Category: Economics

Posted on

Uber ‘n’ Amex: Joined at the Hip Factor

2014-01-16 13.36.52
Oh, you bet I redeemed it. A grey tie goes with just about anything.

Several months ago, I wondered why American Express didn’t offer some sort of tailored “$5 off $25” perk at Uber. After all, Amex is pretty aggressive when it comes to targeted promotions, and actively inks deals with retailers that cater to the tech-friendly and mobile-oriented crowd – the same crew that gets its lifts in Uber. In recent months, Amex has offered deals at iTunes, Dunkin Donuts, J. Crew, and Zappos – all brands that try to tap into the mobile audience. And, as I experienced firsthand, Amex’s app uses geolocation to provide targeted reminders of nearly-redeemed offers.

Continue reading “Uber ‘n’ Amex: Joined at the Hip Factor”

Posted on

Apples and Beats

If you listen closely, you just might hear the bass-heavy sound of the rumors that Apple will purchase Beats, the boldly-colored headphones company pioneered by Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre. Despite the pedigreed reporting by the Financial Times, I’m pretty skeptical that this acquisition is in the cards. As best as I can tell, here are the reasons why Apple wouldn’t spend $3.2 billion on Beats, as well as one reason why it might: Continue reading “Apples and Beats”

Posted on

Out and About in LA

Hollywood

My wife and I recently returned from a jaunt to sunny Los Angeles. We were fortunate enough to be able to do a great deal in a six-day sweep: the Santa Monica Pier, Venice Beach, the Hollywood sign, Getty Villa, Warner Brothers Studios, the Grove, LACMA, La Brea Tar Pits, Hollywood Boulevard and about seven different Coffee Bean and Tea Leafs. We hitched an occasional ride with relatives, but the majority of our travel (including rides to and from our hometown NY airports) were on Uber – the smartphone-based, on-demand car service. Continue reading “Out and About in LA”

Posted on

Microkia

Microsoft is acquiring the phone part of Nokia for a cool $7.2 Billion. Nokia CEO Stephen Elop is staying on board, which, I think will fuel rumors that he was a corporate trojan horse – leaving Microsoft for Nokia, only to oversee the latter’s sale to his former employer – and that he is in the running to fill Ballmer’s shoes. To that end, if will be very interesting to see if, in fact, Elop does get the promotion, because it would be indicative of Microsoft’s pivot from a PC and Office-based company to a mobile-oriented one. Continue reading “Microkia”

Posted on

Strategic Alternatives

Blackberry’s chairman announced that the former smartphone heavyweight will begin exploring “strategic alternatives” to address its dwindling market share and placate unhappy shareholders. As I’ve said before, it ultimately makes sense for Blackberry to ditch its OS team, adopt Android, and just concentrate on two businesses: hardware and enterprise services like encrypted email and messaging.  It seems logical for a few reasons: Continue reading “Strategic Alternatives”

Posted on

From the Wall Street Journal, on Jeff Bezos’s purchase of the Washington Post: At Amazon, Mr. Bezos has instilled a culture of extreme focus on customer service and low prices. Amazon executives fly coach class, and some desks at Amazon’s Seattle headquarters are fashioned out of repurposed doors to remind employees to be frugal. Those … Continue reading