Techonomics — IBM’s Weekly Newsletter
April 13, 2018
Market Activity and Trends
Tech Stocks Strong During Stock Market Volatility | Reuters | April 9, 2018 |
The stock market has seen a tumultuous past few weeks. Changing stances on the Chinese tariffs and uncertainty regarding Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s hearing have created a wary and varying stock market.
Recently, however, the stock markets have dipped due to the perceived potential legal troubles of President Donald Trump. After news broke of the FBI raid on Michael Cohen — Donald Trump’s personal lawyer — stocks dropped again. It appears investors are unsure of how to react to the market volatility — the trading volume Wednesday was only $6.28 billion, lower than the average $7.3 billion.
Although the market may be undergoing change, one thing remains the same: technology stocks like Apple continue to lead the market, making tech a strong investment bet.
Bots Responsible for 2/3rds of Shared Twitter Links | Wired | April 9, 2018 |
Twitter is a technology company that connects people — with people — through the sharing of ideas, links, and content. However, it turns out the majority of links shared aren’t shared by people — the links are shared by bots.
On Monday, Pew Research released a study which discovered 2/3rds of all links shared on twitter are generated by bots — not people. The same week Pew Research released this study, Congress addressed rival social media company Facebook’s stewardship of users and user data. It has yet to be seen if the same scrutiny will fall upon Twitter. Unlike Facebook, however, the bot-generated Twitter links are mostly related to commercial businesses and entertainment — not politics or terrorism.
Uber Debuts New Safety Features | TechCrunch | April 12, 2018 |
In 2017, the popular ride sharing app Uber faced a lot of controversy regarding the treatment of women in their company, causing them to hire a new CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi. It appears Khosrowshahi is already improving the app’s safety — she just announced several features designed to increase the safety of the passengers.
The features include a button to dial 911 as well as real-time location updates. The app will now give the option to share ride updates with other users.
Facebook Stock Rally is Biggest in Two Years | Investor Place | April 12, 2018 |
On Wednesday, Facebook CEO concluded his second day of congressional hearings about Facebook’s user data policies. Since the Cambridge Analytica scandal — where the data of millions of Facebook users was revealed to be compromised — Facebook stock has been dipping.
However, after Zuckerberg’s hearings the stock rallied — the most in two years. Zuckerberg answered questions clearly and confidently, which must have reassured investors.
2018: Year of the Unicorn Start-up?| Business Insider | April 12, 2018 |
For a start-up to qualify as an “Unicorn Start-up”, the valuation of the company must be over $1 billion. In 2017, experts predicted the odds of a start-up becoming an unicorn were less than 1%. However, a mere four months into 2018, already 16 start-ups have reached this benchmark. Business Insider released the list on Thursday.
A few of the highlights include an App for Chinese farmers to connect with local restaurants — creating new, digital markets for rural agriculture. HeartFlow, currently valued at $1.5 billion, allows doctors to analyze blocked arteries without invasive tools or surgeries.
