Jan 12, 2016 - Weak markets: What will bend the trend?

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Sree Vijaykumar From the Editor's Desk Are monopolies good? Peter Thiel (of Paypal founding and Facebook investment fame) has argued in his book, 'From Zero to One' that only monopolies like Google can afford the long-term focus and cash drain required to really invest in innovation. He adds that competition causes companies to rush towards mediocrity, as they try to outprice each other or only incrementally improve offerings. In this recent article, the New York Times makes a similar case. It's interesting that a democratic platform like the internet is creating 'winner-takes-all' companies like Google, Facebook and Amazon. Many of these companies have managed to create network effects (more people joining Facebook makes it more valuable to existing users, so they don't move elsewhere) to become monopolies. Now, the good thing is that they are very aware that the pace of new technology is such that they could get wiped out unless they invest their excess cash in tomorrow's technologies and do it faster and better than the next startup that could upend them (case studies include Nokia and Blackberry). So, in effect, unlike the monopolies of the past which were created through control of licenses and natural resources, tech monopolies are monopolies due to consumer choice and consumers will choose whatever's best for them. That's the kind of monopoly Thiel is referring to - Comment Weak markets: What will bend the trend? Markets have had a drubbing since the beginning of the year and, unless it’s ‘Apocalypse Now’, the question is: what could cause the trend to bend? Advt:Affordable Housing Schemes in Dubai with Post hand over payment plans Affordable Housing Schemes in Dubai with Post hand over payment plans IDFC Bank buys 10 per cent stake in ASA International India for Rs 8.5 crore IDFC Bank, which started operations on October 1 with shareholders funds of Rs 13,300 crore, intends to continue growing inorganically. CRH enters race to buy Lafarge India Irish giant bidding for Lafarge's cement business with annual capacity of 11 million tonnes Sebi tightens norms for mutual fund investment in corporate debt Sebi introduces caps on how much mutual funds can invest in debt; limits will apply to new schemes, fresh investments in existing ones China economy slowdown: India should focus on mitigating impact India should focus on how to mitigate the effects of turmoil in an integrated world economy. 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Indian Oil announces its partnership with logistics start-up firm Fortigo, aims at providing technology based solutions to small truck owners The tie up with Fortigo would also help Indian Oil to tap fuel business from fleet operators covered under the Fortigo platform, it said. Sachin Bansal steps down as Flipkart CEO in major reshuffle, Binny Bansal takes over; Sachin Bansal will continue as executive chairman Binny as chief executive officer will now be responsible for operationally driving the firm and will be accountable for Flipkarts overall performance. Srinivas Murthy, senior vice president of marketing at e-commerce major Snapdeal, puts in his papers to start his own venture The exit comes days after the e-commerce firm's head of strategy left. Microsoft's White Space technology may hit a dark patch in India over free spectrum Union minister for communications and IT, Ravi Shankar Prasad, told ET that spectrum will only be provided through auction and no exceptions will be made. Taiwan's Foxconn plans to build facility and campus in Andhra Pradesh : Will double smartphone production capacity Firm's latest production targets are likely to be met with ease as many Chinese smartphone companies are making their way to India. Indian IT firms may raise fees to counter dearer US visas The new US measure will shave 50-60 basis points off the profit margins of information technology firms including TCS and Infosys. Chinese mobile players look for partnership to get involved in Make in India campaign Indian and Chinese mobile phone industry players, including Micromax and Foxconn, will participate in the 'Make in India' campaign and look for partnerships to set up mobile handset and component manufacturing facilities in the country. Is Facebook getting evil by blocking ads from competitor? : After Telegram, FB now blocks Hike Messenger Home-grown Hike Messenger has accused Facebook of blocking an option in its advertisements which lets people visit the chatting application’s website. Yahoo's brain drain shows a loss of faith and trouble for Marissa Mayer Only 34 per cent of employees believe that Yahoo's prospects are improving, according to surveys conducted by Glassdoor, a firm that collects data on jobs and employers. Why India is betting on technology to overcome challenges? Racing against time to realise the 'Vision 2020' former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam conceived in 1996, India has embarked on a similar exercise for 2035, betting on emerging technologies to overcome major challenges it faces in ensuring inclusive TradeBriefs Publications are read by over 10,00,000 Industry Executives India Business Brief | India Retail News | India Food Brief | India Telecom Brief | India Finance Brief | India Software Brief | India Digital Brief | India Ecommerce Brief | India Franchise Brief | India HR Brief | India Logistics Brief | India Construction Brief About Us  |  Advertise Privacy Policy    Unsubscribe You are receiving this mail because of your subscription with TradeBriefs. Our mailing address is GF 25/39, West Patel Nagar, New Delhi 110008, India