Google Inc (GOOG), Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN): 8 Fascinating Reads

Productivity
Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) will manufacturer its new phone in America. That won’t cost much more than Chinese-made phones: 

IHS iSuppli on Wednesday revealed that the Moto X costs between $3.50 and $4 more per phone to make than the Apple iPhone 5 or the Samsung Galaxy S4 — both of which are assembled in China.

“In spite of its ‘Made in the USA’ label, overall costs are still competitive with similar smartphones,” said Andrew Rassweiler, IHS’ senior director of cost benchmarking services.

Humility
Outgoing Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) CEO Steve Ballmer reflects on his career: 

Q: Your biggest regret?

Ballmer: Oh, you know, I’ve actually had a chance to make a lot of mistakes, and probably because, you know, people all want to focus in on period A, period B, but I would say probably the thing I regret most is the, what shall I call it, the loopedy-loo that we did that was sort of Longhorn to Vista. I would say that’s probably the thing I regret most. And, you know, there are side effects of that when you tie up a big team to do something that doesn’t prove out to be as valuable.

Shifts
Derek Thompson discusses why the fast-food worker strikes will fail, using this chart showing the change in employment over the last 20 years: 

Enjoy your weekend.

The article 8 Fascinating Reads originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Morgan Housel.

Morgan Housel has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Amazon.com and Google. The Motley Fool owns shares of Amazon.com, Google, and Microsoft. 

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