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Welcome
It’s been a while since I’ve sent this newsletter. That’s because I haven’t wanted to use your time until I had a clear idea of what I felt it should be.
My challenges:
Too many newsletters exist
Too many bad newsletters exist
Clear value is required: Does it help me think and understand more? Am I entertained? Am I armed with information that will make me better at what I do or help me reach my goal?
It must save time: If I can do the same activity — research, analyze and process the same information — on my own as with the newsletter, then I hit “unsubscribe."
Bottom line: I have not been willing to impose myself in your in-box without good reason.
Well, I believe now that I have good reason. And I’m asking your help to tell me if I’m right.
Chris Riback’s Newsletter
Chris Riback’s Newsletter is an executive briefing of what you need to know in 6 categories: World, Politics, Finance, Technology, Smart Links, and Good News. It’s a carefully edited selection of content intelligently collected and connected from important sources around the web.
The goal is simple: To make readers smarter and save you time. That’s it.
The Business Model
Of course, to do this, it needs to be a viable commercial venture. Here’s my business model:
Chris Riback’s Newsletter is supported entirely by reader subscriptions.
Every weekday, paid subscribers will get a newsletter sent to their in box. It will deliver – from around the web – the news you need to know and the ideas to inspire your next move.
Members also will get content exclusives:
Events, starting this Thursday, April 23. I’m pleased to invite you to a live online event: Front Row at the Trump Show: A Conversation with ABC News’ Jonathan Karl. Register here.
A private podcast feature, Chris Riback’s 6-Minutes Smart. This will be an occasional 6-minute briefing on an important topic by an important thinker.
Office Hours: A live interactive conference call/webcast every quarter, where I’ll not only present new ideas, but take as many of your questions as I can.
Most importantly, you’ll have access to the other members – an instant network of other engaged, smart thinkers.
Cost
Membership will be just $10/month ($100 annually). However:
During this 2 week trial, I’m offering a Founding Member Rate of 50% off the first year — half off the annual and monthly rates.
Not only that, if you don’t like the membership – if you don’t think I'm delivering ideas that matter – just let me know, and I’ll refund that month’s subscription fee.
2 Week Trial: Your Help Needed
How will I know if this venture will work? I need your help:
I will run this newsletter for free to all current subscribers — paid and unpaid — for two weeks.
After two weeks, I’ll see how many people have become paid subscribers. If I reach enough paid subscribers to make it viable, we’re off to the races.
If I don’t, I’ll refund everyone’s money and go back to the drawing board.
As always, I’ll be grateful for your direct feedback. You’ve given it to me before, most recently when I launched DocuPods. Thank you.
What About Chris Riback’s Conversations?
Thanks for asking! Yes, I’ll still do the podcast, and yes, it will continue to be free. I love the podcast. Luckily, the folks who listen seem to like it, too. So while I’ve considered moving it behind a paywall, that isn’t happening now.
Thanks for taking the journey with me. Please let me know your thoughts. And if you like what you see, please sign up for a paid subscription at the Founding Member Rate!
Chris
The World
Thousands of people are preparing to attend protests across the US in the coming days, as a rightwing movement against stay-at-home orders, backed by wealthy conservative groups and promoted by Donald Trump, continues to take hold. While organisers claim the protests are grassroots- and people-driven, a closer look reveals a movement driven by traditional rightwing groups, including one funded by the family of Trump’s education secretary, Betsy DeVos. (Guardian)
Infowars is hosting a demonstration on Saturday at the steps of the Texas Capitol “to protest the authoritarian lockdown orders being imposed by petty tyrants at the local level,” according to its website. On Sunday, demonstrators will also gather at the Capitol for Washington state, where mandatory stay-at-home restrictions are in effect until May 4. (Washington Post)
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee condemned Trump for encouraging “illegal and dangerous acts” that were “putting millions of people in danger of contracting COVID-19.” “The president is fomenting domestic rebellion and spreading lies even while his own administration says the virus is real and is deadly, and that we have a long way to go before restrictions can be lifted,” Inslee said. (Seattle Times)
In a joint statement Saturday, foreign ministers from 13 countries, including Canada, Brazil, Italy and Germany, called for global cooperation to lessen the economic impact of the pandemic. The statement was also backed by Britain, France Indonesia, Mexico, Morocco, Peru, South Korea, Singapore and Turkey. The United States did not join in the call. (Associated Press)
A picture is emerging of who got the $350 billion in bailout money (Reuters):
More than 25% of the total pot went to fewer than 2% of the firms that got relief. They include a number of publicly traded companies with thousands of employees and hundreds of millions of dollars in annual sales.
The three biggest state economies - California, Texas and New York - accounted for 23% of the loans, more than $82 billion. Meanwhile, businesses in a number of small, rural states that have avoided the brunt of the outbreak took home a disproportionate share of the pie.
Loans of $2 million or more made up nearly 28% of the total, and those of at least $5 million accounted for 9%.
At least 60 publicly traded firms have claimed a share of the total, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
With Congress scattered, watchdog positions are going unfilled and hearings unscheduled on implementing $2.2 trillion aid package. Efforts to keep an eye on how the money is being spent are off to a slow start, in part because of the pandemic itself. (Wall Street Journal)
The failure by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to quickly produce a test kit for detecting the novel coronavirus was triggered by a glaring scientific breakdown at the CDC’s central laboratory complex in Atlanta, according to scientists with knowledge of the matter and a determination by federal regulators. The cross contamination most likely occurred because chemical mixtures were assembled into the kits within a lab space that was also handling synthetic coronavirus material. (Washington Post)
Meat plants have become major “hot spots” for the coronavirus pandemic, with some reporting widespread illnesses among their workers. (New York Times)
Iowa: As cases of COVID-19 spike in Black Hawk County, the local sheriff is blasting Tyson Foods, and local officials are calling for the company to shut down its plant in Waterloo. Black Hawk County Sheriff Tony Thompson said he’s concerned that COVID-19 will overrun his community if the Tyson Foods plant doesn’t take proper precautions, including temporarily shutting it down. (Des Moines Register)
Job news:
Walmart to hire 50,000 more workers. (Reuters)
The legal world is being ravaged by the economic fallout. In the U.K. alone, nearly 80% of firms plan to furlough some staff and cut partner compensation. (Bloomberg)
NBA players to receive 25% less in paychecks starting May 15. (ESPN)
UnitedHealth Group, parent company of the nation's largest private insurer, disclosed that members struggling to pay premiums and now using a payment plan or grace period represents 3% of the company's entire premium base, up from just 0.4% in a typical month. (Healthcare Dive)
President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin appear to have had more sustained contact with each other in the past two weeks than at any time since 2016. The two leaders spoke on the phone at least four times over a two-week period, beginning March 30 and ending on Sunday, a record pace for publicly known phone calls between the leaders, according to a CNN tally. (CNN)
Hong Kong police arrested 15 activists in raids on Saturday in the biggest crackdown on the city’s pro-democracy movement since the outbreak of mass protests last year. Among those detained on charges of illegal assembly were Democratic Party founder Martin Lee, 81, millionaire publishing tycoon Jimmy Lai, 71, and former lawmaker and barrister Margaret Ng, 72. (Reuters)
Former National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster explains how China sees the world, and how we should see China: The integrated nature of the Chinese Communist Party’s military and economic strategies is what makes it particularly dangerous to the United States and other free and open societies. (The Atlantic)
India cannot test the majority of its 1.3 billion people, so the country has sent thousands of public-health workers into villages, towns and cities to trace and quarantine those who might have had contact with infected people. (Nature)
If and when you return to your office after the novel coronavirus pandemic, you’ll probably notice some differences. Upon entering your building, the doors may open automatically so you don’t have to touch the handles. Before you board your elevator, you might tell the elevator where you’d like to go, rather than pressing the many elevator buttons. When you reach your floor, you could walk into a room full of dividers and well-spaced desks instead of the crowded open floor plan. In common areas like meeting rooms and kitchens, expect to see fewer chairs and posted documentation of the last time they were cleaned. (Vox)
The lockdown is creating troubles for brands that have already spent or committed to spend on sponsorships this year, and that might not be made whole. A six-month shutdown would mean more than $10 billion worth of sports and entertainment sponsorship commitments could be delayed, lost or otherwise affected, IEG estimated. (Wall Street Journal)
Finance
Owners of open-air shopping centers in the United States received less than half of their rent this month, as companies seek redress from the owners. Commercial real estate researchers from Green Street Advisors told their clients this weekend that mall owners were paid only between 30% and 50% of April rent. (Thakoni)
AMC raises $500m debt during cinema shutdown, as the world’s biggest movie chain enticed bond investors with 11% yield. (Financial Times)
Mortgage relief included in the federal stimulus package last month may not be enough to save homeowners facing balloon payments when the forbearance period ends. Mortgage borrowers may owe all or a big chunk of the skipped payments when the forbearance period ends. (Bloomberg Law)
China moves to keep EU investment talks on track: Vice-premier Liu He’s phone conversation with his European counterparts is seen as an attempt by Beijing to refocus attention on the matter. The discussions took place against growing European suspicion of China and its handling of the coronavirus crisis. (South China Morning Post)
At least eight European hedge funds are launching portfolios betting on a recovery in corporate debt and emerging markets after the coronavirus pandemic triggered the biggest market rout in a generation. (Reuters)
From the Washington Post:
Technology
The first detailed indication of how the pandemic has affected the tech and media industry so far will come next week, as companies start reporting quarterly results. Apple’s revenue is expected to fall, while analysts expect revenue growth at Facebook and Alphabet to slow somewhat but still reach 18% and 14%, respectively — reflecting when the pandemic began affecting their businesses (The Information):
While supply disruptions in China affected Apple early in the quarter, the impact of lockdown orders in the U.S. didn't hit until midway through March, triggering a sharp economic slump.
For the two ad-driven tech giants, the second quarter will show the full impact.
The Covid-19 pandemic is ushering in a new era of digital surveillance and rewiring the world’s sensibilities about data privacy (Wall Street Journal):
Amazon has started to use thermal cameras at its warehouses to speed up screening for feverish workers who could be infected with the coronavirus. (Reuters)
Employers use software to take screenshots of workers’ computers and measure their productivity. The technology provides managers with daily productivity scores for remote workers or detailed reports on which tasks consume their days. (Wall Street Journal)
The Apple-Google plan to curtail spread of the coronavirus “broadly” aligns with United Kingdom privacy regulations, the nation’s chief data officer said Friday. Apple and Google are working on a system that would allow mobile users to voluntarily share anonymous identifiers using Bluetooth to determine if they have come into contact with an infected person. (Bloomberg Law)
Meanwhile, a different European technology platform to support smartphone apps that can help trace people at risk of infection by the new coronavirus is gaining support from governments. (Reuters)
Landing AI’s video shows their new workplace monitoring tool that issues an alert when anyone is less than the desired distance from a colleague. (MIT Technology Review)
Companies world-wide are diverting capital spending from information-technology hardware to cloud services, artificial intelligence and other tools that hold the promise of cutting costs and boosting revenue, according to research group International Data Corp. Overall corporate spending on enterprise technology is expected to decline this year, as companies slash IT budgets to cope with a downturn in business sparked by the coronavirus pandemic. (Wall Street Journal)
Alongside Zoom Video Communications Inc., Houseparty may be the product that most defines the current moment. It has been the most-downloaded social networking app in Apple’s U.S. App Store every day since March 20—ahead of Facebook Inc.’s trio of Facebook, Messenger and WhatsApp, according to App Annie. (Bloomberg)
Silicon Valley startups—and biotech companies in general—are pivoting en masse to address Covid-19. (Wired)
The Defense Department’s inspector general said it was unable to determine whether White House influence affected the award of the Pentagon’s multibillion-dollar Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure cloud contract because several officials asserted a “presidential communications privilege.” The department selected Microsoft in October over Amazon Web Services, which is challenging the decision in an ongoing federal court case. (Defense One)
Smart Links
Half of Americans say the Bible should influence U.S. laws, including 28% who say the Bible should take priority over the will of the people. (Pew Research Report)
3 in 4 college students who secured internships or jobs after college have since seen them canceled or thrown into uncertainty. (Business Insider)
An exceptional Reuters report and graphic outlines the more than 70 vaccine candidates in development around the world. (Reuters)
The iPhone 12 Pro Max design has leaked. (BGR)
Biden’s digital game is outmatched by Trump a month into virtual race. (Bloomberg)
Offshore oil and gas platforms release more methane than previously estimated. (Science Daily)
Queen Elizabeth cancels her 94th birthday gun salute on Tuesday. (Guardian)
SpaceX gets May 27 date to launch 2 NASA astronauts to Space Station. (New York Times)
Long spaceflights affect astronaut brain volume. (Science Daily)
Good News
As humans stay indoors, wild animals take back the streets. (Washington Post)