The Winner of Amazon HQ2 Will Realize Unintended Consequences

The winner of Amazon's HQ2 will see major rent increases.

According to Business Insider, Boston would see a 5% ($1,423 increase).

Median rent: $2,371

Rent forecast for 2019: 3.6% ($85 more monthly)

Rent forecast with HQ2: 5% ($119 more monthly)

The impact of Providence may be profound too. 

GoLocal looked at the potential impact of Boston winning HQ2 on the Providence market back in October.

Facebook Reports $12 Billion in Revenue Last Quarter

All is forgiven on Wall Street. On the "Street" privacy and Russian Bots take second fiddle to massive revenue and profits.

Facebook (FB) stock surged after posting first-quarter results last week “that blew past expectations and prompted bullish sentiment from Wall Street.”

According to Investors Business Daily, “Shares jumped more than 9% to close at 174.16 on the stock market today. Facebook stock edged above its 50-day moving average for the first time after crashing through it on March 16. That's when reports of the Data Analytica privacy scandal emerged. The stock also ended the day right at its 200-day moving average. The move above both those lines, if it holds up, is considered bullish.

Multiple Wall Street analysts reiterated ratings of buy or outperform after the earnings report. They expressed relief that advertisers continue to cling to the social networking giant.”

P.S. Facebook went over 2.2 billion users — there are about 1.2 billion TVs in the world.

More Media Layoffs: Univision Cuts and More Cuts

Media layoffs are not just for newspapers. Univision CEO Randy Falco, who announced plans to retire by the end of 2018, has signaled more upheaval and layoffs are in the media company’s future, reports the Wrap.com.

“As part of our continuing efforts, we have made the very difficult decision to reduce personnel across the company,” Falco wrote in a memo to staff obtained by TheWrap. “We know that disruption is required to transform this business into a company that will not only exist but continue to thrive in the future.”

These layoffs come on top of other cutbacks last year.

“Earlier this month, Univision put the kibosh on a long-awaited IPO and laid off more than 150 employees across both the Spanish-language TV network and Gizmodo Media Group it acquired last year. And in March the company laid off 20 employees as it announced plans to restructure the business amid a steady erosion in ratings on the network.”

The Columbia Journalism Review, reported in February about the endless number of cutbacks across media:

Meanwhile, significant layoffs are underway at Digital First Media, a chain of newspapers, many of which are in California, that includes The Orange County Register. In a statement released on Wednesday, the Los Angeles chapter of the Society for Professional Journalists expressed its “sadness, frustration and dismay” at cutbacks at the company’s Southern California News Group. “People often complain about unresponsive, unaccountable local government and vanishing local news is a large part of why this is able to occur,” SPJ wrote.

More cuts have also come to The Oregonian, the state’s largest newspaper, with 11 staffers losing their jobs, in the sixth wave of layoffs at the paper over the past several years. “You’re probably asking yourself, when will these cuts end? I wish I could answer that,” editor Mark Katches said in a statement to staff. “Although we have made progress growing our digital audience while also producing award-winning and important journalism, the revenue picture continues to pose challenges for our company.”

RI Airport Corporation Promotes Lyft and Taxi Service

Uber might be canceling service to T.F. Green due to a fee dispute, but the RI Airport Corporation (RIAC) isn’t going to sit back. T.F. Green has been on a winning streak — attracting multiple new airlines and international flights. The airport’s traffic is growing and it has been recognized as one of the fastest growing airports.

RIAC launched ads promoting Lyft and taxi service to and from the airport. The ads are running on GoLocalProv.com.

“US ride-hailing company Lyft said on March 12, 2018, that it saw revenue of over $1 billion in 2017. Uber’s main US rival said that its revenue rose 168% YoY (year-over-year) in 4Q17 compared to Uber’s 61% YoY growth in the same quarter. That said, Uber is a far bigger company, and it operates in many more countries. Uber generated revenue of $7.5 billion in 2017. However, Lyft has bridged the gap with Uber in terms of market share in the United States, having taken advantage of the tumultuous year its rival [Uber] had,” according to Market Realist.

T-Mobile and Spring Merger Announced (Again)

It was announced on Sunday, that Sprint and T-Mobile are merging — yet again.

"I'm excited to announce that @TMobile & @Sprint have reached an agreement to come together to form a new company -- a larger, stronger competitor that will be a force for positive change for all US consumers and businesses! Watch this & click through for details." John Legere, T-Mobile CEO said in a tweet Sunday.

The $26 billion merger, values Sprint near its current share price of $6.50.

According to CNN, executives are promising to hire thousands of people in a bid to create a nationwide 5G network.