Data

McKinsey needs to run a matrix on itself

10 Nov 2017

The consulting firm has been facing tough questions over hiring in Saudi, and work in South Africa. Neither helps its image. But more worrying is how data is making consulting a commodity. Doling out advice looks less valuable when one’s own business is struggling.

Yahoo ex-boss shows everyone’s in dark on hacks

8 Nov 2017

Marissa Mayer told senators she still doesn’t know who was behind a 2013 data theft affecting 3 bln users. Equifax’s CEO said the same of a breach involving 145 mln consumers. And Congress struggles to draft cyber rules. Amid such cluelessness, the epidemic can only get worse.

Twitter’s credibility is for the birds

26 Oct 2017

Jack Dorsey’s social network had to restate user numbers for three years. Quarterly ad revenue fell a whopping 8 pct. However, a promise of coming profitability has put investors in a tizzy. Cutting costs is a start, but it’s going to take more to mend Twitter’s broken wings.

Server-farm growth fuels hot IPO mumbo jumbo

6 Oct 2017

Rocketing data-storage demand is creating winners – witness the 46 pct rise in Switch in its first day of trading. It also encourages silliness such as the company crediting its performance on CEO and “inventrepreneur” Rob Roy’s practice of “Switchful Thinking.”

Equifax can’t even oust its failed CEO effectively

26 Sep 2017

Rick Smith is "retiring," as the euphemism goes, after a massive cyber attack and fumbled response - and with little financial penalty. The interim management plan makes clear the board hadn't planned succession adequately either. Equifax needs regime change at every level.

Facebook’s fuzzy math blurs its TV picture

6 Sep 2017

A claim to reach 100 mln younger people in America doesn't square with U.S. census figures, an analyst found. Despite a growing list of number blunders, advertisers have limited sway over the $500 bln titan. As Facebook pushes into streaming, though, it'll find tougher pushback.

Ackman needs sharper ideas guys on his ADP payroll

17 Aug 2017

Activists succeed by pursuing clear, deliverable goals, such as ditching non-core units or removing failing executives. Urging the employer-services firm to become an agile software company is nothing of the sort. Investors are giving the Pershing Square boss a deserved raspberry.

UK shows consumers the value of their data

11 Aug 2017

A new law will hand citizens greater powers over the use of their online information. For companies, compliance standards will get steeper – as will fines for breaches. Showing people what happens to their digital data also makes it more likely they will seek compensation for it.

Britain’s 5G auction puts customers before coffers

14 Jul 2017

Regulators capped incumbent BT’s participation in upcoming mobile-spectrum auctions. That may lead to less fevered bidding, and smaller takings with which to pay down the national debt. It’s a reasonable trade-off in order to ensure a competitive four-player telecoms market.

Post-truth data will come back to bite Uncle Sam

21 Feb 2017

Donald Trump's economic team may tweak trade figures to make deficits look bigger, helping his push for tariffs. Though politicians have always cherry-picked numbers, fiddling with actual statistics threatens confidence. It also raises expectations Trump will struggle to meet.

Hiding China’s ugly data will aggravate correction

16 Feb 2017

A popular independent index of China's red-hot house prices has gone quiet. China has been steadily deactivating private surveys that contradict official data, while ordering economists to stay chirpy. Increasing opacity could turn a healthy correction into a panic.

Verizon’s new data plans broadcast its ambitions

13 Feb 2017

Weeks ago, an executive said the $200 bln U.S. telco didn't want to offer unlimited data again. Now it's doing just that. Verizon has to match rivals like T-Mobile US. But users' appetite for streaming and shifting regulation may also mean it's joining AT&T on the media M&A hunt.

U.S. economic data in danger of taking Chinese turn

26 Jan 2017

Donald Trump and his aides often question figures like the jobless rate. Now he is in charge of agencies supplying data, like the 2016 GDP reading due on Friday. Such statistics are hard to fudge but the new regime's penchant for extreme spin puts their credibility at risk.

Silicon Valley storms into Washington data void

15 Oct 2013

Startup venture Premise is reporting a U.S. inflation gauge, helping to fill a gap left by the government shutdown. The firm uses the web and mobile photos to gather more food prices more often than official CPI. Once hooked on Big Data, economists may find there’s no going back.

Euro zone recovery isn’t real yet

14 Aug 2013

It’s cheering to see the euro zone exit recession after six quarters of falling GDP. The monthly momentum is encouraging too. But output is still 3 pct below its peak and increasing at about a 1 pct annual rate. It’s hard to believe in more than a feeble revival for now.