Big Tech's Dangerous Influence: "Coming Between Us And Reality"

Via Knowledge@Wharton,
Author Franklin Foer reflects on the dangers of losing ourselves in a society dependent on a handful of tech firms.
Via Knowledge@Wharton,
Author Franklin Foer reflects on the dangers of losing ourselves in a society dependent on a handful of tech firms.
While Apple's troubles with the iPhone 8 (which is being outsold by the iPhone 7) have been duly discussed in recent days and largely ignored by Wall Street, whose hopes remain pinned on the iPhone X, the latest update from DigiTimes is even more concering, as it suggests that general demand for the entire Apple product suite may be lower than expected. According to Digitimes, iPhone assembler Foxconn has reportedly started shipping iPhone X units, however the first batches smaller than expected.
Global stocks hit new all time highs overnight, with US stock-index futures, Asian and European stocks all rising overnight after the Senate adopted a fiscal 2018 budget resolution, paving the way for Trump's $1.5 trillion in tax cuts, while news that "dove" Jay Powell may be the next Fed chair added to the risk-on sentiment.
Has the market's "melt-up" levitation finally ended? Of course, it could be much worse: as Bloomberg's Paul Jarvis recalls, thirty years ago on this day traders around the globe were staring at their screens in disbelief as stock markets turned to a sea of red: the Dow, S&P 500, FTSE, DAX and CAC fell -23%, -20%, -10%, -9% and -10% respectively.
According to a surprising, and not altogether pleasant for Tim Cook and AAPL shareholders new report by KeyBanc Capital Analyst John Vinh, channel checks have revealed that Apple's older iPhone 7 models are outselling the recently launched iPhone 8 ahead of the early November debut of the premium iPhone X.