Technology

Amazon HQ2 meets NIMBY 2.0

13 December 2018READY SOON

A month after picking New York for its new location, the $810 bln e-commerce giant is being bashed by local politicians and unions. It’s a rude shock for a firm used to getting its way. This kind of opposition can be eased with money. As Amazon gets bigger, the cost rises.

Tencent and Spotify are streaming’s dueling banjos

12 December 2018

Tencent Music’s IPO valued it at the same $23 bln as its Swedish rival, even though the Chinese service is profitable and Spotify is not. Their business models are worlds apart, but as one moves into video and the other builds up subscriptions they will sound increasingly alike.

Goodbye tracking stocks – don’t hurry back

11 December 2018

Dell’s $23.9 bln plan to buy back paper that mirrored the performance of subsidiary VMware received shareholder approval. Like most tracking stocks, it consistently traded at a discount because holders had few rights. That sounds like a bug; for Dell it proved a handy feature.

Google finds Congress still searching for a clue

11 December 2018

U.S. lawmakers who grilled company chief Sundar Pichai failed to land a blow, and showed themselves ill informed about what the search engine actually does. The knowledge gap is risky for tech firms, because it increases the risk of regulation that misses the mark.

Big Tech has a mission in U.S. flyover country

11 December 2018

Facebook and its rivals need friends in Washington, yet they mostly aid the urban elites. That’s a missed opportunity, because it’s in America’s interior that they can do more good, by creating jobs. That would be a slow but lasting way to build goodwill.

Apple case underscores Chinese tech ties that bind

11 December 2018

A mainland court banned the sale of older iPhone models just days after Huawei’s CFO was detained in Canada. Meanwhile, U.S. regulators have revived old concerns about Chinese audits. Trade-war-related or not, the decisions allude to how many connection points there are to sever.

SoftBank IPO investors mute shrill market signals

11 December 2018

The Japanese group is set to raise a whopping $24 bln in its domestic mobile business float. That makes it one of the world’s most highly valued carriers even as upstart Rakuten becomes a potential threat. Fresh jitters involving Chinese kit also may demand a greater discount.

Yelp activist push is worthy of five stars

10 December 2018

The $3 bln online review site has gone through management fumbles, fierce competition and a slumping share price. No wonder investor SQN is calling for fresh thinking. With Google and Facebook fighting bigger battles, Yelp should be doing better at winning over small advertisers.

Uber and Lyft race to get through open IPO window

10 December 2018

The ride-hailing apps are jockeying for pole position with public offering filings. Economic worries have put the broad market in a correction and Moderna’s plunge after a $7.6 bln IPO shows demand for cash-burning firms is limited. This duel risks a nasty collision with reality.

U.S. markets could be Huawei’s best ally

6 December 2018

Stocks fell after the CFO of the Chinese telecoms group was arrested for U.S. sanctions violations, jeopardizing a U.S.-China trade truce. President Trump helped Huawei rival ZTE when it was in a similar boat. His keen interest in buoyant markets may lead him to act again.

Three roads lead to three $830 bln-ish values

6 December 2018

Apple, Microsoft and Amazon.com are neck-and-neck as the biggest companies by market cap. The valuations of the mature iPhone cash cow, enterprise-software giant and e-commerce behemoth may be similar, but they reflect the rock-paper-scissors opportunities and risks each faces.

AT&T fails to grasp the true value of “Friends”

5 December 2018

It may let Netflix keep the TV show for around $100 mln, more than triple the price last time round. Given AT&T plans to launch its own video service, depriving a rival of a blockbuster could have been smarter. Maybe Time Warner’s new owner isn’t cut out for the media shark-tank

Beijing’s 2018 venture capital party may not last

5 December 2018

Chinese startups raised more cash than Silicon Valley counterparts in the first six months of this year - a first. But despite the $56 bln boost, there are signs mainland festivities are getting quieter, thanks to tighter rules and a cooling economy. A shake-out could follow.

China hangs corruption sword over tech giants

5 December 2018

The arrest of a senior executive at Alibaba, the head of its video-streaming unit, suggests an anti-graft crackdown will not spare web titans. For investors, a tighter grip on tycoons like Tencent’s Pony Ma will be costly. Poor disclosure is adding to the problem.

Silicon Valley mud fight leaves all splattered

4 December 2018

Apple boss Tim Cook is taking aim at social networks' privacy issues. Meanwhile Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been keen to point out the iPhone’s dominance. Where other industries stick together in the face of regulatory challenges, tech is making politicians' work easier.

Fraud case reminds that bad M&A is a team effort

30 November 2018

U.S. prosecutors are trying to prove Autonomy CEO Mike Lynch deceived buyer HP in an $11 bln deal gone wrong. Such things tend to be a team effort. While fuzzy accounting rules that fostered this dispute are less of an issue now, the forces behind disastrous deals are evergreen.

Altice wins most from $2 bln fibre sale

30 November 2018

Patrick Drahi’s debt-ridden telco needs cash to keep building fast broadband in quiet bits of France. Investors like Allianz will pay up for infrastructure-like assets. Selling a minority stake lets Altice lock in high valuations, while offloading some of the risk if fibre flops.

SoftBank gives IPO investors one number to dial

30 November 2018

Instead of a range to help determine the price of the mobile unit’s shares, the figure has been set at 1,500 yen. That suggests fervent demand from retail buyers inspired boss Masayoshi Son to skip the typical sale process. It all but ensures an overly generous $63 bln valuation.

Jack Ma and Xi Jinping: dubious comrades in arms

27 November 2018

State media outed the founder of $400 bln Alibaba as a Communist Party member. Implied support from China’s most famous capitalist helps President Xi’s efforts to meddle in tech. Recent Ma comments suggest he isn’t exactly on board. This turns up the heat on simmering tension.

Holding: Big tech cruising for antitrust bruising

26 November 2018

Facebook’s Russian-meddling fumbles and Amazon’s second-headquarters hubris are Exhibits A and B for legal reform. Derided as “hipster antitrust,” the idea that bigness alone can breed evil is true to competition law’s original aim. It’s time trustbusters became disruptors, too.