Today in Monopoly - Monday, Oct. 29th, 2018

Here are some stories we had our eye on today:

IBM to Buy Red Hat, the Top Linux Distributor, for $34 Billion
New York Times, Steve Lohr

IBM is making a big move to bring more software developers under its wing by acquiring Red Hat, the largest distributor of the popular open-source operating system Linux, for $34 billion. The purchase, announced on Sunday afternoon, is the latest competitive step among large business-software companies seeking an edge in the fast-growing market for cloud computing. In June, Microsoft acquired GitHub, a major code-sharing platform for software developers, for $7.5 billion.

Warren Buffett’s Firm Invests Millions in Fintech
Wall Street Journal,  Nicole Friedman and Peter Rudegeair

Move is a departure from company’s usual penchant for blue-chip companies in steady businesses … Berkshire invested around $600 million in recent months in two big financial-technology companies focused on emerging markets: Brazilian payment processor StoneCo. Ltd. and the parent company of India’s largest mobile-payments service, Paytm.

Facebook, Google May Face Billions in New Taxes Across Asia, Latin America
Wall Street Journal, Timothy W. Martin and Sam Schechner

Dozens of countries are stepping up efforts to levy new taxes on technology giants such as Alphabet Inc. and Facebook Inc., hoping to capture revenue from digital services as economic activity increasingly shifts online. Inspired by European Union proposals to impose a tax based on the revenue of tech companies rather than their profit, South Korea, India and at least seven other Asian-Pacific countries are exploring new taxes. Mexico, Chile and other Latin American countries too are contemplating new taxes aimed at boosting receipts from foreign tech firms.

Grocers Enlist Robots to Chase E-Commerce
Wall Street Journal, Heather Haddon

Grocers are stocking their warehouses with robots and artificial intelligence to increase efficiency as competition for consumer spending on food picks up.

Big Tech’s unhealthy obsession with hyper-targeted ads 
Financial Times, Rana Foroohar

Apple has its own issues in Europe and the US — from tax offshoring to legal battles over intellectual property infringement. But it is the huge platform groups — Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Google — that have the deeper problems. Their business depends on manipulating behaviour, via Las Vegas-style techniques offering variable rewards to keep users hooked. Their opaque algorithms lock users into filter bubbles which they can then monetise. It is a business model that causes endless collateral damage, as evidenced by the weekly drumbeat of scandal. But it is one that they will never walk away from voluntarily. It is simply too profitable.