Articles
May 11, 2022
The Formula Shortage: When Supply Chains Failed the Babies
There is a shortage that became the crisis this month, and the shortage was the formula: the food for the babies that disappeared from the shelves, the parents who panicked, the rationing that followed, the supply chain that had failed. The baby formula crisis of 2022 reached its peak in May, and it became the lesson: the industry that was concentrated, the safety recall that broke it, the regulation that slowed it, the vulnerability that was exposed. The formula shortage is the subject of this article: how it happened, why it was so hard to fix, and what it taught the operations world.
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April 13, 2022
The Record Quit: When 4.4 Million Walked
There is a number that was released this month, and the number was the record: the four point four million workers who quit their jobs in a single month, the highest in the history of the measurement, the wave that refused to end, the labor market that was transformed. The February data, published in April, showed the quit rate at the highest level ever recorded, and the number became the symbol: the great resignation that was still rolling, the workers who had the power, the wages that were rising, the economy that was being reshaped. The record quit is the subject of this article: what the number meant, why the workers left, and what it meant for the business.
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April 5, 2022
The Shanghai Shutdown: When the World's Ports Stalled
There is a city that was locked down this month, and the lockdown was the shock: the metropolis that closed, the port that slowed, the factories that stopped, the supply chains that seized. Shanghai shut down in the spring of 2022 under the zero covid policy, and the shutdown became the lesson: the world's busiest port that was crippled, the manufacturing that was paralyzed, the containers that waited, the global economy that felt the pain. The Shanghai shutdown is the subject of this article: what happened, why it mattered, and what it taught the operations world about the concentration of the risk.
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March 21, 2022
The First Hike: The Fed Ends the Free Money Era
There is a moment that arrived this month, and the moment was the first: the interest rate that was raised, the era of the free money that ended, the pivot that was completed, the message that was sent. The Federal Reserve raised rates in March 2022 for the first time since the pandemic began, and the hike became the turning: the inflation that was raging, the stimulus that was withdrawn, the markets that had to adjust, the economy that was being cooled. The first hike is the subject of this article: why it came, what it meant, and what the new era held for the business and the markets.
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March 8, 2022
The Nickel Squeeze: When the LME Broke
There is a market that broke this month, and the market was the metal: the nickel that doubled in the hours, the exchange that halted the trading, the shorts that were squeezed, the chaos that followed. The London Metal Exchange suspended nickel trading in March 2022 after the price exploded beyond the imagination, and the suspension became the lesson: the speculation that went wrong, the market that was manipulated, the exchange that had to act, the commodity that became the battlefield. The nickel squeeze is the subject of this article: what happened, why the price exploded, and what it taught the markets and the supply chains.
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February 9, 2022
The Deal That Died: Nvidia Walks Away From ARM
There is a deal that collapsed this month, and the deal was the biggest: the acquisition that would have reshaped the chip industry, the forty billion dollar takeover that was abandoned, the regulators who blocked it, the company that walked away. Nvidia announced in February 2022 that it was giving up on ARM, and the announcement became the lesson: the antitrust that tightened, the technology that was too important, the deal that the world did not want, the future that was different. The deal that died is the subject of this article: how it fell apart, why the regulators objected, and what it meant for the chips.
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February 4, 2022
The $230 Billion Lesson: When Meta Met the Metaverse
There is a crash that happened this month, and the crash was the record: the company that lost the quarter of a trillion in a single day, the biggest one day wipeout in the history of the stock market, the faith that broke, the story that was told. Meta plunged in February 2022 after its earnings revealed the costs of the metaverse bet, and the plunge became the lesson: the pivot that was doubted, the spending that was questioned, the platform that was squeezed, the future that was priced. The $230 billion lesson is the subject of this article: what happened, why the market reacted, and what the crash taught about the innovation and the business.
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January 24, 2022
Intel's $20 Billion Bet: The Ohio Fab That Changed the Map
There is a shovel that was lifted this month, and the shovel was the statement: the ground that was broken in Ohio, the factory that was announced, the twenty billion that was committed, the map that was redrawn. Intel's January announcement of the new megafab was the largest private investment in the history of the state, and it became the signal: the semiconductor industry that was coming home, the chips that had become the strategic resource, the supply chains that were being rebuilt. The Ohio bet is the subject of this article: what Intel announced, why it mattered, and what it meant for the future of the chips.
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January 6, 2022
The Omicron Shock: Supply Chains Under the Last Wave
There is a wave that hit this month, and the wave was the final: the variant that swept the world, the infections that broke the records, the workers who disappeared from the shifts, the supply chains that buckled once more. Omicron was the last great wave of the pandemic, and January 2022 was its peak: the absences that emptied the warehouses, the ports that slowed, the trucks that waited, the shelves that emptied. The Omicron shock is the subject of this article: what the wave did to the operations, why it hit so hard, and what it taught the supply chain world about the fragility of the labor.
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December 27, 2021
James Webb: The Telescope That Took 25 Years to Launch
There is a telescope that is on its way this week, and the telescope is the promise: the most powerful space observatory ever built, the successor to the Hubble, the ten billion dollar machine, the launch that was delayed for the decades, the journey that is now beginning. The James Webb Space Telescope is the December 2021 story: the liftoff on the Christmas morning, the fold that must unfold, the million and a half kilometers that lie ahead, the first light that will rewrite the textbooks, the risk that is enormous. The telescope is the subject of this article: what it is, what it will do, and what the decades of the delays teach.
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