Technology

Alibaba rewrites its e-commerce playbook

20 Jul 2017

China's online giant is trumpeting "new retail": a push into bricks-and-mortar shopping. That could help sustain high growth. But abandoning the asset-light model which has been Alibaba's unique selling point will weigh on profits.

Crypto-currency deals recall an earlier tech craze

19 Jul 2017

A rash of initial coin offerings has raised $1.3 bln in 2017, much of it in the past month. These crypto-currency versions of an IPO bear the speculative hallmarks of the ‘90s tech boom. With untested managements and few if any investor protections, this wave may end just as badly.

Let venture capitalists subsidize your life

19 Jul 2017

Frustrated by an inability to invest in unicorns? Try another strategy. VCs and other investors lose money funding vendors of meal kits, car rides, music, data storage, and even household necessities. Here’s how to live well off Silicon Valley’s obsession with the future.

Einhorn’s bold Toshiba play has just enough logic

19 Jul 2017

The Greenlight boss unexpectedly took a stake in the beleaguered Japanese group, betting it's hit bottom. That's gutsy, but not necessarily reckless: Toshiba is closer to selling its chip business, which could give it much-needed financial relief and unlock value in other units.

Ericsson throws kitchen sink at the kitchen sink

18 Jul 2017

The Swedish telecom kit maker has issued its second profit warning in four months. Demand for wireless networks is shrinking faster than thought. At least Ericsson is no longer losing market share, and has put a number on touted cost savings. It can’t afford to disappoint again.

Amazon monopoly game will take forever to play out

14 Jul 2017

The e-commerce titan's Whole Foods deal has sparked fresh fears of its dominance. One hedgie says whispers of a possible congressional review prompted him to short the stock. How antitrust law applies, though, is unclear. For now, consumers and investors probably keep winning.

Viewsroom: Elon Musk’s Down-Under wager

13 Jul 2017

Tesla’s CEO is putting the firm’s reputation, and $50 mln, on the line in a deal to quickly provide energy storage to South Australia. Over in Texas, a battle is brewing between investment icons Warren Buffett and Paul Singer over a long-suffering and oft-wooed energy company.

Uber plucks success from Russian game of chicken

13 Jul 2017

The ride-hailing service’s efforts to expand in eastern Europe didn’t have a chance at usurping Yandex – but it did make its rival’s losses balloon. Combining the businesses allows both to escape this trap, with a big paper profit for Uber.

Why Europe can’t beat Google on corporate taxes

13 Jul 2017

A court has ruled the search giant is not liable for French back-tax after all. Google will face other battles over how it arranges its profits. Tech companies will always have an advantage, though. Unlike competing European countries, they can put their global interest first.

Hong Kong gaming IPO is not Razer sharp

13 Jul 2017

The U.S.-Singaporean firm, which makes gaming keyboards and mice, is eyeing a valuation of up to $5 bln. But Razer is loss-making and expanding into areas like laptops, mobile devices and its own virtual currency. The financial reality of these businesses is underwhelming.

Protest to keep internet weird is worthy fight

12 Jul 2017

Amazon, Netflix and 100,000 others are urging resistance to a U.S. watchdog's plan to scrap rules on so-called net neutrality. Broadband provider AT&T is among them, with its own arguments. The common thread is that companies shouldn't be able to choose which content gets online.

Amazon’s path of destruction is primed to broaden

11 Jul 2017

The e-commerce giant that decimated booksellers now has supermarkets and department stores quaking in fear. That emotion should be shared by retailers’ suppliers of branded goods. Amazon’s ambitions to sell its own products poses a growing threat to the likes of P&G and 3M.

Newspapers push wrong solution to online duopoly

10 Jul 2017

The Wall Street Journal and others want the right to bargain collectively with Facebook and Google. The titans’ dominance of the $83 bln U.S. digital ad market is a concern, but not just for print media. Combating it requires antitrust enforcement, not an industry carve-out.

TalkTalk’s focus on cheap may not be cheerful

10 Jul 2017

The UK broadband provider’s founder Charles Dunstone wants to grow the business with a focus on value for money. That’s risky in a competitive market, and endangers profitability. The alternative – finding a buyer – could be tricky given the company’s rich valuation.

SoundCloud flags music’s lopsided digital revival

7 Jul 2017

The German streaming service is cutting 40 percent of staff, according to reports, after Spotify shelved a possible purchase last year. With most of the returns from the industry’s digital renaissance going to labels, streamers have yet to prove they have an independent future.

Samsung rides the semiconductor cycle to new peak

7 Jul 2017

The South Korean firm expects a record quarterly operating profit of $12 bln, thanks to soaring demand for memory chips. Rivals are boosting supply, and prices will probably fall. Still, Samsung's size and diversity will help it handle the sector's inevitable boom and bust.

SoftBank’s stalled Indian sale defies logic

6 Jul 2017

Indian e-commerce firm Snapdeal rejected a $850 mln bid from rival Flipkart. That's well below a peak valuation of $6.5 bln, so backers like the Japanese firm will suffer. But buyers are scarce, and the price will only go down. Holding out for a unicorn-style $1 bln is a mistake.

JPMorgan puts UK corporate broking in right place

5 Jul 2017

Jamie Dimon may face awkward questions from British clients after his bank almost bid for one of them, Worldpay. But the potential benefit of buying the online-payments firm easily outweighs the dubious value of giving free advice in the hope of winning lucrative business later.

Vantiv sets punchy price on Worldpay

5 Jul 2017

Buying Britain’s biggest payments processor for nearly $10 billion only makes sense if the cost savings and revenue opportunities are big enough. While neither side has come up with any synergy estimates yet, some charitable assumptions are needed to make the sums add up.

Retail click jobs can brace only so many bricks

5 Jul 2017

The next decade threatens to doom U.S. workers at the likes of Macy's, Staples and Foot Locker. E-commerce should offset a good portion of the losses. Even assuming a healthy 40 pct increase in such roles, though, a Breakingviews analysis suggests some 600,000 jobs may vanish.