Articles
May 21, 2019
The Huawei Ban: Android Goes Dark
There is a ban that fell on a giant this week, and the ban is the Huawei: the company that was added to the Entity List by the United States Commerce Department on May 16, the blacklist that cut off the American suppliers, the Google that suspended the Android licenses, the phone maker that is the second largest in the world and now cut off from the software that runs its phones. The ban is the May 2019 story, and the story is the lesson: the decoupling of the technologies, the dependence on the ecosystems, the backup plans that must exist, the race that is being run for the 5G future.
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May 15, 2019
The Tariff Escalation: 25 Percent
There is an escalation that hit the trade this month, and the escalation is the 25 percent: the tariff that the United States raised on $200 billion of Chinese goods, the rate that jumped from 10 to 25 percent on May 10, the talks that collapsed the same day, the escalation that had been threatened in a tweet and then delivered. The escalation is the May 2019 story, and the story is the lesson: the trade policy that is a weapon, the supply chains that must adapt, the uncertainty that is the real cost, the diversification that is the defense.
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March 14, 2019
Grounded: The 737 MAX Is Pulled From the Skies
There is a grounding that spread around the world this week, and the grounding is the first: the 737 MAX that was pulled from the skies after the second crash in five months, the Ethiopian Airlines flight that went down on March 10, the 157 people who died, the jets that were stopped by the regulators, country by country, until the FAA joined on March 13. The grounding is the March 2019 story, and the story is the lesson: the automation that is implicated, the training that is questioned, the safety that is the foundation, the single points of failure that must be found.
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February 26, 2019
The Foldable Bet: Samsung Galaxy Fold
There is a bet that was placed this month in San Francisco, and the bet is the fold: the Galaxy Fold that Samsung unveiled on February 20, 2019, the phone that opens into a tablet, the device that folds down the middle, the first mainstream foldable that the industry has seen. The bet is the February moment: the Unpacked event, the stage, the screen that bent, the price that stunned, the future that was claimed. The Samsung Galaxy Fold is the February 2019 story, and the story is the lesson: the form factor that is new, the display that must bend, the ecosystem that must follow, the premium that someone must pay.
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January 8, 2019
The Apple Warning: When the Forecast Broke
There is a warning that went out this week from Apple, and the warning is the first: the letter that Tim Cook sent to investors on January 2, 2019, the announcement that the quarter would come in below the forecast, the guidance that was cut for the first time since 2002. The warning is the January surprise: the company that almost always beats the numbers, the revenue that would miss the range, the stock that would fall in the days after, the confidence that would be shaken. The Apple warning is the January 2019 story, and the story is the lesson: the forecast that broke, the concentration that was exposed, the honesty that came early.
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January 3, 2019
The Far Side: Chang'e-4 Lands
There is a landing that happened this week on the side of the Moon that no one can see, and the landing is the first: the Chang'e-4 probe that touched down softly on the far side, the spacecraft that settled into the Von Karman crater, the rover that will roll across the dust that has never been touched. The landing happened on January 3, 2019, and it was the first time any machine from Earth has set down on the hemisphere that always faces away, the side that has no direct view of home, the ground that was invisible until the probes flew past. The Chang'e-4 landing is the January 2019 story, and the story is the lesson: the far side that was reached, the relay that made it possible, the engineering that did what no one had done.
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December 7, 2018
The Arrest: Huawei's CFO in Vancouver
The arrest is the story, and the story is the ripple: Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Huawei, the daughter of the founder, detained in Vancouver on December 1 at the request of the United States, the case that exploded into a diplomatic crisis within days. The Americans say she lied to the banks about the business in Iran, that the dealings with HSBC broke the sanctions, that she must be extradited to face the charges. The arrest is the December 2018 story, and the story is the lesson: the executive who carries the risk of the company, the geopolitics that reaches into the boardroom, the compliance that became a matter of state.
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November 15, 2018
HQ2: Amazon Picks Two Cities
The pick is the story, and the story is the split: two cities instead of one, Long Island City in Queens and Crystal City in Arlington, the announcement that came on November 13, the end of a search that began with 238 bids, the decision that surprised even the finalists. Amazon said it would bring 50,000 jobs, 25,000 to each city, with $5 billion in investment, the hiring that will stretch over a decade and more, the headquarters that will sit on the East River and the Potomac. The HQ2 pick is the November 2018 story, and the story is the lesson: the site selection that became a spectacle, the incentives that followed the winner, the power that the biggest employer holds.
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October 30, 2018
The $34 Billion Open-Source Bet: IBM Buys Red Hat
The bet is the story, and the story is the price: $34 billion, the sum that IBM agreed to pay for Red Hat, the announcement that came on October 28, the largest software acquisition in history, the biggest deal the company has ever done. IBM said it would pay $190 a share in cash, a premium of about 63 percent over the last closing price, a price that stunned the market and rewarded the faithful shareholders. The $34 billion bet is the October 2018 story, and the story is the lesson: the old giant that buys the new model, the open source that became the strategy, the hybrid cloud that everyone must now chase.
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October 9, 2018
The $15 Wage: Amazon's Minimum
The wage is the story, and the story is the number: $15, the minimum that Amazon promised to pay its American workers, the announcement that came on October 2, the change that takes effect on November 1, the decision that answered the critics and silenced the loudest one. Amazon said it would raise the pay of every United States employee, the 250,000 full-time workers and the 100,000 seasonal hires, the warehouse staff and the Whole Foods cashiers, the biggest wage move in the company's history. The $15 wage is the October 2018 story, and the story is the lesson: the pressure that politics puts on business, the wage that becomes the standard, the floor that everyone else must now match.
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