Technology

D.C. turf war opens crypto regulatory arbitrage

18 Aug 2022

The Fed issued the latest salvo in a regulatory tussle, requiring banks to alert the agency when they offer services for bitcoin and its ilk. The SEC and CFTC are also fighting to oversee the $1 trln market. It’s an opportunity for digital currency outfits but hurts token owners.

Capital Calls: Taiwan, Meme stocks

18 Aug 2022

Concise views on global finance: Trade talks between the United States and Taiwan suggest tensions with China will keep rising. Meanwhile, the fade and rally in Bed Bath and Beyond shares show the stock craze is making a comeback.

Tencent is running in two different directions

17 Aug 2022

The Chinese video game giant suffered a 43% plunge in operating profit from falling markets and a weak economy. Boss Pony Ma is cutting costs and promising buybacks, but he also is pushing on overseas expansion and new businesses like cloud. The message on discipline is garbled.

Taiwan digs trenches in battle for chip talent

17 Aug 2022

Officials may force Foxconn to unwind an $800 mln deal with a Chinese chipmaker. This follows a crackdown on mainland companies poaching engineers, as Taipei tries to keep its tech expertise to itself. It could make a surprisingly powerful defence against hostile Beijing.

Capital Calls: Walmart whiplash

16 Aug 2022

Concise views on global finance: The U.S. mega-retailer revised its profit forecast yet again, just weeks after sounding the alarm.

Electric perfection is enemy of hybrid-car good

16 Aug 2022

Activists are attacking Toyota and others for sticking with designs that recharge using combustion. Yet pure electric models are only as green as their power grids and require heavy infrastructure investment. Puritanism is premature, and could prompt consumer backlash.

Capital Calls: Adam Neumann’s new venture

15 Aug 2022

Concise views on global finance: Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz funnels $350 mln into the WeWork founder’s real estate startup.

Gaming’s big comedown will be spread unevenly

12 Aug 2022

The sector has changed radically since 2008. It weathered Covid with ease, but it’s hard to say how cash-strapped gamers will fare in another recession. Reliable franchises like EA’s “FIFA” could end up more valuable, while the demise of buzzier upstarts may create M&A openings.

Capital Calls: Entain’s big M&A bet

11 Aug 2022

Concise views on global finance: The Ladbrokes owner is bulking up, making life harder for perennial U.S. suitor MGM Resorts International.

SoftBank’s Alibaba sale could end breakup taboo

10 Aug 2022

Masayoshi Son’s group will cut its stake in the Chinese e-commerce giant to 15% from 24%. It’s a sensible, albeit belated, move. The holding contributes to a 55% conglomerate discount, which would be narrowed further by spinning off Arm and selling more of its Japanese telco.

Food delivery’s next gig is software-as-a-service

10 Aug 2022

As demand for takeaways slows, $28 bln DoorDash and rivals are searching for new sources of revenue. One option is to sell their tech to food retailers. But that assumes others can make a bigger success of a business model that has struggled for profitability.

ByteDance relapses to unhealthy tech deal habit

10 Aug 2022

TikTok's Chinese parent has taken over a hospital chain for $1.5 bln. Peers like Alibaba have made similar forays into healthcare, with underwhelming results. Amid falling valuations and Beijing crackdowns, such off-piste bets look even more ill-advised.

SoftBank chagrin is poor defence against bad bets

8 Aug 2022

The Japanese investor suffered a $23 bln net loss from falling markets and a weak yen. Boss Masayoshi Son says he has learned lessons. But exiting ride-hailer Uber with a 5% annual return supports the view of SoftBank as a firm that can only follow, not outperform, the crowd.

TSMC is China’s trump card against U.S. and Taiwan

5 Aug 2022

The chipmaker plays an outsized role in the global economy, supplying Apple, Qualcomm and others that make phones and cars. If tensions with Taiwan ramp up, China may threaten a blockade of the island. That could halt production of everything from Toyota Camrys to Maytag washers.

Alibaba offers false ray of China’s economic dawn

4 Aug 2022

Quarterly revenue at the $260 bln e-commerce giant was flat, beating horrid expectations. As lockdowns ease, the hope is that consumers will spend more. But online advertisers, Alibaba’s core customers, are cutting budgets, suggesting a protracted slowdown is on its way.

India’s war on foreign tech risks misfiring

4 Aug 2022

New Delhi is raiding offices of Chinese smartphone makers, banning Singaporean and Korean games, and nudging U.S. firms to integrate their e-commerce platforms. The crackdowns and cajoling underscore official efforts to reshape India’s growing tech sector. A lot could go wrong.

Capital Calls: UK antitrust watchdog/M&A

3 Aug 2022

Concise views on global finance: The Competition and Markets Authority’s change of heart over NortonLifeLock’s 6.2 bln pound takeover of UK group Avast was an opportunity for bold investors.

Airbnb dodges inflationary roach motel

2 Aug 2022

The cost of hosting tourists – and being one – is rising. But not for Airbnb, which unlike Marriott and Hilton has managed to ensure price hikes remain other people’s problems. Meanwhile, travelers are willing to pay more, which cushions both the hosts and the company itself.

Thoma Bravo is riding the tech downturn

2 Aug 2022

Tech valuations are in freefall amid a darkening economic picture, leaving private equity buyers to sift through the wreckage. In this episode of The Exchange podcast, Thoma Bravo managing partner Seth Boro explains how his firm is navigating the market shift.

Capital Calls: Uber’s cash starts to flow

2 Aug 2022

Concise views on global finance: The $56 billion car-hailing service is growing rapidly and has started generating positive cash flow. It’s still overvalued, though.