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Capital Calls: Microsoft’s Activision deal

31 Mar 2022

Concise views on global finance: The software giant’s $69 bln acquisition of the “Call of Duty” publisher comes with a ton of baggage. That could be why Activision shares are trading at a wide discount to the deal price.

Alphabet fiddles as app-store antitrust fire burns

24 Mar 2022

The $1.8 trln Google parent will let Spotify use its own payment service, skirting a 15% fee. The move piles pressure on rival Apple to do the same. But it’s just a pilot project and probably still includes a hefty charge. U.S. and EU regulators may force the duo to go further.

GIF inventor made few rich, but billions happy

24 Mar 2022

Steve Wilhite, who died aged 74, created a way for images to be easily shared and used in websites. The patents lapsed, and his employer CompuServe slipped into obscurity, yet GIFs remain ubiquitous – marking their inventor as one of tech’s great accidental philanthropists.

How Mad Men are waking up to the metaverse

22 Mar 2022

The pandemic sped up the shift to online advertising and e-commerce. In this episode of The Exchange Mark Read, CEO of WPP, tells how his clients coped with Covid-19, why virtual reality is the next big thing for consumer giants, and why corporate purpose is more than a buzzword.

Capital Calls: Telecom Italia takes KKR’s call

14 Mar 2022

Concise views on global finance: The Italian telco’s board decides to start formal talks with the buyout firm, four months after it first proposed a 10.8 bln euro takeover.

Google deal is a step on long road to cloud parity

8 Mar 2022

The Alphabet unit is acquiring cybersecurity bona fides with its $5 bln purchase of Mandiant. This will bolster its cloud platform but Microsoft, a leader in the field, is already ahead in security and has other potential acquisition targets. Catching up will require more work.

Musk’s D.C. reset sets dubious precedent

7 Mar 2022

The SpaceX boss has irked lawmakers, battled watchdogs, and even insulted the U.S. president. Offering internet access to Ukraine may catapult him out of villain status. His help is welcome now. But allowing Musk’s finger on the diplomatic scale may have unintended consequences.

Barcelona’s 5G hype is recipe for hyperventilation

4 Mar 2022

Telecoms bosses converged on the Spanish city this week after a two-year hiatus. From robot dogs to holographic compères, the tech-fest painted a utopian view of a wired future. For CEOs like Vodafone’s Nick Read, the difficulty is making it happen while also making money.

Hot war may get hotter through cyber battles

22 Feb 2022

Harsh Russian sanctions for invading Ukraine could cause collateral damage. As payback, Moscow may hack American energy firms and banks. U.S. agencies are shoring up cyber capabilities. But hackers only need to be lucky once, and retaliation leaves companies in the crossfire.

Chinese e-commerce IPO hawks an Alibaba antithesis

17 Feb 2022

Huitongda mainly sells electronics and fertiliser to wholesalers in rural areas. It's a low-margin and simple business compared to the expansive shopping empire run by its large backer. Amid the tech rout, the $3 bln company's Hong Kong stock sale ticks some of the right boxes.

Why Spotify’s Daniel Ek is sticking with Joe Rogan

7 Feb 2022

The streaming group’s CEO condemned the talk show host’s use of racial slurs but refused to axe him. Ek is betting that financially motivated music labels will resist artist boycotts, and that users are locked in. Rogan represents a podcast pivot that’s key to boosting earnings.

Snap investors have too many stars in their eyes

4 Feb 2022

The messaging app’s shares soared 50% even though it warned ad privacy changes could hit revenue – something that clobbered Meta Platforms. They share risks, including an ascendant TikTok. Snap looks extra pricey given it lacks peers’ ability to hurl money at new problems.

Vodafone intruder adds hope to activist toolbox

31 Jan 2022

Shareholder Cevian Capital lacks obvious levers to boost the 36 bln pound telco’s performance. Consolidation in markets like Spain, Italy and the UK would lower costs and improve pricing. But success depends on competition watchdogs dropping their opposition to fewer operators.

Breakdown: Real profit and loss in the metaverse

28 Jan 2022

Mark Zuckerberg is on the case, and nascent virtual spaces like Decentraland could be the next social-networking hit. Breakingviews unpacks the metaverse, what it offers users and investors, and the risks.

AT&T and Discovery’s tie-up has a Netflix quandary

27 Jan 2022

The telecom firm added 4.3 mln subscribers for its HBO service, soon to be part of a media joint venture with Discovery. But Netflix’s stock crash suggests streaming valuations have slumped. That takes some of the shine off “Succession” parent WarnerMedia’s upcoming union.

Facebook’s crypto demise is a missed opportunity

27 Jan 2022

The social network’s digital asset group is winding down under regulatory pressure. Though Diem Association’s links with Facebook proved toxic, ex-member firms like Visa could have made cryptocurrencies respectable. Meanwhile, watchdogs have done little to rein in riskier coins.

Microsoft’s scale and M&A invite scrutiny

25 Jan 2022

The $2.2 trln software giant's quarterly sales jumped 20% last quarter. Boss Satya Nadella has outperformed many Big Tech peers of late. After last week's deal to buy Activision for $69 bln, Microsoft's uncanny ability to avoid regulators' crosshairs may be running out.

Pandemic darlings now need reinvention

21 Jan 2022

Netflix and Peloton stocks tanked as it became clear lockdown fortunes are changing. Investors may be overreacting to a dose of business reality. Even so, such companies' success has invited copycats, and they’ll have to change to stay ahead.