This article was originally published by The Financial Times and is now available on ft.com.
It is ironic that both Dell and Apple shared big news last week.
Back in 1998 Michael Dell, then the crown prince of the personal computer industry, recommended that Steve Jobs shut down Apple, which was in dire shape, and distribute the proceeds to shareholders. By contrast, reflecting the turmoil now afflicting all PC makers, Mr Dell is negotiating to borrow money to make his company disappear from public view. Apple, meanwhile, announced that its shareholders would receive a Valentine’s day dividend of $2.5bn – a tiny portion of its $137bn cash pile.
But Apple earnings announced on Wednesday, and the subsequent fall in the value of its stock, grabbed more headlines than Dell’s prospective leveraged buyout. Moments after the financial figures were released, which showed a slowing growth rate, soothsayers took their gloomy predictions to the Twittergraph. The hordes who bought Apple stock in the past few years stampeded for the exits.
Perspective on Apple amid the clamour
Secrets to happiness: Buy experiences instead of things; buy many small pleasures instead of a few big ones; pay now for things you can look forward to and enjoy later.
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| — | The Haimish Line - NYTimes.com (via roelofbotha) |
Learning Tejo from a friendly local in Bogota, Colombia.
What is Tejo, you ask? Think horseshoes, but with gunpowder.
Like many young women before her, Irene came to Manhattan hoping to be as big as she was back in North Carolina, only to be ridiculed by the locals.
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| — | Hugh Eastwood (via macadamia1979) |
