Though big tech firms are thriving, they are facing more scrutiny than ever How much bigger can they get? The five biggest technology firms - Alphabet (Google's parent), Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Microsoft - have published financial results in recent weeks that put their combined quarterly revenues at $143bn. Yet this rude financial health conceals a more troubling long-term trend: governments..
A stopgap spending bill failed to win the necessary 60 votes in the Senate However swiftly and recklessly Congress appeared to be barreling toward a government shutdown on January 18th and 19th, optimists had one reason to hold out hope. Donald Trump planned to mark the first anniversary of his inauguration with a party at Mar-a-Lago, his resort in Florida. Ticket prices began at $100,000 a pair..
The dominance of Google, Facebook and Amazon is bad for consumers and competition Not long ago, being the boss of a big Western tech firm was a dream job. As the billions rolled in, so did the plaudits: Google, Facebook, Amazon and others were making the world a better place. Today these companies are accused of being BAADD - big, anti-competitive, addictive and destructive to democracy. Regulat..
Everything else could in theory be reversed. His effort on the law will be profound. America's judges are supposed to be above party politics and yet are often appointed by politicians and then asked to rule on disputes that can sway elections. On January 9th federal judges in North Caroline gave the state two weeks to redraw its congressional map. In a caustic ruling written by James Wynn, an a..
Modest concessions to Emmanuel Macron prettify an unambitious blueprint for coalition Anyone hoping exploratory coalition talks between Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU), their Christian Social Union (CSU) alliance partners and the Social Democrats (SPD) would produce an ambitious governing project was always likely to be disappointed. In the election on September 24th all three obtained..
But they are also lonelier and more isolated At the gates of Santa Monica College, in Los Angeles, a young man with a skateboard is hanging out near a group of people who are smoking marijuana in view of the campus police. His head is clouded, too - but with worry, not weed. He frets about his student loans and the difficulty of finding a job, even fearing that he might end up homeless. "Not to ..
After ignoring everything but the tax bill, there is much to do and little time Blame it on the sand traps: President Donald Trump returned to work after seven straight days of golf enraged. Even by his own standards, his Twitter fury on January 2nd was extraordinary. The president boasted that he has a "much bigger" nuclear button than North Korea's despotic ruler, Kim Jong Un; announced a myst..
That's not really meant to happen in developed countries Just as Americans headed home for the year-end holidays, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued its annual report on mortality - which had no news to celebrate. According to the report, published on December 21st, life expectancy in America fell in 2016, for the second year in a row. An American baby born in 2016 can e..
Brain-computer interfaces may change what it means to be human Technologies are often billed as transformative. For William Kochevar, the term is justified. Mr Kochevar is paralyzed below the shoulders after a cycling accident, yet has managed to feed himself by his own hand. This remarkable feat is partly thanks to electrodes, implanted in his right arm, which stimulate muscles. But the real ma..
A festive memo from one of America’s leading chief executives to his lieutenants Dear Team, I trust you are looking forward to your vacations and that the spirit of love and generosity infuses your family gatherings. I also hope that this spirit will be left next to the Christmas tree when you return to work at this incredible company on January 2nd. Because 2018 is going to be the year when Ame..
Tech giants are investing billions in a transformative technology Commanding the plot lines of Hollywood films, covers of magazines and reams of newsprint, the contest between artificial intelligence (AI) and mankind draws much attention. Doomsayers warn that AI could eradicate jobs, break laws and start wars. But such predictions concern the distant future. The competition today is not between ..
Amazon's position today is earlier reminiscent of Walmart's circa 1999 A boa constrictor swallowing capitalism. A cyclone dragging the economy into its vortex. If you look back at how people described Walmart a decade ago, it is eerily similar to how Amazon is viewed now. The supermarket chain has "a scale of economic power we haven't encountered before", warned "The Walmart Effect", a best sell..
A campaign promise kept, a problem aggravated Even before Donald Trump issued his proclamation recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, stiff opposition was brewing. Pope Francis and the Supreme Leader of Iran denounced his plan to move America's embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. So did the UN Secretary-General, the prime minister of Italy and a global chorus of diplomats. If anything, ..
Digital technology makes true shareholder democracy more feasible Anglo-Saxon capitalism has had a bad decade. It is accused of stoking inequality and financial instability. A relentless pursuit of shareholder value has led big firms to act in ways that often seem to make the world a worse place. Aeroplane seats get smaller, energy firms pollute the air, multinationals outsource jobs and Silicon..
And he says he is co-operating with investigators Last week reports emerged that lawyers for Michael Flynn, Donald Trump's former national-security advisor, had stopped speaking to Mr Trump's legal team - hinting that Mr Flynn was negotiating a deal with Robert Mueller's team of special prosecutors. On the morning of December 1st the other shoe dropped: in a federal court in Washington, DC Mr Fl..