Articles
February 15, 2021
The Texas Freeze: When the Power Grid Couldn't Handle the Cold
There is a storm that is crippling the state this week, and the storm is the reveal: the cold that Texas was not built for, the grid that failed when it was needed most, the millions who lost the power in the freeze, the energy system that was exposed at the worst possible moment. Winter Storm Uri is the February 2021 story: the record cold that swept across the state, the demand that spiked, the generation that failed, the blackouts that followed, the crisis that is still unfolding. The freeze is the subject of this article: what happened, why the grid broke, and what the disaster teaches about energy and operations.
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January 29, 2021
The GameStop Squeeze: How Retail Traders Shook Wall Street
There is a stock that exploded this week, and the stock was the symbol: the video game retailer that the market had written off, that the hedge funds had shorted into oblivion, that the crowd on the internet decided to save, that went from the bargain bin to the moon in the matter of the days. GameStop is the January 2021 story: the share price that rose by the hundreds of percent, the trading apps that blinked, the billionaires who lost and the amateurs who won, the market that was turned upside down. The squeeze is the subject of this article: what happened, how it worked, and what it means for the markets.
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January 8, 2021
The Chip Shortage: When the World Ran Out of Semiconductors
There is a shortage that is spreading through the industry this week, and the shortage is the chip: the semiconductors that run the cars and the phones and the appliances, the supply that tightened in the autumn and broke in the winter, the crisis that forced the automakers to stop the lines. The announcements came in the first days of the year: General Motors cutting production at the plants, Ford idling the Louisville factory for the week, Toyota trimming the truck output, Honda and Nissan following, the names piling up, the industry bracing. The chip shortage is the January 2021 story, and the story is the lesson: the invisible component that became the most wanted resource in manufacturing.
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December 15, 2020
The Hack That Hid in the Update: When Trust Became the Vulnerability
There is a hack that keeps spreading this week, and the hack is the update: the SolarWinds Orion platform that was backdoored through a software update, the malicious code that rode into the networks of thousands of customers, the eighteen thousand organizations that use the product and the campaign that went after the crown jewels. The story broke on December 8, when FireEye disclosed that its red team tools were stolen, and the trail led to the Orion update, to the Treasury and the Commerce Department, to the Russian state-sponsored actors that the researchers call APT29, the group known as Cozy Bear. The hack is the December story, and the story is the lesson: the trust that was exploited, the update that became the weapon, and the supply chain that no firewall can defend.
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November 10, 2020
The Minus-70 Degree Supply Chain: The Coldest Logistics Problem of the Year
There is a supply chain that was revealed this week, and the supply chain is the cold: the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine candidate that showed more than ninety percent effectiveness in the interim analysis on November 9, the messenger RNA shot that must be stored at about minus 70 degrees Celsius, the ultra-cold chain that now has to circle the world. The announcement was the breakthrough, and the breakthrough was the problem: the vaccine that must be kept colder than the Antarctic winter, the dry ice and the specialized shippers and the freezer farms, the distribution that has to reach the clinics and the arms. The vaccine is the November story, and the story is the lesson: the logistics that decides whether the science reaches the people.
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November 5, 2020
The IPO That Vanished: Ant Group and the Largest Listing in History
There is an IPO that vanished this week, and the IPO is the record: the Ant Group that priced the largest offering in history, the thirty-seven billion dollars that was raised on paper, the valuation near three hundred ten billion, the debut that was supposed to happen on November 5 and did not. The suspension came on November 3, two days before the listing, when the Shanghai Stock Exchange put the offering on hold and Hong Kong followed, the regulators citing the new rules for the online lending business, the fintech empire of Jack Ma stopped at the gate. The IPO is the November story, and the story is the lesson: the listing that was priced, the rules that changed, and the risk that no prospectus can price.
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October 26, 2020
The Antitrust Case Against Google: When the Search Default Became the Charge
There is a case that arrived in the courts this week, and the case is the monopoly: the Department of Justice that filed the lawsuit against Google on October 20, the eleven state attorneys general that joined the complaint, the charge that the search giant broke the antitrust laws, the accusation that it used its power to lock the market. The case is the 2020 landmark: the first major federal antitrust action against a technology company since the government took on Microsoft in 1998, the moment the platform era met the law, the industry that waited two decades for the reckoning. The case is the October story, and the story is the lesson: how the defaults became the moat, how the scale became the shield, and how the biggest search engine on earth finally got its day in court.
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September 16, 2020
The $40 Billion Chip Deal: Nvidia Buys Arm
There is a deal that is shaking the chip industry this week, and the deal is the acquisition: the agreement that Nvidia announced on September 13, 2020, the Arm that would be bought from SoftBank for the $40 billion, the architecture that powers nearly every smartphone, the neutrality that is now in question, the scrutiny that is already forming. The deal is the structure: the $21.5 billion in Nvidia stock, the $12 billion in cash, the payments that could add more, the Jensen Huang who called it a historic moment, the regulators in the United Kingdom and the European Union and China who will review. The Nvidia deal is the September 2020 story, and the story is the lesson: the chip design that everyone depends on, and the buyer that everyone will watch.
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August 6, 2020
The Executive Order: TikTok and WeChat
There is an order that was signed this week, and the order is the ban: the two executive orders that President Trump signed on August 6, 2020, the transactions with TikTok and WeChat that are prohibited after 45 days, the ByteDance and the Tencent that are the targets, the sales that must happen or the apps that must end. The orders came on the same day: the TikTok order that is about the national security, the WeChat order that is about the same, the two apps that are caught in the same storm, the companies that threatened to sue, the Microsoft talks that continue. The executive order is the August 2020 story, and the story is the lesson: the deadlines that are signed, and the deals that are forced.
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July 31, 2020
The TikTok Deadline: Microsoft and the 45 Days
There is a deadline that is forming around TikTok this week, and the deadline is the sale: the app that grew to a hundred million American users, the parent ByteDance that is pushed to sell, the buyer Microsoft that is in the talks, the ban that the president threatened on July 31, 2020, the reports from the New York Times and CNBC that broke the story. The deadline is the shape of the week: the negotiations that are private, the 45 days that are spoken of, the national security that is the reason, the data that is the concern, the deal that would be one of the largest in the industry. The TikTok deadline is the July 2020 story, and the story is the lesson: the apps that are caught between the governments.
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