Alex Webb

FC Barcelona’s inability to retain Lionel Messi is not just indicative of how badly the giant of Spanish soccer has been mismanaged. It also underscores the foibles of fan ownership. The club announced on Thursday that Messi, the talismanic superstar who has driven the club to 10 La Liga and…

From electric carmakers to space tourism to online learning firms, special-purpose acquisition companies have provided an easy route to the public markets for businesses with, generously, a long path to profitability. The SPAC boom is now also smoothing the way for a legacy media company – Britain…

Consumers are going to spend a lot more money in 2021 than they did in 2020. And that’s great news for the advertising industry — not just Google, Amazon.com Inc. and Facebook Inc., who together attract 44% of all ad spending, but also struggling old-school agencies such as WPP Plc., Interpublic…

There’s a curious thread connecting Robinhood, Facebook, Twitter, and Apple this year: The technology companies are starting to take active responsibility for what happens on their platforms. From Robinhood Markets Inc. deciding to limit trading of meme stocks, to Facebook Inc. and Twitter Inc…

In parts of southeast Asia, white elephants were long considered a symbol of prosperity because they were expensive to maintain and served little practical purpose. It’s an apt metaphor for Europe’s latest plan to catch up with the US and Asia in technology. The European Union is considering the…

Dialog Semiconductor Plc Chief Executive Officer Jalal Bagherli can finally breathe a sigh of relief. Three years ago, his company appeared to be in free fall after it emerged that Apple Inc., its biggest customer, planned to develop its own power-management chips — the very component that…

Google’s threat to disable its search engine in Australia is a misguided attempt to protect $17 billion in annual revenue. It merely exposes the online advertising giant to far more severe repercussions. The Alphabet Inc. unit’s warning was a response to legislative efforts to force it to pay…

Becoming an iPhone supplier these days isn’t quite the blessing it once was. Stagnating smartphone sales mean companies can’t just hitch themselves to Apple Inc.’s mast and hang on for the ride. So it’s fair enough that Lumentum Holdings Inc., a maker of laser components used in the 3-D sensors…

The innovation that turned Google and Facebook into money-making behemoths wasn’t search or social networking. It was selling advertising space alongside content they got for free. Now, as regulatory investigations in the US, Europe and beyond raise the prospect of breaking up the Silicon Valley…