The SoftBank founder defends $13bn annual loss by comparing himself to the Son of God — by Anthony Blumberg After SoftBank’s massive losses and Alibaba’s Jack Ma resignation from SoftBank’s board, has CEO Masayoshi Son lost his golden touch? Japan’s SoftBank Group reported a US$13 billion loss, largely from its investments in Uber, WeWork and Oyo, and compounded by the coronavirus With more boardroom departures, including Alibaba founder Jack Ma, and Son seemingly likening himself to Jesus, who can rein in his risk-taking impulses?

In the pandemic aftermath, what will hotels do differently? — by Anthony Blumberg On your first post-pandemic hotel stay, whenever that happens, management will be glad to see you. But don’t expect to see the front-desk clerk smile. Or offer you a cookie. Or invite you to a wine-and-cheese happy hour. You might not even get a room key. …

Billionaire Americans activate their pandemic escape plans, jetting abroad to underground bunkers in New Zealand. — by Anthony Blumberg As coronavirus infections tore across the U.S. in early March, a Silicon Valley billionaire called the survival shelter manufacturer Rising S Co. He wanted to know how to open the secret door to his multimillion-dollar bunker 11 feet underground in New Zealand. The tech titan had neve­r…

Germany followed the playbook for saving lives. France didn’t. — Five days of worship set off a virus time bomb in France… France and Germany, Europe’s two most powerful countries, have been hit hard by the coronavirus, with each approaching 150,000 confirmed cases. But as of April 17, France has near 18,000 dead from the infection, while Germany’s death toll has passed 4,000. Which raises the question: How did two similarly sized countries, located right next to each other and with comparable levels of wealth and resources, end up with such starkly different outcomes?

The economic impact we’re experiencing is unprecedented but there are still opportunities to come out stronger than ever before. — by Anthony Blumberg “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.” — Charles Darwin In a matter of weeks, everything changed. Uncertainty is the only thing that is certain. Most businesses have…

The Japanese conglomerate that funded WeWork, OYO, and many other startups faces more problems. Is this the Greatest Meltdown in the History of Venture Capital? — by Anthony Blumberg SoftBank’s Problems Keep Mounting. Its Next Issue Could Be Ride-Sharing Companies Like Uber. SoftBank’s massive Vision Fund could take another $2 billion in-write downs next month. Here’s how the bold experiment went wrong.

The story of how Elon Musk established his first company and made his first millions of dollars. — by Anthony Blumberg When Elon Musk tried to pitch the head of the Yellow Pages before the internet boom, “he threw the book at me.” In 1995, just before the dot-com bubble began, Elon Musk believed “the internet was definitely about to go supernova,” he recalled on the Third Row…

The coronavirus outbreak may last for a year or two, but some elements of pre-pandemic life will likely be won back in the meantime. by Anthony Blumberg The new coronavirus has brought American life to a near standstill, closing businesses, canceling large gatherings, and keeping people at home. …

Chief Investment Officer Kevin Smith believes the biggest opportunity for shorting the market has yet to come. — by Anthony Blumberg Kevin Smith knew the math just didn’t add up. “U.S. large-cap stocks are the most overvalued in history, higher than prior speculative mania market peaks in 1929 and 2000,” the Crescat Capital chief investment officer warned in a letter to investors in November 2017.