Antitrust, Competition Law, Consumer Protection
Arts, Books, Entertainment, Music
Big Data, Cybersecurity, the Digital Economy, and Privacy
1. Crazy prices and yearslong wait times could doom the electric-car experiment. Supply-chain snarls, raw material shortages, and record-setting inflation are turning the simple act of buying a car into a war of all against all, and there’s no relief in sight. Could the electric-car market collapse under its own weight?
2. Waymo, Aurora, Uber, and others urge California to lift its ban on heavy-duty self-driving trucks
3. Pakistan’s e-commerce darling Airlift shuts down. The delivery giant couldn't overcome the global start-up funding crunch and some bad business decisions. And the world’s most active investor is on the prowl in Pakistan. Tiger Global is making swift and aggressive moves in the country's start-up scene
4. China tech stocks sink as Alibaba, Tencent suffer fresh fines. Tech giants fined for not properly reporting past transactions and the selloff forms part of broader weakness in Chinese stocks
5. The dream is over for China’s tech workers. A government crackdown and economic downturn have led to massive layoffs.
6. Start-ups are rebelling against South Korea’s toxic work culture. Young people are doubting the Korean dream, but the tech companies that offer them a way out might be in their own, progressive bubble
7. As regulation heats up, will gaming studios’ gamble on loot boxes pay off? Loot boxes, which are a way for players to receive random in-game rewards in exchange for real money, have been disparaged for a while now, and they’re now increasingly subject to government scrutiny
8. Health deal shows how Amazon keeps ahead of regulators and rivals
9. The Federal Communications Commission is cracking down on 'auto warranty' robocalls. Considering its order, telecom companies that continue to carry the illegal calls may be held liable themselves
10. Why one critical second can wreak havoc on the Internet. Leap seconds that sync clocks with the Earth's rotation cause more problems than they're worth, say Meta, Microsoft, Google, Amazon and two government agencies
11. Google reportedly offers to split ad tech business to fend off US antitrust suit. The Department of Justice has been investigating the search giant's advertising business. Related: Google’s anti-competitive conduct and the remedies to prevent it
12. UK launches antitrust investigation into Microsoft’s $69B proposed Activision acquisition
13. Location, health, and other sensitive information: FTC committed to fully enforcing the law against illegal use and sharing of highly sensitive data
14. Tencent, Alibaba, and Didi fined by China antitrust watchdog for unreported merger deals as early as 2011. China’s State Administration for Market Regulation announced 28 cases involving merger deals that were not reported for antitrust reviews. Offenders have been fined nearly US$ 75,000 for each case, some dating back as early as a decade ago
15. Two new papers suggest antitrust law is not equipped to address personalised pricing and algorithmic cartels
16. Fight for the Future is urging Chuck Schumer to recuse himself from “floor decisions” around tech antitrust bills. The group has been leading criticism of the Senate majority leader in an attempt to get votes for the measures on Big Tech self-preferencing and app stores, noting his fundraising and family ties to the companies
17. The FTC wants to block Meta’s ‘illegal’ acquisition of a small VR fitness app, because the social giant is trying to ‘buy market position’ instead of earning it. Meta says the FTC’s attempt to block its acquisition of Within is wrong on the facts and the law
18. The understated relationship between market dominance and political influence
Arts, Books, Entertainment, Music
19. Introducing Book Exploder!
20. And eight business books to challenge your thinking. Reading recommendations from MIT on managing hybrid work, embracing change, and finding fulfilment as a manager
21. The subtitle of Matthew Ball’s new book “The Metaverse” makes a bold claim: “It Will Revolutionise Everything.” Ball provides an overdue, comprehensive explanation of how it will happen.
22. Is this the future of hi-fi? (I think it might be, says John Darko)
23. How artists get paid from streaming
24. What will the 2022 song of the summer be? From Beyoncé's house revival to Kate Bush's Netflix-fuelled return to pop success, here are this year’s contenders
25. Netflix crashed after ‘Stranger Things 4’ Volume 2 release, users report
26. The Emmy nomination battle between HBO and Netflix saw Discovery company soaring past its streaming rival. HBO and HBO Max scored 140 nominations, up from 130 last year. This was in contrast with Netflix’s 105 nominations, down considerably from last year’s 129. And Netflix will test a new ‘add a home’ option to charge for password sharing
27. Praising Jordan Peele’s ‘most ambitious film,‘Nope’ First Reactions are a resounding ‘yep.’
28. 5 surprising books about how games explain our world
29. Dr Carl Marci’s book, Rewired, talks about protecting your brain in the digital age. There’s a significant jump in the amount of information we consume and not all of it is useful or helpful
30. Bruce Springsteen on surviving depression
31. Bond theme composer Monty Norman dies aged 94
32. 200 greatest dance songs of all time - from Chic to Skrillex, from Chicago house classics to festival rave anthems…
Big Data, Cybersecurity, the Digital Economy, and Privacy
33. TikTok tells U.S. lawmakers it’s working to stop user data from being accessible to Chinese employees
34. Alleged Chinese police database hack leaks data of 1 billion and they’re selling the entire 24-terabyte trove for 10 bitcoin, or around $200,000. The Chinese government removed related posts, articles, and hashtags, and accounts that posted about it were suspended
35. What happens when Big Brother meets Big Tech? An interview with Maurice Stucke
36. The nonstop scam economy is costing us more than just money. Relentless waves of sophisticated phone and online scams are impacting people’s mental health
37. Charting a new path in the world: The United Kingdom’s data protection reforms
38. When it comes to data on your phone, deleting a text isn't the end of the story
39. Big Tech is bending over backwards to comply with other countries’ rules around sharing data. But the biggest number of data requests are coming from right here in the U.S.
40. US government is tracking our phones more than we thought. The Department of Homeland Security bought a ‘shocking amount’ of phone-tracking data. The ACLU released a trove of documents showing it contracted with surveillance companies for location information
41. And the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office urges ministers to review use of Whatsapp and other private channels in its recent report, Behind the Screens. See also, Information Commissioner’s report shows government has yet to fix its WhatsApp problem
42. European Commission sued for violating EU’s data protection rules
43. The innovation implications of mandated data siloing and sharing
44. Digital marketing success requires a unique mix of data scientists and creative marketers. Here’s how to help those teams do their best work
45. In the UAE, you can be fined up to Dh500,000 for taking someone's picture without permission
46. Limits on personal data gathering by Google, Facebook, others advance in US House…US House approved a bill to create the first privacy law limiting personal information collected online by companies
47. Multinational companies are likely to face further challenges when moving data across China’s borders. The Cyberspace Administration of China released its template for cross-border data transfer agreements at the end of June
48. Average data breach costs hit a record $4.4 Million, says IBM Security. The costs of data breaches keep going up and you might be paying them
49. What is the value of data? A review of empirical methods presents an overview of a range of alternative methods for data valuation
50. The book, Designing Data Spaces: The Ecosystem Approach to Competitive Advantage, provides a comprehensive view on data ecosystems and platform economics from methodical and technological foundations up to reports from practical implementations and applications in various industries
51. The right to never be forgotten. How blockchains square with privacy
52. How inflation is flipping the economic script, in seven charts [related à Navigating inflation: A new playbook for CEOs
53. Scorching U.S. inflation hits 9.1%, highest since 1981 and long lines are back at U.S. food banks as inflation hits high
54. The latest inflation numbers hit record highs once again, driven by food and energy costs – and corporate greed? The ability of companies to raise prices above their rising costs has even given rise to the term "greedflation."
55. Jeff Bezos slams Biden’s call for gasoline stations to cut prices and he finally beat his archnemesis Elon Musk at something – losing money. His net worth crashed by $63 billion in the first half of 2022, while Musk’s fell by $62 billion. The 500 richest people in the world lost $1.4 trillion so far this year due to sinking asset prices, according to Bloomberg. It’s the biggest six-month drop ever for the private jet class
56. Record number of people worldwide are moving toward starvation, U.N. warns. 3 reasons for the fertiliser and food shortage
57. As economists and politicians debate the prospect of a recession, many Americans are gearing up for the worst-case scenario: losing their job
58. The $100 trillion global economy in one chart
59. Heat waves’ economic impact. Heat waves across the world are causing meltdowns at data centres and crop failures, further driving up the prices of commodities. Higher temperatures are also known to slow economic productivity. Wildfires and droughts are forcing businesses to close, and higher temperatures are putting pressure on already taxed energy supplies
60. Lessons from Sri Lanka: moderate pain now is better than severe pain later. Here’s a visual explanation of the crisis
61. White House doesn’t think there’s a recession, neither does Treasury!
62. Meet the new GDP prototype that tracks inequality. In a new paper titled “Real-Time Inequality,” economists Thomas Blanchet, Emmanuel Saez, and Gabriel Zucman, imagine a new kind of GDP, one that is a collection of numbers telling us where the gains from this growth are flowing. They already have a working prototype that they’ve published online, providing some important insights. Also related is the paper, Is GDP Becoming Obsolete? The “Beyond GDP” Debate
63. IMF slashes global GDP forecast as economic outlook grows ‘gloomy and more uncertain’
64. Amazon bows to UAE pressure and imposes restrictions on goods such as books and rainbow-coloured flags after threats of penalties
65. The world’s biggest companies generate an incredible amount of money each year. Here’s what they make each second
66. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) releases The Uber Files, their exposé of how the tech giant won access to world leaders, cozied up to oligarchs and dodged taxes amid chaotic global expansion
67. Mark MacGann comes forward as source of the Uber Files. Uber’s former chief European lobbyist revealed today that he leaked 18.69 GB of emails, text messages and company records to The Guardian to expose Uber’s chaotic global rollout
68. Takeaways from the Uber Files investigation…and Uber used covert tech to thwart government raids. Regulators entered Uber’s offices only to see computers go dark before their eyes
69. One fascinating aspect of the Uber leaks is seeing how Uber ingratiated itself with top academic researchers to promote its corporate narratives and it’s being sued in the US. Uber’s response…”We’ve moved from an era of confrontation to one of collaboration, demonstrating a willingness to come to the table and find common ground with former opponents, including labour unions and taxi companies.”
70. Major anti-money-laundering reform passes US House. The Enablers Act, included in the annual defence bill, was first proposed shortly after ICIJ’s Pandora Papers investigation exposed widespread exploitation of lax financial disclosure rules in the U.S.
71. Netflix could lose 2.8 million paid subscribers this quarter. Its user decline is being driven by Gen Z women. Although Netflix earnings weren’t great, they were good enough for investors
72. Airbus loses bid to use French blocking law in Qatar row
73. Active CEOs are less likely than ever to be the top pick for board chair. A growing share of companies are tapping independent directors to hold the chairman seat, according to a new survey from The Conference Board
74. ESG — three letters that won’t save the planet. Environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing is one of the hottest trends in finance. Companies are eager to tout their ESG credentials; investors who want to save the world buy ESG funds; asset managers charge higher fees for them. Yet the measure is incoherent, lumping together a dizzying array of objectives and offering no guide to trade-offs. Elon Musk is a corporate-governance nightmare, yet by popularising electric cars he helps fight climate change. Closing a coal mine is good for the environment, but awful for workers who are laid off. The measure needs to be simplified. Drop the S and the G, The Economist argues, and shift the E from “environment” to “emissions”. If the measurement of firms’ carbon footprints were standardised, they would be easier to shrink
75. Will we ever get back to the days of tighter inventory control?
76. Bangladeshi B2B commerce startup ShopUp has raised $65 million. The company has clocked a sharp growth in the last six months, and its investors are doubling down their investments
77. Rough day for tech giants: Amazon posts $2 billion loss with a huge drop for the second straight quarter as shoppers return to stores, while Apple profits fall 11% due to supply chain crisis and COVID lockdowns in China
78. History, from start to finish, presented in a stunning manner
79. America's shrinking middle-class neighbourhoods and mapping where America is getting older
80. June 2022 was Earth’s 6th warmest month on record and the Antarctic Sea ice shrank to a record low for the month
81. U.S. Supreme Court rules 6-3 that the planet should burn
82. No power, no fans, no AC: The villagers fighting to survive India’s deadly heatwaves
83. The U.K. just smashed a heat record that wasn’t supposed to happen until 2050 and offer free tickets to 'vulnerable' redheads during unprecedented heatwave.
84. London is burning. Yes, climate change is to blame for extreme heat waves. And no, this climate scientist won’t apologise for holding those responsible to account
85. As chief heat officer of Athens, Greece, Eleni Myrivili is sounding the alarm on extreme heat and looking to help cities build heat resilience. See also coverage on CNN
86. The world is on track to hit 8 billion people. And India is set to surpass China as the world’s most populous country in 2023, with each counting more than 1.4 billion residents this year, says a United Nations report, warning that high fertility would challenge economic growth
87. Skyrocketing global fuel prices threaten livelihoods and social stability. Around the world, from South Asia and Africa to Europe and Latin America, the cost of filling a car’s tank, getting to work, and cooking dinner has spiked
88. Energy ministers reach deal on EU-wide 15% gas reduction plan (and related, Russian gas threat in Europe. The crisis in Ukraine tests Europe’s dependence on Russian gas against Russia’s dependence on European energy customers)
89. The Limits to Growth argued that rampant pollution and resource extraction were pushing Earth to the brink. How does the infamous 1972 report that warned of civilisation's collapse hold up 50 years later?
90. Fourth of July weekend marred by violent shootings across U.S. A nation already on edge in the wake of mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, saw more gun violence and dozens killed and injured
91. Using Wikipedia for conflict forecasting. The authors say the number of country page views indicates international salience of, or interest in, a country. Meanwhile, the number of changes to a country page indicate political controversy between opposing political views. And the data is updated regularly
92. More than 45,000 people have been killed by guns each of the past two years, the highest level since 1995. People have also been buying guns at record levels. Pandemic stress, tension between the police and the public, general anger, and the sheer number of guns around may all be factors
93. The most expensive places to work abroad in 2022
94. The Maldives is building the world’s first floating city and the first homes are slated to open to public viewing in August
95. The World Economic Forum releases the Global Gender Gap Report 2022. Gender parity is not recovering, and it will take 132 years to close the global gender gap. As crises are compounding, women's workforce outcomes are suffering
96. Gelsomina Vigliotti on Multilateralism and the Private Sector. While inter-governmental cooperation is crucial, so, too, are strategies to leverage the ingenuity and capacity of businesses and the financial industry.
97. How long caffeine stays in your system
98. The Omicron subvariant BA.5 is the dominant strain in new US Covid cases. Here’s what you need to know about it
99. This Bruegel paper presents information in a reader-friendly format to help detect main pandemic developments and their economic impact
100. How to deal with work stress – and actually recover from burnout. Mindfulness, detachment, selecting off-time activities with care – some evidence-based strategies to achieve healthy work-life balance
101. Science confirms it: beginning your day with this 1 simple task will help you think and feel better
102. These are the 4 boundaries your brain needs to feel less overwhelmed. Setting boundaries allows you work in a more sustainable—and less reactive—way
103. Google CEO Sundar Pichai Uses This 4-Word Rule to Measure Success. It's all about what you reward
104. Google CEO tells employees productivity and focus must improve, launches ‘Simplicity Sprint’ to gather employee feedback on efficiency
105. In leaked memo, Facebook tells managers low performers don’t belong. The message comes as the company seeks to rein in costs during an economic downturn in the long-booming tech industry
106. Talk about karma! Over $300,000 raised for Burger King employee who never missed work in 27 years and got a backpack, movie ticket, and Starbucks cup as a gift
107. There’s a lot of talk about four-day workweeks – but could shorter workdays be a better approach?
108. Mastering the Art of Strategy with Richard Rumelt. His new book is called The Crux: How Leaders Become Strategists
109. MIT/SLOAN’s 10 most popular articles in 2022 (so far)
110. According to MIT Sloan assistant professor Basima Tewfik, people with workplace impostor thoughts tend to be more interpersonally effective at work because they’re compensating for the concern that they might not be as competent as other people believe them to be
111. Here’s how to encourage your employees to try more new things, according to McKinsey
112. When something goes wrong at work, it’s easy to play the blame game. But if team members are consistently pointing fingers at one another, there’s a good chance it’s because they’re lacking a critical element of success: psychological safety. A term popularised by Harvard Business School professor Amy Edmondson, it’s an aspect of workplace culture that encourages smart risks, doesn’t unfairly punish mistakes, and produces stronger outcomes from professional dissent
113. Speaking up for yourself when the moment comes. How to practice self-advocacy in the workplace
114. 5 traits that will instantly identify someone with bad leadership skills
115. Tom Peters joins Adam Markel to talk about genuine, caring leaders. Tom tells a tale of two leadership styles: Captain Day (tough but caring) and Captain Night (nit-picky). They also talk about the Great Resignation and how leaders should be handling it
116. An Airbus A380 flew 14 hours with hole in its side
117. The $500m smiley face business. Nearly 50 years ago, one man ‘invented’ the modern smiley face but never filed for a trademark. Another man halfway across the world made it into a multimillion-dollar cash cow
118. Introducing yourself with the wildest feedback you’ve ever received
119. Why did you marry that person? This Freakonomics podcast explains that you may have thought you were in love, but economists may argue you were practicing "assortative mating"
120. Elizabeth Warren slams “Foreign Influence” at liberal-leaning think tank. Senator says Qatari money has “compromised” the Brookings Institution’s independence
121. The curse of knowledge: Why experts struggle to explain their work
122. I can’t believe the news today sang U2 in 1983. Engagement with news plunged during the first half of this year compared to the first half of 2021 and, in some cases, has fallen below pre-pandemic levels
123. 6 behaviours that can ruin your life. When we are not aware of these behaviours, they can consume us
124. Saudi Arabia plans on building a 75-mile skyscraper called the Mirror Line by 2030, which will consist of two 1,600 feet tall buildings that run parallel to each other. When completed, the $1 trillion megabuilding will hold up to 5 million people and people will be able to commute end-to-end in 20 minutes
125. You won’t be confused about electric vehicle charging anymore. Charging an EV is not nearly as complicated as people think
126. Visualising the teacher pay gap
127. Two of the UK's most senior officials tasked with two of the biggest issues facing Britain—the rising cost of living and the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic, Finance Minister Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid, resigned, saying they no longer have confidence in Prime Minister Boris Johnson's leadership. Their resignation letters here and here.
128. Not the best time for (current or former) Prime Ministers. Boris Johnson steps down and Shinzo Abe is killed with a homemade gun. From Brexit to Partygate, a timeline of Johnson’s career
129. Biden announces 17 Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients, including Simone Biles, Steve Jobs, and John McCain and from here to …the most pathetic men in America. Why Lindsey Graham, Kevin McCarthy, and so many other cowards in Congress are still doing Trump’s bidding
130. President Joe Biden is facing an alarming level of doubt from inside his own party, with 64% of Democratic voters saying they would prefer a new standard-bearer in the 2024 presidential campaign. Voters nationwide have soured on his leadership. Also, why are so many Democrats whining about Joe Biden?
131. A court in India has sent to prison a man who was found guilty of posing as the son of a wealthy landlord for 41 years
132. Bill Gates is giving his foundation a fresh $20 billion to address global challenges. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation now has an endowment of $70 billion
133. Former Theranos President found guilty of fraud. Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani is scheduled to be sentenced in September. Elizabeth Holmes is also scheduled to get her sentence then
134. Freakonomics, Stephen Dubner’s Podcast in one of the earliest episodes, focused on how economists raised their young children. Ten years later, the children are old enough to talk and have a lot to say
135. George Clooney, U2, and Gladys Knight are 2022 Kennedy Centre honourees
136. Nichelle Nichols, Uhura in ‘Star Trek,’ dies at 89
137. Really? Elon Musk pulls out of $44B deal to buy Twitter, which says it still plans to close the deal and will see Musk in court. [See also Elon Musk’s road to Twitter is paved with broken promises and Elon Musk officially tries to bail on buying Twitter, accusing the company of false and misleading statements]. Twitter files new lawsuit and here are the 6 best lines from the complaint
138. Elon Musk asks court to reject Twitter’s request for speedy trial. Musk’s team is asking that the trial not be held until 13 February 2023 trial at the earliest, while after Twitter requested expedited treatment for a hearing as early as September 2022
139. And of course, Elon Musk files countersuit under seal vs Twitter over $44 bln deal
140. Meta has launched Sphere, an AI knowledge tool based on open web content, to fight fake news online. With a dataset that includes 134m public webpages, Meta claims that it’s the first AI model that can automatically check hundreds of thousands of citations at once
141. When a social network’s power users get too big, it loses the ability to set its own terms. The power users' preferences instead become de facto rules of engagement. Facebook, Twitter, provide some important lessons about influencers getting bigger than the platforms themselves, at the expense of proper news
142. Like Bill Gates before him, Mark Zuckerberg is having a ‘Pearl Harbour’ moment and Mark Zuckerberg and Adam Mosseri need you all to stop being big babies. In recent addresses to both Meta employees and Instagram users, the executives got uncharacteristically unapologetic (even aggressive)
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