The Economist (November 29)
Regin, the latest computer virus for cyber spying, appears “to have been designed by a Western government. Due to its ease over conventional methods, cyber espionage is attractive to governments, but they should remember that it’s a slippery slope. “Cyber-warfare is an unruly business, where rules will be flouted. But it needs them. Cyber-warriors should remember that what they do to others will be done in turn to them.”
Tags: Computer, Conventional, Cyber-espionage, Governments, Regin, Rules, Slippery slope, Spying, Virus, Warfare
Bloomberg (November 28)
“Fierce rivals, Samsung and Sony also face many of the same problems: overstretched businesses, a dearth of game-changing products, hierarchical corporate structures and proud places in their national psyches. But South Korea’s Samsung is proving how nimble even huge legacy names can be. Sony should pay attention.”
Tags: Corporate structures, Game-changing products, Hierarchy, Legacy, Nimble, Overstretched, Rivals, Samsung, Sony, South Korea
Wall Street Journal (November 27)
The free-trade agreements China recently won with South Korea and Australia serve as “a reminder that the rest of the world won’t stand still while Washington and Tokyo dither…. The U.S. and Japan need to transcend their domestic special interests and finish a Pacific trade pact if they want to compete with China for economic influence.”
Tags: Agreements, Australia, China, Compete, Economic influence, Free trade, Japan, South Korea, Special interests, Tokyo, TPP, U.S., Washington
Los Angeles Times (November 25)
“Retailers are waging a war on Thanksgiving.” This “traditional day of family gatherings and relaxation is dying at the hands of those who can’t wait even six hours to reach into our pockets in order to line their own.” More and more retailers are opening earlier and earlier on Thanksgiving. They “seem to feel Thanksgiving is just an inconvenient speed bump on the road to Christmas profits.”
Tags: Christmas, Family, Gatherings, Profits, Relaxation, Retailers, Thanksgiving
Washington Post (November 25)
The Iran nuclear talks have been extended, which may prove a good thing. The talks resemble “a labor negotiation in which it’s too costly for workers to go on strike or for management to impose a lockout, so the two sides continue without a contract while negotiations proceed.” Whether this will ultimately lead to success, however, will largely depend on whether Iran decides to be a nation or a cause, pragmatic or zealous.
Financial Times (November 24)
“‘Lung washing tours’ are the new thing in Chinese tourism.” Sales have taken off as people seek refuge from the polluted air, but these often require vast treks to reach a place with clean air. “The truth is that despite what the tour operators say, fleeing pollution is not all that easy in today’s China – no matter how much money you spend (and carbon dioxide you emit) getting away.”
New York Times (November 23)
“We don’t need to change course, or kill jobs, or wage war on anybody or anything” to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. All we need to do is continue increasing energy efficiency, which has been key to economic progress. “Without energy productivity improvements, America’s energy needs would have tripled since 1970…. Actual growth was only one-fifth of that. Energy efficiency has emerged as the largest and cheapest alternative to burning fossil fuels to generate electricity.”
Tags: Economic progress, Efficiency, Electricity, Emissions, Energy, Fossil fuels, GHG, Growth, Jobs, Productivity, U.S., War
USA Today (November 23)
“Thanksgiving used to be one of the few holidays retail workers could count on,” but in recent years more retailers have opened their doors to get a jump on sales. “No one needs to be able to buy a big-screen TV on Thanksgiving.” Consumers can wait until Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) when the Christmas sales traditionally commence. Americans should “spend Thanksgiving Day at home — not shopping — so retail workers can be at home, too.”
Tags: Black Friday, Christmas, Consumers, Holidays, Retail, Sales, Shopping, Thanksgiving, Workers
The Economist (November 22)
It has become fashionable to praise long-termism and deplore the corrosive influences of short-termism, but this is simplistic. “Long-termism and short-termism both have their virtues and vices—and these depend on context. Long-termism works well in stable industries that reward incremental innovation.” In other businesses, however, long-termism “is a recipe for failure” and success goes to those who can constantly “abandon their plans and ‘pivot’ to a new strategy, in markets that can change in the blink of an eye.”
Tags: Failure, Incremental innovation, Long-termism, Markets, Pivot, Short-termism, Stable industries, Strategy, Success
Wall Street Journal (November 20)
“The United Nations rarely leads on human rights, so the General Assembly deserves credit for condemning North Korea on Tuesday. Its Human Rights Committee voted to endorse a report on the North’s abuses issued in February. That report uncovered stomach-turning evidence of atrocities, much of it based on eyewitness testimony.”
Tags: Abuses, Atrocities, Condemn, Eyewitnesses, General Assembly, Human rights, North Korea, U.N.
