Society

Hadas: “Zero privacy” is both blessing and curse

22 May 2019

Back in 1999 a computer executive told people worried about disclosing personal data to “get over it”. They mostly have. Shared information is now too useful for regulation to restore lost innocence. For oppressive governments, meanwhile, individualised media is also valuable.

The Exchange: The trouble with America

20 May 2019

The country no longer loves the unremarkable and its inequitable universities are unsustainable, NYU’s Scott Galloway tells Breakingviews. As his new book “The Algebra of Happiness” hits the shelves, he also discusses his prescient Amazon call and why Big Tech needs breaking up.

Hadas: CEOs would benefit from more humanities

8 May 2019

Companies rely on science and engineering grads, especially in the Big Data era, but many tough problems are cultural and psychological. The best way to face them is with the liberal arts, which deal with grand dramas and complex conflicts. It's time to rethink C-suite education.

Capitalists on defensive even as good times roll

30 Apr 2019

There’s a sense of foreboding at the annual Milken confab in LA. The U.S. economy is robust and valuations frothy. But last year’s tax cuts are history and a downturn may be looming. That could redouble the need to address tough challenges like diversity and inequality.

Viewsroom: Will millennials kill Silicon Valley?

25 Apr 2019

Young, tech-savvy adults say everything from high prices to climate change may prompt them to leave the San Francisco area. Other U.S. cities can benefit. Also: Why CEO Jack Dorsey should favor Square over Twitter. And what to expect from Indonesian President Widodo’s second term.

Silicon Valley has a millennials problem

17 Apr 2019

The high cost of living, homelessness, and climate change are prompting young adults to consider leaving the Bay Area, recent surveys show. Such intractable issues aren’t new. But they’re now threatening the region’s ability to attract and keep talent. That’ll hit its economy.

America’s opioid legal blitz is a smoking mess

8 Apr 2019

Overdose deaths are surging, Oklahoma won a $270 mln settlement, and a blizzard of lawsuits is bearing down on makers and distributors of the drug. It recalls the tobacco crisis that ended with a $206 bln pact. Yet proving liability and apportioning blame will be much harder.

The Exchange: Laurence Boone

8 Apr 2019

The yellow-vest protests are fizzling out in France, but the inequities that fueled them haven’t gone away. That it takes six generations for the poorest to reach the middle class is a big one. The OECD chief economist discusses this, Brexit, Italy and more with Rob Cox.

Cox: Danish capitalism is alive but not all well

4 Apr 2019

The Nordic economy is a model for U.S. leftists like Bernie Sanders. The White House argued in a much-dissed paper that living standards in the region are lower due to socialism. The reality is otherwise. But as Danske Bank’s woes suggest, there’s no such thing as utopia.

Zuckerberg’s plea for regulation is a siren call

1 Apr 2019

The Facebook founder wants governments to develop more standardized rules for the internet to combat problems from harmful content to data security. The idea has merit. But it also smacks of a way for tech firms to keep profits private while socializing responsibility and costs.

Insurers’ deathly jackpot may yet backfire

15 Mar 2019

A sixth of 2018 operating profit came from UK insurers tweaking their mortality assumptions. Ghoulishly, that’s because customers are dying sooner, meaning lower required pensions payments. The problem for investors is that this handy boost could easily go into reverse.

Algeria’s Arab Spring presents binary risk outcome

15 Mar 2019

Revolution is in the air again in North Africa, leaving Algerians - and Europe - holding their breath. Freed from the clutches of an ailing gerontocrat, the energy producer could become a dynamic economic powerhouse. Or the army and Islamists could restart a brutal civil war.

Cox: A Saturday outing with France’s gilets jaunes

12 Mar 2019

Protesters clad in yellow vests staged a joyful flash mob at Charles de Gaulle to oppose plans to privatise airports. There’s a sense of permanent revolt. But the array of quixotic targets championed by the movement gives President Emmanuel Macron a chance to regain his mojo.

Trump’s dubious defense and deficit budget is DOA

11 Mar 2019

The White House wish list for 2020 tots up to $4.7 trln, with a boost for the military and cuts for most everything else. It also counts on an unlikely 3 pct GDP growth rate to trim red ink over a decade. It’s a statement of position that gives Congress good grounds to ignore it.

Review: Capitalism and democracy are good friends

1 Mar 2019

“Democracy and Prosperity” persuasively argues that markets and shifting electoral balances have worked well together to support economic growth. Its two professor authors don’t think the new “populism” needs to break the pattern. Sadly, that case is much less compelling.

Thruppence: Who wins by sponsoring UK book prize?

29 Jan 2019

Man Group has ended its support for the UK’s prestigious Booker award. The hedge fund decided there were worthier recipients of its 1.6 mln pound annual cheque. Luckily for aspiring authors, Breakingviews columnists have a handy shortlist of those who could step into the breach.

The Exchange: Flint Mayor Karen Weaver

18 Jan 2019

Before its tainted-water scandal hit in 2014, the Michigan city was already infamous for high crime and poverty rates after a prolonged economic slump. Weaver discusses the fallout from the water crisis – and explains how the birthplace of General Motors is undergoing a revival.

Trump’s crisis powers are a Pandora’s box

9 Jan 2019

The U.S. president may yet try to bypass Congress to build a border wall by declaring a national emergency. In theory, similar authority could enable him to close CNN or block Facebook. Such scenarios would be tested in court. But there’s leeway, and only lawmakers can reduce it.

WeWork needs path to profit, not enlightenment

8 Jan 2019

The cash-burning office-share outfit – now “The We Company” – wants to “elevate the world’s consciousness.” SoftBank is investing $2 bln more, some at a notional $47 bln valuation. But that’s far less than mooted. Broadening its ambitions as backers shrink theirs is risky.

Firearms will test the mettle of woke financiers

2 Jan 2019

Wall Street dealt gunmakers a blow in 2018 for their part in facilitating gun violence. Yet the wounds were glancing. Investors like BlackRock aren’t especially suited to social activism. Banks, though, have a bigger bully pulpit, and 2019 will bring more reasons to use it.