photos at a time, with scanning speeds up to 80 photos per minute. Overall, I think this is one of the best and most economical solutions for anyone who has a lot of photos to scan, but once your project is complete, you may find little use for it.
An upright scanner that takes up little desk space
The Epson FastFoto (left), is quite a bit smaller than my HP OfficeJet (right). While the OfficeJet has can scan images, it is much slower and more manual process than with the FastFoto.
Lauren Savoie/Business Insider
The FastFoto looks like a shrunken-down version of a classic printer and fits easily on a desk for easy access. Make no mistake: The FastFoto only scans and has no printing functions. And, this scanner is primarily designed for digitizing printed photos with a maximum width and height of 8.5 inches by 11.7 inches.
You put the photos into the scanner like you would load paper into a printer: there's a feeder with sliders to accommodate various picture sizes. The photos are pulled through the scanner and deposited in the landing tray. The whole unit has a cover that protects the scanner from dust when not in use.
Unlike a traditional flatbed scanner, where you lift a cover and scan each one at a time, the feeder system speeds up the process and makes photo-scanning and archiving more convenient.
Although the FastFoto resembles Epson's other sheet-fed document scanners, it's not designed for multi-page document scanning. I've tried, but since it scans each page as an individual file, you're forced to assemble the PDF manually.
Simple setup, controls, and connectivity
You have two options for connecting the FastFoto to your computer: use the included USB-A or connect via WiFi. Like many current laptops, my computer has no USB-A slots, so I used WiFi. The scanner is outfitted to connect to WiFi via your router's WPS button, which simplifies the wireless pairing. If your router has no WPS button, you can manually connect your scanner to the network using Epson's scanning software or smartphone app.
Lightning-fast, high-quality scans
Epson suggests that you organize your photos by size and orientation before scanning. This was by far the most time-consuming process. I took it a step further and also organized photos by year. The software allows you to set a date for each batch of photos you scan. While you don't have to use this feature, this step is important if you plan on importing your scans into an app like Google Photos and want to have your scanned images accurately organized by year. Organizing my photos this way took about 4 hours for 1,800 images.
I started organizing my photos by size and orientation (left) and then grouped everything by year (right). This is recommended by Epson to make scanning go faster.
Lauren Savoie/Business Insider
Once I had my images organized, the actual process of scanning took barely an hour. I was shocked that in such a short period, I had tackled a huge project that had daunted me for years. The one-hour scanning time included dealing with a few snags and re-scans (I'll explain a bit more about that below), loading and unloading the photos, and changing the date within the Epson software for each new batch.
During scanning, the software deposits the images into folders on your computer organized by year. For each image, the software creates two to three files: an original, an enhanced version, and a scan of the back of the photo if any images or text were detected. This last feature was both a blessing and a curse: I loved that it automatically preserved the hand-written notes on many of my grandma's photos, but I also ended up with many images of blank photo backs because the scanner had detected a logo on the photo paper commonly used to print film back in the analog days.
The FastFoto creates both an original and enhanced file for each scan, as shown here with one of my photos.
Lauren Savoie/Business Insider
In most cases, I actually preferred the enhanced version of the image. I thought the software did a good job of color-correcting and clarifying images so more detail was visible. None of the scans had glare, blur, or pixelation, which are issues I've encountered with phone scanning apps.
The same photo, as scanned by a cellphone app and the Epson FastFoto. The FastFoto scan has clearer picture quality, brighter colors, and no glare.
Lauren Savoie/Business Insider
Overall, I thought the scanner did a phenomenal job scanning standard photo sizes: 4 x 6 and 5 x 7 inches. I encountered more difficulty with atypical sizes, thicknesses, or materials (like Polaroid photos). Scanning these requires using the FastFoto's included carrier sheet. I thought this sheet introduced some color distortion and a ripple effect where the transparency covers the photo. Once these photos were scanned, they had to be manually cropped and rotated; a task I found a bit tedious. Fortunately, atypical photos only made up a small fraction of all the images I needed to scan.
Another pain point was that several times during scanning, the FastFoto stopped mid-scan, and I'd get a spinning wheel on the software screen. When it was clear that the issue wouldn't resolve on its own, I had to force quit the software or restart the scanner. Both these actions caused me to lose every photo I had already scanned in the current batch — sometimes hundreds of photos. It also forced me to retrieve the stuck photo from the grip of the scanner belts, which ruined at least one of my photos. This inexplicable shutdown happened three times during the course of my project.
This screenshot shows the main page of the FastFoto scanning app. Despite its speedy scanning, I still needed to make some manual adjustments to the photos, including cropping and rotating.
Lauren Savoie/Business Insider
Lastly, the purported integration with Google Photos failed for me. I had to upload all my images to Google Photos manually. Again, this only took a few extra steps, but is another frustrating glitch in the buggy and dated-feeling software. I'm no software engineer, but I think there could be vast improvements to user experience with just a few simple updates to the app.
Should you buy the Epson FastFoto?
I can't deny that this scanner quickly loses its utility after completing your project, which took only a few days for me. Since it can't print and isn't ideal for document scanning (my printer is more user-friendly for scanning multi-page text documents), you basically just have a bulky, pricey electronic with little use on your hands. You can sell it or loan it out to friends and family, but in this digital age, there aren't many circumstances where you'll accumulate a cache of analog photos that need scanning in the future.
That said, from my research, the alternatives to the Epson FastFoto boil down to three options: hire a service (pricey), scan the photos manually (time-consuming), or use a phone app (low quality). The going rate for professional photo scanning is about $0.17 per photo, so I'd say that if you have more than 3,000 photos to scan, the cost of the FastFoto is well justified. You'll just need to plan for what to do with it when your project has wrapped.
The bottom line
The Epson FastFoto is the easiest and fastest solution I've found for digitizing old photos. It's a load off my shoulders to know that my precious family memories are preserved and backed up digitally in case anything ever happens to the originals. If you have a significant number of photos to scan, this is far and away the best value solution, and one I highly recommend for peace of mind when it comes to preserving important family mementos.
Soldiers and sailors assemble the floating pier off the shore of Gaza in the Mediterranean Sea.
US Army via AP
US soldiers were evacuated from beached Army boats after a storm damaged the floating pier in Gaza.
Three Army boats were beached in Gaza over the weekend after high seas broke apart the aid pier.
Repairing the pier could take over a week, disrupting the US effort to send aid to Palestinians.
The Pentagon said Tuesday that US soldiers had been stuck on three Army boats beached in Gaza over the weekend after high seas and a storm broke apart an aid pier the service built to deliver food to starving Palestinians.
US Central Command confirmed that the soldiers had been evacuated from the boats by Tuesday after the vessels broke free from their moorings on Saturday, though it was not immediately clear how long the troops were stuck on the shore. The update immediately followed earlier information released by the Pentagon that the soldiers were still aboard the grounded boats.
Along with the beachings of the Army boats, the storm also battered and broke apart the aid pier — a Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore, or JLOTS, operation by the Army — leaving the future of the key US humanitarian effort uncertain. The pier was set up to move hundreds of metric tons of aid to the area amid a brutal, months-long Israeli offensive against Hamas.
The boat groundings and destruction are the latest trouble for the pier and could disrupt the US effort for at least a week, according to the Pentagon.
"The Israeli navy will be helping push those vessels back, and hopefully they'll be fully operational," Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said Tuesday, noting that one ship should be recovered in the next day and the other two in the next 48 hours.
A truck carries humanitarian aid across Trident Pier, a temporary pier to deliver aid, off the Gaza Strip, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, near the Gaza coast, May 19, 2024.
U.S. Army Central/Handout via REUTERS
Minutes after the briefing concluded, a defense official told Military.com that "all service members have been removed from the beached vessels."
In addition to the storms beaching the four boats that were holding the aid pier in place, Singh confirmed that "a portion of the Trident pier separated from the pier that is currently anchored into the coast of Gaza" and "the Trident pier was damaged."
Video of the section of pier, broken off and floating in the water, was posted to social media Monday.
Singh said the broken section was eventually recovered and that the pier will be completely removed from its location in Gaza in the next 48 hours to be towed back to the Israeli port of Ashdod for repairs.
Rebuilding and repairs will take "at least over a week," according to Singh.
The Pentagon spokeswoman said that the military's intention is to repair and eventually re-anchor the temporary pier to the coast and "resume humanitarian aid to the people who need it most."
Singh said that the dramatic halt to the aid mission and beaching of the ships were the result of a "unique, unfortunate pattern of events with high seas and another storm that came in" and rendered the pier inoperable.
However, this is also not the first hurdle that the aid mission has encountered since it was announced by President Joe Biden during his State of the Union speech months ago.
US Army soldiers and US Navy sailors assemble the floating pier in the Mediterranean Sea to assist in the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
US Army Central/Handout via Reuters
In April, one of the ships set to carry supplies for the mission was forced to turn back to port after experiencing a fire in its engine room. Ship trackers and maritime experts also noted that one of the Army ships seemed to get stuck in Tenerife — a small island that is part of the Canary Islands cluster off the west coast of Africa — leading to speculation and concerns about more breakdowns.
In late April, a mortar attack hit the shoreline near the pier's eventual location but caused "minimal damage." Then, as troops readied the pier for installation, high seas caused delays.
Even once the pier was up and running, snags and problems continued to crop up.
On Tuesday, Singh was adamant that, despite setbacks and problems, the mission is valuable and the Pentagon is determined to see it through.
"You have men and women out there, separated from their families … who are putting others first to try and be part of a lifesaving mission that has seen over 1,000 metric tons of aid come in," Singh said.
"So, hopefully, when we are able to re-anchor the pier back in, you'll be able to see that aid flow off in a pretty steady stream," she added.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with information from US Central Command.
YouTube CEO Neal Mohan took over the top job in 2023.
Kevin Mazur/Getty
YouTube was founded by three PayPal employees in 2005.
Since launching, it's become the most popular free video-sharing platform in the world.
Take a look at the history of YouTube.
In its 19-year history, YouTube has become the undisputed king of online video.
It has well over 2 billion monthly users who watch hundreds of hundreds of millions of hours of content every single day. But many people don't know how YouTube got its start.
The company rose like a rocket ship after its founding in 2005, and was bought by Google just 18 months later. Under Google, YouTube went from being a repository of amateur video to a powerhouse of original content, not to mention a launching pad for its own new brand of superstars, like MrBeast and the Smosh Brothers.
Here is how YouTube got its explosive start, and maintained that momentum to become the biggest force in online video.
In late 2004, three early employees of PayPal — Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim — start working on an idea for a website for users to upload video-dating profiles.
YouTube was founded by three early PayPal employees.
Reuters/Lucas Jackson; YouTube
They worked out of Hurley's garage in Menlo Park, California, according to a report from USA Today.
On Valentine's Day in 2005, Hurley — as CEO — registered the trademark, logo, and domain for YouTube.
The website launched to a small subset of users. However, YouTube-as-a-dating-site attracted little interest, forcing the cofounder to take out ads paying women $20 to upload dating videos. Instead, users started uploading videos of all kinds to YouTube.
Based on the feedback, the cofounders transformed YouTube into a free video-hosting platform in April 2005, where each clip had a unique link.
Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake performed during the Super Bowl Halftime Show in 2004.
Getty Images Entertainment/Frank Micelotta
But the story of how the cofounders got to this point is a much-contested one.
Karim has maintained that the cofounders drew inspiration from two significant events in 2004: Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction at the Super Bowl and the devastating tsunami in the Indian Ocean.
However, Chen and Hurley said they thought of the idea of YouTube as a place to upload videos they had taken at a party. Chen said this story was later concocted with the help of an outside PR firm to replace YouTube's dating origins.
In April 2005, the first video ever was uploaded. to the website while YouTube was still in private beta.
The "Met at the zoo" video is only 18 seconds long.
YouTube
The video, called "Me at the zoo," is only 18 seconds long. It shows Karim, one of the cofounders, standing in front of elephants at the San Diego Zoo and talking about their trunks.
Investment firm Sequoia Capital invested $3.5 million in YouTube's Series A round in September 2005.
Sequoia Capital partner Roelof Botha.
Steve Jennings/Getty Images for TechCrunch
Sequoia partner Roelof Botha worked at PayPal with the cofounders, and learned about YouTube after using it to upload old wedding and honeymoon videos.
By December 2005, YouTube officially launched out of beta, and was made available to the public. At this point, YouTube was getting eight million views a day, according to report from Telegraph.
After clips of the Saturday Night Live sketch "Lazy Sunday" attracted millions of views on YouTube in February 2006, NBC demanded a particularly viral clip be removed from the site.
Chris Parnell, left and Andy Samberg in "Lazy Sunday" on "Saturday Night Live."
YouTube
NBC's complaint paved the way for YouTube's "Content Verification Program," which launched in October 2007 to help content creators easily identify videos that infringed on their copyrights and get them removed, The New York Times reported. YouTube and NBC eventually struck a deal to help promote the network's upcoming fall TV line-up in June 2006.
Later in 2005, a video was uploaded to YouTube showing two boys in China lip-synching to the Backstreet Boys. Susan Wojcicki — YouTube's former CEO who was in charge of Google's acquisitions at the time — said the video convinced her it would be worth it for Google to invest in user-generated content by purchasing YouTube.
Later in April, venture capital firms Sequoia Capital and Artis Capital Management invested $8 million in YouTube's Series B funding round, bringing total investment in the site to around $12 million. When YouTube was acquired months later, these firms' investments paid out massively, according to a report from the Times.
After a back-and-forth battle between Yahoo and Google, Google acquired YouTube for $1.65 billion in October 2006.
Google cofounders Larry Page and Sergey Brin met at Stanford.
James Leynse/Corbis via Getty Images
The deal netted the cofounders nearly $400 million each in profits. The same day the deal goes through, YouTube moved to its headquarters in San Bruno, California.
The same month Apple launched its first iPhone model in June 2007, YouTube launched its mobile site.
Chad Hurley, YouTube's former CEO.
David Buchan/Getty Images
Chad Hurley, YouTube's CEO at the time, predicted that mobile would be a "huge market," making YouTube's mobile site a "natural transition."
In July, YouTube teamed up with CNN to host a presidential debate during the 2008 election cycle, featuring video questions submitted by the public. Seven out of the 16 presidential candidates in 2008 announced their campaigns via YouTube.
In July, YouTube teamed up with CNN to host a presidential debate during the 2008 election cycle, featuring video questions submitted by the public.
In August 2007, Google rolled out its first ads on YouTube videos.
YouTube is using pop-up ads to tell users to stop using ad-blockers while watching videos.
YoGinta/Getty Images
Instead of an option for traditional pre-video ads, the company chose a new in-video format featuring semi-transparent banners that popped up on the lower portion of videos and could be clicked away after several seconds.
Later that year in December 2007, YouTube rolled out its "Partner Program" to select creators, allowing them to earn money from their content based on ad revenue.
It allowed YouTubers to turn their hobby into a career. Not even a year later, the most successful creators were earning six-figure incomes, The New York Times reported.
In November 2008, YouTube expanded its ad offerings to include sponsored videos and pre-roll ads, a format YouTube long said it wouldn't resort to because those ads were too intrusive to the audience. However, the benefits paid to brands and advertisers beat out customer experience in the end.
In 2009, YouTube teamed up with media company Vivendi to launch a new music video service called Vevo, responding to music companies' complaints about piracy and unfair licensing terms.
Vevo was launched in response to complaints about piracy and unfair licensing terms.
In April 2010, Felix Kjellberg joined YouTube to create content under the channel name PewDiePie, where he first provided video-game commentary before expanding into vlogging and internet memes.
PewDiePie first joined YouTube in 2010.
YouTube
The YouTuber has since surpassed 111 million subscribers, and was the most-subscribed-to solo creator on the platform for several years.
In February 2017, PewDiePie was the subject of a bombshell Wall Street Journal investigation that found nine of his past videos contained "anti-Semitic jokes or Nazi imagery."
One of those videos showed two men, paid by PewDiePie, holding up a sign reading "Death to All Jews." Both YouTube and Disney cut ties with him, and he was kicked out of YouTube's top-tier advertising program.
In October 2010, Hurley, a YouTube cofounder, stepped down as CEO.
YouTube cofounder Chad Hurley, left, and former YouTube CEO Salar Kamangar.
Reuters/Pascal Lauener; Reuters/Brendan McDermid
In his place, Google appointed Salar Kamangar, who the company said had already been leading YouTube's daily operations for two years, according to a statement provided to BBC.
In April 2011, YouTube officially entered the broadcast business with the launch of YouTube Live.
YouTube Live allowed the site to stream all types of content.
YouTube
YouTube Live allowed the site to stream all types of content, including concerts, sports games, the royal wedding, and the Olympics.
In May 2011, YouTube soft-launched a rental service, from which consumers could choose thousands of movies and TV shows to rent and stream directly on the platform, according to Digital Commerce 360.
Later that year, it invested $100 million into its first batch of original channels in a push to create original content on the platform, according to a report from All Things D. YouTube partnered with established brands and major celebrities, a move that creators viewed as the platform's disregard for their value and influence.
In January 2013, YouTube opened "YouTube Spaces" in Los Angeles, Tokyo, London, New York, and Sao Paulo.
After the pandemic, the company announced the spaces closed and said it would be shifting to a hybrid model, combining pop-up locations with virtual events.
In February 2014, Susan Wojcicki — Google's 16th employee who helped convince the company to buy YouTube — was named the new CEO of the video-sharing platform.
Former YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki first took the top job in 2014.
Wojcicki said she was stepping down to "start a new chapter focused on my family, health, and personal projects I'm passionate about." She said she would continue to advise the company.
In February 2015, Google launched a "family-friendly" version of the video platform called YouTube Kids.
Google launched a "family-friendly" version of YouTube in 2015.
John Keeble/Getty
The platform filtered content in an effort to ensure it was safe for minors and offers parental controls like limiting screen time and disabling search.
Later that year in August, YouTube Gaming debuted as a way for gamers to livestream their play sessions to a live audience, as well as interact and chat with fans in real-time. The service was meant to counter Amazon-owned Twitch, the dominant force in the live-streaming market, which Google reportedly tried (and failed) to buy a year earlier.
In October, YouTube unveiled YouTube Red, a subscription service that lets customers watch videos and stream music without ads. Three years later, YouTube Red was renamed YouTube Premium and spun off its music streaming to a separate service called YouTube Music.
In March 2017, major companies across the US and in international markets — like AT&T, Johnson & Johnson, and the British government — pulled their ads from YouTube en masse after the Times of London reported that ads were appearing alongside extremist and offensive content.
Hank Green, one-half of the Vlog Brothers, talks about the Adpocalypse in an April 2017 video.
In April 2017, YouTube made the first of two major algorithm changes: It put stricter policies on ads and later revamped its Partner Program to raise the eligibility requirements for money-generating channels.
These changes, along with the advertiser boycott, helped kick off YouTube's first "Adpocalypse," a term creators coined for the advertising impact.
In April 2017, YouTube TV, an on-demand streaming service, officially launched in select markets.
YouTube TV launched in select markets in April 2017.
SOPA Images/Getty Images
The service didn't go nationwide for another two years, and the price has since increased to $72.99 per month.
In November 2017, users found family-friendly videos containing disturbing and abusive content across YouTube and YouTube Kids platforms.
Logan Paul was suspended from YouTube's revenue program because of a controversial video.
YouTube
More advertisers pulled their ads, and YouTube responded by updating its policies around age-restricted content.
In December, YouTuber Logan Paul posted a video of him and friends discovering and filming a dead body in Japan's so-called "suicide forest." Outrage over the video was swift. Although he wasn't banned from YouTube, he was suspended from its top-tier ad revenue program.
Then, in February 2019, YouTuber Matt Watson posted about what he described as a "soft-core pedophilia ring" living in the comments on YouTube videos featuring children. YouTube responded by disabling comments on videos featuring children.
The Federal Trade Commission fined YouTube $170 million in 2019 after investigating whether it violates children's privacy laws by collecting data of children under the age of 13 without their parents' consent.
In February 2020, Google broke out the video platform's ad revenue for the first time since YouTube was acquired.
After going viral for posting a video of himself counting to 100,000, he started uploading similar content, like him spinning a fidget spinner for 24 hours. Now he's known as "YouTube's biggest philanthropist" for frequently posting charity stunts.
The 26-year-old has 262 million subscribers and brings in about $600 to $700 million annually, although he still doesn't consider himself wealthy and has said he puts most of his money back into producing more videos.
Neal Mohan took over as YouTube's CEO in 2023. The company was once Mohan's client in the mid-2000s when he led strategy as adtech company DoubleClick.
Neal Mohan became YouTube's CEO in 2023.
Google
Under Mohan's leadership, YouTube partnered with the NFL to exclusively broadcast Sunday Ticket football.
The NFL said shortly after the partnership began that YouTube's Sunday Ticket package had more subscribers than it did the year prior on DirecTV.
The CEO is also focused on advancing the platform's AI capabilities and offerings. Mohan said that in 2024, tools like Dream Screen and YouTube Create will encourage more content creation.
In April 2024, two YouTube employees detailed the company's strategy to lean on video and audio at a virtual seminar for podcasters.
Former Bachelor, Nick Viall, hosts a weekly video podcast on YouTube called "The Viall Files."
Craig Sjodin/Getty Images
One of the employees said YouTube Music gives users a choice on how to consume podcasts. They can listen to audio-only or watch it in video format — and they can go back and forth between the two if the episode is downloaded with YouTube Premium.
In 2024, YouTube says it plans to build a Vision Pro app down the line.
The Apple Vision Pro headset was released in February 2024.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Initially, it looked like YouTube was going to ice out Apple's fancy new "spatial computing" headset, the Vision Pro.
A YouTube spokesperson initially told The Verge that access to the site on the headset would be through Safari, and that an app wasn't currently in the works.
Competition with TikTok ramped up in 2024 as it puts an emphasis on longer videos.
TikTok incentivizes search and length of videos, competing with Google.
Shriya Bhattacharya
YouTube and TikTok are both battling to get creators to post to their respective platforms. One of the biggest ways they can do that is by payout programs
TikTok's new creator rewards program was announced in March after months of testing it in a beta program. It incentivizes creators to post longer videos by requiring users to create videos over one minute long to qualify for payments.
The new program also prioritizes search and said it will assign videos a "search value" based on how aligned they are with trending search topics. That search value will help determine a creator's payout, in addition to other factors like engagement.
YouTube becomes the top platform for AI influencers in 2024 as some creators and companies start to grow their audience with virtual identities.
AI-generated model Aitana, who has 200,000 Instagram followers and reportedly makes $11,000 a month with brand deals.
The Clueless Agency
The accounts are referred to as digital avatars or AI-generated virtual influencers, and include accounts like Lil Miquela and Magazine Luiza. The AI influencers have been gaining popularity across platforms like YouTube, along with Instagram and TikTok.
According to a report by The Influencer Marketing Factory, YouTube is the top platform for AI influencers, with 59% of participants responding they followed these creators there. TikTok was right behind, with 56%, the study said.
