To the Editor:
It’s still too early to say that artificial intelligence will restart PC growth (“PC Sales Are Ready to Take Off Again. It’s All About AI,” Cover Story, Nov. 2). This is like a few years ago saying that 5G would drive people to upgrade and buy more-expensive phones. We now know that never played out. New PCs will have AI chips, but people won’t go out of their way to upgrade unless there are compelling reasons and killer AI apps. Another concern is security. Fortune 500 enterprises won’t want to have their AI models trained with their sensitive, company-specific and customer data that are sitting on employees’ laptops and can be stolen or hacked.
Henry Chung
On Barrons.com
A New Growth Strategy?
To the Editor:
Apple’s fourth-quarter earnings release on Sept. 30 reported an “all-time revenue record in services” (“Apple Isn’t Growing. That May Not Be the Biggest Issue for the Stock,” Tech Trader, Nov. 3). A new growth strategy? I received the official email this week—a 42% increase in the subscription price for Apple TV. That should do it. Who says inflation is abating?
Sue Storey
Nantucket, Mass.
Wisdom for the Ages
To the Editor:
Lots of wisdom here, but the part that most caught my attention and concern is that Loomis Sayles’ Dan Fuss “does think interest rates are likely to experience successive cycles marked by higher lows and higher highs” (“The Warren Buffett of the Bond Market Has a Warning for Investors,” Up & Down Wall Street, Nov. 3). That’s probably accurate, unless the current out-of-control fiscal policies are reined in.
H.P. Gates
On Barrons.com
Private-Equity Issues
To the Editor:
Catherine Keating’s essay “Invest Like an Institution” (Other Voices, Nov. 6) needs context. Shouldn’t we be concerned that so many companies are bought up by private equity? When solid, reputable companies are bought, then decimated and sold for parts, who gains? Not the employees, who are out on their ears. Not the customers, who are bereft. Like the dot-com bust and the mortgage meltdown, private-equity buyouts aren’t a sustainable business practice.
Patty Duffy
Grand Blanc, Mich.
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