This column highlights the most interesting and useful business and financial commentary from around the Web each day. Feel free to
send along your own suggestions for blog content that you've read or written.
Bits
"People who constantly reach into a pocket to check a smartphone for bits of information will soon have another option: a pair of Google-made glasses that will be able to stream information to the wearer’s eyeballs in real time. According to several Google employees familiar with the project who asked not to be named, the glasses will go on sale to the public by the end of the year. These people said they are expected “to cost around the price of current smartphones,” or $250 to $600." (Also Read
Google's Privacy Woes Are Growing.)
Sometimes, Good Enough Is Good Enough
"Today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average flirted with the 13,000 level, prompting lots of people across a number of different media to talk about how the Dow was flirting with the 13,000 level. Of course, there's no real meaning to the 13,000 level; people just like big, round numbers, and so discussion about how the Dow had returned to this particular level (the last close above 13,000 occurred in May of 2008) seemed somehow more justified than discussion of the index's attainment of, say, the all-important 12,578 level. A focus on big, round numbers is a little silly."
Felix Salmon
"I had a little bit of fun amidst all the seriousness
on Canadian TV yesterday, laying out my genius solution to the Greek crisis: Canadians. (My segment starts at about 19:20 in.) Essentially, Germany wants Greeks to become German: to stoically accept real wage deflation while working hard and paying their taxes in a good Protestant manner. Canadians are well-educated, productive, and very good at paying their taxes; what’s more, they’d probably like somewhere warmer to live, especially in the winter. So bring all the Canadians to Greece, where they could help turn the economy around, and leave Canada to the commodity companies and the Chinese property speculators. It’s basically the
Davos to Greece idea, taken to its logical conclusion." (For related content, see
Greece: From Sovereign Nation to the Penultimate Structured Investment Vehicle.)
Epicenter
"On Tuesday,
Comcast announced Xfinity Streampix, a new subscription video service for computers and mobile devices offering additional movies and full seasons of television shows. Streampix will launch this week, included free with some TV/internet and TV/internet/voice bundles, or $5/month for current Comcast TV customers.Think about it like a mini-Hulu Plus, only trading off Fox shows for more kids’ TV. Comcast’s programming partners at launch include ABC/Disney, NBC Universal, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros. and Cookie Jar. The service will initially be available for PC, Mac, iPad and iPhone, with support for Xbox 360 and Android devices to come. But wait; doesn’t Comcast already offer apps for digital video?" (Also Read
Comcast Earnings Show US Big on Broadband.)
All Things D
"A day after Dell reported quarterly earnings that
fell 18 percent, analysts are slashing their ratings on its stock today, which opened lower by nearly 7 percent as markets opened in New York. Dell’s earnings were 51 cents and missed the consensus of analysts by a penny; the company also said that revenue would decline by 7 percent in the current quarter. In a note to clients today, Shaw Wu of Sterne Agee dropped his rating to “underperform,” the equivalent of a “sell,” arguing that Dell’s PC business continues to suffer at the competitive hands of Apple, Acer and rejuvenated Hewlett-Packard. “We are concerned with the company’s longer-term fundamental position and may face more difficulty making further operational improvements,” Wu wrote."
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