An unwritten adage which has often been wheeled out over recent years is that regardless of any form of economic catastrophe, geopolitical strife or change in the natural environment, technology will always prosper. It has been clear that in the past, when other industry sectors have struggled, technology companies make hay – largely because the whole world’s operational fabric is now so dependent on advancing technical solutions which find solutions to problems and move us all forward.

Perhaps it is fair to say that back in the 1980s, if the economy was good, everyone needed lawyers and accountants and if it was bad, everyone needed lawyers and accountants, therefore today if the economy is good everyone needs better technology, and if it is bad, everyone needs better technology. This commonly held theory has been somewhat decimated this year, and the full extent of the downturn in fortunes for some of the world’s largest technology and internet giants have nosedived in syncronization with the nosedive that the European and American economies have faced.

As the final days of 2022 are now with us, it is clear to see that during the course of this year, Apple stock has declined in value by 25%, Meta (Facebook) by 65%, and Amazon by 49%. The Nasdaq Composite Index which has a large number of technology firms listed on it has lost almost twice as much as the broader S&P 500 Index, which is a clear notification that it is not just Jeff and Mark that are in dire straits, but also a range of tech firms across all areas of the software and hardware world.

During the draconian lockdowns which western governments foist upon their populations during 2020, the ‘big tech’ firms, most of which offer services via the internet such as Amazon, thrived as others struggled due to forced closures of all physical competition and companies in Silicon Valley posted record earnings even as much of the western economy crumpled.

Defying the gravity of the economic meltdown appears to have been the tech industry’s achilles heel, and now these firms are experiencing a fall which appears to be in some cases reducing them to almost half of their 2021 value.

The economic woes that many Western nations face are of course a large contributor to these matters, because in today’s global world, high levels of inflation mean that American companies have to exchange more dollars to pay staff in their European offices, especially now that US inflation is dropping and European inflation is increasing and is now over 10% in Western Europe and in some Eastern European countries as much as 25%. Logisitical problems and shortages of components such as semiconductors have blighted production and slowed down delivery dates for new products from many large companies, resulting in very high costs and missed opportunities.

Technology is often considered evergreen, but in today’s world, political malevolence and economic mismanagment can even adversely affect tech whereas until recently it was considered the savior in such circumstances.

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Filed under: News - @ December 27, 2022 10:25 am