Data

Facebook dating reality may fall short of fears

1 May 2018

News of a matchmaking add-on to the social network tanked the shares of Match and owner IAC on Tuesday. People are spending less time on Facebook and this could persuade some to linger. But they’d have to believe Mark Zuckerberg’s promiscuous data-sharing days are behind him.

Facebook not Zuckerberg is under fire in D.C.

9 Apr 2018

It will be tempting for U.S. lawmakers grilling Mark Zuckerberg to focus on his all-too-apparent flaws. That would miss the bigger question: whether Facebook is too complex to manage, whoever runs it. That is key to knowing whether the company ought to be regulated.

Mark Zuckerberg could learn from Jamie Dimon

5 Apr 2018

Crises forced both CEOs onto the public stage. Over the past decade, JPMorgan’s boss has regularly confronted issues and explained the firm’s strategy. Social networks, like banks, rely on confidence to survive and thrive. The Facebook founder would do well to recognize that.

Viewsroom: Facebook’s multiplying problems

29 Mar 2018

The social network founded by Mark Zuckerberg is reeling from a data harvest on some 50 million users. It will take time for the $440 billion firm to feel the impact but people are starting to slowly unplug. Plus, the world’s largest consumer-drone maker may go public.

Facebook’s size is its other looming problem

28 Mar 2018

The social network – like Google – collects massive amounts of intel on users to sell advertising. The more Google knows, the better its search results get. But adding ever more data risks making Facebook less entertaining – and its users more wary of compromising their privacy.

Equifax CEO pick has lesson for Facebook

28 Mar 2018

The hacked $14 bln credit-scorer’s new boss is more technocrat than tech nerd. Then again, Facebook’s poor handling of its data woes suggests having a coding genius in charge is no certain solution. Hiring an outside manager willing to ask tough questions is a step forward.

Facebook crisis could bust digital-ad duopoly

23 Mar 2018

Advertisers may pull money from the social network, which together with Google sucked up 84 pct of digital ad spending in 2017. That cash is likely to stay with data-rich platforms rather than older media. Amazon could benefit if CEO Jeff Bezos can avoid raising antitrust fears.

Elliott forced to play long game at Telecom Italia

23 Mar 2018

The sudden resignation of eight Vivendi-backed directors triggers a full board reshuffle at the Italian telecom. The move makes it harder for Elliott to install its preferred candidates. But the activist could still get some of what it wants by aligning with Italian funds.

Zuckerberg’s slow defense reveals real weakness

21 Mar 2018

The Facebook founder finally explained how users’ information was harvested - four days after it was revealed by press reports. But his promise to tighten controls rings hollow. The trouble is the social network is built on data. Truly securing it may blow up its business.

Facebook leads Silicon Valley to its Minsky moment

21 Mar 2018

The social network feasted on burgeoning data and devices, just as banks gorged on easy money before the crisis. Society’s focus on benefits over risk gave tech companies free rein – until the resulting abuses couldn’t be overlooked. As user trust evaporates, regulation beckons.

Europe’s data tax war is worthy but hard to win

20 Mar 2018

The EU may tax tech groups’ revenue. The bloc is right to argue that current rules overlook the value firms like Google extract from its citizens’ data. A crude levy on sales is far from perfect, but might add impetus to longer-term international reform efforts.

Facebook gives members one more reason to leave

19 Mar 2018

An election consultant’s use of 50 mln profiles creates fresh risks at a company reeling over fake-news and ad-measurement mishaps. Users have plateaued in key markets and people are spending less time on the social network. The danger is that members may unfriend it altogether.

Google offers Aramco unlikely route to IPO heaven

1 Feb 2018

The Saudi oil producer is in talks with the search engine’s owner to create a tech hub in the kingdom, says the WSJ. There could be a secondary benefit. If investors valued Aramco the way they do Alphabet, the $2 trln valuation Riyadh wants from a future IPO would be a shoo-in.

Old-media stalwart tries out new business model

31 Jan 2018

Thomson Reuters’ $20 bln deal to cede control of its Financial & Risk unit to Blackstone includes a 30-year commitment to help fund the news division. That gives Reuters protection in a competitive industry, assuming its now highly leveraged biggest client prospers.

Blackstone could double its money betting on data

30 Jan 2018

The buyout firm is taking control of Thomson Reuters’ financial unit in a $20 bln deal. With a shade more efficiency and some acquisition-led growth, Blackstone could generate a generous return. The risk comes from adding financial leverage to a cyclical, competitive industry.

Ping An’s Big Health plan risks excess success

23 Jan 2018

A $9 bln unit of the Chinese insurer that analyses patient data has lured backers like SoftBank, Reuters reports. The digital upgrade of China’s clunky medical system is a lucrative opportunity for private firms. Data security is a risk; getting too big, too quickly may be worse.

Bank clients will learn the value of data in 2018

28 Dec 2017

New EU regulations will force lenders to share account information with competitors - subject to savers’ consent. Up to two-fifths of banks’ revenue could be at stake. New entrants will need to overcome privacy concerns. Even so, customers will discover what their data is worth.

Data M&A bomb blasts hole in Iron Mountain

12 Dec 2017

Its $1.3 bln deal for IO Data’s U.S. assets wiped some 7 pct off the value of the records-storage company. It’s smart to expand into stashing information electronically. But Iron Mountain is paying way above its own EBITDA multiple for only a modest impact on earnings.

Bank of England is too sanguine on inflation

12 Dec 2017

Prices rose 3.1 pct in the year to November, the fastest pace in six years. The central bank blames Brexit and says inflation is near peaking. That’s convenient with further interest-rate hikes a risk to sluggish economic growth. But the BoE may not get off so easily.

Uber cover-up makes new boss’s job even harder

22 Nov 2017

The ride-hailing app paid off hackers but didn’t tell regulators, or 57 mln people whose data might have been exposed. It’s an ugly coda to ex-CEO Travis Kalanick’s irresponsible reign. With Uber’s London future, for one, in the balance, Dara Khosrowshahi has his work cut out.