Showing 1 - 5 of 5
Disrupting the disruptors on the internet
Oped, Roger McNamee, Published on 09/12/2022
» After a decade of unconstrained growth -- when it seemed that a new billionaire was minted every day -- the tech industry has finally hit a rough patch. Elon Musk's erratic behaviour following his takeover of Twitter has left the financially leveraged platform in a precarious state. The crypto exchange FTX's sudden implosion has vaporised a business that was recently valued at US$32 billion (1.1 trillion baht), taking many other crypto firms with it. Meta (Facebook) is laying off 11,000 people, 13% of its workforce, and Amazon is shedding 10,000.
Central banking's bankrupt narrative
Business, Roger Farmer, Published on 06/09/2019
» Former US Treasury secretary Lawrence Summers and economist Anna Stansbury recently cast doubt on the future of central banking, suggesting the prevailing monetary policy framework is in dire need of a rethink.
Taxing the intangible economy
Business, Roger E.A. Farmer, Published on 13/07/2018
» Some very clever people, including the president of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, and Andy Haldane, chief economist at the Bank of England, are expressing concerns over the slowdown in productivity growth. And, given that productivity (measured as GDP per hour worked) is the ultimate driver of increases in living standards, they are right to be worried.
Bad Genius sweeps Subannahongsa Awards
Life, Roger Tonge, Published on 13/03/2018
» Capping a spectacular year, the exam-room thriller Chalat Game Geong (Bad Genius) swept the Subannahongsa Awards -- the closest thing to the Thai Oscars -- by winning 12 out of the 16 categories in a ceremony on Sunday night at Thailand Cultural Centre.
Swashbuckling Shostakovich
Life, Roger Tonge, Published on 13/03/2018
» In its signature hall at Mahidol University, the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra (TPO) earlier this month gave us a most enjoyable Rhapsody In Blue by Gershwin, with the piano brightly and playfully played by Bennett Lerner, then keyed us in for darker drama from Shostakovich's Symphony No.5 -- an epic piece from a composer whose music often caused him serious problems with Stalin's USSR government (Gershwin was probably banned there for being too American and decadent, so a good programming link to Shostakovich).