Readings & Viewings: March 23, 2018

Welcome to this week's Readings & Viewings, a collection of news, analysis and other interesting snippets we've spotted from around the world during the latest week for your reading pleasure.

Well, we've ended the latest week with a bang, of course. At the close of market trading on Friday, the ASX was deep in red territory, obviously thanks to the 3 per cent plunge on Wall Street triggered by the start of the US-China trade war. Expect more pain.

So, stock levels are now lower overall and it's evident the wealthiest have most to worry about. Here's a perspective on that from The Washington Post based on data from the Pew Research Center.

Are we back to “the bad old days”on the stock market? Here's an item from Quartz.

Don't forget the other big global event of the week. The Federal Reserve Bank hiked interest rates to a range of 1.50 per cent to 1.75 per cent on Wednesday, pushing them past the Reserve Bank's 1.50 per cent cash rate. The rise was widely expected, but is the Fed making a policy mistake?

The Bank of England probably won't be too far away on rate rises either. It has hinted (fairly strongly) it will move in May.

But it's been a bit of a scary week on numerous fronts. There was the huge blow-up with Facebook, courtesy of a little-known company called Cambridge Analytica. And in Australia, mounting personal and business pressures saw the sudden departure of Crown casinos boss James Packer.

He wasn't alone on that score. In the US, Las Vegas casinos billionaire Steve Wynn (who Packer would know very well), took a $US740 million cheque from the sale of a third of his holding in Wynn Resorts following his sudden departure as CEO and chairman.

The banking Royal Commission continues to grab headlines here, but the news on poor lending practices has spread around the world. In South Africa, news of Westpac's motor vehicle financing grabbed headlines in Independent Online. 

Meanwhile, James Packer is reported to be in the United States for treatment (just a short jaunt from his polo ranch in Argentina). But authorities in New Zealand aren't too happy about one of his luxury yachts moored in Auckland.

On the tourism front, Auckland experienced a 92 per cent surge in Chinese visitors during February.

Back to Facebook, and the data harvesting of millions of users of the social network has caused untold reputational damage over the past week. The scandal spurred an apology to members from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, aired by CNN. If you have an account, you may be having second thoughts. But, as Vox explains, deleting it is harder than you think.

As usual, the technology scene was buzzing during the week.

Google announced it is taking the retail fight directly to Amazon, with some help from Walmart, Target and others.

But Amazon customers needn't be scared, by delivery drones.

Meanwhile, Elon Musk has confirmed he will be sticking around at Telsa – thanks to his $US2.6 billion compensation deal.

Who is Jack Dorsey, you may ask? The CEO of Twitter and Square believes bitcoin will be the world's sole currency in 10 years. Brave call, and very unlikely.

And The New York Times flags the difficulties of paying tax on cryptocurrencies, as if they weren't confusing enough.

Many large IT companies have been caught out avoiding tax, including in Australia. Now the European Commission has proposed new rules to ensure that digital business activities are taxed in a fair and growth-friendly way in the EU.

While Australia grapples with the trials and tribulations of the NBN, Canada is already exploring 5G wireless technology that will deliver download speeds 100 times faster than they now. So, is the NBN the most expensive white elephant ever?

Calling all media buyers! We all know that owning newspapers and magazines isn't what it used to be. But if you are interested, Time, Fortune and Sports Illustrated magazines are up for sale by their new owners, in a bid to realise between $US400 million and $US500 million of cost synergies.

Days after the company he founded began closing down its global operations, after it filed for bankruptcy last year, Toys R Us founder Charles Lazarus passed away this week. Here's some of his rags to riches life story.

Lastly, this one must rank among the most painful videos you'll ever watch. It involves a super sports car and a crusher.

Have a good weekend.