1) Big Tech vs Competition, Innovation, Opportunity? (video)
Markets Are No Longer Competitive says Scott Galloway: Scott Galloway, NYU Stern professor, and Roger McNamee, Elevation Partners (domain: elevation.com) co-founder, discuss the need to break up big tech to create more innovation and opportunity in the market. CNBC.com video above published Feb 15, 2018. See also The Case Against Google | The New York Times | nytimes.com: Foundem's case against Google exposes flawed arguments of a self-correcting internet economy and why antitrust laws are essential for tech growth.
New York Times Magazine's Charles Duhigg: The Case Against Google
CNBC.com video published Feb 21, 2018: Charles Duhigg, New York Times Magazine, discusses his article about concern over Google allegedly halting other innovation.
2) Peter Thiel vs Silicon Valley's Suffocating Groupthink (video)
Why Peter Thiel Is Backing Away From Silicon Valley: Bloomberg's Ellen Huet and Mark Milian discuss why Peter Thiel is relocating his home and personal investment firms to Los Angeles. They speak on "Bloomberg Technology" on Feb 15, 2018. See also: Like Peter Thiel, Tech Workers Feel Alienated by Silicon Valley ‘Echo Chamber’ | WSJ.com.: "... Several tech workers and entrepreneurs also have said they left or plan to leave the San Francisco Bay Area because they feel people there are resistant to different social values and political ideologies. Groupthink and homogeneity are making it a worse place to live and work, these workers said ..."
3) Investing
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| S&P 500 Index UP almost 3% since the end of trading in 2017 |
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| Wall Street's Charging Bull |
- Fiscal Stimulus: The Cost of Acceleration To Reach "Escape Velocity" from the Fed's historically unprecedented 9 years of QE & ZIRP--US Treasury Posts Gigantic $1.16 Trillion Shortfall in Fiscal 2017, Hilariously Points out “Where We Are Headed” | WolfStreet.com.
- Too many stock-market pundits are wrongly freaking out about inflation | MarketWatch.com: "Inflation may pick up a bit, but it won’t be for a while and it won’t be as bad as doom and gloomers expect. Investors should stop acting as if this is the end of the world."
- Jobless claims plunge to 222,000, second-lowest mark in decades
- BlackRock Says Buy U.S. Stocks as Tax Plan Supercharges Earnings | Bloomberg.com: "world’s largest money manager says impending fiscal stimulus will boost already strong momentum for earnings growth."
- Deficits? $1.2 Trillion Asset Manager: Forget Volatility, The Real Financial Timebomb Is Public Pensions | Zero Hedge.com: "the question is what happens when the music stops, liquidity dries up, and economic contraction besets (or catch up to) the markets?"--Editor's note: Answer--That's easy, just ask The Donald--"The Art of the Deal."
- EU: Don't Be Complacent About Italy's Elections | Bloomberg.com: "The country's public debt is a threat to global financial stability ... the European Central Bank's policy of quantitative easing [QE] has helped mask Italy's fragility. But the ECB is likely to stop buying new bonds in the fall. When that happens, Italy's deep-seated problems will return to the fore ..." Editor's note: 4 March 2018 is the date of the Italian general election.
- But is the Eurozone in a QE Trap? Reuters poll: ECB rate rise? You have a very long wait, say economists.
- Too Big To Fail? RBS Forgery Scandal Metastasizes Days before Crucial Earnings Report | WolfStreet.com: "bailed-out megabank hasn’t had a year in the black since 2007."
- Walmart [NYSE:WMT] posts worst day since January 1988 | cnbc.com Feb 20, 2018: shares of Walmart shed 10.2 percent. [Editor's note: In 2017, Walmart U.S. eCommerce sales rose 44% and same-store sales increased 2.1% vs. 2016's 1.4% growth rate. But those results and the 2018 forecast fell short of estimates. Oh well, progress not perfection.] See Walmart sets full-year profit guidance below expectations | SeekingAlpha.com. "Your margin is my opportunity"--Jeff Bezos.
4) ICYMI Tech News:
- Amazon’s Latest Ambition: To Be a Major Hospital Supplier | WSJ.com: Amazon is expanding its business-to-business marketplace, Amazon Business, into the medical supply industry, plotting to become major supplier to US hospitals. Jeff Bezos: "Your margin is my opportunity."
- Baidu: The Value Of Being The Gatekeeper - Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU) | SeekingAlpha.com
- Google Assistant multilingual support for English, French, and German and will be available in 30+ languages including Hindi and Thai this year--9to5Google.com.
- Tesla Model S outsells German luxury flagships in Europe | europe.autonews.com. Tesla Semi Trucks: the difference between the purchase price of a Tesla Semi and a traditional diesel truck could be paid off in less than two years due to savings on maintenance and fuel, says DHL executive which has ordered 10 of the Tesla Semi trucks scheduled to roll out in 2019.
- With $9 billion stake, China's Li Shufu, Chairman and principal owner of Geely in China, is now the largest shareholder (10%) of Germany's Daimler AG (DAIGn.DE), manufacturer of Mercedes Benz cars, trucks and vans. Chinese car manufactuer Geely owns Volvo cars and the maker of London’s black cabs. Next largest Daimler shareholder is Kuwait Investment Authority (7%).
- Why the iPhone Is Losing Out to Chinese Devices in Asia | WSJ.com: Apple’s market share is stagnant or declining in Asia.
- Google launches Android phone recommendation program for businesses | TheVerge.com
- AT&T will launch mobile 5G in Atlanta, Dallas and Waco in 2018--engadget.com. See also SeekingAlpha.com.
- Scammers use Zelle (domain: zellepay.com), a P2P payments service, to defraud online buyers who trust the service because it is backed by US banks--Techcrunch.com
- Another reason to get a nice Chromebook and dump Microsoft--Running Windows 10? Here's how Microsoft plans to milk more profits out of its cash cow | ZDNet.com: "PC sales are down. Windows licensing revenue is flat. In its financial disclosures, Microsoft says it's actively looking for new monetization opportunities."
- Google I/O 2018: May 8-10, 2018, Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA--apply to purchase a ticket by 2/27 5pm PST.
- Uber Express Pool offers the cheapest fares yet in exchange for a little walking | TheVerge.com: Uber launches Express Pool, which gives cheaper fares to those willing to walk to shared rides, in SF, DC, LA, Miami, Philadelphia, San Diego, Denver, Boston.
- Richard Branson's Virgin Voyages to create hundreds of jobs in Plantation, Florida | South Florida Business Journal | bizjournals.com: "Virgin Voyages' first ship is expected to sail in 2020 from PortMiami with 2,700 passengers and 1,150 crew members. It will be one of the few cruise lines for adults only."
- After Florida School Shooting, Russian ‘Bot’ Army Pounced | The New York Times | nytimes.com: "One hour after news broke about the Florida school shooting, hundreds of suspected Russian-linked Twitter bots released divisive posts on the gun control debate."
- Fake News CNN & MSNBC: Flashback: CNN and MSNBC Helped Russia Sow Discord by Promoting Fake Anti-Trump Rally: "A check of their November 12 [2016] coverage showed both CNN and MSNBC gave enthusiastic coverage to the Russian-organized anti-Trump rally that day, with live reports every hour. Correspondents celebrated the idea that it was “a love rally,” and repeated the marchers’ anti-Trump mantras, such as: “We reject the President-elect.”"
-- John Poole, Editor, Domain Mondo
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