What I Wrote Last Week
Business
Taiwan Invokes National Security Law to Protect TSMC Trade Secrets. “TSMC is a giant contract manufacturer. It makes chips that other companies design. Its success depends on keeping secrets. The company has strict protocols to protect its trade secrets, including an internal system that tracks which files employees open and print out, and where employees register their engineering breakthroughs. The company follows patent filings by former employees and requires many of its employees to sign noncompete agreements.“
Disney Exec on Media Mergers, Jimmy Kimmel and What Makes Good TV. I find it interesting that Disney made Dana available for a profile piece like this, just before Disney plans to announce the next CEO in early 2026. Bob Iger is always lauded for his relationship with Hollywood on top of his business acumen. This profile by Bloomberg Businessweek highlights how Dana works with stars like Jimmy Kimmel. Are we looking at the next CEO of Disney?
Disney Agrees to Bring Its Characters to OpenAI’s Sora Videos. The partnership makes sense. Disney needs a global distribution and a technology partner that can let millions of users, especially younger ones, interact with its beloved characters. I do wonder how Disney will quantify the benefits from this deal. The value of the stake in OpenAI? Are they going to allow customers to create merchandises based on prompts on ChatGPT? For OpenAI, it’s an immediate win. The license to use popular characters on its platform and an infusion of cash.
American Customers Are Madder Than Ever. I am not even surprised by how unhappy consumers are at the lack of customer service. Every time I want to contact a brand for an issue or question, I’ll have to spend at least 15 minutes, on the best day, to even try to get a hold of a human-being. Companies tout AI chatbots as a solution to deliver help faster, but it’s hardly ever the case. These chatbots just send people to publicly available links, but if those links were helpful, noone would bother to talk to a person. And it’s frustrating that if you want help, you’ll have to pay more for status and dedicated services. In a way, it’s more expensive to buy things in general. Not only will products and services get more expensive, but you’ll likely encounter problems and spend more time getting help. Chewy and Apple deserve praise for their services.
Other Stuff I Find Interesting
Why beef prices are out of control in the U.S. What is going on in the beef industry is really interesting. Demand significantly outweighs supply and there is no sign that the US can ramp up supply enough to drive down prices.
Instacart’s Price Experiments Cost Families At Checkouts. Voters are very sensitive to inflation and will punish lawmakers whose reign coincides with higher prices. Recently, we have seen that with Democrats’ wins in Republicans’ areas. So, lawmakers should have motivation to mandate transparent pricing and they should act. Why? Because experiments like what Instacart is doing make it difficult for consumers to know prices and do comparisons. “Based on the average of about 7% difference in basket totals and the amount that Instacart says the average household of four spends on groceries in the U.S., that could translate into a cost swing of about $1,200 per year.”
‘The next protein’: Fiber is shaping up to be the latest grocery obsession. It is great that people now realize the importance of fiber, but I’d increase fiber intake through vegetables, instead of stuff like fiber-rich soda.
How Did the C.I.A. Lose a Nuclear Device? An incredible report on a once-secret mission by the CIA and its counterpart in India to install a surveillance device powered by plutonium on one of the most difficult mountains to climb, in order to look deeper into China. It’s both fascinating and terrifying that a nuclear device is lost in the mountain, untraceable till this day, and can endanger millions of people who live downstream of the Ganges.
Clean, Limitless Energy Exists. China Is Going Big in the Race to Harness It. “Fusion, the melding together of atoms to release extraordinary energy, uses fuels that are plentiful, carries no risk of meltdowns and leaves no long-lived radioactive waste. It promises near-limitless energy that might not only satisfy the surging demand for electricity to power artificial intelligence but also end reliance on the fossil fuels that are perilously overheating the planet. The United States is counting on private industry and American innovation to deliver results, with government agencies providing targeted support. On the other side of the world, China’s government has made fusion a national priority, marshaling resources at daunting speed. Recently, a Shanghai start-up essentially matched an engineering breakthrough by America’s best-funded fusion company, Commonwealth Fusion Systems, in much less time. Over the summer, the Chinese government and private investors poured $2.1 billion into a new state-owned fusion company. That investment alone is two and a half times the U.S. Energy Department’s annual fusion budget.”
Stats
82% indicates they choose a specific airline based on lounge access
“Monthly online grocery sales rose 29% year-over-year in November to more than $12 billion”
Minh Quang Duong 
Leave a comment