Telstra’s decision to flog off most of Sensis to Platinum Equity signals the end of old-style thinking for the telco. Perhaps now they can start thinking less like a content player and more like Google.
In this week’s CrossTalk podcast Ian Martin, a telco analyst at financial services company CIMB, speculates that the sale was prompted by a further fall in Sensis revenues. They needed a solution ahead of their half year results and selling it off puts paid to the problem.
But it doesn’t mean Telstra is stepping out of the advertising game. Perhaps they will focus less on trying to selling advertising on their own websites and start selling and serving advertising on other websites. After all, they have an immense amount of customer usage data they could access, with the user’s permission.
Julian Tol, founder of Brandscreen, wonders why the telcos haven’t jumped at the opportunity to leverage all this data to offer highly targeted advertising. Perhaps it’s simply a question of aptitude.
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Should oil companies pay a windfall tax?
Rising oil prices means energy companies are making mega-profits. I ask Steve Keen if they should pay a windfall tax on this unexpected income?
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Is the EU anti-growth?
The EU is struggling right now. The Bundesbank has downgraded its 21019 GDP forecast from 1.6% down to 0.6%. The Italian government is being threatened for breaching the EU’s spending rules. Yellow vests protestors have been out on the streets of Paris for 31 weeks now, fighting against inequality. This week the European Central Bank meets to determine how to boost the bloc’s economic growth. But, Phil Dobbie asks Prof Steve Keen, isn’t it time for a fundamental rethink of how the EU is structured and operates? With reforms to the EU, would Brexit have been necessary?
To hear the full version subscribe by picking a plan in the right column of the Debunking Economics website (not the mobile app). Or become a patron at https://www.patreon.com/ProfSteveKeen
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What’s a country’s optimum population size?
Is there an optimum size for a country’s population – from an economic and ecological standpoint. I ask Prof Steve Keen.
