Betting on the Internet is daft if it doesn’t work
How disruptive can disruptive tech be when the internet doesn’t actually work?
Blain's Morning Porridge
Financial Commentary for Smart People
Blain's Morning Porridge
Financial Commentary for Smart People
Category Tech
Stock Momentum, Covid and Big Tech
Stock markets feel like they are running out of momentum – but that should not lead to fears of a no-see-um crash, rather a more fundamental assessment of the reasons why? In the UK, Plan B – National Economic Suicide by winter Lockdowns – looks on the cards. And, despite all the wonders of Big Tech and promises about how much better it makes our lives – most of it is pretty pants.
Apple has a monopoly on being Apple!
Highlight event today is Apple launching new bright-shiny-things. Apple is unique – it has a monopoly of being Apple! For how long?
Tech sector’s tectonic plates keep shifting
Yesterday’s events across Tech served to remind us it’s a fluid sector where what we believe one day may be false the next, but deep down there is bedrock. Crypto currencies saw a last-chance bubble pop, while Tesla genuinely surprised me by producing solid results – which don’t for one moment change my perspective its fatally overvalued. Meanwhile, the latest China clampdown on listed stocks shocked markets, but reminds us we need to think differently about the wakening Dragon.
Markets and how Tech is going to kill us all
Markets are fretting. Up one day and down the next? Do they believe in the dire fundamentals or inflation threat, or keep buying Central Banks juicing the markets? Never mind; hot disruptive tech stocks can only ever go up… But where do they eventually lead us? I suspect Tech will eventually kill us all…
Beware the Glamour of Tech
The great rotation from tech stocks into value stocks has been the dominant market theme this year. Tech stocks still have their moments – and there are clearly new technologies with the potential to completely change and improve the world. However, the glamour that surrounds tech stocks is also a danger, leading us down wrong and wasteful paths.. Who else remembers Betamax?
The Need To Regulate Big Tech (Part 1)
We had a slew of spectacular Big Tech results this week, but has the time come to regulate them more closely to avoid increasingly monopolistic behaviour, and to protect the population from the pernicious effect of the manipulation of big data? It’s as much an argument about the role of the state as it is about the success of companies. There will be winners and losers.
Things Can Only Get ?
Q1 was “interesting”. More financial madness in 3 months than I’ve seen in 35 years, but at least it was fun. How much more sober and boring might the market become? Deliveroo’s botched IPO suggests Investors ain’t as stupid as we think.
Don’t Fight The Fed?
There is an old market rule – don’t fight the Fed. Jay Powell has been crystal clear: rates are staying lower for longer. But the ongoing sell-off in Treasuries, and rising global bond yields, paints an interesting story of a market unconvinced rates can be held down
Big Tech & Little Retail
Two linked themes this morning – what about the little people? Most mornings I write about market macro and micro themes, but occasionally things happen that may just be a turning point. Two things to think about today: Big Tech and Retail Investors.