In this week's wrap-up we talk about "Stories", Venezuela's hunger problem, Google's new publishing conundrum, "Honeygate" and a lawsuit that's threatening to break up Facebook.
But first, a note on this week's Finshots Markets.
Steelmakers have been making an impressive comeback of late. A meteoric rise in production, robust recovery in demand and record high selling prices have all pushed the incumbents in the industry on a profitable path. And through it all, the stock price of major steel producers have been on a rally like no other. So we thought we could look at the industry, understand the dynamics propelling it and see how this recovery is currently manifesting in an ever-changing world. Link here.
Also, if you would like to listen to Finshots on our podcast - Spotify and other podcasting apps.
The Rise and Rise of stories
On Monday, we talked about social media's most favourite feature, Stories.
If recent reports are to be believed, Spotify is testing the "Stories" feature within the app. And while reactions to the announcement were mixed, we thought we could look at it more closely and see why so many companies are adopting a feature that Snapchat introduced back in 2013. Full story here.
How not to solve the hunger problem?
On Tuesday, we talked about the Venezuelan food crisis.
A few days back news agencies started reporting that President Nicolas Maduro had seized total control of Venezuela’s political institutions with a sweeping victory in legislative elections. And while there was considerable euphoria within the Venezuelan ruling class, ground reports from the country are truly disheartening, to say the least. The country is broke. People are running out of food and the pandemic has dealt a death blow to the country's economy.
So we thought maybe we could look at how Venezuela got here and see how short sighted government policies crippled the country's prospects. You can read the story here.
Should Google pay news publishers?
On Wednesday we talked about an Australian bill that would force companies like Google and Facebook to pay media companies for their news content.
A few days back the chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said this — “There is a fundamental bargaining power imbalance between news media businesses and the major digital platforms, partly because news businesses have no option but to deal with the platforms, and have had little ability to negotiate over payment for their content or other issues. We wanted a model that would address this bargaining power imbalance and result in fair payment for content, which avoided unproductive and drawn-out negotiations, and wouldn’t reduce the availability of Australian news on Google and Facebook.”
And although this seems like a pretty good idea, there is also good reason to exercise caution. So we thought we could look at this more closely and see how it might impact the media ecosystem in Australia. Possibly even the world? More details here.
Is your honey adulterated?
On Thursday we talked about the menace of adulterated honey.
About a week back, Down To Earth released an extensive investigative report on the menace of adulterated honey. And while other news outlets have already covered the story of how major honey producers failed the purity test, this report paints an even darker picture. So we thought we could look at the story more closely and offer a more condensed version for you.
You can find the full story here.
Will they finally break up Facebook?
On Friday we talked about the government's plan to break up Facebook.
A couple of days ago, the federal government and 46 states in the US sued Facebook for engaging in monopolistic or anti-competitive practices. And while many people have sued the company in the past, the sheer scale and influence of this lawsuit deserves special merit. So we thought we could look at the case more closely and explain why Facebook is being accused of exploiting its dominance in the social media space. Link to the story here.
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Anyway that's it from us. We will see you next week :)
