What I wrote last week
Stay Reasonable, Stay Rational
Uber Finally Arrived At Its Long-Elusive Destination – Profitability
Business
Uber’s Grand Plan to Go All-Electric in London Ran Into Gridlock. The move to go all-electric is more about appeasing lawmakers and authorities than about consumer preferences. “In California, the number is more than 10%. State law requires it to reach 90% by 2030. Tougher laws helped launch Uber’s efforts in London. In 2017, the U.K. capital announced it would expand daily fees for older, more polluting cars to operate in the city center. The next year, it said that by 2021 it would only exempt fully electric vehicles from a separate daily congestion charge. Uber, which was then working to mend its relationship with cities around the world, including London, said it would piggyback on London’s electrification efforts with its own program.“
That Cool New Bookstore? It’s a Barnes & Noble. Barnes & Noble seems to have the right guy in James Daunt, who has the experience and expertise, as well as a notoriously aggressive owner in Elliott Management. The strategy of localizing stores and empowering store operators makes sense, but would readers prefer the ambivalence of Barnes & Noble locales or would they prefer the convenience that Amazon brings? Would consumers switch to e-books more?
Tesla created secret team to suppress thousands of driving range complaints. Governments at both local and federal level should really look into this report. If true, Tesla not only deceives consumers, but also harms them.
Richie Capital Group’s writeup on Solar Edge. I learned a few things about this market and the two biggest players.
Amazon is delivering its largest selection of products to U.S. Prime members at the fastest speeds ever. “Across the top 60 largest U.S. metro areas, more than half of Prime member orders arrived the same or next day. So far this year, we’ve delivered more than 1.8 billion units to U.S. Prime members the same or next day—nearly four times what we delivered at those speeds by this point in 2019. Since the beginning of this year alone, the distance between our sites and the customer decreased by 15%, with 12% fewer touchpoints within our middle mile network. Improved product placement gets items even closer to customers, making our delivery system more efficient. And our Same-Day Delivery network is not only our fastest way to get products to customers, it is also one of our lowest cost ways. “
Amazon’s grocery revamp has begun. Apparently we are witnessing a new wave of changes made in Amazon Grocery. It’s all well and good to have new looks, but if prices are not competitive and delivery is also pricey, will it attract shoppers? Especially in this uncertain environment.
Other stuff I find interesting
How Facebook became Pakistan’s hottest matchmaking site. It’s interesting that a government decided to intervene and favor a giant tech company.
Everything Is Cyclical. “Most things in your life are, at best, actively stable. Left alone they’ll follow the natural path of cyclicality. But if there’s constant intervention and management – managing your expectations, managing your reputation, managing how you advertise yourself and who you surround yourself with – you have at least a shot at keeping something good going for the longest period of time.“
America’s Military Trails Russia and China in Race for the Melting Arctic. A very interesting article on the race to the Arctic between three powerhouses. It baffles me how the US is now at a disadvantage because it doesn’t have the equipment to compete with China and Russia. Think about how much money the federal government budgets for the military. Then, how come does arguably the biggest military on Earth not have the tools to fight in the Arctic? If you want some more insights into how the US military branches spend money every month and what a disaster it is, read The Kill Chain
Lifesaving HIV program faces a new threat: U.S. abortion politics. “For two decades, the United States has pursued a far-reaching global agenda to fight HIV and AIDS, an initiative credited with saving more than 25 million lives. But the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, better known as PEPFAR, has been abruptly bogged down in a domestic political fight, with Republicans citing allegations that the program’s funding is being used to indirectly support abortions — claims that health advocates, Democrats and PEPFAR officials say are baseless. The logjam over the HIV program has angered Democratic leaders such as Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who has been negotiating for months to reauthorize PEPFAR and attempted to include it in the armed services bill that passed the Senate on Thursday. In an interview, Menendez singled out the public health and foreign policy implications of the program, including its geopolitical role at a time when rival nations such as China seek to curry favor with African countries.”
Stats
In the U.S., 5% of miles driven on Uber are currently on electric vehicles
First 6 months of 2023 saw 616.5 billion audio streams listened in the US
Apple Savings reached $10 billion in deposits
Minh Quang Duong 
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