The Briefing by Martin Peers, Jessica Lessin and the team at The Information

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The Briefing

By Martin Peers, Jessica Lessin and the team at The Information

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Recent Editions

Microsoft's Redmond campus. Photo by Bloomberg.

What We're Losing in Endless Remote Work

By Martin Peers · Dec 14, 2021 5:00pm PST

Former AOL CEO Tim Armstrong won’t win many friends with his comments, published in The Information today, that young people should go back to the office to protect their own career development. It’s an unfashionable view, particularly given the surging Omicron variant. It may also be impractical right now. California’s reintroduction of an... Former AOL CEO Tim Armstrong won’t win many friends with his comments, published in The...

Vox CEO Jim Bankoff. Photo by Bloomberg.

Why Vox and Group Nine Shouldn’t Celebrate Their Merger

By Martin Peers · Dec 13, 2021 5:00pm PST

Digital media firms should go into the lemonade business, given how good they are at turning the lemons their businesses represent into their liquid versions. Today, for instance, we got news that Vox Media and Group Nine Media are in “advanced” talks to merge. In a note to staff, Vox CEO Jim Bankoff pronounced the deal “one of the most exciting... Digital media firms should go into the lemonade business, given how good they are at turning the...

Instacart CEO Fidji Simo. Photo by AP

Instacart’s Executive Revolving Door Spins Faster

By Martin Peers · Dec 10, 2021 5:00pm PST

It’s a good thing Instacart’s leaders decided to put off plans to go public. Today’s news that company president Carolyn Everson is departing after just three months won’t help the grocery-delivery service turn the page on what has been a year of turmoil in its management ranks. Grappling with the frequent executive reshuffles while preparing to... It’s a good thing Instacart’s leaders decided to put off plans to go public. Today’s news that...

Gary Gensler. Photo by Bloomberg.

Gensler Eyes SPAC Loopholes

By Martin Peers · Dec 9, 2021 5:00pm PST

Gary Gensler. Photo by Bloomberg.

Gensler Eyes SPAC Loopholes

By Martin Peers · Dec 9, 2021 5:00pm PST

Is it bye-bye, SPACs? Securities and Exchange Commission chief Gary Gensler’s speech today laying out the need to tighten securities rules for special purpose acquisition companies is likely to reverberate across the financial markets—and shake up tech firms that see SPACs as a great way to go public. Gensler correctly spotlighted one of the... Is it bye-bye, SPACs? Securities and Exchange Commission chief Gary Gensler’s speech today laying...

An Amazon warehouse in Staten Island, N.Y. Photo by Bloomberg

The Other Amazon Antitrust Paradox

By Martin Peers · Dec 8, 2021 5:00pm PST

Federal Trade Commission chair Lina Khan and other Amazon critics face an inconvenient truth in a Wall Street Journal article today about the impact Amazon is having on the unskilled labor market. Undercutting the lefty dogma that Amazon is bad for labor, the Journal story suggests Amazon is helping drive improvements in wages and benefits for... Federal Trade Commission chair Lina Khan and other Amazon critics face an inconvenient truth in a...

Mobileye's stand at the Munich Motor Show in September. Photo by Bloomberg.

Intel’s Lesson for Alphabet

By Martin Peers · Dec 7, 2021 5:00pm PST · 1 comment

Intel’s decision to take its Mobileye unit public is a smart way to let investors buy directly into the technology side of the self-driving–car business. Plenty of people surely have little interest in owning Intel directly, given the troubles it’s had in chips. And Intel’s move raises a question: Why isn’t Alphabet, owner of pioneering... Intel’s decision to take its Mobileye unit public is a smart way to let investors buy directly...

DoorDash riders in New York in April. Photo by Bloomberg.

Ultrafast Wars Raise Risk of Investor Injury

By Martin Peers · Dec 6, 2021 5:00pm PST

Wandering around Manhattan has lately become a not-so-fun exercise in dodging the stream of bicycles ridden ferociously by delivery couriers, a population that is growing with the proliferation of ultrafast grocery-delivery services. DoorDash’s announcement on Monday that it is jumping into the ultrafast fray suggests that the danger of severe... Wandering around Manhattan has lately become a not-so-fun exercise in dodging the stream of...

Didi's offices in Hangzhou, China. Photo by Bloomberg.

Why Alibaba Is No Didi

By Martin Peers · Dec 3, 2021 5:00pm PST

Didi's offices in Hangzhou, China. Photo by Bloomberg.

Why Alibaba Is No Didi

By Martin Peers · Dec 3, 2021 5:00pm PST

This is a nervous stock market. News that Didi Global will delist from the New York Stock Exchange and move to Hong Kong sent Didi stock plunging 22% on Friday to its lowest point yet. That’s an understandable reaction: We don’t know exactly what the shift means for shareholders. But the news also knocked other Chinese stocks for a loop as well:... This is a nervous stock market. News that Didi Global will delist from the New York Stock...

Grab's headquarters being built in Singapore last May. Photo by Bloomberg.

BuzzFeed, Grab Run Into SPAC Buzzsaw

By Martin Peers · Dec 2, 2021 5:00pm PST

This is not the week to be tying the knot with a SPAC. Shares of Grab, a Southeast Asian food-delivery and ride-hailing firm that went public via a SPAC merger, fell 21% on its opening day today. Meanwhile we also got word—hats off to The Wall Street Journal for the scoop—that most of the shareholders in BuzzFeed’s SPAC partner, 890 Fifth Avenue... This is not the week to be tying the knot with a SPAC. Shares of Grab, a Southeast Asian...

Marc Benioff. Photo by Bloomberg.

Salesforce’s Pretend Co-CEO Arrangement

By Martin Peers · Dec 1, 2021 5:00pm PST · 1 comment

Marc Benioff has redefined the term co-CEO. As The Information reported earlier today, Bret Taylor, newly named co-CEO of Salesforce, will continue reporting to Benioff, his fellow co-CEO. So instead of the term meaning two leaders on equal terms, it now just means two people who work with each other in a boss-subordinate relationship. At this... Marc Benioff has redefined the term co-CEO. As The Information reported earlier today, Bret...

Salesforce co-CEO Marc Benioff. Photo by Bloomberg.

Meta’s M&A Ambitions Curtailed; Will Bret Taylor Be a Chip Off the Old Block?

By Martin Peers · Nov 30, 2021 5:00pm PST

Anyone working on mergers and acquisitions at Meta Platforms, formerly Facebook, might want to look for a new job. The British antitrust regulator’s decision to force Meta to divest Giphy, the tiny GIF search engine it acquired last year for $315 million, demonstrates that even small acquisitions are off limits to the tech giant. And while this... Anyone working on mergers and acquisitions at Meta Platforms, formerly Facebook, might want to...

Twitter's new chair, Bret Taylor. Photo by Bloomberg.

Twitter’s New CEO Gets Thumbs-Down From Wall Street

By Martin Peers · Nov 29, 2021 5:00pm PST

Twitter's new chair, Bret Taylor. Photo by Bloomberg.

Twitter’s New CEO Gets Thumbs-Down From Wall Street

By Martin Peers · Nov 29, 2021 5:00pm PST

It seems Jack Dorsey’s abrupt departure as CEO of Twitter was welcome news to the company’s long-suffering shareholders—until it wasn’t. A 10% uplift in Twitter shares that was triggered by the initial headline evaporated shortly after Twitter identified his successor as Chief Technology Officer Parag Agrawal. Talk about going from the devil you... It seems Jack Dorsey’s abrupt departure as CEO of Twitter was welcome news to the company’s...

Traders on the floor of the NYSE in September. Photo by Bloomberg.

Covid’s Tech Stars Twinkle Again—at Least Today

By Martin Peers · Nov 26, 2021 4:00pm PST

Life in our pandemic-dominated world increasingly feels like one of those scary TV series where just when you think the monster has been vanquished, you realize it’s still alive. Today’s big market sell-off on news of the new Covid-19 variant in South Africa—dubbed Omicron by the World Health Organization—is a good reminder of how vulnerable the... Life in our pandemic-dominated world increasingly feels like one of those scary TV series where...

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Breshad Perriman passing New York Giants cornerback James Bradberry an NFL game on Monday. Photo by AP.

The True Size of Disney’s Sports Burden

By Martin Peers · Nov 24, 2021 5:00pm PST

If there’s one number that sums up why Disney may decide to spin off ESPN sometime in the next couple of years, it’s contained in a securities filing the entertainment giant made tonight, as most folks were probably off drinking in anticipation of tomorrow’s Thanksgiving holiday. That number is $70.4 billion, representing what Disney has... If there’s one number that sums up why Disney may decide to spin off ESPN sometime in the next...

Apple CEO Tim Cook. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Hole in Apple’s Security Argument

By Martin Peers · Nov 23, 2021 5:00pm PST

Next time Apple executives argue that they can’t relax rules around their iOS App Store for fear of allowing a malware invasion, let’s remember today, when the company sued Israeli firm NSO in retaliation for allegedly infecting iPhones with spyware. Yes, as secure as Apple claims the iPhone to be, the devices are apparently no match for those... Next time Apple executives argue that they can’t relax rules around their iOS App Store for fear...

John Malone. Photo by Bloomberg.

Live Shopping’s Pioneer Left for Dead

By Martin Peers · Nov 22, 2021 5:00pm PST

John Malone. Photo by Bloomberg.

Live Shopping’s Pioneer Left for Dead

By Martin Peers · Nov 22, 2021 5:00pm PST

Every now and then, you have to feel a little sorry for the folks in old media, trundling along, doing their thing and not getting any attention for it. Take Home Shopping Network and QVC, two decades-old TV shopping channels that still produce billions of dollars a year in revenue. They’re the pioneers of the business that a new breed of tech... Every now and then, you have to feel a little sorry for the folks in old media, trundling along,...

Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers. Photo via YouTube

Crypto Gets Sports Fever, Rivian’s Breakup With Ford

By Nick Wingfield · Nov 19, 2021 5:00pm PST

The crypto world seems to have come to a consensus on the best way to bore into the brains of the mainstream: by plastering blockchain brands on anything sports related. The best example of that yet came earlier this week with the news that Crypto.com, a Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange, had agreed to pay $700 million to acquire naming... The crypto world seems to have come to a consensus on the best way to bore into the brains of the...

Instagram chief Adam Mosseri at an event in 2019. Photo by Bloomberg.

Instagram Chief’s Comments Come Back to Bite

By Martin Peers · Nov 18, 2021 5:00pm PST

Instagram’s chief Adam Mosseri is learning the hard way that scoffing at politicians who are coming after you is never a good idea. In May he made comments to The Information that were dismissive, if not patronizing, of the role of state attorneys general—and now those remarks have come back to bite him. On Wednesday, a coalition of state... Instagram’s chief Adam Mosseri is learning the hard way that scoffing at politicians who are...

An iPhone display. Photo by Bloomberg.

Apple’s Pointless Self-Repair Program

By Martin Peers · Nov 17, 2021 5:00pm PST · 2 comments

The beneficence of Apple knows no bounds. The tech giant is making it easier for ordinary people to repair their iPhones. Under a new program, it will send the parts and tools necessary for iPhone repairs to anyone who asks. Just imagine—this could provide a new source of growth for iPhone sales, as thousands of people attempting DIY repairs... The beneficence of Apple knows no bounds. The tech giant is making it easier for ordinary people...

Activision CEO Bobby Kotick. Photo by Bloomberg.

Why Activision Needs Fresh Blood at the Top

By Martin Peers · Nov 16, 2021 5:00pm PST · 2 comments

Activision CEO Bobby Kotick. Photo by Bloomberg.

Why Activision Needs Fresh Blood at the Top

By Martin Peers · Nov 16, 2021 5:00pm PST · 2 comments

It may be time for public companies to institute term limits on CEOs, at least in cases where the top dog doesn’t control the company they run. You wouldn’t think this would be necessary, given how frequently CEOs get fired. But every now and then we come across a situation like that of Activision Blizzard’s Bobby Kotick, who’s been in the job... It may be time for public companies to institute term limits on CEOs, at least in cases where the...