Tough Questions Facebook’s Zuckerberg Can Expect From Congress

Amy Peters

Tough Questions Facebook’s Zuckerberg Can Expect From Congress

            Mark Zuckerberg is due in congress for hearings this week regarding Russia’s manipulation of Facebook to meddle with the 2016 election.  Zuckerberg’s current meetings with lawmakers is due to his previous unsatisfactory responses to address this issue last year, as the company is still struggling to eliminate fake news and fake accounts on its platform.  For a long time Facebook has struggled with privacy issues, and Zuckerberg has admitted he is unsure how much of Facebook user’s data has been hacked into. Even though Facebook has now announced new actions to protect its users, Zuckerberg is still expected to receive some hard-hitting questions when he appears in Congress this week. For example, the government is interested in knowing how they can trust Facebook in the future, why shouldn’t the company face stiffer regulations, why didn’t the company act quicker when the Russian hacking was taking place and why hasn’t Facebook notified its users of these issues more aggressively.  I personally completely agree with these interrogation questions of Zuckerberg and I believe if his answers are not deemed satisfactory his company should face larger repercussions for this Russian scandal, as the safety of user’s information is a very serious matter. I believe if these privacy issues are not seriously addressed the government should consider shutting down Facebook or implementing higher regulations. 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-09/tough-questions-facebook-s-zuckerberg-can-expect-from-congress

The Future of America’s Economy Looks a Lot Like Elkhart, Indiana

High laborforce participation rate, low unemployment, and the economy is operating a full tilt with competitive wages for workers with low human capital. This is the status quo for Elkhart, Indiana.

Enrico Moretti, a University of California, Berkeley, economist, is quoted in the article referring to "The Elkhart metro region operates like an oil economy—a Kuwait in the cornfields. The RV industry sets wages and standards to a level few competitors can match, making diversification difficult." This article is an interesting case and gives good insight to the role rural america can play within an economy working at full tilt. With all of that said, the article also sites the stark contrast of how much hurt the Elkhart economy felt in 2008 during the recession. Will other areas of the country persist in their economic growth despite more automation in sight?

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-future-of-americas-economy-looks-a-lot-like-elkhart-indiana-1522942393?mod=e2fb

China’s shift

As China’s economy’s growth slows, they look to lower debt and increase long term stability. The key is to be able to deleverage and still grow, and the way China can do this is by continuing to develop their service economy. Over the past two years credit growth has dropped from 16% to 12%  mainly a result of deceased borrowing in the industrial manufacturing sector. This is good news for China who has been attempting to deleverage and shake up state owned enterprises for a while, but it will be interesting to see if this is successful or if they enter a banking crisis with the impending trade war.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bloomberg.com/amp/view/articles/2018-04-05/china-cuts-debt-while-sustaining-economic-growth

The overheating economy could crash in 2019, this top forecaster says

A senior economist of the Raiffeisen Bank International Joerg Angele mentioned that the US economy is leaning towards a downfall, adding that he is extremely optimistic of the US economy in the medium term, but he fears that the growth is not sustainable, pointing to an overheating economy. The economy is growing much faster than its long-term potential rate of around 1.5%, with the rate of unemployment rate “way below” its long-term natural rate of around 5%, this being before the impact of tax cuts and budget stimulus hits. He mentions that the economy has “absolutely no need” for the additional stimulus of decrease in taxes and budget stimulus hits. He predicts the economy to grow at about 3% and the unemployment rate to drop from 4.1% to 3.5%. Angele claims that by the middle of 2019, the US economy will be at a sharp slowdown and perhaps even a recession. He compared this this to the scenario of 2000, when the economy grew 2%-3% above its natural rate, having a positive output gap and falling into a recession the following year.

Because of the overheating economy, he predicts that the Fed increase interest rates to cool the economy by increasing the opportunity cost to spend money rather save, thereby decreasing marginal propensity to consume. Angele mentions that he does not expect protectionism to have much of an impact on economic growth or inflation but a trade war with China would be harmful to the US economy.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-overheating-economy-could-crash-in-2019-this-top-forecaster-says-2018-03-10

How to Clean Up the Student Loan Mess

Student loans are crucial to financing college educations, yet millions of borrows are in default.  There is signs that the system is in dire need of improvement.  New research on student loans is reinforcing the crucial lesson of behavior economics.  What seems like minor details matter in a major way.  Who answers the phone at the loan company, what choices you are offered and how they are framed can have a major effect on your financial well-being.  Federal policy ignores these facts as the federal government owns the loans, private companies collect payments, keep record and communicate with borrowers.  Seemingly small missteps can send a borrower spiraling into default.  The loan companies have misdirected payments, lost paperwork and charged the wrong interest rate.  Currently, we have a punishing system of garnishment in place for student loans.  It makes little sense to have the feral government seize money from these most vulnerable people while shying away from a sensible system.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/06/business/how-to-clean-up-the-student-loan-mess.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fbusiness

Trump wants look at $100B more in tariffs on China

President Trump, Thursday, said he had instructed the United States Trade Representative to consider $100 billion in additional tariffs against China. Shortly after Trump's announcement, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer expressed support for the move, calling Trump's response "appropriate." Dow futures tanked following the news, with the index's implied open down more than 450 points at one point. This is such a big factor in the current US stock markets. Speculation has caused the tank but a recovery is inevitable its just a matter of how quickly occurs.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/05/trump-asks-us-trade-representative-to-consider-100-billion-in-additional-tariffs-on-chinese-products.html

Tariffs would hurt US consumers and companies

This article raises the concern that American economy would suffer due to Donald Trump's decision imposing tariffs on China. Both the countries are heavily dependent on trade for economic growth and benefit. Restricting trade would be a huge blow to the US economy as China invested around 600 billions dollars in the US economy last year. Moreover, this can also harm the political reputation of the US in the world while China would benefit politically.

The article suggests that the best solution would be promoting export and foreign investments but Trump is willing to take the negative impact on the economy to prevent the theft of intellectual properties of American companies.


https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/05/american-chamber-of-commerce-in-china-warns-on-impact-of-tariffs.html

Bavaria’s conservatives are embracing identity politics

This is an interesting article that discusses Bavaria's current political climate. Many people are calling for a "conservative revolution" based in aggressive politics surrounding identity and belonging. The article mentions a term "heimat" which translates to home. This conservative political experiment is rooted in Bavaria's close-knit culture.

https://www.economist.com/news/europe/21739965-new-favourite-word-germanys-csu-heimat-bavarias-conservatives-are-embracing-identity

Chairman Powell addresses for the domestic economy in relation to possible trade war

Powell said that there is no immediate threat to the economies health at this point. The FED will continue to gradually raise interest rates and that the labor market will remain strong. He then said it is too early to tell how the economy will react to the tariff. This is mainly because no one is completely sure the extent the tariffs will come into effect. He then moved to discuss the current economic strength saying the it is growing well with rises in income and high consumer confidence. It will be interesting to see just how the tariffs and impending trade war and varying economic policies will affect the economy in the near future.

Link to article:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/06/business/economy/powell-federal-reserve-economy.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fbusiness-economy&action=click&contentCollection=economy&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=4&pgtype=sectionfront

Trump Officials Soften Tone on Trade Dispute With China

The trade war with China has continued to be threatened by the Trump administration as they look to facilitate discussion about “free and fair reciprocal trade.” It is common knowledge that foreign companies trying to enter Chinese markets must enter into unfavorable joint ventures which compromise proprietary information. The administration has already stated that it will be imposing $50 billion worth of tarrifs on chinese goods, and has threatened $100 billion more. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has publically said he does not expect a trade war with China to happen, and that the United States is open to discussion with China moving forward. Frequently, when Trump makes claims about increasing tariffs, the stock market tumbles 2+ percentage points. Remarks made supporting increased discussion between the US and China have helped stabilize the stock markets. We should expect to see more stable markets over the coming weeks until a final decision can be made about the next round of tariffs.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-officials-soften-tone-on-trade-dispute-with-china-1523207017

How offices are beginning to go Green

Many companies are beginning to add more outdoor areas for their employees to enjoy while on break at work.  They are adding different items including walls of plants, Zen gardens, and greenhouses.  The companies believe that it will increase the flow of air and that wall of plants will be used as a natural air filter.  This could safe the business a lot of money and could increase the productivity of the workers because it may increase the satisfactory levels in the work environment.  The Bullitt Center in Seattle is an example of the changes that could happen in the future with the presence of solar panels and waterless toilets.  These green movements are what could thrive in the future because many people are getting on board with the green movement and usually if people see a company going green they will think highly of the certain company for having a plan to safe the environment.


http://money.cnn.com/2018/04/02/technology/office-buildings-carbon-footprint/index.html

Tesla is heading for a cash crunch

On April 1st, Elon Musk tweeted that Tesla has gone completely bankrupt as an April Fool's day joke. Unfortunately, this is close to being true. At the end of February, their shares decreased by approximately 16% due to a death using the autopilot feature, which then raised questions about the safety of the system. Things also got worse at the end of March. About 123,000 older vehicles were recalled due to corrosion of a bolt that have an effect on the steering and parking. It is not helping that Musk is only releasing expensive cars. Although Musk did make it known that he will mass produce cheaper cars. On the topic of releasing cars, Musk had a goal of producing 20,000 Model 3S cars per month, but ended up only producing 2,500 in the final quarter. High expectations of the Tesla brand transformed to low expectations from analysts and investors. In conclusion, Tesla's shares are well below where they were last year. "Car Biz is hell."

https://www.economist.com/news/business/21739981-road-ahead-elon-musks-car-company-looking-more-perilous-tesla-heading-cash

Trump tweets about Amazon.

President Trump has made many false claims about Amazon and the Washington Post which are both owned by CEO Jeff Bezos. He constantly claims the Washington Post creates “fake news,” and is also claimed it to be a “lobbying group for Amazon.” Trump has also claimed the company does not pay state or local taxes and false claims are dangerous for the market. Trump’s attack on the private company should not be taken lightly by anyone who is pro-business because a lack of good information puts the economy at risk because people cannot make decisions.

http://money.cnn.com/2018/04/05/news/trump-amazon-jeff-bezos-larry-summers/index.html?iid=SF_LN

Facebook announces changes to combat election meddling

The social media company will now begin labeling all political and issue ads, and showing who paid for them, and it will require anyone who wants to run a political or issue ad to verify their identity and location. This marks an expansion of Facebook's previous plans on this front, when these measures would have applied only to political ads -- typically defined as mentioning a specific candidate -- but not to ads that only talk about hot-button issues without mentioning candidates. Facebook says the new labeling will appear on ads later this Spring. The ads will be put into a searchable database, which will be released in June. The database will include details on how much the ads cost and what kinds of people the advertisers were targeting. Ads will stay in the database for four years. Facebook is also going to start verifying the people behind large Pages. To get verified by Facebook, ad-buyers and Page administrators will have to provide the company with a government issued ID and a physical mailing address. Facebook will mail them a letter with a special code to confirm the address. Advertisers will have to tell Facebook which candidate, organization or business they're representing as well.

http://money.cnn.com/2018/04/06/technology/facebook-election-meddling-political-ads-pages/index.html

Bitcoin holds steady above $7,000 as 2 Wall Street legends reportedly eye the crypto market

In the article Bitcoin holds steady above $7,000 as 2 Wall Street legends reportedly eye the crypto market by Frank Chaparro it talks about the price fluctuations of Bitcoin and how it is now up 2.1%. More importantly the article talks about how two of the big Wall Street investment firms are going to get their hands in crypto-curreny. This being Soros Fund Management and Venrock. This is said to be encouraging for crypto-currency because firms with good historical track records are now getting behind it. 

http://www.businessinsider.com/soros-fund-venrock-embracing-bitcoin-2018-4 

Teacher Strikes Show That Workers Have Newfound Power

https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-04-06/teacher-strikes-show-that-workers-have-newfound-power

This article explores the recent growth in wages.  Recently, teacher strikes in West Virginia, Kentucky, Oklahoma, and Arizona have resulted in an increased negotiated pay.  Teachers have a long history of being noted as underpaid and these recent successes show a change in labor psychology. Although, there have always been labor unions this is the first time in a while where teachers have really put up a fight.  Additionally, Walmart has set a bar for the retail sector by raising low-end wages. Previously, it was thought that firm concentration held down wage growth, but now it appears with tight labor markets there is a different mindset for employers and employees about wages.  I am curious to see if there will be more teacher strikes or what other sectors might potentially strike in hopes of increasing their wage.

Trump, allies play down concerns about effect of trade war with China on economy

For years, countries around the world have been frustrated with China's unfair trade practices, including the United States.  When President Trump took office, he had a goal to push back against China to get them to correct their practices, and him and his advisers have stated that is exactly what they want, nothing more.

One concern that arises from the imposition of tariffs is that China will impose even stricter tariffs, resulting in a trade war that could harm farmers all across the US, but specifically those who harvest soybeans, as the US is the second-highest exporter of soybeans in the world.  Trump's advisers have re-stated to the American people that we are not the problem, yet it is China who does not want to correct their unfair practices.

While there is concern for a trade war, it is highly unlikely.  President Trump kept his word on addressing this issue, and I believe he will be successful in helping to correct China's unfair practices.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-allies-play-down-concerns-about-effect-of-trade-war-with-china-on-economy/2018/04/08/47796dd0-3b31-11e8-974f-aacd97698cef_story.html?utm_term=.3f909517d43f

An Economic Miracle in Hungary, or Just a Mirage?

The main point of this article is debating whether Hungry's economy is doing significantly better under prime minister Orban or not. On the surface, the economy looks like its doing much better than in previous years. Kingsley writes, "Government debt, as a proportion of Hungary’s gross domestic product, has fallen more than 6 percentage points since 2010. The country’s credit ratings have improved. The budget deficit has roughly halved. Growth has almost quadrupled. Wages have risen by more than 10 percent. Though still high, deprivation has fallen by nearly half — not least in places like Siklosnagyfalu, where villagers benefit from their workfare wages. Officially, unemployment has dropped by nearly two-thirds." This all seems very positive, but on the other hand, it seems as if government corruption is rising and many people are doing work that doesn't not really need to be done which is the reason why the unemployment rate seems so small.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/03/world/europe/viktor-orban-hungary-economy-election.html

The March Jobs Numbers Show the Economy Is Sound, but Far From Invincible

The article shows that the March jobs numbers are disappointed since the U.S. only added 103,000 jobs when the numbers added in February 326,000 and the previous average number is 202,000 in 2018.  Currently, the unemployment rate is around 4.1% which is a very comfortable number, so the news expected that the future improvement in the labor market would be showed in the form of increasing labor force instead of decreasing unemployment rate. In other words, there would be more people who are used to not look for jobs decide to work in the future. 

Under the influence of the trade war, I would expect a large increase in the labor force and I am curious that how the real future labor market would be. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/06/upshot/the-march-jobs-numbers-show-the-economy-is-sound-but-far-from-invincible.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fbusiness-economy

Trump economic advisor Larry Kudlow: US economic growth could hit 5%, at least for a short period

I thought this article was interesting for several reasons. First, I think that a 5% annual growth rate in GDP for this year is an achievable goal. But like Larry Kudrow mentioned, this growth is not sustainable forever. I also thought it was interesting that he said that we are down by several trillion dollars from where we should be based on the long term trend of GDP. I initially thought this wasn't true, but looking at the maximum chart over the last 50+ years it makes sense: https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/gdp. Lastly, I found it strange that the author continued to mention that this growth could help us recover from the financial recession. I thought is was bizarre because I've been under the impression that we have been recovered from the recession for a few years now. Overall, I feel that Kudrow is very optimistic with this 5% annual GDP for 2018, but it is an attainable goal based on the recent performance of the economy.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/05/trump-economic-advisor-larry-kudlow-us-economic-growth-could-hit-5-percent-at-least-for-a-short-period.html

White House Tries to Tamp Down Trade War Fears as China Retaliates

A couple of weeks ago, President Trump announced a 25 percent tariff on steel and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum imports which is roughly $50 billion worth of products. Now, the White House announced yesterday that this was not the start of a trade war as China responded with a $50 billion worth of tariffs on U.S. products. After everything is taken into calculation, the United States' tariff affects roughly 10 percent of Chinese exports to the United States while the Chinese tariff covers roughly 25 percent of American exports. If the tariffs were to stop here then it would be safe to argue that there is no trade war going on, but a couple of policy moves in an attempt to gain political support. However, after the White House announced yesterday there was not a trade war, President Trump asked for $100 billion worth of extra tariffs to be implemented on China. This could be the start of the end of the United States. A trade war typically does not result in growth, but instead halts it. In fact, most economies experience a recession when trade wars occur. It will be interesting to see how these polices take root as they come into play.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/04/business/the-united-states-is-starting-a-trade-war-with-china-now-what.html

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-05/trump-orders-consideration-of-100-billion-in-new-china-tariffs

Most Powerful Lobbyist in Trumps Washington

This article explores the life and work of Brian Ballard, who Politico is calling the most powerful lobbyist in Washington right now. Ballard was a fundraiser for President Trump's political campaign and now works to try to get international governments interests represented in the West Wing.

This article is a great example of the power of interest groups, as we discussed during the US unit. However, here the interest groups are mostly other political groups and other countries - when the President won't take information in from conventional sources, it makes sense that governments would think it worth the money to hire a friend of the President's to put their issues in front of him.



https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/04/02/most-powerful-lobbyist-in-trump-washington-217759

Impact of Oil Spill in Indonesia

The Indonesian government has declared a state of emergency after an oil spill has continued to spread right off of the country's coast. The oil eventually caught fire producing thick black smoke. The repercussions of an oil spill like this go beyond the immediate fatalities. A significant portion of Indonesia's exports consist of seafood- with the oil spill it goes without saying that not only does the oil spill kill marine life but also, seafood may be contaminated and not fit for consuming. Inadvertently, the fishing sector suffers, especially traditional fisherman who depend on seafood as their daily livelihood. The oil spill may possibly ruin ships and fishing equipment too. Indonesia's tourism industry may also take a blow due to this, with one of it's main attractions being its beautiful beaches which may be contaminated. Moreover, businesses that earn revenue from recreational services such as jet ski rentals or even restaurants near the beach may also suffer a loss in profits.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/04/asia/indonesia-balikpapan-oil-spill-state-of-emergency/index.html

Japanese Aluminium Trade Group Calls Upon Trump Administration to Drop Aluminium Tariffs

After consideration of the $50 Billion tariff by the US placed on China, many have wondered what it would entail going forward in terms of the market, especially those targeting the aluminum market. Some individuals spoke on the possible threat this may induce on other markets considering in example, China is known for being “one of the largest buyers of US crops,” (CNN). However, in an interesting turn of events, the US has actually sanctioned higher demand in the Japanese Aluminum trades; and in turn created a higher appreciation than previously predicted of the Yen when compared to the US dollar. Japan is currently in between negotiations of seeking lower tariffs from the US, as they were not among the group of countries that were exempt, since the Trump administration’s focus was to hit China hard. Even without the tariff exemption however, imagine the strength gained and position in the market as a response following the plans for Japan to become the primary suppliers. I find the times quite intriguing of when it comes to: how one country imposing higher tariffs hitting a second country, will then create this large of an appreciation on a third country’s currency –especially since learning of the Plaza Accord. Yes, at that time (in 1985), the focus may have been between the depreciation of the US dollar and appreciation of the Japanese Yen for the prosperity of the market and its advancement. In a way, this has provided a similar boost to the future growth in market, and at the same time, has appreciated the Yen without depreciating another currency. It doesn’t feel too surprising (shutting down one opportunity of a market means moving to a second provider at a different price), but it certainly does bring an interesting change to the trade game, and the ever curiosity of what may come.

http://money.cnn.com/2018/04/03/news/economy/us-tariffs-china/index.html

https://aluminiuminsider.com/japanese-aluminium-trade-group-calls-upon-trump-administration-to-drop-aluminium-tariffs/

Chinese Tariff On American Ginseng 'Definitely Concerning,' Wisconsin Farmer Says

I heard this story on the radio this afternoon and found it especially interesting. China's tariffs on American food products in retaliation to the steel and aluminum tariffs are greatly affecting the production of Ginseng, an herb that we usually associate as coming from Asia, and that is used in herbal teas and remedies. The farmer interviewed in this story says that last year, Wisconsin farmers shipped almost $30 million of Ginseng to China, and until the 1990's, produced 95% of Ginseng worldwide. The report brings up questions of whether the tariffs on US products are being targeted to politically important production areas (because in this case, this district in Wisconsin is represented by Paul Ryan and also voted for Trump), but I also wonder what effect this will have on the Ginseng markets, since the overwhelming majority of supply is now going to cost at least 15% more.

http://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2018/04/03/china-tariffs-ginseng-wisconsin

Coal power company files for bankruptcy and asks Trump for bailout

The Akron-based power company FirstEnergy has recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for their coal and nuclear divisions. However, FirstEnergy is seeking a government bailout through a lesser-known section of federal law typically reserved for natural disasters. Despite Trump's insistence on using coal power, the coal industry has faced severe pressure from the natural gas industry. Asking for a bailout from a fund used for natural disaster relief is a gross misuse of tax-payers' money. The coal industry has declined for good reason, as it is a very unclean source of energy. Should the Trump administration choose to bailout FirstEnergy's subsidies, I believe that they should only bailout the nuclear division. Despite many people's concerns, nuclear power is one of the cleanest forms of energy, and it should have priority over coal.

Source: http://money.cnn.com/2018/04/02/investing/firstenergy-coal-bankruptcy-trump/index.html

China retaliates against Trump tariffs with levy on US food imports

This article is about how China has implemented tariffs of up to 25% on U.S food imports in response to Trumps tariffs on steel and aluminum.   The article suggested that China and the U.S should resolve their issues through negotiation and dialogue because as the world’s two largest economies, they should be cooperating.  Although the two have been retaliating against each other, China's tariffs do not cover soybeans, the US’s biggest exports to China, indicating that it does not wish to start a huge trade war.  It can be predicted that the U.S and China will continue to retaliate against each other, but for how long and to what extent is unknown. 

Tesla Model X was in autopilot before fatal crash

This is an interesting article on Tesla's Model X which was involved in a fatal crash while it was in auto-pilot mode. Federal Regulators deemed this model to be highest in safety rankings for an SUV. It surprising to note that this incident happens just weeks after the autopilot Uber fatal crash which killed a woman on the highway in Arizona. It would be interesting to note what the future holds for these self-driving cars because already Tesla's stock has crashed 22 percent since the incident and Uber has also temporarily stopped its autopilot cars. Tesla issued a statement that the autopilot feature is not fully autonomous and the car issued several warnings before the crash for him to take the wheel which he didn't. More importantly, I'm more concerned about the future of the company which plans to roll out more models with the autopilot features.

http://money.cnn.com/2018/03/31/technology/tesla-model-x-crash-autopilot/index.html

U.S., China Quietly Seek Trade Solutions After Days of Loud Threats

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, trade representative Robert Lighthizer and China's top economic adviser Liu He have opened talks on a trade dispute between the two powers, according to sources. Mnuchin and Lighthizer reportedly wrote to Liu late last week with requests for concessions to help ease the strained relationship, and a Treasury spokesman says they have discussed the trade deficit and are "committed to continuing the dialogue to find a mutually agreeable way to reduce it.

I found this extremely relevant due to this topic directly affecting the health of our national stock markets. Trade solutions often positively correlate with market growth.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-china-quietly-seek-trade-solutions-after-days-of-loud-threats-1522018524

Uber Pulls Out of Southeast Asia, Selling Operation to Rival Grab

Amy Peters

Uber Pulls Out of Southeast Asia, Selling Operation to Rival Grab

            Uber has recently decided to back out of doing business in Southeast Asia, both for their ride service as well as for their food delivery in that area. This decision was brought with great skepticism since this one of the fastest growing regions in the world, and the opportunity for Uber growth in the region was tremendous. The company Grab is now acquiring all of Uber’s current operations in this region, in return Uber gets a 28% stake in Grab as well as the Uber CEO will now sit on Grab’s board. This is being seen as a great success for Grab, the Singapore-based company. This is not the first time Uber has pulled out of expanding areas, backing out of China and Russia in the past years. Uber’s rationale for these decisions is that they want to focus on growth and investments in new products and they want to protect the financials of the company from possible losses before their expected IPO in 2019. Did Uber make the right decision by giving up this territory?

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-26/uber-cedes-southeast-asia-to-chief-rival-grab-in-latest-pullout

Uber’s Self-Driving Cars Were Struggling Before Arizona Crash

Uber cars was actually struggling before the crash in Arizona. The robots did not live up to expectations and have trouble driving through construction zones and next to tall vehicle

e and yet it killed a woman in Arizona. “Waymo, formerly the self-driving car project of Google, said that in tests on roads in California last year, its cars went an average of nearly 5,600 miles before the driver had to take control from the computer to steer out of trouble. As of March, Uber was struggling to meet its target of 13 miles per “intervention” in Arizona, according to 100 pages of company documents obtained by The New York Times and two people familiars with the company’s operations in the Phoenix area but not permitted to speak publicly about it”.  I am curious to see what they will do next.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/23/technology/uber-self-driving-cars-arizona.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Ftechnology&action=click&contentCollection=technology&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront